Flemke - Is this your McLaren? (Vol 5)

[flemke]

S1KRR said:

Flemke, lets get back to the questions

1) Have you ever stated a run down of all the bespoke mods you've done on the car? Have you ever stated what mods you tried but hated/didn't work at all how you hoped?

2) The most recent wheels


Are they the same as the HDF kitted / LM cars ran or non OZ items?



3) (Slightly personal so of course ignore if you prefer)

Do your family and friends "get" your passion for the car?

1) I think I once listed on this thread all the mods I could remember. There were about 25-30. The number now is probably bigger.
As far as things that it turned out I didn't like, apart from messing around with several sizes of steering wheels and a number of different spring combinations, a couple of things that I outright rejected were:
a) On the interior of each door there is an "elbow panel" that runs the length of the door, is about 10-12" high, rounded at the front and a straight line at the back. As standard these panels are trimmed in leather. I had the factory make up a set in clear lacquered carbon-fibre. It seemed a good idea at the time, but in the physical reality I thought they were too bling so I had them remove the panels, which now sit somewhere in my house.
b) The LMs have a handbrake handle that is CNC'd out of aluminium into a lattice-type structure. I had them make one for my car, anodised in blue. It was horrible - the edges a bit too sharp so they cut into your hand, and the metal cold to the touch. The standard wood version is miles better.



2) The wheels are "the same" except that OZ do not and never did make them in 19" diameter, so mine were made up from scratch to look the same (but be lighter ).

3) I could not say whether the people who know me "get" my interest or just kindly tolerate it, but it is one of several interests of mine that I probably take farther than most people would do.

[flemke]

Don1 said:

So new old stock? Interesting thing to have.

Well, I do NOT have any idea as to the origins of the specific items at Retromobile, but quite a few years ago there started to appear for sale quite a number of F1-related items that, shall we say, did not have a flawless provenance.
For example, someone was offering for sale an Owner's Manual for a specific chassis # car. That was interesting, considering that it was the chassis number of my car, and I have always had in my possession the original, authentic Owner's Manual for my car....

[Don1]

Ah. Humans can be so disappointingly predictable around money and avarice.

[S1KRR]

flemke said:

S1KRR said:

The wheels are "the same" except that OZ do not and never did make them in 19" diameter, so mine were made up from scratch to look the same (but be lighter ).

Yes, the F1 has always been a car that needed to be lighter Maybe you could remove the left hand passenger seat to save a few more grams. After all, who REALLY takes 2 passengers anywhere these days?

I love that the car, even with bigger wheels, still looks elegant and retains it's proportions. All too often cars can become "over wheeled"

Thanks for the answers

Edited by S1KRR on Sunday 10th February 17:55

[flemke]

S1KRR said:

flemke said:

S1KRR said:

The wheels are "the same" except that OZ do not and never did make them in 19" diameter, so mine were made up from scratch to look the same (but be lighter ).

Yes, the F1 has always been a car that needed to be lighter Maybe you could remove the left hand passenger seat to save a few more grams. After all, who REALLY takes 2 passengers anywhere these days?

I love that the car, even with bigger wheels, still looks elegant and retains it's proportions. All too often cars can become "over wheeled"

Thanks for the answers

I agree with you about wheels being too big for the proportions of many cars.
Our starting point was to figure out what tyres would function well in the car and have the wheels made to suit those tyres. The other advantage of bigger wheels was that they enabled me to use the right size brake rotors.

[CanAm]

flemke said:

The LMs have a handbrake handle that is CNC'd out of aluminium into a lattice-type structure. I had them make one for my car, anodised in blue. It was horrible - the edges a bit too sharp so they cut into your hand, and the metal cold to the touch. The standard wood version is miles better.

Porsche 917. Gearknob. Balsa.
Just thought I'd mention it.

[flemke]

CanAm said:

flemke said:

The LMs have a handbrake handle that is CNC'd out of aluminium into a lattice-type structure. I had them make one for my car, anodised in blue. It was horrible - the edges a bit too sharp so they cut into your hand, and the metal cold to the touch. The standard wood version is miles better.

Porsche 917. Gearknob. Balsa.
Just thought I'd mention it.

Indeed. Originally the gearknob on the F1 was going to be made from a rare hardwood, but then they figured out that the wood was "non-replaceable" (not sure how that works; the last I knew, you could plant seedlings to make new trees), so they used resin instead. The resin is fine, but metal wouldn't be.

[hurstg01]

flemke said:

Osamu Rosche said:

A question to McL F1 cognoscenti re part numbering system. I've seen it mentioned many times that there is something special about it, Gordon Murray having put a lot of thought into it at the commencement of the F1 programme. Anybody who knows care to elaborate?

I have not heard of that. Here is a section from a recent invoice. Perhaps someone can see something special in the parts numbers, but they look ordinary to me.

I've got a few manuals [Engineers, Gearbox, Parts] for the 1997 GTR's and a parts manual for the 1996 GTR and from memory the numbering system isn't anything special,

[Osamu Rosche]

hurstg01 said:

I've got a few manuals [Engineers, Gearbox, Parts] for the 1997 GTR's and a parts manual for the 1996 GTR and from memory the numbering system isn't anything special,

Thanks, good to put this to rest.

[hurstg01]

Osamu Rosche said:

Thanks, good to put this to rest.

I recently had the 1997 GTR Gearbox Manual in my hands and snapped this to show the ‘system’ they used...

[Osamu Rosche]

hurstg01 said:

I recently had the 1997 GTR Gearbox Manual in my hands and snapped this to show the ‘system’ they used...

Cheers!

[K50 DEL]

So I just came across this old image I cut out of a mag back in the early days of the F1

I'm sure others have it but I don't think I've ever seen it in this thread before...

[flemke]

K50 DEL said:

So I just came across this old image I cut out of a mag back in the early days of the F1

I'm sure others have it but I don't think I've ever seen it in this thread before...

Interesting. This is the "Clinic Model", which was just a show car, it did not have a real drive-train.

[anniesdad]

That would be the car shown at the Birmingham NEC, which I recall being red in colour. I remember not being able to get anywhere near it at the time. It was on a really big stand all by itself with a very wide cordon around it. Didn’t stop me standing and staring at it for ages though!

As an aside Flemke I managed to screen grab a picture of what I believe to be your Senna the other day? Would you have any objections to me posting it here as I’m sure there’s a few on here that would like to see it?

[K50 DEL]

Thanks for the photo rotation, I'm on an iPhone which seems allergic to PH photos!

The pic was cut out of a magazine, likely to have been Auto Express and probably in the mid 1990s as I was a subscriber then.

I've a couple more F1 shots but this was the best of them.

[flemke]

anniesdad said:

That would be the car shown at the Birmingham NEC, which I recall being red in colour. I remember not being able to get anywhere near it at the time. It was on a really big stand all by itself with a very wide cordon around it. Didn’t stop me standing and staring at it for ages though!

As an aside Flemke I managed to screen grab a picture of what I believe to be your Senna the other day? Would you have any objections to me posting it here as I’m sure there’s a few on here that would like to see it?

As long as the photo is not spoiled by having me in it, no problems.

[anniesdad]

flemke said:

As long as the photo is not spoiled by having me in it, no problems.

They’re not. Sorry photos.




So what’s the verdict? Have you had much chance to enjoy the car yet?

[Swampy1982]

I for one would say that is one of the best looking Senna's i have seen.

Principle reason being colour, I think the darker shade hides some of the more challenging shapes, and the stripes draw your eye away from some of the others.

Well done that man.

I would love to hear about some of the drive experience, some comparisons with some of the other cars you own, obviously you have given some of your previous McLarens mixed reviews in the past.

[cc8s]

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/geneva-auto...

[CanAm]

Swampy1982 said:

I for one would say that is one of the best looking Senna's i have seen.

Principle reason being colour, I think the darker shade hides some of the more challenging shapes, and the stripes draw your eye away from some of the others.

Well done that man.

I would love to hear about some of the drive experience, some comparisons with some of the other cars you own, obviously you have given some of your previous McLarens mixed reviews in the past.

Definitely the best looking Senna I have seen; as Swampy says the colour disguises the aerodynamic 'features' of the car. But what is the reason for the weird 'suspended' rear aerofoil mounting?