Restoring a Lotus 22 Formula jr

[NASTYZEN]

From the way back files.
The first race car I got to play with.

Before.

Oops!

The pavement ground a hole in is helmet right into the Styrofoam.

 

[gorilla]

Is that a Lotus Cortina in the background?

 

[willymakeit]

More please

 

[flatheadguy]

Fantastic!! When in Europe, I owned and drove a Lotus 20 Formula Junior. A great fun car to drive. And super easy to work on...and repair. If I remember correctly, the frame was all oxy-acet brazed using Eutectic...20FC, maybe FC20. Easy, quick and strong.
When the 22 arrived on the scene, we converted the car to those specs. I still have the invoice, notes and letters from Colin C.
Thank you for posting this memory trigger for me....and the rest.

 

[larry_g]

So what era were you doing this project. Hope fully this thread is as good as the Good Dr's.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[ZRX61]

Is that a Lotus Cortina in the background?

Yup.

 

[rsanter]

I always liked those
they look like a full load of fun in a half size package

bob

 

[NASTYZEN]

Is that a Lotus Cortina in the background?

Cortina with the Lotus twin cam.At the time it was the fastest one on this continent.It was wild to see this car out run Jags,Mustangs,corvetts,Sevens and the like.Huge body roll in the corners.

Fantastic!! When in Europe, I owned and drove a Lotus 20 Formula Junior. A great fun car to drive. And super easy to work on...and repair. If I remember correctly, the frame was all oxy-acet brazed using Eutectic...20FC, maybe FC20. Easy, quick and strong.
When the 22 arrived on the scene, we converted the car to those specs. I still have the invoice, notes and letters from Colin C.
Thank you for posting this memory trigger for me....and the rest.

Your right,there not all that bad to repair.It's a bit as if they were hot glued together.If you master the technique,you can rip one apart easily with anOxy-Ace torch.I never got to drive one.

So what era were you doing this project. Hope fully this thread is as good as the Good Dr's.
lg

Aw man pressure
I think this was about 25 years ago.(Already!?)The car is a 1968 or 69.Classed as a Vintage Formula Ford Junior I think.The owner touched wheels with an other in turn one at Shannonville and went air borne.I lucked out with the before shot a few weeks earlier.

This is the first race car I ever got to work on.
This is when I still worked jobs for other people.
I had been harassing the shop owner where this resto happened to hire me four two years before he finally decided to try me out.I paid my due's by welding my brains out making Alu.stage equipment for his business for 6 months before he let me close to any car.I was so thrilled to work there I even took a pay cut from my previous job I wanted so bad.I stayed late at night to watch him work on his FF 2000.

It was pretty bent.These cars were built in an era when drivers were shorter than today.So it's common to see roll bar (extensions).I don't think they would let you on the track with one of those today.You can see why.

First thing is to find the center of the bays and measure where everything should be.Then tear her down.

My mentor showing me how.

 

[NASTYZEN]

When brazing something, cleaning is very important!All joints must be carefully prepared to allow proper boding.I prefer 120 grit emery as a finish.A little rough so the bronze can get in there as opposed to a mirror finish.Over the years I've seen weld mends come apart with the bead staying on one tube and completely coming off the other.

These era cars have the particularity of having liquids running in the main chassis rails.Water in the top ones for the rad up front and oil in the bottom ones.I guess the guys stayed cool by sitting in the gas tanks that made up part of the seat.LOL

To braze properly,you need a fluxer witch injects flux into the Acetylene.Comes out the torch nozzle and turns the flame green.

 

[flatheadguy]

The memory banks just kicked in......the Eutectic rod number is 16FC not 20FC.
Think it is still availabe. VERY strong in tensile and shear. Super high numbers. Makes field (paddock) repairs easier.

 

[NASTYZEN]

I use low fuming bronze.I know of the Utectic product you are talking about.It's vertually identical in properties.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Funny, my memory banks just kicked in also about those Utectic rods.They came in two dif tensiles.One was black and one was red.The black is the one that had worked out better.The low fuming bronze is more readily available here and more cost effective for me.

The beast after refreshing.Next to it is a Lotus 22-B that we restored about the same time period.I'll dig some more shots up from it.

My goal in showing these build projects is sharing another point of view of stuff.I love the beauty of these old cars and the way they were put together. Rather than let the pictures rot in my drawer I decided to share for the fun of it.For others to enjoy.
Maybe also inspire some one to take up this dying trade to keep these beauties going so they can be raced rather than become static art behind glass at a museum.
I hope I don't come across as a show off or a bragger, that is not my intention.

 

[jhn9840]

I hope I don't come across as a show off or a bragger, that is not my intention.

Your posts are a valuable part of this forum IMHO. Please keep posting.

jhn9840
John

 

[smschriefer]

Show off or bragger?! Heck no! I enjoy these types of fabrication threads. I completely enjoyed the DB restoration and as I read this one I was wondering if there are more that you had posted. As I locate them I list each as a favorite.

 

[demographic]

I hope I don't come across as a show off or a bragger, that is not my intention.

No way, its interesting stuff, keep them coming.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Good! I'm glad I'm not ******* everyone off.
That summer we restored two more of these.

This one was completely replaced except the chassis no.

The original chassis was just to worn out to race safely anymore.

 

[demographic]

What fluxer were you using?

 

[NASTYZEN]

What fluxer were you using?

I think Jet makes it.

 

[whelenfan]

wow! those are awesome. great thread.

 

[Victorymike18]

Very nice work.

Could you put up some engine pictures? I have a thing for vintage race car engines...

 

[NASTYZEN]

wow! those are awesome. great thread.

Thank's,I love the vintage race cars.

Very nice work.

Could you put up some engine pictures? I have a thing for vintage race car engines...

Thank's.Engines are nothing fancy,just the good old kent Cortina motor.These are the only engine shots I have.I rarely get a complete race car in the shop.

The gas tank doubles as a seat!

 

[NASTYZEN]

This one is that Lotus 22-B I mentioned before.You can tell it's a B by the x in the front bay rather than the single diagonal tube. It's also braced more here and there.

Sorry no mechanical pics,just what's under the paint.

These are all the ones I could find.Hope you enjoyed it.

 

[RobertS22]

Hi, I have recently purchased a 22 for restoration....I was hoping I could pick your brain for some advice?

 

[NASTYZEN]

Hi, I have recently purchased a 22 for restoration....I was hoping I could pick your brain for some advice?

Hello Mark'
Congratulations on your new toy. It should keep you pretty busy for a while....
I'm sorry but I have no dimensions on hand for you,
Those particular cars were restored about 25 years ago already.
Most of these cars are a little different from each other anyway and are kind of unique.
I can try and walk you thru your restore though.
First you need a chassis table of sorts , to be able to at least set all the bays or bulkheads strait.
Find the center of all these top and bottom and set a string from front to back.
At that point you should be able to get some dimensions from what you have.
Basically, you work from the center of the car and should have a mirror image on both side so as to be as symmetrical as possible.
These cars have much adjustments in the suspension to make up for discrepancies.
An other must, would be to get a Oxy-Ace flux-er for the brazing. These cars are entirely brazed together.
If your chassis is too busted up to get to this point, you may have to go out there and find someone at the track who will be willing to have you go all over his or her car with a tape measure and vernier.
Perhaps you can start a new thread on your restore and we will do this step by step. That would be cool.

Claude

 

[willymakeit]

Congrats. Ive never been around that type of racing tho I enjoy watching it on TV.
Im starting to aquire peices for a attempt to go to the salt flats in thext 2 years.
I know its a different type of car but good ideas come from everywhere. Nice work is always enjoyed so keep posting.

 

[RobertS22]

Hello Mark'
Congratulations on your new toy. It should keep you pretty busy for a while....
I'm sorry but I have no dimensions on hand for you,
Those particular cars were restored about 25 years ago already.
Most of these cars are a little different from each other anyway and are kind of unique.
I can try and walk you thru your restore though.
First you need a chassis table of sorts , to be able to at least set all the bays or bulkheads strait.
Find the center of all these top and bottom and set a string from front to back.
At that point you should be able to get some dimensions from what you have.
Basically, you work from the center of the car and should have a mirror image on both side so as to be as symmetrical as possible.
These cars have much adjustments in the suspension to make up for discrepancies.
An other must, would be to get a Oxy-Ace flux-er for the brazing. These cars are entirely brazed together.
If your chassis is too busted up to get to this point, you may have to go out there and find someone at the track who will be willing to have you go all over his or her car with a tape measure and vernier.
Perhaps you can start a new thread on your restore and we will do this step by step. That would be cool.

Claude

Started a build thread:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2489913#post2489913

 

[RobertS22]

Congrats. Ive never been around that type of racing tho I enjoy watching it on TV.
Im starting to aquire peices for a attempt to go to the salt flats in thext 2 years.
I know its a different type of car but good ideas come from everywhere. Nice work is always enjoyed so keep posting.

Build thread:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2489913#post2489913