WANTED 289 Slab side.

[guilleracing]

Dear all, this is my first post so I will introduce myself a little first.

I am a 47 year old mechanical engineer living on Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

I have been involved in building and racing cars of all sorts for the last 30 years.
I have a perfectly period correct formula ford 2 litre that I run in the French National Hillclimb Championship.

Now that I have got to an age where I would like to do some touring and less hectic motoring events,
I am looking to build or buy a 289 Slab side in the style of the "Le Mans" type car.
The plan is to visit events such as the Le Mans classic, do a bit of touring and participate in things like the re-enactment of La Coupe Florio etc.

I have looked carefully at the HAWK 289 car which would be my preferred choice.

I would welcome any advice on possible specifications for reliability.

Authenticity will be a key part of the plan although I am happy to have a car with a composite body. The only real "MUST HAVE" is the Ford engine.

My budget for the whole thing will be less than £30,000. so a standard engine is what I am after, as opposed to a very tuned unit.


Please feel free to comment with any advice you feel useful, nothing is "off the table." (Except the engine!)


Thank you in advance.

Greg Guille.

[clive]

Hi Greg and welcome to the 289 Register website. My feeling is that you are under budget to buy a Le Mans car to the spec you want. The Le mans is an extremely rare 289 and very seldom do they come on the market. As an example, there are only seven Le Mans cars on the club register and only three of them are Ford powered. My advice would be for you to speak to Gerry Hawkridge at Hawk Cars http://www.hawkcars.co.uk/ to discuss your needs and see if you could build one yourself.
Good luck.

[kaiserbilly1]

Hi Greg

Welcome to the Forum.
Your choice of a Hawk is very sound, you won't find many, if any, on here that don't agree.
I would suggest that you try and visit The 289 Register stand at the NEC this year as you will be able to see and touch the cars. Plus you will also be able to talk to club members and owners that can advise you on your build.
If you can't make the NEC, keep asking questions, we are happy to help you.

regards

Bill

[guilleracing]

Thank you very much for the replies. Also thank you very much for the welcome!

I had the chance to meet Gerry very briefly at the Goodwood Revival. Whilst there, I also had the chance to look carefully at the Alloy Bodied "Le Mans" type Coupe on show on the HAWK stand. I was very very impressed with the quality of the car. My plan is to have a car that can be used for some light competition and a bit of touring. Given that I live on Guernsey, getting to the NEC this year, (If it is this year.) sadly, will not be a reality. So far, I have discussed a kit from Gerry and he has put me in touch with HAWKs Build agent, I have also discussed having a car built to " Rolling " stage. I will then be able to do the fitting out of the engine and gearbox.

I would really welcome some advice on "What to buy"

I love the idea of building up a car that would have the appearance of a period rally car. This would not be an out and out competition car with no suspension movement, cramped and hot cockpit and so on. I want something with a standard engine and tough mechanicals that will run for many trouble free miles.

So if you have any information on a period correct engine and so on, any information or suggestions that will save me "Motoring up a blind alley" please post it up here.



Thank you!


Greg.

[clive]

From what I understand from your initial post, you seem to be more than capable of building a car from scratch. One major concern that I can see if you did go down that route would be getting the built car through the VOSA IVA test. (Not the test itself, but the logistics of getting the car to and from the nearest test centre.) Your initial spec of Ford powered would give you the most authentic looking and sounding car, although many of the member's cars are Rover powered. Gerry's uprated tubular front suspension coupled with Jaguar IRS rear gives a fully adjustable set up which is ideal for touring and light track use.

When I bought my car from Gerry, I placed an order for all the parts I needed for the complete build rather than buying it piece by piece as I needed them. I then borrowed a Tranny van, and as we have a large Ifor Williams trailer, I drove down to Frant and collected it in a oner. The kit comes with the body attached to the chassis and the doors, bonnet and boot are already fitted so building is relatively easy. Some components had to be ordered, such as rear axle, and these were sent direct to me from the manufacturers. My Ford 302 engine was supplied by Peter Knight of Knight Racing Services, http://www.knightracingservices.co.uk/ who after discussing what my needs were, built me a fantastic 1968 engine which has been superb, and had it sent direct to me by courier.

My build, from start to SVA test (As it was in those days) took approximately 14 months, although it wasn't a non-stop build. I look back on those days with great satisfaction especially when people comment on how good the car looks and ask if it is an original. Driving a car you have built round circuits like Le Mans and Silverstone or even the Rest and be Thankful, like some of us did this weekend, is a thrill that you will only know if you have done it yourself, so my advice would be if you have the time, do it. There is plenty of help here on the forum if you ask, and there are links to member's builds which would help you along the way.

[kaiserbilly1]

Hi Greg

I think you will find this link of real interest.
The Towers brothers would be a mine of information for you.
I agree with Clive, go for it and build it yourself

http://jontowers.co.uk/cobra289/

Regards

Bill

[guilleracing]

Hello again!

Guernsey is outside the UK and EU for that matter so NO IVA!

You can still register any roadworthy car here with a minimum of fuss, just a certificate from your local garage confirming its road ready condition!

Thank you very much for the information, I will hit the pages later today.

My scheme to get the car part built is based on my current work load. Basically I can earn more working on my customers engineering projects than it will cost me to have the car "First Fixed" to a rolling chassis stage.

It also makes bringing the car over to the island cheaper, a Jaguar Axle alone, shipped to me adds about £500 in freight costs!

A 4x4 towing a car trailer will still cost about £800.00 to go over to collect the car.

I am working on a shopping list now so things are shaping up!


Greg.

[guilleracing]

WHEELS.


I think if I am going to do this, I would like to start out right from the beginning. This will mean the correct wheels if still available.

Wire wheels could be a fall back position but I would like to see the "Period Look" maintained if at all possible.

Having looked at the various images of the actual racing cars from the 1963 period, the cars are fitted with Dunlop wheels.

Does anyone have a supplier for these wheels?


Thank you in advance,


Greg.

[kaiserbilly1]

Gerry is your man
http://www.hawkcars.co.uk/parts/index.html

Regards

Bill

[guilleracing]

I was thinking I would go for a set of these as they are copies of the 1963 Le Mans wheels.

http://www.imagewheels.co.uk/large_whee ... assic.html


Do HAWK do these too?