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[Viral_Jim]

I thought I'd break this out  as some of you wanted to know more about the Sumo 

History
The car has been owned by me since I was 17, so the term Barn Find was a bit tongue-in-cheek, although it has spent a number of years residing in agricultural buildings. I bought the car off an RAF guy who built it as he was trading up to a TVR. All I can say is that I hope the guy was a pilot, rather than anyone responsible for making anything airworthy as the car came with some truly bonkers 'foibles'. Namely:

A 'custom loom' where 75% of the wires used were light blue 
A radiator that sat below the level of the water jacket and no header tank, meaning you could never fill the car with coolant.
A stock 1970's italian fuel injection system - which was a reliable as one would expect 

As you can imagine, the guy had got the hump with its lack of reliability and let me have it for about £1900 (in 2002). My dad and I more or less rewired it, threw away the crazy fuel injection system and added twin webers.

I drove it for a couple of years, then managed to crash it obviously, (because I was a teenager with zero driving talent and no appreciation of that fact). The car as you see it now has had the entire OSF wing rebuilt/re-attached (by me, by hand) after being completely torn off. I also had Pilgrim remake an entire front quarter of the chassis, which was welded in place.

Its not got a 1.6l Cortina engine in has it?
No. But it does have half an engine. Ie a 2.0 four pot fiat twin cam from a Supermirafiori. This was a very deliberate choice as no insurer would cover me for anything over 2L / 4-cylinders until I reached 21.

With the webers, the engine should deliver about 140bhp (so the internet says) and considering that's around 150bhp per tonne, it delivers acceptable performance. Its comparable in performance to one powered by a 3.5 rover v8 in stock trim. Although obviously the characteristics and sound are very different.

Also, it has a live rear axle, so the handling is fairly ' Traditional'.

What work does it need?
Its been stood for getting on 20yrs, so, in no particular order:

• New Tyres all round
• Complete fluids & filters change
• New belts all round
• New electric fan
• Diff seal replacement (Ford Atlas diff iirc) it used to leak but has now stopped. I assume this means its out of diff oil 
• Refit handbrake cables
• Refit seats
• New battery

That should see it right for an MOT. Then:

• Re-trim the interior
• Get a professional to sort the front wing and give it a respray (currently its had the rattle can treatment)
• Sort the seats out

What I don't know is what the ultimate plan is for it. I would really like one with a V8 (obviously) now that I'm aged enough to be able to insure whatever I want. However, given the new emissions regs etc, that is not simple to achieve as a new Engine means: new gearbox, rear axle, brake upgrades etc etc etc. So therefore, probably a new IVA certification. The twin cam takes well to supercharging, but this doesn't address the cylinder deficiency, nor the need for better running gear to sit underneath it.

Ultimately, by upgrading  all I would be saving is probably the body, chassis and trim. In the grand scheme of things, I think I would be better starting over. Probably with a more sophisticated kit using something like an LS small block, or similar. Answers on a postcard please... 

Then of course theres's the Aston Martin Vantage I've hung my nose over for years...

[aaronjb]

A 'custom loom' where 75% of the wires used were light blue 

Standard aviation - the loom in a Boeing is all white. Every. Single. Wire. (Friend of mine is an avionics engineer - or was.. now he does things like sign off on brand new airframes )

A radiator that sat below the level of the water jacket and no header tank, meaning you could never fill the car with coolant.

Standard Pilgrim TADTS!

Re moving to a V8 - you'll never (IMHO) recoup your costs on a Pilgrim and depending on which generation of chassis it is, a V8 may turn it into a pretzel. Assuming it's a Mk3 (no door handles, steel floorpan, Granada running gear) then you'll need:

Upgraded diff mount
New engine mounts
New gearbox mounts
Engine (obviously) :lol:
Gearbox

If it's Mk2 or earlier I believe the advice is simply "don't" - check www.cobraclub.com for info and advice, there are some very analknowledgable current and ex Pilgrim owners there 

Doing it again I'd be straight to Anthony at Crendon for an authentic plastic car, or Dave at DB Replicas for an authentic aluminium car (one is probably £45k to build, the other is £80k and not available as a kit).. YMMV 

[Doctor Gollum]

Re the wiring, likewise Airbus... All white, unless someone runs a drill through it, at which point releases magic smoke and goes black. Apparently 

[Viral_Jim]

Standard aviation - the loom in a Boeing is all white. Every. Single. Wire.

Interesting! You learn something new every day. It doesn't make it any less of a fuc£ing stupid idea though, IMHO 

Re moving to a V8 - you'll never (IMHO) recoup your costs on a Pilgrim and depending on which generation of chassis it is, a V8 may turn it into a pretzel. Assuming it's a Mk3 (no door handles, steel floorpan, Granada running gear) then you'll need:

Upgraded diff mount
New engine mounts
New gearbox mounts
Engine (obviously) :lol:
Gearbox

If it's Mk2 or earlier I believe the advice is simply "don't"

I suspect you're right! As to which MK car, that's an interesting one, its a Mk2/3 body shell for sure, but elements of the suspension etc are definitely Cortina  . The biggest problem for me is time, the car was great while I was a student/in early jobs - although I arguably didn't have the cash to properly maintain/upgrade the car as needed, but I now don't think I will have time for the forseeable.

Also, if I do build one; I have a hankering to do a 356 speedster kit, potentially with a 2.0 WRX boxer engine, I saw one on Jay Leno and its been nagging at me ever since. 

[aaronjb]

There are some lovely 356 replica kits out there now, I believe  An old next door neighbour used to have a Chesil Speedster with open exhausts (pre SVA car, most likely) - sounded fantastic every time he started it up .. probably drove like an old Beetle, though

[Viral_Jim]

probably drove like an old Beetle, though

And therin lies the rub with the 356. Even the fastest original 356s had a mere 90bhp. The A series had closer to 60 - hardly usable in today's world. Leaving aside the healthy 6 figure price tag, as a usable car, they just aren't a prospect.

I would also imagine getting an air-cooled anything through the modern emissions nonsense would be a non-starter.

[Varche]

Fascinating..

 

[Kevin Wood]

Nice..

I don't see why you'd need an IVA for the mods you propose, though. Assuming it's correctly registered, it's a Q plated car so emissions is not an issue and if you're just bolting bits to the original chassis you're not altering anything that would require you to pass another IVA, not that anyone would know anyway.

If you can live with the stigma of a non-V8 Cobra I'd lob an X30XE in it - or bolt on a "snail".

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Very interesting. I would love to do a Stratos replica with an Alfa 3.0 V6 in it. Its never going to happen though, unfortunately.

[aaronjb]

I would also imagine getting an air-cooled anything through the modern emissions nonsense would be a non-starter.

As long as you use donor axles, a brand new transmission (or reconditioned "as new" with receipt) and the engine is your only secondhand item.. you can IVA it under the emissions as per the year of the engine; that's how I'm planning on getting a 1969 V8 through "emissions" - with proof of engine age (now mandatory, sadly, but can be got from a list of engine builders) it'll be tested to 1969 emissions standards - i.e. "visual smoke test"!

[BazaJT]

I always thought the Fiat twin cam was a highly regarded motor,is this not so?If it is/was a good engine I'd be tempted to stick with that and strap a "blower" onto it.Won't have the sound of a V8 of course but should be pretty nippy all the same.

[dave the builder]

for MOT purposes. the vehicle should be tested to the standard of the year of first registration of the car OR the year of manufacture of the engine ,whichever is oldest  the onus is on the presenter of the car to prove which applies .

had a late 90s 20SEH cav SRi 130 engine in the 1993 carlton previously fitted with C20NE
about 7 MOT stations said it has a cat ,needs a cat test 
the last tester said "i don't know" so i showed him proof (including the wording in the MOT testers manual), and phoned Vosa ,they confirmed I was correct 

[Viral_Jim]

I always thought the Fiat twin cam was a highly regarded motor,is this not so?If it is/was a good engine I'd be tempted to stick with that and strap a "blower" onto it.Won't have the sound of a V8 of course but should be pretty nippy all the same.

Indeed it is. It makes good power, for the time. And if you fit a blower, I suspect 250bhp/tonne would be achieved. I suspect that would be barely enough to start the monster that Aaron is fitting to his, but then again, the two cars are in no way comparable anyway.

The car does sound good, in its own way, it's 2.5" through with just a single silencer. It's just 'not a v8'.

A popular application (with a couple of other mods) for the engine is to drop it into a Morris minor/traveller. Which is probably quite amusing at the traffic light grand Prix. 

[Marks DTM Calib]

Re the wiring, likewise Airbus... All white, unless someone runs a drill through it, at which point releases magic smoke and goes black. Apparently 

Ships and Locos are the same, grey or black wiring with cable idents on both ends

[Sir Tigger KC]

Re the wiring, likewise Airbus... All white, unless someone runs a drill through it, at which point releases magic smoke and goes black. Apparently 

Ships and Locos are the same, grey or black wiring with cable idents on both ends

Why's that then?