|
Yes, totally a coincidence...I am very new to this forum, and don't hold a candle to some of the regulars on here, but I find myself reading till my eyes hurt. For a kid from Kansas I was a sponge for news of Road Racing, it was pretty scarce back then, Smiley was like a god to an impressionable young kid/man and I was lucky enough to have worked on several cars with him. Gordon was extremely talented in the cockpit, and out. He had the ability to aline himself with "Money Men", to help him along. The Merlyn factory promised a "factory ride" after Gordons succesful season in the Mk.21, whether Gordon read alot more into it than was there, or our Midwestern niavety wanted to think the best, but after moving to England, and finding that his "factory ride"was more like a factory job at Colchester Racing Developments, Gordon tried to make the best of it with the Elden. James Harris, the Merlyn importer, had a Lotus 47 when i first meet him, the Europa body with the F2 engine/ suspension, very nice car. Just another one of those on the "Wish you had back List!" Not to completely derail the Merlyn thread, while with Gordon we had several Lotus Super Sevens, converted a Lola T70 coupe (ex-David Piper) to road config, the Lotus 47, so many different FF I can'rt even remeber them all(fortunately I wrote most of them down), the Mk21, McRae GM1. Pretty lucky for a kid from Kansas.
|