My new car - 1958 Self-tapper special

[garethj]

This is the British way:

 

2 blokes in a shed build a car that does well in local racing. Someone else says "you should make a few of them" and they're straight down to the local fibreglass stockist for matting and resin.

 

They use pretty normal stuff for engine, gearbox, brakes etc and they build a few, with quality control that would shame a Friday afternoon Trabant.

 

2 or 3 years later the firm goes bust.

 

My version of this British dream is a 1958 Peerless, based on Triumph TR3 engine, overdrive box and front suspension but with a wider track and de-Dion rear suspension. Body is fibreglass and the chassis is spaceframe.

 

It's got room for 4 inside but most of them were raced at some time in their life, they had a class win in Le Mans 1958 and Graham Hill did amazing things on the track with his, although he could probably qualify well up the grid in one of Hirst's cars

 

They went bust in about 1961 after a management argument and total production was around 300 cars.

 

This was how it was found 20 years ago by the previous owner. The car had been off the road for about 10 years by this time....

 

The chassis wasn't very well....

 

Neither was the interior

 

But the chassis got better, the engine and 'box did too

 

And so did the bodywork

 

Interior still needs.... everything! There's almost no wiring too.

 

And that's about when the previous owner died, after working at it on and off for almost 20 years. Step forward, me.

 

I got it home and managed to get the engine running with a points adjustment and cleaning out the twin SU HS6 carbs. I've made some of the wiring loom up, concentrating on stuff for the MoT first, ignoring most of the instruments on the dash etc.

 

Almost everything is fibreglass. There are 20-something mouldings bonded together to make the body, the seats are fibreglass with padding and leather, even the dashboard is fibreglass.

 

Most of the stuff was common back in the '50s, the tail lights are Lucas but they're the same as an Aston DB3 or Alvis so they're £££££. Door handles are Standard 10 and I don't remember the last time I saw one of them in a scrapyard either, you get the picture.

 

Once I've made the wiring loom I need to get the doors fitted which is apparently a bit of a pain. Then I can get some paint on, glass and wipers fitted (currently there's no motor or mechanism) and then get it legal.

 

It's not exactly Autoshite, it's obviously no Mk4 Escort, but these were commonly broken up in the past for TR3 spares. Even now a TR3 is worth about double so they're still being robbed for their mechanicals and instruments then scrapped. The British Way is also standing up for the underdog

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Bravo for taking it on - I've just been looking at some pictures on Google Images, it's going to look fantastic when it's finished.

[nigel bickle]

Brilliant. Absolutely love it.Might have some Standard door handles-if its important & you're stuck. it would need arummage but I've got 6 different Pennant types (vans,pickup,estate etc) of the damn things- quite a few spares too!

[VWPowered]

what a timeless classic very beautiful

[pompei]

GR8 WORK!Was the first owner Albert Tatlock?

[FredTransit]

Wow what a difference. What was it finished with in the first pic? Tree bark?

[Billy]

that looks quite cool

[trigger]

Good work!, That will look great when all finished! How many are still on the road?

[dollywobbler]

Wowsers! I've always liked these. Nice work.

[mouseflakes]

Fabli-arse!Shame the paint job in the first photo wasn't preserved - that's a good look.Well saved and good luck with it.

[fotorabia]

you might be able to get the door handles thru this company...im sure they had at least a dozen Standard 10s...

http://www.horopitomotors.co.nz/

 

in fact..i may be passing by there relatively soon..so i could ask..its sometimes a case of having to go there and find the bits in all those acres of cars...

this is a Standard 10 isnt it..easy to find...

[garethj]

How many are still on the road?

About a dozen running I think? Quite a few in garages being slowly restored but probably less than a hundred in any sort of state?Mine's #37

[michiel]

Very impressive, top buy!

[wuvvum]

That is quality. I've always liked Peerlesses - they seemed to have more style to them than most '50s series-production cars. Kind of like the shrunken offspring of a DB3 and an AC Greyound. Nice purchase.

[retrogeezer]

Lovely, nicer than a TR3 IMHO.

[andrew e]

Thats hotter than a bus load of nuns coming back from a pick-your-own cuecumber farm!

[Torsten2001]

that is gorgeous!

[STUNO]

That is quality. I've always liked Peerlesses - they seemed to have more style to them than most '50s series-production cars. Kind of like the shrunken offspring of a DB3 and an AC Greyound. Nice purchase.

I agree with wuvvum except they look better than a DB3

[outlaw118]

Well done that man, I wish I had the time and patience (and £££!!) to undertake something like that......my capri has taken me 10 years so far, and its still in 145798 bits!!

[seth]

Fantastic! These are high up on my ultimate dream wish list. I just love the shape, so much better styled than most of the other 50's/60's specials.

 

I'd really like on of the three (?) V8 ones

 

Good luck with piecing it back together.

[garethj]

I'd really like on of the three (?) V8 ones

The V8 is a great idea and I think it's one of the first applications of the old Buick / Rover V8 in a sportscar back in 1961? Unfortunately to fit the engine they had to raise the bonnet line and it spoils the shape a bit.

 

Even with the TR3 engine there's a power bulge in the bonnet to clear the carb dashpots!

[johnbaz]

Hells bells and buckets of sludge!!!!

 

 

that's sooooooo gorgeous, hope i live long enough to see it completed

 

 

keep up the good work

 

 

 

 

john

[garethj]

I've almost finished the wiring, made all of it myself apart from the indicator harness that goes down the steering column. The connectors were smaller than anything I had so I took the easy way out and bought a TR3 indicator harness. What a shame it was £23 and the outer sleeving was so big it wouldn't go down the column so I had to take it all off I also bought an aftermarket headlight switch because the old Lucas switch was flickering in the time honoured tradition. The new switch let current flow to the headlights when only the sidelights should have been on, but there was massive resistance in the switch so it was heating up like crazy. I scraped all the burrs off the metal, greased the detent mechanism, adjusted the tab that determines the switch position and it worked - as easy as that I had some help from a mate this weekend (other help greatfully received!) so I thought putting the glass in the front and rear screens was a good 2 man job to do. But before doing that it's best to cover the dashboard, once the glass is in access to the dash is tricky. Covering the dash with foam and then vinyl took us about 8 hours. Putting the glass in took about 45 minutes for each screen Before putting the glass in it's a good idea to put some paint on, just where the window rubbers will go. I got some Rustoleum that the VW80-90 website mentions, you paint the whole car with a high density foam roller. GR8 4 ARTEX SEELINGS IN YUR MAXI!!1! The finish is amazing, a really high gloss shine. Should be fine for me to do the rest of the car in it.Photos when my digital camera gets some charged batteries

[Station]

Very nice, and very British!

[garethj]

The dash coming out. Everything worked before.....

 

Starting to put the foam on. The glue stinks to high heaven so this has to be an outside job

 

Foam on every surface, vinyl on and the panel holes cut out. I can't believe it took so long.

 

Meanwhile, we sanded with 1500 grit and painted a few inches around the screen apertures. The camera doesn't really show how shiny it is

 

Dash installed. It looks dirty because of the latex gloves we were wearing all the time, the powder rubs off on on the vinyl but at least it keeps the glue off your fingers

 

Front screen in. Chrome filler in too, it forces the screen rubber wide apart so keeps it all tight

 

Rear screen in. These are irreplaceable so no pressure

[mouseflakes]

Great work mr j. I hate working with screens - waaaaay too stressful :)Thats going to be a cracker when it's done - would go well alongside 'wobblers Equipe.

[Gompo]

Hey, that looks ace!I would love to get my hands on something like this once in a while, I think I am going to offer my lack of mechanical experience up for free to anyone restoring an old crock..

[dollywobbler]

Great work mr j. I hate working with screens - waaaaay too stressful :)Thats going to be a cracker when it's done - would go well alongside 'wobblers Equipe.

Um, methinks it'll put my Bond to shame...Glad it's coming along.

[garethj]

A few more things done, it turns out that finishing this is not a small task

 

Dashboard looking a bit better, still got the ammeter and wiper switch to fit, wire up the starter button and fit the speedo and tacho. But it's nice and clean and looks better every time I do something to it (a rare thing). I've put all the switches back in the correct place according to the owners handbook, they were in some random order before, although that might have been how it was made back in 1958

 

I've masked up the headlights, taken the bumpers and the tail lights off as well as front indicators, number plates and the bootlid hinges. Which means the boot is off too.... Ready for a going over with some 600 grit before laying on some paint. Nervous? I am

 

It was really hot by the time I was ready to paint today so I painted the car a bit at a time. I did the front end while it was still in the garage then rolled it out a bit so I could do the front wings and bonnet.

 

Then rolled it out a bit more to do the roof, then I could get to the back to do around the boot, then push it all the way out to do the rear wings.

 

I let it dry and this is how it looks

 

You can see a few paint runs, but they'll come out when I sand it tomorrow morning. I reckon it'll need about 4 coats but it's promising so far.

 

Because my camera is rubbish you can't really make out the paint quality, but it's pretty damn good, even with my cack-handed talent

 

I've got a couple of days off work so I can do some more in the fine weather. 2 days then

[michiel]

Impressive work!