Serious Request for Interesting Classic
Discussion
This is a genuine request from one enthusiast to a whole bunch of fellow enthusiasts.
If you have 4 star (or indeed 5 star, for some of you that are old enough!) flowing through your veins, and permanent oil stains on what remains of the fingers whittled away by years of swearing, slipping and bleeding over your spanners, then you may be just the sort of chap able to help me out.
As luck would have it, I’m now in a position where I can enjoy cars as I always imagined them to be. Nothing is stopping me from getting on the ferry and driving to the Alps. Right now.
This time tomorrow, I could be blasting over the Stelvio Pass.
I don’t work 9 till 5, I don’t have a boss and I have a modest income that will allow me to indulge in my long held fantasies (I’m 28 before anyone thinks I’m an old giffer)
I’ve searched online for literally years, agonising over what will be best for me. I’ve had some fantastic motors in my time, but rarely one that I know I will never sell. My XJR was a notable exception, but sadly she was written off last year.
So this is a request to find that one car for me to fall in love with. There will be others, no doubt but I want that one car to treasure.
The reason I’m asking on here is because I know some of you are deeply rooted in the classic and vintage car world. Maybe you know of something tucked away in a barn, or something needing time and attention that the owner cannot give. This is a plea for an owner to think of KingDickers and his plight before picking up the phone to Bonhams or palming it off to a dealer to make a quick few quid.
I realise this may seem like a cheeky request, but I had a word with Garlick before posting this thread up, as I would hate for anyone to think I was a dealer after cheap cars, or a speculator looking for a profit.
I’ll attempt to keep as open a mind as possible. Vintage, Classic or Modern Classic. Sports, GT or Saloon… All I ask is that it’s not an irreparable basket case.
Stories of barn finds, discoveries and subsequent restorations more than welcome in this thread! I expect the hunt to go on for quite some time, so the more entertaining the thread can be, the better I suppose!
At the present time, I can lay my hands on about £5000 for purchase, and then can put around £1000 per month into restoration work, probably professional for the most part – Whatever I do, it will be done as best as I can afford, although the priority will be to get on the road asap to enjoy the driving!
Here goes!
If you have 4 star (or indeed 5 star, for some of you that are old enough!) flowing through your veins, and permanent oil stains on what remains of the fingers whittled away by years of swearing, slipping and bleeding over your spanners, then you may be just the sort of chap able to help me out.
As luck would have it, I’m now in a position where I can enjoy cars as I always imagined them to be. Nothing is stopping me from getting on the ferry and driving to the Alps. Right now.
This time tomorrow, I could be blasting over the Stelvio Pass.
I don’t work 9 till 5, I don’t have a boss and I have a modest income that will allow me to indulge in my long held fantasies (I’m 28 before anyone thinks I’m an old giffer)
I’ve searched online for literally years, agonising over what will be best for me. I’ve had some fantastic motors in my time, but rarely one that I know I will never sell. My XJR was a notable exception, but sadly she was written off last year.
So this is a request to find that one car for me to fall in love with. There will be others, no doubt but I want that one car to treasure.
The reason I’m asking on here is because I know some of you are deeply rooted in the classic and vintage car world. Maybe you know of something tucked away in a barn, or something needing time and attention that the owner cannot give. This is a plea for an owner to think of KingDickers and his plight before picking up the phone to Bonhams or palming it off to a dealer to make a quick few quid.
I realise this may seem like a cheeky request, but I had a word with Garlick before posting this thread up, as I would hate for anyone to think I was a dealer after cheap cars, or a speculator looking for a profit.
I’ll attempt to keep as open a mind as possible. Vintage, Classic or Modern Classic. Sports, GT or Saloon… All I ask is that it’s not an irreparable basket case.
Stories of barn finds, discoveries and subsequent restorations more than welcome in this thread! I expect the hunt to go on for quite some time, so the more entertaining the thread can be, the better I suppose!
At the present time, I can lay my hands on about £5000 for purchase, and then can put around £1000 per month into restoration work, probably professional for the most part – Whatever I do, it will be done as best as I can afford, although the priority will be to get on the road asap to enjoy the driving!
Here goes!
Bullett said:
Yeah, definitely that kind of thing. Is the 912 a 4 pot VW engine?This looks good for the money. If what the seller say is true then a couple of months max should see it complete.
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-pa...
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-pa...
KingRichard said:
I don't know a lot about Austin Sevens... probably a bit on the dinky side to be honest. Sweet looking little thing though. Love the shape of that body!
Well my only other offering is this.http://www.scimitarweb.co.uk/sgwrs/viewtopic.php?f...
A Scimitar SE4 Coupe. They only built a thousand (approx) of them and there aren't many left on the road today. This one has had quite a few upgrades for competition use.
KingRichard said:
Bullett said:
Yeah, definitely that kind of thing. Is the 912 a 4 pot VW engine?As I understand it, there is nothing wrong with the 356 engine except that parts are a whole lot more expensive than they would be for a VW engine.
Fiver to spare with this. Can't promise you won't need the thousand a month though for a while though.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1968-ALFA-ROMEO-1750-GTV-BERTONE-COUPE-SERIES-ONE_W0QQitemZ280452764419QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item414c499303
Brilliant cars and this version is one of the most desirable.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1968-ALFA-ROMEO-1750-GTV-BERTONE-COUPE-SERIES-ONE_W0QQitemZ280452764419QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item414c499303
Brilliant cars and this version is one of the most desirable.
fourwheelsteer said:
KingRichard said:
Bullett said:
Yeah, definitely that kind of thing. Is the 912 a 4 pot VW engine?As I understand it, there is nothing wrong with the 356 engine except that parts are a whole lot more expensive than they would be for a VW engine.
One of these?
It's a Peerless GT, there were about 350 made, this is one of about a dozen on the road and this one isn't mine! My car is chassis number 37, was first registered in September 1958 so must have been ordered just after Peerless took the class win at Le Mans.
Can I interest sir in a barn-find pic
This is how mine was found in 1991, it hadn't moved for around 10 years at this point
The interior, it's all there to use as a pattern except for the carpets. The door cards and some other trims are fibreglass so it's just the fabric that's rotted.
The body was taken off the chassis. Oh dear
A replacement chassis was found because the old one was too far gone
Engine was replaced with a better one, it's the correct TR3 motor not a Standard with less power. It's also got unleaded valve seats, recon HS6 carbs, an alternator conversion, electric fan, hi-torque starter etc
This is where I took over from the previous owner after 19 years of on-off work. Dash has been re-covered with foam and vinyl, gauges and switches are in
Some paint done, it's had about 4 coats so needs another 2 or so to finish. The doors have only had 2 coats
Driver's door hung. Quite a tricky job and they were pretty awful even from the factory. As it took me hours and hours I can see why they usually didn't bother....
As for the rest of the car, it's got:
Single fuel tank in the boot (replacing the twin tanks in the sills)
Recon gearbox with overdrive on 2nd, 3rd and 4th
Custom wiring harness with 16 fuses and plenty of earth points
Recon Salisbury diff
TR6 front brakes
Competition springs front and rear
Rebuilt lever arm dampers
New Peerless headlight rims
Steel floorpan to stiffen it all up
Along with all the other “invisible” stuff like twin horns, new light switch (it took me as long to make the replacement switch work reliably than it would to have fixed the old Lucas one), 2 speed wipers with washers, new front and rear screen rubbers and all the other sundries that you daren’t add up because the cost would be horrific. We’ve all been there…
It now starts, stops, clutch works, fly-off handbrake works, steering box is in good shape, tyres have gone about 100 yards, wheels are good. The plan was to MoT it asap and from there to replace the interior as and when. The paint needs a few more coats but the bodywork is straight. The doors are less good, but could be repaired to a reasonable standard.
It took me a very long time to find a car like this, I think the Phase 1s are better looking than the Phase 2 cars and I wanted something that was restorable, not a basket case that would cost thousands and end up being scrapped anyway.
Blah blah economic climate so it really needs to go. It's not urgent and I haven't advertised it yet, but if you're interested it'll save me dealing with the RWD OMG RETRO DRIFT questions on ebay. £4500 and the car is in Luton
It's a Peerless GT, there were about 350 made, this is one of about a dozen on the road and this one isn't mine! My car is chassis number 37, was first registered in September 1958 so must have been ordered just after Peerless took the class win at Le Mans.
Can I interest sir in a barn-find pic
This is how mine was found in 1991, it hadn't moved for around 10 years at this pointThe interior, it's all there to use as a pattern except for the carpets. The door cards and some other trims are fibreglass so it's just the fabric that's rotted.
The body was taken off the chassis. Oh dear
A replacement chassis was found because the old one was too far gone
Engine was replaced with a better one, it's the correct TR3 motor not a Standard with less power. It's also got unleaded valve seats, recon HS6 carbs, an alternator conversion, electric fan, hi-torque starter etc
This is where I took over from the previous owner after 19 years of on-off work. Dash has been re-covered with foam and vinyl, gauges and switches are in
Some paint done, it's had about 4 coats so needs another 2 or so to finish. The doors have only had 2 coats
Driver's door hung. Quite a tricky job and they were pretty awful even from the factory. As it took me hours and hours I can see why they usually didn't bother....
As for the rest of the car, it's got:
Single fuel tank in the boot (replacing the twin tanks in the sills)
Recon gearbox with overdrive on 2nd, 3rd and 4th
Custom wiring harness with 16 fuses and plenty of earth points
Recon Salisbury diff
TR6 front brakes
Competition springs front and rear
Rebuilt lever arm dampers
New Peerless headlight rims
Steel floorpan to stiffen it all up
Along with all the other “invisible” stuff like twin horns, new light switch (it took me as long to make the replacement switch work reliably than it would to have fixed the old Lucas one), 2 speed wipers with washers, new front and rear screen rubbers and all the other sundries that you daren’t add up because the cost would be horrific. We’ve all been there…
It now starts, stops, clutch works, fly-off handbrake works, steering box is in good shape, tyres have gone about 100 yards, wheels are good. The plan was to MoT it asap and from there to replace the interior as and when. The paint needs a few more coats but the bodywork is straight. The doors are less good, but could be repaired to a reasonable standard.
It took me a very long time to find a car like this, I think the Phase 1s are better looking than the Phase 2 cars and I wanted something that was restorable, not a basket case that would cost thousands and end up being scrapped anyway.
Blah blah economic climate so it really needs to go. It's not urgent and I haven't advertised it yet, but if you're interested it'll save me dealing with the RWD OMG RETRO DRIFT questions on ebay. £4500 and the car is in Luton
KingRichard said:
Sorry, from just reading up on the spec it doesn't seem like a step up from the MG. It's a gorgeous car, and I accept that it's a rare beast, but I don't think it will be for me
Fairy nuff. I suppose on paper it's quite similar to an MGB, it’ll do 0-60 in just over 10 seconds and onto about 110mph so in 1958 it was as fast as the Lotus Elite, probably only a shade quicker than an MGB 5 years later? Whilst it’s not as pure a driver’s car as the Lotus, it’s a bit more special than an MG Good luck in your search!
garethj said:
KingRichard said:
Sorry, from just reading up on the spec it doesn't seem like a step up from the MG. It's a gorgeous car, and I accept that it's a rare beast, but I don't think it will be for me
Fairy nuff. I suppose on paper it's quite similar to an MGB, it’ll do 0-60 in just over 10 seconds and onto about 110mph so in 1958 it was as fast as the Lotus Elite, probably only a shade quicker than an MGB 5 years later? Whilst it’s not as pure a driver’s car as the Lotus, it’s a bit more special than an MG Good luck in your search!
Why aren't you finishing it, and how long did it take you to get that far?
KingRichard said:
Oh yeah, I'm sure it's special. Just not quite flicking all my switches
Why aren't you finishing it, and how long did it take you to get that far?
I've had it since last July, the previous owner had it for 19 years and did most of the restoration work in his spare time. The plan always was to finish it, just a question of how good I am at dodging the bullet of redundancy. At the moment I reckon the sniper's got me in his sights so freeing up some cash might be useful.Why aren't you finishing it, and how long did it take you to get that far?
But it's not critical that it sells asap, things aren't that bad.
I've just realised, isn't it impossible for an MG owner to get a Triumph? Some clause when you sign the logbook or something
garethj said:
KingRichard said:
Oh yeah, I'm sure it's special. Just not quite flicking all my switches
Why aren't you finishing it, and how long did it take you to get that far?
I've had it since last July, the previous owner had it for 19 years and did most of the restoration work in his spare time. The plan always was to finish it, just a question of how good I am at dodging the bullet of redundancy. At the moment I reckon the sniper's got me in his sights so freeing up some cash might be useful.Why aren't you finishing it, and how long did it take you to get that far?
But it's not critical that it sells asap, things aren't that bad.
I've just realised, isn't it impossible for an MG owner to get a Triumph? Some clause when you sign the logbook or something
ks to that... I drive what I want to! Didn't even join the owners club to be honest If your car had a PI engine it might have made me go wobbly
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