Princess Anne had one you know....

[mercrocker]

I should  have been at a steam rally this weekend.   Poo weather and a family sprog getting borned  (not mine) got in the way.   So, boredom and aversion to poking rusty metal with screwdrivers have combined to make me have a little think with my half-cold half-cup of coffee.   Always dangerous.   To  the point of the post - How much worse would my life get if I adopted a GTE?   I liked my Essex Grannies (nothing to do with Lesley Joseph, alas) and I kind of like the whole 60s-ness of the plastic pigs - almost like a Jensen from  Primark.   I know a car like this must have featured in many a shite-ist's past, so what can you all tell me?

[Guest Breadvan72]

I have often pondered buying one such mosheen, but never have.  The man of junk is the local expert on these.  I am told that the autoboxes are dire, so get a manual, apparently.

[laser wheels]

I am often tempted by one also, quite a handsome thing they are. Interesting comparison with the Jensen, I sorta see what you mean.

[Guest Breadvan72]

Yes, so do I, and I will MOS DEF be stealing "Jensen from Primark".  

[dollywobbler]

I had one. I didn't really get on with it. Was an SE5a with the desirable overdrive manual. Hideously cramped footwell, very heavy to drive (though it did wear meaty slot mags) and mine seemed to have no suspension at all. Went well and sounded superb though, and cost me all of £1700 to buy in super-mint condition. Was very practical. Filled the boot with gravel on one occasion.

 

Chassis rot is the biggest problem, then the steel sections buried within the body. Naturally, sorting out knackered glassfibre requires skills, as does painting one. Rear axles wear and cost dollar to sort out - they're very strong so folk pinch them for other stuff. And they're quite good at overheating given half a chance.

[Bobthebeard]

I had one. I didn't really get on with it. Was an SE5a with the desirable overdrive manual. Hideously cramped footwell, very heavy to drive (though it did wear meaty slot mags) and mine seemed to have no suspension at all. Went well and sounded superb though, and cost me all of £1700 to buy in super-mint condition. Was very practical. Filled the boot with gravel on one occasion.

 

Chassis rot is the biggest problem, then the steel sections buried within the body. Naturally, sorting out knackered glassfibre requires skills, as does painting one. Rear axles wear and cost dollar to sort out - they're very strong so folk pinch them for other stuff. And they're quite good at overheating given half a chance.

Having a rich mum probably helped in Annes case!

' Muuumm, the garage fellow is on the telephone again....'

Lol

[mercrocker]

Maybe one to buy and get  out of my system, then, rather than a keeper....I suspected they might get a bit hot too.  My preference would  have been an auto.  Interested to  hear more views!  Thank you for your comments....

[dollywobbler]

I'd still like to try an SE6. More spacious and apparently softer too. You can get them in some truly dreadful colours as well.

[mercrocker]

SE5a is the looker for me, but the extra space and those colour schemes are hard to resist, especially the one that looks like it comes out of a Thorntons box....

[155V6]

There was one raced last night at Mildenhall pre-70 yesterday.It was an H reg,supposedly an Ogle prototype 

[dollywobbler]

Found a vid of that. Sounds like bollocks to me.

 

Only one of that shape? Er, what?! Looks like a standard SE5a with an Ogle badge.

[michael1703]

I've got two,an se5a which looks meaner and more taught but a bit snug inside and an se6a which has more cabin space and leg room and is more useable. be prepared for challengeing yourself to how far you can wheel spin in a straight line and how far you can get the tail out on roundabouts,they're great fun

[spike60]

I had a smart 1979 auto with pas as a family driver for a couple of years, dark blue with black velour and Wolfrace slots. 17mpg local, 30 on a run. Comfortable in an old GT sorta way, good car for Europe. I'd have another but all seem to be sheds or big bucks now. Best moment was when then girlfriend reversed over a plod's foot.

How far you can get tail out on roundabouts limited by shit steering lock to catch it!

[HMC]

I went to look a one at a bombsite type used car dealer in about 2003. Up at 700, taxed and tested. Was an SE6 manual, loved how it drove but at the time cared more for cosmetics than I do now. It was a bit of a shed, the interior was partly in bits and the paint was crazing/cracking up all over, so I jogged on.

 

These days i'd happily drive around in that and be glad at being given a wide birth in car parks and traffic.

[garethj]

I'm a fibreglass fetishist, it's only a matter of time before I get a 4 wheel Reliant.  I :heart: the Rebel saloon, I'd dearly love an early Anadol and I'm warming to the Scimitar too.  The 25mpg slightly puts me off, but on Retro Rides someone put a 2.5 litre BMW diesel in one which I reckon would be a hoot.  I'm no fan of the Essex V6

[Rocket88]

 

just bought this.........12k miles from new......before the dreaded bowel rot news......

[michael1703]

Starting from the front, look for worn kingpins and lower trunnions, pas leaks on 6's, signs of overheating in the engine bay, cracked exhaust manifolds,worn steering column uj's.

 

Chassis rots below pedals and what you might describe as outer sills ("U" section folded 1.5mm sheet) but the bit of rot you need to worry about is where the roll hoop in the body bolts to the chassis which is a seat belt prescribed ares. Outriggers aren't too big a deal.

 

Ditch the weedy 038 battery for something with a bit more oomph, rear brakes are cheap to fix if you need wheel cylinders or shoes, brake mcyl and clutch mcyl can be bought new for less than £20, clutch slave cylinder dies but they are the same as disco/rr classic and about £28ish

 

Exhausts are pricy if rotten,fuel tank is huge and can crack its mountings, rear wash wipe motor dies quite easily,I think the chrome bumpers are pricy if missing

 

QRG for spares http://www.qrgservices.co.uk/ or graham walker http://grahamwalkerparts.co.uk/ for engine spares burton have everything http://www.burtonpower.com/tuning-guides/tuning-guide-pages/ford-essex-v4-v6-tuning-guide.html

 

http://www.scimitarweb.co.uk/ will gen you up on everything else

 

They are a lot of car for the money and still cheap at the minute but the se5's are starting to make money at last

 

A lot of scimitars go for less than £300 as a project on ebay, you get a reasonable runner for £800

[Sudsprint]

They are the type of car I am glad exists and hate seeing under a tarp in someones front garden, but can't whip up the enthusiasm to want one myself. 

[HillmanImp]

I forgot you owned that DW. Twas a nice car IIRC. These are one of my dream cars. Its a car for rich people achievable for poor people. Whats not to like?

[Leyland Lawrence]

Coincidence I was going to ask the same question today. Thinking about one of these. Any thoughts on the Automatics? They seem more common and my knee gerts tired these days.

[Junkman]

I became a relatively short term owner (7 months) of a SE5A, not entirely voluntarily.

The car was selected over the internet, and bought, by a German friend of mine, to be added to his rather eccentric car collection.

My role was to pick the car up, get it through an MoT, use it for a while, so it shows its weaknesses, so those can be addressed while the car is still in the UK, where expertise, and spares, are easier obtainable.

It was (still is) a manual non-overdrive, it has the ultra rare electric windows, and is painted in the equally rare Glacier Green metallic.

It was (still is) in good condition and it wouldn't take much to make it outstanding, this being one of the rare occasions, when this overused idiom is used rightfully.

 

I started this by tidying the interior, which was pretty much the only thing that let the car down. The carpets were shot, and the front seats were from an XJS. I sourced a pair of pristine original seats in the correct colour, and bought a new carpet set, thus the interior is like new now.

 

When it comes to weak points, I couldn't find any, apart from it is a manual, of course, I bet the brilliant C3 automatic would be a lot more betterer suited to the car.

 

Whoever expects a plastic pig on steroids will be disappointed. The Scimitar is a surprisingly refined grand tourer, especially when it hasn't been molested with daft suspension and/or wheel/tyre upgrades*. It's soft, quiet, and has superb roadholding. The three litre Essex makes it unbelievably long legged, fast, and smooth. If you give it some welly, it responds with rapid progress, without feeling, or sounding, stressed under any circumstance. After those 7 months, I started to look at it as a baby-Interceptor, and an ideal second car.

 

Would I buy one for myself?

 

You bet it's on my shopping list. But not one of the countless wheelie bins out there. If I go for one, it must be in a similar condition, as Roland's.

Which is for sale, unfortunately, since he is no longer with us. The car is now located in the Frankfurt area, and his widow is asking €2,000 - which I think is more than fair.

 

I don't have that much, though.

 

 

[Junkman]

Oh, and Roland and Birgit picked the car up here in Stockport, and drove it back home to Frankfurt in one go. They said the car didn't put a foot wrong, and it was one of the most relaxing rides they ever had.

Later, they used the car on a Summer holiday trip to Calabria, they went to Västeras with it, and even skiing in Kitzbühel, with Winter tyres only on the rear wheels, and a pair of snow chains in the boot, just in case.

[michael1703]

Forgot to mention long leggedness, 70+ in second gear once the tyres have gripped

 

Manual gearbox is shit because it has 3 slack rods and bushes onto its zephyr derived gearbox (ok for column change)

 

You can fit a type 9 for a better driving experience

 

Not tried an auto

[dollywobbler]

Eleccy windows are rare on an SE5a? Mine had them. Could have asked more dosh for it!

 

I've driven a manual non-OD. As long as you're not hurtling down motorways, they're far better than the O/D as they use a different gearbox. Far more pleasant. Think it might be a Transit box?

 

I forgot another massive plus point. They're not too heavy, and the Essex engine has HUGE reserves of torque. You can get one shifting without trying. I think mine was a victim of its upgrades. It had a stainless exhaust too, which sounded ace, but got very boomy at certain speeds. It had a stainless fuel tank too, which reminds me - the original rot. They're also enormous - 86 litres or something daft.

[Junkman]

I had a smart 1979 auto with pas as a family driver for a couple of years, dark blue with black velour and Wolfrace slots. 17mpg local, 30 on a run. Comfortable in an old GT sorta way, good car for Europe. I'd have another but all seem to be sheds or big bucks now. Best moment was when then girlfriend reversed over a plod's foot.

How far you can get tail out on roundabouts limited by shit steering lock to catch it!

 

I must agree that the car feels actually like it is more suitable for Continental style motoring. It could be Italian, but the superior build quality speaks against this.

Still, I enjoyed the car tremendously in Britain, and used it even for my daily commute for a while.

 

I like them. But so do I P6es, so there must be something seriously wrong with me.

[Junkman]

Eleccy windows are rare on an SE5a? Mine had them.

 

Rare as shit from a toothed rocking hen.

[Jim Bergerac]

I really want one. Needless to say, I'll probably get round to looking for one about 10 minutes after they stop being sensible money.

[Ratdat]

A mate of mine locally has an SE5A in green which he bought out of someones garden. He's done all the welding and work needed to get it right and on the road but it could still do with a fresh coat of paint. Interior is original and pretty nice. I may* have mentioned to him that when he decides to sell it, I may well be interested. Not sure why really... I guess I'm just curious to see what they are like. I was quite surprised at how little they are worth still.

[eddyramrod]

I would quite fancy a Scimitar were it not for MrsR having regularly driven her boss's example, long before she met me, and being seriously underwhelmed.  I would prefer the 5, I think, and it would HAVE to be auto.

[mercrocker]

Certainly some food for thought here.    Got to get rid of stuff first, I have no more shite money for the time being.  Don't know if  its my age  or the car's, but the SE6 is a lot more  appealing than it used to be and it would  have  to be an auto, regardless.   Some of the stuff being said is good to hear and it certainly makes a lot of sense to get a sorted one - I don't want to be chasing comedy electrical "upgrades" and rubbish handling "improvements".