My '72 P6 V8 is back in use on UK roads and once again wearing its silver on black 'K' plates!
- Thread starter mrtask
- Start date
mrtask
Well-Known Member
Re: The optimist
I've just treated myself to a set of nicely restored Kelsey Hayes Magstar wheels, with the centre caps, and trim rings. Not by any means cheap, but I think they look terrific on a P6 and they will certainly make for a distinctive finishing touch to my project. I understand they were only available in the US on the 2000TC during 1967. I wonder how many buyers opted for the Magstars.
I've also found one perfect NOS front sidelight unit tucked away in my garage, and located another for a more reasonable price than as advertised on ebay of late. If there are any Scandinavian P6 fans reading this who'd like to sell me a pair of intact headlamp wash & wipe assemblies my list of parts wanted would then be complete! :!: Oh, and a glass roof.
If I could just find those pesky end pieces for the trim along the rain gutter... I know they're in the lock-up somewhere, but an long and exhaustive rummage this weekend hasn't turned them up. That's what happens when you disassemble a car and take half a decade to put it back together.
Pictures once the wheels arrive and are test fitted. Fingers crossed I won't have any clearance problems with the D posts. :roll:
I've just treated myself to a set of nicely restored Kelsey Hayes Magstar wheels, with the centre caps, and trim rings. Not by any means cheap, but I think they look terrific on a P6 and they will certainly make for a distinctive finishing touch to my project. I understand they were only available in the US on the 2000TC during 1967. I wonder how many buyers opted for the Magstars.
I've also found one perfect NOS front sidelight unit tucked away in my garage, and located another for a more reasonable price than as advertised on ebay of late. If there are any Scandinavian P6 fans reading this who'd like to sell me a pair of intact headlamp wash & wipe assemblies my list of parts wanted would then be complete! :!: Oh, and a glass roof.
If I could just find those pesky end pieces for the trim along the rain gutter... I know they're in the lock-up somewhere, but an long and exhaustive rummage this weekend hasn't turned them up. That's what happens when you disassemble a car and take half a decade to put it back together.
Pictures once the wheels arrive and are test fitted. Fingers crossed I won't have any clearance problems with the D posts. :roll:
josephp6man
New Member
Re: The optimist
hi,
look forward to seeing them, it has been a while since i have seen them, but boy they were re-furbished well.
talking about triplex roofs, i kick myself now, but last august time i had the chance to buy the original prototype one, which was metal, a little surface rust here and there, but the prototype, never mind ! i do believe the production ones were not, am i right ?
ian
hi,
look forward to seeing them, it has been a while since i have seen them, but boy they were re-furbished well.
talking about triplex roofs, i kick myself now, but last august time i had the chance to buy the original prototype one, which was metal, a little surface rust here and there, but the prototype, never mind ! i do believe the production ones were not, am i right ?
ian
adamhotrod
New Member
Re: The optimist
Looking forward to seeing those wheels on there! Rare indeed.
Looking forward to seeing those wheels on there! Rare indeed.
mrtask
Well-Known Member
Re: The optimist
The lads at CWB have helped me fit a seal kit to the power steering box and get it back in. Crikey, the big C-shaped clip holding the innards in place was a pig to struggle back in! I'm chuffed to report that the PAS is finally free of leaks. I had to go for a couple of laps of the workshop building to celebrate. Starts at the first turn of the key, oil pressure settles straight in the middle of the guage, heater works, wipers would wipe if there were any glass there. Very happy. Just listening to the burble again makes me grin.
My panels will hopefully be getting the attentions of the panelbeater next week before the painter does his bit. Some annoying storage dings to be smoothed out first, and some sanding to be done. I dropped the front valance and a NADA air filter off at the sandblasters today. With more than a little help from CWB I've now got a working vacuum thingamyjig to open and close the warm/cold air flap in the NADA air filter snorkel. Opened it up, made a new diapraghm from a used inner tube, and closed it all back up again. Can't quite match the factory finish, but pleased to have got the thing working at last. Pics will follow after I get it back from the blasters and get some Hammerite on there.
I still can't make my mind up whether to get some black Everflex on the roof or have it painted. Decisions decisions. :roll: I'm thinking about having the front seats re-covered in some new black leather, and the rear squabs recoloured to match. Hope to get some quotes from a couple of car upholstery firms next week, I wonder if I'll be able to afford it.
So am I! Should get 'em shipped over in a week or so, can't wait to bolt 'em on and see if there is enough clearance in the rear arches!
The lads at CWB have helped me fit a seal kit to the power steering box and get it back in. Crikey, the big C-shaped clip holding the innards in place was a pig to struggle back in! I'm chuffed to report that the PAS is finally free of leaks. I had to go for a couple of laps of the workshop building to celebrate. Starts at the first turn of the key, oil pressure settles straight in the middle of the guage, heater works, wipers would wipe if there were any glass there. Very happy. Just listening to the burble again makes me grin.
My panels will hopefully be getting the attentions of the panelbeater next week before the painter does his bit. Some annoying storage dings to be smoothed out first, and some sanding to be done. I dropped the front valance and a NADA air filter off at the sandblasters today. With more than a little help from CWB I've now got a working vacuum thingamyjig to open and close the warm/cold air flap in the NADA air filter snorkel. Opened it up, made a new diapraghm from a used inner tube, and closed it all back up again. Can't quite match the factory finish, but pleased to have got the thing working at last. Pics will follow after I get it back from the blasters and get some Hammerite on there.
I still can't make my mind up whether to get some black Everflex on the roof or have it painted. Decisions decisions. :roll: I'm thinking about having the front seats re-covered in some new black leather, and the rear squabs recoloured to match. Hope to get some quotes from a couple of car upholstery firms next week, I wonder if I'll be able to afford it.
mrtask
Well-Known Member
Re: The optimist
I took delivery of my Magstar wheels today and bolted them straight onto the rolling Base Unit.
They look excellent. I really like the fact that the 'slots' or 'apertures' are so big, revealing the front disc brakes and making a visual feature of the rear suspension set-up, with the apparent absence of rear brakes at first glance. I'm very happy with the Magstars, although they weren't cheap I think they really set the car apart.
I didn't take any photos, I'm going to wait until the bodywork is finished. Now I just need to kidnap my panelbeater next week, and get him hammering on my bodywork and none of the other projects at CWB. Drove a few more laps around the outside of the workshop today, but I'm getting impatient for the finished article now! :roll:
I took delivery of my Magstar wheels today and bolted them straight onto the rolling Base Unit.
They look excellent. I really like the fact that the 'slots' or 'apertures' are so big, revealing the front disc brakes and making a visual feature of the rear suspension set-up, with the apparent absence of rear brakes at first glance. I'm very happy with the Magstars, although they weren't cheap I think they really set the car apart.
I didn't take any photos, I'm going to wait until the bodywork is finished. Now I just need to kidnap my panelbeater next week, and get him hammering on my bodywork and none of the other projects at CWB. Drove a few more laps around the outside of the workshop today, but I'm getting impatient for the finished article now!
:roll:
adamhotrod
New Member
Re: The optimist
^ What he said! ^
TokyoP6B said:
^ What he said! ^
Re: The optimist
The glass roofs are extremely bespoke! It really is glass. As Henck Bruer will testify. He had the glass section come unglued at speed and depart skywards to smash to a 1,000 pices in the road behind him! The car that used to live in the Swindon area has also, apparently, needed re-gluing on a number of occasions! The perimeter frame for the glass is fibreglass on a steel frame in the production version. Ckearly there is a bespoke headlining! It includes a zip in cover for the underside of the glass to use in extreme sunshine. Reports suggest that the effect is really only usable in winter, or with airconditioning, as the car turns into a greenhouse in sunshine, even with the alleged sun screening properties of the glass. For that reason, cars equipped with the roof were always supplied either with the Ambla /Amblair upholstery as used on mainly Canadian TC's and on 2000 base models between '68 and '71, or with Herringbone cloth. The car below, seen with Ann Jones, has Ambla / Amblair - you can see the pleated sections of the seat faces have the Amblair perforations, similar to the upholstery used on Triumph's.
Chris
The glass roofs are extremely bespoke! It really is glass. As Henck Bruer will testify. He had the glass section come unglued at speed and depart skywards to smash to a 1,000 pices in the road behind him! The car that used to live in the Swindon area has also, apparently, needed re-gluing on a number of occasions! The perimeter frame for the glass is fibreglass on a steel frame in the production version. Ckearly there is a bespoke headlining! It includes a zip in cover for the underside of the glass to use in extreme sunshine. Reports suggest that the effect is really only usable in winter, or with airconditioning, as the car turns into a greenhouse in sunshine, even with the alleged sun screening properties of the glass. For that reason, cars equipped with the roof were always supplied either with the Ambla /Amblair upholstery as used on mainly Canadian TC's and on 2000 base models between '68 and '71, or with Herringbone cloth. The car below, seen with Ann Jones, has Ambla / Amblair - you can see the pleated sections of the seat faces have the Amblair perforations, similar to the upholstery used on Triumph's.
Chris
Attachments
Re: The optimist
There are architectural aluminum channels that use seals that are all but failsafe now ( you don't get glass falling out of skyscrapers in a storm ) but getting someone to prototype the correct size + curve for the "Rover application" would be spendy, but certainly not impossible...
I imagine that top would make the interior intolerable in Summer, it needs a reflective one-way mirror type laminate to reflect the heat
GW
One of the first things my engineer buddy commented on was how easy it would be for a large curved section attached that way to simply part company with the seal and sail off, a crosswind or change in pressure from rolling a window down at speed would be enough; plastic would be too inclined to flex, vibrate, regardless of the weight or gauge; so glass makes sense, tho' clearly not immune to failure either. Fibreglass edging would be cheap, strong + light
There are architectural aluminum channels that use seals that are all but failsafe now ( you don't get glass falling out of skyscrapers in a storm ) but getting someone to prototype the correct size + curve for the "Rover application" would be spendy, but certainly not impossible...
I imagine that top would make the interior intolerable in Summer, it needs a reflective one-way mirror type laminate to reflect the heat
GW
JVY
Active Member
Re: The optimist
The glass top does look amazing though. With the P6's thin pillars and curved roof line, I think it looks good. What perhaps would have been ideal is for the glass top to have been removable so that you could replace it with some kind of hardtop? Of course, some modern cars now have a similar glass top (Toyota RAV4 is one that springs to mind) but I have no idea how the glass panel are fixed in place?
I was thinking the same thing about the glass being a problem in hot sunny weather - though you would be able to grow some nice tomato plants in the back seatTokyoP6B said:
The glass top does look amazing though. With the P6's thin pillars and curved roof line, I think it looks good. What perhaps would have been ideal is for the glass top to have been removable so that you could replace it with some kind of hardtop? Of course, some modern cars now have a similar glass top (Toyota RAV4 is one that springs to mind) but I have no idea how the glass panel are fixed in place?
mrtask
Well-Known Member
Re: The optimist
Nice of you fellows to give this thread a bump!
I seem to recall having seen something on the telly once about glass that can either be crystal clear, or at the touch of a switch and thanks to some sort of electrickery can change to match the body colour, going from transparent to totally opaque. Can't remember what it was called though, let alone how it worked. Would make for a nice glass roof option though, if it were possible to perhaps control the opacity as if using a dimmer switch.
I'm vacationing at the moment, and I very much hope that the paint shop are doing their best to colour my bodywork with a good coat of Admiralty Blue in my absence, as planned. There was a whole parking lot full of eye-wateringly expensive sports cars awaiting body and paint repair when I dropped my panels off last week, I just hope the guys can fit my respray in between working on all those dinged and dented Aston Martins etc.! I sincerely hope I can get on with panel fitting when I get back home.
Just before departing I dragged the remains of my Organ Donor's Base Unit out of my lock-up to be collected by the scrap merchants whilst I'm away, after having removed every last nut and bolt from it. My garage now looks all too empty, I want to get my restoration project back there a.s.a.p!
Nice of you fellows to give this thread a bump!
I seem to recall having seen something on the telly once about glass that can either be crystal clear, or at the touch of a switch and thanks to some sort of electrickery can change to match the body colour, going from transparent to totally opaque. Can't remember what it was called though, let alone how it worked. Would make for a nice glass roof option though, if it were possible to perhaps control the opacity as if using a dimmer switch.
I'm vacationing at the moment, and I very much hope that the paint shop are doing their best to colour my bodywork with a good coat of Admiralty Blue in my absence, as planned. There was a whole parking lot full of eye-wateringly expensive sports cars awaiting body and paint repair when I dropped my panels off last week, I just hope the guys can fit my respray in between working on all those dinged and dented Aston Martins etc.! I sincerely hope I can get on with panel fitting when I get back home.
Just before departing I dragged the remains of my Organ Donor's Base Unit out of my lock-up to be collected by the scrap merchants whilst I'm away, after having removed every last nut and bolt from it. My garage now looks all too empty, I want to get my restoration project back there a.s.a.p!
Re: The optimist
Yes, "Smart glass" + glass with the effect of changing from clear to body colour or tint is called "electrochromic" Apparently used in a Ferrari coupe roof...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass
Happy holidays!
GW
Yes, "Smart glass" + glass with the effect of changing from clear to body colour or tint is called "electrochromic" Apparently used in a Ferrari coupe roof...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass
Happy holidays!
GW
Thijs Leuven
Active Member
Re: The optimist
It looks amazing!
It looks amazing!
mrtask
Well-Known Member
Re: The optimist
After the summer break work is once again being undertaken on my project. Armed with a few very helpful measurements from some of you fellow forum members, yesterday I got a hole made in the middle of my bonnet, at long last, to feed cold air to the motor. Fitted up the bonnet as far forward as possible to clear the windscreen wiper arms, which had scuffed the rear edge of both my bonnets, 'kiss' printed a line of grease from the snorkel of the air filter onto the underside of the bonnet, and measured from that mid-point to match the 'tray' on top of the filter box. I left the actual cutting to my tame bodywork guy, Christoph, who wields an angle grinder with far more aplomb than myself. Nerve-wracking for me, putting holes in sheet metal! Fitted it back up, it isn't skewiff, and the filter box just protudes slightly above the bonnet which now closes properly. Result! Today I've got to drill the mounting holes for the scoop.
There is a small 1" crack at the side of the bonnet near the front,where it seems a previous owner has had a minor shunt; should I get the aluminium welded there and sanded back down before it goes off to the paintshop? What do you guys reckon?
The '68 Camaro Z28 in the background had just been delivered to another CWB customer from the States. It is powered by an 8 litre big block, normally aspirated, putting out something over 500 bhp through virtually unmuffled pipes. The noise it makes when revved (and boy does it ever rev - and what a lumpy cam) is like all the horsemen of the apocalypse charging at your ears all at once. The dock workers whose job was to load it into a container Stateside must've given it a thorough burnout before it got shipped, there having been only one rear wheel stud left each side that hadn't sheared right off when it was delivered from the German port! A real brute.
After the summer break work is once again being undertaken on my project. Armed with a few very helpful measurements from some of you fellow forum members, yesterday I got a hole made in the middle of my bonnet, at long last, to feed cold air to the motor. Fitted up the bonnet as far forward as possible to clear the windscreen wiper arms, which had scuffed the rear edge of both my bonnets, 'kiss' printed a line of grease from the snorkel of the air filter onto the underside of the bonnet, and measured from that mid-point to match the 'tray' on top of the filter box. I left the actual cutting to my tame bodywork guy, Christoph, who wields an angle grinder with far more aplomb than myself. Nerve-wracking for me, putting holes in sheet metal! Fitted it back up, it isn't skewiff, and the filter box just protudes slightly above the bonnet which now closes properly. Result! Today I've got to drill the mounting holes for the scoop.
There is a small 1" crack at the side of the bonnet near the front,where it seems a previous owner has had a minor shunt; should I get the aluminium welded there and sanded back down before it goes off to the paintshop? What do you guys reckon?
The '68 Camaro Z28 in the background had just been delivered to another CWB customer from the States. It is powered by an 8 litre big block, normally aspirated, putting out something over 500 bhp through virtually unmuffled pipes. The noise it makes when revved (and boy does it ever rev - and what a lumpy cam) is like all the horsemen of the apocalypse charging at your ears all at once. The dock workers whose job was to load it into a container Stateside must've given it a thorough burnout before it got shipped, there having been only one rear wheel stud left each side that hadn't sheared right off when it was delivered from the German port! A real brute.
mrtask
Well-Known Member
Re: The optimist
As luck would have it I found a sheetmetal fabricators just around the corner from Classic Wheels in the same industrial estate. They are going to alloy weld the very short (2cm) crack at the edge of my bonnet from both sides and sand the outer surface smooth. I should get it back Thursday.
As luck would have it I found a sheetmetal fabricators just around the corner from Classic Wheels in the same industrial estate. They are going to alloy weld the very short (2cm) crack at the edge of my bonnet from both sides and sand the outer surface smooth. I should get it back Thursday.