Radiator cowl/surround

[merlinart]

Elucidate? Nope. I think I'll park it there... We seem to have our wires crossed. Oh and thanks for the history lesson and the english lesson, though I'm not sure where you found vitreol in my inital posts...

Welcome and good luck with your project...

Thanks Nick, I'll post up as the build progresses.

Some replies seemed a little caustic to me, however, at that stage you were not necessarily aware that as a manufacturer of 3 wheeled cars, I have had quite a bit of experience with DVLA, now DVSA.

I expect that some "purists" might frown upon someone like me appearing and saying that in fact I'm scrapping/selling a Ruby body! Of course, I'm fully entitled to do so, and I'm fully entitled to build a special or an Ulster type vehicle with it too.

There are plenty of books on building A7 specials, John Haynes did one, Colin Chapman did one, Alec Issigonis did one....etc. |One assumes that at the time these people did so, they might or might not have incurred the wrath of any purist on the basis that the big wide world was a considerably smaller place in those days, with just the worldwide...exchange & mart and adverts in corner shops etc.

I bought a rather rotten bodied Ruby for £2500 that in my view would cost at least twice  possibly 3 times that including upholstery plus paint to make presentable and would most likely outweigh it's value, being that I've seen usable Rubys for around £5-6K.

In any case I'm hell bent on a reproduction Ulster special and I saw some at the 750MC meet at Beaulieu this year, plus I've known Rod Yates for years.

The long wheelbase is suitable as Rod produces a longer body. I'm not looking for absolute purity even as a special, though I will buy new reproduction Ulster instruments, new stainless steel rimmed and spoked wheels and will replace all springs and shock absorbers and most likely convert to hydraulic brakes.

I can see around £10K going into the Ulster at least if not more, and why not. When I build one of my own cars I put £10K of new parts in, and that is before I add a used Moto Guzzi drive train.

Not so sure I gave an English lesson though!

History is my forte though especially aviation and WW2, plus railways, Europe, old cars, in fact anything old.

I suspect that as my interest in A7s grows, I'll have piles of used parts available, not to mention this old Ruby body which I'm sure might benefit someone, perhaps a younger person if only to practice some welding on.

So, I've had some good pointers so far, some slightly off-beat remarks, a cornucopia of reactions perhaps, but c'est la vie, perhaps I can help others in the future. 

regards

Arthur

[longchap]

Hi Arthur,

I’m a little late to the party here, as I lost my mother last month, so have been somewhat pre-occupied with other matters, but am bouncing back and getting to grips with what makes life so interesting.

So, I bestow a hearty welcome to the forum on you, especially as we share a healthy interest in Ulster replicas.

Others have used the Reliant unit for a fast replica and I’m looking forward to following your build, like plenty of others.

I also opted for hydraulic brakes, an obvious choice really for a fast rod car, although executed discreetly.

Good to see you enjoying the banter. We all have our opinions and long may it be so!

Best,

Bill

[merlinart]

Hi Arthur,

I’m a little late to the party here, as I lost my mother last month, so have been somewhat pre-occupied with other matters, but am bouncing back and getting to grips with what makes life so interesting.

So, I bestow a hearty welcome to the forum on you, especially as we share a healthy interest in Ulster replicas.

Others have used the Reliant unit for a fast replica and I’m looking forward to following your build, like plenty of others.

I also opted for hydraulic brakes, an obvious choice really for a fast rod car, although executed discreetly.

Good to see you enjoying the banter. We all have our opinions and long may it be so!

Best,

Bill

Hi Bill excellent stuff, we have a lot in common and will have to compare notes. Sorry to hear about the loss of mother. Its early days yet, once I've finished one of my bread and butter cars, the Ruby chassis enters my workshop and the fun begins stripping it all down. Perhaps I could have some pix of your car and info on the hydraulics please? I'll be running my chassis over to Rod Yates next week for his once over and then tally ho, the fun begins.

regards

Arthur

[longchap]

Yep, we do have several interests in common and thank you for also your kind words.

I'm mailing some comments and photos from my Ulster build and look forward to following yours as it enters the workshop.

Bonne courage, it's going to be an interesting adventure!

Bill