My new Straight Six Coupe - Christmas comes early

[ScimitarMatt]

Tee hee, I've just got home from another rescue trip, this time for a 1966 SE4 coupe, 2.5L stright six with a 4 speed ZF gearbox

I've not spent too much time with it so far as it got dark and very snowy but here are a couple of pics

The interior is very good, the engine has been rebuilt, the car is complete but the paint if horrid (huge blisters, about 10p piece sized)

Fingers crossed I can get it running soon as it last turned a wheel in anger in 1988

wish me luck, updates will undoubtedly follow

cheers, Matt

[andrewcollins]

Very nice Matt - what's the story behind this one ?

I'm sure you'll post some more photos ......

Andrew

[Roger Pennington]

Hi Matt, well done, it looks good, congratulations! It should give you plenty to do to keep you out of mischief, but it looks like a pretty good basis and should be a good project.

Good luck, and I look forward to the updates,

cheers,

....Roger

[chip n dale]

Great news Matt

looking forward to seeing how you progress...

My Coupe is tucked up nice and snug whilst I'm away... could not face the prospect of it getting snowed on

[chrisgallacher]

ZF gearbox - wow, not many Coupes have one of those nowadays.

I remember reading that back in the 70s this was the death of many straight-six Coupes, as they were raided for the ZF gearboxes to fit into the early Lotus Elites and so forth. Gather that spares are tricky to say the least, though.

Best of luck with the restoration,

Chris

[turbster]

The ZF's still worth a fortune, around £2k last I heard but don't quote me on that Hasn't got a Mays head too has it Matt

[John Jenks]

Bloody barmy, you are! Can't see the appeal myself. (ahem!)

[ScimitarMatt]

Andrew,

the story is, a chap called John Unwin to say he knew of a load of coupe spares including the yellow body I offered on here a while ago.

John rang me and I got in touch with this bloke in Rotherham. The coupe haul was part of the estate of a guy who had recently died and my contact had been a good friend.

Anyway, this chap when helping out the executors clear what was a huge yard where the dearly departed had run a garage and bodyshop when he was told that one of the shipping containters had an old scimitar in it. Well, my contact knew the car and had rebuilt the engine in it shortly before it was laid up in 1988. They offered him the car or it would be scrapped.

He bought it but then decided that he had no time as he has other classics so after a visit over to buy all the spares, I agreed to buy it off him and make him a wage on it.

Once the estate had been settled and the car was legally his, I popped over yesterday and collected it.

I've not heard it run, but it is all original, looks very complete, the body looks very straight but was badly sprayed in the 80's from Golden Sands to red, after 20 years in a shipping container, this paint has blistered very badly so will need sorting. The body does look like it needs no work though (at first glance). It also has all 5 original wire wheels which look OK

The interior is lovely and a quick prod at the chassis revealed no horrow (it was a quick prod mind, not a proper inspection). All in all it looks very honest indeed and I bought it thinking that the ZF gearbox could be used to fund the resto if needed.

I also bought with it a set of 5 excellent tyres, still in the tape wrapping which were bought 2 yeas ago, think the make is Bidgestone but it's too snowy to go out and check , anyway, £120 for 5 tyres should be a good price, and deterioration should be negligable as they've been stored in the dry, and the dark and are still wrapped in a rubbery tape.

The plan is to clean the car up, get it running, sort the seized clutch and brake pedals (master cylinders?) and then see what it needs for an MOT.

I'll decide then whether I need an S6 as well as my beloved V6, time will tell (no sweep stakes please )

The boot is full of gasket sets, ball joints, and other reliant spares so it seems like a decent buy, fingers crossed

thanks for all the encouraging replies so far, I only hope it's as good as it seems

cheers, Matt

[elizabeth's dad]

Matt I am increasingly envious, V6 coupe, straight 6 coupe and a Rebel!!

Well done.

[ScimitarMatt]

Such a perfect fleet, who can blame you for being a little jealous

Don't worry though, I can't buy them all so I'll leave some for the rest of you, honest

cheers, Matt

[ScimitarMatt]

a few more piccies now all the snow has gone

[mn757]

Looks very nice. That's about the fourth different design of centre console / gear lever surround that i've seen on a Straight six, I see the handbrake is also along way forwards - Maybe because of the ZF gearbox ?

[ScimitarMatt]

Good news!!!

With my chief mischief maker John Jenks (another forum user), we had a tinker with this coupe today in the rain and after a bit of fresh fuel and some minor carb tinkering, she fired into life for the first time!!!

I was amazed too that there was no smoke, and ran so very sweetly indeed, it looks like the engine rebuild 10 years or so ago was a very good one. Granted, it did overheat quite quickly as the radiator looks like it's been replaced with a colander but thats only a teathing problem There were a few electricals which were reluctant to come back to life but far a car that was stored in a container for many years, it's in superb condition and remarkably original.

Next stage is to sort the knackered brake and clutch master cylinders so it can drive and stop which will make it easier to move about the garden to work on. Looks like I've bought another good one

cheers all, Matt

[turbster]

Hey Matt, thought about you the other day when I was told someone I know sold a ZF for £3500, yes, a genuine three and a half grand, so my estimate was maybe on the low side

Paul.

[ScimitarMatt]

Hey Matt, thought about you the other day when I was told someone I know sold a ZF for £3500, yes, a genuine three and a half grand, so my estimate was maybe on the low side

Thats now the big dilemma Paul,

the registrar part of me says the gearbox should stay with the car for originality, however, if i removed it and sold it for even £2500, I could get my SE4b finished and back on the road with all the interior bits sorted that I need so that it was a very very nice car, and put a good gearbox in the red one so it was very useable.

If i keep it with the ZF, the chances are the next owner will simply rip it out and flog it, perhaps even without putting a good replacement in the car, many coupe's have died once their ZF's have been removed.

Also, if I was to remove the ZF, what would go back in it's place? I do have a 4 speed coupe gearbox spare, and a couple of other coupe boxes somewhere in a garage but would they fit?

mmmm, not an easy decision
cheers, Matt