MadaboutKitcars

OK I did

Chassis rails are 34" apart

Outside of a front tyre to the chassis 17"

Making front track 68"

Outside of rear tyre to chassis 15"

Making rear track 64"

According to vehicle hand books I have :-

Width excluding mirrors 68"
track front 58"
track rear 56"

track is without saying that is to centre of tyre or outside [ wheel base is to centre of wheel's ? ]

Be very careful these figures only apply to the 200 series.

The 300 series was wider and I think only available in twin rear wheel format.

It looks to have the O series 1 engine , however I could be wrong , if it has that would date it easily ? 1978 - 1986 [ mine is a 1989 O series 2

It would lend itself to a LaFrance Peking to Paris look ?





Although I am sure you already have your own ideas what to do with it ?

Paul

Many thanks for that Paul .

I braved the howling wind and pissing rain with my surveyor's tape yesterday afternoon and the net gap, taking the vulnerable soil pipes each side into account, is 92" so is more than enough.

Seems bidders are incapable of keeping their powder dry, pushing up the price by showing their hand early. I expect the vendor is delighted....

Regards, Mick

Mick, the Monaco is nearly done so you'll need a new project, go for it ! You won't find a donor Sherpa that cheap anymore, they're going the same way as early Transit vans and becoming collectable for some reason !

Mick

I would ask to see a picture of the other side of the engine ?

You want to see what they did with the steering box.

Why is the gear lever miles from the gearbox output ?

What is the strange mechanism on the front passenger floor ?

Where is the handbrake ?

Paul

Maybe the price is being 'helped' by a friend. A marlin Roadster recently went to £2K+ very quickly then stuck and closed at that. Suspicious, no? Shame about the Q plate. Maybe the handbrake is where it should be, on the outside. Please buy it Mick and remove temptation from me! BTW all sorts of older commercials are going up. They have simple electrics and are easy to fix. A lot of newer LDVs are being scrapped because of lack of electrical spares, so my son, a Sherpa owner tells me. He has one of the last 'simple' electrics vans and has been told to keep it going as long as possible by his garage.

We used Sherpa vans in the RAF in the 70's and early 80's (I got one jammed under a Vulcan bomber once, long story...). We then switched to LDV's in the mid/late 80's.

The Sherpas felt lighter and quicker, handled really well for a van and were definitely more reliable - I recall that the LDV's would drain their batteries if left standing for a fortnight.

An old Sherpa would definitely work as a a base for a vintage car. It's just a real shame that this one has a Q plate.

Lucky you didn't knock the Blue Steel off its shackles...



See [URL="https://motor-car.net/british/item/19601-sherpley"]Sherpley[/URL] for details


If I go for it, I believe it's possible that an impassioned plea that it's a re-body rather than a Kit Car could fall on sympathetic DVLA ears. It would then be an S or T suffix eligible for black plates. Worth a try.

Regards, Mick

Go for it Mick, you know you want to. Dpaz

Mick

I would have though this was a better buy ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NG-KIT-CAR-MG-TA-TC-TD-REPLICA-MG-MORRIS-Marina-Running-gear/274684844185?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649



They are nice and tall and imposing as not as dainty as the MG replica's ?

Unless you really want something as big as the Sherpa ? it seems a huge contrast to the Moss ?

You deal realise the Sherpa is the best part of 15ft long !

Paul

As it's on the donor car's V5 it would require SVA, so not a contender for my next project.

It's the size and road presence of the Sherpa project that appeal to me. Apart from three Dutton Sierras, my multitude of so-say Kit Cars have all been dinky two seaters: been there, done that, time to move on. I can always cut a hole in the back wall of the cave for the dumb irons if the length proves problematic...

Regards, Mick

MY last nights reply has disappeared, These were an evocation of the Aston Martin Ulster IIRC. The front suspension looks like Marina. A single carb and exhaust, Marina. Wheels 13" Marina, so probably an NG chassis as you said Mick SVA. No interest yet, a little suspicious maybe? I love the idea of the Sherpa but on a Q plate and 1800cc engine? A touch underpowered? But with a big straight 6, lovely. Go for it!

As stated above, it looks to be Marina suspension. I suspect the seller received it in part-exchange, free or whatever, as they don't seem to know much about it. Would have been quite nice in its day, and if registered.

It's worse than that Jim .......

It's a low compression 1700 cc !

However it was also available in 2000 cc again a low compression unit if in a Sherpa they are both 8:1 and I think the only difference between them is the length of the con rods but cannot be sure.

They appeared in several guises a TC would help.

Oddly they are considered a good swap for the MGB 1800cc [ where they were supposed to go in the first place ! ] as they are lighter and with the LT77 5speed box [ mine has that ] are again lighter and better geared than the 4 speed + O/D..

https://www.mginfo.co.uk/upgrades4mgs/Engines/stephens_o_series_mgb.html

Still from what I understand of a lightened Sherpa car plenty of power !

Paul

I concour that it seems to be Marina based. Interesting that the tie bars are mounted back to front. I am not sure how sound that is! They are smallish in section, about 12mm, and I guess the most stress on them is when braking hard when, on the Marina, they would be in tension. Still, I don't suppose the NG weighs much.

Cheers, Robin

Bit of a bummer that as it was the sort of car I was looking for before my Sherpa side road.

Would that depend on what it said on the MOT ?

If it was not listed as a MGB can you still ask for it to be changed on the V5 to reflect it historically being treated differently ?

Paul

The Teal Bugatti also used the same front suspension arrangement, with the tie bars to the rear

NG not sold. Odd, maybe the NG club know why.

Did you get the Sherpa?

It needed a fair bit of work but more importantly wasn't registered correctly. This is a traditional kit with a new chassis, not a rebody, so IVA would be required.

You would have assumed there was someone out there who was not aware it needed to go through the IVA and would have bid on it as it looked a fair car for the money ?

Paul

Was that to much for what was there ?

Reason Prevails!


After ten days of deliberation and discussion I decided yesterday to not bid. I ran the surveyor's tape over the cave and realised that, due to its width, I would only be able to work on a quarter of it at a time, unless it was wheeled right out onto my daughter's lawn, not a popular option. I also realised that, to turn it around for various necessary cave only fettling operations, that it would need to be pushed right out into the road due to its size. On balance I feel that I made the correct decision. Looking at the bidding history I would have won it with my envisaged last seconds £2,110.


I don't think so, being registered and having been on the road IMO it was a good two grand's worth.

Regards, Mick

Me too, I was tempted but too many toys to play with already.

Brake Saga (cont.)

A few weeks ago, when the weather permitted, I attempted to bleed the brakes once again, having re-made the metal pipes between the rear wheel cylinders and flexi pipes, using my Eezibleed. Once again, my flares proved leaky rubbish. I had bought the flaring kit after reading a few reviews which included words like 'acceptable'. Well, buy cheap, pay twice . This latest bleeding misadventure also revealed a leaking master cylinder. Disheartened, I abandoned work: I considered torching the annoying beast but I had no ammunition for my Very Pistol (geddit?).

A fresh burst of enthusiasm (from nowhere) last week saw me visiting Canley Classics' website and ordering said pipes. Now, those of you with long memories will recall my utter dissatisfaction with this firm when I ordered the Woodruff Key for the crankshaft pulley when I fitted new timing gear to the Vitesse engine in my A352. Reasoning that everyone deserves a second chance I came up trumps with delivery by return! This was also the case with the new master cylinder, which proved a doddle to fit, despite the severely limited access. Rubbish photo' alert, its the brake cylinder far side.



I fitted the new metal pipes using the old ones as guides to achieve the correct convolutions, bending them around a plug socket clamped in the vice to prevent kinking.

Right, thinks I, dig out the Eezibleed and I'll be driving it the same afternoon. Nope. The new master cylinder has a slightly different reservoir diameter and cap thread which none of the Eezibleed caps fits. Aaaaaaargh! Ah, but then I espy a universal cap is mentioned in the Eezibleed blurb for just such an eventuality. Bingo . Log on to Ebay and find that amongst the reviews for said cap there is not one over two stars out of five, with plenty of negative comments. Aaaaaaaaarg again! However, amongst the 'also searched for' suggestions was this which I thought worth a punt after reading the mainly positive reviews.



Undeterred by the less than PC description (one person, surely?) I purchased same which, again, came by return..... Yesterday I pitched in again and, joy of joy, it did what it said on the box. I now, at long long last, have a pedal. All that remains to do is, apart from minor cosmetics, to get the engine to run a little better and I can pluck up the courage to venture out on the road, doubtless with my son following armed with the towing bar. Pessimist, moi?

Regards, Mick

Looks like you've sorted it, so well done. I was about to offer a couple of suggestions (so I'll do that anyway, in the hope that someone reading the thread may benefit).
Many years ago (crikey time flies, it must be 40 years :shock I had a similar problem getting a good bleed on a Dutton Melos I'd fitted with all-new pipes - my solution was the easi-bleed and an assistant pressing the brake pedal at the same time (I'd tried both individually without success), and the fluid shot about 10 ft and got rid of the air
As for the pipe flarings I have an old Moprod flarer which is great, and this one from CBS appears to be a modern equivalent https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/hand-held-brake-pipe-flaring-tool