CAR OF THE MONTH
There’s something quite familiar here…
‘Yes, this is the car that once belonged to your former writer, Sam Glover. He’d done a great job by transplanting a Triumph 2.5-litre ‘six’ into it, so I couldn’t resist it when he put it up for sale. I got the train to his house in Gloucestershire and set off on the 500-mile journey home to Scotland.
It was the hottest day of the year and, despite the open windows and sunroof, I was cooking. Although it might have had something to do with the fact that the heater matrix was plumbed straight into the engine cooling system, with no way to turn off the heat!’
So there was still some work to do then?
‘Yes, although Sam had done a superb job, I wanted to change some things. I re-routed the heater pipes, adding a shutoff valve and some control cables. Engine temperature was improved by a seven-core radiator and larger Revotec fan. A trip to a local Dyno rolling road saw a healthy 151bhp result!’
So, now it’s time to hit the road again?
‘Not quite. With the car mechanically sorted, there were a few bodywork issues which I was keen to resolve.
You can’t take any chances here in Scotland! It needed inner and outer sills both sides, plus both castle rails and step-sill. The scuttle needed attention both sides too, while the inner wings got some repairs. I then cut some holes into the bonnet to form louvres, as a further measure to try and keep the temperature down.’
What’s it like to drive?
‘I have a smile on my face every time I drive it. It goes fast, stops well and handles brilliantly. We have great driving roads up here, so it’s the perfect place for a car like this. I did notice that it needed longer legs for touring. It would accelerate from 30mph in top gear with no hesitation, but 70mph meant 3400rpm.
No good for long distances.
So, I stripped the rear axle and replaced the crown wheel and pinion set with a 3.07:1 MGB V8 set, plus new bearings.
That sorted it. Much quieter now at 2600rpm at 70mph.’
Been anywhere nice?
‘We drove it to a jazz festival in France, covering 2000 miles in two weeks without a single issue. It really has literally been a roaring success.
The sound of that fantastic engine is just wonderful when you put your foot down!’
I had wanted one of these ever since I was watching The Avengers on television as a young man, and I’ve owned this particular car since 2015. It tended to overheat a little bit with the old-style radiator when I originally bought it, so I’ve since treated
