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Hi again folks.
So I had one deal go south, one was too expensive, and now I got kit car on the brain, dammit. I’m a loner by nature but for some reason I just want to join your ranks. Maybe it’s the cars! … yea, probably, but seems like a good group of folks here too, so I guess it’s not a bad side effect.Anyway, today there’s an unbuilt, or partially built Jaguar SS100 on CL. It’s designed to take the Ford engine up front which is kinda cool to me for some reason. From the ad I can gather that it’s either partially built because it’s on a chassis, but it could also be that it’s still a pile of parts and it just includes a chassis as well. It could also be gone for all I know – I haven’t actually talked to the seller yet. But it’s a fair price if it’s reasonably complete and condition is decent.I don’t know, but I would imagine that an un-built kit is possibly less appealing to most folks. In my case I enjoy building things anyway. The fact that I can make it suit me from the start rather than take somebody else’s idea and hack it for my own preferences is kind of appealing.So if I get this thing, I’ll have to figure out what engine and tranny will fit. It was designed with something in mind (Mustang II, Pinto, etc.), but it seems that there are probably several possibilities that could be made to work. I am a machinist so I can make brackets, alter (or make) a drive shaft and I can weld motor mount points in there too. Wouldn’t there be a lot of small engines that would occupy similar space as the Pinto (etc.) engine? A newer motor might perform better with the same or even smaller outside dimensions too I would think.Anyway, any thoughts or scoldings are welcome. If you scold me too bad it might not be “welcome” I guess, but I’ll read it anyway, so…Also, I know this is an MGTDr forum and at a car meet I would probably be the only one to think I’m fitting in, but if I get this Jaguar kit (do we call these a Jaguarr or Jaguar.r or something?) I promise to be annoying you all regularly regardless.😉vinito 2015-05-26 21:19:28 I talked to the seller. He is quite a talker – heard all kinds of details, some even about this kit. He’s a motorhead from way back and I heard a bunch of stuff about other projects he’s done before or in the middle of “getting around to” now. Nice guy.
At the risk of counting chickens, sounds like I got it if I want it. Just have to settle on a price, but it won’t be more than $1200 and that’s probably not firm. I’ll be driving there to check it out once there’s a break in the weather, probably this weekend. It’s definitely a project but it’s not missing a ton of stuff. The lights aren’t the Barnum & Bailey tent-sized ones (which would be more original, but hey) rather are some kind of Model A repro. Should still look good. Note that I am not too concerned about it looking like the original, which these particular kits don’t anyway. But it can still be a really attractive car and a lot of fun.OK, the “bad”:-The door latches are either missing or don’t work. I don’t consider that a big deal. If need be, I can make some from scratch.-One of the hoops for the top is too long or something. The top is not new condition, but it’s OK. No rips.-Headlights are substitutions as mentioned.-Bumpers are included but not mounted. Seems like I’ve seen at least three different kinds of bumpers. The ones with this one aren’t the straight chrome tube – some kind of shaped thing mounted to steel channel.-We didn’t talk about interior. I’ll see for myself when I get there. It’s probably not too bad if it’s similar to the rest of the car.-Some kind of goofiness with the front suspension, but as I said the guy is a motorhead and I think rather than do what he was suggesting, it can be just put back together and be as good as a Pinto anyway.-No fuel tank.-wing windows were mounted at some point but now only the mounting holes are there (exposed and visible). Probably not a big deal either.-chassis rolls and steers, but no brakes are connected at all. A master cylinder is installed and maybe even lines, but no pedal. I wonder if the parking brake is installed? I’ll have to check. That would make it easy to get inside my garage without breaking out the back wall.:lol:-And of course, no motor.He says the body is all in good shape. It’s grey and black. Not real flashy. As long as it shines up that is probably OK. I really like BRG so maybe I should redo the finish at some point several years away.He bought it and brought it home from Texas a couple years ago and promptly got distracted by several other projects. I don’t think he did anything at all but move it around a couple times from what he was saying.There is still the titling issue, but for the price it’s not a huge risk. The company who made these is still in business though not made the SS100 kit for over 20 years. That may or may not help in getting some kind of paperwork to help the titling process.Well that’s it other than pictures. Let me know what you think, other than I’m purchasing a ton of hours of work (because I already know that).
OK just kidding. That’s one of those beautiful Suffolk replicas.Here’s the one I’m considering:
(Sorry. The guy isn’t exactly Ansel Adams)p.s. The headlights that come with it are obviously not installed on the car yet. He mentioned a couple other things that come with it but aren’t installed.vinito2015-05-26 23:44:14
I’d say $1000 or $1200 could work for both of you. You could go nuts and put a Jag engine in it. That’d impress them down at the cruise in.
Not sure there would be enough length for a Jag.
Lotus engines are some of my favorites. 4 cyl.
Probably the cheapest way to get one of them is to buy a rusted out Jensen Healey. Nice (albeit a 4 speed) gearbox also.
You’re welcome here regardless of what car you end up building.
How made this kit? You say they are still in business, albeit not in the kit car business. That’s a surprise.
About the roof bars…you are right, the front one is sitting too low. It is possible the two bars are reversed. Quick way to tell…does the rear bar align with a seam in the roof? If it does, the bars are correct. If it does not, it is quite possible they are simply reversed. But even if you have to replace one, they are simply bent aluminum tubes. Pretty easy fabrication job.
Would any manufacturer’s straight six fit? That would be true to the original.
Jeep had a 242ci straight six, with 190 hp and 235 ft lbs torque
There must be many others.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
How about the old Datsun/Nissan 240/280 engine with a 5 speed behind it, these are cheap and plentyfull with a lot of tuning goodies around too! Finding a Jaguar motor is the easy part, finding a manual transmission is the hard and expensive part.
John
Don’t those XJ motors bolt to Chevy transmissions? I thought that is how all those 350s got into all those XJ cars.
If it is so, then easy: early style (small) Chebby bell housing with a 10.4-inch clutch and pressure plate. Behind that a T-5 out of an old Camaro or Mustang. Your only trouble now is the flywheel/starter combo….UPDATE: Wrong again. Looks like there are (or were?) conversion kits for it. And here’s a guy who used a BMW box. But nothing easy like I was thinking.edsnova2015-05-27 20:09:59
Looks like I’m gonna go git it this Saturday. Rain is supposed to taper off to nothing mid-morning and I can rent a dolly for cheap enough that even if I decide against it for some reason, the dolly cost won’t hurt.
Paul when I said the company doesn’t make this kit anymore, I just mean this particular one. They apparently still make other kits and they just don’t do this one anymore. They guy said something about “eagle” and Eagle Coach Works comes up, so maybe that’s it except it looks like that company may still offer SS100 kits so I might be wrong there.My plan is to get it home, wash it down good, take a few pictures then pull it into the garage and work on it for ten or twenty years.Seriously I would be happy if the thing would simply lazily tug me around town. So once I figure out what I need for fitting things, I’ll talk to a couple motorhead friends for advice and just get anything that can fit it and reliably work. I’m guessing that could be done with at least a dozen different motors. I do think it would just be kinda cool to have an inline 6, but I’m not married to it. FIrst order of business is to get it drive-able for cheap and get a feel for the thing. Then I can decide what I like and don’t and improve on it by prioritiies.This might be total sacrilege, but I am leaning heavily toward fitting an automatic tranny to it. Since it will just be something to putter around in, then the ease and comfort of automatic might be kind of nice at least for a while. If I end up yearning for the sporty feel of shifting for myself, I can re-think that later. However, if I find a manual for cheap first I may just go with that. It would be fun either way I think.A motorhead buddy at work was suggesting that I could put a Ford 3.8 into it. That seems kinda large to me, but supposedly those are easy to find and maintain. I don’t know which way I will go yet, but the idea of picking something plentiful and easy to find parts for is big on my priority list.Here’s Eagle Coach works web site:
http://www.eaglecoachwork.com/
I recall the name from years ago. had no idea they might still be in business.
If they are, that is a big plus as far as buying this kit. To have manufacturer support if you need is a big deal!
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Well by this time Saturday I should be standing in front of a washed shell of a kit car. Yesterday I saw a set (4) of Austin Healy-sized wire knock-off style rims go on eBay for less than $200. It was just the rims though so no hubs or nuts. Looking at completed listings it looks like that’s not an uncommon price for a set of those kind of rims. I don’t know why, but I really like the look of those type of wheels and once the car is in my possession I think I’ll keep an ear to the ground for a set while I’m figuring out a motor and tranny for it. I’ll have to figure out what size wheels will be proper for the thing and get that right. There’s probably a bit of a range that will work OK.
In the meantime, I’m going to start rifling through all the crap and listing a bunch of it on craigslist and thin the clutter. I have three garages and all of them are just about full of stuff I don’t need. I honestly wouldn’t mind not having 80% of the stuff I put in there. At the time I brought the piles home, I thought I’d need or want it, but it’s obvious that I don’t anymore. I think once I get started I might get into that “mode” and watch a bunch of stuff disappear in short order.Anyway, I’m kind of looking forward to the beginning of this hobby car thing. I’m such a rookie with it but I’ve been honing a bunch of skills for a couple decades which will come in handy for this stuff. When the thing is finally running and I can drive it around the neighborhood, that will be quite the landmark day, won’t it? That’s probably quite a ways away, but I hope the journey there will be enjoyable too.So what do you guys think about me putting an automatic in it? Has that been done very often?Congratulations on the new car and welcome to this crazy world of custom replicas. My own SS100 story was a sad one. In 91 I was teaching College in Essex in the UK and one of my evening students told me about this convertible car he found in the woods near his home. He also stated that it had huge chrome headlamps. Interest peaked i made him take me to see it, There is was a very rusty and beat up SS100. As far as i could see it was almost totally complete but it was trapped by the trees. I followed a long lost trail in the woods leading to a garden gate. To cut a long story short the old lady (yes really) owned the SS100 a 2.5 saloon and an XK140mc. She lived in a house with 47 cats that never ever went out of the house. When she opened the door to me the smell was unreal. I made a deal with her after many weeks of trying to buy the SS cars. They were her diseased hubbys. The XK was not for sale and in fact it may still be there, It was a birthday gift to her from him just before he died. At that point she had a garage built around the car. No door in or out for the car, just a single door. It took me and a couple of friends 3 weekends to clear a path for the cars. The saloon was in a garage with trees growing in front of the doors. At this point she had only taken a downpayment for both cars despite me trying several times to give her the cash. All runways cleared we turned up to take the cars away. She was waiting with a cop telling me the cars were not for sale and here was the downpayment back. I was not happy at that point.
Any way back to your car, the beauty of this hobby is that you can do what you wish, nothing is taboo just make it the way you want to, auto as well. As you can see on this forum there are so many variations and variables to choose from. Just enjoy whatever you do.
Regards and best wishes in the SS ish.
John the Brit
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Well I did pick it up today. It’s not as complete as I thought (no gauges) but that doesn’t bother me.
The condition isn’t as good as I would have liked, but it’s not bad enough to sour me on it. The car hasn’t been stored outdoors at least uncovered because the interior would be much worse. I don’t care too much about the interior itself as it’s good enough for a while, but if it were rotten that would be an indicator of bad deterioration on everything else, so I feel OK with it.So yea, it’s a big project. But it still looks cool and I’m proud to have it sitting in the yard today. One of my motorhead friends was by to check it out and he’s all excited about the possibilities with it too. I should get some good ideas and advice from him.The hauling of it went very smoothly.Oh yea, I ended up getting it for $900 too, so I’m happy enough about that.I’m certain that eventually I will be changing a ton of things on it. But I’m hoping to get the thing so I can drive it without going off the deep end and thinking myself into a pile of useless car parts for the next five years first. I figure I should be able to fix it up enough to drive within a few months maybe so I can have a little fun behind the wheel before I start letting my pipe dreams kill it first.I was hoping to wash and clean it up today, but the visitors stayed too long. So tomorrow I’ll be doing that and then taking pictures afterword. Also might look into the hoops for the top and see if I can at least figure out what to fix on them so it supports the top correctly.And without further ado, here’s a couple quick snaps of it sitting in my yard:
(sorry about the finger. I’m not Ansel Adams either)And by the way, the headlights he included are actually pretty nice I think. They are some kind of heavy-duty Model A somethingernuther. I’ll post a picture of them tomorrow along with a couple more snaps of the body after being cleaned up a bit.vinito2015-05-30 21:44:41
Vinito: Looks like a good starting point. The roof bows use common boat hardware. You can look up in build manuals on this site how they are assembled. A good time to make a note book of what you have and what is needed/ what you want . It is your car so build it like you like. Keep record of parts cost and bill of sales of parts and supplies bought easier when time to pay taxes on it to get license and title. Take pictures of the assembly to document build. Make diagram of wiring harness. Keep one in your notebook of what part numbers are used and keep one in assembled car. Comes in handy on road. Good score on price!
Getting ready to go out and wash the new money pit!
Today I surfed a little for wire wheel information. Based on what I learned, it seems that I should skip trying to find a good deal on used ones due to the potential for several issues common to original wire wheels. Can be a pain at best and potentially dangerous. I figure I’ll just look for a suitable size rim and maybe wire covers or just some kind of good-looking wheel/center combo. I guess the trick is finding something that looks classy and not cheezy, i.e. somewhat “period correct” and cool. I guess that’s simple enough to research since there are tons of images on the net with a TD, S100 and other similar searches. Something will catch my eye.I notice that all the new rims tend to be smaller diameter and wider than original. I do like much more the look of the larger diameter, narrower wheels & tires from the original cars. I have had some trouble finding what the originals had – anybody have a recommendation?Also took a stab at searching craigslist for a donor car for the engine, harness, tranny, title and dozens of other tidbits. Not a wealth of this stuff available there. I suspect that this is one case where more may be available at the local junkyards than on the net.I should probably start a new thread for the “build”.I guess I have officially joined your ranks though. Glad to have horned my way in.vinito2015-05-31 13:04:37
Original SS-100 wheels were 18 x 3 1/4 and 60 spokes. MWS can supply them, at wicked cost. If you run them you’ll be the coolest cat on the board.
FWIW, I suspect you could make it work with a set of Triumph bolt-on hubs, which should fit your Ford wheel bolt pattern. (4 x 4.5 inches). To me, it’s the only way to make the kit look “right.” But if you let me spend your money you’re crazier than me, and that is not an easy thing to be.Here, btw, is your steering wheel.
edsnova wrote:Here, btw, isWhere’s the wood?That looks pretty close. But it’s supposed to be 18″ isn’t it? Maybe that wouldn’t even fit inside the doors on the kit car.Yea those MWS wheels are way to sweet for me. About $2500 US. For that money I’d be tempted to blacksmith them myself and save money for pizza and a hat.
I’ve discovered that my wheels aren’t as trashed as I thought they were, so nice wheels are on the back burner for now as they should be at this point of the build.I’ve started a new thread for the re-build. Sure to be full of drama, mistakes, torn knuckles and maybe even some positive progress.I washed and vacuumed the thing today. I thought I hated cats before. I don’t think they lived in it, but they’ve certainly been sleeping there for a couple years. Blechth!!!vinito2015-05-31 21:45:04
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