Quantum Owners Club
Encyclopedia
Quantum Owners Club (QOC) is a club for people who own or have an interest in Quantum Cars, which are a type of Kit car
produced by Quantum Sports Cars
. The club was formed in early 1990 by Peter Crawford, who having built a white Series One Coupé, decided to form an Owners Club for people who were interested in Quantum Sports Cars. The first official gathering of the club was at the Newark Kit Car show in the same year, when a number of members got together for the first time.
2008 saw the club celebrating its 18th birthday, with a party at the National Kit Car Motor Show, aka Stoneleigh. This involved birthday BBQ and birthday cake. Additional celebrations were held at the Newark Kit Car Show in the same year, as this show is significant to the club, being the first one the club attended back in 1990.
The newsletter was initially produced on folded A4 paper to make a A5 sized newsletter in black and white.
Issue No.42, in May 2002, was significant in that it was the first full colour edition of Quantum Mechanics, which was edited by Bernie Pottrell.
The newsletter had remained in A5 format right until issue (need to find this out) when it moved to A4 size, to make production easier for the editor.
As of December 2009, Quantum Mechanics has reached No.65.
, which simply throbbed to the sound of numerous V8 engines.
, Co. Cork for the week and touring out from there. This again was an IKCC tour, with the QOC receiving an invite.
and Balmacara
.
The QOC are keen to ensure this historic car survives and thanks to club member Jim Hearne, the club have acquired this car and are in the process of restoring it. Additionally, Jim donated chassis 017, which was the last Coupé ever produced. The club plan to build this car, but it may only ever be used as a show vehicle and never registered for the road.
The Coupé is very unique in its glass-reinforced plastic
(grp) monocoque construction – there is no metal work that is structural to the monocoque.
The Coupé is often referred to as the MkI Saloon.
It is rumoured that the original moulds, now in Iran, were damaged in an earthquake before any production could be started.
monocoque
, rather than the more usual steel chassis. This chassis was tested for its torsional stiffness, measured at over 3000/lb/ft/degree, which is over double that achieved by a typical space frame
chassis. This was the first rear wheel drive model that Quantum Sports Cars produced.
, that the majority of Beech Buggies were based on.
Kit car
A kit car, also known as a "component car", is an automobile that is available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then either assembles into a car themselves, or retains a third party to do part or all of the work on their behalf...
produced by Quantum Sports Cars
Quantum Sports Cars
Quantum Sports Cars were founded by Mark and Harvey Wooldridge in 1987.-Early models:Quantum's first car was the Mark1 hatchback which was based on the Mark1 Ford Fiesta. It reused all of the donor's mechanical and trim components in an elongated, more rounded shape...
. The club was formed in early 1990 by Peter Crawford, who having built a white Series One Coupé, decided to form an Owners Club for people who were interested in Quantum Sports Cars. The first official gathering of the club was at the Newark Kit Car show in the same year, when a number of members got together for the first time.
History
Having initially formed in early 1990, the club did not have a committee until early 1992. The first committee was formed of Graham Lindley (Chairman), Peter Crawford (Secretary), Adam Slieghtholme (Treasurer) and Charles Williams (Editor).2008 saw the club celebrating its 18th birthday, with a party at the National Kit Car Motor Show, aka Stoneleigh. This involved birthday BBQ and birthday cake. Additional celebrations were held at the Newark Kit Car Show in the same year, as this show is significant to the club, being the first one the club attended back in 1990.
Club Newsletter
The first club newsletter was written by Peter Crawford in the summer of 1990 and was distributed to around 60 people, which was an impressive number for a new club based around Quantum Kit Cars, which had only been founded in 1987. At this stage many club members were still waiting for their cars to be built by the factory. Newsletter No.4 in February 1992 was the first to have a name, Quantum Mechanics, after submission for the newsletter name were requested in the second newsletter. Newsletter No.5 was called The Distributor and No.6 was the rather uninspiring Quantum Magazine, before finally settling on the name Quantum Mechanics, as per No.4, after a club vote on the name.The newsletter was initially produced on folded A4 paper to make a A5 sized newsletter in black and white.
Issue No.42, in May 2002, was significant in that it was the first full colour edition of Quantum Mechanics, which was edited by Bernie Pottrell.
The newsletter had remained in A5 format right until issue (need to find this out) when it moved to A4 size, to make production easier for the editor.
As of December 2009, Quantum Mechanics has reached No.65.
Club Events
The club has been actively supporting the various kit car shows, ever since attending the Newark show back in 1990, just after the club's formation. In more recent years, less of the club membership are building cars, so the focus has changed to providing interesting and varied events for the membership.EE24
June 2003 saw the first major event arranged by the club. Inspired by a trip undertaken by John and Francesca Caton in 2002, Andy Heaton and Eddie Ruskin decided to organise a charity run of Quantums from John O'Groats to Land's End in under 24 hours. The aim was for a convoy of Quantums, featuring 2 of the original Quantum Coupés, to be driven by teams of 2 drivers to Land's End, within 24 hours. The aims were a celebration of Quantum Sports Car's 15th anniversary, raise money for the NCH and to show the reliability of kit cars. The club won a trophy awarded by the End to End Club.Scottish Distillery Tour
July 2004 saw another group of club members visit Scotland, this time to tour numerous distilleries and sample their wares. Again this tour was arranged by Andy Heaton, with assistance from Jan Haines.Shamrock Tour
Andy Heaton again organised a tour for July 2005, but this time we visited Ireland. Assistance and local knowledge was supplied by Paschal and Nuala Carroll. This tour started in Dublin, where the club were welcomed by the Irish Kit Car Club (IKCC), who had arranged a tour over the Wicklow Mountains, before we departed to our base in Mountshannon, Co Clare.Round Ireland Part 1
Strictly speaking this 2006 tour was organised by the IKCC, but the QOC were invited and some members joined the tour, along with Steve Hole, editor of TKC Magazine and the Total Kit Car webzine. The tour left Dublin on a clockwise tour of the Irish coast, before ending the tour in Donegal, Co. Donegal. This tour cemented the relationship between the QOC and IKCC, which had started the previous year on the Shamrock Tour.Round Ireland Part 2
Again this 2007 tour was organised by the IKCC, but supported by the QOC. This tour completed the trip around the Irish coast, starting in Donegal and ending with a blast through the newly completed Dublin Port TunnelDublin Port Tunnel
The Dublin Port Tunnel is a road traffic tunnel in Dublin, Ireland, that forms part of the M50 motorway....
, which simply throbbed to the sound of numerous V8 engines.
West Cork Wander
The 2008 tour was slightly different to the previous 2 years in Ireland, as this time it was based from a single location, staying in the Celtic Cross Hotel in RosscarberyRosscarbery
Rosscarbery or Roscarbery is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is on a shallow estuary, which opens onto Rosscarbery Bay.-History:...
, Co. Cork for the week and touring out from there. This again was an IKCC tour, with the QOC receiving an invite.
Haggis Hunt
For 2009 it was time for the QOC to return the hospitality of the IKCC, by organising a tour within the United Kingdom for both clubs. The hard work of organising this tour was carried out by Geoff and Carole Ward, who started the tour from the Newark Kit Car Show and used 2 bases, in HelensburghHelensburgh
Helensburgh is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde and the eastern shore of the entrance to the Gareloch....
and Balmacara
Balmacara
Balmacara is a village on the north shore of Loch Alsh near Kyle of Lochalsh, Ross-shire, Highland and is in the Scottish council area of the Highland. Scotland.Shinty club, Kinlochshiel play in the adjacent hamlet of Kirkton....
.
Members
The club members are mainly based with the United Kingdom, but there are overseas members in Canada, Holland, Ireland, and USA. The current membership runs at about 350 members.Coupé
This is the original car produced by Quantum Sports Cars. Only 17 of these cars were ever produced. Chassis number 001 was a development mule and this chassis was subject to so much adjustment to the chassis that the owners of Quantum Sports Cars eventually decided the car would be too dangerous to keep on the road. This car is now at the bottom of a land fill site, somewhere in the Midlands. Chassis 002 was damaged beyond repair in a head on collision, so chassis 003 is now the oldest Quantum still surviving.The QOC are keen to ensure this historic car survives and thanks to club member Jim Hearne, the club have acquired this car and are in the process of restoring it. Additionally, Jim donated chassis 017, which was the last Coupé ever produced. The club plan to build this car, but it may only ever be used as a show vehicle and never registered for the road.
The Coupé is very unique in its glass-reinforced plastic
Glass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....
(grp) monocoque construction – there is no metal work that is structural to the monocoque.
The Coupé is often referred to as the MkI Saloon.
Saloon
This car is an evolution of the original Coupé model and is most often referred to as the MkII Saloon. Just over 200 of these kits were sold.2+2
This is the first convertible model produced by Quantum Sports Cars and is currently the best selling model, with 431 produced, since 1993.H4
This is the 4th Harvey Wooldridge designed car, hence the name H4. This car was produced from (need date) until (need date), when the Wooldridge brothers announced that they were looking to sell the company. This resulted in the moulds to the H4 being sold to an Iranian company (more research is needed to find out the company name). Right to build the H4 within all areas outside of the Middle East, were retained by Quantum Sports Cars, however the company only owned the plugs from which moulds could be produced. The costs involved in producing the moulds has effectively killed off production of the H4, although with the right financing available this car could still be produced.It is rumoured that the original moulds, now in Iran, were damaged in an earthquake before any production could be started.
Xtreme
This car was not designed by Quantum Sports Cars, but actually started life as the Savant 175, designed by Sector 3 Engineering. On 16 November 1998 the announcement was made that Quantum Sports Cars had taken over full rights to this car and renamed it the Xtreme. The car is inspired by the Lotus 7, but had a different construction, being a stainless steelStainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
, rather than the more usual steel chassis. This chassis was tested for its torsional stiffness, measured at over 3000/lb/ft/degree, which is over double that achieved by a typical space frame
Space frame
A space frame or space structure is a truss-like, lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports...
chassis. This was the first rear wheel drive model that Quantum Sports Cars produced.
Napier
The Napier uses the same stainless steel monocoque as the Xtreme, but has a full body.Sunrunner
The Sunrunner is a modern interpretation of the classic Beach Buggy. It is designed to use modern Fiesta components, rather than the Volkswagen BeetleVolkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
, that the majority of Beech Buggies were based on.
External links
- Quantum Owners Club – The Official Club Website
- Quantum Sports Cars – The Official Quantum Sports Cars Website
- Jim Hearne's Website
- Steve Kodz's Website
- Stu's Website
- John Warner's Website
- Dave Bence's Website
- Clem Robertson's Website
- Colin Monkman's Website