Just found this forum and this discussion about the Omega which I owned from 1968 until 2010. During that time I contacted the builder John Wilks and here is some of the info he gave me in letters (I couldn’t decipher one or two words) about the engines and the rear suspension
The car was originally built with a 2.6 litre ZB MG engine and gearbox and run at a few hillclimbs and S.S. [standing start] quarters. The car performed well but I felt it needed more ? and after about six months a Zoller compressor (off Goldie Gardner’s 1.5 litre record breaker) was grafted on. The only event that the car ran in in this form was the Brighton Speed Trials, which it didn’t finish due to the blower drive disintegrating. Restored to a supercharged form it finished out the 1960 season until the crankshaft gently parted in the middle of a big end bearing on the way home from Stapleford.
During the 1961-62 winter the 3442 Jaguar ex MK7 was fitted with150S gearbox. Originally 3x2 choke SUs were fitted, but there was very little reduction in speed by going to 3x1 choke and the difference in drivability was tremendous
At the same time the car was fitted with I.R.S. using a rigid diff mounting and inboard brakes and used the current Lotus pattern with the driveshaft as the top transverse link. In this form it was used for one very frightening race at Brands.
1962 early the I.R.S. came off. The car assumed its present form with ‘A’ bracket location for a rigid rear axle.
Please post any other questions and I’ll do my best to answer them
PS – the car looks much better without the spare wheel. It was never there originally and we decided to fit it during restoration because we intended go touring. (The mounting for the spare is attached using the mounts for the trailing arms for the IRS, no additional alteration to the car from the original.) But it didn’t turn out that simple, the touring didn’t happen.
