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...easier to buy a Z300S from Tribute and start with that ...
Funny you should say that...
And of course it was. However the challenge of utilising the exact shape as a body swap is something I'd try if I had the space. It's probably best that I don't.
IT MIGHT YES ...With a few inches stretch the wheelbase would correct itself but you'd need to stretch it behind the door as the cockpit position would put you sat right on top of the rear 4 bar link top mount......track width needs altering too ...those 350s's are very narrow ...
So , yes it can work if quarterized ...it would make a great car .....it's actually nearer a Vitesse than a Scimitar dimensionally ...
True ..its close to an SE4 , but the chassis rails are all wrong for a car of this style ...They run parallel to each other right through the area that you sit ...to put the body at the correct height would give the car the look of a S*mmio or similar without the dropped floorpans but actually worse ! ...not good , unless you like pedal cars ! The SE4 is still too wide as well...its closer , but still no cigar !
The SS1 is not too bad on the width ...but its 83'' wheelbase takes it out of the equation ...
There will be a suitable donor I'm sure ...but I don't think it's Scimitar this time ......
I'd either go with a Herald/Vitesse chassis which is only 1/2" longer wheelbase than the 300 or, if you want to use a Scimitar SS1 chassis I'd change the styling to the 200si, which came with an 86.6" wheelbase -
The 200si is a prettier car imho and came with an inline 4 cylinder twin cam as standard, so it should be easier to get a suitable engine into the package - notice how the 200si bonnet is lower between the front wings than the 300 - making it look and sound more authentic. Here's a 200 and a 300 next to each other for comparison -
Yes, wouldn't want a real one of those even as a gift, not with that ugly frog face.
And its solid rear axle means the handling is bound to be rubbish on a track. What were Maserati thinking? Everyone knows you can't make a rear beam or swing axle chassis'd car handle. Well, everyone except Maserati, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Alfa-Romeo, Juan Manuel Fangio, Sir Stirling Moss, etc., etc. And what did they know?
Wouldn't want that engine either, what with it being all alloy instead of a nice, cast iron block like you get with a trusty CVH. I know the CVH had its critics, but that was only really Jeremy Clarkson, who said it was so nasty Moulinex wouldn't use it in their Magimix. Everyone else who drove a CVH engined car loved it. My mum had one, and my sister. And my mother in law! And none of them even noticed its nasty, thrashy coarseness and vibration or were troubled by its fragile cam-belt. I hated the one in my XR3i, but then I think I got a really bad one. Just like everyone else.
Have to agree (for real) about the 1800ti SS1 being a good donor choice for a kit car - galvanised chassis and a truly great engine plus looks only its mother could love mean it's ripe for conversion into something nicer.
Unless you already have one though it's going to be difficult to find, they only made 500 of them while Triumph churned out about 300,000 Spitfires.
I'd put a Puma engine on an RX8 gearbox into the standard SS1 chassis and body it as a 200si - it'd only be about 60mm shorter than the original in the wheelbase so should look right.
