Discussion
greenrat said:
lowdrag said:
looking at the Photo, that is almost certainly the USA and is either "the" car or another real one. Probabley Monterey or suchlike, but the mountains behind give me doubts - not that I've been there for many a year and memory dims.
It could be Pebble Beach but not in 2010. I do think it's "the" car - zoom in and that's a Petersen licence plate on the back. Also, in the same gallery as the original photo, there's this:
But I love the idea that it might be possible to make a Realm look just like it. Sounds like a challenge.....
lowdrag said:
It would never have made it! The chassis is totally different. Reminds me of "XKC 003" that turned up last year - ever seen a C-type with square chassis tubes? A marque expert was sent to see it and it was a Proteus. Mind you, it had XKC 003 on the carte grise (V5) though!
But if you could make the illusion last until someone lifted the bonnet...? I suppose not - one glance at the IRS and the games up. Still be pretty though.
greenrat said:
a8hex said:
The original XK120 steering wheel boss reminded me of a discussion I once read which had started with a comment from Peter Wheeler of TVR fame, "Safety: you're responsible for it" the discussion had been along the lines of whether airbags gave drivers a sense of immortality .....the XK120 gets damn close.
I work in the risk management field, so anorak warning..... Read "Risk" by John Adams for some interesting views on this subject. The argument you mention was actually developed from research at Volvo, which showed that drivers were driving and cornering faster the more safety kit they put in their cars. Adams suggested that everyone has a built-in risk thermostat....., Edited by a8hex on Saturday 7th July 11:30
So following this logic, if I strap a >250BHP 4.2 into a fibreglass shell weighing the same as a leaf, with no safety kit whatsoever, I should be the safest driver in Britain. This seems completely plausible to me.....
As a former TR6 owner this always tickled me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5nW2CjR7Ro
By the way - how did you all get on with the Pathe videos? - enjoy?
Bringing the thread back to life, we went to a classic meeting today. On returning to the car found the front N/S wing dented and scraped. Aren't people just lovely? No note of course. Back to Blighty for a bonnet respray I guess since the paint mix is special. If I get it over in October then we can go to the New Forest meeting on the 1st January and the Boxing Day meet at Wickham. Every cloud has a silver lining I guess.
lowdrag said:
Bringing the thread back to life, we went to a classic meeting today. On returning to the car found the front N/S wing dented and scraped. Aren't people just lovely? No note of course. Back to Blighty for a bonnet respray I guess since the paint mix is special. If I get it over in October then we can go to the New Forest meeting on the 1st January and the Boxing Day meet at Wickham. Every cloud has a silver lining I guess.
Disappointed to hear that, especially at a classic car show where you would expect people to be more sympathetic.lowdrag said:
Bringing the thread back to life, we went to a classic meeting today. On returning to the car found the front N/S wing dented and scraped. Aren't people just lovely? No note of course. Back to Blighty for a bonnet respray I guess since the paint mix is special. If I get it over in October then we can go to the New Forest meeting on the 1st January and the Boxing Day meet at Wickham. Every cloud has a silver lining I guess.
How the hell did they manage not to notice an XKSS in their rear view mirror? Were they driving a Routemaster bus? There are some planks in this world! Silver lining or not, you must be steaming.lowdrag said:
Bringing the thread back to life, we went to a classic meeting today. On returning to the car found the front N/S wing dented and scraped. Aren't people just lovely? No note of course. Back to Blighty for a bonnet respray I guess since the paint mix is special. If I get it over in October then we can go to the New Forest meeting on the 1st January and the Boxing Day meet at Wickham. Every cloud has a silver lining I guess.
w
kers. some people just need shooting.Sorry to hear that LD, but a bit of a timely resurrection of the thread. Twas this weekend when I finally resolved my next car dilemma and after yrs of flirting over this lark, Ive decided sod it, time to do the XK thing. Just have to decide between SS or 13 now, but the decision to be one or t'other has been made.
Nope. The obsession has always been either an SS or 13. Ive muttered and grumbled about it for a fair while and Ive just noticed Tony and I exchanged emails about it last yr and here I am a yr later and Ive done bugger all about it. No, its time to stop buggering about and get this thing started.
Now, SS or 13?
Now, SS or 13?
A very personal choice this, but you ask for advice so here's my two cents worth.
An XJ13 is a very unusual car, far more so than even an XKSS. I suppose that to some extent the decision will be governed by your height, since at 5' 8" and shrinking the XKSS is quite snug even for me and taller friends get their thighs tangled up in the steering wheel. The cockpit of the XJ13 is bigger. so having decided that size really does matter we get onto other considerations and first of all I'll put fuel consumption on the back burner. This is after all, a man's toy and such considerations shouldn't come into it, but for what it's worth my car averages 16mpg on a run. To discuss the XJ13 in detail, contact Trevor Williams at TWR replicas and mention my name. He'll give you chapter and verse including the XKSS of which he's built a few.
The cars are of a different era and technology but both mythical. In midsummer you'll love the open air of an XKSS and regret the sauna that is the XJ13. Rather like a GT40 replica, they aren't designed to be very practical beasts. an XKSS has a luggage rack for a suitcase, but an XJ13 is a pure bred racing car, so prepare to travel light, very light. It's a while since I really though about it, and I don't know if there is any space under the "bonnet" though. The noise of twin side-exhaust 2" pipes versus that mellifluous silky sound that is the V12. Unlike my car in D-type form, both have luxuries such as wipers, screen and roof, so nothing in it there. Mind you, if the roof is up on the XKSS, prepare to go to limbo-dancing classes to get in and out! I don't use it except when parking up for the night since the rain mostly passes over the top anyway.
I could ramble on some more, but it is oh-so-personal a decision. When parking the car, an XKSS wins hands-down over the 13 by the way, if that counts. They are awkward cars to judge and quite wide too. For me, it is the XKSS of course, but if it is just going to be a toy and not used much either is fine. I just love open-air motoring, and that is more important than looks, handling and so on. Oh, in your email you asked about the race/rally engine I had built for it and yes it is a 4.2 but the cost ran to five figures ten years back, to give you an idea, but if grins per mile count, it was worth every penny! I think the car weighs in at 1.1 tons now, or so I would guess. She weighed 1.05 before we added a screen and hood etc.
An XJ13 is a very unusual car, far more so than even an XKSS. I suppose that to some extent the decision will be governed by your height, since at 5' 8" and shrinking the XKSS is quite snug even for me and taller friends get their thighs tangled up in the steering wheel. The cockpit of the XJ13 is bigger. so having decided that size really does matter we get onto other considerations and first of all I'll put fuel consumption on the back burner. This is after all, a man's toy and such considerations shouldn't come into it, but for what it's worth my car averages 16mpg on a run. To discuss the XJ13 in detail, contact Trevor Williams at TWR replicas and mention my name. He'll give you chapter and verse including the XKSS of which he's built a few.
The cars are of a different era and technology but both mythical. In midsummer you'll love the open air of an XKSS and regret the sauna that is the XJ13. Rather like a GT40 replica, they aren't designed to be very practical beasts. an XKSS has a luggage rack for a suitcase, but an XJ13 is a pure bred racing car, so prepare to travel light, very light. It's a while since I really though about it, and I don't know if there is any space under the "bonnet" though. The noise of twin side-exhaust 2" pipes versus that mellifluous silky sound that is the V12. Unlike my car in D-type form, both have luxuries such as wipers, screen and roof, so nothing in it there. Mind you, if the roof is up on the XKSS, prepare to go to limbo-dancing classes to get in and out! I don't use it except when parking up for the night since the rain mostly passes over the top anyway.
I could ramble on some more, but it is oh-so-personal a decision. When parking the car, an XKSS wins hands-down over the 13 by the way, if that counts. They are awkward cars to judge and quite wide too. For me, it is the XKSS of course, but if it is just going to be a toy and not used much either is fine. I just love open-air motoring, and that is more important than looks, handling and so on. Oh, in your email you asked about the race/rally engine I had built for it and yes it is a 4.2 but the cost ran to five figures ten years back, to give you an idea, but if grins per mile count, it was worth every penny! I think the car weighs in at 1.1 tons now, or so I would guess. She weighed 1.05 before we added a screen and hood etc.
Edited by lowdrag on Wednesday 4th September 09:13
Ta Tony. TW would be my point of call. Thanks for the height thing...it just ruled out the SS! Ive learnt my lesson on ergonamics in a car the hard and painful way.
The itch needs scratching. I actually only have 2 motoring pics on my walls. One is Moss and Brooks in Vanwalls through Eau Rouge and the other is a 13. Think I know what Sir William of Lyonshire is trying to tell me
The itch needs scratching. I actually only have 2 motoring pics on my walls. One is Moss and Brooks in Vanwalls through Eau Rouge and the other is a 13. Think I know what Sir William of Lyonshire is trying to tell me
I found the legroom in my more than ample and I'm six one. Kit was made by the now defunct ram company. I bought both the XKSS and the Cobra off them for the itch thing.
The seats in the XKSS are fairly vestigial, but I find myself less sat up than in the Cobra and surprisingly comfortable on long runs.
I wouldn't give up, just try a few out.
The seats in the XKSS are fairly vestigial, but I find myself less sat up than in the Cobra and surprisingly comfortable on long runs.
I wouldn't give up, just try a few out.
Jay Leno has just driven Steve McQueen's XKSS, the lucky git:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ai0uSj_OVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ai0uSj_OVE
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff