CLA Build Stories: Part 2 of Building the Lotus Esprit VQ – Gearbox and Mounts

Lotus Esprit VQ Gearbox

Club Lotus Australia is full of interesting people who are up to interesting things with interesting cars. We think that’s wonderful, so we’re going to share their stories with you here!

If you’d like to share your story on the club website, just send Seth a quick email at web@clublotus.com.au

In this post, we rejoin Geoff Winder as he contemplates a gearbox for his Lotus Esprit VQ project.

Read Part 1 here.

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Lotus Photos: The LOST Fraternity’s Easter Claytons Run

LOST Fraternity Easter Claytons Run

Jack McLaughlin of the LOST Fraternity organised a fun little run on Easter Sunday, the 16th of April, for those who did not leave town for the Easter break, and he has kindly sent through photos from the meet-up.

The LOST Fraternity met on the banks of Lake Macquarie at Eleebana for a picturesque afternoon catch-up. It looks like a great little get together, which also saw the re-appearance of Dave Freeman in a beautiful, just-finished, Elan Sprint.

Enjoy the photos, thanks to Jack McLaughlin.

LOST Fraternity

The Preserve February/March 2017 Now Available for Download

The Preserve September 2016

‘The Preserve’ is the newsletter of the Council of Motor Clubs. It’s made available to members of CMC-affiliated clubs, and that means you!

The February/March 2017 edition of the newsletter has been sent out to members, and is now available for download on our members’ page here.

This month’s edition keeps you up to date with important goings on, recaps the forum on the HCRS and CVS, takes a look back at the Sunbeam Owner’s Club of NSW’s 2016, shares a great pair of stories in ‘Four Young Blokes & a Dog and ‘The Story of the Red Zed’, and more.

Club Lotus Australia members can head to the members page here to download your copy. If you’re not a member of the club head here, and take a browse around the website to see why you should be!

April 2017 Edition of Chunky’s Chatter Available for Download

2017 CSCA Round 1 by Gino Valdes

Image thanks to Gino Valdes

Thanks to the efforts of editor Tom Devitt and his contributors, Chunky’s Chatter for April, 2017, is on its way to members, and now available for download from the members’ page. Grab a copy, and enjoy!

Features in this month’s mag include:

  • CLA Hosts the First Round of the 2017 CSCA Championship
  • Lots of News from Western Australia
  • The Return of Myths and Legends
  • Jackie Stewart Calls for Crowd Funding for Jim Clark Museum

And much more! Enjoy Chunky’s lighthearted and sometimes irreverent monthly look at the world of Lotus.

Head to the members’ page to download your copy. And if you’re not a member already, have a browse around the site and hit up our membership page here to find out why you should be!

Ashton’s President’s Prattle for April, 2017

President's Prattle

Hello all! What’s with all of this water leaking out of the sky?

Having said that, March has been an awesome month down in Victoria, where many of you know I have been spending far too much time lately 🙂

The upside to spending too much time down there was that I got to go to the Phillip Island Histerics two weekends ago. This was mostly so I could scope out the other runners and riders in Group L, where the Eleven will reside if I get the CoD sorted out! And I can happily report that they are a lovely bunch of guys, all with the same intention of bringing the car home straight and true, so I am hugely looking forward to getting out there soon.

The other reason was to see all the beautiful and iconic cars that descend on Phillip Island for the weekend. While it might lack the glamour and prestige of Goodwood, in many ways the Classic is much more enjoyable, since there is absolutely none of the pretentious behaviour so often associated with top level motorsport events. Everyone was friendly and delighted to chat – the drivers, spanners, marshals and other members of the public. Great fun!

Many thanks to Geoff Wheeler for sorting out the accommodation and access to the Grandeur Club. OK, so that might reek of pretention a bit, but the AC was very welcome given ambient temps reached 30 degrees!

As always, we hosted the first round of the CSCA sprints a few weeks ago, with a beautiful day at Wakefield Park. It really couldn’t have been better – the rain had washed the track clean, the sun came out and dried everything for a few days before (I must admit my one excursion did fill the undertray with mud, so clearly it wasn’t THAT dry) and the air was cool but not too cold. So, the opening sessions saw some pretty serious times being posted for so early in the day.

Huge thanks to Mike for setting the day up so successfully, and to all the club members who came along to have fun, and who also kindly helped with marshalling, monitoring and flagging. It was an awesome day – and full details, including photos and times which show we are always are the pointy end, are on the website in case you’ve not been there recently.

While on the subject of motorsport, I need your help – and quite urgently! For several years, we have been trying to find a replacement for Mike B (I know he’s irreplaceable, but we need to try) in his role as Motorsport Secretary. This is a vital role both on the CLA Committee, and also in the wider motorsport world, and we now need to start the recruitment process to replace Mike in earnest, as he has declared his intention to retire at the AGM in September.

If the idea frightens but interests you, please get in touch, as we can certainly look to meet this role with more than one person. Drop me a line to president@clublotus.com.au or give me a ring on 0408202208. Please!

Elsewhere, we sadly had to cancel Anne’s Scones and Cream event, so we’ll try again once the weather settles down a bit. It’s also high time we had a weekend run somewhere interesting; if anyone has a burning desire to lead a small group somewhere fun, please put up your hand. Otherwise I’ll have to do it!

Right, enough of my rabbit; here’s hoping you get the car out between showers, and I look forward to seeing some of you out and about, including at the Histerics next weekend at Wakefield with a bit of luck!

Meantime, keep it safe, upright and on the black stuff.

Pip pip,
Ashton