MY FEEDLY

The Last Unfinished Lister Jaguar XJS Is For Sale

This is the last unfinished Lister Jaguar XJS, it was one of the final examples modified by the British high-performance automotive company before they went bankrupt in 1994. The car was never fully finished, and the owner kept it in storage for over 26 years.

Fortunately Lister didn’t remain closed forever, the company was acquired in 2013 by Andrew and Lawrence Whittaker and under their ownership it’s gone from strength to strength, building a line of both modern and classic Listers.

Fast Facts – The Lister Jaguar XJS

The Lister Jaguar XJS is a wide-bodied vehicle modified by Lister starting with a standard Jaguar XJS V12 then applying a slew of upgrades to improve performance.
Each car was given a new “Le Mans” wide body kit, uprated suspension and brakes, and a significantly modified V12 engine producing vastly more power than the car had originally.
With the exception of the XK220 from 1992 onwards, the Lister Jaguar XJS was the fastest Jaguar in the world when it was in production, and today they remain highly collectible.
The car you see here started life as a 1984 Jaguar XJS V12 HE, it was sent to Lister for conversion to Lister Jaguar XJS specification in the 1990s and remained unfinished when the company shut down in 1994.

The Lister Motor Company

The Lister Motor Company Ltd was founded by Brian Lister in 1954 in Cambridge, England. The company started as many of its kind did, building and modifying cars for motorsport one by one, developing and improving them as time went on.

The Lister Jaguar XJS looks considerably more imposing than the standard XJS that it’s based on, thanks in large part to the new body kit and hefty flared wheel arches.

The best-known cars from this period were the Lister Knobby, so named because of its unusual “knobby” bodywork and the Lister Costin, an advanced, aerodynamic race car that was among the most beautiful of the era.

The company would disappear due to financial difficulties in the 1960s but would return in the 1980s, building the now legendary Lister Jaguar XJS V12 that was capable of over 200 mph. The cost of over £100,000 (in 1980s money) put off all but the most well-heeled of clients.

Approximately 90 examples of the Lister XJS were built, they’re immediately recognizable due to their wide “Le Mans” bodykits, unusual wheels, and typically by the prodigious noise they make from their highly tuned V12s.

The company once again folded in the 1990s but since 2013 it’s been on solid financial footing thanks to the fact that it’s now owned by Andrew and Lawrence Whittaker. Lister now produces a line of both modern and classic cars, and they provide restoration services for Listers.

The Lister Jaguar XJS Shown Here

When Lister took the Jaguar XJS V12 and turned it into a 200 mph supercar in the 1980s the automotive world sat up and took notice.

Although this car looks almost complete from the outside, it’s clear that it does require a significant amount of work to complete, largely as it’s been sitting for so long.

Current XJS owners could send their cars into Lister to have the conversion work done, though the cost was prohibitively expensive for most.

The example you see here was part way through the conversion when Lister weren’t bankrupt in 1994:

“The car was inspected at WP Automotive Ltd’s Leatherhead premises in mid-1994 following the insolvency of the company and formed part of the company assets being sold on the instructions of insolvency practitioners.”

“The car comprised essentially of an impressive rolling body shell with full ‘Le Mans’ widebody coachwork that had been recently refinished in dark metallic blue (believed to be Rolls Royce Royal Blue).”

“The car was situated within a paint booth at the WP Automotive HQ at the time of inspection and the engine had been removed; the majority of soft trim was not installed; some light units and the centre consul were not present.”

There are functional ducts before each rear wheel that channels cooling air into the brakes, to help avoid overheating when engaging in spirited driving.

The engine hadn’t been rebuilt to Lister specifications at this stage, so the new owner tracked down Jaguar development engineer Ron Beaty of Forward Engineering, the man who had built the original engines for Lister.

Beaty agreed to build a correct engine for the car, a naturally-aspirated 6.3 liter Jaguar V12, now capable of 395 bhp at 5,500 rpm and 404 lbs ft at 4,000 rpm. After 10 hours of dyno testing the engine was fitted to the car, and for reasons known the car was then placed into storage for over 26 years.

It’s now being offered for sale in ready-to-restore condition by Historics Auctioneers on the 21st of May with a price guide of £24,000 – £28,000, which works out to approximately $30,000 – $35,000 USD.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can find the listing here.

Images courtesy of Historics Auctioneers

The post The Last Unfinished Lister Jaguar XJS Is For Sale appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/lister-jaguar-xjs/
via gqrds

A Rare Bricklin SV-1 Warehouse Find – The “Canadian DeLorean”

This Bricklin SV-1 was recently discovered in a warehouse, it’s in largely complete condition but obviously requires a full restoration. The chassis, body, engine, and transmission are all present and accounted for, making it (potentially) a great project car.

For those unfamiliar with the car, the Bricklin SV-1 was essentially the DeLorean before the DeLorean existed. It has a fiberglass body, a steel chassis, gullwing doors, a futuristic design, and the project was run by a larger than life character. Oh, and both went bankrupt after a few thousand cars were made.

Fast Facts – The Bricklin SV-1

The Bricklin SV-1 has been called the “Canadian DeLorean” though this is perhaps a little unfair, as the Bricklin was released in 1974 and the DeLorean didn’t come until almost a decade later in 1981.
The “SV-1” model name stands for “Safety Vehicle #1,” as the car’s creator – Malcolm Bricklin – envisaged it as a vastly safer automobile than anything else on the road in the mid-1970s.
The SV-1 was designed with a perimeter steel frame that had an integrated roll bar, and the front and rear bumpers were designed to withstand low-speed impacts with little or no damage.
Approximately 3,000 examples of the Bricklin SV-1 were made, with an estimated 1,700 or so remaining today. Due to their V8-based drivetrain they offer similar performance to the C3 Corvette of the same era.

Malcolm Bricklin

If it wasn’t for the creation of the Bricklin SV-1, Malcolm Bricklin would be remembered today as the man who first brought Subaru cars to the United States back in the 1960s when almost no one had heard of the Japanese automaker.

A picture of Malcolm Bricklin in 1975, at this time the company was in full production, building well over 1,000 cars a year – though storm clouds were gathering.

In the mid-1960s he had been in Japan to negotiate a deal to import scooters into the USA when he saw the quirky-looking Subaru 360.

He then negotiated an exclusive contract with Subaru’s parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, to import Subaru cars and trucks into the United States.

Later in the 1980s Bricklin would once again make a name for himself as the importer of the Yugo into the United States – a series of small cars made by Zastava based in Yugoslavia.

Due to their small size, low cost, and high fuel efficiency the Yugo would become the best selling European car in the USA up until that point in history, with 163,000 sold in three years.

In more recent history Malcom Bricklin has been working in the electric vehicle industry, and on importing a new line of affordable cars into the USA from Asia.

This is the unusual steel chassis of the fiberglass-bodied SV-1. It includes high sills for side impact protection which necessitated gullwing doors.

The Bricklin SV-1

Bricklin became a household name in the 1970s when he launched his own automotive company, a series of prototypes were developed with early design sketches done by Bruce Meyers – the creator of the legendary Meyers Manx beach buggy.

The final design would be penned by Herb Grasse, the man who had worked under George Barris to design the original 1960s-era Batmobile.

The car featured a futuristic fiberglass body with prominent bumpers front and rear designed to absorb both small and large impacts as safely as possible.

A perimeter steel chassis with an integrated roll bar was developed, the high sills were to provide protection from side impacts and they meant the car needed gullwing doors – a feature the SV-1 would become famous for.

Above Video: This 46 minute documentary tells the story of the Bricklin SV-1, it makes fascinating viewing and it’s certainly worth the time to watch.

Though early cars were fitted with inline-sixes, the production cars all used large American V8s, initially the AMC 360 followed by the Ford Windsor 351. Most cars received automatic transmissions however a small number of early examples received a 4-speed manual.

All SV-1s had independent front suspension and a live axle rear, with power-assisted disc brakes up front and more traditional drum brakes out back.

The gullwing doors weighed in at 90 lbs each and required hydraulics to open and close, these hydraulic systems were the cause of many issues with the cars when first released, however in the years since owners have developed systems that work far better.

By the time the company stopped making the SV-1 in late 1975 over 3,000 had been built. Interestingly over half that number still exist today, with over 1,700 cars accounted for in the active Bricklin owners community.

It’s clear that this SV-1 needs a complete frame-off restoration, but the good news is that there’s an active owners community in the USA to help with advice and parts.

The Warehouse Find Bricklin SV-1 Shown Here

The car you see here has clearly seen better days, its early history is largely unknown as it was only uncovered recently in a warehouse during an estate liquidation.

This is 1974 Bricklin SV-1 from the first year of production, it has the AMC 360 cubic inch (5.9 liter) V8 that originally produced 220 hp and 315 lb ft of torque.

The car has 33,154 miles on the odometer and it has both an automatic transmission and air conditioning.

It’s clear from the images and from the seller’s description that this SV-1 needs a comprehensive restoration, of course it may also be brought by a current Bricklin owner and used for spares.

It’s currently listed on eBay with a starting bid of $3,000 USD and you can see the listing here if you’d like to ask questions or place a bid.

Images courtesy of Old Attics 4 U on eBay Motors

The post A Rare Bricklin SV-1 Warehouse Find – The “Canadian DeLorean” appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/bricklin-sv-1-project-car/
via gqrds

The Troy Indy Special Prototype Is For Sale

This is the prototype of the Troy Indy Special, a new limited production car from the team at 7fifteen Motorworks that is essentially a reengineered 21st century version of the one-off Troy Custom Roadster from 1959.

The original Troy Custom Roadster was developed by Wally Troy, a popular custom car builder in the 1950s, to be a cross between an Indy car and a hot rod – taking the best design and engineering cues from each vehicle genre.

Fast Facts – The Troy Indy Special

The Troy Indy Special was developed in the late 1950s by Illinois’ first official Jaguar dealer, Wally Troy. Troy was already a well-known custom car and hot rod builder, and the Troy Indy Special would become his most famous build.
Wally Troy’s Indy Special featured a unique design that blended Indy car and hot rod design. It has a tubular steel chassis, a hand-built aluminum body, a Chevrolet 350 V8, a 4-speed manual transmission, and all four wheels are out in the open.
Decades after it was built, the Indy Special was bought by Robert “Bob” Kendall, a longtime fan of the car. Kendall didn’t just want to own the car, he wanted to update the engineering and then give it the production run it always deserved.
The new Troy Indy Special has a state-of-the-art chassis, suspension, and brakes all powered by a ~500 bhp Chevrolet LS3 V8 from Pace Performance. Just 33 will be built and orders are now being taken.

The Troy Custom Roadster

Wally Troy was a larger than life character who has the unusual distinction of being the first official Jaguar dealer in the US state of Illinois. At this time Jaguar built two kinds of cars: opulent and luxurious vehicles for the wealthy, and very quick sports cars like the XK series and the D-Type.

This is the original Troy Roadster from 1959, the new production car is closely based on the same exterior design but it’s all new and modern under the skin.Image courtesy of Mecum.

It’s clear that Troy’s affections lay with that latter class of car, he was passionate about racing, hot rods, sports cars, and Indy cars.

He already had a number of custom cars under his belt by this time, but for his next project he wanted to create something truly unique.

He started from a blank sheet and developed his own tubular steel chassis, aluminium bodywork, and twin Plexiglas bubble windshields – no doubt inspired by Jet Age styling that had exploded in popularity in the United States at the time.

The car was designed to incorporate both hot rod and Indy car styling, it was powered by a front mounted Chevrolet 350 V8 with power sent back through a 4-speed manual transmission to a 9-inch rear end.

The interior was designed to offer drivers a uniquely pure analogue driving experience, you can even watch the front wheels moving as you drive.

The car was an immediate darling of the show circuit and it appeared in the illustrious pages of Hot Rod Magazine in 1960.

After this the car spent much of the 60s, 70s, and 80s in storage before a restoration commenced in the mid-90s.

The Troy Custom Roadster has been sold a handful of times since then, most recently to Robert “Bob” Kendall of 7fifteen Motorworks who is now going to give the car the production run it’s always deserved.

The Troy Indy Special By 7fifteen Motorworks

When Robert “Bob” Kendall of 7fifteen Motorworks bought the Troy Custom Roadster at a Mecum auction in Monterey, California in August of 2017 he had grand plans for the car.

Above Video: This short film by the team at 7fifteen Motorworks showcases the car listed in this article and runs through all of its key features. It also allows you to hear the engine running, which is worth the price of admission.

Kendall didn’t just want to add the car to his collection, he wanted to create a modern version of it and sell it has a low volume production car.

The most challenging aspect of this was that the car needed to be reengineered from the ground-up, with an all new chassis, suspension, body, brakes, and drivetrain – but it needed to remain true to the styling and intent of the original developed by Troy in Illinois over 60 years ago.

Scarbo Performance of Lake Forest, California were selected to develop the all-new chassis and suspension. This is a company uniquely qualified for the job, company founder Joe Scarbo made a name for himself developing the open-wheeled Scarbo SVF1 car that graced the pages of Silodrome back in 2018.

The team at Scarbo started by 3D scanning the original Troy Roadster in order to ensure that the chassis and suspension of the new car would match the original dimensions almost exactly.

There’s a fuel cell in the rear and two lockable storage compartments which are accessed by lowering the seat backs.

Once the new trellis chassis was designed it was constructed from 1.5” .095-wall Docol R8 tubing – to ensure precision it was TIG-welded on a chassis jig at 7Fifteen Motorworks, and then powder-coated in silver.

Unlike the original this car features fully independent suspension front and back, making use of C5 Corvette uprights, custom tubular nickel-plated steel double A-arms and pushrods, billet aluminum rocker arms, and QA1 double-adjustable shock absorbers with Eibach springs at each of the four corners.

The braking system has been similarly updated, 6-piston Wilwood calipers are used up front with 4-piston Wilwood units in the rear – providing ample stopping power, particularly when you consider the curb weight of ~2,200 lbs (998 kgs).

The all-aluminum body was made by hand and it’s been left in file-finished condition to preserve its originally – this car is a factory prototype after all.

The hand-formed alloy bodywork extends underneath the car in order to maximize its aerodynamic slipperiness.

Perhaps most importantly the drivetrain consists of a 495 bhp GM LS3 engine from Pace Performance, with power sent back through a Tremec T56 6-speed manual transmission to a Cadillac CTS-V limited-slip differential.

7fifteen Motorworks are now taking orders for the 33 production slots allocated for the Troy Indy Special, and they’ve listed this prototype for sale on Bring A Trailer – potentially a perfect buy for someone who’s aways lusted after the Troy Custom Roadster but wanted something a little more modern underneath.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing, it’s currently being auctioned live online and you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Bring A Trailer

The post The Troy Indy Special Prototype Is For Sale appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/troy-indy-special/
via gqrds

The Heuer Monte Carlo Rally Master

This is an original Heuer Rally Master, it’s a dashboard mounted chronometer with a “Master Time” clock that would be fitted to rally cars to accurately time stages.

Keeping precise timing of rally stages is critical in all forms of rally but particularly in regularity rally, where the driver and co-driver need to cover each stage in a specified time at a specified average speed.

The purpose of having the timing system mounted to the dashboard was so that both the driver and co-driver could see it clearly. The clock/watch on the left shows the time of day and the chronograph on the left is the stage timer.

The Heuer Rally Master was a critical piece of equipment on rally cars in the 1960s and 1970s, they’re still in regular use on vintage rally cars to this day.

Both need to be mechanically wound via the top mounted crown, and the chronograph has a stop/start button at the one o’clock position. Both timepieces are mounted to a chromed steel backing plate that would traditionally be mounted in the center-top of the dashboard.

Both of these timepieces are listed as being in good working condition, together as a set they make an essential addition to the dashboard of any period rally car.

This Heuer Rally Master is due to be sold by Bonhams on the 13th of May in Monte Carlo, with a price guide of €5,000 – €7,000 which works out to approximately $5,260 – $7,370 USD.