88v8 Ivor Duarte Gloucestershire UK (1041 posts) Registered: 02/11/2010 04:29AM Main British Car: 1974 Land Rover Lightweight V8 |
Daimler Conquest 1957
Going to look at one this weekend. Has no engine. Thinking of it for a Rover V8/auto swap.
[en.wikipedia.org] It has a lovely woody-leathery interior, and unlike my Rolls, it would fit in the garage. Anyone come across one of these with a motor transplant? Ivor |
Oldbloke Jim Legg Napa, California (94 posts) Registered: 01/24/2013 03:24PM Main British Car: 1970 Rover P6 3500S Rover 3.5L V8 |
Re: Daimler Conquest 1957
That IS a cool looking car, but for a more enjoyable motoring experience, suggest that Rover V8 be found in a nice Rover P6 of which more seem able to be found on your side of the pond....yes I'm a bit envious, not only of your finding a Daimler, but that old Brit saloons are much easier to find over there. Luck to you and keep us posted...perhaps with some pics?
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88v8 Ivor Duarte Gloucestershire UK (1041 posts) Registered: 02/11/2010 04:29AM Main British Car: 1974 Land Rover Lightweight V8 |
Re: Daimler Conquest 1957
The interior was good. The leather was excellent, door cards not warped, the woodwork was OK, the headliner was perfect, even the sun visors which seem to be made of cardboard and are cloth covered, were untattered and clean.
But... the grille was dented, all the chrome was poor, the bodywork had holes everywhere there could be holes, it had storage rash all over, the rubber seals were toast, the body mounts had never been welded but looked pretty thin. It needed a body-off, and I could see £8k+ going into it just to get to the starting point. And because there are few of these cars on the road there are many unobtainable parts, especially rubbers. So, I let it go. Apparently it sold to a number plate dealer. Well, at least it wasn't broken, and may reappear at a better price so someone will be motivated to save it. It's a shame there aren't a lot of these cars remaining; 9,000 were made but like so many cars of the 50s they were rusting ten years from new. I don't remember when I last saw one on the road, even at Classic car meets. However, there are a few still around and hopefully I'll pick up a better one. It has the merit of a separate chassis and easily detachable front, the wings unbolt, and unlike the Silver Shadow we're currently running it would fit in our garage. Another option is the Aunty Rover [en.wikipedia.org] where the early models had alloy doors, bonnet and boot, and parts supply is a bit better. They are almost identically the same size, and have that woody-leathery thing going on, although the dash is a bit tacky. As regards buying a non-running example of a model I've never driven, my wife pointed out that before I sink a lot of time and money into a car, it might be sensible to check that I actually enjoy driving it. Fair point :} Ivor |