Any Gordon Keeble Owners Out There?

Any Gordon Keeble Owners Out There?

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Mellow Yellow

Original Poster:

885 posts

261 months

Monday 21st May 2012
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Huntsman said:
Take it to Le Mans with a big can of ATF!
That was the plan until my mate mentioned a similar problem that suddenly went from a drip to a torrent before depositing the entire contents accross a carpark....and it's getting gradually worse.

Reserve is a Rover P5B, lacking a few CCs but it does have teh right number of cylinders smile

Huntsman

8,028 posts

249 months

Monday 21st May 2012
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Mellow Yellow said:
Reserve is a Rover P5B, lacking a few CCs but it does have teh right number of cylinders smile
I aspire to be able to say that all my cars have the correct number of cylinders, will get there one day.

JeffreyB

82 posts

154 months

Monday 21st May 2012
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Welcome to the select band of G-K brothers. I hope yours gives you as much pleasure as mine has over the last 20 years. Here's mine:

B7trr

123 posts

143 months

Monday 21st May 2012
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lucky 7 eh!

Mellow, whats the date for the breakfast meeting at Goodwood? its not far so may try to make it.

fare comment of the chassis, i have plans but most will have to wait until the finances look a little better, been T-cutting to gauge the body and its come out not too bad at all, I'm still aware its no where near perfect and a body off resto is on the cards , it'll give a great oppertunity to get a good overview hidden bits.

he goes very well on a run (did Alresford to Midhurst, Chi and then old Portsmouth)handles well for a mid sixties car.

Hi JefferyB, thanks for the kind comment, I'm looking forward to the next 20 years with it, especially if the last few weeks are anything to go by!

Must post a pic id the polished artical

Mellow Yellow

Original Poster:

885 posts

261 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2012
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"Rule Britannia" is on Sunday 3rd June at Goodwood motor circuit 8am -12pm, it's FOC and if you've not been to a breakfast club meet before they're well worh a visit. Themed vehicles (anything British) have access to parking within the circuit (on track or in the paddock). If the weather is good it will be very busy, expect hundreds of cars, I'd suggest arriving as early as you can.

http://www.goodwood.co.uk/breakfast-club/whats-on/...

Interesting selection of attendees from PH members:

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&...

Vette Number

20 posts

181 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
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Hi can I add my name to the short list of GK owners - no.30, still in bits taking embarrassingly long time to do and pressure ramping up towards 50th anniversary! Happy to share info with others undertaking similar task!

Huntsman

8,028 posts

249 months

Monday 11th June 2012
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So the current roll call of GK owners on PH is

V10Mike
Mellow Yellow
Huntsman
Keeble Kid
Soaringace
1of99
B7trr
Jeffery B
Vette Number
Derbyman

10% of the cars built.


Mellow Yellow

Original Poster:

885 posts

261 months

Monday 11th June 2012
quotequote all
In the interst of getting some banter going on this thread, here's an update:

Well, Ch76 is currently with Terry Harris in Kilburn undergoing a transformation back to 4 speed T10 manual. I was hoping to take the car to the Le Mans classic in July but the gearbox leak was getting worse and I didn't want to end up marooned with it in France so I had a local classic specialist give it the once over. It wasn't good news, "leaking from everywhere", I was advised that the box would have to come out and be rebuilt. Given that the car had a gearbox rebuild in around 2004 and had covered only a few thousand miles (at most) since, I can only presume the seals had perished through lack of use! It had always been my intention to convert the car back to manual at some time but it'd been low on my list of priorites. However, there was no point in spending money on an auto box I didn't want so I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead with the conversion.

My plan was to go for a 5 speed box, I knew there were two cars running 5 speeds so went about doing some research with no small of help from the club sec. One of the 5 speed cars is fitted with the Borg Warner/Tremec T5 box, the same box my Griffith has, but I was informed the conversion hadn't exactly been straight forward. I spoke to the owner of the other 5 speed, which he thought was a the LT77 SD1/Jag unit, he was very pleased with it. This left me in a bit of a quandry as I had a TVR 350i with the LT77 box and I much prefer the T5.

I managed to speak to the Corvette specialist who carried out the T5 conversion and it was the deal breaker. They'd been specifically asked to fit the T5 box by the owner, it had required chassis modification to make it fit and had been a very costly job. Their advice was to go back to the T10 4 speed instead and save myself a small fortune as the benefits of the 5 speed did not justify the cost. I'd probably have still been prepared to go with the LT77 box, but there's almost know knowledge of what was it involved so I'd have been funding research into unchartered territory, something I didn't really fancy doing.

My local classic specialist wasn't to confident about carrying out the conversion so I followed the advice of a local GK owner and took the car to Terry, who's done two nut and bolt restorations and probably knows these cars as well as anyone. His garage is also littered with chevy V8s which inspires confidence. Tom of Claremont Corvette is supplying the box and bits, he has a wealth of knowledge on anything Corvette and seems to know quite a bit about GKs too.

I'm not expecting it to be ready for the Classic but it's not completely out of the question, fingers crossed.

Huntsman

8,028 posts

249 months

Monday 11th June 2012
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In the spirit of updating this thread with info on our cars....

I have now seen mine 3 times, once when I viewed it, once when the storage company collected it and once when I went to the storage place to check it was ok.

I do now have a letter from the DVLA saying that my logbook will be issued in a few days, it was delayed as there was some confusion.

I failed to finish the refit of my boat in time and we had a holiday booked in France, got back late last night, so, a few weeks tinkering on the boat and I should be able to crack on with building the man shed to house the GK.

V10Mike

584 posts

205 months

Monday 11th June 2012
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Mellow Yellow said:
Tom of Claremont Corvette is supplying the box and bits, he has a wealth of knowledge on anything Corvette and seems to know quite a bit about GKs too.

I'm not expecting it to be ready for the Classic but it's not completely out of the question, fingers crossed.
I don't know if you've driven a G-K with the standard T10 box, but it has IMHO the most stupid ratios. It has the gearset from a close ratio box but with a bigger step down to the layshaft, the effect being first second and third close together, then a huge gulf to top (2.54, 1.92, 1.51, 1). There are better gearsets available for the T10, and better ones still for the super T10, so if you have the choice I would strongly recommend picking one with a nice even ratio spread.

BTW I went in the opposite direction with a Muncie M21, which has nice tight close ratios but a 2.2 first gear -alright once you're moving but a nightmare in traffic!

Keebles are prone to cracks in the pedal box, so assuming he will have to do some work in there to reinstall the clutch pedal it would be worthwhile welding in some reinforcement. Also whilst you're in there check there is no wear on the brake balance bar -another Keeble weak spot that in the extreme can cause the rear brakes to drag or lock on. The clutch loads are high so the clevis between the clutch slave cylinder and clutch fork has a hard time -worth fitting a rose joint.

Mellow Yellow

Original Poster:

885 posts

261 months

Monday 11th June 2012
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Thanks Mike, there's a lot to take in there, sounds like I need to get straight on to Claremenot and see what ratios I'm getting.

B7trr

123 posts

143 months

Thursday 14th June 2012
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I wondered why I didnt see you at Rule Britannia Mellow Yellow! Good day had by me as the only GK there flying the flag, hope to see others at the next breakfast meet which is on the 5th August, pre 1966 cars.

Personally I'm sticking with the auto (for now) as it seems to suit the car.

Vette Number, I may be taking you up on the offer of a chat as I may tackle ( with help) on a body off light and sympathetic restoration, the big question Is whether to return CH81 to the original dark green or go red again, comments welcome....

V10Mike, did you know Harvey Bailey (custom anti roll bars / handling kit) went pop? It's been purchased and I'm talking to a chap called Roger who is trawling the old archives for information, they are happy to work from a pattern, I can see this hurting a tad, end justifies the means as sea sickness is never good, thanks for the kind comments to date.

Has anyone changed the Carter carb for the Edelbrock (1405) with manual choke? Looks like a direct replacement.

I hope this thread continues


Mellow Yellow

Original Poster:

885 posts

261 months

Friday 15th June 2012
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I was at Rule Britannia but had to tak the Griff instead, left around 9-9:15 so you mast have arrived later.

Ch76 has been fitted with a Holley with manual choke, apparently it's nigh on impossible to get parts for the Carter. The owner of 88 has converted to an Edelbrock ("It is Edelbrock 1406 600 cfm E/C (part BY1406 at Real Steel at Uxbridge) and cost only £205 new in 1998. It is auto choke."), his email is in the Club directory and he's happy to chat, also in Sussex. However, you might want to wait and see how Hunstmans EFi conversions goes, I spoke to Mike the other night and he's also considering EFi.

I'm facing a similar colour dilema with Ch76, do I stick with "hi viz" yellow, return it to the originally metalic burghundy or go for something with broader appeal? There's a patch of the original colour under the bonnet and it's quite a redish burghundy, not bad. However, the yellow has grown on me, it's well known in GK circles for being Quentin Keynes car because of the colour so I'm becoming more inclided to stick with it. It's also the only yellow one, comments also welcome.... I'm not a great fan of red but Ch81 is a really nice red and looks good in it, I'd stick with it.

I'm gutted to see Ch21 has just come on the market, it's one of my favourites based on the website pics, given that it's had a chassis rebuild and a recent glass out re-spray, it seems good value. If Ch76 wasn't already in bits I'd be seriously considering trading up. The custodian of Ch7 was also in touch just over a week ago, looking to sell (I placed a wanted ad when I was looking), I don't think the car was on the road but, again, good value.

Huntsman

8,028 posts

249 months

Friday 15th June 2012
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Mellow Yellow said:
you might want to wait and see how Hunstmans EFi conversions goes, I spoke to Mike the other night and he's also considering EFi.

do I stick with "hi viz" yellow, return it to the originally metalic burghundy or go for something with broader appeal? There's a patch of the original colour under the bonnet and it's quite a redish burghundy, not bad. However, the yellow has grown on me, it's well known in GK circles for being Quentin Keynes car because of the colour so I'm becoming more inclided to stick with it. It's also the only yellow one, comments also welcome.... I'm not a great fan of red but Ch81 is a really nice red and looks good in it, I'd stick with it.
You'll be waiting a while..I need to demolish a garage and build a new one first! EFI is defo the way to go, its an order of magnitude better at metering fuel, I really want one ECU controlling the ignition too. On this subject the question I keep coming back to is if going to the expense and bother of EFI and ignition fully mapped you might as well drop an LS1 block in and gain the benefit of the lighter weight too.

One step at a time, need to get the new man shed built and then get the car up and running, then I'll look at EFI.

My car is a Rolls Royce red that I think was used on a few GK's, stick with the Yellow, I love it on yours.

B7trr

123 posts

143 months

Saturday 16th June 2012
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Ch76 does have character in its current Hi-Viz so I'm inclined to agree with Huntsman, the red in mine is a good shade and I'm getting to like it, slowly (I didn't want a red car but I did want a GK ) as I think you did as well Mellow no matter what colour it came in, the colour issue will run on I feel...

I dont know what ch21 is up for but we took the best examples we could find at the time of the itch! There will always be other cars coming onto the market but I also think if you get a car that needs work and you put the effort in you really get to know it and what's been done and to what standard, you also get to tweak to your requirements.

I think I will go for an Edelbrock with manual choke, bought on now! £228 + vat from Roadcraft, it's a 1405 600cfm, it will do for now and I'll let you know how it goes, jury is still out on EFi, one thing I like about the 327 is its basic and robust and the carb looks good, I understand the logic of Huntsmans way of thinking and the benefits it could offer just not sure it's the way to go.


Vette Number

20 posts

181 months

Saturday 16th June 2012
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OK a bit more info from me.. GK30 was bought in bits about (gulp) 10 years ago. When purchased, I had just completed a ground up on a Corvette in 12 months and had such grand plans.. then along came a wife and baby! On the subject of colour it started life as light green but has also been yellow and is currently light blue. I dream of the day I can be considering the colour to finish her off. Although I lean towards originality I think dark colours suit the shape very well and if funds allow quite fancy a deep dark blue.
Anyway the engine and gearbox and a few other bits and bobs were rebuilt but I ground to a halt when the extra space/time required to get the body off and chassis resto underway was not available. After more than one false start the chassis will be out again this summer. Out of interest when doing the Vette (in the USA) one of the many spares companies out there was marketing their own 5 speed which was apparently a pretty straightforward swap. But with the torque available I think the right ratios in a 4 speeder should be just fine. Not perhaps great for originality but I did have the hurst shifter kit which had a very pleasingly direct "clickety clack" to it.
On the subject of weak spots has anyone added strengthening around the diff mounting or for rear seatbelts? How about the steel inside the B Pillar?

V10Mike

584 posts

205 months

Monday 18th June 2012
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B7trr said:
I dont know what ch21 is up for but we took the best examples we could find at the time of the itch! There will always be other cars coming onto the market but I also think if you get a car that needs work and you put the effort in you really get to know it and what's been done and to what standard, you also get to tweak to your requirements.
Before I bought No 6 I owned No 9 for about a year, but swapped because it was much cheaper to buy a car with the work done.

B7trr said:
I think I will go for an Edelbrock with manual choke, bought on now! £228 + vat from Roadcraft, it's a 1405 600cfm, it will do for now and I'll let you know how it goes, jury is still out on EFi, one thing I like about the 327 is its basic and robust and the carb looks good, I understand the logic of Huntsmans way of thinking and the benefits it could offer just not sure it's the way to go.
I fitted an Edelbrock to No 9, very pleased with it -much easier to tune than a Holley. I still have the jetting/needles/springs tuning kit if that would be useful.

Mellow Yellow

Original Poster:

885 posts

261 months

Monday 18th June 2012
quotequote all
Two up for sale on the carandclassic site at the moment, as well as 21 (for £33k), 68 is for sale too (£37.5k). Would provide links bit I think the forum police might not approve.

Mike, I wholeheartedly agree that it's cheaper to buy a car that some other mug has done the work on, unfortunately I’m pretty committed now. It was also all part of a cunning plan, Mrs Yellow would never have released sufficient funds for a GK anything near pristine condition but now I have a “shabby chic” model I can enjoy. It should also be easier to prise out additional funds to turn the slightly tatty old car sitting in the garage into something nice and shiny with an interior she’s not afraid of touching wink

It’s easy for me to look at Ch21 through rose tinted specs, of course, the car you never go to view is always immaculate! I know 76 and 81 looked pretty good in the photos but weren’t quite so tidy on inspection.

V10Mike

584 posts

205 months

Monday 18th June 2012
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21 looks a great buy and undervalued. I looked at 68 before I bought 09, and unless something miraculous has happened it would not be on my list.

I know what you mean about buying what you can afford at the time. When I bought 09 it was the only car available, but I gave up on it because although the chassis was immaculate, the body was in very poor condition, chrome likewise and the interior was a mess. I bought it for £15k from memory, sold it for about the same and bought 06 for £23k. It would have cost at least double to restore 09.

Sometimes you don't know how good a car is until you've run it for a while. 96 was also for sale when I bought 06, but was unrestored and looking a little tired. However it has given its new owner ten plus years of outstanding motoring, and turned out to be one of the nicest, most reliable, unmolested original Keebles around.

V10Mike

584 posts

205 months

Monday 18th June 2012
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B7trr said:
V10Mike, did you know Harvey Bailey (custom anti roll bars / handling kit) went pop? It's been purchased and I'm talking to a chap called Roger who is trawling the old archives for information, they are happy to work from a pattern, I can see this hurting a tad, end justifies the means as sea sickness is never good, thanks for the kind comments to date.
No, I didn't know they'd gone. In that case you're welcome to measure up the bars on my car. There's also a few tweaks I made to make fitting easier which could be incorporated.