PN05 OUX, Mr Blue re-discovery/ rebuild

PN05 OUX, Mr Blue re-discovery/ rebuild

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non_linear

Original Poster:

297 posts

93 months

Thursday 18th July 2024
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A few months ago I bought PN05 OUX, also known as Mr Blue, which is the press car that appeared on Top Gear alongside "Mr Orange", the car Clarkson drove.

The car disappeared from view about 10 years ago as it's owner had completely dismantled it, and it then became a stalled project.
I bought it with the aim of getting it back as close as possible to it's original state when The Stig set the Top Gear lap in it.

I'd love to hear from any previous owners or people who have any history of the car.

More photos to follow!


non_linear

Original Poster:

297 posts

93 months

Wednesday 24th July 2024
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A few more photos taken shortly after collecting the car:





The previous owner had the wing vents and back of the roof bulge cut out and all brightwork blacked:


non_linear

Original Poster:

297 posts

93 months

Thursday 25th July 2024
quotequote all
Thanks for everyone's kind comments. I have to say straight up, that is not my garage. I wish! HPC classics here in Eastbourne are helping me with the rebuild. I suppose technically I am helping them, I'll be focussing on the electronics, and tracking down those elusive parts.
I'm picking the engine up from Dom on Tuesday so will post more photos shortly.


non_linear

Original Poster:

297 posts

93 months

Sunday 28th July 2024
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Actually I agree 100%, I would not have touched the car at all. I did look at filling in the wing vents but it's a lot of work. The roof vent was a step too far for me though, so that has been filled in. If you look at the first two photos you can see the nose has been altered to give it a more rounded look, like a T350, and the badge removed. That has been corrected as well and finally, the dab aerial has been put back! A small OCD detail.

As a press car it had all the bells and whistles so came with dab radio and electric lumbar supports on the seats. I haven't tried them yet!





Edited by non_linear on Sunday 28th July 07:49

non_linear

Original Poster:

297 posts

93 months

Monday 29th July 2024
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Granturadriver said:
So, you will repaint it blue than?

Teaser:


non_linear

Original Poster:

297 posts

93 months

Monday 29th July 2024
quotequote all
Stever said:
High Oil temp made the car stall and stall and The open wing vents might help dissipate some heat and I've seen some with electric bonnet vents? I would also see if you can improve the aircon, a better (more powerful) fan for example would be an immediate improvement.
All interesting points. I think the inner wing would limit air circulation from the wing vents, so I think any improvement would be marginal. I've had a T350 for the last 7 years and I've not seen this problem myself. Maybe I'm not pushing it hard enough!

Aircon is an interesting area. The car originally had aircon but somewhere in it's history it was removed. Maybe the factory did this to remove weight for The Stig's lap? I'm aiming at putting it back, so am open to ideas on improvement. One immediate observation is that the cooling box containing the evaporator has no thermal insulation around it. It's located next to the heater box, in a very hot engine bay. Insulating it should give it at least a fighting chance.

I'm trying to keep the car as standard as possible, but also ironing out any known problems where possible.

Keep the comments coming please.

Edited by non_linear on Monday 29th July 20:55