The Allen Brothers
Extract from the December 7, 1988 issue of
Autocar & Motor magazine
"We had seen a fellow in a fabric-bodied Austin Seven Chummy driving
past occasionally," recalls Michael, "but one day he stopped. This
was Colin, and he looked at our Austin Seven. "It's too heavy, you
must alter it. You're going to race it, aren't you?" We had not
intention of racing it, but before we knew it we had been talked
into a plan of building three cars, one each, for the 750 Formula.
His would be the fastest because he had a special tweak he wanted to
do to the engine.
"Looking back on it, Colin obviously couldn't believe his eyes. Here
were two chaps with all these facilities who were keen to have a go.
I suppose we were receptive to his suggestions, and he was a very
persuasive and pleasant character. Before he left he wrote his name,
address and phone number on the wall. Unless the garage has been
painted, the writing must still be there."
The Allens' facilities must have looked magnificent to Chapman. At
that time he was working in a lock-up, without power, behind the
house belonging to his girl friend's parents. He had met Hazel
Williams at a Hornsey Town Hall dance when he was 16, and until he
joined up with the Allen brothers her family's help had been vital
to him in building his two trials specials. By the time he met
Michael and Nigel, he had sold the Lotus MkI (advertised at 135
pounds) and MkII (325 pounds) to finance his MkII project.
Early in 1951, the Lotus trio began work on modifying three chassis.
They had gone as far as buying three engines and gearboxes when they
realized that time was running out before the start of the 750
Formula season. They decided to concentrate on one car - the one
subsequently registered LMU 3 - and share it at the early races
until the other two cars were ready. It may have taken more time
than expected, but LMU 3 was put together very cheaply. Michael and
Nigel still have the ledger itemizing all expenses, under "N &
N" for the two of them and "C" for Colin. At the bottom the total
cost is given as 66p 3s 7d ($100) with a set of Lockheed drums
brakes (from a Morris Minor) the most expensive item at 15 pounds.
"It took us the whole season to get just one car finished," says
Nigel. "Our two cars were never going well, and suddenly he would
think of all sorts of improvements. It took all our efforts. We did
so much that we never really knew whether or not we were improving
the car, but every time it came to the line people would flock to
see what the latest changes were. Colin could never settle with it -
there always had to be something better so that we would win by an
even bigger margin. He even fiddled around with nitro-benzine in the
fuel!"
"He always sounded as if he knew what he was doing, and we never
knew any better. To us it was all a bit of an adventure. It became a
full-time task for us during the week after a race just to rebuild
the car, because it was worn out after we had all driven it at a
meeting. Colin helped in the evenings when he got home from his job
at British Aluminum, but it was only because Michael and I had time
during the day that we kept the whole thing going."
Chapman really ran the show, but there was proper division of
responsibilities. Michael handled all engine work, Nigel looked
after welding and the chassis, and Colin was in charge of the
bodywork as well as general design and development. According to the
Allens, "design and development" involved Chapman sitting on what
they dubbed the "Mediation Box" scrawling things in a spiral bound
pad labeled "Big Notes". They still have "Big Notes", and leafing
through its grubby pages shows lots of tiny engineering drawings and
huge lists of "things to do".
"At one meeting I ran a big end in practice," says Michael. "Here it
is in the race record book - Eight Clubs, Silverstone, 2 June, I
remember Colin saying that we had to start the next race, because it
was a big one for the 750 Formula. 'Got to start, got to start. Come
on, get the engine out,' he shouted. In about an hour, we took the
head and block off, removed the con rod and piston, put it all back
together and got into the race. Looking back on it, actually, all we
needed to have done was take the plug out! Colin had a half mile
lead in the race when he broke the crankshaft."
"Then at one hillclimb, Shelsley Walsh I think, Colin clouted a bank
and ruined a wheel. Of course, we didn't have a spare one with us,
but we had to drive home again. Colin disappeared, and came back
later with a wheel. He had found an inoffensive little schoolmaster
sitting in his Austin Seven fabric saloon watching the action. Colin
conned this man into giving him his spare 19 inch wheel, which was
rather ridiculous as LMU 3 ran on 15 inch wheels. We wobbled home
like that."
Fun thought it all was, exhaustion often set in. On one occasion
Nigel fell asleep at the wheel of LMU 3 while being towed home after
yet another breakage. Although totally committed to her boyfriend's
hobby, Hazel also demanded a break before the season finished. Colin
did a hillclimb at Prescott, and then the two them drove LMU 3
northwards for a week in Scotland, traveling very light. The car
even broke up there, for Nigel and Michael remember Chapman
returning to Vallance Road with the car on the back of a lorry - he
never explained what had happened.
At the end of 1951, Lotus' reputation was bringing in the first
customers. Larger premises had to be found to cope with
manufacturing on any scale, so Colin persuaded his father, Stanley,
to let them convert a stable behind his pub, the Railway Hotel in
Tottenhame Lane, Hornsey. The floor was concreted, 12 volt light
bulbs powered by an old US army generator were slung from the roof
and Chapman sidelined some doors and frames for British Aluminum.
The Lotus Engineering Co Ltd was formed on 1 January 1952. Deciding
that dentistry was not for him, Michael ran the company day to day
while Chapman continued his job at British Aluminum, but Nigel
pulled out of a full time commitment to concentrate on his studies.