HMC- XK8 Starts!

[HMC]

HERE WE GO

 

 

[HMC]

I cant say I enjoyed the process, but the car has been recovered from a vulnerable position on the main road to a garage about 3/4ths of a mile away.

Phew!

[loserone]

Good work!

[N Dentressangle]

Tell em it's got to get to the church on Saturday so they need to crack on 😉

[HMC]

I feel really drained but glad the ‘shad is now out of harms way and awaiting the ministrations of my friendly local garage. I think ill buy them all a present as i turned up at lunchtime as agreed,

And although they were on their lunch the lads helped me shove it out of the way. 

One of them told me my next should be a hillman imp, which isnt a bad idea! Less hassle than moving a beached oil tanker, for sure.

As you can see in the background, they are shite friendly and are mini enthusiasts themselves.

Theres always a bit of pain to work through when coaxing a little used, or disused vehicle back into regular, if gentle use. Mr banger racer did a great job of a) not destroying it and b) replacing all the brakes and hoses etc and sourcing bumpers, interior etc. 

My main mission presently is to make it go reliably. Other than that im not particularly fussy- stopping and going reliably are 2 big boxes ticked; enough to spend a summer wafting about in it locally. 

 

 

[DeanH]

3 hours ago, HMC said:

enough to spend a summer wafting about in it locally. 

 

 

Now that's a commitment!

[grogee]

21 hours ago, HMC said:

As you can see in the background, they are shite friendly and are mini enthusiasts themselves.

Is that Pixon Lane? 

[HMC]

The shad is risen!

The modern upgraded (but cheaper than oem) starter makes it sound like a 90s toyota cranking over.

Weird but also reassuring.

[HMC]

2 hours ago, grogee said:

Is that Pixon Lane? 

Yes, right next to the meadows. 

[HMC]

Made and Fitted the “new” rear plate

 

 

 

[N Dentressangle]

That looks superb. Tatty but superb.

As you say, it would never have had b&w plates originally, and they look naff on anything pre-68 somehow.

[mk2_craig]

1 hour ago, N Dentressangle said:

they look naff on anything pre-68

Post-68? Agreed

[yes oui si]

I absolutely love that off-white shade on the p38, being next to the Leyland Trade White Gloss on the Royce makes it look even better. 

[egg]

I hope this Shad stays in the fold when 'the inevitable' happens! 

[loserone]

Bagsy not dibs.

[DeanH]

Just now, loserone said:

Bagsy not dibs.

Wouldnt want to make the trip twice...

[bigstraight6]

6 hours ago, grogee said:

Is that Pixon Lane? 

You can take the boy out of Devon but not Devon out of the boy as us sez down yer..

[EyesWeldedShut]

2 hours ago, HMC said:

 

Proper job! She lives!
btw - that looks like a DIY bank blagging/ringing kit. You'll be John Bull stamping up some MoT certificates next and stashing a sawn off and some stockings under the passenger seat?
(I was taken at how smol the Rolls looks alongside the P38, I always figured RR of that era as being giant cars. Mind you, I was 10 years old when K reg came in so I guess everything looked bigger?)

[Noel Tidybeard]

2 hours ago, N Dentressangle said:

That looks superb. Tatty but superb.

As you say, it would never have had b&w plates originally, and they look naff on anything pre-68 somehow.

it may have had b&w but not b&s

i think black & silver look shit on anything

[EyesWeldedShut]

2 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

i think black & silver look shit on anything

My wife looks good in black and silver and she's a '68 model  

I'm puzzled why folks spend so much effort slinging a pair of B&S plates on a more modern car - the plastic raised letter type (I know there'll be a 'proper' term for them) are ace. We had a Triumph Herald for a time that was like the name plate for Fawlty Towers - my dad was the local headmaster and would often get kids practical joking with his digits (if you know what I mean)

[tooSavvy]

IMP.... 🤔

 

🚙💨

[grogee]

1 hour ago, bigstraight6 said:

You can take the boy out of Devon but not Devon out of the boy as us sez down yer..

 

[HMC]

This shad is now starts on a flick of the key, sounds like a motor launch and after i cleaned and lubricated the auto choke linkages its running better than ever. I even used it “on a trip to the moors” im a gentleman and will say no more.

I cleaned the fuse box connections hoping it would resurrect a few dead things, but no dice.

Looks old school! I forgot to take a pic of the guide that comes with it- its on a small ally sheet that pulls out from it. 

After tesco (not seen- it now has a boot carpet in suitable shabby condition from a scrap car)  i tinkered with a few pointless but satisfying little things

The spec sheet is a nice reference for how it rolled out of Crewe in summer 1971. I cant ‘quite’ stretch to a full body rebuild and respray in ICI shell grey, but what about the “fine lines” in dark blue?

I would imagine they were applied by hand by a craftsman….. how about a 3.99  ebay coachline? More within budget. How the mighty have fallen!

 

Bit of a nod to the original spec. Easy to do despite the gentle curves on the wings as you can be guided by feel and sight by the body crease and trim. I looked at ads for mega expensive perfect/ original cars to see where the “fine lines” went.

Perhaps a bit of an insult to the craftsmanship that made it; but this is something that was nearly banger raced and will never be a “good” example. Usable, yes- and isnt that what its all about? (it is to me!)

 

[Zelandeth]

Surprised to see a PCB based fuse box to be honest.  I thought they'd be using something more old school than that (like the unreliable nonsense in my Rover which has tried to melt itself at least a couple of dozen times from the looks of things).  That looks nicely engineered.  Interesting to see the diodes there set up to be replaceable too.  Worth getting a meter on those to see if they're all good as those being open/short could well cause odd behaviour from the associated systems.  I imagine that's to do with the dash light test (does this do the same as the later ones where all the warning lights are tested when you crank the engine over?), but could be wrong.

Tasteful coach line I reckon will actually really help smarten it up a bit, it's an awful lot of solid white otherwise.

Your ongoing work with this isn't making me want it any less!

[HMC]

1 minute ago, Zelandeth said:

Surprised to see a PCB based fuse box to be honest.  I thought they'd be using something more old school than that (like the unreliable nonsense in my Rover which has tried to melt itself at least a couple of dozen times from the looks of things).  That looks nicely engineered.  Interesting to see the diodes there set up to be replaceable too.  Worth getting a meter on those to see if they're all good as those being open/short could well cause odd behaviour from the associated systems.  I imagine that's to do with the dash light test (does this do the same as the later ones where all the warning lights are tested when you crank the engine over?), but could be wrong.

Tasteful coach line I reckon will actually really help smarten it up a bit, it's an awful lot of solid white otherwise.

Thanks for the tip re the electrics- TBH im totally clueless about electrical things

[N Dentressangle]

12 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Your ongoing work with this isn't making me want it any less!

Me too.

Is it actually as nice to drive as it looks?

[HMC]

10 minutes ago, N Dentressangle said:

Me too.

Is it actually as nice to drive as it looks?

Its lovely to drive- distant burble, lovely smooth shifts from the gearbox (you hear the engine note drop but dont feel anything) finger light (one finger if you wanted) power steering ( with very little feel) - but so usable for a car this age. Its a full on barge but id rather trade the sharper experience (relatively) of the shad II for the detailing of the earlier cars. Soooo relaxing to go around in. It feels like im piloting a boat- sounds dreadful but if thats your thing its great! Its quicker than i was expecting. A very gentle car to drive.

[83C]

I too keep watching for the inevitable advert. It'd go very nicely alongside the other Crewe machine. And I'd have a trio of 6+ litre V8s, which surely is the very definition of sensible in the current circumstances.

[egg]

41 minutes ago, HMC said:

Its a full on barge

For no reason whatsoever, dimensions compared to a Tesla Model S.

[Bren]

A few on here old enough to remember matchbox superfast and corgi junior twin packs.

This is an autoshite twin pack.