New member from FRance

[LISW]

Hello there,


Having been a British car fan from years, there have been a long stop from my first car (a Mini Metro ofeered by my father before I get my driver licence), untill I got back into it a few years ago. I now have a few ones, and plan to keep the list growing. At least when I'll found a way to reunite them all at home...

I'll be glad to learn from you all the things I don't know yet about the cars I'm interested in. And that's a lot!

The Minis are the perfect expression of what my British cars are made for : While « Red Devil » the MkIII is geared for road-racing and rallyes, « Black Beauty » the Mpi, is my wife's pride and joy. She spend around 4 hours when cleaning... just the interior !

The Lotus Seven is a 1969 with a Twin-Cam engine. Lovely car for both taking advantage of the weather on the little roads (without top, doors and just the aero screens), or driving real fast on the track. But she's going to a new home now.

Concerning the V12 Vanquish, I must admit having been lying about it. As « Black Beauty », the Aston is not mine. It's a birthday gift I made to my wife.

The MGA coupé is a wonderful little car prepared for rallying. She unfortunately just « disapeared » when somebody fall in love with it so much that he took it away... without my aproval. So while still technically mine, she's not under my control now. But I still hope it will be found and come back home someday.

I bought the Frogeye on the internet. The full restauration is almost completed. I hope it'll be back on the road very soon. I'm very impatient to try it. Will I be able to control it's 43,5 hps (a precise figure, as for such power level, the « 0,5 » is meaningfull) ?

Regarding the Morgan... I'll let you find out where the heck a « Morgan LMP2 » comes from !

I have a lot a projects (dreams may be more exact, as the City council just declared my home zone as « natral reserve », forbidden the planned new building to regroup all my cars, British or not...) for new cars. MGA Twin-Cam for rallying, a Seven SII for circuit racing, a « Minisprint » for hillclimbing, and MGB V8 « Sebring » for track days. A Bentley Continental R as a touring car, two TVR Griffith (the recent one for driving under the sun, the oldest to beat the Cobras on the track...), and even a « modernized » XJC as a daily driver. And maybe this time jump in the band wagon and buy the Aston Martin Lagonda that haunts me for tens of years.
I still keep an eye on my partner's Lynx Eventer shooting brake...But he'll probably will never part with it. And my wife don't like it, being « too flat »...
The trafic being more and more unbearable in Paris (one hour away), I even consider buying a Daimler DS420... to get chauffeured when going shopping with my wife !

Ho, by the way... While back in France since the Covid exploded then and not « Lost In SWitzerland » anymore, I spent many years there and still have some interest there. Hence the username

Frédéric

 

[GreenHealey]

Greetings Frédéric.

 

[Basil]

Vary happy to have you aboard, Frédéric. Would love to see some pictures, especially the Lotus! Sorry to hear about your MGA which I gather was stolen?

 

[LISW]

I indeed used a circomlocution to avoid "stolen". The later would have prompted me with sentences totaly politicaly incorrect on my side of the pond like "I have a .45, a shovel, some land to spare. And nobody's going to miss you..."

Here are a few pictures of the lovely MGA (a 1958 1500 geared for rally).

In 2016 at the "Autodrome de Montlhéry" for a charity.

In 2018 at the "Classic Days" held on the Magny-Cours F1" race track.

When arrived at my (then) country house.
Just to say the car had been baught (and paid) in early 2015. A year later I received a call from Germany saying "Frédéric. That's Mr. X here. You're still alive ?". The year had been so tied up, we forgot to go back to Germany collect the car...

Picture taken in the Concours d'élégance at the Malta Classic in 2015.
We weren't aware of this picture. With another one taken in the hillclimb centered on the MGA, both were discovered on the "Air Malta" website...

Our picture of the same event.

The driver dressed in 1958 fashion...

 

[LISW]

And here are a few pictures of the Seven.
It is a 1969 Seven SIII. The engine had been changed for a Lotus Twin-Cam in 2011, taking advantage of a rebuild.
Note that this car spent some time in the US. One of its former keepers and other British friends of him, braught their Sevens to Houston, and drove all the way to San Francisco, before sending the cars back to UK.

In a car meeting, between Paris and my house.

Crossing the channel in the "shuttle", when I brought her to France.

At the "Lotus Club de France" trackday, at the "Magny-Cours F1" race track.

Going "the classic way" to the race track : by it's own means. Ready for the last kilometers to the circuit.

When racing in the UK with one of it's fromer keepers.


The opportunities to race in classic championships are very few in France, comparing to UK. So the Seven is going. But I hope having soon another one, more adapted to the very strict regulations in continetal Europe. Probably a SI or SII.

 

[Basil]

Wow, thanks for some great pictures! Very nice!