Because I don’t have enough Lotus kits. ...

[absmiami]

And books by Karl Ludvigsen - his book on Chapman - Inside the Innovator  - is still available and a great source of period photos - most (all?) of which were taken by  the author …

[absmiami]

… and Doug Nye - his great “Theme Lotus” book is almost forty years old now - and filled with great period photos - 

[absmiami]

These four pix  are fr Theme Lotus - including a track shot  of the Halford car …

[absmiami]

Thank you Douglas …

[absmiami]

And a couple of drawings …

so - back to the Evergreen stash …

[absmiami]

Clutch and brake pedals - modified fr the Tamiya Lotus Seven castings - and some initial rear frame construction …

[Bainford]

This build is not just entertaining, but educational.

Never heard of the Theme Lotus book. I'll have to look that up.

Re: Lotus XI, it will be a while before it makes it 'round to the bench. It may be built curbside, but not sure. It is my desire to build everything full detail, but even curbsides spend over a year on my bench. A good number of my more recent builds have all been curbside just to get something completed and on the shelf. Should I go full detail, I will be knocking on your door. Cheers. I have been thinking of trying to convert a Monogram Scarab into 23 (my favourite early Lotus race car) and if I ever get around to that project it will be full detail. That one will have a Lotus Twin Cam, of course.

[absmiami]

by the way - the pic on previous page - the one where Graham Hill stares off into the distance with a concerned expression - appears to be an Eleven and not a 12 ...

Bf - don't try to convert the Scarab - they are rare anyway - a proper 24th scale 23 is gettable  as a slot body - and it is accurate - 

24th scale slot kit bodies are often over-priced on the 'net - but keep looking ...

 

 

[absmiami]

By the way II - there is a very thorough survey of the Sixteen here - notice its authored by a - then - young journalist named Luvigsen - has a centerfold cutaway  …

[Bainford]

Cheers Andrew. Never knew the 23 body existed. Just found several on ebay. Very helpful. 

[absmiami]

Chapman was obsessed with the size and weight of the transaxle - his answer was small and lightweight - but famously unreliable - it was known as the queerbox [we are momentarily in a joke-free zone] ….  Used in different layouts in the 12, the 15, 16 , 18, and 19 - privateers tended to rip the thing out, throw it into a dark corner of the shop, and replace it with a Colletti, or a ZF…. On the 16 - the gear case - thats what i’ve got here - sits next to the seat and the drive train  then has  to find its way to the center mounted transaxle … and yes its made of Evergreen … at least on a model …

[absmiami]

This is another great parts queen …. AMT - years ago - reboxed the Heller FII and FIII kits of the Matra and the Brabham - great kits - better than Heller’s GP kits - which is a mystery - because the same guy did all of the masters - gonna use the brake discs and a couple more parts - a Japanese kit maker also re-boxed and sold these quite recently …

[absmiami]

The  brake discs will be used for the rears - check out the crisp details on this tree - this is a nearly fifty year old kit - 

[absmiami]

Pretty much correct dia and width …

[absmiami]

.100 squ and .080 rd rod - Evergreen - for one half shaft U joint …

[absmiami]

i’ll need eight of these - two will sit inside the brake discs - which were in- board on the Sixteen - Chapman used in-board brakes whenever he could - right thru the type 79 - 20 years later - 

[absmiami]

Ok - lets see how fast the Forum runs now!

[charlie libby]

Your fabrication gets better everytime i look

[absmiami]

Gracias

some mods and added features on the   Brake discs - made the posts for the brake lines from some bits of Evergreen squ strip …

[absmiami]

Here’s another grab fr the Matra kit’s parts tree - the clutch housing - 

[absmiami]

The transmission case is assembled from Evergreen stock and strip

[absmiami]

The brakes hug the sides if the box

[absmiami]

And this is where  the box goes …

[absmiami]

Chapman designed rear hub carriers for the Sixteen that served to eliminate the need for the DeDion tube that featured on the Vanwall - the idea being that less parts / weight would improve handling ….  You can see them on the cutaway and the photo - so the shocks angled out into a base at the top of the carrier … this presents a challenge for the modeler - i know what they look like - but there are no detailed drawings to measure the angle and length of these parts …

[absmiami]

First i made an adjustment to the trans case base to better align the run of the half shafts - then i made some shocks from some wh metal parts that i had from an older project …