Snagger Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 Hi all. I’m planning on having the shell and panels of my late RRC sorted professionally because I can’t weld and am terrible ant painting, and also because I’m overseas long term and can’t work on the car myself. The mechanical stuff I’ll do myself, the chassis is rust free and the interior needs only a little attention from someone I know. Has anyone had experience of Kingsley Cars, Twenty-Ten Engineering or Bishop’s Heritage? Which would you recommend and why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Kingsley seem to be turning out some very expensively remanufactured and 'upgraded' RRCs based on what I've seen for sale at eye watering prices. Can't comment on the quality, but if they're good a body repair is going be a mighty spendy experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 I've been round Kingsley (they're only 15 miles or so from me) and the quality of the work I saw then was fantastic. The other option is our very own @retropower Nat on here.... but I believe they're booked up for a long while. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted September 28, 2022 Author Share Posted September 28, 2022 I have the time, I just thought Retropower might be wasting their talent on a straight repair without alterations. Worth an enquiry, though. I remember Nate has a RRC the he is re-engining (LS3 now, isn’t it, rather than the BMW originally planned?), so while RRC isn’t their bread and butter, I suppose they aren’t strangers to them and any pitfalls they are prone to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Yep, the RRC was in one of their recent videos, gave a fair bitnmore info, think it was the 100th episode special or whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonimouse Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 There's a bloke down here, who does exceptional work. Not stupid money. Even did a job of perfection on my mate's Lincoln welder. I can get his number if you want 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 The RRC is Nat’s own. Originally planned as a 606 now going LS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 There is a chap I know of who restores mainly classic cars - with a specialism in Jowetts. He doesn’t do Instagram welding - but he turns out amazing cars. Don’t get me wrong his welding is fine - but his panel work and paint is incredible - perfect lines and meticulous panel gaps. He never cuts a corner and his work really is pretty astonishing. He’s an old school - one guy in a workshop, with a waiting list. But you’d get very high quality work. He’s Basingstoke way. https://www.fbhvc.co.uk/trade-supporters/flat-cap-classic-cars 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 That's the thing with people like Stephen mentions. They don't need to publicise their work when they have a waiting list, but unless you're in the right circles, you don't get to hear about them. I'm sure that after talking to enough people you'll find the right person for the job Nick. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonimouse Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 10 hours ago, Anderzander said: There is a chap I know of who restores mainly classic cars - with a specialism in Jowetts. He doesn’t do Instagram welding - but he turns out amazing cars. Don’t get me wrong his welding is fine - but his panel work and paint is incredible - perfect lines and meticulous panel gaps. He never cuts a corner and his work really is pretty astonishing. He’s an old school - one guy in a workshop, with a waiting list. But you’d get very high quality work. He’s Basingstoke way. https://www.fbhvc.co.uk/trade-supporters/flat-cap-classic-cars I do like a Jowett 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted September 30, 2022 Author Share Posted September 30, 2022 Thanks for the recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 22, 2022 Author Share Posted October 22, 2022 Well, I emailed Kingsley, Bishop, Twenty-Ten and Retropower. Only Bishop has replied a fortnight on. They put me in touch with their next door neighbour who deals with the bodywork, Revival Vehicle Restorations. Their work looks good and their website photos have an RRC in the shop, so they know the cars as well as having Bishop on hand. They also have E-Types and other vehicles far more valuable than RRCs in there, so that is a good sign. I’ll give the others a bit more time, but if they are either unkeen on the job or too rushed to get back to me, then I would have concerns over dealing with them on a long project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 If you have the possibility to have a friend with some knowledge to keep an eye on the project I strongly suggest you do. We have learned the hard way that long distance project without local "eyes" can go very, very different from what one expects... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 23, 2022 Author Share Posted October 23, 2022 It is a concern. On the plus side, our Birmingham trips aren’t terribly popular on the roster, so visiting the it premises periodically may be viable. I would hope these workshops would be protective of their reputations, though - they are a lot more expensive and specialist than a backstreet chop shop. Having a written record of the work agreed and having them photograph and document it as it progresses wouldn’t seem a unreasonable request, and they may well already do that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 26, 2022 Author Share Posted October 26, 2022 Twenty-Ten and Retropower replied yesterday. Retropower aren’t interested, but I can see why as it isn’t a big enough project for them. Twenty-Ten have a six month backlog as they are moving premises, but that is not a problem, and being even closer to Birmingham would make my life easier. No response from Kingsley yet, but I imagine they are busy too. They appear to be the costliest, and while Oxford isn’t much more difficult to get the car to than Birmingham, I wouldn’t be able to visit it for progress checks or to discuss any issues like I could Birmingham or Leicester. That make the choice a little narrower and easier. That Twenty-Ten do everything in-house, while the other option would be dealing with the body shop primarily, with them having backup from Bishop next door, is more tempting for ease and for clarity of areas of responsibility is quite tempting. I suppose trying a visit to both would be prudent before making a final decision. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 6 hours ago, Snagger said: Twenty-Ten and Retropower replied yesterday. Retropower aren’t interested, but I can see why as it isn’t a big enough project for them. Twenty-Ten have a six month backlog as they are moving premises, but that is not a problem, and being even closer to Birmingham would make my life easier. No response from Kingsley yet, but I imagine they are busy too. They appear to be the costliest, and while Oxford isn’t much more difficult to get the car to than Birmingham, I wouldn’t be able to visit it for progress checks or to discuss any issues like I could Birmingham or Leicester. That make the choice a little narrower and easier. That Twenty-Ten do everything in-house, while the other option would be dealing with the body shop primarily, with them having backup from Bishop next door, is more tempting for ease and for clarity of areas of responsibility is quite tempting. I suppose trying a visit to both would be prudent before making a final decision. I was certainly impressed when I had a tour of Kingsley. Definitely worth a look round the options before pulling the trigger. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 Well, I’m quite excited. It is being collected on the 16th March. Going to a company in Kettering with amazing facilities. I had a look around their workshop and the quality of work on the E-Type, XJ6, TR3s, Lagonda, an AC/Ferrari classic that I can’t name and several other very valuable classics was astounding. Not cheap, but quality costs. Revival Vehicle Restorations are the company I chose, referred by Bishops Classics, so they have plenty of access to RR specialist knowledge and have done a lot of work for Bishop in the past. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 Great News. What’s the brief for them ? Is it chassis and shell or the whole thing ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 Body shell complete rework and all panels repainted the same colour with all the rust and stone resistant bits and pieces. It will look original on top, but much higher quality under the skin. Spec is staying the same, so standard bumpers (black) and skirts. Heated front screen going in again (all the electrics are there, but it currently has a plain screen). The rear floor is going to be bolted in instead of spot welded for access to the chassis, suspension and fuel tank. I want to ask about the feasibility of having the rad top panel removable with studs brazed underneath the centre section so that it looks like the spot welded fit of the later models when installed but can be removed with nuts under the outboard sections for easy engine work like the earlier cars. They will give the TWR alloys a respray, but they only have a few marks from careless tyre fitters. Depending on price, I’ll be having them rebuild the R380 as I have a parts kit from Ashcroft but it needs too many special tools for me to do. The chassis is good but needs a repaint, so I’ll likely have them do that while they are doing the underside of the shell. I’ll be doing the interior, suspension and axles myself much later. The axles will get a full rebuild with ATBs and perhaps replacement reinforced diff pans. The original engine was previously rebuilt by Turner Engineering with the original head being tweaked for higher performance or economy, before I emigrated and is sitting in the garage, so apart from replacing the belts for age, that is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 That all sounds very exciting - will they take photos and share them with you as they progress ? I remember Retro Power talked about sharing pictures through WhatsApp with their customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 Yes, they do. Lots of video, they said, and a lot of written discussion or explanation of any issues as well as phone calls. Their communication has been a big factor in my choosing them. I still haven’t even had an initial response from Kingsley! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted March 16, 2023 Author Share Posted March 16, 2023 It was collected this morning. They will deal with the body and chassis, have the gear box rebuilt and refit the engine (already done by Turner Engineering, looks like the flywheel needs a skim to remove some rust but the blanking of the intakes and hose connections is still all intact, so I hope the innards haven’t degraded significantly. I’ll do the axles and suspension later. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted April 8, 2023 Author Share Posted April 8, 2023 It’s well underway. The chassis is looking scruffy with dirt and localised surface rust, but is absolutely so,I’d and just needs cleaning and refinishing. Suspension and axle cases likewise. I’ll refurbish the axle innards myself much later. The axles will later get new bearings and the diffs will be rebuilt with ATBs. The EBC brake discs were in perfect order before laying up, but are pretty rusty now. Not sure whether it’s worth having them cleaned up or just replacing them - they weren’t that expensive new. The engine is looking great - it was rebuilt by Turner Eng a decade ago but has never run. The flywheel had rusted a bit since then, but they cleaned that right up. I asked them to have the injectors serviced and ideally the rocker cover vapour blast, but otherwise it’s all ready to go. The gear box is going to be rebuilt using the Ashcroft reconditioning kit I got a decade ago, and the Borg Warner will get a good blast and inspection. They will be reinstalled with a new oil cooler assembly with the genuine oil stat housing sourced used from Ashcroft when I bought my 109’s ATBs. The outer body panels are really good, with only a few localised patches of corrosion that are being fixed without any trouble. The boss said he nearly fell off his chair when he saw the invoice in the box for the genuine new wing I included, bought at a show years ago - £35, as opposed to over £600 today! He said it’ll stay in its box as the original is good. He said the doors were in very good shape. The shell is better and worse than expected. The front edges of the A pillars aren’t great, but he said they’re an easy fix. The left foot well side panel and fuse box needs replacing, and bits of the inner front wings were known to be rough, and while reparable, they are being replaced with entirety new assemblies of the correct year spec. The sills are generally OK except for their ends. He was talking about the repairs they could make, but was relieved when I said I’d assumed they were already slated for complete replacement. B and C pillars are mint. The boot floor edges are rotten, as normal, and the floor side panels will need the z-section repair strips. The boot side walls are way better than I recalled, their joins with the wheel arch being far less rusted and holed than I remembered and a simple repair. So, the garage boss is very upbeat about it. We were talking about new body mounts and whether the PU alternatives might be a good idea (I have heard the modern rubber replacements tend to split within a few years). I want to keep the existing springs (just repainted) and ideally, retain the DeCarbon dampers as they are long out of production. They’ll get PU bushes. The suspension will be rebushed with standard rubber bushes as required. I said to keep the existing tyres as they are in very good condition and the car will have to go back into storage, so new tyres will just get flat spots. He looked depressed at that, and frankly, I am a little too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted April 8, 2023 Author Share Posted April 8, 2023 This is the sort of stuff they do more on. Pure porn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted April 9, 2023 Share Posted April 9, 2023 Nice - lots of work there. Not galvanizing the chassis ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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