KITS AND PIECES
The Lotus-inspired Lynx
JP Paalvast is a breakdown engineer at the Waipa sawmill and lives in Rotorua with his wife and family. Fixing things for other people is a great way to make a living, but taking something that is really only good as a boat anchor and turning it into a hobby car is something special.
When JP saw the Lynx advertised on Trade Me, it was in a sorry state. The current owner had stripped the car down to refurbish it and then run out of steam. Fortunately, at $1500, it was a price that JP could afford. Even better, when he got it home he discovered that most of the parts were still there, including a rare soft-top. What he little appreciated at the time was that he had purchased one of New Zealand’s most successful kit cars.
MECHANICALLY QUITE SIMPLE
Back in 1983, a gentleman by the name of Bill Lynch attended the Auckland Easter Show. Tom Morland was exhibiting his Pontiac Firebird replica (see Kits and Pieces, New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 339) that was based on the Holden HQ platform. Tom told him he was making a good living from selling kit cars and that got Bill thinking about doing the same thing. He cast a knowing eye over the Firebird and decided that, apart from the body, it was mechanically quite simple. Bill was a foreman at Finell Metal Productions in Auckland. He discussed the feasibility of building a car with a couple of colleagues and discovered that Bob Bateman and Keven Marteli were keen to build a car with him.
Keven suggested making a car along the lines of the Lotus Seven. With no doors and flat glass, they figured it should be relatively easy to produce, especially if they used the Triumph Herald as the donor. The principal advantage of the Triumph
But taking something that is really only good as a boat anchor and turning it into a hobby car is something special
Herald was that it had a separate chassis. The four main body parts simply unbolted, the front suspension was quite sophisticated, and there were plenty of cheap Triumph Heralds around at the time.
The resulting Lynx was the cheapest kit car on the market, and New Zealand was going through one of its three kit car boom periods. Over 30 different manufacturers from Invercargill to Whangarei were offering kit cars. Prices ranged from the Lynx at $3500 to the Countess, a Lamborghini Countach replica at $18K. There was something for everyone who wanted to build a car. The choice was wide, from New Zealand–unique designs to Ferrari Daytona replicas, classic Jaguar Ss–style cars to New Zealand exotics, such as the Heron MJ1 and the Saker SVS. By the end of the decade, thanks to the introduction of cheap Japanese imports and the threat of the looming Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (LVVTA) certification system, most of them had gone. The Lynx was one of the casualties, but between 1985 and 1988 at least 120 cars had been manufactured.
FAMILY RESEMBLANCE
The difference between the Lynx and other Lotus Seven–type cars was that the Lynx did not try to be a replica. Every dimension was different. Although a family resemblance was undeniable, that was more due to both cars’ minimalist approaches. The main difference between this car and others of its ilk was that the body tub went from the front of the car to the back and included rear
New Zealand was going through one of its three kit car boom periods. Over 30 different manufacturers from Invercargill to Whangarei were offering kit cars
mudguards. On top of this was hinged the one-piece nose cone and bonnet. Like the Herald body that unbolted from the chassis in four sections, there were very few sections to reassemble. The bonnet also had a large bulge in it which came about because, during the construction of the prototype, Bob realized that the Herald oil-filler cap was placed high on the engine. Given the choice of a very tall and squarelooking bonnet or a bulge, he opted for the bulge. Later this bulge would become quite handy as builders chose Japanese-sourced overhead-camshaft engines which were taller. The chassis was narrowed by cutting off all the extremities and welding on new steel channel rails to which the body was fixed. This process could be completed by anybody with access to a hacksaw and a home welder.
When production started there were still plenty of Triumph Heralds around and if a builder chose to use only Herald parts, he or she could build a very cheap sports car. A cheap Triumph Herald could be driven into the shed on a Friday night and a Lynx driven out the following Monday morning, albeit unpainted and untrimmed. Most of the cars were sold as kits; about half a dozen were sold turn-key, generally with Toyota engines and gearboxes. Most serious builders rejected the Herald 1360 motor, opting for the more powerful modern Japanese motors. Just about every type of motor has been fitted to these cars. Mostly Toyotas, with a few Mazda rotaries and the odd Rover V8 thrown in.
The Triumph Herald was famous for its tendency to tuck its rear wheel under the car during hard cornering and occasionally, if pushed too hard, it would tip over. However, Bob discovered that taking the top two or three leaves out of the rear spring and placing them on the bottom greatly alleviated this problem.
Finished cars differed greatly, from very rough cars based on smoky wornout Heralds to those that had just about every part reconditioned or replaced with brand-new components. In some ways, the Lynx’s cheapness was also its undoing, with owners often only doing the bare minimum to get their cars onto the road.
Just about every type of motor has been fitted to these cars — mostly Toyotas, with a few Mazda rotaries and the odd Rover V8 thrown in
FUN TRACK-DAY CAR
Being at home on the track means there is a reasonable number of these cars still around today. That brings us nicely back to JP’S car, which was built as a fun track-day car. This example was first registered for the road in 1990, two years after production had stopped. JP is the third owner and he bought it off Paul Tisley in Whangamata in 2010.
As mentioned, the car was in bits and JP was unsure if he would be able to get it back on the road again. The good news was that it came with a claimed-to-be-running Alfa Romeo 1.8-litre engine out of a 1970 Alfa Romeo Giulia Berlina. This was a project that got off to a slow start as JP sourced missing parts and found time to work on it scarce. Two key missing parts were the original clamshell mudguards. JP wasn’t too dismayed as he didn’t really like them. He opted instead to make two new cycle guards for the front wheels
— out of a blue chemical drum he found at the recycling centre. After four years of stop-start effort, JP decided to commit to getting the car road legal and after another two years, and help from his certifier, he proudly fitted number plates to the car once again.
The main alteration made to the car was the construction of a roll bar for attaching the seatbelts. JP believes that other alterations made by the previous owner possibly included widening it to use a Datsun 180B independent rear end and the bonnet being lowered by 50mm to improve its profile. Having a family and a mortgage, JP never had the budget to build a show car, but since finishing it he has been gradually improving it as time and finances permit. He likes to think of it as a show car in the making; a pre-show car, if you will.
He is also very proud that his car ‘features’ in a commercial for the 2017 Nissan Elgrand. The ad also features other New Zealand cars such as the Saker and the Fraser Seven. The Saker is quite prominent in the commercial, while JP’S Lynx is visible — with JP behind the wheel — just at the 22nd second of the ad; well, part of it. Yet in JP’S opinion, that brief part second is undoubtedly the highlight of the ad.
In the few years since it has been finished, JP has already driven it from Rotorua to Wellington and several other parts of New Zealand. He has become accustomed to school children waving at him as he drives by and says he will never tire of it. And as for what’s in store for it in the future? Some more finishing work on the body.
Being at home on the track means there is a reasonable number of these cars still around today