ListerBell Stratos

[renmure]

mattdavies said:

What was the issue with the engine ? Had it been gone through before it was fitted ?

Yeah, the engine was fully stripped, refurbished and rebuilt by a specialist before being fitted originally. Unfortunately I'm not the most technically minded here but my understanding is that after a 100 miles or so of running-in something, I can't remember what but I know it wasn't a major thing, was thought to possibly just be rubbing on something else and giving rise to an occasional high pitched noise. On inspection there was nothing obvious so to cover all bases the engine was removed and sent to a local Alfa engine specialist where it was stripped, inspected, some adjustments were made and it was rebuilt and ready for refitting. (if that sounds vague then welcome to my world of mechanical stuff)

[renmure]

So, a fairly significant update for the end of the year.

Very generously the good folk at LB Specialist Cars delivered my car just after Christmas so I could have it for the New Year. Avoiding the drizzle today I've only been able to take some phone camera pics but....

Wow!! I'm biased but it looks Awesome. I've only tickled the throttle on the driveway and it sounds awesome and it even spits out flames when you start it which is even more awesome.

Good points: I shouldn't lose it in the carpark. If I can keep it pointing forwards at night I should be able see the road ahead. If I get bored driving it I can occupy my time by pressing lost of buttons on the dashboard and I don't don't think I'm going to miss having a radio.

Bad points: Both my hands and knees are dirty so I need to practice getting out a bit more elegantly before taking some decent pics.

[renmure]

generationx said:

ZX10R NIN said:

If you're considering a Vitara then the Kuga is the pick:

This seems a little irrelevant…

Yup, that was quite bizarre. Still, perhaps I'll take it as constructive criticism that I should have got something more practical??

Anyhow, I had time for a bit of a closer look at the build quality today. Again, awesome!!











Trying to look slightly less conspicuous.....



And tucked up till the rain goes off

[renmure]

samoht said:

renmure said:

Yup, that was quite bizarre. Still, perhaps I'll take it as constructive criticism that I should have got something more practical??

I may be due a parrot, but - don't take it as an oblique comment on the Stratos, I'm sure it's just a stray reply that was intended as a helpful response to a thread in the Car Buying forum but got posted in the wrong tab instead. Easily happens on a primitive forum that doesn't let you compose your reply while viewing the thread you're replying to.

Whoooooosh

[renmure]

Last update for now since I'm sure everyone is bored and I need to give it a clean. I was going to keep it tucked away on the garage till spring but realised that I'd started it up to let friends hear it so often that it needed some petrol so I drove it the 7 miles to the petrol station and took the long way home. 67 miles later and not only does it need a proper clean now but it also needs more petrol.... and my ears hurt














I also got "spotted" on the local FB group and had a photo sent to me before I even got home.

Edited by renmure on Friday 7th January 20:48

[renmure]

Mr.Jimbo said:

Absolutely love it. My Dad's favourite car is the stratos,

Ouch!!

said:

The only thing I don't really like is the chains on the mudflaps. I can see why they're necessary but I'd be trying to find some thin gauge metal wire or similar to do the same job, but that's just my opinion.

Cracking car, looking forward to seeing more pics

They don't all have chains, many don't have anything and some only have a more subtle single thin wire.
I just liked the full OTT look.

I guess there's no real need for 8 lights on the front either

[renmure]

Perhaps some of the older PH members will remember Linguaphone, where you sent off for a series of LP records which taught you how to speak a foreign language.

Well, in this modern day I've discovered you can learn how to speak a different language simply using an App on your phone.

Keen to get some idea of the exhaust volume, I asked my good lady wife to kneel behind the exhaust using her iphone dB App while I held the revs at about 4,500. All seemed to be going well so I lifted off the throttle and a miracle occurred.... there was a big BANG... and suddenly, my wife could speak French!!

[renmure]

Thanks for the comments.

Had a bit of fun with a drone in the garden this morning.
It looks fairly purposeful at all different angles.

[renmure]

Steve60 said:

Good evening, first Jim what a stunning recreation you have had made. All credit to LB.

Stratosboy I think I have parts of your Hawk grafted on to the side of my Allora Stratos replica, the poor man's kit. I own Normans original Allora Stratos kit (have done since 2001) I have been rebuilding it for far too long and was considering selling as a project but Jims build and a friend has persuaded me that I need to complete it . I too live in Scotland (Just north of Aviemore)

Once again Jim, amazing car, great build thread with a fantastic amount of detailed pictures that will help me with mine .

Hi Steve and thanks. You've hit the nail on the head tho and it is all credit to LB. My bit has been the easy bit

Norm's been telling me about your car. I'm sure you can get it back on the road and get some fun out of it. You've certainly got great roads for it up there. There's also a huge demand, not only for the completed cars but also for partially built kits so I expect you'd not be short of a lot of offers to take it off your hands if that was the route you went down.

Keep us updated on your progress

[renmure]

deadscoob said:

Bit of fun in the garden? In Bristol your garden would be a park

Car is absolutely mega!

Yeah, but if I lived in Bristol the car would be a boat.

[renmure]

Keep it clean.
Don't get it dirty
Only use on summer days...

Drat.









I'm not going to make a habit out of it but it looks mean when it's mucky

[renmure]

Just amusing myself driving around the garden waiting for it to get dark so I could see what the lights look like.

Bright enough I think

[renmure]

All washed and tucked away now after playing at being a (very slow, very careful and very cautious) rally driver in the woods.

[renmure]

28hodge said:

I rang LB last week and they anticipate the order book being open back end of this year, intention is to order and have all the donor parts sourced and paid for.

Thank you so much for this thread, and please keep it updated with vids of it etc.

Thanks, I've enjoyed keeping it going.

Unfortunately I think the reality of the current economic situation, supply chain issue, ever increasing costs plus brexit compounded by 2 years of Covid disruption will put the 2016 price list out of the window. I mentioned earlier in the thread that a big factor in my interest in one of these cars was the Autocar video I saw in 2017 which part inspired me to put down a deposit that summer on the basis that you could get a good car for £45k back then. The video was actually made in 2014 and I'm not sure that the £45k price was a great indicator even in 2014 never mind 2017.

Many years later the demand has increased but the supply hasn't been able to keep up and that supply and demand equation will also have an effect in pricing for all the replica manufacturers I expect.

In saying that, I've no doubt anyone could (and most folk will) end up with an equally fantastic car and spend a good bit less than I have.

Keep it updated with how you get on. Can't have too many Strat reps

Foto for fun

Edited by renmure on Tuesday 15th February 22:41

[renmure]

jetbox said:

Spotted in the wild! Lovely looking car and sounded awesome.

Renmure, if you want the original snaps drop me a pm with your email and I will send them across

Hello!! PM incoming
Many thanks
Great to see so many Porsches hogging the Cairn o' Mount carpark and leaving all the cheap stuff to park on the verge

[renmure]

The light pod certainly helps positioning the front of the car.

Unfortunately I still need to beep the horn when I get home so my wife can come out and help me reverse it back into the garage since the rear arches stick out further than the mirrors and going backwards is still a leap of faith at the moment. At least she doesn't mention my lack of reversing skill. Much.

[renmure]

Another good day on the local roads.









Suited and booted....

Edited by renmure on Sunday 6th March 20:32

[renmure]

28hodge said:

Car sounds lovely in that last video.

Yesterday after a bit of haggling, I spent 8hrs in the car (not great given the current fuel prices!!) and collected this from Milton Keynes.



Alfa 166 2.5 V6. spoken to LB a couple times this last week and gotten a list of what I need off it. I think I may run it as a hack for a couple months to make sure all is ok, but honestly its very clean.

Anyway enough of my thread Drift/Hijacking.

Some onboard vids would be nice if possible.

Good skillz. Glad to see you're not hanging about and are going for it.
Are you on the waiting list? Reserve list? Maybe list? Santa's Good Boy list?

I was fairly fixed on the 3.2 engine for mine at the start and also fixed on having it rebuilt, upgraded, re-tuned and all that jazz. There's a chunky expense to that but because I've no mechanical talents it was always the case that I wanted to end up with something in its final state. However, that means there's a chunky £££ saving to be made by going down a more conservative route with the engine and at under 1000kg I've no doubt a 2.5 V6 will be plenty fast enough and plenty tuneful enough as well.

[renmure]

C2Red said:

Is the Retropower Stratos a LB? Didn’t see it mentioned.

Yes, it is.
( https://retropower.co.uk/2018/02/05/lancia-stratos...)

[renmure]

Haha.. I seem to be hogging my own thread!!

I guess when it comes time to sell it then I can point everyone to here.

So, another sunny day and another run out in the car. This time a round trip of 80 miles, mostly along a 30 mile dead end road down to the bottom of a local Glen, where there happens to be a hikers hotel that does soup. I did give a bit of thought to the fact that if I broke down then the AA probably wouldn't get round to me till September but no need to worry about that.

That's me now at 700 miles. Everything with the car is absolutely rock solid in relation to temp and pressures. My only slight frustration remains the calibration of the fuel gauge but I've seen the shape of the tank so appreciate why the reading is a bit quirky and why it seems to fall off a cliff over the first few miles. I've reset my trip meter after every fill-up to keep track of my fuel consumption and appear to be averaging 16mpg. That's over a mix of driving but I've got to confess I've not been out of my pop-bang-flames mode much and I've not been in 5th or 6th gear much either.















And for a bit of fun... a bit of fantasy flat out cornering on the rev limiter with a hint of opposite lock... well, maybe after another 700 miles or so