1978 National winning sports car

Nice one Ken! That is a very exciting feeling - I haven't found any national winners, but have found a couple cars featured in magazines....

Don

Thanks for your super-sleuth work on past projects Don...I have had input from lots of you guys out there....always nice to hear from you.I am pretty certain that I have two more Nats winners in the collection one a flexi and the other with a bag hand written by Steve in 1976 stating "ECRA F1 champ/winner Steve Walker/Built"

Steve it would seem kept some winners that meant something special to him?..ken

Thanks Ken... ditto!

The 79 looks superficially very close to the 78 - any major differences we can't see?

Don

The 79 car has the front wheels and pan section mounted in a hinge, so if you want to be pedantic it is a is a Flexi-iso not a Flexi-board

However the piece of piano wire under the guide tab must restrict the iso movement - just how much cannot be seen from photos. If there's no movement it becomes a Flexi-board.

The extra piece of wire at the front of the central brass strip doesn't appear to do anything except fill a space. We can be sure Steve was more than capable of making the brass bit the intended length in the first place. Could it be the front end was built rather like the 78 car at first then modified during testing to produce what we see here?

just the sort of info and discussion on brass chassis we need to learn more of the way fast cars were built...many thanks..ken...also good point about the 79 car, which is Steves first flexi-ISO ?...so anything could be possible.

just looked and the guide tab allows quite a lot of up and down movement on the 1979 chassis

A couple of years later Steve's cars had a simple means of locking up that guide movement using short lengths of tube soldered on just behind the front axle. Put a piece of piano wire through the tubes and it was locked up, take out the piece of piano wire and it was free to move. That was widely copied, it was easy to try both options during practice.

Flipping 'ec- I wish I could solder like that...Takes me back, this does-shunted brushes,buzz bars, and what looks like a GT models 312PB "handling"shell...The motor looks big- is it a B can?

TED...

The then and now lead wires and guide are also different - not sure if that has any significance

Noticing that I was in the same final I went out to the garage and discovered that I still had my sports car from the race (a Pink Products iso from the years before we fully realised the possible alternative interpretations of the name). The standard of detailing and finishing in the construction falls some considerable way short of Steve's artistry and so I shall refrain from posting any potentially frightening photos.

Cheers, Mike Dockery.

Please Mike do! Remember, you made it into the finals and we didn't so would love a look at the chassis.

Don

Mike you and your cars are the thing of history, unique cars must not be hidden away...love to see pix...ken

>> I shall refrain from posting any potentially frightening photos.

> Please Mike do! Remember, you made it into the finals and we didn't so would love a look at the chassis.

Don,

OK, I'll have another look tomorrow and take a photo but you have been warned.

Cheers, Mike Dockery.

Mike...Adrian Coppola says Hi......