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[COLOR="blue"]I collected my project from the paint shop yesterday. Judge for yourselves if the less than four figure sum was worth it. For my part I think it's absolutely stunning, every penny well spent.
Who'd have thought that the humble A38 could double as the Mulsanne Straight!
Regards, Mick[/COLOR]
Forgot to add that the paint job sounds like a bargain too.
Is the guy in the check shirt asking "Is it a Cobra?"
It's my #3 son asking my preferred route avoiding as many speed bumps as possible.
I did as much prep as I could, blending in the old bonnet and boot, and erasing the mould lines. I gave it an all over sand with 320 on the long board before taking it to the shop, but the guys there did further filling around the fin and a couple of other places before etch, high build and eight coats of colour.
zagmad wrote:
What blue is that :-).
It's 'Flag Metallic Blue', the Ecurie Ecosse colour, as worn by their Le Mans winners in '56 and '57.
I really think Mick's great work deserves a thread of its own.
Thanks for that Paul. I would love to say that I'll be posting updates on a daily basis, although all that's left to do is put everything back on and tidy up the footwells. However, on Thursday I embark with my Honda Dominator on the MV Grande Angola Tilbury-Montevideo and won't be returning from my Patagonian ramblings until June.
With any luck I'll have her completely fettled ready for Classic Silverstone 2017 with my dream destination being Classic Le Mans 2018.
Whilst the A352 was in paint I made a bit of a start on my next project - I had the frame garnet blasted before giving it a coat of red oxide. Looking forward to tackling that one!
... on Thursday I embark with my Honda Dominator on the MV Grande Angola Tilbury-Montevideo and won't be returning from my Patagonian ramblings until June...
Wow, that is one epic trip, hope you have a great (and safe) time.
While you are away, I might transfer a few of your 'under construction' photos over from Scottie's build when I get the chance.
( As your dash looked great too. )
It looks worse than it is. It was dismantled in '81 and has been in dry storage since. I bought it in '11 just before my last bike adventure, meaning to attack it on return, but then I discovered the A352.................
I'll treat it as a any other kit car, despite its fabulous marque heritage. No powder coating etc. etc. Just clean, refurbish and re-assemble. I've yet to decide on the colour, but I know who'll be spraying it for me .
Wow, that is one epic trip, hope you have a great (and safe) time.
I had a serious bout of the above early in my trip - this didn't happen on my first three extended motorcycle tours of Patagonia - must be getting old!
Anyway, I sold the bike to a guy I know over there and flew back, so now I'm playing A352s again. It's almost ready for its second MOT, which may well be this week. I'm undecided where to go as my very sensible ex-REME tester has retired and put his business up for sale .
Here are a couple of shots I took whilst bolting all the bits back on.
Not strictly relevant, but a taster of what I left behind!
Regards, Mick
A tent and a bike in a field...ha ha
Seriously though are you a member of advrider or any site like that ..I'm in awe of the trips like yours..getting to TT one week a year is all my organising skills can muster ha ha
Are you a member of Advrider or any site like that?
I used to hit UKGSer until about 12 years ago, and Horizons Unlimited until maybe five. They both got way too big IMHO, part of the Ewan and Charlie effect.
Organising a big trip is easy, I don't take much more than for a long weekend. Come to the ATFF for inspiration!
froggyman wrote:
More pics please.
I re-fitted the 'lift the dot' studs for the passenger side tonneau cover yesterday and popped it into place. I bought the double duck fabric from the interweb and the edge tape locally. I made templates from brown cardboard and my seamstress friend ran them up. The driver's side one overlaps along the centre line of studs, which are double height. I'll post a picture of both in place tomorrow.
I've now fitted the door windows. They were a bit of a fiddle as there was no room on the inside to pass a bolt outwards. I locktited the dome nuts I used on the windscreen to 40mm M5 machine screws and cut each to length as appropriate before securing them with slimline nuts. I then fabricated two little flip-up guides bolted to the corners of the windscreen to keep everything in line. A nine-point turn was required in the confines of the garden to get the beast facing out. As the perspex covers distort the headlamp beams I decided to leave them off until after the MOT. The grille also has to be left off as the mouth provides access for their back nuts.
Post MOT I need to tidy up the footwells and touch in a few blemishes here and there before using her. Lets hope for plenty of fine weather in '17
I took the scenic route to the test station, stopping to put £10 worth of juice in on the way. Felt amazing to be out in it in the sun with the wind where my hair used to be, blatting down a country lane.
The tester was incredibly thorough, taking the best part of an hour even with me sitting in the cockpit for him. He was fairly young, so I think he was probably unfamiliar with the donor vehicle. No problem with that: a new pair of eyes is always welcome!
Anyway, he failed it on a few counts, with a few advisories chucked in, so I've some fettling to do between now and The Crimble.
I'll post updates when progress is made. The welding is the only real bugbear, as I think I may have to plate it from the inside, which will require a bit of dismantling.
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