Lotus 61 Restoration Project
Part One

Go to Part One • Two • Three • Four • Five • Six • Seven

My name is Carl McLelland. I race a Lotus 61M formula Ford with HMSA and another historic racing group. This story is about the ongoing restoration of my car: 61/FF/79.

When I bought the car in 2001 it had been stored for eight years and was in need of restoration. That restoration took one full year and about 1,000 hours; completing it just hours before my first outing with the car at Sears Point. In the five years that followed I made approx. one hundred fifty grids with the car and have achieved a 95% finishing rate. While my preparation for races is thorough and my annual winter teardowns pretty extensive, after five full seasons I decided to take the car back to "square one" and assure that the frame was still intact.

This is one of my favorite photo's, if for no other reason than the unique angle of the photo. We often see a side profile but how often looking straight down on your pride and joy? That's fellow HMSA racer Dan Haney giving me last minute advice on the grid at California Speedway.

This all got started when I emailed a photo of the car to Cris Vandagriff and explained what I was doing to the car during the winter break. Cris asked if I would write a story with pictures, and I said "sure". I think I'm fairly typical of historic racers: I know there will never be a scout from Maranello at a historic event looking to hire Schumacher's replacement, so I relax and race; with the prime directive being the amount of fun I can pack into a weekend. And while I would be happy squeezing 50% more power out of my car and doing lots of other trick (as in "Period Incorrect") things to it, the HMSA concept of "AS IT WAS NOT WHAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN" comes into play. Using the Monoposto regulations as a guide I've tried to make my car as period correct as possible. I use a Cortina rather than uprated (Pinto) engine. I do everything on the car myself, except this time I plan on a professional paint job when I'm finished with the 'mechanical' restoration. And as far as being competitive, I consider myself "the leader of the middle of the pack".

Take away the body and frame, and this is all that's left of a Lotus 61; several boxes of assorted oily, dirty car parts. Primary considerations in this rebuild included close inspection of the frame, welds and frame tubes for cracking. After the car was completely disassembled the frame was sent out for sandblasting. Happily I can report there was no structural cracking; the only thing needing welding was a couple of accessory tabs. Considering the amount of vibration a formula Ford is subjected to this was a relief. Tech Tip: Do not powder coat the frame. It's possible for it to crack underneath powder coating thus you could develop a crack and not discover it until you had a catastropic failure. One thing I did find disturbing was this Heim joint (AKA rod end) on the left front tie rod end. I had aligned the car just before its last race and didn't discover it then, so it's possible but unconfirmed that it cracked at that race. We think of Heim's failing in the bearing and rules require a captive washer be installed to prevent a control arm from flailing, but here's "walkin', talkin', livin' proof" that if it was made by a mortal, it is also 'mortal'.

I cannot begin to stress the importance of being thorough. We are out there trusting our lives to 30, 40, 50 year old race cars. In their generation they were considered "throw away race cars". Technology was advancing so fast that by the time the engine needed overhaul the car was outdated.

A major "plus" when working on a formula car is the ability to remove the body in a matter of minutes. Exposing everything makes it monumentally easier to work on. However, you ultimately 'pay a price' for all that compactness: a lot of stuff has to go into a very small, compact package. One of my goals in this restoration is to streamline and 'sanitize' everything as much as I can.

One other thing that aids working on a formula car is building a 'rotisserie'. I used my engine stand and hydraulic press, some ingenuity, clamps and scrap steel and there it was! As long as I didn't sneeze in the direction of the car I would be OK. Several hours with a magnifying glass and I was assured the frame was crack free. Some minor welding to repair a couple accessory tabs and "move it into the paint booth" (the other side of the garage).

	The freshly primed frame. I use Rustoleum Automotive Primer for frames. This is the fifth 'frame off' restoration out of my shop and no problems yet with oil, grease or fuel. (By the way, the frame required five cans of primer).
	A day for the primer to dry then six cans of Rustoleum paint and the frame is finished. Now to start assembly. (The panel and rollbar will be painted with a different color).
	Formula cars generally use a "total loss" electrical system (no charging system), so the electrical system is quite simple. I drew a new schematic just so I could assure I didn't forget anything, and as you can see it's pretty primative. The important thing is accounting for completed circuits. Tech Tip: 95% of electrical problems can be attributed to a poor ground, so when you lay out your circuits and later when you connect everything take a little extra time and assure your circuits are correct and you have good grounds. (All the electrical engineers out there are probably 'vapor locking' over this, but it works for me, and that's all I need). The battery and 'starting battery' plug are wired together so I can charge the car battery with the electrical system off-line (shut off). Power from the cutoff switch goes to a positive 'buss' at the panel supplying power to the ignition and other accessories. A wire from the ignition switch goes to a second 'buss' supplying power to the gauges and oil pressure warning light when the ignition is on.
The painted and assembled panel. The ignition and fuel pump switch are labeled not so I'll know what they are, but in the event of a crash so rescue folks could readily tell what switch is which to shut them off (assuming they cannot get to the rollbar mounted cutoff). They are also 'color coded' differently from the rain/brake light switch. Tech Tip: I use 'aircraft quality' toggle switches after having a switch short out a couple years ago, providing intermittent electricity to the fuel pump. (It was a "Bugger" to find the short!)
	The back of the panel. After five years of racing it was starting to look like the chassis of a 1950's era TV set with all the changes, additions, etc, back there. As you can see, I go crazy with the nylon wire ties, but it keeps everything orderly. (Gotta be good for at least three seconds a lap!!) Notice the ground wires for the water temp and oil pressure gauges. If you look closely you can see where I sanded off the paint just to insure a good ground contact. Tech Tip: notice how all the wires have a bit of a 'bend' in them? Even the wires tied into a straight 'loom' have a curve at the gauge or switch end. This allows the wire to stretch or flex slightly preventing the wire from breaking.

Batteries: I use one of those (relatively) cheap 12 amp sealed racing batteries (available from Pegasus or other racing suppliers, or a good battery store). I also change them out annually now and keep the 'old one' for a spare. Why, you ask? It was March, 05, and we were at Willow Springs. First practice session and as I'm exiting turn 6 the car starts cutting out. To further complicate diagnostics, there was no pattern to why. High revs, low revs, under braking, under acceleration.... you name it! I check things out and go out for qualifying practice. "Same scene, take two". I 'qualify' six seconds off my normal pace. I tear the entire electrical system apart; even replace the coil, wires and distributor. Nothing fixes it. My 'old' battery was but a year old so 'it couldn't be the problem'. I never made a grid the rest of the weekend. And the problem? A shorted plate in the battery! "Cheap Insurance", replace it annually.

This completes part one of the restoration. I hope your finding it interesting. In the next part I'll be dealing with the brake and clutch hydraulics. I'll be replacing all the old brake lines and hoses with new, and I'll tell you about a really neat kit available from Longacre that makes this a breeze.

DISCLAIMER: I do not warranty any of what is written here as the sole method of doing anything. I am not an A.S.E. certified mechanic. It is your responsibility to insure your race car is free of defects before entering it in competition. I am presenting ways of doing a restoration and at the same time pointing out some of the pitfalls and obstacles I've encountered along lifes 'racing path'.