London Roadster

[Steven R. Secrest]

I

I recently inherited a 1988 London Roadster. By chance would anyone have any information on this car? What company originally built the London Roadster? Any documentation on building this car i.e.. Assembly manual. I am in the process of trying to put this auto back to a road worthy condition. It does have a rebuilt 1600cc with only 4000 miles on it and the car is in very good condition. The only major problem I see with it is the front end. The car is very stiff riding and I have been unable to figure out what the front end came from. It has IFS designed from a vw front axle. Any help on this auto would be greatly appreciated. Either a message could be posted here or to my email at srsecrest@email.com. If anyone would buy chance have a copy of the assembly manual I would be more than willing to buy the manual or pay for the cost of a copy..

Thanks guys and gals..

Steve

 

[Dale Schumacher]

Steve,

Don’t know London Roadster kit’s, but more than likely it has the std VW torsion tube ( 2 tubes ) front end. Check some of the forums here and find the one that discribes how to remove the small torsion bars from the upper and lower tubes. It takes maybe 4 hours w/ some sweat and a bit of yelling, but you can do it. I did it myself and helps make the ride less harsh. Also look at your front shocks – use the low price std shocks for the VW – your ride is lighter then a VW and you need mild shocks ( check JC whitney or the like ) don’t buy the gas ones – just the cheap standard units. Also grease the front end – could be very dry – do this after you remove the small torsion bars from the tubes,.

Were are you located?

Good luck – let us know how it goes,

Dale

[Steven R. Secrest]

Thanks Dale for the info, but the setup on this car is a bit different. It does utilize a vw std tube but the ends of the tube have been modified to use the standard upper a-frame on the ends but uses a lower swing arm on the bottom. It appears that the std spindle and ball joints are used. It was designed to be a IFS (Independent Front Supp. ) as is used on most modern cars. So it is kind of a hybird setup. The front shocks are coil over shocks which attack to a bracket at the top of the vw std tube and at the bottom to the swing arm. I know I am probably not making this sound very clear but it is rather difficult to explain. So removing torsion bars from the vw tube would not affect anything. It appears the ride height and stiffness are controlled by the coil over shocks. I thought if I could locate someone with an orginal manual maybe it would talk about this setup in there.
Oh and by the way I am living in South Carolina. I retired from the USAF in 1992 and relocated down here. Orginally from Illinois. ( Quincy ).
Thanks again Dale for trying to help….

Steve

[Larry]

Hey Steve,

     The London Roadster was assembled in Dearborn, Mich. on Michigan Ave, just west of Southfield. After I bought my Allison in ’82 , I visited London Roadster’s shop which at that time was thriving. As with so many it is now defunct. Regarding getting info , you might try the Dearborn City Hall , Dearborn , Mi. & ask for any info that they might have on the company. There are many devotees in the Detroit area & many car shows as well. My guess is that most of the units were sold in the Detroit area , so if you have any contacts there , start there. Web search car clubs in Detroit for MGTD owners. Also the Greenfield Village / Henry Ford museum in Dearborn has a research center that is available & has tons of info available for free. You actually have to contact them & make an appointment to get in , but it is not difficult. Looking on the web in the classified section of the Detroit News for issues in the late 80s & early 90s would also help. Just browse the Sunday classifieds for ads & phone numbers & don’t waste time on the daily papers , just Sundays.

     Good luck,

                     Larry in Daytona,Fl. ( formerly Dearborn,Mi. area )

[Larry]

Steve,

     One other idea. There is a VW dealer in Southgate, Mi. that has been in the same family for years. You might try contacting Melton Motors in Southgate, Mi to see if they have a line on any of the London Roadsters being as the dealer might have seen some of them years ago.

                           Larry

[Larry]

Steve,

     One final comment. There are a number of discussions involving the London Roadster. One actually gives the exact info about the company. It was last posted 2006 & is very informative. The were actually made in Inkster, Mi. ( a suburb of Dearborn).

                                           Larry

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