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Citation needed. I really don't know where you got that false idea, but they have never refused to allow anyone to land unmanned landers near where the LEMs are (and they are there). No one owns the Moon, and it's not the 15th century anymore, simply planting a flag doesn't make it your land, no trespassing, etc. And how would you stop another country from doing so? Answer: You couldn't possibly do so, they don't need your permission. Do you know why no other country has landed a lander near the Apollo LEMs? They don't need to because they know they are there. If they (China or Russia) thought it was a hoax, don't you think they would have sent a lander to prove nothing was there? They'd love nothing more than to humiliate the Americans to the rest of the world and show it was a lie, and would happily spend vast amounts to do so. Not only that, but if you knew the LEMs existed, would you spend tens or hundreds of millions to send a lander to the Moon to a place that has already been explored and risk losing the lot by accidentally crashing into stuff left behind and looking like utter prats, or would you explore a new bit and claim the glory if you found new scientific value? God almighty...! Sorry, but I'm beginning to lose my patience when a relative of mine, a bonifide hero, gets repeatedly libelled as a liar and a fraud. I'm beginning to think that it would take sending every single non-believer to the Moon before they might consider accepting it, and I were rich enough, I'd make it happen. Possibly round trip, possibly not. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/apollo-sites.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_evidence_for_Apollo_Moon_landings https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Laser_Ranging_experiment You will all note, however, as throughly provoked and brassed off as I am, the thread remains open and unlocked.

Thanks guys, there's still plenty more to come as yet. The photos and detail on this thready really only amount to about 10% of what I actually have. The idea of writing a book has been mooted in the past and all I will say is watch this space

Thoroughly enjoying this thread Mark - it is a real credit to your painstaking research as well. This and StephenH's eleven build are quite superb!

1996 initial build, memories of an old garage,,, 2016 rebuild commenced, just need to get my finger out,,, Will be a bit of a triggers broom, few original bits honest Cheers Barry

Was great to meet you all, I have now washed my car after seen how dirty it looked in the photo.

..........but that is all that matters! Let's face it - Lewis bottled it with his starts when it mattered; Racing can always be decided on mechanical failures (who's to say they weren't Lewis's fault?)but you make your own luck and Lewis wasn't good enough this year. Rosberg might have decided to quit because he hates working with a pretentious team mate?

Imperial one end, metric the other. Ideal christmas present.

The zzr1400 is a stonker of a motor. It doesn't need dry sumping and billet sumps etc off the shelf. If I was building another bec I wouldn't hesitate the busas are just to fragile where the oil system is concerned, all Imo of course. Bec cradles are a doddle to sort aswell even for non standard fit motors. Make sure you keep us updated on your progress

I will book before the end of the year, assuming I get the car up and running over Christmas!

Right Ken I'll give you an 8 out of 10 for artistic impression for your splash at the ford the bow wave was about 6 foot high !!! Dean Tim thanks all had a great thrash sorry Tim for giving you a heart attack did you get it on the Go Pro? See you on Thursday.

JW4 Mark3 1967 brought changes to the Formula IV regulations with the introduction of a 675cc class for 2-cylinder 4-stroke engines. The 250cc cars were found to be slow in comparison to the fastest Karts so the 675cc class came about in an effort to tempt more Kart racers into the series. To the untrained eye the Mk3 JW4 was visually similar to the Mk2 but with a few subtle design changes. The majority of the changes were made to accommodate the larger capacity engines which involved re profiling and raising the height of the rear engine cover. Suspension was all carried over from the Mark2 and remained unchanged but the chassis design was revisited so as to remove unnecessary weight. Some early developments with a "lightweight" chassis failed to make production after negative press and concerns about chassis rigidity, but even the production Mk3's had much less triangulation and bracing than it's predecessor. The more powerful engines required a stronger drive train. To the rear axle the bearings were held in machined housings as the pressed steel pollard units carried over from Karting had a tendency to distort, but with no differential the hookes joints remained the week link. Trials were carried out with a differential unit from a Berkeley sports car but ultimately it was decided not to adopt this. Walker was keen to promote Formula IV and encourage new manufacturers. He did this by making available for sale to prospective car builders and completion all the JW4's suspension and driveline components. Alex Bottoms Vixen VB1 was one such car to be launched using JW4 parts. The 675cc class was more appreciated by the spectators but the greater power and stickier tyres made for a bigger disparity between the two motorcycle engined F4 classes to the extent that may 250cc Mk2 owners felt obliged to exchange their engines for larger units or return to Karting. The JW4 Mark 3

Thanks for joining me on the scenic route the meeting today guys, I'll try not to make it such a wet muddy one next time (especially the wet bit)... yes Pistol Pete we found that ford you mentioned. See the revellers amongst you on thursday for the Chrissy bash . Merry Crimble to those aren't going, see you next year.

I think I will just try and remember on New Year's Eve then!

She suits the car better than you though Mark

Yeah, if ever a book was called for this has got to be it, it's just such a fascinating story and rich in the sort of twists and human interest that prevents these sort of coffee table times being dry and boring. Its a microcosm of the fascinating world of racing from that era.

They're not just for the left brigade.

Is there a model with a hole so I can hang it from the air hook in my garage?

The moon has been studied for thousands of years. Technology allows us to go deeper and the moon rock and soil samples brought back were studied for YEARS, not just two weeks. I am sure they continue to be studied. We KNOW that the moon is made up of exactly the same material as the Earth (conspiracy theorists jump in here...) even though it has evolved and behaves differently in the moons micro gravity. Thermal imaging, radio imaging etc etc help us to KNOW that it really is nothing more than a small, waterless, colourless gravity-less, solid core version our home planet. Until we decide to build on it I doubt there is any more worthwhile (IE spend money on) extensive research to be done. Much better to spend that money in other areas.

It's OK John, David has two separate forum accounts, XTR2Turbo and KIMO Instruments - everything is fine, but thanks for being alert about it.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I'm in no way having a pop at modern Skoda's, they do indeed make an excellent car these days. For a long time I considered a Leon and I know plenty of people who have had them and loved them. It was just the name was all.

Lewis can screw up his starts, and even start the race in mid-field and still win. His bad starts were as a grain of sand in the eye of the Almighty compared with a blown engine when he's leading, or a car that breaks and leaves him with no points.

I must get one of these, my adjustable spanner is metric but some of the crossflows bolts are imperial.

JW4 Mark 2 With the loss of Peers from the project, for 1966 Stan Gray of Marcos cars was recruited as a full time manager and Verney Montague was promoted from machining to designer. The Mk2 was as much an evolution of the Mk1 as it was a completely new car. Carrying over the suspension uprights from its predecessor the Mk2 feature an all new square tube chassis with a longer cockpit and a new 3-piece body by Specialist Mouldings. Taking on board the feedback received from potential customers at the Motorsports Show a new rack an pinion steering system was designed by Montague. With no experience of designing steering racks he copied the ratio and design from his own Riley. To aid the balance of the car which was otherwise rear heavy and also cooling of the engine the fuel tank was relocated to the nose just in front of the drivers feet. The early cars were again all to be fitted with the 250cc Villiers Starmarker and to aid development of the car Walker recruited ex motorcycle GP rider Derek Minter who had recently retired from motorcycle racing. After persevering with the Starmaker engine for the majority of the 1966 season by the time of the 1967 Motorsports show Minters car was to be sporting a Ducati engine and this show was to also herald the first showing of the new Mk3 developed for the 650cc class. The Mk2 had proved itself to be a very capable and versatile chassis and a notable mention should be made to the Vincent Engined Mk2. This assessment car was a private development by Peter Gerrish using a 1-litre Vincent (Black Lightning) Picador Engine originally designed of unmanned aircraft. The installation of the air cooled V-twin necessitated additionally cooling ducts on the rear bodywork and anticipating that braking might me a problem the rear uprights incorporated brake drum flanges as opposed to the single inboard rear drum more usually adopted. Derek Minters JW4 Mark2 at the 1967 Motorsports Show

A gentle reminder that next Monday the Northants group meets at The Aviator Hotel in Sywell starting from 19:30. Last meet of the year!