Mister Towed's Tai Chi build

[phil9]

that's great..towed... i once had a guy tell me he had a pic of s /moss driving that car [my car] in a race in the 50's u have too smile .. shame u can not make stanford sunday .. but ha you going to a better place ..have a great time see you when back ..

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by phil9

that's great..towed... i once had a guy tell me he had a pic of s /moss driving that car [my car] in a race in the 50's u have too smile .. shame u can not make stanford sunday .. but ha you going to a better place ..have a great time see you when back ..

Yep, off to Italy Friday

Shame I can't take the Spyder with me...

Just collected my car from Brockwell Brothers trimmers in King's Lynn, who've made to measure a tonneau cover for me today -







It's red mohair with white piping. Top quality materials and a craftsman finish you don't see very often these days, all for £144 all in. I can't recommend them highly enough.

Off to Southery tomorrow to have the racing roundels fitted

[garyh]

Perfect colour. Lovely work. Also off to Italy in 2 weeks... hopefully do some work on car beforehand!

[mikmiglia]

Looks great, they done a nice tidy job. And a good price too.

[Mister Towed]

Today, with the addition of the racing roundels I think I can now say my car is finally finished.

At the age of nineteen I fell in love with one of these -



and vowed that, one day, I'd build myself one.

But three decades a family and a mortgage later it dawned on me that I would probably never have the fifteen to twenty grand needed to build a decent example of a 718 RSK or 356 Speedster kicking around in my other trousers until I would be too old to get into it, so I almost gave up on that particular dream

But something in me kept making me put the word 'Spyder' into an ebay search, and before long, up popped Gary Janes' very pretty body shells at a price I could actually afford.

So, after a quick trip to a kit car show for a sit in '66, as much to make sure I'd fit in it as to check if I liked it, I bought one of these -



and with the help of one of Gary's bodies, set about turning it into something completely different -







It's taken four times as long as I thought it would - about two years and three months instead of the six months I envisaged - and it's cost me about double what I originally budgeted, owing me about five grand (plus my two thousand hours labour), but I'm over the moon with the finished result.

So, after 1,500 posts and 78,000 hits it's time for me to end this build thread and start a new one covering the driving, fiddling and fettling of it. Thanks to everyone who chipped in with advice and I look forward to seeing a lot more finished Spyders out on the road. Now, where's my crash helmet

[garyh]

Well it's been a wonderful thread to follow, and it's nice to see you're hanging around.

[phil9]

a top job ..one hell of a ride ...

[christinedmc]

Thanks for all that you shared in this thread. It's a big help for anyone of us still in de building process.
Michiel

[rattler]

top job and good read and lots of info happy days dave r

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

... it's time for me to end this build thread ...

But obviously it is ending for all the right reasons.

I think you have ended up with one of the nicest Sammio's on the road.

And, without doubt, this has been my favourite build thread to read and draw inspiration from.

Enjoy driving the fruits of your labours.

Cheers, Paul.

PS
Does the number 602 represent anything?

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by Paul L

PS
Does the number 602 represent anything?

Thanks for all the kind words guys, I've enjoyed the company and advice this forum has given me during the build process.

I know internet land can be a dodgy place, but I've even made real, physically tangible new friends that aren't just trying to access my bank details or remotely fek up my computer for the fun of it.

As for the number 602 and other markings, here's a picture of Alberto Ascari (A S) winning the 1954 Mille Miglia in a D24 -



Obviously, mine isn't an exact replica - it's not red for a start - but I rather like the association with the racing history and it's a move away from just about every Cobra owner who chooses the number '1'

Good luck to everyone who's building one of these glorious creations, it might take a long time to finish (unless your name's Patoune!) but with even a basic level of diy mechanical competence you'll end up with a car that'll stop people in their tracks and get genuine praise from dedicated classic car people, even after you've told them it's a replica.

While I was taking pictures at the river bank yesterday a gentleman and his son came over from a house nearby and told me how much they loved my car. I explained that it was a home built special and they were gobsmacked. They then showed me their mineral blue Aston Martin DB4 parked in the drive that they've just spent 20 years restoring. And they asked if they could take pictures of my car! Praise indeed.

For any lurkers out there who're considering building a Sammio/Ribble/Miglia Spyder, the best advice I can give is to budget for a spend of about £5,000 and at least eighteen months build time, and if you spend less or build it quicker it's a bonus.

Buy the best donor you can find, I wish I'd spent around £2,000 on a sound, MOT'd Vitesse that didn't need a thousand hours and a lot of money spending on renovation, and you'll recoup a lot of that outlay by selling off the unwanted parts on ebay.

Above all, keep plugging away, don't give up and don't be afraid to make changes to individualise your car and have it your way.

Good luck!

[WorldClassAccident]

Epic Thread and Epic Result!

[Charman.tech]

here here Towed "Bravo Ce' bella maccina".

Been great to have you as company during our builds (only another two years to go) or maybe three as my daughter is going to get married next summer, she would like the "Charmaratti" (formally a G46) as the wedding car but knows that's not going to happen.

Look forward to your thread on the tinkering and running

[slartibartfast]

Absolutely BRILLIANT towed !!
If my Spyder turns out even HALF as good as yours, I will be well pleased. That, sir, is a real show stopper of a car. I would certainly endorse your sentiment about buying a top notch donor. I bought a Herald with a current MOT and drove it for a couple of months before stripping down. So far not had to do ANY welding on the chassis.
If you are intersted, mate of mine has got a 356 up for sale. Used to rally it, got some provenance, plus some spares .... 30 grand o.n.o .....
Keep up the good work ... I look forward to your ne thread.
ATB
Slarti

[slartibartfast]

From one of my many car books I can expand on that a bit. The number 602 relates to Alberto's start time at Bresca (6.02 am). There's a pictire showing him about to pass a FIAT at a mountain pass with the number 2341 on the side (19 minutes to midnight .... over six hours earlier!)
His average speed over the 1000 miles was 87.3 mph.
Will your LOVELY Sammio do that Mr T
Enjoy the drive
Slarti

[Jerome]

I think you inspired all of us with your thread , your photos and technical solutions lots of succes with your car.

Hope to see you on (sammio)occassion!

[zèbre69]

Congratulations mister T, very good job. !

I 'm fond of the final look of your car and I use your posts all over the time to see how you have done when I'm in front of difficulties.

To be honest, If I have bought a sammio kit, it's a little your fault !

I hope that my car will be nice also, I will try to do my best to built my car as your sammio spider !

Like you, I've bought today tripod lucas P700 for my car, I like the front look with these front lights !

If you come to France, I'll be happy to see you and to show you my car.

Take a lot of pleasure on the road now !


I wanted to know what you will do this winter, have you got another hide project ?

[lancelot link]

VERY VERY WELL DONE TOWED....You have totally embraced the whole ethos of my original concept.

I have followed your build with interest , I may not be actively involved in the Sammio world anymore ....(sometimes this saddens me a little but a combination of many factors forced me to sell on my baby)....but I still have an extreme fondness for the original '' lets cobble up a new twist on a 50's Special '' that has grown into quite a little star and spawned a few similar products along the way .......

Your car and build thread should be given a 'sticky' status as I am sure as others have said , it has and will create other sales of these kits in the future...... I doubt if Ribble , Miglia , Tribute etc. would object to that....

[phil9]

Originally Posted by lancelot link

VERY VERY WELL DONE TOWED....You have totally embraced the whole ethos of my original concept.

I have followed your build with interest , I may not be actively involved in the Sammio world anymore ....(sometimes this saddens me a little but a combination of many factors forced me to sell on my baby)....but I still have an extreme fondness for the original '' lets cobble up a new twist on a 50's Special '' that has grown into quite a little star and spawned a few similar products along the way .......

Your car and build thread should be given a 'sticky' status as I am sure as others have said , it has and will create other sales of these kits in the future...... I doubt if Ribble , Miglia , Tribute etc. would object to that....

very well said that man..

[mikmiglia]

Well done Gary well said , if you didnt rattle the cage of the old score way of building specials , and the old methods that were used in the old days. I would nt have had been doing what i do now..

Bless you ,