A Christmas gift - Carisma Century Build manual

John Williams, a fellow Carisma Century owner, has painstakingly scanned a complete Carisma Century build manual and I am making this available to any interested parties via this blog. Please email ocheye@mac.com if you would like a copy.

I will pass on your thanks to John for this Herculean effort.

Merry Christmas

Christmas present ?

How fortuitous that my Christmas present should appear on EBay this week http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1937-SS-Jaguar-2-1-2-litre-Sports-100_W0QQitemZ300378614941QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item45eff5ec9d#ht_1218wt_1144. All I need now is for my numbers to come up on Saturday.

We can all dream can't we?

All I want for Christmas is.........

...well this Saoutchik bodied SS100 would do just nicely though I would settle for a plain, ordinary, bog-standard one ! For that matter the book this pic is from would be nice http://www.saoutchik-jaguar.de/jahreszeiten.htm. I'd even settle for a magic wand to sort out my wiring as my garage is a bit wintry up here in the frozen north.

Can I take this opportunity to wish all visitors to this blog a great time over this coming holiday season and a happy and prosperous New Year. Keep dropping by and feel free to contribute!!!

Steadman TS 100

This Steadman tS 100 has been for sale all over the place. EBay, Total Headturners, I want that one etc. I don't know if it ever actually sold. Prices have differed somewhat. They were, I believe, handmade in the 70's in Hayle in Cornwall and were pretty expensive. They're Jag powered. According to the Suffolk SS newsletter of 1998, it used XJ6 front and rear subframes and was six inches wider than the original. The wheelbase was too long and the car suffered from very low ground clearance. It cost £36000 almost 20 years ago. I think it could, perhaps, have benefitted looks wise from larger diameter and slightly skinnier wheels. It may have cured the ground clearance problem but probably would have compromised the handling. It's very nice just the same and I wouldn't say no to one!

Yorkshire Carisma Century

Derek Teal is the proud owner of this award-winning Carisma Century in Yorkshire. Derek kindly took me out for a run in it last year and I realised how a well-sorted Carisma should drive. It inspired me to improve mine. The colour of this car is a much more subtle shade of white than mine and is beautifully set off with matching wire wheels. It has also been really well upholstered in white. I don't know where the seats originated but they are properly sprung (not just foam) and are really comfortable. I am very envious as my project seems to have stalled as this bad weather has kept me out of my garage lately.

I must count my blessings though as a Cumbrian that has not been affected by the dreadful floods. I used to have a 1935 Wolseley Nine that was sold to a museum on the banks of the river Derwent in Cockermouth. I do hope it wasn't damaged!

2 more 'Cream Cracker' SS 100 replicas for sale in US

Cream with brown wings and a 4 cylinder Ford engine in Coconut Creek, Florida. Made by Antique and Collectibles (They may have supplied the original moulds and chassis for the Carisma Century though I could well be be wrong - someone please put me out of my misery and give me the correct provenance for the Carisma!!) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jaguar-Jaguar-SS-100-SS-100-Manufactured-Replica-Convertible-sports-car_W0QQitemZ230403325217QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item35a51bbd21#ht_500wt_924

Cream with brown wings again but this time with a rear mounted newly rebuilt VW engine in Cleveland, Ohio. It is advertised as needing tlc and it certainly has a patina about it.http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Replica-Kit-Makes-Jaguar-SS100-ASVE-1937-Jaguar-SS100-ASVE-Replica_W0QQitemZ130346703968QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item1e5944dc60#v4-35

This seems to be the most popular colour scheme by far for these replicas in the States. I'm not aware of any original SS100's having two tone paintwork although you could order them in the colour of your choice. Red seems to be the most popular choice in the UK.

Duke replica in Florida

Nice red Classic Roadsters 'Duke' for sale in Florida. Was 'sold' for $7200 recently but buyer failed to complete. Seems pretty good value to me at that with a Ford 2.3 ohc engine - not VW! Can be viewed on http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Replica-Kit-Makes-JAGUAR-SS-SEXY-1939-JAGUAR-REPLICA-BY-CLASSIC-ROADSTERS_W0QQitemZ170408767053QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item27ad276e4d#v4-35

We never see Dukes for sale on this side of the pond (UK) more's the pity!

'Duke' SS100 Replica on US EBay

I can't seem to grab a picture to upload but here is the link http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Replica-Kit-Makes-1939-Jaguar-SS100-Convertible-302-cu-in-V8-Automatic-Trans-Replica-Kit_W0QQitemZ220512408189QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item335790527d#v4-36 I like the heavy duty suicide doors and the running board lines are really nice. I'll bet it sounds amazing

The real deal?

It's about as near as you can get to a genuine SS100 without actually being one. It's a rebodied SS Saloon and unfortunately I didn't win the lottery last night. Check it out:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1937-SS-Jaguar-2-1-2-litre-Sports-100_W0QQitemZ300368671654QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item45ef5e33a6#ht_979wt_1167

Lady in red Update

I went out last Sunday for a ride between showers, and as usual had that euphoric feeling you must also get when flying an open aeroplane. The Lady is more than willing to reach all speed limits and has more power now since I had the head skimmed and new gaskets fitted. Being a little too large (OK a lot larger) for the seats I cannot get into the car with the wet weather gear on so I have to take my chances of getting wet and a lot colder, than I like.

I have had a bee in my bonnet for a while about fitting a fold down windscreen and fitting Brookland shields just as the original SS100, but so far I have got Morgan and MG fold down hinges but have not had the heart to remove the original windscreen as I feel that the Carisma Century car is as much a unique vehicle as the original. I will be fitting two horns in front under the headlights just for me, but that is another kettle of fish. Andy, thanks for the dedication to setting up this site and keeping up the interesting feedback. Lets hope we hear from other owners regadless of what type of replica or original they have. I would also like to hear from previous oowners and to hear what they experienced during their caretakership of such a lovely machine. Cheers for now John

Carisma Century Q97 KKE

This car was built by Martin Miller later sold to Tim Shields and now in the hands of Neil Gowers. This is it on its first day out and it is absolutely gorgeous. It looked almost black in the Sandown Park picture but looks fabulous in this shade of green. Martin paid great attention to detail and it was beautifully trimmed with the able assistance of his wife Lorna. Martin and Lorna actually went on a camping holiday with the car with all their gear (including a tent) stowed behind the seats, in the boot and on a custom made rack - snug but loads of fun. I'd do it but can't imagine my wife agreeing!

Carisma Club at Sandown Park?

Here are some more shots from 1995 at Sandown Park? although Jack Stancombe seemed to remember them being taken at at Caterham (many thanks for the photos Jack )
Tony Ison's Cardinal red car sits next to the mystery car which I think became "custard and cream". I'm pretty sure this one belonged to Ted Legg who may well be the gentleman sat on the running board.

The red car Q145 GEA is a 1.6 engined one that belonged to a Alan Shaw of Walsall (and may still) while the green car Q97 KKE (yes it is green!) belonged to Martin Miller at that time (he actually built it) and was recently bought by Neil Gowers of Charing Ashford. It looks just as beautiful today.

The last three are (r-l) John Williams' Lady in Red (then owned by Chris Pinchbeck). The middle car later became TJI 6358 and was the prototype. The black car with white seats is (I think) FKY 583V which belonged to Roger Gleadhall who used to edit the Carisma magazine (I've never seen a copy - help anyone!)

New dash for Carisma - Part Three

It's been pretty traumatic and whilst the job is not perfect it is a major improvement over the earlier efforts. For those attempting a similar job, here are a few words of caution.

1. Cutting the holes is tricky as those adjustable hole cutters are not as accurate as you might expect and if you have a blade break, as I did, you can ruin the whole thing.

2. With hindsight I would have worked with some marine ply and used a real veneer on top, not a walnut finished blank.

3. As it turned out I had to use a veneer. I chose a burr walnut and used evo stik resin w glue. I think I was a touch over generous as the glue bled through parts of the veneer. With hindsight I think I would have chosen roll-on self adhesive double-sided film. This would have made the job simpler but would probably have created other issues, who knows?

4. I chose to use International yacht varnish and a good quality varnish brush but still had bristle problems so I tried paint pads but without great success.

After about 20 attempts I bought a set of 3 foam brushes (about £1.50) on recommendation from my local paint trade centre (Manders) and immediately the work was transformed.

5. I also invested in a pack of 'tacky rags' and it is amazing how much muck they pick up from the surface.

I have now discovered that the holes for my push buttons (starter and screen wash) are about 1mm too wide for the new stainless buttons I had bought from ebay to replacemy originals which seemed a little dull. There is hardly any extra overhang on the body to locate on the front surface of the dash so I am going to have to either find oversize chrome washers or fit nuts front and back. Either way I will need to rout the back a little as there is precious little thread to spare. Hey ho!

Whilst I have offered it up in the cockpit, I haven't fitted it. Its predecessor was screwed on which looked awful so I should bond it in place with glass fibre strips as suggested in the build manual. I am tempted to use 'hard as nails' double-sided tape to fix it in place then use the glass fibre strips as a belt and braces solution.

Any thoughts?

Carisma Centuries at Stoneleigh

Here are a couple of pics of a Carisma Club gathering at Stoneleigh a few years ago. It's difficult to identify individual cars although the nice black car in the foreground of the first picture is described as being Midnight Blue (a possible colour option for 'Carrie'). If I'm correct, this car belonged to Messrs Manley and Andrews of Rugby - also on the 'missing' register. The other car which appears to be black in the second picture could well be Roger Gleadhall's car FKY 583V. I've heard that Roger retired to Spain but I don't know if the car did. Can anyone help? It seems that several of the club's stalwarts moved to Spain along with the former Club Secretary Ted Legg. It may be that there is a 'coven' of 'Carries' on the Costas. Certainly the club membership had one Miguel Casado Villen of Madrid as a member though he has not responded to my letter.

In the foreground of the second picture you can see 'Lady Anne' (currently on offer for a very modest £7250 at Car and Classic UK - see earlier post). The red car with either black or blue wings could be the mystery car (see earlier post re. Sandown) that may have belonged to Ted Legg

(I'm sure he would have been there and probably brought the banner!). If anyone is able to help unravel these conundrums I would love to hear from you on ocheye@mac.com

SS100 Replica on EBay!

I'm always excited when I see an ad like this for an SS100 replica for sale in the UK http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/jaguar-ss100-replica_W0QQitemZ190347371404QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item2c5196638c#ht_500wt_1182 but don't build your hopes up. It is not quite as it seems although it does have a Jag engine (unlike most SS100 replicas).

If you happen to live in Canada this "Antiques and Collectible Autos of Buffalo" kit may be of more interest despite its VW engine http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Replica-Kit-Makes-JAGUAR-SS100-SS100_W0QQitemZ160374366783QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item25570ea23f#ht_500wt_1182

For those of you surfing the web to find the car of your dreams, it may be of interest to note that a search on ebay for 'SS100' can yield a different set of results to a search for 'SS 100'

Carisma prototype

This car is, I think, the very first ever Carisma Century. It was built from a kit by John Bews who was so anxious to receive the kit it did not get a 'number one' chassis plate.

CFD994T later came into the ownership of Michael English who has sent me a number of pictures and a huge amount of fascinating background information and advice.

I love the rear wheel mounting arrangement and Michael's clever use of a brass candle stick to mount the rear fog light centrally on the wheel. I also love the period steering wheel.

Michael has a great eye for attention to detail in particular his

use of custom made stainless flat-head socket bolts for mounting the splined hubs which previously used nuts causing the wheels to bind.

Registration was changed to TJI 6358 and she eventually went to Belgium via Total Head Turners who I believe resprayed her silver. I'd love to know where she is now

New Zealand Swallow

Many thanks to John Williams who kindly sent me some great pics of a New Zealand built SS 100 Replica http://www.sportscars.co.nz/dotcosite/swallow.html. It was available with a variety of power plants including the Nissan 280Z and a Buick V6 (wow) and looks rather nice too. Sadly the kit is out of production although they do still produce an MG TD replica.

New dash for Carisma - Part Two

Phase 2 is well under way.

After a few disasters the new dash is taking shape. The surface has been rubbed down more than I care to think about and I'll have to watch that the veneer doesn't get too thin. I had a lot of problems with glue bleeding through the veneer and holes appearing mysteriously. Every time I filled them the filler either seemed to swell or to dip. I've now accepted that absolute perfection is probably not an option and that the natural flaws in the walnut are the features that make it interesting. It still needs to be lightly rubbed down (600 grade I reckon) and re-varnished another couple of times (I'm using a paint pad rather than a brush now and getting better results). I've got to allow 24 hrs between coats and it is frustrating resisting the temptation to tinker with it. I'll get another pic prior to installation.

Lady Anne reappears

I have just received a splendid picture of 'Lady Anne" from Terry Bevis (many thanks). I must say she now has a magnificent pair of chromed horns and looks to be in fine fettle. That is a lovely colour combination and appears to be a really good paint job. That is on this winters agenda for my car but I am still undecided on the colour scheme. Wondering about Midnight Blue but would welcome opinions.

New dash for Carisma - part one

.
I finally had to bite the bullet as it has been bugging me since I bought the car. My old dash was awful. Damp had set in and swollen the mdf. The proportions were all wrong too though the felt tip guide to the controls had a certain home made charm. I bought a new set of TPI instruments from the US which should be easier to calibrate with my 16" wheels. I have 3 original Carisma gauges Speedo, Fuel and Temp (which are still available to order at reasonable cost from Speedy Cables) for sale if anyone needs them and also the ones from my old dash (Smiths - see pic).

I have made a new blank and with one major disaster behind me (the blade on the hole cutter snapped off and scored the face of the expensive blank - be warned - it's always the last hole!). I have now veneered the blank and I think it's going to look ok. I used the old dash to create a rough template and I numbered and removed all the cables behind the dash to reveal a huge bird's nest of wires.

It's going to be a mission putting them back as the new dash layout is a bit different from the old one but should be worth it. If any other owners are intending doing this job themselves I can supply a paper template if they wish. It

took me ages so I might as well pass on the knowledge to someone else. The next exciting instalment will follow (hopefully fairly soon!)

Came across this if anyone fancies making their own badge!

Or this :

behindthelogo.blogspot.com

Tartan Carisma

Joe Mitchell from the north of Scotland displayed his Carisma at Forres' theme day a few years ago. Joe built the car himself and I wouldn't mind betting that it is the only tartan Carisma in the world!

Here's an interesting variation on the theme. It is a Classic Roadsters Duke with a Ford?2.3 4 cyl engine for sale on EBay in the US. The grille and the one piece bonnet will disappoint the SS 100 enthusiasts but the curved sills and suicide doors are a nice change from the norm. Have a lookhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Replica-Kit-Makes-ss-100-1939-JAGUAR-SS-REPLICA-BY-CLASSIC-ROADSTERS_W0QQitemZ170397031546QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item27ac745c7a#v4-35

Sandown 1995 - Carisma Club - Where are they now?

This shot was kindly sent in to me by Martin Miller showing the display of Carisma Centuries at Sandown in 1995. Where are they now? The following cars are I believe:

Red - Q145 GEA- whereabouts unknown
BRG - Q97 KKE - built by Martin Miller and recently bought by Neil Gowers of Kent
Black -FKY 583V - owner moved to Spain (but not the car) - whereabouts unknown
Red -CFD 994T later TJI 6358 though now painted silver and in Belgium - I think whereabouts unknown
Red - MLT 91V - whereabouts unknown
Cream/Red (custard and cream!)- Q568 NTM (maybe) This may be the car that belonged to Ted Legg the founder of the Carisma owners club (now also resident in Spain sans car!) - whereabouts unknown
Black (Midnight Blue?) - Could be FDA 108V that belonged to a Steve Manley and Lawrence Andrews of Rugby- whereabouts unknown
Red - Q821 LFL - owned by Tony Ison of Cambs
Red/Blue - Confusingly the cream/red car became Red/Blue later - I think - so I may have mixed these two up - whereabouts unknown

You can see how confusing it all is. Someone out there in the ether knows the answers and the whereabouts of the cars. I would dearly love to get them all back together - email ocheye@mac.com

Wherefore art thou Lady Anne? Apparently this car - Lady Anne - has just been offered for sale at http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C110563?pt=pf but has either been sold or withdrawn. I am trying to trace all current Carisma owners with a view to meeting up sometime. Chris, a former owner of "Lady Anne" was extremely helpful when I bought mine and sent me a load of photos illustrating how mine could look with a bit of work. I'd love to hear from Lady Anne's current owner either through this blog or by email at ocheye@mac.com.

They're not all gorgeous!

This is rather a sad looking VW rear engined SS replica. I suspect some of the panels are shared with the Carisma.

I would very much like to get a hold of a folding windscreen like that for "Carrie".

Before anyone asks, it is not for sale as the owner hopes to restore it.

1953 Jaguar SS Sports Special

Very interesting car for sale here http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-page.php/carno/74157

Riley Imp style body with XK120 chassis and mechanicals. Not really an SS copy more a distant relative though some may well claim that it is a lot closer to the real thing than many replicas. Nice though but so it should be at the price! Check it out

John's "Lady in Red" showing the rakish bonnet and headlights - lovely

Introduction

Hi

The idea for this blog came about because I discovered so many different Jaguar SS 100 'replicas' whilst searching for information on my own Carisma Century bought last year.

I would love to own a genuine Jaguar SS 100 but serious wealth seems to have eluded me and a 'replica' or something with similar looks is all I am likely to achieve. In fact, most 'replicas' started out as kits and even they were beyond my means back in the 80's and 90's when most of them were being made. Most of the companies making those kits are no longer with us or are not making them any more.

Suffolk Sportscars are one of the few survivors and are very much at the top end of the market. They have a superb product which faithfully reproduces a facsimile (at least appearancewise) of the original. Sadly they come with a hefty price tag that makes them almost as unlikely a choice for me as an original!

So a Carisma Century it was, with a 2.0 Ford Pinto engine and Cortina Mark V mechanicals. A very well used (but perhaps not so well cared-for) example came my way via EBay and is giving me huge amounts of pleasure.

From the old boy who ran an 'identical' one just after petrol rationing, to white van man "nice motor pal", to waves from children and even to the little boy in our street who after several admiring comments asked if I was perhaps a little mad (amazing perspicacity) it has been a pure pleasure to own.

Yes, I know it's not practical, I know it needs a lot of work, it's even got a dreaded 'Q" plate but I don't care. The fun element outweighs all the downsides and I doubt whether I would have had any more 'fun' with the genuine article. I certainly wouldn't have told the two little boys posing for their mum next to the car to "hop in and pretend to be driving if it had been an original or even a Suffolk.

Based as I am in Cumbria (UK) I don't run into fellow owners everyday but would love to hear from any.