MadaboutKitcars

Hope you get it back on the road soon!

Overdue update

Ambi-TAS
Barber
and Car Snapper Thanks for the concern and interest!

I really do appreciate it! It was a bit of a surprise to see my thread on
the front page again and even more surprising to see that somehow its
clocked up well over 300, 000 hits!!

I did not realise that the A352 was so popular!

Health-wise I am fine, work-wise ( XK orientated ) I am a total disgrace
to this forum!!! I have done absolutely NOTHING all winter!!

Yesterday a friend of mine said “in two weeks time it will be April” “I
think you should do something on the XK” And of course he was right.

So I ordered a new water pump for the “new” engine, (which at present is
outside wrapped up in blankets and waterproof sheets)
I spent several hours clearing out the shed next to the tent where the XK
lives, with the intention of transferring the engine to the shed so I can
prepare it for installation.
Painting it a nice colour, putting new plugs in it, putting the dizzy on etc,
bolting on the new water pump, (when it arrives) complete with painted
housing. All that sort of stuff.

So that's where I am at present, I am making an effort, but after being in
denial for so long over the XK it's taking a bit of getting used to!
I always seem to have several other projects on the go at the same time,
so its a bit of a juggle to prioritise and fit them all in, but I am going to
have to do the XK.

Watch this space...............

Hope it all goes well - good luck

Scottie, great to know that you have a plan about to kick in. Hooray, it will be great to see pics of the car on the road again.

Good to hear from you. Your build diary has been fascinating, and I'm not surprised you have such interest. You have certainly inspired me, though I'm considering something that, given my much more limited experience, will be something more of a challenge!

A wise man once told me that you should finish one project before starting the next.


What rubbish, having multiple projects is the spice of life!!!

Scottie - Just in case you (or anyone else for that matter) needs some motivation...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXcRSXZQfUk

Good luck, Paul.

Loved That Video!

Thanks for that, Paul. No hype, just enthusiasm for his fabulous recreation oozing from every pore .

I was buttonholed by a guy my sort of age (ancient) in Aldi car park on Thursday. After chatting for five minutes he had to go, his comments having included "It sounded great" and "You've made my day".

We're fortunate indeed, being able to indulge our passion!

Regards, Mick

Thank you for the video Paul!
I have only just seen it. It is indeed a good inspiration!
Like the man says. it may not be "real" or, ( in my case) as fast and powerful,
BUT it looks and sounds the same, and most important of all
IT GIVES YOU THE SAME FEELING!!
Good luck to all you A352 builders!!

Scottie

Hi Scottie, I've scrolled back through pages to page 100, and the only reference I can find is that it's 'industrial colour' - can you tell me (just out of interest) what brand/type of paint you've used. Like the result BTW

Hi Scottie,
I have recently found your story,and spent days reading it from start to finish. May I say, you are an inspiration to anyone with an ounce of soul and ambition!
I must tell you about my experience on my 1500 triumph engine following the build of my Frogeye Sprite replica. I had taken the head off to check the condition, having never run the engine before. I had finished the build, and used a MG owners club Gasket set to rebuild the engine. It went onto two cylinders after only 20 miles! I stripped and rebuilt that head three times before I discovered the problem. I had been supplied with gaskets for the flathead 1300 engine, which will not seal the 1500 recessed liner engine. After fitting a genuine Payen gasket, and retorquing when hot, no more problems. This was a very well known problem back when Midgets and Spitfires were everywhere, but I was not aware of it. Like you, I became despondent about the car, but decided to sort it out, and Im so glad I did. Hopefully, you will find time to sort your wonderful creation out, as I would love to see it myself!

Bernard,
Ex RAF, 22yrs
Six kitcars
Three Homebuilt Aircraft

I must apologise for not being on this thread for weeks and weeks,
so sorry for that!
I still have not put the bloody engine in the XK, that will most likely be in the spring now.

Mitchelkitman : I take it you are wanting the colour and type of paint I used on the XK?

I have the old original tin in front of me now, and it says on the tatty label " BLGN 18 "MAC 5"
It came from a company called "Border Automotive"
I asked for "A really dark British Racing Green" and this is what they gaved me.
I was told it was the modern replacement for celloluse and it
was air dried, I sprayed it outside on my driveway, and got the usual flies, grass and rubbish stuff stuck to it, but it cleaned up pretty well. The tin cost me about £35 which has to be a record for a spray job like I ended up with!

I put two or three coats on so I could mop it back to a good shine which worked well, I mopped through to the primer in a couple
of places but you have to look close and hard to see that!

Chipsairhead: Thank you for your kind words!

I wonder if having rebuilt my 1500 head (when the head gasket went) I wonder if that's why it overheated faily quickly down the road?
Anyhow I now have the trusty and proven 1300 mega-revver
which will eventually find its way into the XK so hopefully should not have any further trouble!!

Hi Scottie,

When my head was blowing, it blew between the cylinders without breaking the water seal, so I drove home from Stoneleigh on two cylinders!
The next time it blew, five miles after repair, was the other two cylinders, so another slow drive home!

By the way, why have all the photos disappeared from your posts? I have tried every trick I know to get them back, but they seem to have gone. Is there something I should be doing on Photobucket?

Chips

Forum search is your friend here.

Hi Ian, so does this mean I can no longer view Scotties photos? I had no problem until a couple of days ago.

Chips

It means that Photobucket no longer passes the image to third party sites unless a subscription has been paid.

The enforcement seems random- early pics on my build thread are still visible (for now?) and they are hosted by PB and I declined to pay the sums requested.

I use tinypic now but I understand that their service has been inconsistent lately.

Thanks Ian, I note that some of Deggsys photos have also vanished. It's a shame, because these threads are a fantastic incentive to prospective A352 builders, like myself.
Thanks for clarifying this for me.

Chips Carpenter.

The new CEO of Photobucket reversed that decision (after his predecessor was fired) and they should all show now - try refreshing the page if they don’t come up first time (a quick look on page 2 shows them all on my screen)

That's good news- not totally unexpected as the jump from free to $99 per year was obviously not going to fly commercially.

Apologies for diverting the thread Scottie- best rectified by some more pics of your super car- please.

Hello all,

I also just noticed that my pics have flown, I have asked Paul for help as he seems good at photobucketing around! I am in the process of trying to restore the pics and will try posting some new ones when I get time!!

$399 pa was the business model that killed Photobucket - latest pricing is $4:03 a month for 2GB $5:83 a month for 20GB and $10:33 for 20TB

Chips airhead,

when my Triumph head blew it made a one-inch gap in the gasket between 1 and two so I also limped home at 20 mph on 3 and 4.......
with other motorists giving me V signs and moaning 'cos I held them up!

Chips: forgot to mention that when it overheated again, I thought f**k it and had a 1300 engine rebuilt, so I still dont know what or even care anymore what it was!
And a big thank you to "Oxford" for the the kind donation of that engine for a crate of beer!