first classic-Herald 1200 ..weak valve springs??

[redratbike]

Sept 12, 2023 22:41:37 GMT adam73bgt said:

I believe goldnrust still has his Daimler for sale

forum.retro-rides.org/thread/210509/1968-daimler-250-v8-moving?page=52

www.carandclassic.com/l/C1619375

thank you for letting me know ,lovely car way too expensive for me though

that’s more middle to top shelf i’m looking at the bottom shelf or reduced goes out of day today type 🤣

[redratbike]

so the mk2 jag my brother said his mate has has turned into a daimler sovereign

the guy has lost his mojo with it , it’s sat for 2 years where it was driven to, fuel pump has packed up , think i’m right in thinking this is the SU type with points

50k miles apparently , last mot’d in 2015 and done less than 140 miles since then

not sure i want it but i’ll go check it out as he won’t discuss price without me viewing.

but if it’s cheap cheap then may be

[redratbike]

could work as race rep

[Dez]

They have some good lines, they just need a lot of the extraneous fluff removing to release them.



And a few inches out the roof, obviously 😉

[redratbike]

yeah that’s stunning

isnt that a 420G ?

[Waxoyling Lyrical]

The 420 was based on the S-type, while the 420G was based on the Mk10.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_420_and_Daimler_Sovereign_(1966%E2%80%931969)

[akku]

The 420 non-G is a much more livable size. A mate had a 420G and it made some of my yank stuff look small. Awesome cars though. I would still love a 420G / Mk X.

[Dez]

Yes, they’re not the same car but they’re close enough most people can’t tell the difference, so the styling cues from one are transferable to the other.

[homersimpson]

Sept 12, 2023 20:03:39 GMT redratbike said:

Sept 12, 2023 19:22:30 GMT kevins said:

Sounds like it could be great but check out the structure carefully these things can really rot and are not easy to fix.

i’d been looking at the econojag rebuild on here and realised how much they can rust 😬

I'm afraid so, that Daimler V8 250 will probably need a lot of what econojag needed and the 420 is likely to be similar.  The 420 has a different rear end suspension mounting which probably don't rust quite as bad as the MK2 but they have a middle sill section and their own complexity around the rear end.

The 420 is a much better car but probably a bit more expensive to do due to some parts being rare, front end parts are non existant for those and ultimatley they aren't worth what a MK2 will be so are only worth doing if you really want one.

Are you planning to restore the car yourself?  Can you weld?  If not then a rusty old Jag needs careful consideration as the cost to repair the body is huge.  Mine stands me in at around 12K complete but aparts from the shotblasting I did it all myself, even the paint.

If you want a Jag MK2 then go for one (or a Daimler) as you will always regret it if you settle for the 420 and its not what you want.  Just my 2p

[redratbike]

thanks for that homersimpson

the 420 has actually had a big chunk of welding done already so would be a better car to start with

the 250 is an unknown and pretty scabby

i have welded in the past , i know a couple of good welders i also know a retired body man who would take on work .. but i haven’t the space for a full on project so it would have to be rolling resto style

[homersimpson]

Sept 19, 2023 20:01:11 GMT redratbike said:

thanks for that homersimpson

the 420 has actually had a big chunk of welding done already so would be a better car to start with

the 250 is an unknown and pretty scabby

i have welded in the past , i know a couple of good welders i also know a retired body man who would take on work .. but i haven’t the space for a full on project so it would have to be rolling resto style

If the 420 is solid and you like it then go for it, a scaby MK2 is a money pit (as I well know!)

I had an S-Type which is basically the same as a 420 from the windscreen backwards and the independant rear suspension on them makes them handle a fair bit better than a MK2.  They are heavier though so do feel a bit less sporty (not that a MK2 is particuarlly as it feels like driving down the road in armchair).

The rear inboard brakes on the S-Type/420 are a bit awkward to service but getting the rear cage out isn't usually that difficult, just a bit heavy.

The 420 also has better front brakes (3 pot callipers) and if it has power steering it will be the later and much better varamatic steering.

[redratbike]

daimlers off the list

daimler 250 too much of a risk but love the shape

sovereign the shape is a no go just an ugly duckling in my eyes not getting me excited but can pass on the details if some one fancies it (kent based , brands hatch way)

[redratbike]

car search is not going well

found a nice herald the other week at£3750 it looked fantastic value

www.carandclassic.com/l/C1636327

placed the buy it now on it within minutes of seeing it , stated looking at flights to glasgow , went back to the advert and called the guy to tell him i had bid his asking price and i’d be up at the weekend , “it’s sold “ was the answer

the advert was finally taken down esterday and i watched it reach £4250 on ebay too 🤬

next herald looked really nice but photos were misty couldn’t pick out any detail

red herald
i asked for more photos with the owner saying they were the best he could do at the moment .. it sold , then reappeared a day or 2 later .. work was manic and went to bid on it and it had sold aargh!

found a morris minor for £2.5k had a 1275 , alllys and some other mods tried to arrange an early viewing saturday only to be told he won’t do before 10 and he had a viewing booked for then , was busy saturday later but told him to contact me he didn’t .. so was it sold … no he’d put the price up by nearly £1k!!




i forgot i took a peek at this one at the oh so retro show too after already being in touch with the owner
www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1017692732706646/

if wings were available i think i might have been tempted but rotten across the top of each rear wing and passenger front was swiss cheese 😬

my eye was then caught by some 924/944/Mgb Gt’s

going to see one saturday …but which one? answers on a postcard

… road trip this weekend … nothing is ever close 🤣👍

so i may or may not have a car sorted .. just in time for winter 🤷🏻‍♂️

[redratbike]

it’s happening at last

one Peterborough road trip cancelled!

now rearranged to Warrington.

Got a 6am start to go view a car , may re-arrange the Peterborough viewing on the way home if the first one doesn’t work out i also have a car at Stoke on Trent that’s available for viewing too.





unfortunately no one apart from my daughter is available for the ride along/driving home.

So she is coming along to stop me buying with my head instead of my heart.

[grizz]

Oct 6, 2023 19:50:16 GMT redratbike said:

it’s happening at last

one Peterborough road trip cancelled!

now rearranged to Warrington.

Got a 6am start to go view a car , may re-arrange the Peterborough viewing on the way home if the first one doesn’t work out i also have a car at Stoke on Trent that’s available for viewing too.





unfortunately no one apart from my daughter is available for the ride along/driving home.

So she is coming along to stop me buying with my head instead of my heart.

Have a great trip.

[pedalcarjoe]

have a safe trip

looking forward to seeing some pics, assuming of course you buy one

good luck

[redratbike]

Oct 7, 2023 10:55:19 GMT pedalcarjoe said:

have a safe trip

looking forward to seeing some pics, assuming of course you buy one

good luck

no i didn’t buy one☹️

i have driven 500 miles today !

so the car i viewed was a mk2 vitesse

had the mini lite wheels, twin exhaust, i had already spoken to the owner and knew it was nowhere near immaculate but the description made me think it worth viewing , he mentioned panel gaps needed sorting , lumpy tickover and the carbs needed setting up ,the paint needed a buff , interior needed TLC and all the badges needed fitting which he had including some new ones.

his last statement was “i’m sure you won’t be disappointed “

here are the advert photos






















so looking over it the old boy had resprayed it with aerosols by the look of it ,not a lot of masking up or prep, lots of overspray

doors and bonnet alignment worse than i’d imagined

interior not too bad , needed rear trim panels sorting , glovebox broke.

here are some of photos i took to pass to a mate for an unbiased opinion.

what do you guys think?? Can you see anything that stands out that would put you off?


































the car started reasonably ok

engine sounded good , no knocks rattles etc had fresh oil and filters

diff covered in oil , chassis all good , all floors etc no holes , noticed newish brake pipes and braided fronts.

the test drive was er interesting the car didn’t want to rev , wouldn’t go over 40 ,incredibly heavy steering not helped by the small steering wheel no doubt, front suspension felt odd especially on one side very clunky, brakes were poor and the bonnet on the passenger signed popped off the latch due to the misalignment, i managed 3 miles turned around and promptly ran out of juice😂

the guys son in law came with a can and we slowly drove back , explained it wasn’t revving etc and popped the bonnet , one carb was leaking so fixed that then played with the advance and retard screw on the distributor and got the car
revving a lot cleaner.

second test drive was better we hit 60 , tried the overdrive which cut in very quickly. that straight six sounded great though the twin pipes but wow you’d be deaf after a long drive.. had a lazy ignition light took a while to go out them came back on whilst driving a little later , possible slight diff whine not sure due to noisy exhaust🤷🏻‍♂️

so after all that i’m not really convinced it was for me after totalling up front suspension rebuild , body alignment, making good parts of the body/paint and sorting the brakes.

or would you say the front suspension and body alignment are just normal stuff for herald/vitesse cars ? and i’m making a mountain out of a mole hill.

going back to his quote “ you won’t be disappointed “

actually i was.

[Dez]

That bodywork is a can of worms. It’s been ‘resprayed’ and still needs a full respray. At least one in primer would be honest…
If it’s more than a coupe of grand (and you want to get into all that work for what at the end of it is a fairly common and not that high value car) I’d walk away.

[jimi]

Bottom of the boot lid looks like it's had a bad filler job, I'm with Dez

That bodywork is a can of worms. It’s been ‘resprayed’ and still needs a full respray.

Who knows what's hiding under the poor spray job

[redratbike]

Oct 7, 2023 23:42:42 GMT Dez said:

That bodywork is a can of worms. It’s been ‘resprayed’ and still needs a full respray. At least one in primer would be honest…
If it’s more than a coupe of grand (and you want to get into all that work for what at the end of it is a fairly common and not that high value car) I’d walk away.

thanks Dez
£3.5k!

and that was knocked down from £4k 😬

i think it was the lure of the straight six 👍