Ian / Chris thanx for the warm welcome.
Chris, know where you're coming from with the Jupiter - we had the same thing with a C Type and a GT40 we built way back. Funny thing is that now I'm involved [ design consultancy ] with C Types [ replicas ] and there is a universal acceptance within the Jaguar fraternity. Even when I recently redesigned the front chassis and squeezed in a Blown V8 jag lump !
I had 20 magical years dealing direct with Carroll Shelby on our [ RAM ] Cobra replicas, which he gave his personal endorsement to ! No elitism there.
Ian, see notes re: harrumphing ............
There will be many spare, spares [ doubles ] and in keeping with my reycling phylosophy - I would rather pass OEM parts on to those who can use them [ see PVR V6 note ]. However, that said , I do like the sentiments of your poem, and may well own a "real" / unmolested [ 'ish ] Javelin at some future point.
Believe me the remarks directed at the Rover Club are well deserved !
Ditto the "BMW UK [Official no less] Club", which despite it's ambiguous title, is for bikes. According to themselves [ both clubs ] - their car / bike is the best ever produced and anything else is, well - not the best.
I spend many a happy hour winding them up with tales of my Rods and Mods.
I already feel at home here with what seems to be a laissez faire attitude towards your chosen marque.
This is not the first time I have seriously looked at the Javelin as a base for "something" - as a long time afficianado [ and made a living with ] American Muscle cars and Rods - the body style has always reminded me of some of the iconic US cars of the 40's. I have to say, that as a design engineer - the engine also intrigues me ! It would not be beyond the realms of possibility that an OEM original car with period Competition upgrades won't find itself in my stable in the future !
Just as a backgrounder - ALL my hobbies are now paid for by my government pocket money [ £90 / week ] and what I can sell on E-Bay ! All my spare stash went into buying a 9 bedroomed Villa in Saxony
Before anyone runs away with the idea I'm a rich kid - the villa was bought for the price of a secondhand car 10 years ago when property was almost being given away in the former DDR [ near Dresden ].
So why all the projects given no workshop and essentially no money ? It's an age thing - my body has passed 3 score and 10 on this Earth - but my soul is still only 30-40 years old !
"One last fling" went a bit wild and now it's several "one last flings" - in a vehicular sense you understand [ happily married for the 3 rd time for the past 32 years ]. The idea was to gather as many donors as and when they came available for the right price - then cull the non starters [ project wise ] and gradually build what was left.
I've cut down to 3 bikes now [ BMW Kay Streetfighter, Yamaha 1000 Vee twin Cafe Racer and a Kawasaki KZ750T Flat Tracker ] all will be finished by next Summer.
Not quite sure where the desire to build more cars came from - probably being shafted for £260 a year for road tax for my Citroen C5 Estate daily driver ! That's where th P4 [ "Nelson" ] came in, and will replace the C5 when it's finished - next Spring ? Just missed MOT exemption [ 1960 ].
That's when I came back round to the Javelin - well not directly ! I was looking for a pre-1960 ANYTHING to take to Saxony as with the MOT / Tax exemption I would only have to worry about insurance [ Classic anyway ]. Pre 1960 also fits in nicely with the German Historische requirements, which amongst other benefits means you can drive in the Cities.
I looked at [ and discarded very quickly ] early Landies, Triumph Herald / Vitesse, A30, Moggy Minors, Standard 10 .......... you get the picture - unloved "classics" [ = cheap ].
Then I spotted the Grey car [ E-Bay ], but realised it was going to go for more than I wanted to pay -AND still needed a load of work to get it useable.
However the seed was sown - so I contacted the seller of the Caermarthen car - he was so angry at being let down TWICE by E-bay buyers [ after the deal was done ] he had already advertised it locally for around the start price.
Long story short - he removed it from the E-Bay auction and I bought it through the local ad.
............... Simples
So - thinking aloud, I may well sell Nelson, or the C5 and look for a good running Javelin next year.
As for the Yellow Peril ...................it WILL be Rodded. Resto Rod exterior, with a practical engine / box just to give it a little ooomph, and with the relevant brake, suspension upgrades. despite appearances, it has had most of the repair work [ chassis / panels] done
In fact I looked at Rover V8s for power, but in reality they are NOT very powerful and are becoming silly expensive. Having owned a couple of Alpine Renaults [ GTA Turbo ] AND always had at least one Renault / Citroen as a daily driver - I do like the PVR engine [ alloy V6 ]. In the Alpine it produced 170 mph top end with 5.9sec 0 - 60. Yes it was a light slippery car, but STILL returned 28 mpg overall. Parts were cheap [ Renault / Volvo / Peugeot parts bins ]. Similar configuration used in the Renault 25 [?] Turbo
SO, scanning through the current Classic Car mags I spotted a Volvo V6 engine / box [ front engine RWD version ] with spares in good running order for £50 !!!!!!!!!! Kerching. When I phoned the seller up, he said he'd had it advertised for months [ he put wrong info in his ad ! ] and without prompting said he'd take £35 for the lot - double kerching.
Bit of a ramble there I'm afraid - but at least you know who I am and what I'm about.
Certainly it is missing window rubber seals [ although glass is intact ], headlining and a door card or two !
