Ariel Atom 3.5 - back from the dead
Discussion
Hi everyone,
In April this year my Dad and I purchased a crashed Ariel Atom 3.5 on TradeMe the New Zealand equivalent of Ebay.
We originally purchased it for the engine to use it in our EP3 CTR. But when it arrived on the back of the truck we realised it had some good bits, Ohlins at all four corners and big Alcons front and back, so the decision was made to save it.
Dad managed to secure a new chassis from Ariel in the UK and thus began the rebuild, the chassis and the other replacement parts (tub, seat unit and some suspension bits) arrived from the UK last week. Once completed we will put it through the compliance process and road register it.
Below are some photos of it as it arrived:
The replacement chassis is black instead of the original gunmetal grey and the wheels will also be black, we also ordered the optional windscreen kit, Alcon handbrake kit which is required for road registration here and the optional side pods.
It was quite a long wait for the chassis to arrive but then last week it happened, we used our car trailer and my Mum's Honda Crossroad to collect it in Auckland.
All our Christmases came at once with the unboxing:
Assembly has started and it is a pretty fun job!
l
Today was a big day, fitted the fuel tank and the engine, took all day, had to be careful not to scratch the chassis, but it wasn't easy.
Washed the engine first, the exhaust is manifold is at place in Auckland getting ceramic coated, back next week hopefully.
There are still quite a few jobs left to do, I will keep thread updated with progress photos if anyone is interested.
Excited to drive it but I think it is going to be a wild ride!
Thanks for looking
In April this year my Dad and I purchased a crashed Ariel Atom 3.5 on TradeMe the New Zealand equivalent of Ebay.
We originally purchased it for the engine to use it in our EP3 CTR. But when it arrived on the back of the truck we realised it had some good bits, Ohlins at all four corners and big Alcons front and back, so the decision was made to save it.
Dad managed to secure a new chassis from Ariel in the UK and thus began the rebuild, the chassis and the other replacement parts (tub, seat unit and some suspension bits) arrived from the UK last week. Once completed we will put it through the compliance process and road register it.
Below are some photos of it as it arrived:
The replacement chassis is black instead of the original gunmetal grey and the wheels will also be black, we also ordered the optional windscreen kit, Alcon handbrake kit which is required for road registration here and the optional side pods.
It was quite a long wait for the chassis to arrive but then last week it happened, we used our car trailer and my Mum's Honda Crossroad to collect it in Auckland.
All our Christmases came at once with the unboxing:
Assembly has started and it is a pretty fun job!
lToday was a big day, fitted the fuel tank and the engine, took all day, had to be careful not to scratch the chassis, but it wasn't easy.
Washed the engine first, the exhaust is manifold is at place in Auckland getting ceramic coated, back next week hopefully.
There are still quite a few jobs left to do, I will keep thread updated with progress photos if anyone is interested.
Excited to drive it but I think it is going to be a wild ride!
Thanks for looking
k me, what did it hit??Alucidnation said:
Good save!
Is the cost justifiable though?
Absolutely, once it is done it will have cost much less than a new one. When we got the dash going today we found out that it has only done 6,000km, that is virtually new.Is the cost justifiable though?
Cost is also much less because we are doing all the work ourselves. Labour cost is what usually kills a project like this I reckon.
superkarl said:
Is the Gti-R and clio V6 yours aswell??
Yes, we love cars and I reckon if you buy right they are reasonably good investments. We have a bit of a collection The Clio has done 20,000km and the Pulsar just over 30,000km both pretty mint, so we will see if it the values go up. Clio prices have gone mad in the UK and you simply never see Pulsars like these for sale, all have been modified or rusted to bits.
Krikkit said:
Glad I wasn't the passenger when that had its smash, I quite like my feet!
Looks like a great project, must make it a touch easier having easy access to most bits.
Yes, everything is there which makes it a right treat! As we put it back together we are reconditioning everything that doesn't look new so when it is done we will have a brand spanker Atom! Looks like a great project, must make it a touch easier having easy access to most bits.
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