First day after the Lotus 15 arrived home. I have not yet had time to lift of the hoods in order to have a look. In the background Jan's Allard K2.
I was very interested how this car should behave on track. This is the first time I am out at the race track Skarpnäck. Note that even if the photo is black and white for my eyes the car is racing green.
I don't really remember how the car was moved to the track. It is hard to believe that I drove there. Anyway I remember that I bought an interim license at the police office. At that time my brother had a so called floating insurance which was good for every car in his name. Now 2008 I cannot understand that I dared to drive the Lotus to Skarpnäck a distance of 40 km single way.
Now my problems have started. Here I suppose we discuss what kind of fault I have. Several discussion were about that the camshafts were mounted in a wrong way and that was the cause for boiling. Later we understodd that it was the water pumpwhich had to small pressure so when reving the engine high it becom wakuum. Caviation was the result and the pump no more suckaed water from the cooler. This with known result. In some races I without knowing about this I succeded but on the other hand didn't rev the engine so much.
Here the left front wheel equipped with it's for this time modern suspension. Note the disc brake and the Triumph upright which was generally used for suspensions.
Here a total review of the car has started. The engine is out and only the front end is left.
The electrical wireing wa a total chaos. This picture demonstrates it.
Here the hood covers are off. One intersted guy was an artist and he helped us with colours. It was Eje Öberg who worked at the artist division in the factory of Gustavsberg. He normally worked with couloring enamaled steel plates.
The hood seen from front.
All aluminium covers were pop revited according to the knowledge of that time. One should know that all aeroplanes during the war were pop revited so the knowledge was not new. The pop revites were strengthened on the backside with a washer. Many rivets had been scratched on the bottom side of the frame and because of this the frame had not support enough. Most rivets were loose. The important part of the strengthened chassies, the drive shaft tunnel, didn't work as support. It had to be re-revited with new al-plates. All revits were overhauled. That was a job for two persons. The washer!
Here is the rear cross section which take up the strengths from rear suspension and also the rotation forces from front end. It had not succeeded to take the forces and wa broken. It had bee mended earlier and new welding mad the pipes more weaker. Here I put a plate covering a bigger area.
Here I am controlling the camshafts adjustment. The curious thing was that I could not read the right figure for the closing ov valves. I wrote to the Climax factory and asked why. The answered that " don't bother about closing figure, just be sure that the opening figures are right."
A short rest, a bit arranged, with Bengt Ramén who later bought this car. He drove it just once. Of course he blew the top. Then the car was put in his garage for a long time. Note the unsafe design with petrol tank an battery side by side!!
Because one product at the factory of Gustavsberg were bath tupes. These were enameled. I thought this must be a good idea. I got help to put on this and got it heat hardened the exhaust pipe. Anyway it showed that the dilatiation was to big for enamel and the pipes enamel cover cracked. It looked terrible. Also one part of the pipe was made of stainless steel which enemal don't like.
Here the exhaust manifol is just delivered. Nice look.
This is one year later and the car has been repainted yellow. By which which reason I don't know. Perhaps Picko Troberg car was a reason. They were generally yellow.
Picture from a club meeting at Skarpnäck.
At Skarpnäck I took part in a national race 1964. It was at this time I blew the cylinder head packung and the head became bent.
I am together with Eje Öberg at Skarpnäck during a club meeting. Those persons who were intrsted in racing car came to me an helped. It was good to have them. Eje wasnot so often as Håkan Hallin and Börje Karlsson. Both now dead.
The national race 1964 at Skarpnäck. The Allar K2 was also there now with a Buick engine. Unfortunaltely he broke it's bearings because of bad oil pump. Also a corvette.
Here we discuss the position of the water pump. To the left Eje Öberg and to the right Björn.
Club meeting at Skarpnäck.
Ready for warm up engine.
I and Jan welded a trailer 1963,made of round pipes. It was much welding. Square pipes were not able to buy yet. Earlier we had bought a Studebaker pcup -47 and we used the fron beam from it with the plate suspension. If you lock carefulness on the picture you can se that we alse hade 2 coil springs to take the load. We are on the way to Falkenberg race track with the LOtus 15. The pulling car is our father's Buick 62. In this race there was a bad accident between two race drivers, Radefalk and Paulsson. I hit a telephone prop after the long straight and became little nervous. I fullfilled the race but placed last I think.
It was cold in Falkenberg and it was almost raining. At that time, the last the race was on the road. It was only waiting, and I was hungry and had headache. The winner was Ulf Norinder with a Ferrari 250 GTO.
The picture is still from Falkenberg. Here it is warming up. The race itself was stopped according to the accident. At that time it wa chaos in race management and that why it was no proper result list. My name was not noted.
Here i race outside the pit. Probably during training.
Here my brother takes a picture when I takes the checkered flag. A nice picture to look at.
The very nice ZF queer-box with the disk brakes mounted. The design was however not good because oil was leaking through the 2RS ball bearings and the oil was nicly spread because of therotating disks. This was depended on the pressure and heat inside gearbox hollow. Of course it was no good braking ability. There is much to be told about this box.
Picture of the box and the plain disk where the oil was leaking out.
I had no understanding for the frost enamelling. That wa the usual way in England on camshaft covers. They were polished and looked rather nice. One thought that it was more easy to keep clean.
The disastrous rear uprights in the suspension. I have got to know that my car was the prototype with chassie no 15/601 and the rear drivshafts was not proper coupled through the Chapman strut. The connection here was working with 3 wedges and the short tap to the wheel was not hardened. It could not of course take the moment forces. Read in my article how I solved the problem.
It was 14 copies of the production cars and the were normally equipped with Weber carburators instead of these enormous SU carburators. My was the pre production copy.
This agreement mad me owner of a Lotus 15. The trade in car was a MG Midget 1962.
National race for cars at Skarpnäck 1963. For this competition Gunnar Carlsson was notificated with a Lotus 15. He never showed up, by which reason I don't know, probably though the car was not in order. It was put in Willy Dolling's garage in Stockholm free port. It was here I first saw the car, autumn 1963. Perhaps Dolling had told Gunnar that the car was not race worthy.
Notificated race driver in the start list. Gunnar Carlsson got start no 15!
Map over the race track of Skarpnäck. Today living houses are built here.
This national race 1964 was my debut with my Lotus. I had got no 63. The training was succesfull and I had the 6th place with 1.17.1. Then on the race I put som more revs on the engine and then I blew the water. Note that my brother also drove with his Allard K2 and Buick engine.
The startlist with Björn Bellander and no 63.
Velodromrace at Gelleråsen Karlskoga 1964 was my best race. I was place as no 4 but with 14 laps on lap after. The difference between top drivers and others were large. Anders Josephsson took the flag with his Lotus 23.
The startlis at Velodrom race Karlskoga.
Map over Gelleråsen race track outside Karlskoga.
