Fairthorpe Rockette (sorry only 2 headlamps on this one!)

Following an email from a Fairthorpe enthusiast on the other side of the world asking about Fairthorpe Rockettes here is a picture of one my father and i rebuilt for John Bonnett. The car had been fitted with a road/race spec 1600 Ford engine on twin Webers. When John decided it was time to part with the car we bought it and put it back to a 6 cylinder Vitesse engine and overdrive gearbox before selling it on. It was a very potent machine with the Ford engine but it was smooth and had plenty of torque with the Triumph engine, ideal for covering long distances at pace (it sounded good too!) This picture was taken in the late 80`s at a Sandown Park kit car show and yes that is me with a bit more hair!

Australian EM in savage attack.

 

 

 Fairthorpe owner Les Whelan has been in touch from Australia with some bad news regarding his EM. In late November he was entered in a Sprint Meeting at a small country track. He ended the season with a great trophy for Second in Class but his Fairthorpe was severely damaged when another car with supposed brake failure collided with him.

The impact (at 108 kmh according to the others cars 'computer') buckled the front driver's side wheel, thrust the engine across to knock the top off the coil and back to squash the air cleaner, it took the fibreglass off behind the wheel, with cracks in the dash and the floor. He suspects the chassis/outrigger may be bent but hasn't yet investigated. The bonnet was only slightly damaged but with the damage to the wheel the steering rack may also be a problem. They kept him in the ambulance for about 30 minutes afterwards but fortunately in his words ` I don't seem to have suffered any 'damage'. We all wish your car a speedy recovery Les, keep us informed on how the rebuild is progressing.