1959 Rejo MKIV

The name 'REJO' is comprised of the initials of Rod Easterling and Jim Osborn. The two individuals met while amateur racing. After years of racing and tuning, the two decided to build a car of their own. Using the dimensions and design of a Lotus 6 as inspiration, and with the help of Ron and Dave Inglis, work began on their own racing special. The completed car was called the Rejo MK 1. After several races, the car was destroyed at Silverstone. MK 1 was followed by the MK2. It was another one-off design but this time with fully-enveloping bodywork and was designed to compete in the 1172 Championship. It had a spaceframe construction with a wishbone setup at the front. After several unsuccessful rear suspension setups, the team settled on a live rear end located by trailing arms.

The MK3 was built for the Ignis brothers. It had similarities to the MK2 but with a revised back end with small fins. In a similar fashion to the Mark 1, its existence was short-lived due to a crash.
Two additional examples of the MK3 were later built, with some deviations from the first example. Both were given lightweight fiberglass body sections. Neither of these two cars had the same rear suspension. The MK3/3, which was Rob's car, had a live rear axle while the Inglis' car was given an independent rear setup. Both cars proved to be competitive and helped give all three drivers podium finishes in the 1172 Championship races.

The next car was the MK4 Sports Racer. It had a design similar to the Lola Mk1. The front-engined Sports Racer was raced in the international Appendix C specification.

Along with building the cars, several design drawings were sold to interesting racing enthusiasts. In total, about a dozen cars were built by Rod Easterling and others to his drawings. It is believed that about four examples currently exist, including this Rejo MK 4.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2017