Gilbern as an 'everyday classic'?

Gilbern as an 'everyday classic'?

Author
Discussion

Chris71

Original Poster:

21,548 posts

249 months

Monday 3rd December 2007
quotequote all
Hi,

I have to confess I don't know a lot about Gilberns, although I am aware of the make...

I'm considering getting a classic sports/GT of some description next year and one car that sprang to mind was the Scimitar. The Gilbern seemed to come up as an alternative.

Are they a usable everyday proposition still? Can someone give me a rough idea of the performance of the various models? I had a brief look at the owners club site and noticed a few track day pics - is it fair to say they're reasonably driver focused?

Chris.

Electron

605 posts

226 months

Monday 10th December 2007
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Chris,

Three primary flavours of Gilbern. All steel chassis with fibreglass body.

1) GT - first early cars mainly MBG engined GT1800s
2) Genie - second type with Alfa like two door coupe but four seater - Ford Essex V6
3) Invader - same styling as the Genie but with heavier more robust chassis

A good Invader would be the best option for an everyday classic - they all look really good in daylight but the primary inspection should be the chassis which rots hidden by the fibreglass body.

I decided to buy a complete wreck and build it up - the purchase price was very low and I sort of knew what I was buying ... the Club is excellent with plenty of help available.

A sorted car should be very practical with similar running costs to a Scimitar.

Chris

The Club has a few cars for sale fairly regularly.