Published by the Golden Gate Lotus Club www.gglotus.org July 2004

Friday, July 16th, 7:30 pm

Host: James McClure

July Meeting

Chapman ReportThe

Concorso Sicilianoby jim mcclure, editor

I missed the Lotus Convention andthe Wine Country Classic, as my jobsent me to Sicily to perform three weeksof tech training. I did catch a concours,though, on the Piazza Il Duomo inCatania. An Alfa and Lancia below, nextto the Duomo; and a beautiful FiatTopolino (little mouse) to the right.Many other rare Fiat were there also.

Now, how to drive in Sicily. Ignorestop lights and stop signs, unless youare definetly going to hit a pedestrianhead on and can’t whip around him.Also stop if you would hit another carhead on. If it looks clear, don’t even liftoff the throttle while going through thered light. For those who had to stop ata red light, all of the cars behind thelead cars must hit their horn as soon asthe light turns green, as the front carscan’t possibly be accelerating fastenough away from the intersection.Actually, if you are the first car in line, itoften is hard to see the light because itis not in front of you but directlyparallel to you and not very visible.

Roundabouts: There are no rulesexcept “quien es mas macho”. It is not

uncommon for a driver on the inside ofthe roundabout to put his steeringwheel in full right turn lock, across threelanes of cars, to get his exit. This ismade even more interesting by the largenumbers of motorcycles and scootersthat make multiple lane changes withoutlooking. Helmets are apparentlyrequired, but Italian laws are consideredmere suggestions by thepopulace. Also, whetheryou’re driving a car of bike, never look at any otherdrivers while changinglanes. The other driverwill use that time to cutyou off. The only time tolook is when you are givingthe local hand signals andyelling at another driver.The most important hand

gesture is the “Horns of the Bull”,which means that your wife is cheatingon you. Luckly, guns are hard to get inItaly. There are damaged cars every-where; about 80% had a ding or two.These guys think they are Yarno Trulli,but their driving is actually very poor.Oh, and in true Sicilian style, my rentalcar, with all of my luggage, was stolenjust hours before I was to fly home.

GGLC Calender

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July 16 Monthly Meeting Host: Jim McClure

July 20 GGLC Track Day Thunderhill

July 31 Fiberglass Seminar Mike Ostrov’s

August 7 Picnic BBQ Cupertino Park

August 13 to 15 Monterey Historics Laguna Seca

August 20 Monthly Meeting Host: John Zender

August 22nd NASA Super 7 Race Infineon Raceway

September 14 GGLC Track Day Thunderhill

September 17 Monthly Meeting Host: Mel Boss

Parts and Service for Lotus CarsSpecializing in Lotus Elans and EuropasQuality and Considerate ServiceTotal Ground Up Restorations toRoutine Maintenance

Huge Inventory of New and Used PartsMany Hard to Find Pieces

KAMPENA MOTORS

WWW.KAMPENA.COM

Infineon Raceway28935 Arnold Drive F-10

Sonoma, CA 95476 Phone # 707-933-8039

Print Shop Ad

Club111 & GGLCPicnic & Run

August 7th, at Stevens Creek Park -Cupertino

Directions: TBD (check GGLCwebsite a week or so before the event)

To celebrate the arrival of the Elisein the US, the local branch of Club111,together with GGLC, would like to inviteyou to a picnic lunch on Saturday,August 7th, at Stevens Creek Park inCupertino. This no-charge activity willbe a ‘bring your own picnic’ event,though snack food will be provided freeof charge. Since the event is still in theplanning stages, we’re not sure exactlyhow many Elises will be there, butexpect to have at least a couple. Stopby to learn more about these amazingcars, and about Club111, the newlyformed US Elise club. The picnic willconclude with a short Elise-led drivethrough the hills. Contact Matt atmatt@eliseinfo.com for more details, orkeep any eye on the regional threadsover at EliseTalk.com or check the“Calendar” page at www.gglotus.org.

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Puffy clouds drifted swiftlythrough the pastel blue skies andyielded acontinuous and refreshing breeze thatmade this one of the most temperateHayward Field Meet’s in years.

Hordes of Minis, an invasion fleet,covered the most turf. Extraordinaryones ranged from radical orange withfive gallon nitrous showpiece to builtup twin-cammer, spanking new 200 h.p.John Cooper Works S and Mini-Moke.Morris Garages had a dozen representa-tives with the usual As and Bs. WhileTriumph had a French blue ex-SouthernCA TR-4 racer in full trim, and theusual Spitfires and Austin-Healy had afew Sprites including a rare oldersupercharged car with high mileage onthe clock. The few Rootes Group carshad nice patina and sat near a halfdozen mostly well utilized short andlong wheel base utility vehicles withone well-restored guards red 2000 TChiding in the corner.

Across the way were about a dozenJaguars with some lovely E-TypeCoupes andrag tops, newer large sedans and asmattering of Chevy V-8 conversions,on with a Camaro 350 with six speedmanual ! An early white Elan withdellorto carbs and redesigned coolingsystem hid behind Mike Ostrov’smaroon twin cam powered automaticElite

Other fun cars included twoJensen-Healys, an early 1900’s militarygreen Ford racer on spindle wheels andan elegant little two tone black and redMorris Minor pick-up.

As usual the Ministry of Food wasslinging tasty tubular fare, but withonly five vendorsparts pickins were quite slim. All in all itwas a fine show and well worthputtering over to on a quiet Father’sDay 2004.

2004 Hayward Field Meetby Jon Rosner

Mike Ostrov with his beautiful Elite, and sitting on it as usual! He says it’s hisdriver but I’m going to bring some finishing and polishing material to hisseminar, anyway

Did the Minis outnumber all of the other marques put together?

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Attention To Detailby Matt Zakarian and Mike Lee ofDetailing Dynamics

The Six Biggest Mistakes People MakeWhen Detailing Your Lotus

1. Using the wrong tools: I’m sureyou’ve heard of “the right tool for thejob” and detailing your Lotus is noexception to the rule. For example, Isee many people using the sponge/wash mitt you washed your car with toclean the wheels, instead of using awheel brush; or using some old rag toremove wax off your paint instead ofusing a diaper/microfiber. These“shortcuts” not only affect the qualityof your job, but will also cost you a lotof extra work later on. You ask how?Well, suppose that sponge you used onyour wheels picked up some brake dust,which did not rinse out but then woundup scratching your hood the next timeyou washed your Lotus. I can see youcringe by the way. How long would ittake to polish that scratch out? Doyou want to take that chance?

2. Not giving the chemicals enough timeto work: This is called “dwelltime.” Many chemicals need time towork because their effectiveness isbased on a chemical reaction, not aphysical one (as in a compound). Someof the chemicals that fall into thiscategory include tar removers (as wellas other solvent based chemicals) andleather conditioners. How do you knowhow much time is enough? Read thedirections (usually). Most often, thedirections are accurate, but I havenoticed that on some products thedirections seem to have been written bya marketing or technical writer,rather than by someone who actuallyused them. This is another case wherehurrying and taking off the chemicalcosts you more time in the end, becauseyou have to reapply it again.

3. Not letting the chemical do the work:I’ve seen many people resort tousing pressure, when the chemicalthey’re using doesn’t seem to work.

For example, when they’re washingtheir cars and the shampoo doesn’tremove the spot, they press harder andharder on the sponge (probablyscratching the paint) instead of realizingthe shampoo was not made to removethat spot and maybe they should try achemical that was. Remember thatusually there is a correct chemicalsolution for every problem. If you don’tknow what that chemical is, you caninquire online athttp://www.detailingdynamics.com/tech.html or call Detailing Dynamics at1-866-DET-DyNA (1-866-338-3962). Butpracticing on your Lotus isn’t the wisething to do.

4. Not using window towels on win-dows: The #1 problem most of thepeople seem to have is getting windowstruly clean. And while the cleaner youuse is important, it still won’t workproperly without using the propertowel. Trust me on this one! I know;you’re saying that you use newspaper(by the way, ever since they switchedto water based ink on newspapers, all itwill do is dirty your hands), papertowels or expensive disposable wipesyou purchased from that pretty catalog.I’m telling you that I’ve tried themall and come back to these DyNAClarity Glass Towels or equivalentwindow microfiber suedes for only onereason; they work best. You want tohave a set of window towels that arededicated for that purpose only andnothing else. And make sure you washthem properly. (I describe how to dothis in my website.)

5. Using vinyl dressing on leather: Oneof the things that drives meabsolutely nuts is the directions onvinyl dressings. They almost alwayssay to use them on vinyl and leather.No, no, no! Think about it; have youseen any shiny cows walking aroundlike they’ve been drinking Armor All®?This is one of those times when youshould not follow the directions. Notonly does the dressing make the leathershiny and slippery, but it alsocloses the pores in the leather. How thevinyl protectant manufacturers canget away with this amazes me. I’ve seen

more than enough cars where ArmorAll® has been applied to leather seatsand allowed to bake in the sun, thusruining the leather beyond repair. I’msure the manufacturers of the vinyldressings know this, yet continue toinclude that in their directions inorder to increase sales.

6. Listening to their neighbor/friendwho details on the side: Now this ismy personal favorite. Of all the sixmistakes, this one is the mostwidespread. It seems that almost everyother person I meet has a buddy who”details” (and is more than willing toshare his vast arsenal of knowledgewith you). But as one of my bestcustomers (who is a dentist) said, “Justbecause you brush your teeth, itdoesn’t make you a dentist”. I’ve seenpeople wash their car with a Brillo® padbecause their neighbor Bob toldthem it would remove the road tar (wellhe was right, it did along with the clearcoat) as well as other “Oops” maneu-vers.

Well, there you go; a short list oflessons I have personally learned thehard way and hope you won’t have to.As always, should you have anyquestions or comments, please feel freeto contact me at 1-866-DET-DyNA(1-866-338-3962) or email me attech@detailingdynamics.com. May thewind bealways at your back and may youachieve your pursuit of detailingperfection!

EBay Watch:Another option to buy an ‘04 Elise.

Sold for $7k.A ‘74 Elite in the U.K. was for sale,

requested starting bid of £4,500.00.Owner stated he had invested £6,000.00in its restoration. No bids. Duh!!What was this guy thinking?

And finally, a ‘98 Europa fromRhode Island is selling for only $1500!Good reason: very rough and needs acomplete restoration. Has one of those‘Frenchie’ engines in it, anyway.

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GGLC Web Site ReportBy Kiyoshi

The GGLC website continues toattract visitors from around the world.www.gglotus.org has been bookedmarked by hundreds.

We received comments like, ”Youguys have an absolutely great websiteand I imagine club as well.”

Here are some stats from the firsthalf of 2004, January through the end ofJune.

Site VisitorsTotal 127,000Avg per Day 700Total number of Hits over 1,000,000Total number of Pages Served over

220,000As expected most visitors are from

the US and have either a .com or .netemail address. Not surprising is thatoutside the US most visitors come fromthe UK, followed by Australia.

European visitors are well repre-sented by Germany, France, Belgium,Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands.Brazilian visitors lead Latin America.

From Asia are visitors from China,Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailandand Singapore.

And we have gotten a handful ofvisitors from places like Namibia,Belarus, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Aruba, Qatarand even Nepal!

Palo Alto Concours

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Independent LOTUS Parts & Servicewww.jaeparts.com

Tel: 805-967-5767 Fax: 805-967-6183

Factory parts for the latest Esprits and M100 Elans toVintage racing and restoration parts for the classic Lotus.

Also, pain-free next-day drop shipservice for parts we may not have.

CALL NOW FOR COMPETITIVE PRICES,EXPERIENCE AND SERVICE.

BOSSES PONDER SECONDUS GRAND PRIX from SportingLife.com

Formula One team bosses havegiven their blessing to suggestions theUnited States could hold a secondgrand prix - but warned the calendarcannot be stretched much further.

The US held two races in the 1970s- one in the east, one in the west - butinterest in Formula One waned and the2000 grand prix at Indianapolis markedthe country’s return to the calendarafter a nine-year absence.

The US represents a major un-tapped market for Formula One in termsof sponsorship and television audi-ences, with team bosses desperate toraise awareness of the sport in acrowded American market.

Formula One supremo BernieEcclestone has mooted the idea of aNew York Grand Prix, but realistically asecond race on the west coast -potentially a return to Long Beach - ismore likely.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis backs asecond US race, but is concerned thestrain on teams could be too much if theexisting 18-race schedule is extended.

He said: “I think we’d all support it,providing it didn’t increase the calendarsize.

“But we are all feeling the strain ofwhat is going to be an 18-race seriesthis year.”

Eddie Jordan believes the numberof races in North America is only part ofthe solution, claiming US audiences willonly embrace Formula One if the showis good enough.

“I think a west coast race would bevery beneficial tothe commercialinterests of all ofour teams andprobably FormulaOne as a whole.

“The worldchampionship mustbe that, andAmerica andCanada areextremely importantto our calendar.

“It obviouslygives us the ability

to attract some American investmentinto our sport, and we wouldn’t want tosee these races move off the calendar.

The Irishman said: “I remember notvery long ago going to Barcelona to ahandful of people, going to Canada to ahandful of people, and they haveturned out to be probably two of thebest supported events on our calendar.

“So I’m quite certain things willturn around. We also have to get ouract together.

“We do realize in an Americancontext we are not close enough to thepeople. We must make sure that wethink carefully about this.

“We understand we have technol-ogy and we have newfangled cars andstuff, but we have to reach out andmake that extra effort, and that is part ofthe American culture, and it’s not forthem to change, it’s for us to change.”

Wine CountryClassic by the editor

Infineon: 76 out, Sunoco in

Big Noise Class takes off

I missed the event but will squeezein the following members’ cars attend-ing: Harlan Halsey’s ‘62 Elite (hi Harlan,Lam had me in Catania, Sicily), StewartSmith’s Eleven, Chris Locke’s 23B and27 F Jr, Gary Horskorta’s 23B, JackFitzpatrick’s 18 F Jr. No Sevens! Sorryof any omissions, working off the lastunupdated roster. The one complaintthat I heard was that much paddockspace was taken up by the Jaguars,doing their demo drives. Also some ofthe Jags running had current advertis-ing on their cars. This has always beendisallowed as inapropriate to the spiritof vintage racing. Money talks, oldrules walk !!

The Chapman Report is published monthly by the Golden Gate Lotus Club,PO Box 117303, Burlingame, CA 94011. The GGLC is a non-profit incorporatedcar club and is not affiliated with Group Lotus, Team Lotus or Lotus Cars USA.The GGLC’s annual membership dues are $25.00.

Opinions expressed in the Chapman Report are those of the authors and donot represent those of the GGLC or its officers.

Submissions to the Chapman Report are accepted and encouraged. Pleaseemail them to chapmanreport@gglotus.org in MS Word, rtf or ASCII text.Submissions may also be mailed to Jim McClure, 11238 Bubb Road, Cupertino, CA95014.

2003 GGLC Officers are: President: Faisal Khan, Vice President:Pete Richen,Treasurer: Laura Hamai, Event Coordinator: John Zender, Membership Chairman:David Anderson, Secretary: Jon Rosner

Chapma Report Staff: Editor: Jim McClure, Circulation Manager: TomCarney, Advertising Manager: Mel Boss.

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More Classifieds

KARDEN AUTOMOTIVE1400 CENTRAL RD. #6, WALNUT CREEK, CA 94596

LYN BARBERAuto Technician

(925) 939-6769LREDMANB@AOL.COM

For Sale: 2001 Caterham Super Sevende DionBritish racing Green, flared frontwings,S-type black leather interior, red4point Harnesses, full weather equip-ment, KN Minitor wheels, tonneaucover, luggage rack Hood bag, honeycomb fuel tank protection, 150 bhpspec, 1700cc Cross flow engine w/FordSierra 5-speed. Location: San Francisco,CA Contact: Jan, Phone: 510-967-4142 jan@raybarnes.net $29,000

Mike’s PlaceMike Ostrov, fiberglass seminar, Saturday, July 31st at Mike

Ostrov’s shop, 4ll9 Santa Rita Road, El Sobrante, CA 94803 . (5l0)222-6437 . RSVP at: (5l0) 232-7764 or mikeostrov@webtv.net .l0:00 amstart time. Finshed when last layup has cured. We all usually take alunch break at one of the local sandwich shops. Remember to bringa folding chair along with any ‘show & tell’ piece or fiberglassoffering you may want to bring. This event is not necessarilylimited to experiences in plastic. If you have any suggestions orsubjects you would like to see or contribute, just call Mike todiscuss them.

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Classifieds(non-comercial ads are free to GGLC members and will run for

three issues before requiring renewal)

For Sale: 1997 CATERHAMSUPER 7 Live Axle, 1700 crossflow/150hp, Quaife 5-spd, Quaife LSD, 4 ptharness, Scholarship AdjustableSuspension, Clamshell Wings, Green/Yellow/Aluminum, Tonneau cover,Some spares. www.unibrain.org/forsale $ 25,000 negotiable. ContactJim at 503-246-7541,forsale@unibrain.org (12/03)

For Sale: Ser. 3-4 Elan Frame.Measures square, no crash damage.$1000.Call Jody @ 831-254-1299 orlocortjody@earthlink.net.

For sale: 1969 Lotus Elan +2vintage race project car comes withSpyder chassis, Cosmics, limited slipdif, Koni’s, steel brake lines. Extra setof widened steel wheels. Have Weberhead to beinstalled with mild cams. $6800.00George at 831-648-9064 (3/04)

For Sale: 1986 Caterham Seven,crossflow, Quaife LSD, modified

front and rear suspension, find moreinformation atwww.sandsmuseum.com408-773-1170

RICHARD L. KAMP

Authorized Dealer of Caterham Cars

Designed for Racing Built for Livingwww.goldengatesevens.com

G GOLDEN ATE EVENSSInfineon Raceway

28935 Arnold Drive F-10Sonoma, CA 95476

Phone # 707-933-8039

The Golden Gate Lotus ClubPO Box 117303, Burlingame, CA 94011

For Sale: “ 150 HP, 200 MPHHayabusa engine. This type engine(Suzuki GSX 1300R), powered astreamliner to 315 MPH at Bonnevillethis year, 2000 model, the bike it camefrom had 800 miles on it before the kid(still alive) lost it. Also factory servicemanual. Has integral 6 speed gear box.Just waiting to power a great little racecar. Call Peter in San Jose at 408/266-0116. $3,300 OBO.” (12/03)

For Sale: A set of 4 2002 OZ wheelsfrom a Lotus Esprit with tires mounted.These are the stock wheels and havebeen used for only 1500 miles: Front-17x8.5, Rear- 18x10 on Dunlop SP9000Tires (Front- 235/40ZR17, Rear- 285/35ZR18). $4000. I’ll deliver within 500 miof Medford, Oregon. Contact AndrewGilchrist- 541 621-6490 orgilchrist@charter.net (03/04)