Mick O'Malley's - Tribute A352 - "D Type"

[WorldClassAccident]

[rochdaleGT]
Gravel on the drive not even sizes and needs weeding
[/ rochdaleGT]

[Mister Towed]

Interestingly, Octane magazine focuses on the range of coach-built Ferrari 250's this month (I can absolutely recommend it as a riveting read). This includes a quote from a letter written by American racing driver and businessman, George Arents, who was U.S. Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti's business partner at the time, regarding the quality control at Scaglieti who built all 104 California Spyders for Ferrari -

'The only proper jig they had was a bronze effort to lock in the windscreen with the firewall. Otherwise, bodies were built by attaching lengths of welding rod to the frame and then bending them up so as to approximate such as fenders. From there an older artisan would beat hell out of a hunk of metal held in place by an apprentice, try it out, shake his head and resort to more beating until everybody agreed that "Ah! It was right," weld it into place and start off with the next piece.'


Funnily enough, you don't hear many people nit-picking about the fit and finish on original California Spyders now, do you.

Truth be told, even production cars from the 50's weren't built that well and anything from an Italian coach-builder was likely to look fantastic at ten paces but not stand up to close scrutiny, while the cars developed by racing departments were 100% function over form so fripperies like paint finish were very low down the list of priorities. That gives us amateur builders a lot of scope to do things 'just about well enough' and still end up with a car that looks like it was built six decades ago.

It's all too easy to criticise other people's home built cars when you haven't got the talent to do it yourself, now isn't it.

[lancelot link]

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

Interestingly, Octane magazine focuses on the range of coach-built Ferrari 250's this month (I can absolutely recommend it as a riveting read). This includes a quote from a letter written by American racing driver and businessman, George Arents, who was U.S. Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti's business partner at the time, regarding the quality control at Scaglieti who built all 104 California Spyders for Ferrari -

'The only proper jig they had was a bronze effort to lock in the windscreen with the firewall. Otherwise, bodies were built by attaching lengths of welding rod to the frame and then bending them up so as to approximate such as fenders. From there an older artisan would beat hell out of a hunk of metal held in place by an apprentice, try it out, shake his head and resort to more beating until everybody agreed that "Ah! It was right," weld it into place and start off with the next piece.'


Funnily enough, you don't hear many people nit-picking about the fit and finish on original California Spyders now, do you.

Truth be told, even production cars from the 50's weren't built that well and anything from an Italian coach-builder was likely to look fantastic at ten paces but not stand up to close scrutiny, while the cars developed by racing departments were 100% function over form so fripperies like paint finish were very low down the list of priorities. That gives us amateur builders a lot of scope to do things 'just about well enough' and still end up with a car that looks like it was built six decades ago.

It's all too easy to criticise other people's home built cars when you haven't got the talent to do it yourself, now isn't it.

I'VE BEEN SAYING IT FOR YEARS ...I love the raw and 'no frills' look of genuine cars .....

One jig ? , love it ...we have gone over the top then ....we've got about 8 slice templates on the go at the moment ...

[molleur]

It is an outstanding build IMO.
Don't forget that the only one the build has to please is the owner.
Nonetheless, it is an excellent job!

[Jaguartvr]

I agree with WCA..........

Gravel and weeds are shocking

[Car photographer]

nice

[rochdaleGT]

i have never said "the paintjob is bad"...you have mis-interpreted that from my posting

i´m shocked / angry about such botching spray-shops not doing their job right.

the builder of the car has invested a lot of time building the car in a proper way, with a clean chassis etc.

now such a sprayshop is "destroying" everything and the builder has to invest further time & effort "correcting" the sprayshops mistakes.

and its doesnt matter if he has paid 300 or 3000 pound...its a clear botch!!!

[Mick O'Malley]

As I'd never paid anyone to paint a car before, I decided to go by personal recommendation and got three. I'd already bought the cellulose paint from a couple I know from the Beaulieu Autojumble.

The first guy came to mine to have a look before committing. He was a typical know it all: in his 20s; tattoos; body piercings and a 'look, I'm a twat'. haircut. He told me that "nobody uses cellulose any more, you want it done in water based two-pack mate". I explained to him that 'He who pays the piper calls the tune', but he just wasn't listening. I was relieved when he roared off in his hot hatch: tinted windows and 'The Best Jungle CD - Ever', unsurprisingly.

I had high hopes for the second, he was recommended by the bloke who does my tidy welding for me (I do the untidy bits that can't be seen). He listened carefully, ran his hands over the project and quoted a reasonable price. Unfortunately he was in the throes of having new premises built and was unable to commit "anytime soon".

The third was recommended by a friend I met when we both had Dutton Phaetons back in '82. I went over to his place to discuss and was impressed. There was a scattering of MGBs, Minis, A35s etc in the yard and a black Porsche 911 in the booth (read 'concrete floored Cotswold stone outbuilding). We spoke the same language and I liked the way his eyes lit up when I described the project - he'd already asked me all about my Mk1 Marlin Roadster I'd arrived in. As the project wasn't in front of him we danced around the price a little before agreeing a slightly elastic ball park figure.

After removing the lights; screen; tonneau cover studs etc another of my kit car friends from the early 80s towed me over there, sadly not behind his very early and beautifully patinated Westfield XI.

I'm not one to chase and my mind was partly on my impending S. America trip, so it wasn't until about three weeks before I sailed that I gave him a call: it was a sort of "It'll be ready on Wednesday" moment. I realised he hadn't touched it but he had my trust and we agreed a pick up and pay date.

It was around the back when we arrived and I can honestly say I couldn't believe it was my car. I had a good look over it and saw that there was DIY work to be done. In his office (read barn) he agreed to my paying him 75% of the above mentioned as there was overspray in places. We parted on excellent terms - he's looking forward to painting my S4 Lotus Seven .

I got very good VFM; Nitromors is cheap and I have plenty of time. Had I not been under time pressure with the trip I would have gone and had a look first, discussed the (in my book) minor shortcomings in the job, and agreed the way forward (my 'Bullshit Bingo' tick list came to mind using that phrase!).

So, in a nutshell, I got what I paid for and will be more than happy to go back.

Regards, Mick

[Paul L]

Mick - I don't know how you can be so calm after everything you built was destroyed.

Jokes aside, I'm really looking forward to seeing your car back on the road again.

Good luck, Paul.

[IanA]

Originally Posted by Mick O'Malley

..So, in a nutshell, I got what I paid for and will be more than happy to go back.

That bottom line really is the bottom line.

I hope to be in that position when I've had my Z300S painted.

And Nitromors will probably blitz the weeds.

[Mick O'Malley]

I just spotted this on Ebay. Very nice, apart from the incorrect style of 'lance corporal' stripe.

[froggyman]

And another one here!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ecurie-Eco...D100033%26rk%3

[Mick O'Malley]

Originally Posted by froggyman

And another one here!

Click on my 'this' link above.

Regards, Mick

[Mick O'Malley]

I've started a thread in the 'Vintage and Classic' section. If evidence of insanity were needed, this is surely it. I can hardly wait .

[UpstateCobraGuy]

Looks great!

I have an acquaintance who happens to own a few autos. His D-Type is very original since it never was raced back in the day.







Just thought I'd share

Patrick

[Mister Towed]

Wow, that looks better than new!

[UpstateCobraGuy]

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

Wow, that looks better than new!

I thought I would share to help any other D-Type builder with original touches to add with their build. This particular car was part of the factory Lemans effort but never raced. The way the owner explained it to me, its original engine was removed to be used in a race and never returned. That hurt its value but now, since it was never damaged, you can see how it was done in the day! The numbers are hand painted on and you can see the brush strokes. The owner is very active the D-Type community and takes part in their rallies.

Here's a link to an more photos if you are interested:

I'm a Cobra guy and the owner has some incredible Shelbys, but he's a great Jaguar collector too.

http://s123.photobucket.com/user/YYY...?sort=3&page=1

[Mick O'Malley]

This appeared over the weekend

Regards, Mick

[Mick O'Malley]

After waiting what seemed ages for a decent 'week ahead' weather forecast I finally booked my test for what turned out to be the hottest and sunniest day of 2017 so far . I had a different tester this time who turned out to be an old skool Ford fan who better understood the vehicle he was testing.

The result was.............



Hoping for a long, hot, dry summer.

Regards, Mick

[Mick O'Malley]

It must be flavour of the month to sell D Type evocations.......

Here


Regards, Mick