Post by rfashworth on Jun 17, 2014 20:10:38 GMT
I've introduced myself on the other board so here's a bit more about my car - Mk2 Consul, Rover V8.
I’ve never really had an out and out Hot Rod but have had a number of classic cars over the years, starting with dragging a Morris Minor out of a field when I was 18. I’m really a Ford man though, having had a number of Mk2 and Mk3 Capris, Cortinas, Mk2 Consuls and a Mk2 Zodiac in the past – whenever I’ve had an old car it’s has been my only and everyday car at the time. My cars have always been in more or less standard trim, but I’ve always aspired to modify without having the opportunity /money / experience / balls to do it. I’ve read Street Machine (RIP) and Custom Car since the late 1980s and have gone to the occasional show over the years... I speak the right language but have never really been involved in the “scene” as such.
As well as my project Mk2 Consul I also have a Mk2 Escort which has been in the family from new, also a Mk3 Granada (shhh!) which is stored away for the future – it was simply in too good a condition to turn down.
My Consul is a Mk2 Hi-Line (1958), with a Rover V8 and 3 speed auto. I’ve had this car since 2001, I was driving a Mk2 Zodiac at the time and was flagged down by the guy who owned the Consul but was losing his storage. The car looked rough, but for £300 I could hardly refuse.
Although the car looked rough and both sills were seriously shot, door bottoms a bit frilly etc, the rest of the car including the floor pans, A-posts, inner wings, strut towers etc was very sound indeed.
The car came to me with the Rover and auto installed, but standard running gear otherwise. It looked as if it has been originally customised in the late 70s or early 80s, with a buttoned draylon interior – almost back in fashion now but too rough to salvage. The engine and box are out of a 1976 Rover P6 – a donor car that couldn’t have been all that old at the time. The bulkhead had been nicely modified, heater fitted, wipers converted to electric etc, and a nicely made crossmember installed too for telescopic rear shockers. The car had clearly spent some time on the road in its V8 guise, but had been stood a long time since. I particularly liked the fact that rear wheel tubs were protected from corrosion by a thick layer of burnout rubber!
The worst thing about the car was a truly awful set of home-made exhaust headers, coming forwards to avoid the steering box, with the front pipes passing underneath the track control arms at both sides which clouted the suspension on full drop. The car still had drums on the front, worm and peg, and its original back axle too, so I decided to look into upgrades. I was never aiming for big power – I wanted the V8 for its exhaust note as much as anything – and so settled on a Mk3 Capri as a donor. I have fitted the front crossmember, rack and struts, master cylinder/servo, and back axle all from a 2 litre Mk3 Capri. I figured taking the whole braking package from the same car should keep it balanced and I have the option to upgrade to 2.8i or aftermarket upgrades later on. I did get the anti-roll bar from a 2.8 as the 2.0 one looked thin compared to the Consul one that had come off.
A bonus of the Capri rack set up is that I can refit a standard Rover sump instead of the one that had been cut and shut to clear the Consul’s drag link, with resultant dubious oil capacity.
I used a set of block hugger headers from Pop Browns to tuck the exhaust in avoiding the steering column. Rest of the system is homemade using Jetex parts.
The Capri (Atlas) axle fits under the rear arches – which I want to keep squared off and not “radius” – using 15” steels off a Mondeo. This tucks the wheels in (effectively narrowing the axle) but the offset offends the eye and so I’ll have to use a set of Moondiscs or something until I can afford to get the axle narrowed. Front wheels are 15” Citroen steels which have a more “RWD” offset and went straight onto the struts without fouling. When I can get the axle narrowed I’ll use another pair of Citroen wheels on the rear – perhaps with a 1” banding.
The car is for cruising not racing so I was determined to keep the bench seat but didn’t want a floor mounted selector. I found a steering column from an Aussie Fairlane (I think) which had a column shifter with the same shift pattern as the Rover (Borg Warner) box. I’ve shortened the column to take the original Consul steering wheel and Capri UJs. I have made an adjustable rose-jointed linkage between column and ‘box, which works in the garage but is untested on the road with the engine and box moving about – will have to see on that one.
I’ve had this car 13 years or so but have never had it on the road – wedding, house move, new baby, other cars… usual story. I do have all the parts I need lined up apart from new front brake callipers and I need get the propshaft professionally sorted out at some point. All I need is time – if I could shut myself in the garage for a solid stint like Dick Van Dyke in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, I could make some real progress and drive the car out. Actually that’s a bit optimistic as I don’t know the condition of the gearbox but there’s only one way to find out.
Currently I am rewiring the car from scratch, starting with moving the battery to the boot, all new cable, new fuse boxes etc – I’ve spent too long battling bodged up looms over the years so want to start afresh with this one.
Realistically I’m looking at 2016 before the car can debut I guess. Externally I will keep it pretty subtle and standard except minor de-badging , and some restrained bonnet louvres. I also have a set of red “export” lenses for the rear indicators, just to be different.
I’d love to do a pukka 2-door conversion (lengthened front doors) but I think that falls under the category of “making work for myself” and I should concentrate on getting it on the road at long last.
I want to run the car in primer first then look to a proper paint job in the baby blue (Kenilworth blue) that the car was originally, with the roof in a contrasting period colour – possibly a ‘flake version of one of the factory original colours.
Hope this has been of interest. All ideas and experience welcomed!
By the way I’m on the lookout for a N/S front door (condition unimportant) and a useable rear bumper from a Mk2 Zephyr or Zodiac.
Robert
I’ve never really had an out and out Hot Rod but have had a number of classic cars over the years, starting with dragging a Morris Minor out of a field when I was 18. I’m really a Ford man though, having had a number of Mk2 and Mk3 Capris, Cortinas, Mk2 Consuls and a Mk2 Zodiac in the past – whenever I’ve had an old car it’s has been my only and everyday car at the time. My cars have always been in more or less standard trim, but I’ve always aspired to modify without having the opportunity /money / experience / balls to do it. I’ve read Street Machine (RIP) and Custom Car since the late 1980s and have gone to the occasional show over the years... I speak the right language but have never really been involved in the “scene” as such.
As well as my project Mk2 Consul I also have a Mk2 Escort which has been in the family from new, also a Mk3 Granada (shhh!) which is stored away for the future – it was simply in too good a condition to turn down.
My Consul is a Mk2 Hi-Line (1958), with a Rover V8 and 3 speed auto. I’ve had this car since 2001, I was driving a Mk2 Zodiac at the time and was flagged down by the guy who owned the Consul but was losing his storage. The car looked rough, but for £300 I could hardly refuse.
Although the car looked rough and both sills were seriously shot, door bottoms a bit frilly etc, the rest of the car including the floor pans, A-posts, inner wings, strut towers etc was very sound indeed.
The car came to me with the Rover and auto installed, but standard running gear otherwise. It looked as if it has been originally customised in the late 70s or early 80s, with a buttoned draylon interior – almost back in fashion now but too rough to salvage. The engine and box are out of a 1976 Rover P6 – a donor car that couldn’t have been all that old at the time. The bulkhead had been nicely modified, heater fitted, wipers converted to electric etc, and a nicely made crossmember installed too for telescopic rear shockers. The car had clearly spent some time on the road in its V8 guise, but had been stood a long time since. I particularly liked the fact that rear wheel tubs were protected from corrosion by a thick layer of burnout rubber!
The worst thing about the car was a truly awful set of home-made exhaust headers, coming forwards to avoid the steering box, with the front pipes passing underneath the track control arms at both sides which clouted the suspension on full drop. The car still had drums on the front, worm and peg, and its original back axle too, so I decided to look into upgrades. I was never aiming for big power – I wanted the V8 for its exhaust note as much as anything – and so settled on a Mk3 Capri as a donor. I have fitted the front crossmember, rack and struts, master cylinder/servo, and back axle all from a 2 litre Mk3 Capri. I figured taking the whole braking package from the same car should keep it balanced and I have the option to upgrade to 2.8i or aftermarket upgrades later on. I did get the anti-roll bar from a 2.8 as the 2.0 one looked thin compared to the Consul one that had come off.
A bonus of the Capri rack set up is that I can refit a standard Rover sump instead of the one that had been cut and shut to clear the Consul’s drag link, with resultant dubious oil capacity.
I used a set of block hugger headers from Pop Browns to tuck the exhaust in avoiding the steering column. Rest of the system is homemade using Jetex parts.
The Capri (Atlas) axle fits under the rear arches – which I want to keep squared off and not “radius” – using 15” steels off a Mondeo. This tucks the wheels in (effectively narrowing the axle) but the offset offends the eye and so I’ll have to use a set of Moondiscs or something until I can afford to get the axle narrowed. Front wheels are 15” Citroen steels which have a more “RWD” offset and went straight onto the struts without fouling. When I can get the axle narrowed I’ll use another pair of Citroen wheels on the rear – perhaps with a 1” banding.
The car is for cruising not racing so I was determined to keep the bench seat but didn’t want a floor mounted selector. I found a steering column from an Aussie Fairlane (I think) which had a column shifter with the same shift pattern as the Rover (Borg Warner) box. I’ve shortened the column to take the original Consul steering wheel and Capri UJs. I have made an adjustable rose-jointed linkage between column and ‘box, which works in the garage but is untested on the road with the engine and box moving about – will have to see on that one.
I’ve had this car 13 years or so but have never had it on the road – wedding, house move, new baby, other cars… usual story. I do have all the parts I need lined up apart from new front brake callipers and I need get the propshaft professionally sorted out at some point. All I need is time – if I could shut myself in the garage for a solid stint like Dick Van Dyke in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, I could make some real progress and drive the car out. Actually that’s a bit optimistic as I don’t know the condition of the gearbox but there’s only one way to find out.
Currently I am rewiring the car from scratch, starting with moving the battery to the boot, all new cable, new fuse boxes etc – I’ve spent too long battling bodged up looms over the years so want to start afresh with this one.
Realistically I’m looking at 2016 before the car can debut I guess. Externally I will keep it pretty subtle and standard except minor de-badging , and some restrained bonnet louvres. I also have a set of red “export” lenses for the rear indicators, just to be different.
I’d love to do a pukka 2-door conversion (lengthened front doors) but I think that falls under the category of “making work for myself” and I should concentrate on getting it on the road at long last.
I want to run the car in primer first then look to a proper paint job in the baby blue (Kenilworth blue) that the car was originally, with the roof in a contrasting period colour – possibly a ‘flake version of one of the factory original colours.
Hope this has been of interest. All ideas and experience welcomed!
By the way I’m on the lookout for a N/S front door (condition unimportant) and a useable rear bumper from a Mk2 Zephyr or Zodiac.
Robert
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