The V8 is home, lets sort out the bodges...

R

Rob M

Member
Well it was my day off today so I went to pick her up.
Not sure where to post this TBH, I suppose, as its going to need things doing to it, it is "technically" a project.
Right, first up are the pics...
P1000433.jpg

P1000428.jpg

P1000429.jpg

P1000431.jpg

P1000425.jpg

P1000424.jpg

P1000423.jpg

The drive home, about 30 miles didnt throw up any great suprises, apart from the distinct impression that is low geared ( serves me right for having previous classics with overdrive/5 gears ) it drove beautifully, magic carpet like actually, it didnt overheat and apart from the oil pressure guage going to zero then popping back up as per normal and staying that way, I cant complain tbh.
As you can see the paintwork is awful but can be done and a brief check around the structure/floors shows some slight crustiness by the inner sill/drivers side floorpan ( dont think its gone through) and evidence of previous welding to "MOT standard".
Ive already sorted out a couple of bodges, namely, pipes going into pipes and held together with gaffa tape :wink:
Oh, yes, there is an oil leak to be investigated, however, there is a nice lump of rag strapped to the front crossmember designed to catch the drips....it doesnt :mrgreen:
So what have I bought for a whole £750? IMHO its an honest car with the usual age related bodgery. I suppose, like most "classics" it has gone through the expensive Luxo barge bit to the el cheapo luxo barge but I cant afford to maintain it chapter to a point which is now, a car that is deemed a proper "classic" that will benefit from some love, care and, er, money spending on it.
I MUST change the steering wheel, its awful, you cant see what speed you are doing and I need to get rid of the chavvy ( just my opinion) gear knob and ali door lock thingys, the ones you pull up and down on top of the doors. The interior will be attacked with 1001 cleaner which will make it a much nicer place to be and, eventually the carpets will be changed as i think they are too dark, I think Ocre is the right colour?
I also dont care for the air filters too much, they will be going and will be replaced by the correct item. Incidentally, all you experts out there, does it look like a P6 lump?
Finally, anybody recognise the car? For gawd sakes dont tell me that you knew of it 6 years ago and it was about to be scrapped the last time you heard!!!!! :?
Looks like Ive got some work to do! :D
EDIT: Nearly forgot, the R/H side carb, as you look at it. What pipe is supposed to go on the end of that union? Is it meant to have something or can it be blanked off?
Cheers
Rob
 
Congratulations on your purchase :) looks like you will have your hands full !!! my car is the same ,it took me some time to sort out the various bodges too ,so don't worry too much :D
 
Rob M said:
EDIT: Nearly forgot, the R/H side carb, as you look at it. What pipe is supposed to go on the end of that union? Is it meant to have something or can it be blanked off?
Cheers
Rob
Click to expand...

That shouldn't be there, it may have had a gas conversion at some time and the gas was injected there, but if it's open now all it's doing is bypassing your air filter. If you get the correct air filter housing you can route the engine breather into that as it should be, instead of into the back of that the way it is now. It looks like it has something similar on the back of the other carb too.

Plenty of little bits for you to play with but for the money you paid it doesn't look too bad at all.
 
IMHO you can't go wrong looks very very good for £750 Bargain :D as they always need something. I know people who have spent more than double and bought sheds n allsorts of trouble....
 
Those carb inlets look suspiciously like some I have seen fitted on a Range Rover by a gas conversion
outfit ( I was going to say "company" but thought better of it ) :roll: .
It might be interesting to check up on the engine number to see if it is a P6 or a transplant ? but if it runs sweetly
why worry at this stage........you can always upgraded later :D

Notice fan blades seem to be absent, electric fan fitted or do you have to keep moving for air flow ?
That aside Rob, in general terms it looks as if you got great value for money, a nice project, well done
 
Congratulations, looks good for the money definitely. Should be able to get a few pounds for that steering wheel and boss too, I imagine. I take it she's Monza Red, judging by that Starlet in shot, and that the photo only has it going towards orange? Good luck tidying her up!
 
Damn!! I just did a long post and it disappeared!!!!!!!!! :evil:
Oh well....
Right, firstly a big thanks for the replies and encouragement, it goes a long way!!!
The fan is electric and, I think, the previous owner mentioned Paprika as the colour, although thats more maroon ( is it?) and that colour is underneath the current paintwork.
For £750 ive bought a bitsa car, Im under no illusions, its been "worked on" over the years, however, its far from beyond redemption and i have a plan.
Firstly stop the oil leak(s) secondly deal with any grot, thirdly deep clean the interior and, running in tandem with all that, start collecting the bits that will return it to standard such as proper steerring wheel, air filter housing and suchlike.
Also on the agenda is a set of alloys. Yes the paintwork is shonky but a spray job is a fair way off and ive found that some nice alloys can divert the eyes away from the paint and make even the rattiest car look rather good. :mrgreen:
Talking of bang for bucks, that Starlet is my daughters, her first car and it cost a whole £370. After a new wiper blade and some velcro to hold up the sun visors it sailed through the MOT. That car is a honey and is proof, if proof was ever needed that the more you spend the better you buy just isnt true, well ok not always :wink:
To give you some idea of how Id like this car to look, here are a few photos of the car I sold last week. Mega elbow grease on the body work, under the bonnet and an interior refurb ( done on the cheap) made the car 100% better than when i bought it.
It gives me loads of hope that I can work on this car and make it an awful lot better than it is now.
P1000252.jpg

P10006321.jpg

P1000297.jpg

Stina, this one had NO earthing problems!! :LOL:
I love old cars, me.
 
ghce said:
Paprika..........no..... :LOL: looks more like mine which is supposadly pimento which is I beleive a triumph offering or some such, have a look at Rudigers web pages for Rover colours. http://www.roverp6.info/ or more directly http://www.roverp6.info/P6%20production%20colours.htm


Graeme
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info!
Yes, you are quite correct, It certainly looks like Pimento and probably is.
In saying that, it could throw up another mystery in so much that i know that underneath it is a much darker red and, going by the colours, it seems to be Monza red.
Was that a paint option in the latter half of the 70s? Im thinking that, perhaps, the original seating was black but the door seals are beige yet the glove boxes under the dash are black..... :wink:
I dunno!!
 
You couldn't mistake Paprika for anything else! It's as hot as the spice it is named after! Orange simply doesn't do it justice.

You did a simply incredible job on the interior of that scimitar. It's the only thing (apart from the missing cylinders) that would put me off buying one - they almost always look irredeemably tired. Yours doesn't!

I agree about the wheels. If you have a search on here you ought to be able to find some pictures of my "Thai Car". I refurbed a set of SD1 Vitesse crossspokes with painted gold centres and polished alloy rims and they made the car look a million dollars (which was just as well because it nearly was!). They looked massively better than the same wheel in standard SD1 trim.

The interior on a P6 is extremely easy to change. You ought to be able to replace every single visible item of trim in the car (bar for the headlining which is standard across all interiors) in less than a morning. So don't worry too much about how the car came out of the factory, just keep an eye open to learn the common trim colours and pick one you like! It is also very easy to mix and march. For instance, I like a nice light airy interior, but I also like vintage style dark brown seat faces. So you can put a cream seat back on a brown seat and have cream rear 1/4 panels and lighten up the whole interior. Go for it - have your own design studio!

Chris
 
Thanks for the kind words Chris, yes, Scimitar interiors can look very "tired" indeed!
Thats the bit I enjoy doing most, renovating interiors, I dont pretend that I can bring them up to concourse condition but I enjoy refurbing them. The Scim I had previous to the last one also underwent changes, I actually managed to fit front and back leather seats out of a Nissan 200 sx into it, very comfy they were :D
Im quite adept now at recolouring vinyl/leather and recarpeting, which is a nightmare on a Scimitar due to the design of the floor over the chassis.
I shall have a look at your wheels for some inspiration, Ive seen some 14in on flea bay (they are not the lattice/spoked type they are the ones fitted, IIRC,on the VDP models) that need renovating which, if they stay cheap may be worth a punt. Looking at all the info on here, im assuming I will need the SD1 nuts AND hub bolts to fit them and have 3mm skimmed off of them, is that correct?
I wont get to have a play with the car till Sunday now and after it will be next Friday, my rostered off day. Its times like this I d like a week off just to get stuck in....
All that I know about P6s are from when I was 18, ive got to learn it and everything else all over again, i suppose.
Its all good tho, I learnt loads about Scimitars in 6 odd years of owning them, im sure i will soon be up to speed on P6s, especially with the experience and know how of people here to fall back on.
Rob
 
Your car looks like a great buy for the money - well done! Also I am a bit envious of your reg as the first 3 letters are my initials.

"brief check around the structure/floors shows some slight crustiness by the inner sill/drivers side floorpan ( dont think its gone through) and evidence of previous welding to "MOT standard"."[
Click to expand...
don't want to be too alarmist but I would maybe advise removing the carpet and outer sill on the O/S to see what state the inner sill is in.

Your Scmimitar does look very good. I reckon this must rate as one of the most interesting UK cars produced. If you think about it, how many cars can claim to be a sports car, GT, family hatchback, coupe and estate car all at the same time (and still look cool)? All way before Audi came up with their Avant too! Where did we go wrong?
 
JVY said:
Your car looks like a great buy for the money - well done! Also I am a bit envious of your reg as the first 3 letters are my initials.

"brief check around the structure/floors shows some slight crustiness by the inner sill/drivers side floorpan ( dont think its gone through) and evidence of previous welding to "MOT standard"."[
Click to expand...
don't want to be too alarmist but I would maybe advise removing the carpet and outer sill on the O/S to see what state the inner sill is in.

Your Scmimitar does look very good. I reckon this must rate as one of the most interesting UK cars produced. If you think about it, how many cars can claim to be a sports car, GT, family hatchback, coupe and estate car all at the same time (and still look cool)? All way before Audi came up with their Avant too! Where did we go wrong?
Click to expand...
Yep, I shall be having a look at the O/S as soon as i get time, Im not expecting spanking clean metal so i wont be massively suprised if its swiss cheese.
The scimitar was considered to be the Worlds first "Sports tourer" others followed and they came from major manufacturers who had more money to invest in their designs. I know that the owners club had a member go down to, IIRC, Brooklands recently with his concourse 5A model to take part in a publicity motor shoot for Mercedes who were launching their new sports tourer. Mercedes wanted to demonstrate the whole sports tourer origins and how its new car was part of that family tree.
As different as Scimitars and P4s/5s and 6s are they are quintessentially British , something i love about about them all.
 
I like the interior of your Scimitar had'nt really taken much note of them before somewhat reminiscent to me of a Hummer :LOL: but oh so 70's :mrgreen: unlike the series II p6b's which to me even though they are 70's stuff dont illicit the same cringe factor for the plastic finishes like later SD1's do and escorts etc of the era.

Graeme
 
Have you seen P6s with Wolfrace wheels? There's a blue one on here I think. Looks quite as good as on the Scimitar I reckon.

Of SD1 alloys I think it's the 15" Vitesse wheel that may/not require skimming OR scissor-jack manipulation of the lower D post to clear it. I did the latter and it was only a little scary at first. Not much. Wins sell black lug nuts for your existing studs. Hub grease caps you will need to find or remove the lips from yours so they press-fit inside the hub aperture.
 
Rob M said:
I shall have a look at your wheels for some inspiration, Ive seen some 14in on flea bay (they are not the lattice/spoked type they are the ones fitted, IIRC,on the VDP models) that need renovating which, if they stay cheap may be worth a punt. Looking at all the info on here, im assuming I will need the SD1 nuts AND hub bolts to fit them and have 3mm skimmed off of them, is that correct?
Rob
Click to expand...

The SD1 alloy wheels will bolt straight on without any issues. Some people have changed the wheelnuts and bolts for metric SD1-type, but if you buy a set of imperial wheelnuts, you won't have any problems.
 
Hi Rob,

I presume Chris Above means the 14" SD1 wheels will go on without issue - Chris?

Personally, unless you particularely like the appearance of one of the 14" SD1 variants, I wouldn't bother wih those as they carry over the tyre sourcing issues. The 15" Vitesse cross spokes solve this and look excellent as well. But, as I said, they are extremely heavy, quality is suspect and there is the D post mod required. I'd be astonished if you got away without having to mildly jack the D post - although one forumite has managed it. Now that we know the D post mod, I don't think it is necessary to do the back skim. Before you have wheels refurbed, do get them run up on a tyre centre balancing machine. You might be astonished at the amount of run out these wheels can acquire / be made with. For that reason I'd expect to discard at least 30% of what you buy. The payback to doing this is silky smooth progress - balancing only takes you so far, getting the wheel and then the tyre perfectly round and true make a huge difference to a car.

If you can't find the pictures of the one's I did with polished rims, I'll post some in this thread.

Chris
 
I found that the 14 inch SD1 rims went on with no issue but the guard seam clearance to the tyre was barley 1 mm on one side of the car with my 205 tyres fitted so a little judicious bend of the seam with a crescent solved any future possible issues. as has been said appropriate wheel nut are available to fit the rims which saves you changing out the studs and that means you can also use the origional steel wheel as a spare in the advent of a flat with of course the origional nuts.

Graeme
 
Rob, how did the Scimitar drive compared to your first impressions of the P6? I've always liked the look of Scimitars, but have thought of them as almost kit-cars in the past.

I got back in my P6 this morning after a week or so in an MGB & really noticed the difference - driving a solid, smooth & beautifully engineered car compared to half-a-job (referring to the P6 first, of course :LOL: ). My P6 rattles here & there, & I do like the MGB, but they are leagues apart in quality.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top