A40 - stage one f@#kin finally

[eddyramrod]

9 minutes ago, Matty said:

@eddyramrod the yank tanks were the stars of the show. Works of art really. Like our Tony said, they could be a third of the size and do the same job, but more is good! Really smart things

Well you know what I think of them!  I noticed you got a shot of the American Auto Club North West's double gazebo, with the black 59 Chevy in front of it.  Feel free to go and chat with them in future, they'll make you welcome.

[High Jetter]

Husky reminded me I had one once, in a lock-up garage. Useful for occasional liasons, in my late teens. Can't remember if I sold or scrapped it - might even still be there! (Unlikely tho)

[Matty]

Very small update but a step in the right direction for what I want the car to be.

Before

[Matty]

(Purists look away now)

After

[Matty]

Celebrated by a run out for a nice brew just over the hill in Yorkshire

[Matty]

I've finally corralled all the suspension bits together so in a few weeks a full overhaul and some nice uprated bits are going on. Been waiting to do this for a while

[High Jetter]

5 hours ago, Matty said:

(Purists look away now)

After

Rally style!

[Matty]

Just now, High Jetter said:

Rally style!

Sort of bud. When I got the car it had a lot of stuff hung off the front, badges and a pair of square 8s. As I've took it all off I've become a bit obsessed with keeping the front end really clean. Getting rid of the underslung plate is the last bit. Cos the car is really narrow, it just seems to suit an uncluttered front view.

[vulgalour]

I've seen A40s and similar vintage sometimes having a black vinyl cut out stuck to the chrome bumper so the chrome shows through to be the digits.  Your bonnet approach feels more period appropriate and really does clean the front end a lot.  If you want to go further, remove the over riders and grille badge to really emphasise your horizontals.

[Matty]

6 hours ago, vulgalour said:

I've seen A40s and similar vintage sometimes having a black vinyl cut out stuck to the chrome bumper so the chrome shows through to be the digits.  Your bonnet approach feels more period appropriate and really does clean the front end a lot.  If you want to go further, remove the over riders and grille badge to really emphasise your horizontals.

Bloody hell that looks good

[Mr Pastry]

31 minutes ago, Matty said:

Bloody hell that looks good

I'm sorry, but that looks absolutely shit.   They never looked like that back in the day.   We very quickly learned to keep the outside looking stock because it attracts less attention from the police.  Number plate especially is asking for trouble.  Just saying.

[Matty]

Just now, Mr Pastry said:

I'm sorry, but that looks absolutely shit.   They never looked like that back in the day.   We very quickly learned to keep the outside looking stock because it attracts less attention from the police.  Number plate especially is asking for trouble.  Just saying.

Fair comment. One man's poison and all that. Would have to say though, don't know where you live but the only copper I ever see round here is the one I live with 🙄

[Mr Pastry]

I was a boy racer in South London in the 1970s - unlike some folks on here who think they live in the 70s, I really did.   So I completely get retro cars, but I like to see them as they were, or perhaps, as we would have built them if we could have afforded to do it properly.

Btw racing numbers on a road car was a complete no-no, even if driving to and from a circuit - said to be illegal, may not be, but you just didn't do it, and that is still the case to some extent.

Of course, back then - Exchange and Mart every Thursday, you could find a complete working A40 with no significant holes in the floor for about £25 which wasn't a lot even then, and drive it away.   Tell that to 't kids today, etc.

 

[Dick Longbridge]

Why does OP's car have to look 'exactly as they did back in the day'? I wasn't aware he was required to create an authentic recreation? 

I love the fact he's playing with a motor which most people overlook. Cap doffed. 

[Joey spud]

I have a daft idea of mounting the one on the front of my Minor on a pair of baggy hinges so that at speed air flowing against it pushes it back and under the car and reduces drag.

I even had an idea to use simple brackets and a push bike brake cable to pull the plate back under the car at will.

It's just a bit of fun playing with old cars isn't it ?

[Mr Pastry]

54 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

I have a daft idea of mounting the one on the front of my Minor on a pair of baggy hinges so that at speed air flowing against it pushes it back and under the car and reduces drag.

You know, I thought about that back in the day but never tried it.  Might cool the sump a bit better.

[Mr Pastry]

1 hour ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Why does OP's car have to look 'exactly as they did back in the day'? I wasn't aware he was required to create an authentic recreation? 

I love the fact he's playing with a motor which most people overlook. Cap doffed. 

I wasn't actually referring to the OPs car.  

[tooSavvy]

A la.. Alfa 🤔

[Matty]

1 hour ago, Mr Pastry said:

was a boy racer in South London in the 1970s

If there was ever something that needs photos. Put em in here if you want, love seeing stuff like that.

[Matty]

43 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

I have a daft idea of mounting the one on the front of my Minor on a pair of baggy hinges so that at speed air flowing against it pushes it back and under the car and reduces drag.

I even had an idea to use simple brackets and a push bike brake cable to pull the plate back under the car at will.

It's just a bit of fun playing with old cars isn't it ?

Brilliant for camera vans as well 😄

[Joey spud]

2 minutes ago, Matty said:

Brilliant for camera vans as well 😄

Hadn't thought of that honest. 😉

[Matty]

Just now, Joey spud said:

Hadn't thought of that honest. 😉

😆

[Mr Pastry]

23 minutes ago, Matty said:

If there was ever something that needs photos. Put em in here if you want, love seeing stuff like that.

I would if I could, thanks - I didn't bother much with photos then, and what I did have has mostly been cleared out over the years. Tbh a lot of things happened which are best forgotten.  

[Matty]

Just now, Mr Pastry said:

I would if I could, thanks - I didn't bother much with photos then, and what I did have has mostly been cleared out over the years. Tbh a lot of things happened which are best forgotten.  

Shame that. Although it's not like I took much photos until the last few years 😁

[artdjones]

5 hours ago, Matty said:

Fair comment. One man's poison and all that. Would have to say though, don't know where you live but the only copper I ever see round here is the one I live with 🙄

Did you run it by her?

[Matty]

Not really her specialist subject 😁. Lets be honest its illegal as fuck, but the amount of people round here running grey plates and overtaking at 60 in the centre of town, i reckon its a minor transgression. As it goes when i set out yesterday, i almost immediatly passed a camera van facing my direction of travel. So hold tight for a fine half an hour after putting the plate on 🤣

[vulgalour]

4 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:

 racing numbers on a road car was a complete no-no, even if driving to and from a circuit - said to be illegal, may not be, but you just didn't do it, and that is still the case to some extent.

I always wondered about this, there's a commonly held belief that you can't have race numbers on a road car and that you get around it by putting a line of tape or other obfuscation over the numbers when using the car on the road.  I'd love to know what the actual law/facts are about why this would be, and if anyone has actually fallen foul of the law for running a road car displaying race numbers.

[Matty]

Just now, vulgalour said:

I always wondered about this, there's a commonly held belief that you can't have race numbers on a road car and that you get around it by putting a line of tape or other obfuscation over the numbers when using the car on the road.  I'd love to know what the actual law/facts are about why this would be, and if anyone has actually fallen foul of the law for running a road car displaying race numbers.

Really can't see why though. You can have a car, van and truck sign written with whatever you want (within reason). What's the difference?

[Mr Pastry]

20 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

I always wondered about this, there's a commonly held belief that you can't have race numbers on a road car and that you get around it by putting a line of tape or other obfuscation over the numbers when using the car on the road.  I'd love to know what the actual law/facts are about why this would be, and if anyone has actually fallen foul of the law for running a road car displaying race numbers.

I really don't know, and you certainly see them occasionally crossed out with a line of tape or similar.  I'd have thought that even if it is illegal for some reason, how would the prosecution prove that it is a race number and not for example a fleet number or model number?    I guess that it is an urban myth, and it stems from racing itself being illegal on public roads (although cycle racing is OK and cool apparently) and drivers not wanting to give the impression they are racing.

[SiC]

39 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

I always wondered about this, there's a commonly held belief that you can't have race numbers on a road car and that you get around it by putting a line of tape or other obfuscation over the numbers when using the car on the road.  I'd love to know what the actual law/facts are about why this would be, and if anyone has actually fallen foul of the law for running a road car displaying race numbers.

I believe it's not illegal to have them showing. However it's against FIA rules to have them showing between events. So while not illegal to have them showing on the road, if you are racing then you might not be allowed to race and get your race license taken away by the racing authorities if seen on the road with them showing. 

This is from reading up on the last time I looked into it.