That looks fricken cool. The side on shot shows the lines well.

Nice !

lots of talk at the moment as to the value of the Formosa so I have had mine independently valued by Classic Line for insurance purposes and very happy with it, this is an agreed value should it get written off

May upset the guy that commented on gr120’s Facebook page

Reckons Gary’s blue survivor car is priced about 5 times too much ... there’s some twats about

Must be quite comforting to have that document should the worst happen to the car, and it's a fair valuation for a car that just looks that good.

There do still seem to be a lot of armchair 'experts' about in internet land who think they could buy a perfect condition donor for a pony, a body kit for half a monkey and have a finished car on the road for less than a bag 'o' sand.

Well, I'm afraid they're just a bunch of merchant bankers as interest in classic cars is increasing day by day, the supply of good, original cars at affordable prices is dwindling and the prices of both classic cars and their component parts are pretty much doubling every twelve months.

Anyway, will have to make the effort to attend a show or event that you're taking your car to this year, Alex, as I'd love to see it in the flesh. :)

I think that is a fair valuation for Alex's car, maybe a bit undervalued. It does however in my mind value the "survivor" at about a third of that price. You need to add the cost of bring ing the body up to the same standard and painting as well as all the interior.

COMFORTING NEWS ALEX ...

YOU ARE RIGHT TVR , the Survivor wont value up to that amount ..but a third ?
bit harsh ...

I reckon half might be fairer ..if someone offered 15k ..I would take it , I'm not an unrealistic guy ...

ALEX'S PAINT WAS IN THE REGION OF 3.5K and the interior is basically a pair of seats !!


https://youtu.be/Jw1z8gvwyhM

I tend to find that the final 20% of a build is the most expensive. It's all the final finishing details that cost the most.
If you look on eBay, you can still get a running and MOT'd TR6 for less than £15k. Very useable as it has a roof and guaranteed investment.
The problem with cars without any sort of roof is that you must have a garage and even then it would be relegated to a "third" car.

Normally I'd agree with you but thats not really the case with the " No frills , lots of thrills " Formosa 120GR. Very little expense at the end , more a case of a steady expenditure throughout .. Comparing it to a TR6 is a bit tricky as we all know when it comes to classic cars , valuing based on the sum of parts isnt how it works ...look at Micro car prices for instance compared to say ,a 60's 4 door American car or a 80's Roller etc. Valuing them is really difficult ...after all who'd have thought an old Z3 with some bits of fibreglass glued to it and blown over with a few stickers on it would increase its value 3 or 4 times over book price !! It's a complicated marketplace to deal in and the Formosa's are yet to find their place in it as far as re-sale values go ....

A very very nice man :bounce:

Starting with a straight car that needs little more than rubbing down prior to paint has got to be a big bonus. Hours spent re shaping a wonky body in sweaty fibre glass isn't for the faint hearted. The Formosa body looks like a quality moulding with minimal prep time involved and is a credit to the laminators. I would suggest 3.5k is exactly the right money for a quality job !

Didn't you paint it Jeff? Lol!

*EDIT* You posted just before I hit reply

I don't imply that I'm an "expert", we all know what one of those is !

All I was saying is that the Formosa body is good out the mould. The fact that a coloured gel coat is offered and would be acceptable to many simply polished up and not painted.

I know you are a perfectionist Jeff and you can see faults where others don't. Your own SWB was a good example, the final finish looked superb to me but you were never happy with it. You are lucky to have the skills to go the next level and achieve such high standards.

Hi as you are all on about painting. can any one give me a good paint suppler for my Formosa I need high build primer and paint.prep and painting and buffing and polishing is not a problem, I am about 6 weeks away from starting thanks Dale

I use cellulose from Jawel Paints and have had very pleasing results as a total amateur sprayer using very basic equipment -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cellulose...G98:rk:17:pf:0

https://i1301.photobucket.com/albums...psd5ea1f73.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...psrp4sw01p.jpg

Other colours are available...

Jawel recommended giving the fibreglass shell a coat of etch primer before the high-build primer goes on. That's what I did and I had no problems with adhesion or cracking in the four years that I had the car on the road, but I believe a professional sprayer may tell you that the etch primer isn't necessary.

What colour are you going for?

Thanks for that. I think it is going to be red or blue ?.the last time I painted a car was 22 years ago with 2 pack and still looks good as I still have it. I spent 10 year in the aviation painting aircraft shooting 50 ltr at a time on A 321 so painting and finishing not a problem

Ahh, a pro then.

One thing I have noticed with fibreglass cars is that a fair number of people who've had their cars sprayed with two-pack have reported cracking on areas that are subject to stress where cellulose would've just flexed with the panel.

Horses for courses I guess.

Not a pro self taught. just to tight to pay for a paint job. I am a coachbuilder by profession old school ie English rollers hammers and dollies lead filling stuff like that, not a big call for that sort of work in Norfolk

Sounds like you really know your way around bodywork then so it'll be interesting to see how your Formosa progresses.

Don't mean to state the bleedin' obvious, but Lotus HQ is in Norfolk. I suppose they've outsourced/computerised all their model development though.

I'm in Norfolk too, as are Phil J and Barry May, so if you ever need anyone to come and drink your tea while watching you work just PM us ;)

sounds like a plan, I live right on the coast near Cromer,i have sent Gary some update pictures he will put them on for me when he has time.my car is going to have a full leather interior. the engine has been upgraded oil cooler lec fuel pump 1850 triumph dolomite sprint gearbox with overdrive ported and a bigger cam

Upgrades sound pretty good and should make for a lively car. I'm out West near King's Lynn but only an hour's drive from Cromer.

Once you're roadworthy we'll have to arrange a road trip along the North Norfolk coast with a brace of Sammio Spyders and my 356 Outlaw (assuming I ever finish it).

If the Outlaw isn't ready I'll just tag along in my Midget or the complete wreck of a Mk2 Spitfire I just bought if I finish that first...