Daves 1987 Scimitar SS1 (Shite Sports 1) Now on the Road!

[brownnova]

Why is it, when you really want to see pictures your phone won't show them to you!!

 

The descriptions are ace, I'll have to go on a computer to read the story in glorious technicolour!

[coalnotdole]

Car is moving under its own power again. Helicoiled the damaged head bolt and stuck it back together with new gaskets and Headbolts.

Runs pretty sweet and doesn't overheat if left idling for an hour. Going to wait until the start of the month to tax it so haven't ragged it around yet (The industrial estate I'm on is also home to the police vehicles division)

 

I've sorted out a lot of the little niggles and it now has working rear fogs, electric aerial, a clutch that disengages etc etc

Wil endeavour to take some photos and do a bit of a thread update soon.

 

Dave

[406V6]

Superb work, excellent pics and write-up. Great to see all the faults being fixed and a heroic effort extracting the broken studs.

 

Regarding the switches I had an Allegro 2 back in the day and don't recall any switches like this. If they are from an Allegro I presume it would be an Allegro 3.

[coalnotdole]

A bit overdue on a photo update..

I'm afraid there aren't any photos showing engine re-assembley as i was dying of a fluey type thing at the time and could barely summon the enthusiasm to bolt things together let alone take photos.

 

Damaged head bolt thread heli-coiled:

 

After getting the engine going I gave it a polish and drove it about a bit:

 

New driving lights fitted (old ones were rusted beyond redemption):

 

New exhaust rubber as the old one had disintegrated:

 

 

Drivers side front disc was badly rusted and didnt clean up with use:

 

 

So i shoved it in the lathe and skimmed a bit off:

 

 

Not perfect but good enough to last a few more years:

 

 

I also stripped down the master cylinder and servo, the master cylinder is quite new and stainless sleeved:

 

And a fairly poor video of the car driving (filmed by one of our tenants who i'd given a lift to the burger van)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/r2gzJCm5rUQ"

 

Next installment will cover taking the dash apart to change the windscreen wiper...

[coalnotdole]

Now when I bought the car the plan was to do the minimal amount of work to get it roadgoing then slowly improve things so that another Mot would be assured in October.

 

I have something of a issue that anything that doesn't work as originally intended annoys the hell out of me so i have had to fix silly things like switch illumination, handbrake indicator light etc all of which were fiddly little jobs.

 

Somehow i've ended up more than doubling my investment in the car through the purchasing of parts already.

Engine and drivetrain parts turned out to be ridiculously cheap on ebay - £4.49 inc postage for ferodo brake pads and fitting kit, £13.62 for a pair of rear wheel cylinders etc etc, Yet it all quickly adds up.

 

I rang up QRG (scimitar parts specialist) to buy a wiper wheelbox and was quoted £41 then made a seperate order for a speedo cable at £15 which I thought was fair enough - then when the parts and invoices arrived I realised that after p&p, Vat and some sort of nigel surcharge the wheelbox actually cost me £54 and the speedo cable £30! I've noticed this before and find it quite irritating especially in the past buying 5a parts which have cost more than he has them listed for on ebay.

 

 

Switches now all with working backlights after much soldering and replacement resistors:

 

 

Parts delivery - Wiper wheelbox, Servo pushrod seal, brake pads:

 

 

Dashboard out to get to the wiper wheelbox which was seized and was turning the whole wheelbox body in the bulkhead:

 

 

This original tag was attached to the wiring loom - interesting to note that the loom had been in stock since 1985 despite this car being built in 87 - guess reliant had bought in enough parts to make the planned 1500 cars a year and were still using the first years stock 3 years later?

 

 

 

This bracket on the bundy tube for the wiper had me puzzled for a bit as it was just rattling around, eventually i found the hole through the bulkhead its supposed to bolt through:

 

 

Decided to strip the motor and regrease it/check the commutator and brushes:

 

 

I reckon its got pretty hot when the wheelbox seized originally - I'm amazed it works to be honest as the commutator has got so hot the copper segments have melted and the core pressings have become loose! the windings are burnt black and the insulation is entirely fried.

I'm confused now though as its a 16w Motor fitted whereas I though single wiper SS1's had a 21w motor? My wiper parks to the passenger side at the very bottom of the screen and wipes across to the very bottom of the drivers side screen which looks to be the right sweep angle?

 

 

 

New wheelbox fitted and a new bezel/spacer turned up out of some Delrin Bar I had in stock as the original was missing and I had no idea what it should look like:

 

 

Whilst I had the dash apart I stripped down the speedo and managed to mend the trip odometer which was faulty. Then i ran down to Halfrauds and with the trade card bought a spraycan of fluorescent orange paint:

 

Which turned this:

 

 

Back Into this:

 

 

 

Both door glass frames and runners were pretty shot - I'm still desperate for some better quarter light frames or bits i can weld into my knackered ones.

I did manage to get hold of some NOS rear glass guide channels though for £7 each, Heres the original passenger side one next to the replacement:

 

And lastly a photo showing the details of the car which acted as the doner when the previous owner swapped its all electric doors and tinted windscreen onto the poverty spec 1300 which is now mine:

[coalnotdole]

Small update:

Been busy with work and family issues but have used the SS1 a bit - took a fridge up the dump in it last week and have generally ragged it about like an idiot.

 

Most excitingly the other week it went up on the ramps at my local tyre place:

 

 

 

And now it looks like this!:

 

 

I've still got to get a tyre for the new spare but these original spec Michelotti Alloys look so much better than the later spec KN Diamond's that were on the car when i bought it.

Being a base spec 1300 my car probably came with 13" steel wheels originally but the 14" Michelotti's were designed especially for the car and would have been a factory option. The KN Diamond's come off a later turbo version of the car.

 

I've also got a standard air filter housing:

 

 

The very manky pipercross filter that came with the car and the mini K&N rip off that was stuck on the crankcase breather (under the coke can) have both gone off to a new home via Ebay!

 

Driving about like a loon and performing (badly) handbrake turns at every oppertunity resulted in the nylon handbrake pulley failing - I've replaced it with an alloy one from a straight six scimitar coupe:

 

 

 

Also managed to pick up a new headlight unit on ebay along with some of the rare adjusters and mounting bits:

 

 

 

Anyway thats about it for now!

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[xtriple]

As with a lot of cars, when these came out I thought they had been designed by a committee of evil Japanese overlords intent on killing the independent British sports car makers stone dead as they were such ugly little bastards.

 

However, as time has progressed (it does that you know    ) their quirky looks have grown on me (not literally ) and I now rather like them. Yours appears to be rather a fine example and with the work you are doing, soon to be amongst the best.... keep it up

[plasticvandan]

I had a 1400 for a bit a few years ago

[coalnotdole]

Crikey Dan,

Nearly Everyone knows CVH's are awful engines. Whereas Absolutely Everybody knows that 1400 CVH's are as miserable as you can get.

 

I'd rather drive a Lister autotruck down the Motorway than own a 1400 CVH.....

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Lovely wee thing. Is it too tight to throw in the turbo gubbins from an RST?

[plasticvandan]

As SS1s go iut was as mint as you could get,hard and soft tops S/S everything,pipes,cooling etc etc.piles of paperwork.I hated it.my Rialto van was considerably quicker,I kept bumping the nose parking as I couldn't see it,and couldn't jack the thing up as my trolley jack wouldn't go underneath.A very good car,if you like that sort of thing.Think I swapped it for a Regal van.

[coalnotdole]

As SS1s go iut was as mint as you could get,hard and soft tops S/S everything,pipes,cooling etc etc.piles of paperwork.I hated it.my Rialto van was considerably quicker,I kept bumping the nose parking as I couldn't see it,and couldn't jack the thing up as my trolley jack wouldn't go underneath.A very good car,if you like that sort of thing.Think I swapped it for a Regal van.

 

Was it a five speed in your 1400 or the four speed? I've never had any dealings with 1400's personally but I havent ever heard a single good word about them - by all accounts the 1300 goes better!.

 

I'd be interested to see a concours SS1 if there is such a thing - theres so many unobtainable little thermoplastic mouldings attached to the damn things i struggle to believe theres a single one that hasn't got at least one cracked/missing trim somewhere!

 

I've found it quite a fun car to drive - its very quick off the lights and surprises quite a few people but seems to be a bit flat above 60mph so they quickly catch up. I've had it up to just over 100mph (private airfield) but it feels a bit twitchy at that sort of speed.

[plasticvandan]

I think* mine was a 5 speed,tho it may not have come out of two gates like that.

I don't recall any issues with the engine, it just seemed underpowered.

[406V6]

Superb work fixing all those little problems. I like the bit where you painted the instrument needles - a small change with a big impact

 

I'd be interested to see a concours SS1 if there is such a thing - theres so many unobtainable little thermoplastic mouldings attached to the damn things i struggle to believe theres a single one that hasn't got at least one cracked/missing trim somewhere!

 

Time to make friends with someone who has a 3D printer and preferably a 3D scanner as well. Should be possible to crank out small plastic parts.