One of the neat things I have come across while dealing with these rustable cars, is the Lotus Cortina Register (A car club in England of course) and their Quarterly news letter (it's more like a book) called the "Quarter Bumper". For those of you who aren't atune to the weirdness of Lotus Cortinas, I'll explain the intricacies of the title. Early Mark 1 Lotus Cortinas' have little "Quarter front bumpers". They wrap around the front end, but do not go all the way across the front end. The club's newsletter is published "Quarterly" so hence the title "Quarter Bumper". Get it, huh, huh... nuff said, wink wink, nudge nudge. Enough of my Monty Python imitation. To join the LCR, I had to mail them 15 English pounds. They don't take Visa, so I had to get a Bank check. I went to a big downtown bank, and they wanted $30 just to do the transaction! Plus the 15 times the exchange rate of $1.795. They were nice however and recommended a little place a couple blocks away that did it for only a $5 service charge. Off my check went, and in about 3 weeks I got my first copy of Quarter Bumper. I had already read some bootleg copies from Joe Nepsa, so I knew what the format would be like. Most of the Newsletter is comprised of letters to the Editor. Some of it interesting, some of it REAL boring. An interesting reoccurring theme in some of the outings comprised of everyone taking their Lotus Cortinas to a campsite, setting up their little tents, then heading out for the local pubs! If they didn't pass out right away when they got back, they would huddle together around a campfire and tell stories and drink some more. Sounds like fun to me! How about a Lotus Corps Camp out/Pass out?
PARTS STUFF - Dennis Duncan had given me the phone number of a place in England that stocked almost everything to rebuild a Lotus Cortina, including body parts! After a couple of faxes, letters and phone calls, I received a catalog from Terry at Lotus Cortina Spares Centre (<-- This word won't pass spell checker!) Their number is 011-44-460-76855. Fax is 011-44-460-13775. They do indeed have a lot of neat stuff. Some of it applies to other Lotus cars. New cast Twin cam heads which are better than stock. Terry says that with a little work and some GOOD cams and supporting parts, 210 H.P. is possible! Forged pistons of various dimensions, including some that will change a 1558 cc into a 1600 or 1700. Special cranks, rods and Cams galore. Aluminum Diffs., bell housings, etc., etc.. But my first order was for some badly needed body repair panels. I already had a new right front fender that came with Tina 2. But the right hand side outer sill (rocker panel under the passenger door) was mostly laying in chunks all over the garage floor. Also, where the battery occupied the trunk, there wasn't enough metal left to support a "D" cell much less a Sears Die Hard! They took my VISA card number, now I'll wait and see how English pounds look on my monthly statement. Might be a pretty "Heavy" bill. NYUK-NYUK-NYUK!
