joedirt
08-02-08, 05:19 PM
If you read my intro you'll already know that I'm starting this monthly concept page. The idea being to give inspiration and poss help fuel some new and existing projects. I'll be submitting as many as I can but generally It will be one per month as I'm short on time but I miss drawing so this will kill two birds with one stone so to speak. Anyone is free to join in, submit pics, drawings, ideas etc etc...more the merrier!
My first set of renderings will be close to home as I'm currently looking for my first british car to customise and use as a daily driver. One of the main problems for me is the size of the car as my garage is short and it needs to be kept in there to stop the local tracksuits from wrecking it....So, to cut a long story short (no pun intended) I'm keeping my eye open for a small 50's-60's british car as a base for a "budget" custom. I've had a few beetles etc and I want to move away from these mainly because I want something different. Yank motors are usually massive and out of my price range and so a humble british motor should fit the bill. Also should I need parts which I will of course, finding them shouldn’t be too hard!
I have a budget of £1000 and I'd like to keep it under that. After looking around it seems like the following cars fit the bill:
Standard 8
Hillman Husky
Hillman Minx (59-60) Only just in terms of length
Ford 100E or 105E
Austin A40 Farina and pre
Austin A35-30
Riley 1.5
Don’t worry there wont be soo much to read every month! :D
My first rendering after seeing a decent one sell on ebay for £450 t&t is the Riley 1.5 153.5" Long
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y287/scott78/budget-riley.jpg
Starting by junking all the bulky items of trim inc badges I've cleaned up the body and used small round front indicators (not seen) to clean up the front. I've removed the over the top chrome grill side sections in favour of fresh metal for a clean look, and frenched in some small rear lights. Other than the removal of the fiddly bits of trim the body is stock and merely painted in a deep ox blood red. L51 VW Bordeaux Red is good colour. How far you go with the body mods is upto you as one piece windows, shaved handles and even a choptop or coupe job is do-able for the capable!
The standard Riley running gear (b series 1.2 or 1.4) would be fine for cruising but you could easily swap for a larger tuned lump. The suspension is standard albeit with lowering blocks and poss a couple of leaves removed out back and short coils up front. Again plenty of scope for upgrades if you beefed up the motor. The wheels are larger solid steels either 14" moggy items or 15" hillman ones if you want to go really big. Wrap them up in big& little tyres to help the raked stance and your onto a winner.
Interior could be retrimmed stockers or early recaros finished without the headrests (don’t look so big in the small cabin) and re-trimmed with tuck & roll centres to make them look a bit more "period". All in all a cool little ride with the emphasis on the finish not the cost! Although it lacks the coolness of a 2dr 100E it certainly a good alternative to a 4dr one and more practical if you have a family!
Food for thought?
My first set of renderings will be close to home as I'm currently looking for my first british car to customise and use as a daily driver. One of the main problems for me is the size of the car as my garage is short and it needs to be kept in there to stop the local tracksuits from wrecking it....So, to cut a long story short (no pun intended) I'm keeping my eye open for a small 50's-60's british car as a base for a "budget" custom. I've had a few beetles etc and I want to move away from these mainly because I want something different. Yank motors are usually massive and out of my price range and so a humble british motor should fit the bill. Also should I need parts which I will of course, finding them shouldn’t be too hard!
I have a budget of £1000 and I'd like to keep it under that. After looking around it seems like the following cars fit the bill:
Standard 8
Hillman Husky
Hillman Minx (59-60) Only just in terms of length
Ford 100E or 105E
Austin A40 Farina and pre
Austin A35-30
Riley 1.5
Don’t worry there wont be soo much to read every month! :D
My first rendering after seeing a decent one sell on ebay for £450 t&t is the Riley 1.5 153.5" Long
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y287/scott78/budget-riley.jpg
Starting by junking all the bulky items of trim inc badges I've cleaned up the body and used small round front indicators (not seen) to clean up the front. I've removed the over the top chrome grill side sections in favour of fresh metal for a clean look, and frenched in some small rear lights. Other than the removal of the fiddly bits of trim the body is stock and merely painted in a deep ox blood red. L51 VW Bordeaux Red is good colour. How far you go with the body mods is upto you as one piece windows, shaved handles and even a choptop or coupe job is do-able for the capable!
The standard Riley running gear (b series 1.2 or 1.4) would be fine for cruising but you could easily swap for a larger tuned lump. The suspension is standard albeit with lowering blocks and poss a couple of leaves removed out back and short coils up front. Again plenty of scope for upgrades if you beefed up the motor. The wheels are larger solid steels either 14" moggy items or 15" hillman ones if you want to go really big. Wrap them up in big& little tyres to help the raked stance and your onto a winner.
Interior could be retrimmed stockers or early recaros finished without the headrests (don’t look so big in the small cabin) and re-trimmed with tuck & roll centres to make them look a bit more "period". All in all a cool little ride with the emphasis on the finish not the cost! Although it lacks the coolness of a 2dr 100E it certainly a good alternative to a 4dr one and more practical if you have a family!
Food for thought?