For those interested in old cars.

[PhilJ W]

25 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

I recall a Mini Clubman with a Maxi engine fitted. It went straight ahead at a corner once too often.

Isn't there a Vauxhall engine/gearbox unit that can be squeezed into a Mini?

[MrWolf]

17 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Isn't there a Vauxhall engine/gearbox unit that can be squeezed into a Mini?

 

FWD Astra 2litre "Red Top" was a favourite for conversions. It's very amusing in an otherwise bog standard looking HB Viva Deluxe, turned the right way round, Mk1 Cavalier sump, Opel Manta gearbox.

[Rugd1022]

A nice Wood & Pickett Mini Clubman project here with no reserve, no engine or gearbox but all the right W&P bits are there and the GT Equipment Company alloys are quite rare....

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1973-Wood-and-Pickett-Mini-Margrave/324474055161?hash=item4b8c2929f9:g:cEQAAOSw0pBgGpK3

[MrWolf]

Interesting project, I would want to have a really good look at the body repairs and the condition of the leather before parting with any cash. As it's such a rare model, do you go for originality with the autobox (and maybe put off a lot of potential buyers.) I had a G registration Mini auto once, it was er, different. (Awful) we bought a manual E reg that had broken in half and did a swap. Nowadays you would put the scrap bits of the '67 on eBay as a £2000 "project".

Or go with the uprated version and upset purist collectors? 

Things to bear in mind as you could easily chuck £10000 at finishing this car. 

I can't decide if the grille is modified Vauxhall or modified Datsun.

[BernardTPM]

Looks like the usual FD Victor grille mod they used for the Clubmans. I first saw one of these in 1975, Great Portland Street (was going to W&H Models).

[boxbrownie]

3 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Interesting project, I would want to have a really good look at the body repairs and the condition of the leather before parting with any cash. As it's such a rare model, do you go for originality with the autobox (and maybe put off a lot of potential buyers.) I had a G registration Mini auto once, it was er, different. (Awful) we bought a manual E reg that had broken in half and did a swap. Nowadays you would put the scrap bits of the '67 on eBay as a £2000 "project".

Or go with the uprated version and upset purist collectors? 

Things to bear in mind as you could easily chuck £10000 at finishing this car. 

I can't decide if the grille is modified Vauxhall or modified Datsun.

And it comes with the rare centrally mounted steering wheel assembly 

 

I wouldn’t be worried by the leather at all, it’ll just need completely recovering, an easy...well straight forward job, but that shell, I agree it needs a very good look at.....there seems to be some quite odd panel additions and poor pool welding going on there.

[MrWolf]

Replacement would be the easiest, but you can generally bank on six Connolly hides for a car interior. Won't be cheap! 

Body and window rubbers, wiring, light units, rechroming, paint job, brakes, suspension, all the glass bar rear window, that Webasto roof! 

I've restored enough vehicles to know that even if you do most of the work yourself, it's not cheap. I've also had to tell a number of people that the car they have bought for £250 may well fetch  the £5000 they saw one sell for, once they have spent £10000 restoring it.

If I restore something, it's for my use and entertainment, because I want one that is all sorted without any hidden nasties.

I've seen some terribly amateur and dangerously bodged welding on cars, often performed by professionals. I used to hate having to tell people that they had been robbed.

Edited February 4, 2021 by MrWolf

[Northmoor]

12 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

I've also had to tell a number of people that the car they have bought for £250 may well fetch  the £5000 they saw one sell for, once they have spent £10000 restoring it.

 

What, you mean those TV programmes where they restore cars for a profit, aren't telling the whole truth?  Surely not.

[steve1]

Anyone watched The Drowning on the telly? The main character drives an absolutely immaculate bright red E plate Saab 900 two door saloon with Minilites. 

 

Wonder where they found that? Somebody with superb taste must have selected it but it's a really left field choice.

 

steve

[5 C]

5 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

FWD Astra 2litre "Red Top" was a favourite for conversions. It's very amusing in an otherwise bog standard looking HB Viva Deluxe, turned the right way round, Mk1 Cavalier sump, Opel Manta gearbox.

 

The "Red Top" 2 litre 16v engine is an iconic engine. I had two during my Vauxhall career: an Astra GTE and a Calibra SE2. Great fun but in entirely different ways and I miss them both. Fortunately, both cars are still in existence and I've been in contact with the owners. The Calibra was originally bought for its engine but was deemed too good to break and was seen on the show circuit in happier times.

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

Replacement would be the easiest, but you can generally bank on six Connolly hides for a car interior. Won't be cheap! 

You must have Dexters around your way then 

 

Yes it will be expensive but if this restoration is finished as it should be the cost will be paid back in spades.

 

It ain’t gonna be cheap, I’d budget around £20K without any hitches, which is why the body shell needs a good inspection, actually it might be better to just start with a new shell from heritage.

 

I agree with you though, I really think the only reason to do this is if it’s for yourself, it’s a unique vehicle and deserves cherishing after, not just locking away as an investment.

[Rugd1022]

If I were looking for a project I'd be interested in buying it myself (good job I'm not looking for a project!). I bit of history on the W&P Mini from a previous owner, c/o the Mk1 Performance forum....

 

''The W&P Margrave used to be mine, I drove it daily for a couple of years until my second daughter came along and eventually had to sell it, I regretted it from the day it went. Was a cracker although a bit rough around the edges. Had a nicely tuned 998 auto, a very fancy 940 head on the top with with twin 1 & 1/4 SUs. Went like a bomb through the manual change option. Comfortable and great to drive. Was complete when I sold it to a chap from Belgium the best part of 21-22 years ago. The paperwork went with it and I hope it hasn't been lost. Had a really interesting history. Have some pictures of it somewhere''

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by Rugd1022

[MrWolf]

At a guess the tuned engine either went bang, (or more likely, the gearbox did a good impression of a grenade) or is now in someone's competition car with a manual box.

 

I have also learnt from experience that it doesn't take 21 years for the firewall, A pillars, sills, heelboard and boot floor to disappear in a cloud of orange dust. (Plink, plink, fizzzz, two Minis in a puddle) It also doesn't take long for a chimp to stick on bits of old fridge with a £20 Argos arc welder and hide the evidence with seam sealer.

 

6 hides was always the costing yardstick based on a particularly awful MkVII Jag.

Would the headliner be West of England cloth? I usually allow for that, even on pre 1955 mass produced cars.

[russ p]

2 hours ago, steve1 said:

Anyone watched The Drowning on the telly? The main character drives an absolutely immaculate bright red E plate Saab 900 two door saloon with Minilites. 

 

Wonder where they found that? Somebody with superb taste must have selected it but it's a really left field choice.

 

steve

 

My Mrs is watching that, I wonder if its going to get smashed up

[MrWolf]

11 minutes ago, russ p said:

 

My Mrs is watching that, I wonder if its going to get smashed up

 

If the car is owned by someone who has lots of cars that they rent out for filming, rather than a classic owner, then in my experience, probably.

[steve1]

8 hours ago, russ p said:

 

My Mrs is watching that, I wonder if its going to get smashed up

 

Thankfully it was untouched. In fact, no cars were damaged in any way.

 

steve

[peanuts]

10 hours ago, MrWolf said:

At a guess the tuned engine either went bang, (or more likely, the gearbox did a good impression of a grenade) or is now in someone's competition car with a manual box.

 

I have also learnt from experience that it doesn't take 21 years for the firewall, A pillars, sills, heelboard and boot floor to disappear in a cloud of orange dust. (Plink, plink, fizzzz, two Minis in a puddle) It also doesn't take long for a chimp to stick on bits of old fridge with a £20 Argos arc welder and hide the evidence with seam sealer.

 

6 hides was always the costing yardstick based on a particularly awful MkVII Jag.

Would the headliner be West of England cloth? I usually allow for that, even on pre 1955 mass produced cars.

There is a company we deliver service parts to in failsworth that has a unit full of such cars used for filming on various tv shows and films  seem to have a lot of police cars atm 

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, steve1 said:

 

Thankfully it was untouched. In fact, no cars were damaged in any way.

 

Just like for animals, we should insist on a clause being added to the end credits of these programmes: "No interesting cars were deliberately damaged during the making of this programme".

[Enterprisingwestern]

1 hour ago, peanuts said:

There is a company we deliver service parts to in failsworth that has a unit full of such cars used for filming on various tv shows and films  seem to have a lot of police cars atm 

 

You'd think people would take up a hobby rather than watching so much television!

 

Mike.

[russ p]

3 hours ago, steve1 said:

 

Thankfully it was untouched. In fact, no cars were damaged in any way.

 

steve

 

Every time I see an older car I always think it will get smashed up.

Cars in that program were a bit odd there was a jag from mid 2000s I think with a 60 numberplate for some reason. And the saab was just odd as it was mint but its owner on the show didn't seem like she would spend hours polishing it or debating down the pub the different developments stabled and BL did to the slant triumph engine! 

Edited February 5, 2021 by russ p

[johnlambert]

On 03/02/2021 at 20:37, MrWolf said:

 

It was until recently the easiest V8 to get hold of, the more tuneable and lighter still Daimler 2.5 V8 wasn't that common and favoured by drag racers, so got snapped up. The big improvement for custom cars was the introduction of a converter intake manifold to give better breathing and the ability to fit a cheap, reliable Edelbrock or Holley pumper carburettor.

Over 20 years ago a friend fitted an ex Jensen Interceptor Chrysler Hemi into a Ford Pilot body, that was we, interesting. The Ford was a down at heel 70s custom with a busted Rover bottom end under the bonnet and the Jensen was a shovel it out of a bramble bush job.

ISTR that the last Ital commercials had an updated front suspension with coil overs instead of the original setup. That might have been an easy fix for a custom job, they all got stripped out of scrapyard cars by the kit car fraternity. 

 

 

I'm going to adopt a nasal tone of voice and tell you that no Jensen Interceptor had a Chrysler Hemi V8  

 

Early Interceptors had the 383 cubic inch (6.6 litres I think in new money), later ones had the 440 (7.2 litres) and the SP had the 440 with the "Six Pack" six-barrel carburettor.  All of these had conventional, wedge-shaped combustion chambers.  The contemporary 426 Hemi was a physically bigger, heavier, much more temperamental beast, designed for racing and with (I think) a 90-day factory warranty.  In street tune there wasn't much to choose between the 440 and the Hemi for performance.

[MrWolf]

I see, I had always assumed it was a Hemi as fitted to some Plymouth Barracudas. The car was last seen in the Blackford area and painted metallic green over silver with no bonnet sides. 

So the expensive Jensen got landed with a run of the mill Belvedere mill?

The 383 is roughly 6.6 litres, (there's a calculation, but I am not wearing my anorak.) I had a 1959 Buick with a Nailhead 401 that was roughly 6.7 litre. It was so big it had a postcode instead of a registration number. If I had a pound for every genius who asked what it did to the gallon, I could have run it for free.

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by MrWolf
Picture no load!

[Rugd1022]

More golden oldies....

 

Bracknell in the '60s....

 

 

Darlington....

 

 

Edinburgh in the '60s, the Series 1 Rover P6 looks very swish and modern....

 

 

 

[MrWolf]

The RHD FIAT 850 is a rare beast now, the Minx I think is a IIIC 1600. I  can just remember my dad having a 1960 IIIB 1500 in those colours, Grey over Antelope.

Minories garage must have looked space age back in the 1930s. As for the Bracknell photo, there's some interesting vehicles in that lineup. The split screen Morris Traveller is a rarely seen car now. I think that the traveller came out for '54 and the one piece screen came in for the '56 model year, so probably only around 18 months production.

Edited February 5, 2021 by MrWolf

[peanuts]

This slightly tired little beauty has arrived for restoration this week absoloutly original motor