Facel Vega HK500. A childhood dream or a nightmare?
Discussion
Mercdriver said:
Looking good, bet you can’t wait to drive it
Thanks, it is beginning to look the part now. As for driving it, I think the restoration has been going on for so long that my mind can't adjust to the thought of it being anything but a static exhibit!ChevronB19 said:
You are (or possibly were, given this is a retrospective thread) doing a beautiful job.
Thanks, I am trying to complete the car to a decent standard. Sadly, the present tense is still appropriate!MrTidy said:
Looking fantastic - I can't wait for the next update!
In a sense, neither can I! The next update is easy...I've just got to find the time to write it. It's the one after that, when we are up to date, that might take some time!Adam. said:
Looking lovely
Dinoboy said:
Love it!
Thank you both for the compliments.
RDMcG said:
When I was a youngster in Dublin in the fifties the house next door was rented by a young Persian medical student. He had a new Facel. I was fascinated by that car so he took me for a drive. I recall it well as I had never been in anything so remotely luxurious. It was simply stunning.
It had a record player installed!. this thing would play one 45rmp record at a time.
Not exactly iTunes.
Interested to know more about this , RDMcG sent you a pm !It had a record player installed!. this thing would play one 45rmp record at a time.
Not exactly iTunes.
Great restoration thread with all the highs & lows !
urquattroGus said:
Looking for some advice on purchasing an HK500 are there any UK Facel Experts that can be recommended?
urquattroGus, as you can imagine, it's hard enough to find anyone who has experience of working on Facels, but there are a few around. Happy to share my thoughts if you PM me.r5kdt said:
Mercdriver said:
Yes, you must, please!
this +1I think the reason it has taken so long is linked to the question asked above by urquattroGus. If there had been a 'go to' Facel expert in the UK with a dedicated workshop I would probably have taken the car there. At the time I bought my car the only Facel specialist (expert) in Europe with a dedicated shop was Hans Ruhe in Holland. Hans did quote for completing the car, but it was more than the car would have been worth once completed. With hindsight of course......
Instead, I went my own way and am older and wiser as a result
theadman said:
r5kdt said:
Mercdriver said:
Yes, you must, please!
this +1I think the reason it has taken so long is linked to the question asked above by urquattroGus. If there had been a 'go to' Facel expert in the UK with a dedicated workshop I would probably have taken the car there. At the time I bought my car the only Facel specialist (expert) in Europe with a dedicated shop was Hans Ruhe in Holland. Hans did quote for completing the car, but it was more than the car would have been worth once completed. With hindsight of course......
Instead, I went my own way and am older and wiser as a result
theadman said:
Hans did quote for completing the car, but it was more than the car would have been worth once completed. With hindsight of course......
Do you think you have eneded up spending more, or do you mean their values have risen and so made his quote more palatable?Have you kept a tally on the restoration costs, or is ignorance bliss?
bob1179 said:
What a wonderful thread, I have really enjoyed reading it. I am really looking forward to seeing the finished car, a real credit to your perseverance!
Thanks bob1179. I really want to have the car finished now as there is so little to do. Progress is very slow due to the availability of parts and the pressure on workshop resources. My perseverance is running a little low at the moment!Adam. said:
theadman said:
Hans did quote for completing the car, but it was more than the car would have been worth once completed. With hindsight of course......
Do you think you have eneded up spending more, or do you mean their values have risen and so made his quote more palatable?Have you kept a tally on the restoration costs, or is ignorance bliss?
Yes, I have a pretty accurate tally of the costs so far and I can confirm ignorance would be bliss!
OK...let's bring this up to date.
Sadly and frustratingly, there hasn't been a lot of progress over the last two years, so the car looks roughly the same!
When I bought the car both the chassis plate and the body number plate were missing. Replacing these had never risen to the top of the 'to do' list, even though replacements were available from Amicale Facel. It was a series of exchanges on the Facel Facebook page that acted as a catalyst.
The original bonnet release catches were made from an alloy known in France as Zamak. This apparently becomes brittle with age and the Facel catches are now considered time expired. There have been a number of instances where these have failed. Thankfully, there are two of them which clasp a pin from each side, which means you stand a chance of the bonnet not flying open when on the move. Amicale have now replicated the original catches in brass, which should alleviate the issue.
Having read all this I thought it prudent to purchase some new catches and it was the ideal opportunity to obtain the chassis and body plates at the same time. The plates now require punching and fitting to the car. The brass catch blanks need finishing and will be fitted in due course.
At the end of the year the driver's door decided to stop closing and so it was stripped down (again) to find the fault. One of the springs in the locking mechanism had given up the ghost...an easy repair. At the same time there was a concerted effort to get the car running again, which led to the discovery that there was no spark. Yet another coil (the last one had done zero miles and was fitted in 2018) and a set of plugs later and the car was running again.
The problem was then that the car sat for another four months before any more work was carried out. At this point the fuel sender which had been painstakingly brought back to life earlier in the restoration went awol. When it was removed, it became apparent that the electrical part of the unit had simply disintegrated. This was disheartening because some time and effort had been put into making the low fuel warning light work. The original sender had three connections, including one for the warning light. The only available replacements have two connections, as they are made to work with a number of Peugeot and Renault models as well. So a two connector one was duly ordered.
At the same time the fuel sender stopped working, the rev counter came out in sympathy. It had been fine, but now, even though the drive was working, the needle didn't move. The thought of sending this off to Speedy Cables filled me with apprehension. As I have mentioned before, they do a brilliant job, but the word 'speedy' tends to be lost in translation.
Sure enough, a phone call to them confirmed a lead time of 10 to 12 weeks, but up to 26 weeks if the numbers on the dial needed reworking. Speedy Cables were adamant that the numbers would need to be replaced. There was some justification for this, as if the numbers were touched during the rebuild, they would simply turn to dust.
To avoid a six month delay, I researched other companies that could carry out similar work. You can count them on one hand and still have digits to spare! To say this is specialised work is an understatement and Speedy Cables are to be applauded for the fact they provide this facility. No wonder lead times are so long.
No other company was prepared to take on the rebuild, but after a number of phone calls Speedy Cables agreed to repair the rev counter without refinishing the face, at my risk. Four months later it was returned, face unscathed.
It took another age for this to be fitted to the car at which point an attempt was made to start the car again. No spark and no fuel! A new fuel pump and a set of points were ordered.
In the meantime, the car was washed, only to find that there was a water leak on each side of the car. These have now been tracked down to the pin that acts as a hinge for the opening rear side windows. This requires taking the windows back out along with some of the stainless trim that surrounds them and then attempting to reseal the point where the pin passes into the bodywork. To be honest, this was probably a weak point when the cars were new, but it is still another barrier to getting the car finished.
So where are we now?
Well, we are currently waiting for the correct set of points that are on back order in America. Hopefully, the windows now keep the water out and a new fuel pump is in the car.
What little hair I still have is slowly being torn out, given the lack of progress. The issue is that the car is with the one person I trust to really know his way round these cars. There are other people, for sure, but it might be 'out of the frying pan, into the fire'. There is so little left to do, I keep thinking my best bet is to persevere with the car where it is, but it is fighting me every step of the way!
The one thing that is certain is I will get this finished!
Sadly and frustratingly, there hasn't been a lot of progress over the last two years, so the car looks roughly the same!
When I bought the car both the chassis plate and the body number plate were missing. Replacing these had never risen to the top of the 'to do' list, even though replacements were available from Amicale Facel. It was a series of exchanges on the Facel Facebook page that acted as a catalyst.
The original bonnet release catches were made from an alloy known in France as Zamak. This apparently becomes brittle with age and the Facel catches are now considered time expired. There have been a number of instances where these have failed. Thankfully, there are two of them which clasp a pin from each side, which means you stand a chance of the bonnet not flying open when on the move. Amicale have now replicated the original catches in brass, which should alleviate the issue.
Having read all this I thought it prudent to purchase some new catches and it was the ideal opportunity to obtain the chassis and body plates at the same time. The plates now require punching and fitting to the car. The brass catch blanks need finishing and will be fitted in due course.
At the end of the year the driver's door decided to stop closing and so it was stripped down (again) to find the fault. One of the springs in the locking mechanism had given up the ghost...an easy repair. At the same time there was a concerted effort to get the car running again, which led to the discovery that there was no spark. Yet another coil (the last one had done zero miles and was fitted in 2018) and a set of plugs later and the car was running again.
The problem was then that the car sat for another four months before any more work was carried out. At this point the fuel sender which had been painstakingly brought back to life earlier in the restoration went awol. When it was removed, it became apparent that the electrical part of the unit had simply disintegrated. This was disheartening because some time and effort had been put into making the low fuel warning light work. The original sender had three connections, including one for the warning light. The only available replacements have two connections, as they are made to work with a number of Peugeot and Renault models as well. So a two connector one was duly ordered.
At the same time the fuel sender stopped working, the rev counter came out in sympathy. It had been fine, but now, even though the drive was working, the needle didn't move. The thought of sending this off to Speedy Cables filled me with apprehension. As I have mentioned before, they do a brilliant job, but the word 'speedy' tends to be lost in translation.
Sure enough, a phone call to them confirmed a lead time of 10 to 12 weeks, but up to 26 weeks if the numbers on the dial needed reworking. Speedy Cables were adamant that the numbers would need to be replaced. There was some justification for this, as if the numbers were touched during the rebuild, they would simply turn to dust.
To avoid a six month delay, I researched other companies that could carry out similar work. You can count them on one hand and still have digits to spare! To say this is specialised work is an understatement and Speedy Cables are to be applauded for the fact they provide this facility. No wonder lead times are so long.
No other company was prepared to take on the rebuild, but after a number of phone calls Speedy Cables agreed to repair the rev counter without refinishing the face, at my risk. Four months later it was returned, face unscathed.
It took another age for this to be fitted to the car at which point an attempt was made to start the car again. No spark and no fuel! A new fuel pump and a set of points were ordered.
In the meantime, the car was washed, only to find that there was a water leak on each side of the car. These have now been tracked down to the pin that acts as a hinge for the opening rear side windows. This requires taking the windows back out along with some of the stainless trim that surrounds them and then attempting to reseal the point where the pin passes into the bodywork. To be honest, this was probably a weak point when the cars were new, but it is still another barrier to getting the car finished.
So where are we now?
Well, we are currently waiting for the correct set of points that are on back order in America. Hopefully, the windows now keep the water out and a new fuel pump is in the car.
What little hair I still have is slowly being torn out, given the lack of progress.
The issue is that the car is with the one person I trust to really know his way round these cars. There are other people, for sure, but it might be 'out of the frying pan, into the fire'. There is so little left to do, I keep thinking my best bet is to persevere with the car where it is, but it is fighting me every step of the way!The one thing that is certain is I will get this finished!
Thanks for the update adman, very frustrating this must have been, keep going though first time you tax the car it will be worthwhile
Mazak in UK, Zamak in the states, the five letters are the metals used to make the alloy. Todays useless information alloy used in making petrol pump counting heads. Notorious for problems in later life
Mazak in UK, Zamak in the states, the five letters are the metals used to make the alloy. Todays useless information alloy used in making petrol pump counting heads. Notorious for problems in later life
Mercdriver said:
Thanks for the update adman, very frustrating this must have been, keep going though first time you tax the car it will be worthwhile
Mazak in UK, Zamak in the states, the five letters are the metals used to make the alloy. Todays useless information alloy used in making petrol pump counting heads. Notorious for problems in later life
I thought it was probably the same thing, but had never come across it being called Zamak before. Thanks for the info. Mazak in UK, Zamak in the states, the five letters are the metals used to make the alloy. Todays useless information alloy used in making petrol pump counting heads. Notorious for problems in later life
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