PatB Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Worst kit car build ever ? Bit of Isopon and some sanding and it'll be schmick mate . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 When I first came to Perth in the late '90s, the only Facel Vega I've ever seen in the metal used to live, parked in the street, not far from our rental flat. I've never seen it out and about anywhere else though, so I'm not convinced it was actually mobile, even though road registered at the time. It certainly looked a little faded. Dunno if it's still there, but it's now 20 years since I moved out of the area. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted March 4, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 4, 2018 Worst kit car build ever ? Some people should not be given a pop rivet gun. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) Well certainly not this guy ! But you have to give him 10 out of 10 for trying. Edited March 4, 2018 by allan downes 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Well certainly not this guy ! At a quick glance I thought that was DanielB going paintballing! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted March 5, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 5, 2018 The Facel Vega poste by Allan reminded me that one used to race at Santa Pod in the late 60s. I just dug out some old photos, including this 1967 shot of it in action. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 The Facel Vega poste by Allan reminded me that one used to race at Santa Pod in the late 60s. I just dug out some old photos, including this 1967 shot of it in action. FACEL VEGA 1967.jpg Never drove one, Pete. How fast were they - 0-60, Top End ? Also can't remember, was it a V8 ? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 (edited) Never drove one, Pete. How fast were they - 0-60, Top End ? Also can't remember, was it a V8 ? Chrysler V8, I think, with an automatic box - probably the only one that could handle the torque.... Edited March 5, 2018 by Horsetan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Never drove one, Pete. How fast were they - 0-60, Top End ? Also can't remember, was it a V8 ? They came with a variety of Chrysler V8 engines over the years, and a choice of Chrysler's Torqflite three-speed automatic gearbox or four-speed Pont-a-Mousson manual. The Motor road tested a HK500 and recorded 0-60mph in 8.4 seconds and a top speed of 140mph. That was for a car with a 6.3-litre V8 (rated at 360hp) and manual gearbox 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two_sugars Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 There was one slowly going to rust on a farm near here in the late 70's . . . .383 ci chrysler hemi V8 and auto box He wasn't selling and It was going to be a lot of work. John 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 There was one slowly going to rust on a farm near here in the late 70's . . . .383 ci chrysler hemi V8 and auto box He wasn't selling and It was going to be a lot of work. John I know I'm being pedantic but if it was a 383 it wasn't a Hemi Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Haven't got a screenshot, unfortunately, but while watching Magnum Force last night, what should I notice parked at the kerb in 1970s San Francisco but an Austin 1100 (well, an ADO16 shape anyway) in Basil Fawlty red. Almost made up for the t-boning of a, then worthless but now staggeringly valuable, VW split screen bus a few moments later . 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two_sugars Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 I know I'm being pedantic but if it was a 383 it wasn't a Hemi Only repeating what the farmer told me. John 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Haven't got a screenshot, unfortunately, but while watching Magnum Force last night, what should I notice parked at the kerb in 1970s San Francisco but an Austin 1100 (well, an ADO16 shape anyway) in Basil Fawlty red. Almost made up for the t-boning of a, then worthless but now staggeringly valuable, VW split screen bus a few moments later . Could be an Austin America. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Faced Vega didn't only make V8 powered cars The Facellia and Facel III both had 4 bangers. steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Faced Vega didn't only make V8 powered cars The Facellia and Facel III both had 4 bangers. steve Bang being the operative word, the Facellia's twin-cam engine cost a fortune in warranty replacements. The Facel III used four-cylinder engines from Volvo (apart from a couple that used BMC's straight six from the Austin Healey). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 There was one slowly going to rust on a farm near here in the late 70's . . . .383 ci chrysler hemi V8 and auto box He wasn't selling and It was going to be a lot of work. I once looked round the shell of a 4-door Facel Vega "Excellence". It was in the workshop of Lance McCormack when he used to run Romance of Rust in Ealing (he now operates in Brentford), and he had been hired to do a ground-up resto of the car. He told me that this particular one had been owned by Ava Gardner. I'd seen examples of his panel-beating skills; they don't come cheap now. The Excellence had been designed with no B-pillars, so I can't imagine that the shell was particularly rigid. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 I once looked round the shell of a 4-door Facel Vega "Excellence". It was in the workshop of Lance McCormack when he used to run Romance of Rust in Ealing (he now operates in Brentford), and he had been hired to do a ground-up resto of the car. He told me that this particular one had been owned by Ava Gardner. I'd seen examples of his panel-beating skills; they don't come cheap now. The Excellence had been designed with no B-pillars, so I can't imagine that the shell was particularly rigid. Did he repaint the dashboard by hand too..? The first time I saw one in the flesh I thought the dash was real wood veneer, turned out it was painted on! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Did he repaint the dashboard by hand too..? The first time I saw one in the flesh I thought the dash was real wood veneer, turned out it was painted on! I'm not sure he needed to touch that. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted March 6, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 6, 2018 There one and a half Facel Vegas (Vegaii?) in the IoM Motor Museum. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 ^^ Both Excellences. No B-pillar. Wonder what the scuttle shake must have been like. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Ringo Starr bought one in 1964 and kept it until 1968, he came very close to having a nasty accident in it, at which point the other three Fabs pointed out that they wouldn't want to carry on as a three piece band. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 .... the other three Fabs pointed out that they wouldn't want to carry on as a three piece band. They could have branched into classical music and become a three-piece suite. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Rumours are that the Facel Vega Excellence did indeed suffer from rigidity issues. The author and philosopher Albert Camus was killed when travelling in a Facel Vega driven by his publisher and close friednd, Michel Gallimard. The car was estimated to be travelling at 112mph when the driver lost control and hit a tree, Gallimard died five days after the accident. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan downes Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Think I had one of these once and apart from obviously being a Vauxhall, I'm not sure as to what model. All I remember, is that it had train carriage style straps with which to lower the windows, that I got off my Uncle Fred who's interpretation of a "Small leak" was a cracked block. Never got it repaired and swapped it with a Ford Eight that had a cracked everything. This wonderment ended up in the Village Duck pond which had disappeared altogether beneath a blanket of fog on a bend outside of Caddington, Beds on the way to work. Anyone know what it is? 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now