new member

[chrissmith]

sadly all the old archive pics that I left with the "new team" were thrown into the skip !!

The 1st 4 frames were made by a company in thrapston named Midas metalcraft..number 1 was VTK 715, no.2 was sold to Paul Matty painted red,,,no.3 sold to Idris Owen ateacher in Sutton Coldfield and no.4 to a Russian American named Anatoly Arutumoff...

how's that for a start??

Chris

[chrissmith]

chrissmith wrote:
> sadly all the old archive pics that I left with the "new team" were thrown into the
> skip !!
>
> The 1st 4 frames were made by a company in thrapston named Midas metalcraft..number
> 1 was VTK 715, no.2 was sold to Paul Matty painted red,,,no.3 sold to Idris Owen
> ateacher in Sutton Coldfield and no.4 to a Russian American named Anatoly Arutumoff...
>
> how's that for a start??
>
> Chris

[Pluscat]

(=very happy)

though a bit sad that a lot of stuff ended up in the binn........

But keep sharing these informations, I think they are super interresting!!

[Splat]

Hi Chris,

Retirement? How long for............

Great to see you here. I first saw an XI around the Leicester area in the late '80s. My own first car, bought as a scrapper in '87 and rebuilt whilst doing my A-levels, was a Frogeye. The XI really floated my boat! I've had a FWD Elan, two Esprits and an F355 Berlinetta in recent years, but they had to be daily drivers as I didn't have the garage space for a pure toy! I finally bought a slightly worn '05 car a couple of years ago, a diversion from restoring our home. It's a joy to both tinker in the garage with and to drive between bouts of spannering (and about as practical as the Clio V6 daily smoker!). Thank you!!

I look forward to reading any snippets and anecdotes that you might like to share with us. Perhaps you've a book in you?

Best wishes,

Simon

[chrissmith]

My "love" of sports cars began in the early 60s when I were just a lad...I advertised in the Birmingham Post the following

"Sports car wanted up to £110 cash. Anything considered" What passed through my hands would make your mouth water!!

Chris

[sgrant]

Chris - did Westfield ever consider a replica of the 23B?

stephen

[jonclancy]

Or the 18/22/27 mid-engine single- seaters?

[chrissmith]

Very early on we made 2 or 3 "23" replicas...I remember buying a Lotus 51 from Graham Gaulds son (I think ) in Scotland . Adapting the frame and running gear into a 2 seater..No monoplace cars were considered as I needed a bigger market..

Cars I have owned...Lotus 6,7,9,XI,18,21,41,elans,7s, Rolls, Bently,lots of aston DB4,5,6 AND "D" type Jag!!!

Chris

[sgrant]

Please don't tell us the D-type was £110 !!

Why didn't you continue with the 23B? Was it issues with ground clearance?

[chrissmith]

"D" was £4750 and sold for £5500 !!! ULU 336 it had twin headfairings made for Mille Miglia but not raced there...

Chris