Seriously Considering a Scim

Seriously Considering a Scim

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Discussion

PoshTwit

Original Poster:

1,218 posts

152 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all
Further to a thread in the Classic Cars section I am seriously considering a Scimitar. Ideally SE5/a manual with Overdrive.

I'm not in a rush, so can afford to be picky but would be interested in hearing from owners about what they're like to live with.

This will be predominantly a "high-days and holidays" car. Blasts at the weekend and the occasional long runs to see family, possible touring holidays with a tent, etc.

How do they stack-up in the long term?

brucky74

42 posts

142 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Very well. In terms of what to look out for, plenty of advice on the Scimitar website. Good on a long distance run. Lots of space. Very undervalued cars. They all leak a little in very heavy rain. Dont see to many about these days & that one of the reasons I purchased a scim. Essex engine pulls very well. Its not about the top end speed its the sound power delivery etc. Spare parts a cheep. You can get plenty of second had, or brand new from the main scimitar dealers. Simple engine to work on, no black boxes etc. If the chassis is sound & well protected it will make a good daily driver if you dont have a long drive to work. You may have been thinking of MG's Capris etc. For the money you cannot beat a Scimitar.

PoshTwit

Original Poster:

1,218 posts

152 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Excellent - thank you!

I have just joined the ScimitarWeb thingy and will be spending endless hours trawling the info no doubt.

To be honest, top-end speed is largely irrelevant as unless you are a Track Warrior, you're never going to get anywhere near it! This will be about fun blasts in the countryside and the occasional family tour with a tent.

Are there any worthwhile suspension / wheel upgrades that improve the handling noticeably? I see that some like to fit 15-inch wheels with corresponding lower-profile rubber and Gaz suspension parts but do they noticeably improve the handling? Is it worth going down the PolyBush route, or would that make the car too "crashy" on bad roads?

So many questions...

IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Poly bushes are worthwhile - rubber ones tend to be of iffy quality and the TR6 front suspension is operating close to its limits as it is.

Similarly it's worthwhile fitting the best shocks you can afford - the front coilovers have a lot of preload and work hard, so cheap ones don't cope well.

7x15 wheels and 205/60 tyres are a good bet as decent 14" tyres get harder to find: the steering doesn't get heavy if the geometry is right.

Your bugbears will be:

Manifold to downpipe joints: the standard arrangement is rubbish - best solution is SS tubular manifolds and a full SS exhaust.

Front suspension trunions: they need to be fitted correctly and looked after.

Overheating: ideally you need to have -
a sound radiator cap
a silt-free radiator
a silt-free block
a sound water pump of OE design with a cast impellor
a decent quality electric fan, properly mounted to the radiator.

Electrics: everything must have its own earth and previous owners will have accumulated bodges: chase them out and use bullet connectors and a soldering iron, not DIY crimpers. The original (15ACR?) alternator is pathetic - you need 50A, a good quality battery and time spent on the major wiring - battery leads, alternator leads and earth straps - will be repaid in spades.

Leaks: steel tailgate drain fittings rot away, but non-corroding replacements are available or can be fabricated. All the major seals are available.

Scimitars are fun to drive, civilised to live with if looked after, and just as far ahead of Escorts, Capris and other mass-market cars as their relative prices when they were new would suggest.


Stevie_P

562 posts

176 months

Saturday 8th December 2012
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Wow. That looks great.
Always had a soft spot for the Scimitar.
Would love one.
What's the spec on your Ironingman?

IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Tuesday 11th December 2012
quotequote all
Cheers Stevie, that's a deceptively flattering photo - it's not so good up close!

Interior, bumpers, gutters and all the extraneous steelwork have gone, polycarbonate rear and side windows and a six-point cage from 'Caged'. The weight's currently 1,040kg and I'm trying to get another 50kg out of it.

Engine is a John Wade build, with a bored-out 38DGAS and standard sized valves - actually oversize ones turned-down - because that was what the regs I was competing to required: just shy of 200bhp at the flywheel.

Gearbox is a straight 4-spd, modded by Brian Hill, rear axle is a 3.54:1 PowrLok. Poly bushes throughout, Avo dampers, thicker ARB from Iain Daniels, drilled & grooved discs on the front and the ride height dropped as much as I can get away with. 15" Compomotive ML wheels, 7" on the front and 8" on the back with 205/50 and 225/45 Kumho V70A tyres.

I use it for hillclimbs and the odd hoon - but it's overdue a birthday and I could really use another hundred horsepower.






(Photos not my own.)

ClaphamGT3

11,260 posts

242 months

Tuesday 11th December 2012
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Six posts in and no one has complied with "the rule" ...

PoshTwit

Original Poster:

1,218 posts

152 months

Friday 14th December 2012
quotequote all
ClaphamGT3 said:
Six posts in and no one has complied with "the rule" ...
BrickTop said:
In the quiet words of the Virgin Mary... Come again?

davegriff

83 posts

203 months

Friday 14th December 2012
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You know, what everyone apparently says about them...used to get it occasionally when I had a nice purple 5a.

IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
Oh, that rule.

Pinstriped headlining, you know - apparently - is a clue to um, provenance in that regard.

ClaphamGT3

11,260 posts

242 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
IroningMan said:
Oh, that rule.

Pinstriped headlining, you know - apparently - is a clue to um, provenance in that regard.
And two blanked off holes in the bonnet

PoshTwit

Original Poster:

1,218 posts

152 months

Thursday 20th December 2012
quotequote all
Got one!!clapbounce

All mine from tomorrow providing nothing nasty happens overnight...

frodo_monkey

670 posts

195 months

Thursday 20th December 2012
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IroningMan, I'm going to track prep my SE5a soon and I was wondering how much Caged charged for the cage? Any other tips on prepping a Scim in particular would be gratefully appreciated - have built a few cars but never a fibreglass FHC! Ta smile

CNHSS1

942 posts

216 months

Friday 21st December 2012
quotequote all
Hey Ironing Man,
Long time no speak, catch up trackside this season all being well mate
Craig

PoshTwit

Original Poster:

1,218 posts

152 months

Monday 24th December 2012
quotequote all
So, thanks for all the input...

On Friday, I swapped a small brown envelope for this:






Somehow the photos don't do justice to quite how orange the car actually is!

Very happy bunny!

Anyone going to Queen's Square on New Year's Day?

fausTVR

1,442 posts

149 months

Wednesday 26th December 2012
quotequote all
Well done that man! Looks fab in orange. This is helping inspire me to pay some attention to my forgotten SE5A in the barn. It's been up on axle stands for many years (18 of them - wow!). I well remember it as an everyday car and the most reliable motor I'd owned to that piont. Pleased for you.

IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Saturday 29th December 2012
quotequote all
PoshTwit said:
So, thanks for all the input...

On Friday, I swapped a small brown envelope for this:






Somehow the photos don't do justice to quite how orange the car actually is!

Very happy bunny!

Anyone going to Queen's Square on New Year's Day?
Looks very smart - well done.

IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Saturday 29th December 2012
quotequote all
frodo_monkey said:
IroningMan, I'm going to track prep my SE5a soon and I was wondering how much Caged charged for the cage? Any other tips on prepping a Scim in particular would be gratefully appreciated - have built a few cars but never a fibreglass FHC! Ta smile
I paid them the thick end of £1,500, four years ago. There may well be more cost-effective solutions - it's well worth getting in touch with Ian Daniels for a chat.

In terms of prep, you need to decide what you want the car for, and work backwards: otherwise you can get quite a long way before you realize that your first step should really have been to move the engine and box 6" back in the chassis...

There are a few car preparation threads on the RSSOC forum, and there have been dozens of different approaches, but the successful cars generally have the following in common:

Non-OD Capri-spec gearbox
3.54 rear axle with LSD
Front suspension pick-up points altered to give lower ride height but horizontal lower wishbones and rising rate.
Rear roll centre lowered
It's worth bearing in mind that Scimitars are quite heavy - 1,150kg for the SE5a: there's a fair bit that you can sling out, but unless you want to spent a lot of time thinning-down the bodywork you will struggle to get below a ton, and fully 300kg of that is Essex engine and gearbox, so there's some benefit to be had in shifting the whole lot backwards if you can. Another 100kg or so is to be found in the live rear axle, so money invested in decent rear shocks is seldom wasted.
On safety the standard brakes aren't up to much - there's a Willwood kit - and it's vital that you arrange things so that your seat is mounted solidly to the chassis: as standard they're bolted through small steel strips moulded in to the floor and will tear out if you have a nasty thump.

IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Saturday 29th December 2012
quotequote all
CNHSS1 said:
Hey Ironing Man,
Long time no speak, catch up trackside this season all being well mate
Craig
Hi Craig,

Good to see that you've got the spanners out again: I will put in an appearance or two this year...

N.