Facel Vega HK500. A childhood dream or a nightmare?
Discussion
theadman said:
Y
...but I'm sure the commentator said this one was built to take part in the first air race from the UK to Melbourne in 1934(?). It sounded awesome!
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Sounds like a fun day, I can see the Facel as a kind of more stylish French Bristol ...but I'm sure the commentator said this one was built to take part in the first air race from the UK to Melbourne in 1934(?). It sounded awesome!
.
The red plane looks like the de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer, running a pair of inline sixes. It pioneered the stressed-skin wooden construction, gluing different types of wood together for optimum strength:weight, which later made their Mosquito so successful in WW2.
Sorry to miss you at Shuttleworth, but I agree it was great day. The Facel Vegas all looked great, I'd never seen so many on one place before! I've been once before to a show at Shuttleworth about 30 years ago, and it still a wonderful place. Very laid back, cosy and relaxing. It is the complete antithesis of the Air Tattoo at Fairford, which is vast and noisy. I was there with the kids, but frustratingly the Bristol had a failure to proceed en route there on Saturday afternoon (we were going to camp) when the fuel pump started playing up. We got recovered and came back on Sunday in my wife's car so parked away from the Bristols and Facel Vegas.
As an aside, I was once again not impressed with the RAC. They took over five hours to arrive despite us allegedly being a priority case, with two children on board. I hate to think how long they might have taken otherwise. And as it was over 100 miles to get me home it was to be a relay operation. This is fine in principle, but when you are dropped after midnight at a closed services on the A34 with two children, and the control centre says they have not yet got a contractor to take the job of getting us the last 30 miles home it is bit depressing. They basically had no idea when or even if a second truck was coming, so I risked driving back and just hoped the pump kept working.
As an aside, I was once again not impressed with the RAC. They took over five hours to arrive despite us allegedly being a priority case, with two children on board. I hate to think how long they might have taken otherwise. And as it was over 100 miles to get me home it was to be a relay operation. This is fine in principle, but when you are dropped after midnight at a closed services on the A34 with two children, and the control centre says they have not yet got a contractor to take the job of getting us the last 30 miles home it is bit depressing. They basically had no idea when or even if a second truck was coming, so I risked driving back and just hoped the pump kept working.
tog said:
Sorry to miss you at Shuttleworth, but I agree it was great day. The Facel Vegas all looked great, I'd never seen so many on one place before!
.....
But frustratingly the Bristol had a failure to proceed en route there on Saturday afternoon (we were going to camp) when the fuel pump started playing up. We got recovered and came back on Sunday in my wife's car so parked away from the Bristols and Facel Vegas.
As an aside, I was once again not impressed with the RAC. They took over five hours to arrive despite us allegedly being a priority case, with two children on board. I hate to think how long they might have taken otherwise. And as it was over 100 miles to get me home it was to be a relay operation. This is fine in principle, but when you are dropped after midnight at a closed services on the A34 with two children, and the control centre says they have not yet got a contractor to take the job of getting us the last 30 miles home it is bit depressing. They basically had no idea when or even if a second truck was coming, so I risked driving back and just hoped the pump kept working.
I did look out for you...and I agree about the day being very laid back and enjoyable......
But frustratingly the Bristol had a failure to proceed en route there on Saturday afternoon (we were going to camp) when the fuel pump started playing up. We got recovered and came back on Sunday in my wife's car so parked away from the Bristols and Facel Vegas.
As an aside, I was once again not impressed with the RAC. They took over five hours to arrive despite us allegedly being a priority case, with two children on board. I hate to think how long they might have taken otherwise. And as it was over 100 miles to get me home it was to be a relay operation. This is fine in principle, but when you are dropped after midnight at a closed services on the A34 with two children, and the control centre says they have not yet got a contractor to take the job of getting us the last 30 miles home it is bit depressing. They basically had no idea when or even if a second truck was coming, so I risked driving back and just hoped the pump kept working.
I too had a failure to proceed...as we arrived in the car park! The car just cried enough as it was hot and irritable. We therefore pushed it off the emergency lane it had expired on and left it to cool down. We were a mere 50 metres from the club stand, but as it wasn't a Facel, it didn't really matter.
We decided to leave before the end to avoid having to sit in traffic and made it all the way home without incident. The car then failed again on the drive and I had to push it into the garage! At least it had the decency to get us home, but it gives me one more issue to sort out
Talking of the RAC, I had a similar experience three weeks ago. On Drive It Day I visited a couple of car meets and on arrival at the second one the water pump packed up (after 1000 miles). The RAC took 4.5 hours to arrive, then another hour to decide whether they could suspended tow the TR6 and attach it to the van. The computer said 'no', but the man on the ground disagreed and just got on with it.
Luckily I was less than 63 miles from home, which is the limit for towing, but the very helpful RAC man warned me of the implications of the word 'relay'. It seems that they quite often 'drop the baton', leaving customers stranded in all sorts of odd places late at night. Apparently, the 63 mile rule is to do with tachograph regulations (I guess it's 100km).
samoht said:
Sounds like a fun day, I can see the Facel as a kind of more stylish French Bristol
The red plane looks like the de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer, running a pair of inline sixes. It pioneered the stressed-skin wooden construction, gluing different types of wood together for optimum strength:weight, which later made their Mosquito so successful in WW2.
Thanks samoht. Now you say Comet racer, it rings a bell. It was wonderful and looked fast even when it was standing still!The red plane looks like the de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer, running a pair of inline sixes. It pioneered the stressed-skin wooden construction, gluing different types of wood together for optimum strength:weight, which later made their Mosquito so successful in WW2.
theadman said:
Yesterday I visited the Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire to join some fellow UK Facel Vega Car Club (FVCC) members. Car club space had been booked in conjunction with the Bristol Owners Club, a pairing that seemed to work well.
It was good to see a few Facels out and about and I was given plenty of encouragement to see my project through! I'm not the only member who has never driven their car...there are some other long term restorations in progress, so I'm not alone!
This suggests the number of roadworthy cars should increase in the near future which can only be a good thing and might raise the profile of the brand.
...Oh, and seeing the aircraft flying was a great way to spend a sunny afternoon.
Facellia
HK500
Facel ll
Facel ll interior
Sorry, I don't know my old planes...
...but I'm sure the commentator said this one was built to take part in the first air race from the UK to Melbourne in 1934(?). It sounded awesome!
I should finish by saying thanks to the FVCC for organising a really good day out.
Fantastic, nice to see some photos, I was hoping to take our HK500 along and meet other owners but with a 1 month old at home it was off the cards this time!It was good to see a few Facels out and about and I was given plenty of encouragement to see my project through! I'm not the only member who has never driven their car...there are some other long term restorations in progress, so I'm not alone!
This suggests the number of roadworthy cars should increase in the near future which can only be a good thing and might raise the profile of the brand.
...Oh, and seeing the aircraft flying was a great way to spend a sunny afternoon.
Facellia
HK500
Facel ll
Facel ll interior
Sorry, I don't know my old planes...
...but I'm sure the commentator said this one was built to take part in the first air race from the UK to Melbourne in 1934(?). It sounded awesome!
I should finish by saying thanks to the FVCC for organising a really good day out.
I've also never looked at the Shuttleworth collection, want to have a look. The whole Old Warden area is lovely.
I followed a red Facel Vega the other day (FSV199 I think) north of Goodwood, great to see one on the road.
I'm happy to admit my ignorance regarding model.
Still following the thread and enjoying it, you must be on the home stretch now! (knowing that might still be measured in years rather than weeks )
I'm happy to admit my ignorance regarding model.
Still following the thread and enjoying it, you must be on the home stretch now! (knowing that might still be measured in years rather than weeks
)Thanks for writing this thread!
I've just read the whole thing (albeit over a few weeks!) and it's so interesting.
I like to think of myself as pretty knowledgeable about cars but I can't say I had ever heard of a Facel before. Stunning looking thing it is too and very interesting to learn so much about it.
I've often thought about doing a restoration project and have wondered how much it takes to do one properly. ultimately I have always been scared off by my lack of time and resource. You have proved that was a good decision
maybe one for retirement once all the little goats have grown and stopped spending my money!
Hats off to you for the hard work and perseverance, you are a better man than I. Will be such a feeling once it's back on the road! Do keep us updated please
I've just read the whole thing (albeit over a few weeks!) and it's so interesting.
I like to think of myself as pretty knowledgeable about cars but I can't say I had ever heard of a Facel before. Stunning looking thing it is too and very interesting to learn so much about it.
I've often thought about doing a restoration project and have wondered how much it takes to do one properly. ultimately I have always been scared off by my lack of time and resource. You have proved that was a good decision
maybe one for retirement once all the little goats have grown and stopped spending my money!Hats off to you for the hard work and perseverance, you are a better man than I. Will be such a feeling once it's back on the road! Do keep us updated please
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