107 replies to this topic

[dc-65x]

And the Final Jeopardy question is:

Who made this Lotus 40 body .



It's one of only two I've ever seen.





Check out the "Butt Bumps" in the rear corners:

[TSR]

I would advance "Pactra" with caution. I will be at the Muz Sunday and will have a looksie.
I will also sort out your trade bodies with the Scottster... !

[dc-65x]

Very close in appearance indeed but don't forget those "Butt Bumps" :

[tonyp]

Rick that last shot makes it even more of a mystery. You even have the master stumped. I am sure he is frantically scouring his databases for the right answer. God I love Lotus 40 bodies...

[TSR]

It I am the master, indeed I have no clue!
But I am pretty sure it is a Pactra body.

[dc-65x]

I will await Philippe's report after he comes down from the mountain Sunday. I assume he will be examining a Pactra Lotus 40 (among others) for "butt bumps" which I didn't think the Pactra had .

I know where this body came from and therefore thought I knew who made it. But after reviewing more old pictures I believe I have come full circle, solving this mystery and leaving the original.....unsolved .

Please join us next week on the History Channel for another episode of "Unsolved Slot Car Mysteries".

[Howmet TX]

'Scuse me butting in again, but here's what happened with my 'Steroid 40'
In the back is the old shell as I received it in a box of ebay stuff. It's really thick butyrate, and had been slammed really low, but the body shape is beautiful, and within a sniff of the dimensions we run at our North London D3;




I restored the sills which had been cut away, and added a bit more width. I made bigger flares for the wheel arches. I filled the little cut-outs behind the front fenders and added breather pipes, exhausts and a filler cap to the mould. Saves having to make them new each time.

Maybe all this messing about on my part is merely a continuation of what has happened to the old mould in the past. That pretty Russkit Lotus is very inviting to people with itchy fingers like mine.

[endbelldrive]

Please join us next week on the History Channel for another episode of "Unsolved Slot Car Mysteries".

I have my Sony Betamax VCR all set up to record the next episode!

[TSR]

Stay tuned I am in the Vault (slot car paradise as described in the Bible...)

[tonyp]

Mike Katz had these at the race Sunday. Pactra?



And of course a chopped flared and bubbled Russkit.

[Tex]

DOOD! Lookit the comparison between the heighth of the windshield vs. the heighth of the "door" panel!!! Talk about "SLAMMED"!!!

[dc-65x]

Here we go. Who made this body for Champion? Or, did Champion rebag someone else's body? They repackaged MANY components from other manufacturers:



The first mystery Lotus I showed earlier:



The chrome pipes are also there along with other Russkit chrome bits:



Where are the butt bumps on this Pactra body? Where are the gas caps? They might be there as this is a poor quality picture........maybe:



The second mystery Lotus shown earlier:





I got this second mystery Lotus from the Bill Sipple estate sale and always thought it must be an Auto Hobbies body. Then I found this ad with NO BUTT BUMPS :



And then I found this picture in the 1967 Auto World Catalog. All I have is a photocopy so this is really a crappy picture but I swear I see them BUTT BUMPS : Maybe they were trimmed off during the editing process for the ad?



The catalog lists this body in both 1/32 and 1/24 scale.

Hi Tony,

The blue #79 body you pictured looks just like my Lancer bodies. One of my most favorite Lotus 40 bodies .

That brings us to the end of another episode of As The Lotus 40 World Turns. Thank you and good night

[TSR]

Rick has it almost perfect. I spent a day with the Scottster at the Muz, sorting out just about every possible variety of Lotus 30's and 40's we have laying around.

1/ The "mystery Russkit" body is not by Russkit but indeed a widened version made by Champion and used on their RTR cars, as well as used by members of Team Champion and other pros.

2/ The Mike Katz body is the Lancer body, also used by Pactra for their 1968 scarce RTR model (in which case it is painted a deep metallic orange with silver backing), and by Western Hobbies for their "Custom Modified Lotus 40 RTR", also advertized as the "Devastator", in which case it is painted either in metallic blue, green or red.

3/ The mystery "40" from the Bill Sippel estate is indeed the Auto-Hobbies/Veco version also sold by Select, a sister company under the same roof in La Crescenta, California. The Veco Lotus RTR is unlikely, as well as their Chaparral 2, to have ever been issued, as not one person has ever ran across one, but the clear body was indeed available in the Select line. The LASCM owns the actual prototype of the Chaparral featured on the same ad as the Lotus, but it is the only example we have ever seen, and we have seen a LOT of old slot cars.

I will open another thread about all these Lotus 30 and 40 vac-formed bodies as they deserve their own space, picking some info from this thread.

[Howmet TX]

So the one without the butt bumps is a Champion modified Russkit, and the one with them is a 1/24th Select body?
But looking at the butt version again, the breather stacks look very much like the style used on the Select 1/32 bodies.
I'll butt out now.
But a new Lotus 40 dedicated thread is a mouthwatering proposition. I'll stay tuned.

[TSR]

But looking at the butt version again, the breather stacks look very much like the style used on the Select 1/32 bodies.

John, as you will see, there are plenty of ways to copy a Strad...

[milmilhas]

Hi Jean Michel

Can you post some interior photos of both cars?

[Jean-Michel Piot]

If you wish so...

What do you want to see ? the dashbord & steering wheel ? the gear shift ?

[milmilhas]

Jean Michel

Everything!!!

[Toremeister]

If you wish so...

What do you want to see ? the dashbord & steering wheel ? the gear shift ?

Way Sano Mr.Piot,,,,,,,,Thanks ! Does everybody know bout the Lotus 41,,Google it and Stoke !

[Jean-Michel Piot]

Jean Michel

Everything!!!

Well, you know, it's just a Cox interior ... with few additions (like the machined aluminium centre of the steering wheel, the gear shift...)

I feel that with only one or two pictures at the uppermost you'll see the whole of it !

Will take pictures this WE at the latest.

[milmilhas]

Hi Jean Michel!!

I think 2 photos will be nice

[gascarnut]

And then I found this picture in the 1967 Auto World Catalog. All I have is a photocopy so this is really a crappy picture but I swear I see them BUTT BUMPS : Maybe they were trimmed off during the editing process for the ad?



The catalog lists this body in both 1/32 and 1/24 scale.

I have the 1/32 Select Lotus 40 right in front of me and it does not look like this picture. It has no "butt bumps", a full set of exhausts all the way to the megaphones, and two grilles behind the pipes.

This photo is all I have right now, I will take better ones later today:

[Jean-Michel Piot]

Hi Jean Michel

Can you post some interior photos of both cars?

[Tex]

Beauty, man.

Look at them dashes!

And full driver figures.

[TSR]

Lucky Bob Challman or Jimmy Clark did not drive the '30" and "40" with their arms extended like that because they would have been in the wall real fast!
This kind of extended arms technique was barely good for the tiny F3/F2/F1 cars from the day, with their little 1-liter and 1.5-liter gutless engines.