I decided to advertise this car for sale about a month ago. Then I had some issues come up with the carburetors (as per RR threads) and I then hit a run of bad luck with various things happening, so I pulled the ad to get it sorted out.
The car is now finally back in order. It starts, it runs, it's all good. The only thing to advise is that the clutch is going, and this alone is my reason for selling.
Sounds like an odd reason for selling, I know. I found myself out of work at the end of December and things haven't picked up yet in that respect, so I can't afford to get the clutch replaced, and the alternative is that I just let the car sit there waiting, and to me that's a crime. Old cars don't benefit from sitting untouched. So, it's now back up for sale. It does run. It does now start too. The clutch is really on it's last legs but it will still drive as long as it's driven sensibly. It wont make a trip around the world though. It's got 'drive it home' mileage left on the clutch now. It slips.
Ideally the clutch could be done by somebody with a workshop, which I don't have. I made plans to do the clutch myself in the street outside, but to be perfectly honest that's not ever going to be a good way to tackle it. After getting it up on some ramps last week to see about doing it on the cheap, I decided to throw in the towel and accept that without an income I'm not really able to keep looking after the car. For various reasons mentioned below, the quotes from garages to change the clutch are unnaturally high due to the unknown nature of the job. In reality it would be an easy job, but I'm not in a position to agree a potentially large fee in order to get the car in a mechanic's garage. I can't imagine anybody suggesting it could be £900 in man hours then being honest and charging the £200 it actually took them to do it.
The clutch is complicated by the fact that the car has a Type5 Ford four speed gearbox, which is mated very securely to the bell housing by a thick adaptor plate, and it mates to a Land Rover Discovery clutch (circa 2003/4). When you talk to a mechanic about the fact that it's not standard under there, they suck their teeth and warn of long hours spent figuring it all out. In reality, the box needs to slide out (6 bolts), the bell housing (and adaptor plate) removed, the replacement clutch fitted once the correct part numbers have been found (not sure if it's a TD5 or a Discovery V8 clutch without pulling it to see), and then it would need to be put back together again. I was mere millimetres from doing it myself but as I've never changed a clutch before, I decided that doing it on a couple of rusty jack stands on a public road with a bold camber was not the most sensible way to go, especially given the bad luck I've been experiencing lately (see my thread about exploding air filters, and the one about springs dropped into places where they shouldn't be dropped - but now successfully retrieved).
The list of modifications to the car are too many to list here but I'm happy to provide info by email and then have a chat over the phone to answer any questions. It's a stripped out, lowered, hard cornering track racing car with full custom built roll cage and all the usual track racer accoutrements. Not a comfortable well appointed car for the family. There is no sense in assuming it can be restored or assuming you can just jump in and drive it every day without having to get under the bonnet for regular maintenance. Last time I advertised it somebody called up, very excited, because he wanted to use it as his wedding car. If you have similar thoughts this car is definitely not for you.
It comes with all the big oily bits for a spare engine (Block, head, pistons, spare twin Stromberg carbs on spare manifold, loads of other bits and bobs) and many many other spare parts too including a pricey Laycock Overdrive which was once fitted but removed for weight saving on the race track, and a spare set of Chevy truck wheels the same as the ones the car is sitting on currently.
Loads of other stuff... spare mechanical parts, trim, bumpers... just loads of stuff.
A fast, nice sounding admiration-inducing, and very rare car. Genuinely sad to be selling (Heartbroken in fact) , and really don't want to say goodbye to the old beast, but I can't stand the thought of it deteriorating if I continue to have no income for a long time, and I can't let my family suffer just so I can fix the clutch. Money's too tight to throw it any of it the car.
I'm interested in offers but I'm not interested in being mugged. I've ploughed a fortune into the car over the last two years, so I have a sense of what I'd like for it, but make me an offer, come and see the car and tell me what you think is a fair price.
Drop me an email at landscapeintelligence@gmail.com and I'll send over a long list of the good bits and the bad bits, then we can talk if you're still interested.
The car is now finally back in order. It starts, it runs, it's all good. The only thing to advise is that the clutch is going, and this alone is my reason for selling.
Sounds like an odd reason for selling, I know. I found myself out of work at the end of December and things haven't picked up yet in that respect, so I can't afford to get the clutch replaced, and the alternative is that I just let the car sit there waiting, and to me that's a crime. Old cars don't benefit from sitting untouched. So, it's now back up for sale. It does run. It does now start too. The clutch is really on it's last legs but it will still drive as long as it's driven sensibly. It wont make a trip around the world though. It's got 'drive it home' mileage left on the clutch now. It slips.
Ideally the clutch could be done by somebody with a workshop, which I don't have. I made plans to do the clutch myself in the street outside, but to be perfectly honest that's not ever going to be a good way to tackle it. After getting it up on some ramps last week to see about doing it on the cheap, I decided to throw in the towel and accept that without an income I'm not really able to keep looking after the car. For various reasons mentioned below, the quotes from garages to change the clutch are unnaturally high due to the unknown nature of the job. In reality it would be an easy job, but I'm not in a position to agree a potentially large fee in order to get the car in a mechanic's garage. I can't imagine anybody suggesting it could be £900 in man hours then being honest and charging the £200 it actually took them to do it.
The clutch is complicated by the fact that the car has a Type5 Ford four speed gearbox, which is mated very securely to the bell housing by a thick adaptor plate, and it mates to a Land Rover Discovery clutch (circa 2003/4). When you talk to a mechanic about the fact that it's not standard under there, they suck their teeth and warn of long hours spent figuring it all out. In reality, the box needs to slide out (6 bolts), the bell housing (and adaptor plate) removed, the replacement clutch fitted once the correct part numbers have been found (not sure if it's a TD5 or a Discovery V8 clutch without pulling it to see), and then it would need to be put back together again. I was mere millimetres from doing it myself but as I've never changed a clutch before, I decided that doing it on a couple of rusty jack stands on a public road with a bold camber was not the most sensible way to go, especially given the bad luck I've been experiencing lately (see my thread about exploding air filters, and the one about springs dropped into places where they shouldn't be dropped - but now successfully retrieved).
The list of modifications to the car are too many to list here but I'm happy to provide info by email and then have a chat over the phone to answer any questions. It's a stripped out, lowered, hard cornering track racing car with full custom built roll cage and all the usual track racer accoutrements. Not a comfortable well appointed car for the family. There is no sense in assuming it can be restored or assuming you can just jump in and drive it every day without having to get under the bonnet for regular maintenance. Last time I advertised it somebody called up, very excited, because he wanted to use it as his wedding car. If you have similar thoughts this car is definitely not for you.
It comes with all the big oily bits for a spare engine (Block, head, pistons, spare twin Stromberg carbs on spare manifold, loads of other bits and bobs) and many many other spare parts too including a pricey Laycock Overdrive which was once fitted but removed for weight saving on the race track, and a spare set of Chevy truck wheels the same as the ones the car is sitting on currently.
Loads of other stuff... spare mechanical parts, trim, bumpers... just loads of stuff.
A fast, nice sounding admiration-inducing, and very rare car. Genuinely sad to be selling (Heartbroken in fact) , and really don't want to say goodbye to the old beast, but I can't stand the thought of it deteriorating if I continue to have no income for a long time, and I can't let my family suffer just so I can fix the clutch. Money's too tight to throw it any of it the car.
I'm interested in offers but I'm not interested in being mugged. I've ploughed a fortune into the car over the last two years, so I have a sense of what I'd like for it, but make me an offer, come and see the car and tell me what you think is a fair price.
Drop me an email at landscapeintelligence@gmail.com and I'll send over a long list of the good bits and the bad bits, then we can talk if you're still interested.
