MadaboutKitcars

Thankyou T :

A lot of hard work has gone in to these cars and there is still more hard work to come with the others!

We were very pleased when our German customer specified the modifications to make it look reminiscent of #274 though without the wheel arch and headlight scoops. I am going to try and get some footage of it running as the noise it makes is lovely

Luigi always hated queuing for a Taxi when the Milan bars emptied on a Saturday night, but tonight, after a bottle of Absinthe, he had a plan...

Two finished Navigators?!

Glad you didn't post this yesterday, or I would have thought it was a wind up.

Jokes aside they both look great and, as Mr T says, a credit to you.

As I said before, the primrose yellow is a great colour choice for an "old" car.

I also quite like how the front indicators look just bolted on "pointing down".
( As I didn't think that would look right when I was trying to find a place to mount my own indicators. )

Could I be a real pain and request a few more photos of the following?
- Bonnet hinge arrangement
- Wiring route for headlights & indicators
- How do you access the mounting bolts for the side mirrors?

Actually, the more photos you can take the better.

Cheers, Paul.

PS
I will be printing some of the photos above to inspire me on my own build.

Hi Paul,
No, just One Navigator and it's not quite finished as we've yet to have the engine running. The Primrose Yellow car is a Pilot with a Navigator bonnet, though as the fit is so good, we're happy to sell either bonnet with either car (though for the bigger engines, we would recommend the Navigator bonnet as it fits a 2Ltr under it without scoops)
We did have doubts about the front indicators too, but Rene insisted on the bigger ones and was specific about their position. It's grown on us now so I don't have any qualms about putting them there again. (though it may look good in the edges of the grille?)
The next Two cars are Navigators though as we do find getting a good Spitfire donor is easier than Heralds.

Excellent work on all the cars, that blue looks very nice. More pics please...

They are looking really great and the quality just keeps on improving. The lip for the screen is very neat, and you have done with the front tub what I am planning to do, i.e. rear of the wheel arches as part of the main body.

Well done, chaps, for giving the project the attention that it deserves.

I so wish I had delayed buying my bodywork!

D'Oh!

I was so busy looking at the photos that I didn't take in the words properly.

It was only a few days ago that I thought Micky1Mo's indicators in the grille approach was the easiest place to fit the indicators.

But the more I look at #274, the more I like it.

Plus if the bonnet will fit a standard Spitfire 1500 without any scoops, even better.

( I haven't reached the stage when my Spitfire bumper brackets can "fall off" yet. )

Good luck, Paul.

Hi Andy,

Do I understand it correctly, that in the future buyers from West Europe, so the mainland, are able to order directly by Rene Kummer in Cologne? Does this also means that they can order kits from all the different models in Cologne, or only turn key cars?

Hi Mike,

The deal with Rene is currently based around turnkey cars as he has the network needed for German registration and is working to establish the delivery methodology (Buying a car through Rene would be costed as delivered and German Registered).

For kits alone, we are currently dealing direct from Ribble HQ as delivery would be no different than going through Rene.

It could, in future, expand to us holding a small stock in Cologne but that's a little way off as yet.

If you need a quote for delivery, don't hesitate to PM me with your address details and I'll get some numbers together.

Cheers

Good work chaps , the bodywork looks like its reached the level it deserved....that blue looks fantastic by the way.

The salvador blue looks fantastic, look forward to seeing some photos of the body on a chassis. The way the side drop down sections of the bonnet is done is also a good move along with a bolt on system, you are certainly thinking on ways to improve the navigator and i can only praise your customer care not like another competitor. I look forward to meeting up at Stoneleigh and hope you have a finished spitfire based navigator with you.

Keep up the progress, you are moving in the right direction.

Thanks Swifty. I must admit I really do like the Salvador Blue, though I was a little skeptical when it was first ordered (Same as the Pale primrose Yellow which has now become my 'new' favourite)
We had a good meeting the other week and pencilled in some major improvements to the range. Some of which I will be putting in place straight away and others will take a little time.
The next Navigator, Turnkey 003 which now looks like this:



will have some modification to the cockpit shape along with bulkhead rake to allow the usual bucket seats to fit without restricting legroom so I will keep updating that build as it will interest future builders.

Another thought is that the current screen base design is rather 'work heavy' with fitting and filling so I'm looking for a 'bolt in' design that would still look good, fit with the period but only need slots cut into the tub to allow extensions to pass through and bolt on to the frame (not unlike the fixing for early Spitfires and MG Midgets).

As far as Customer service goes, we do try hard to keep a high level of support. We can't get it right every time but when we do get it wrong, it's a genuine mistake and we do whatever we can to put things right. We appreciate and thank you for your comments. It would be great to meet you again at Stoneleigh for a chat and a beer (or before if you fancy popping in so we can 'show and tell' with our current cars in the workshop)

Andy , just pm'ed you with some screen information.

Many thanks EP. I'll have a google and get back to you once I've seen the shapes. Sounds like a good deal and thanks again for the help

I love the Salvador Blue Photo's don't do it any justice!

credit to you the improved cars are looking great

Hi folks,

I thought I'd share with you the latest images of Pilot #274 that were taken yesterday (14th) whilst in the sun before heading off for M.o.T

[COLOR="Red"]First we start with my usual Facebook "I discovered a body!" joke with AndyP57[/COLOR]






















It will be a shame to see this car go to Germany as I adore it so much, the colour has really rubbed off on me!

Until next time

AndyP85

AndyP85 - Thanks for the extra photos, the car looks great.

But it would really be a big help if you could take the following photos for me before it leaves for Germany.
- Bonnet hinge set up / arrangement
- Wiring route for headlights & indicators around inside of bonnet
- How do you access the mounting bolts for the side mirrors?
- How is the grille mounted / fixed in place?
- What did you use to cover the hand brake cable?

Cheers, Paul.

PS
I am definitely going to copy the way the front indicators are mounted.

That's very nice Andy I hope your German customer is blown away by it. Good luck with the MOT, I'm sure it'll fly through and it'd be nice to hear an update regarding the customer getting it through the TUV test.

I love the Lancia D24 esque dash btw.



What size is the tacho and where did you source it? Much as I love my 550 Spyder dash, if I were to build another it'd be rather more difficult to find another one of those so the D24 style is the dash layout I'd put together myself.

Anyway, nice work and great photos. We all like photos...

Just spotted the D24 style side exit exhaust - nice!

Looking at the reg, is that based on a mk3 spit? Did the body/frame need altering to fit the earlier chassis and could you use an even earlier mk1 or 2 donor?

Looks great.
Not my favourite colour combinations but still a good looking car and nice to see a different approach.
I echo Toweds Dash comment . Really like that pod setup.

Thanks for the compliments guys. The dash was a task to get right and we had to source that 5.5" tacho from Australia! It's also got an 80mm Smiths classic speedo with a custom cable (Made by Speedy Cables) so isn't a layout we'd be likely to copy but looks really great as a 'One Off'

The colour is an authentic Jaguar colour from the 50's (Pale Primrose) and was chosen for precisely the reason that most of the obvious colours have been done already. Next on the line is a Triumph Salvador Blue Navigator which you will already have seen on this forum, closely followed by a Green Navigator ('Next Generation' with even more improvements to the design of body and frame which I'll explain when we get photos), but so dark it's almost black, then another Red Navigator Next Gen.

Towed, the Donor is actually a 1969 Herald 13/60 but has been uprated to a 1500cc Spitfire engine with a custom prop shaft.

Paul, I'll take more photos when the car gets back from MoT. As is our practice, it's not just an MoT but I use a garage in Preston I trust to check over all aspects before it goes including making sure everything is torqued, set up and all nylocs are in safety so it takes a day or so extra but gives me (and customer) another degree of confidence that all is well. As far as your questions:

- Bonnet hinge set up / arrangement
This one is a bit non-standard but I'll take a photo or two of it and accompany it with one of our standard set up
- Wiring route for headlights & indicators around inside of bonnet
As we use the Langy's loom which, as standard, already duplicates all wires for lights, the loom is attached to the chassis front rail and connected to the lights by short wires with bullet connectors. Photos will follow
- How do you access the mounting bolts for the side mirrors?
The mirrors are placed such as the mounting bolts are accessible from the cockpit and pass through the top skin of the scuttle (again, photos to follow)
- How is the grille mounted / fixed in place?
As we are using a lightweight grille on this car, it is simply bonded to the inside of the 'mouth' with Sikaflex
- What did you use to cover the hand brake cable?
Nothing the tunnel is a steel construction and has the donor handbrake mounting welded into it complete with tube so there is only a few inches of cable showing which doesn't get in the way and the customer is happy that it looks 'period'

More soon!

I like the look of that. I nearly went for those wheels. I think they would look more period in the same colour as the car - but that is just me.

Is that one of those filler caps for the deck of a boat? They are neat.

Filler cap spotted! We wanted one which was an alternative to the usual flip cap and to better blend in to the shape of the body and these fit a treat

'king typical, you think you've found the perfect period tacho on ebay and it turns out to just be the mounting ring.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminum-Aviator-Bomber-Dash-Speedometer-5-Gauge-Panel-Rivet-Bezel-Trim-6-bolt-/261434126548?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cdeb030d4

Did you keep the contact details for your Aussie tacho source?