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I have decided its time to put a car together for myself....
I have acquired a 1963 Herald Chassis and a tatty Mk2 Vitesse rolling chassis.
I am going to upgrade the Herald with some of the vitesse parts and throw a Rover V8 into the mix but set it back a little for better weight distribution...
On top of this is going a Cordite body...the shorter body will help me with some extra engine room . A roomier Cordite bonnet will also be used but will need the area between front arch and bulkhead stretched about 8'' to deal with the longer Herald wheelbase...
I am not sure what issues this combo will throw up yet and the plan may change a little along the way , but thats the plan at the moment....
Updates as and when ....but heres my starting pile...
Now lets see what's laying around the workshop!!!!!!!! approach to design everyone has to have at least one V8 in their life, looking forward to seeing this one evolve.
I bought a spare Herald engine & gearbox off a guy in Chandlers Ford a couple of months back, he had taken it out to install a 3.9 litre fuel injected Rover V8 into his Herald saloon. He had cut out bits of the main chassis rails to get the transmission in (from a 4x4) and I think had made up a new cross member. It was running and sounded awsome! I could put you in touch if it might be any help in sharing chassis mod issues. Oh, and you should see his bonnet mods - not exactly subtle.
The guy I bought my Scimi from has recently aquired a collection of Rover 3500s P6's. All V8 and manual boxes. lots of spares too. Let me know if you need his details. Lots of spare panels too but probably of less interest to you
Jennettes 550 is moving forward ....now resides on the development bench whilst I workout gear selectors and exhaust - all fighting for the same space !
My initial plan is to get this version to Exeter as at least a rolling , looking finished concept ....on the road late 2012 or early next year...
If the 'long nose' idea works , I will mould the new bonnet making it another option to be built on a Herald/ Vitesse base , a stock engine could move from being mounted at front of suspension upright to being mounted off the rear , quite easily and the gearbox mount isn't too complicated either ( could probably develop a kit to do this...... ) , the only modification , other than moving bulkhead parts , brakepipes etc back 8'' or so , would be an extended steering column...
I plan to use some original and slightly tarnished parts in my build , not getting too carried away with making her all sh*te and briny ....want the car to look like a survivor ...not a dragged out recently barn find , but a car that looks like it has been around a while and not restored recently
Mike thinks I am nuts but thats what I want , weathered seats , bit of patina etc......
Brilliant! Love to see cars the way you're planning to go. I wish I'd got the phone number of a bloke at Stoneleigh Jaguar spares day who had a load of pukka old Monza filler caps, just good enough to clean up without ever looking new. I'll let you know when I track him down.
How do you go about getting the right paint finish so that it's not looking brand new?
....want the car to look like a survivor ...not a dragged out recently barn find , but a car that looks like it has been around a while and not restored recently
Mike thinks I am nuts but thats what I want , weathered seats , bit of patina etc......
I will look forward to seeing that. I had the same thoughts but wasnt brave enough, didnt want it to look like I had just done a shit job if I couldnt pull it off. I'm sure that It will look the muts nuts when done.
I did a couple of patina'd Rod builds a few years back ...the knack is not overdoing it.
I painted red oxide on first as primer was primarily red on early cars generally , then top coat. You only 'distress' areas that would naturally wear , ie, door tops from years of being lent on , stone chips to front , panel edges etc...not too much...allow the red oxide to show through a bit...
I used plasticote aerosols , lots of them , and good old palm grease to polish certain areas.....its not an exact science ......................
How do you go about getting the right paint finish so that it's not looking brand new?
By painting it myself is how i achieved it I'd never painted a car before (ignoring my old Capri 20 years ago) and the finish i've ended up with is by no means A1, but equally it's not that bad either and just looks..... old! Although more through luck than planning
That slightly dodgy paint job, combined with a 2nd hand Spitfire filler cap and 2nd hand steering column surround give my car a whole air that it was made quite a few years go.
