Here's the second bizzlemobile.
It's a DMS Bullitt - a replica Aston Martin Volante Vantage based on a '78 Capri II 3.0 Ghia V6.
Now, I know it's a shame to cut up a decent mkII but in my defence my dad built this car in the early nineties and they weren't that rare then (plus the donor was in our local Ford scrappy in Herne Bay, waiting to be crushed!).
Anyway, my dad emigrated to France a few years ago and couldn't take the Bullitt with him, so it fell into my custody. Unfortunately I had nowhere to keep it at the time, so I left it in my Uncle's barn in Carmarthen. Here it is on the trailer, waiting to be tucked up in bed.
(That moustachioed man isn't me!)
It stayed in the barn for a few years. I started to feel sorry for it, so a few months ago me and my uncle saddled up the Freelander, drove down to Wales and hauled her out of the dust and guano. Here's how we found it:
The eagle-eyed will have spotted the Chevette rear lights.
Got mould?
Trying a Landie kiss of life.
Trailered up and ready to go.
...and here she is, safely ensconced in my grandma's garage in East London.
There's a few things that will need doing eventually (besides giving it a damn good clean!) - it's still on the standard Capri thirteens which look pretty silly under those cavernous arches, plus they're already on spacers so wide that the rears are only held on by a couple of threads of the nuts! I also need to learn to use fibreglass so I can sort out the jumbo shutlines.
So, fast forward a couple of months and let's get it running...
First, cleaning up the points, rotor arm, dizzy, plug leads etc and make sure all the connections are good.
Digging out some wet 'n' dry paper for contact scrubbing, and getting the fuel on standby for dribbling into the carb. We have confidence at this point.
Clip it all back together again.
Bloody hell! After sitting unused for about four years, it started! Here it is a couple of minutes later, idling perfectly.
Taking the brakes apart to free off the pads and make sure everything's OK in there. (Only did the fronts this time - the rears can wait for another day...)
Tiny little driveway up to the garage is about two inches wider than the car is. (It was fun pushing it up there...)
Topped up the coolant and the brake fluid (bleeding it all properly can wait a while), then changed the oil.
Ready for a little trip.
Good lord, it runs and drives perfectly! Absolutely everything seems to be working exactly as it should, apart from the fog lights. Testament to the build quality of these bulletproof old Capris!
...and all tucked up back in bed, ready for the next installment.
Next job - replace the (badly perished) tyres and get it MOT'ed. The plan is to keep it tucked away, gradually doing bits and pieces until it's ready for some fun. However, as the credit crunch bites it might be necessary to sell it... really hope that's not the case, we'll see.
It's a DMS Bullitt - a replica Aston Martin Volante Vantage based on a '78 Capri II 3.0 Ghia V6.
Now, I know it's a shame to cut up a decent mkII but in my defence my dad built this car in the early nineties and they weren't that rare then (plus the donor was in our local Ford scrappy in Herne Bay, waiting to be crushed!).
Anyway, my dad emigrated to France a few years ago and couldn't take the Bullitt with him, so it fell into my custody. Unfortunately I had nowhere to keep it at the time, so I left it in my Uncle's barn in Carmarthen. Here it is on the trailer, waiting to be tucked up in bed.
(That moustachioed man isn't me!)
It stayed in the barn for a few years. I started to feel sorry for it, so a few months ago me and my uncle saddled up the Freelander, drove down to Wales and hauled her out of the dust and guano. Here's how we found it:
The eagle-eyed will have spotted the Chevette rear lights.
Got mould?
Trying a Landie kiss of life.
Trailered up and ready to go.
...and here she is, safely ensconced in my grandma's garage in East London.
There's a few things that will need doing eventually (besides giving it a damn good clean!) - it's still on the standard Capri thirteens which look pretty silly under those cavernous arches, plus they're already on spacers so wide that the rears are only held on by a couple of threads of the nuts! I also need to learn to use fibreglass so I can sort out the jumbo shutlines.
So, fast forward a couple of months and let's get it running...
First, cleaning up the points, rotor arm, dizzy, plug leads etc and make sure all the connections are good.
Digging out some wet 'n' dry paper for contact scrubbing, and getting the fuel on standby for dribbling into the carb. We have confidence at this point.
Clip it all back together again.
Bloody hell! After sitting unused for about four years, it started! Here it is a couple of minutes later, idling perfectly.
Taking the brakes apart to free off the pads and make sure everything's OK in there. (Only did the fronts this time - the rears can wait for another day...)
Tiny little driveway up to the garage is about two inches wider than the car is. (It was fun pushing it up there...)Topped up the coolant and the brake fluid (bleeding it all properly can wait a while), then changed the oil.
Ready for a little trip.
Good lord, it runs and drives perfectly! Absolutely everything seems to be working exactly as it should, apart from the fog lights. Testament to the build quality of these bulletproof old Capris!
...and all tucked up back in bed, ready for the next installment.
Next job - replace the (badly perished) tyres and get it MOT'ed. The plan is to keep it tucked away, gradually doing bits and pieces until it's ready for some fun. However, as the credit crunch bites it might be necessary to sell it... really hope that's not the case, we'll see.
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