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Apr 15, 2013 20:08:59 GMT
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Here we go, more Photochoppery. This is about as close as I can get to what I see in my head as the end result. This is what I'm working towards. I'm not so great at getting the colours perfect so there is some discrepancy between these on that front, but you get the idea.    So there you have it. Aconite purple for the bodywork with all the chrome intact. Champagne Beige for the roof and C pillars. Bumpers probably removed, but I like the Princess with them as well. At the back we'll have a louvre over the rear screen and Lotus-esque letters on the back panel with a BL badge hiding the original lock location as I'd like a remote opening boot (cable release, probably). Up front will be the headlight louvres to tidy it up and the Princess CROWN (not shown) will likely get reinstated on the bonnet or possibly fitted centrally on the grille. Much further down the line I'd like to fit a FWD Lotus engine and would then rebadge subtly with a couple of yellow Lotus badges, possibly on the C pillars. It will be quite unlike any other Princess out there. |
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Apr 15, 2013 20:16:16 GMT
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what do you mean FWD lotus engine? As in late elan? wernt they K series? Or another lotus engine? Either way. I like your plans, Itll certainly be different.. Reminds me of how different your MK2 was when you came up with that  |
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Apr 15, 2013 20:27:21 GMT
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Yeah, I think the Elan is the engine we were looking at as a contender. I'd like to keep the FWD layout and the Moulton suspension. The idea for this has very much been developed along the lines of a stillborn Lotus family saloon project, a bit pile of what if that's been crystallised by bouncing ideas with some good friends. It'll be the sort of car that just trundles along, until you want a bit more power at which point you can surprise a few people in a way that I can't at the moment. Engine is years down the line though, for the meantime I'm just looking at keeping her in the best health I can.
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Apr 15, 2013 22:55:08 GMT
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I'm guessing there's no way of convincing you to keep her Beige? Just looks so right in Beige and I can't imagine any colour suiting it any better.
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Apr 15, 2013 23:07:56 GMT
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The beige isn't a bad colour for the Princess, but neither is it the best. If the paint wasn't lifting itself off the car - it's started doing this in cornflake sized flakes on the driver's door recently, with no help from anyone - I'd likely not change it and focus only on repainting the C pillars in the Roman Bronze as was my original plan. The problem has been that the longer I've owned the car, the worse the bad respray has become with the badly prepared and thickly laid paint bubbling and lifting all over the place. It's quite disappointing.
That's the reason for the purple, really. If I'd had a choice in the matter I would definitely have gone for a brighter shade because I think the Princess suits bright colours and metallics much better than the later colours.
I suspect it will always be a point of contention. There's very much two camps for the colour, one being pro-beige and the other pro-purple, so whichever direction I go I'm going to upset someone. With that in mind, I might as well do what I want and paint it a colour that I like.
And hey, I'm not eliminating all the beige. The roof is the one bit of the car that doesn't appear to have been resprayed and the paint on that is in really very good condition on the whole, which is a part of the reason for the high contrast roof and C pillars which will be finished in the original Champagne Beige.
I don't think there's anything anyone can say to change my mind from the purple. I want the car to be visually loud, have a hint of late 70s style and be ever so slightly offensive, the beige is never going to achieve that.
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Apr 15, 2013 23:13:50 GMT
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You should always do what you want to do, just didn't want to see it sprayed and then you regret it because it suited the beige so well. Be interesting to see how it ends up though, as with most BL cars at the moment, a Princess is definitely on the list.
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Apr 15, 2013 23:52:09 GMT
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If you want something comfortable, British and easy to work on, a Princess is a good bet. The Ambassador is the slightly better car, but they don't look as good.
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Apr 15, 2013 23:57:28 GMT
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Won't be investing in anything for a while, certainly not this year, I've got my hands full with the Viceroy so I don't need any more rotting seventies British tin in my ownership haha.
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Yeah... I just noticed that you've grabbed yourself a Viceroy. The Viceroy and Royales are cars I found thanks to RR and cars that I really, really like so I hope to one day see yours in the tin.
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Should be at Oil Can on Sunday if you're heading up this way. It's a lovely car, but lets just say it's a lot more photogenic than it actually is in reality. If I hadn't been in the market for a Vauxhall I would have almost certainly ended up with something BL, but the Viceroy somehow bridges the two. A Vauxhall with some of the kind of features that attract me to a lot of BL stuff.
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I'll see if I can make it in the crusty BX. Everything looks good next to the BX.
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Haha, I will be interested to have a look at the BX.
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craig1010cc
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,998
Club RR Member Number: 35
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Apr 16, 2013 10:44:03 GMT
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I like the purple (and the fact that it didn't end when you had your little bump). but I think it would look better with the bumpers. The back is ok, but side on the front looks a bit fussy without
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Apr 16, 2013 19:02:01 GMT
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How about chrome side exhausts & some go faster flames down the sides   |
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VW Passat GL5
VW Passat GL saloon
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Apr 16, 2013 20:28:12 GMT
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craig: Bumpers will probably make a reappearance. They're an  to get on and off and the front one is twisted and needs straightening so I'm leaving them off for now, but they certainly make things look more finished. teatank: I think that would just be silly 
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Apr 16, 2013 20:38:42 GMT
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Élan engine was Isuzu sourced, Elise was K-series. Big job converting to FWD. though I do wonder with it being an O-series if an M or T-series lump can be mates to the original gearbox.
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Apr 16, 2013 20:42:19 GMT
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Was there an Austin/ BL colour called Purple Velvet metallic? thats a lovely period shade...
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Apr 16, 2013 20:49:30 GMT
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customsinc: I don't want to use the original gearbox, it's the sloppy Austin in-sump jobby, it's okay for cruising but rubbish for any sort of aggressive driving, in fact it's useless for even mildly irate driving. I'd be swapping the whole lot out for a FWD engine and box since the Princess is already FWD and I'd like to keep it that way, Lotus or Rover are the sensible choices for this, I think, with Lotus being my preference as it's more interesting than a Rover unit. I do know someone has put a 2 ltre Rover K in a Princess, as engine swaps go it looked fairly straightforward. dodgerover: Wasn't Purple Velvet a Ford colour? The Aconite was used on Marinas for about 2 years or so, it's a rare colour but one of the best.
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,320 
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Apr 16, 2013 21:31:23 GMT
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2 litre k series? I bet that likes head gaskets. If you go K series, use a 1.6. Best balance of power verses reliability They also weigh naff-all so bear that in mind too |
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Apr 16, 2013 21:47:02 GMT
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The only 2.0 K's were one-offs for the BTCC MG's a few years ago (or folk like me spending far too much/house deposits on rods and cranks). K's are quite under-torqued (unless you splash cash ontuning bits) so you'd be working one hard in a big ol' Princess. 2.0 NASP T-series is a nice torquey lump, 140hp, or go for the T-turbo. Or even, due to being lossy related to the T and responding well to tuning, L-series diesel!
Can't see a gearbox-on-side-of-engine swap being that simple to be honest. Do-able for sure but not simple. As the original box is under the block, you'd need to make mounts, gear linkages, one-off drieshafts, yadayadayada. I'm guessing the chassis rails are quite narrow, too, considering the OE engine/box configuration.
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