Lotus 61 FB

[e-drive115]

Guys. I need your help trying to put this history together.

I have just purchased Lotus 61/FF/140 which was converted to FB configuration. One version of the background says it was purchased new from Lotus without an engine by Jim Russell and immediately made into a FB car. The chassis tag seems to support this since it does not indicate an engine. The log book only goes back to 1972 and clearly shows the car in this configuration. So it's pretty sketchy in between.

Following is the best I can piece the ownership trail together at this point. I think the gap from 1969 thru 1972 is key to figuring this history out. Any solid feedback will be helpful. Thanks.

1969 new to Jim Russell
1972 Ronald Chiniqery (sp ?)
Holtville (SCCA)
Riverside (SCCA)
Willow Springs (SCCA)
1976 Doug Wright
Willow Springs (SCCA)
1979 John Ulrick
2009 Steve Sego
Buttonwillow (SCCA)
2018. Gary Dausch

GD

[Robert J. Alder]

Interesting. If "Jim Russell" was the same person as the British Driving School of the same name, there is a major coincidence of some sort. In late 1967 the Jim Russell school (JRRD) commissioned the second large batch of FFs (about 57 cars) which were badged as a "Russell-Alexis" FFs. They did this in response to the instant success of the new formula started by MRD when they commissioned Lotus to build the first batch of the Lotus 51s (The 51 model the 61 which came later).

Now for some possible coincidence. Here in the state, Fred Opert, race car importer and race team owner, took several (not sure, but maybe a half-dozen) of the new Russell-Alexis chassis and sold them as "FB rollers." That is, a chassis without an engine but with FB wheels/tires and a 5-speed Hewland in lieu of the FF f-speed Hewland. "Voila, call me a FB Roller." I'm familiar with this bit of history because of owning one of those Opert-coverted cars (full story here).

If it is the same Jim Russell in England, he may have sort of copied what Fred Opert did here in the states (Creating a FB from a FF chassis) applying it to the later Lotus 61. Or maybe it was just another "Jim Russell" living here in the states. Not sure why. They didn't make for very good FB cars. Such an "upgrade" would not be all that weird. Many lower classed formula cars were converted to larger class cars back then. Take a very early Lola F-5000. This tube frame model looked to be a FF with a V-8 in it. One scary looking car!!

It would be interesting to know if your Jim Russell was the Brit or someone here of the same name.

P.S. SCCA didn't issue car logbooks until the early '70s so there wouldn't be one before then.

[e-drive115]

Thanks for your input. That's exactly the kind of info I'm searching for.

I cannot confirm that the car actually went to Jim Russell (the Brit). It was only speculation by previous owner. It does, however, have a Lotus chassis tag with no engine number listed.

Your Opert story sounds logical, except for the Lotus ID. The car fits your description. Is Mr. Opert still around ?? Any contact information ?

I'll keep digging. Thanks

[Robert J. Alder]

Your Opert story sounds logical, except for the Lotus ID. The car fits your description. Is Mr. Opert still around ?? Any contact information ?

Fred is still alive but has no interest in recalling all the stuff he did "in the day." He did a lot of racecar importing, team recing, etc. etc, but the details of most of the importing stuff are pretty much lost since few if any records were kept.

[e-drive115]

Robert

Thanks. Hopefully there are some others out there that will be able to add to the story. This car is too cool to just be forgotten.

[Rick Kirchner]

Whatever setup info you got with that car from Sego throw it away. The last time I saw it run was at Buttonwillow with VARA in Oct 2012. Steve ran it without a starter, and spun on corner entry somewhere in every session on the practice day, stalling in the middle of the track and black-flagging all of them.

In the race, he looped it in T1 and then hit the tow truck trying to re-start it under tow. We had a second spin by another car that put me in the lead, and while I was crusing to victory the red came out for Steve's incident in 1 and the other car high-centered at 3 and blocking the line. This reverted the scoring back to the previous lap and the stuck car ended up getting the win!

Just after this there were some folks that didn't know how to handle a red flag that resulted in a horrific accident on the back side of Phil Hill.

I remember looking at your car at the time - it had waaaay too much ride height and waaaaay too much rake and was undersprung to boot - no doubt the reason it was spinning on entry - lots of front load transfer under braking, trail it lust a smidge and around you go - or any place bumpy - like all the braking zones at Buttonwillow.

[e-drive115]

Rick - your input is awesome. Still laughing. My former IndyCar buddies can't wait to get their hands on this car. I'm sure it will become a different animal. If you learn more about this car please keep it coming. Thanks.

[Michael Rand]

For the record guys, Fred Opert passed away in 2016.
Accurate however to say there are sketchy records of his decades of race car importing and sales and race teams.
Most of us who did business with Fred back then, late 1960's into the '80's, have Opert stories enough to fill a book....

[Robert J. Alder]

For the record guys, Fred Opert passed away in 2016.
Accurate however to say there are sketchy records of his decades of race car importing and sales and race teams.
Most of us who did business with Fred back then, late 1960's into the '80's, have Opert stories enough to fill a book....

Sorry that I didn't remember that Fred had passed. Indeed "Opert stories" are legend. Met Fred a couple of times at Andy Antipas organized Titan reunions.

[e-drive115]

Mike- you've been around this stuff a long time. Does any of this ring a bell ??

[Jerry Kehoe]

One thing I noticed immediately is the picture has LeGrand wheels on it which by itself is not a big problem but I doubt those would have been the original wheels if it was converted when it was originally converted.

[e-drive115]

Do any of you West Coast guys recognize some of the previous owners names? Perhaps have contact info ?

[jhaley]

You might check with Roland Johnson. Not sure when he began racing at Holtville and Riverside. He posts pretty regularly on the site with his phone number. He is with a customer racing in Pittsburg this weekend so he will be pretty busy. I will see him at Willow Springs the 13th-16th.