XI Kit For Sale

[jonclancy]

Hi All,

I have met Cameron, and he is a bona fide decent chap.

Please see his XI kit advert, running without reserve until 6/7/25 1700.

If I were a rich man…

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/236168009227 ... Sw38poXTYT

[jonclancy]

BTW, if anyone can post details of this on the WSCC forum, Cameron will be very grateful.

Cheers

[Morris]

I've just posted it.

[jonclancy]

Thank you!! I hope he gets a decent price for it! Could be a bargain for someone…

@biggles

Timbo??

[biggles]

I've got an almost complete kit plus donor bits here, I just need to get on and build the thing!

[Morris]

Looks like the auction was won by a member of the WSCC which is great.

Bargain of the century I'd say...

[jonclancy]

Absolutely! It’ll be great to have them on (the) board.

I’ll be sorting out forum registration shortly!

[Euan Hoosearmy]

Hello!!

And here I am... @Jon thank you for letting me join.

Excuse the weird name, I operate on the WSCC forum under the same name so it made sense to use that name here to avoid confusion. In the real world I'm Ian and I'm based in Four Marks which is just west of Alton in Hampshire.

I'm going to meet Cameron and see the car tomorrow (Weds), Cameron is being very kind and is storing the car for me whilst I sort out some space for it.

I'm already a Westfield owner having a Q plate 1998 SEiW with a 2L Silvertop on twin Weber 45s. That's not going anywhere. The XI is an addition to our small collection of cars.

Once I've got the car home and started a proper audit of what I've got and what's already been done, I'll probably be asking lots of questions. Thanks in advance for your patience with me. Over on WSCC I'm reading Morris' build diary to help me understand what I need to do.

The current plan is to keep everything simple and get the car IVA'd when it's ready... I'm expecting at least 2 years for this. Once that's done, there may be some changes/upgrades made.... Part of the learning process will be working out what's sensible to do during the build rather than retrofit.

[alleggerita]

Congrats with the purchase! Based on what I understand from the large ebay text it looks like a fun project and realistically doable.

I would have considered purchasing myself had I not bought an Elan +2 project a couple of months ago. Hopefully you keep us updated on progress and result.

[Euan Hoosearmy]

Original Post :

I went and saw the car yesterday. My observations are...

I fit in it!!! I'm 6 foot 4 and didn't expect to fit in easily, but I got in easily and there's even a bit of spare legroom, so I may play with moving the seat forward and giving it a little tilt backwards to bring my head down a bit (currently top of head is above the hump)... I'll also look to put a spacer behind the steering wheel as that'll give a little more clearance between hands and legs when putting in larger steering inputs. Will check IVA impacts before implementing. My wife has requested that the seat be mounted on runners....

Chassis is clean but probably needs a little sanding to make the VIN a bit clearer for IVA. Can you translate the year from the VIN with an XI?

There's a bit of brake pipe work needs re-doing, nothing major but I don't like pipe coming out of a union at an angle.... offends my OCD.

Bodywork needs a major polish, there's a couple of moulding marks on the hump, am hoping they'll polish out but that's something I can deal with later.

Midget bits look like they need some tidying up. Project has been standing for some years so it's not a big surprise. Makes sense to get this sorted first. The brake calipers and front uprights really look like they need a refurb. Modern "new" midget calipers don't seem to have a good reputation. A few months ago I'd have posted them to Bigg Red but they've stopped doing refurbs - any recommendations? Diff/axle needs a re-paint, so that can come out and I can check the internals at the same time.

Master Cylinders both look like the rods haven't been cut to length as pedals don't line up. Brake has the old-style flimsy clevis that folds/fails in emergency stops. That'll be replaced, £29 from Westfield (ouch! - first of many) but having replaced that on the SEIW I'm not messing about with brakes.

Radiator looks new.

Engine, hard to say, it turns over by hand and the supplied head has new valves, but I need to get the verniers out and work out exactly what's there. Cylinders look to have liners. It'll be stripped down, measured and we'll work a plan from there.

Gearbox - is the midget one, can't see enough of it to make any judgement. Is in the chassis at the moment with the bell supported by string and a broomstick.... it'll need to come out to be fitted to the engine so I'll have a look then. Any recommendations for Midget gearbox servicing/recons, or should I just bite the bullet and put a type 9 in?

Fuel filler is the lockable type, same as my SEiW. Has been fitted into the scuttle really nicely, but it's not totally flush (flat thing in curved surface...) not sure if it's enough of an edge to cause SVA headaches. On the list for further investigation. Fuel tank doesn't look to be earthed so that's on the job list.

Dash is neatly done, switches don't have labels so need to sort that out. Dash is red padded vinyl so that limits how you can do the labelling for IVA. Switches are all all toggle type, so may not be IVA compliant. Have re-done dash, switches and warning lights on the SEiW so isn't an issue. Suggestions welcome for a temporary IVA compliant solution that means I can put the toggles back post IVA and keep the period look without having to build a new panel. Didn't check if the bottom edge of the dash panel had a radius... adds to list....

Electrics/loom - what's the view on the factory fit connectors, they look a bit "open to the elements" to me. Have any of you swapped to anything more watertight (econoseal etc)?

Plenty of time to think as the car won't be coming here until sometime in August. Starting to build a shopping list. Any recommendations for "do this now" or get tool "x" gratefully received.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Ian,

To answer a few Qs

>>>My wife has requested that the seat be mounted on runners....

My seats are on runners - and seat is moved forward if Wifey is driving.

>>Chassis is clean but probably needs a little sanding to make the VIN a bit clearer for IVA. Can you translate the year from the VIN with an XI?

Not sure about this, but there should also be a factory plate on the front nearside edge of the scuttle (location on my car).

>>Midget bits look like they need some tidying up. Project has been standing for some years so it's not a big surprise. Makes sense to get this sorted first. The brake calipers and front uprights really look like they need a refurb. Modern "new" midget calipers don't seem to have a good reputation. A few months ago I'd have posted them to Bigg Red but they've stopped doing refurbs - any recommendations? Diff/axle needs a re-paint, so that can come out and I can check the internals at the same time.

Both Peter May and the MGOC Spares offer exchange calipers. Around £60 each rebuilt.

>>Master Cylinders both look like the rods haven't been cut to length as pedals don't line up. Brake has the old-style flimsy clevis that folds/fails in emergency stops. That'll be replaced, £29 from Westfields (ouch! - first of many) but having replaced that on the SEIW I'm not messing about with brakes.

My pedals have never lined up, and with my new MC, I did shorten the threaded rod on the brake MC. This is to allow heel and toe (or in my case, side of foot) when the brakes are applied. So the brake pedal naturally lies slightly forward of accelerator.

>>Any recommendations for Midget gearbox servicing/recons, or should I just bite the bullet and put a type 9 in?

Ken Evans at Klassik Transmissions. Excellent service, and a jolly nice chap. I have a standard box rebuilt ready to go into my car (though my noisy ribcase is still alive!), and he’s also done me a SCCR box for my project X.


>>Electrics/loom - what's the view on the factory fit connectors, they look a bit "open to the elements" to me. Have any of you swapped to anything more watertight (econoseal etc)?

My loom has caused trouble over the years. A small 12v bulb holder with fly-leads is a very useful tool. A DMM will measure 12v, but there is no current flowing because of a bad connection. Most of mine glitches are corroded bullet connectors hidden in the loom. I have used AMP Superseal connectors to my real lights etc. They are great. I also use Contralube (The Connector Protector). Keeps everything as it should be.

If you can source a rebuilt Fat Rack, alloy clamps and BTA648/BTA649 steering arms, this would be good. I think your car has a later, Triumph, thin rack.

Cheers

Jon