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Sept 6, 2022 22:11:20 GMT
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Hey gang, new car time for me. This was most unexpected and came out of the blue. This was my Uncle's 70th car which he bought at age 84 as a project to keep him active. It is a 1968 Lenham Le Mans GT. In the 60s, the Lenham Motor Company of Lenham, Kent, began producing hard tops and coupe bodies for various British sports cars, for competition and styling. One such was the MG Midget-based Le Mans GT Coupe. It involved peeling the bodywork from the car and a glass fibre body was bonded onto the car's unitary construction body. You can read a little more about that here www.lenhammotorcompanyltd.com/history/  Four years went buy and my uncle was happy pottering away but it was clear the project was dragging-on a little bit so his project became mine. Don't worry, he's still alive and well. During its time with him, it had the engine and gearbox removed, the bodywork repaired and repainted and some tidying on the suspension. His plan was to rebuild it into a competitive sprint or race car but with me as the new owner, permission was given to take the project in a different direction if I chose. Racing isn't my thing really so I am going to rebuild it as a race-inspired road car and give it a look more in keeping with some of the original press shots. Here's my car as it was purchased in 2018    It was quickly stripped down after purchase      The car was repainted in a shade of blue approximating the same shade as my uncle's first car for which a modern Fiat colour was chosen     It was at this stage it was decided a new owner was needed to take the project further. I've always coveted this little car and jumped at the chance when offered. It was kindly delivered from Edinburgh to Surrey by a good friend of mine, some of you may recognise.     More updates in due course Ferg |
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Last Edit: Apr 5, 2023 20:05:31 GMT by goosegog
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Love these!
Look forward to seeing this built up.
Thank the Lord those rear lights were binned!
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,921 
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Sept 7, 2022 20:32:46 GMT
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Nice little car.
Fiat rear lights ?
James
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Sept 7, 2022 22:10:50 GMT
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Nice little car. Fiat rear lights ? James Hi. Yes, the square ones were Fiat 131 but the car should and will have Fiat 850 saloon lights. |
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Sept 7, 2022 22:41:38 GMT
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Great little car. What carb is it, a 40 or 45 DCOE? Bonnet and front sidelights looks very similar to a Triumph Spitfire's.
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Sept 7, 2022 22:52:06 GMT
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It's a 45mm Delorto
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What a beautiful looking little car, it looks so "balanced"
(Got to echo the comment about the rear lights !!)
Looking forward to seeing future updates on this thread,
Nigel
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BMW E39 525i Sport
BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)
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nice, are you sticking with the A series or going for a micra engine? i'd like to see that 45 with the 16v micra engine and a retro rocker cover
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Sept 8, 2022 10:05:48 GMT
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I would say it's best stick to the existing A-series for the sake of originality - how does it run with the Dellorto?
I just fitted a Weber 40 DCOE to my 1275cc MG Midget engine and am yet to explore the tuning side of it...
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Sept 8, 2022 11:15:54 GMT
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nice, are you sticking with the A series or going for a micra engine? i'd like to see that 45 with the 16v micra engine and a retro rocker cover I'm having the A series rebuilt. More details soon. Cheers |
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Sept 8, 2022 11:25:45 GMT
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nice, are you sticking with the A series or going for a micra engine? i'd like to see that 45 with the 16v micra engine and a retro rocker cover I'm having the A series rebuilt. More details soon. Cheers Done that before, they are pretty good at 1380 with vizard style head mods |
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Sept 8, 2022 11:37:14 GMT
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What a beautiful little shape. Following updates with interest.
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1971 Triumph Toledo 1500 Road/rally
1998 Peugeot 106 Rallye
2007 Volvo V50 T5 AWD "Sensible Daily"
1978 BMW R100RS Cafe Racer "Jägerbomb"
1979 Harley Davidson SXT trials bike
2018 Black Lab/Alsatian cross "Rocky"
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Sept 8, 2022 17:03:41 GMT
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And so the plan began to form about how I want to take this build. My uncle opted to retain the sunroof however I wasn't so keen. After a couple of beers, my mind was set; it had to go and now was the best time to get rid. It was out in just a few minutes   I haven't worked with glass fibre much so a quick call to EC Fibreglass Supplies for a chat, an order was placed for what I would need and how to go about it. I put some release film over some flimsy plywood and supported it firmly from beneath to give it a gentle curve. After preparation to remove material from the aperture lip, 3 layers were laid-up, ensuring overlap both inside and out. Hole  Stuff  Release film  Cut to size  Flattening the creases  Dry  Wet  Set!  So there we go. The profile was pretty good and it stayed below the roof line so it could be sorted with a skim of filler by the body shop. It also made the roof a whole lot stronger. With that sorted, I also took care of a couple of ragged holes which had been hacked in the boot area.  Then it was off to the local body shop with the paint code, towed behind my Leaf daily    A massive improvement! So glad I did this now    More coming up |
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Sept 8, 2022 19:05:53 GMT
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That is looking really nice,
Great job with the roof,
Nigel
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BMW E39 525i Sport
BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,885
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Sept 8, 2022 19:57:09 GMT
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here |
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Sept 8, 2022 21:41:47 GMT
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SNAP!  No way! That's awesome. Tell me more |
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I have always liked the look of a Lenham GT. A 1380 A series with a 45 Dellorto is classic power and the swan-neck inlet manifold keeps it well clear of the footwell/mudguard area.
Following the build up with bated breath.
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,885
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Sept 9, 2022 20:49:35 GMT
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SNAP! No way! That's awesome. Tell me more Bought unfinished from a nice gentleman who needed the money for a powered hospital bed for his mother. I needed something smaller and more nimble than my V8 Healey for the 2019 Malta Classic but then got sidetracked by organising the Retro Rides stand at the NEC Classic that year. The car was finished but Covid hit and no Classic for two years, this year's is also cancelled and I'm reducing the fleet so it's up for sale. Specification Body The Lenham has been constructed on a NOS shell, sprayed in Speedwell Blue including the underside which was treated to a coat of underseal before being also sprayed in Speedwell Blue. The pedal box is modified for separate front and rear master cylinders and has the added benefit of a balance bar. The windscreen is polished and nickel plated. Engine: The engine is a 1380 fast road engine built by Mamba Motorsport with an 11 stud A+ block offset bored 74mm, screw plugged oil galleries and a freshly reground A+ crank with flange for Midget flywheel. MED two piece balanced damper kit. Kent MD276 camshaft with vernier pulley. Steel strapped centre main bearing cap. Calver Special Tuning Rear Main Seal Kit. EN24 competition head stud set. ARP rod bolts. Mildly worked (Stage 2) standard big valve cylinder head with 1:3:1 roller rockers High flow Metro oil pump. Weber 45DCOE on polished Mangoletsi inlet manifold and sliding linkage. 123 electronic distributor. Maniflow exhaust manifold and system – the manifold is Zirotec coated in Performance White and the rest of the system is ceramic coated grey. Mamba Motorsport flywheel and clutch along with a new slave cylinder and remote clutch bleed kit. Polished and rose jointed engine stabiliser. Setrab oil cooler, custom bracket and Goodridge 200 type hose and fittings. Engine has been run in and dyno’ed at Aldon Automotive and produced 98BHP. Gearbox: Gearbox was rebuilt by Heathrow Transmissions using a 1275 case and straight cut close ratio gearset. Rear Axle: The casing, backplates and handbrake linkage were sourced from California and as such are in remarkable totally rust free condition, and powder coated in black. The differential was also rebuilt by Heathrow Transmissions and has a 4:22 ratio. Drive shafts are Magic Midget competition 3 piece items. The prop shaft was rebuilt and re-balanced by Bailey Morris. Fuel System: Everything in the fuel system is new, including a new tank, SU pump and braided stainless steel lines and clips. All the lines run inside the car and are in Goodridge 811 which is Teflon lined and complies with current MSA rules on running fuel lines through the car. On exiting the car the fuel lines revert to normal Goodridge type 200 series hose and fittings and are paired with an Aeromotive low pressure fuel regulator and glycerine filled pressure gauge. Front Suspension: The front suspension has been totally rebuilt with new wishbones and kingpins re-bushed and reamed, along with a Frontline kit and Magic Midget 300lbs springs, a new uprated anti roll bar and poly bushed throughout. All metal components were shot blasted and powder coated black except the springs which are a fetching shade of green. Rear Suspension: Again all the components are new or reconditioned, the rear springs are reverse eye competition ones from Moss along with lowering blocks. The shocks are reconditioned and uprated and the drop link are new. Brakes: The front brakes are KAD 4 pot calipers along with 1144 pads as well as EBC grooved discs. Rear brake drums are non-spacer Minifin and have been fully polished (took ages!) along with new shoes and wheel cylinders. All brakes lines run inside the car and are all Goodridge type hose and fittings. Electrics: All electrical components are new along with an AES custom wiring loom, the switches are all mounted in a custom centre dash. The gauges are all SPA Design and consist of a dual Rev Counter/Speedo, Front & Rear Brake Pressures, Oil Pressure/Water Temperature, Fuel Level/Volts. Interior: The rear window and side windows are in a bronze tint perspex bonded in. In addition they are secured by black M4 screws to the car by means of anodised internal frames – ages of work but look good. The front windows are custom made. New Cobra CS seats with side harness slots trimmed in black vinyl as well as a pair of Schroth 4 point harnesses. Motolita steering wheel mounted to a Lifeline quick release unit, the steering column was modified to allow this fitting and also modified to do away with the outer column. Dash is a Frogeye fibreglass replica. Gear knob is a blue aluminium Speedwell type. Wheels: Wheels are 5” x 13” Minilight style with black centres fitted with 175 60 13 Kumho Ecsta V70A medium compound tyres. Fixings: Every nut, bolt and washer is new as well as all seals and grommets.     |
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here |
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Sept 9, 2022 21:00:06 GMT
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Certainly looks like a lovely machine. What's the sensor on the diff input for?
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Sept 9, 2022 21:10:57 GMT
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Lovely spec Ian - it is a shame that you have put so much into it and not really had a chance to use it in anger.....But I know the feeling that you can have too many "toys" at this time of life....
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