Victoria - Pembleton SuperSport
Discussion
I like this. A lot.
Like the idea it's a spaceframe instead of using the 2CV chassis like a Lomax (a neighbour had a Lomax a few years ago). Must be fairly nippy (relatively speaking) too. With a bike engine I imagine it might be quite hair raising.
I'm flirting with the idea of another garage project now I've sold the Ginetta and one of these might be fun to do, I assume the instructions are limited but support from the 'factory' and other builders is pretty good (I'm no novice but faced with a garage full of donor parts and a chassis I'd like a bit of a pointer)?
Like the idea it's a spaceframe instead of using the 2CV chassis like a Lomax (a neighbour had a Lomax a few years ago). Must be fairly nippy (relatively speaking) too. With a bike engine I imagine it might be quite hair raising.
I'm flirting with the idea of another garage project now I've sold the Ginetta and one of these might be fun to do, I assume the instructions are limited but support from the 'factory' and other builders is pretty good (I'm no novice but faced with a garage full of donor parts and a chassis I'd like a bit of a pointer)?
Mark Benson said:
I like this. A lot.
Like the idea it's a spaceframe instead of using the 2CV chassis like a Lomax (a neighbour had a Lomax a few years ago). Must be fairly nippy (relatively speaking) too. With a bike engine I imagine it might be quite hair raising.
I'm flirting with the idea of another garage project now I've sold the Ginetta and one of these might be fun to do, I assume the instructions are limited but support from the 'factory' and other builders is pretty good (I'm no novice but faced with a garage full of donor parts and a chassis I'd like a bit of a pointer)?
Id hardly call it hair raising, but its spritely enough to make you have a lot of fun. Its 360kgs and has a whole 29bhp. So the power to weight ratio is probably similar to a lot of bogo modern superminis. Like the idea it's a spaceframe instead of using the 2CV chassis like a Lomax (a neighbour had a Lomax a few years ago). Must be fairly nippy (relatively speaking) too. With a bike engine I imagine it might be quite hair raising.
I'm flirting with the idea of another garage project now I've sold the Ginetta and one of these might be fun to do, I assume the instructions are limited but support from the 'factory' and other builders is pretty good (I'm no novice but faced with a garage full of donor parts and a chassis I'd like a bit of a pointer)?
Phil Gregory (pembleton) is very helpful (I've heard). And the forum/owners are very helpful and a mass of incredibly skilled and knowledgeable people.
It feels much more solid than the Lomax and corners a lot flatter. Id say the acceleration is better in the pembleton, but the top speed not as high as the lomax. My lomax had a dyane diff though, which has 1 extra tooth, so a slightly higher top end. They recon you can safely go to about 60bhp without lunching the gearbox. That's a 100% power increase, so they must be almost quick with that amount of power!
As always though, it'll be the same on braking and cornering.
Had a bit more luck with the paint stripper this evening. Applied it with wire wool!
Still a lot of hard work with further rubbing down and a wire he's for the dremel to get in the really small areas..
Should be ready for polishing with maybe another evenings prep...
Ive been banned from further activities in the garage this week by the OH, and we're away this weekend, so looks like this week have to wait until next week some time!
Still a lot of hard work with further rubbing down and a wire he's for the dremel to get in the really small areas..
Should be ready for polishing with maybe another evenings prep...
Ive been banned from further activities in the garage this week by the OH, and we're away this weekend, so looks like this week have to wait until next week some time!
Her names came today. They will be going on the bonnet at the back down each side...
They're red, to match the wheels. Ive come round to the red wheels.
Ive also seen some great modifications by other owners to move the alternator so its in a central position too! Might be another one to add to the list!
They're red, to match the wheels. Ive come round to the red wheels.
Ive also seen some great modifications by other owners to move the alternator so its in a central position too! Might be another one to add to the list!
I confess, yesterday I had to bite my lip VERY hard, and actually had to leave the room. I showed pictures of victoria to my fiancés father. I like him a lot and he's a very chilled guy, but this really pressed my big red button.
At first he said we have to wear helmets, and then said I needed to fit a roll bar, and it would look really cool "just like a Caterham".
My reaction probably didn't help matters when I said if you crash in the pembleton and roll it at high speed, you're dead anyway, regardless of if you fit a questionable roll bar.
If I wanted a Caterham/westfield, I bloody well would have bought one!
Im half tempted to get a seven type car now and take him out in it. He thought the slow max was too fast, he might have a coronary in a westfield/similar!
At first he said we have to wear helmets, and then said I needed to fit a roll bar, and it would look really cool "just like a Caterham".
My reaction probably didn't help matters when I said if you crash in the pembleton and roll it at high speed, you're dead anyway, regardless of if you fit a questionable roll bar.
If I wanted a Caterham/westfield, I bloody well would have bought one!
Im half tempted to get a seven type car now and take him out in it. He thought the slow max was too fast, he might have a coronary in a westfield/similar!
I gave the bonnet a polish and then got fed up. Its so labour intensive and the results still aren't perfect. Its good enough though for the minute.
I have literally no idea how the previous owner got such good results on the rest of the bodywork. He must have been a fricking magician!
I have literally no idea how the previous owner got such good results on the rest of the bodywork. He must have been a fricking magician!
Ambleton said:
I gave the bonnet a polish and then got fed up. Its so labour intensive and the results still aren't perfect. Its good enough though for the minute.
I have literally no idea how the previous owner got such good results on the rest of the bodywork. He must have been a fricking magician!
Elbow grease... and plenty of it!I have literally no idea how the previous owner got such good results on the rest of the bodywork. He must have been a fricking magician!
Are you polishing manually, or using electrickery?
Although the bonnet is still a work in progress, the weather was too nice not to pop out in victoria today. Even the OH wanted to go out in her! She even drive her around in the yard for a bit...
When I stripped the paint off the bonnet and polished it up, I noticed a dink. Not too bad, but a little irritating....
When I stripped the paint off the bonnet and polished it up, I noticed a dink. Not too bad, but a little irritating....
On my drive out yesterday a few issues seemed to raise their ugly heads. First off was squeaky suspension. I knew about this from last time, but its rather really annoying. The previous owner hadn't driven it for around 10 months, so I think it just needs a good going over with some grease, and a few spanners.
Secondly, and slightly more worryingly, it has developed sticky/notchy steering. This first came to light when I came off a roundabout. It seemed to stick, and needed a bit of a firm jolt in the opposite direction to un-stick it. This happened again a few more times but seemed more prolific when turning left. I'm hoping, again, that this is just a case of needing a good greasing, but I felt a little bit like something was catching on the steering column, maybe where it passes through the bulkhead...
I cant really fully investigate until after my wedding at the end of May. Ive been banned from the garage by the OH....
Secondly, and slightly more worryingly, it has developed sticky/notchy steering. This first came to light when I came off a roundabout. It seemed to stick, and needed a bit of a firm jolt in the opposite direction to un-stick it. This happened again a few more times but seemed more prolific when turning left. I'm hoping, again, that this is just a case of needing a good greasing, but I felt a little bit like something was catching on the steering column, maybe where it passes through the bulkhead...
I cant really fully investigate until after my wedding at the end of May. Ive been banned from the garage by the OH....
Ambleton said:
boyse7en said:
Are you sure that a mirror-finish bonnet is a good plan? Isn't there a rather high risk of glare when you take it out in the sunshine, or even just a bright day?
I'm sure it'll be okay. Its not been raised a concern by other owners I've spoken to...
That said, I think you should do it. It looks very steam-punk, if you don't mind me saying.
OpulentBob said:
Apropos of nothing, I saw a fully chrome/mirror wrapped Z4 in Mumbai. In the sunshine it was impossible to even look at, God knows what it must have been like to drive.
That said, I think you should do it. It looks very steam-punk, if you don't mind me saying.
I'm pleased to say that the last two times I've been out, it's been pretty damn sunny, and not faced any issues with glare, so I don't think its gonna be an issue...That said, I think you should do it. It looks very steam-punk, if you don't mind me saying.
benny.c said:
Ambleton said:
...Ive been banned from the garage by the OH....
That tends to happen on a long term basis after the wedding anyway so I'd get stuck in now whilst you still can 
Ambleton said:
Secondly, and slightly more worryingly, it has developed sticky/notchy steering. This first came to light when I came off a roundabout. It seemed to stick, and needed a bit of a firm jolt in the opposite direction to un-stick it. This happened again a few more times but seemed more prolific when turning left. I'm hoping, again, that this is just a case of needing a good greasing, but I felt a little bit like something was catching on the steering column, maybe where it passes through the bulkhead...
Last weekend I confess that I nearly soiled my underwear. My friend was up visiting from surrey and we had planned a few trips out in the pembleton. Coming off a major, busy roundabout on a dual carriageway I went to turn off. As I turned the wheel I was met with a loud violent clicking sound, and the front wheels not turning.... f
k.On closer inspection today, it has come to light that either the rack, or the the pinion gear is f
ked, that is to say, worn out. Spent. I have never, and i mean NEVER, heard of a steering rack wearing out/failing like this. This also represents a fair old chunk of work.
On a 2cv the fwd suspension arms are held on the ends of a main cross beam, which in turn doubles up as 2 of the gearbox mounts. This cross beam is hollow and houses the steering rack, pinion and assembly.
So to overhaul the steering rack/pinion I need to remove (in no particular order)...
Steering column
Shock absorbers
Driveshafts
Suspenion arms
Gear linkage
Engine
Gearbox and brakes
Before I can even think about removing the cross beam which houses the steering assembly....
Joy. This one will have to wait until after the wedding at the end of May I think....
Here's a video of the most frightening experience without crash ive had in a vehicle.
https://youtu.be/cHkaVRFK9u4
https://youtu.be/cHkaVRFK9u4
Ambleton said:
Here's a video of the most frightening experience without crash ive had in a vehicle.
https://youtu.be/cHkaVRFK9u4
Sweet Jesus! :Ohttps://youtu.be/cHkaVRFK9u4
Did meet you and the car just after purchase at the last St Neots riverside meet, fantastic little thing! Here's hoping you get it fixed in good time, please let us know if you ever need a hand.
Cheers Lew!
Ive come to the conclusion that Im going to do a bit of an overhaul while I have the opportunity.
I did contact the seller and he had no idea about the problem. He did say that if he knew about it he wouldn't have sold it in that condition and offered me some money which would buy most, if not all, of the parts I need. To be fair, I don't think he did know about it as the first 2 or 3 drives out it showed no signs of issues. I have declined the offer as these things should be expected. Its not as if I bout a brand new daily car off a dealer forecourt!
While its off the road I'm going to look at fabricating a new inlet manifold to move the carb back under the bonnet, fabricating a new oil breather arrangement to do the same, and also to move the indicators off the headlamp stalks, and onto the wings.
I'm also very tempted to fabricate up a new bracket and move the alternator down low and into a central position, moving the number plate up to where the existing crank handle is.
Ive come to the conclusion that Im going to do a bit of an overhaul while I have the opportunity.
I did contact the seller and he had no idea about the problem. He did say that if he knew about it he wouldn't have sold it in that condition and offered me some money which would buy most, if not all, of the parts I need. To be fair, I don't think he did know about it as the first 2 or 3 drives out it showed no signs of issues. I have declined the offer as these things should be expected. Its not as if I bout a brand new daily car off a dealer forecourt!
While its off the road I'm going to look at fabricating a new inlet manifold to move the carb back under the bonnet, fabricating a new oil breather arrangement to do the same, and also to move the indicators off the headlamp stalks, and onto the wings.
I'm also very tempted to fabricate up a new bracket and move the alternator down low and into a central position, moving the number plate up to where the existing crank handle is.
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