Friday, 23 May 2014

1965 Jaguar S type front wings for sale

I have held on to these for some thirty years as a sensible back up to my own 1966 Jaguar 3.8ltr S type and ever needing them in case of an accident?


I have both left and right wings, front bonnet and rear boot, plus a 3.8 ltr Jaguar cylinder head!

Contact me for details.

Roy

Not new by any means but in great shape with no serious rusting.


Even the original black vinyl is good.



Does this bonnet also fit the Jaguar Mk2?


Rear passenger door glass frame and original trims to the front and rear windscreens.
Originals!

All parts are in great shape and no heavy rust, shipping world wide is not a problem.

Roy

Thursday, 22 May 2014

ERA 1966 classic S type Jaguar

Where are they now?

Looks like they are just North of Namibia's Walvis Baai?


Click on the image to get a real feel of just how many miles they have done and in just 21 days, with just 4 to go the trip is nearly over.

The zig zag at the lower end of South Africa was due to a test drive from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and back to Cape Town to test the new engine rebuild we ordered.

That went well and they have now gone from the South Atlantic Ocean, up to Victoria Falls, Etosha Pan and then back to the South Atlantic coast today.

Easy?

I bet not!

Roy

Check this link to view the car before the new owners took the car over.

http://ckdboats.blogspot.com/2014/05/era-rally-update.html

A reader of my blog has sent a comment by email.

 
Comment from Alex Notman (Notty)
 
Having been to most of those countries, up to the Vic. Falls, Wankie and the Matopas in the 60's, towing a caravan on strip roads when Ian Smith ruled then as far north as Gross Barmen in South West Africa as Namibia was then called, I can appreciate the trip being done in a classic Jaguar more suitable to modern highways than bundu bashing?
 
It's a hell of a trip for such a car and that is a tribute to the original builders but more so to the owners who cared for and prepared the car in its latter years and that includes Roy, Clive and the engine/car re-building companies they selected. It is a shame that the oil pump failure let it down for part of the journey but that could happen on even a new car. 
 
Its also a tribute to the new owners who could just as easily have selected a Range Rover a Defender or Land Cruiser all of which would have been more suitable for such a trip, though the Defender would not have offered the luxury of the Jag. So, well done chaps.
 

Notty

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

The first Hillman Imp

Having sent a picture of a Hillman Imp in a museum to a friend, his comment was that its nice to see that the car has been recognised.

It gets better than that really as the first car made to the Hillman Imp design is still in existance and also in a museum.


Above  is a later Hillman Imp deluxe


The original Mk1 and first Imp built in the Glasgow Motor Museum. I am assuming we are discounting pre production cars? many of which were damaged in testing and often by the Rootes Car Co, apprentices!

The original car, I read last year that the man who spray painted this car was still alive, given that the car was fifty years old last year I would like to think he still is with us now?


http://www.imps4ever.info/algemeen/history.html

Roy

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

The Bombaloza rowing scull

We are back on track with this South African design, I spoke to Dave Hartwanger the designer just yesterday and he tells me that the original plans and builders guide book has been expanded from the original 20 pages to a whopping 43 pages!


Dave can offer the plans at only R500 plus the kit can be bought from CKD Boats cc with a local boat builder who will assemble and finish the kit for you.


The boats first outing.

Contact me for details.

Roy
 

Monday, 19 May 2014

Wood contruction mast building glues?


This subject has just cropped up again, you can of course use whatever you want but given the choice I will stay with the phenolic glue each and every time.

Machine works on our spindle with purpose made cutters to make the Birdsmouth section correctly.


Some of the large range of specialist cutters we have.

Our German made spindle, its quite clever as it can run on 220v and 360v, the spindle can be raised or lowered and I think we can even change its direction?


http://ckdboats.blogspot.com/2013/10/wooden-mast-building-glues.html

 
The Birdsmouth mast in sections.

Roy

This is what the well known wood/epoxy boat designer thinks on the subject.
With regard to which glue to use, many builders have moved over to epoxy because they think that it is the ultimate in glues. That is not the case, however. Epoxy works well most of the time but there are applications that phenolic or resorcinol glues are a better choice. I have a few words about glue selection on my website athttp://dixdesign.com/FAQwood.htm . Additional to that info, epoxy can lose its grip on wood that is saturated with water. In contrast, the bond of resorcinol increases if the wood becomes wet. Resorcinol is my choice whenever practical for bonding important items and I prefer to keep epoxy for coatings and items that are not unlikely to become wet.

Regards,


Dudley Dix
Dudley Dix Yacht Design
1340-1272 N Great Neck Rd #343
Virginia Beach, VA 23454, USA
Tel (757)962-9273  Fax (888)505-6820
Email dudley@dixdesign.com
Website http://dixdesign.com/
http://dixdesign.com/FAQwood.htm

Sunday, 18 May 2014

Boat kit jigsaw joints

The Didi Mini Transat Mk3 we have just cut for a client in Dubai has the jigsaw joints as provided by Dix Design and in the CNC cut files.

 

Check on the right hand side, the picture will enlarge if you click on it.
These joints speed up assembly and mean you will not now have to do a traditional scarph joint
as in previous kits.

 
These panels now just click together, saving hours of time.
 
 
More Jigsaw panels, this is what makes a Didi Mini Transat Mk3 plywood kit from CKD Boats cc, we are packing it next week, in a purpose made 16mm plain chipboard crate.
 

Jigsaw Joints, how easy is this?

Very, just add glue to both panels and click them together!

Roy
 

Saturday, 17 May 2014

ERA rally update

So where has our 1966 Jaguar 3.8 ltr S type got to you may wonder?

( monday afternoon, 19th of May 2014) they are now at the Etosha Pan in Namibia, tommorrow is a lay day?

Now this is a heck of a long way from Cape Town and on day 17 they still have a long way to go before they return and through Namibia!

Roy

My thanks to Wikipedia for the information below.


My last fill up of LRP (lead replacement petrol) was done in our village of Hout Bay and on the way to Cape Towns, Salt River to hand the car over, look where the car is now!

Sunday, 18th May 2014, they have now crossed into Namibia and can be found in the Caprivi Strip town of Mukwe, thats quite some drive out of Botswana.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Map of the delta

NASA view of Okavango Delta, with national borders added.

Typical region in the Okavango Delta, with free canals and lakes, swamps and islands
The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Grassland) in Botswana is a very large inland delta formed where the Okavango Riverreaches a tectonic trough in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari. All the water reaching the Delta is ultimately evaporated and transpired, and does not flow into any sea or ocean. Each year approximately 11 cubic kilometres of water spreads over the 6,000-15,000 km² area. Some flood-waters drain into Lake Ngami.[1] The Moremi Game Reserve, aNational Park, is on the eastern side of the Delta. This statistical significance helped the Okavango Delta secure a position as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, which were officially declared on February 11, 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania.[2]
The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that mostly dried up by the early Holocene. Although the Okavango Delta is widely believed to be the world's largest inland delta, it is not. In Africa alone there are two larger similar geological features: the Sudd on the Nile in South Sudan, and the Inner Niger Delta in Mali.[3]

Friday, 16 May 2014

Looking for a Hillman Imp or similar?

I am looking for a new Imp project to follow the one I am working on now.

Do you know of a Hillman Imp or one of its re branded names anywhere in the Western Cape area of South Africa. Other areas considered but transport may be expensive?

For sale or trade and in a better condition than this GPO phone box.



What can I say, the car needs a little work I know but with panels now re manufactured we can fix most things!
We have doors and a roof in stock anyway. Roy

The Hillman Imp Motor Car launch magazines

Back in 1963 it was very rare for a car magazine to make a new car the main subject of most of the issue.

Sporting Motorist did just that, it was the May 1963 issue and at just three Shillings a good price.

I have that magazine here, as I do the Autocar May 1963 issue.


The cars and the magazines are now fifty (50) years old, Autocar still exists, I wonder does Sporting Motorist?

The Imps still of course still exist and I drive mine as many times each week as is possible!

How easy can that be?

Roy


This was a third British magazine doing a front page story on the Hillman Imp, there were also French and Dutch magazines doing the same thing, looks like Rootes we good at promotions. This issue I do not have , does anyone have one for me I wonder?



Such was the excitement and press coverage that Rootes covered an entire car with them!



Wednesday, 14 May 2014

Spray dodger roof cover

This may happen for a client who has his spray dodger in place already, we supplied the bending plywood for that construction and now the owner asks about making an extension over the cockpit and steering position?


For that application  we can supply the builders jig off the normal hard dodgers kit, plus the plywoods and epoxy. The roof becomes a light weight plywood section, with very light 8mm  Superform bending plywood in as a core and okoume 4mm marine ply on both faces, when bonded together with thin laminating epoxy, a stiff but strong roof section is the result.

Roy

Sunday, 11 May 2014

Packing our kits for export

We have now been selling computer cut boat kits around twelve years, enquiries and orders being recieved from around the world we had to ensure that these valued orders arrived at their destination intact and undamaged.


This was a Cape Henry 21 kit we shipped to Seattle in the USA, note the heavy steel drop keel plate, we used various off cuts of material to hold it in place before closing the packing crate off and then steel band strapping it.


With a Didi Mini Transat Mk3 ready for shipping, we will be packing that next week in a similar manner.

More information here at this link

 http://ckdboats.blogspot.com/2012/07/packing-cape-henry-21-drop-keel-plate.html

Roy

Saturday, 10 May 2014

Didi Mini Transat kit to Dubai

This kit adds yet another export country to the growing list we have already supplied.


Backbone frames cut from 12mm thick okoume marine plywood to BS1088 grade.


Perfectly crafted and as designed by Dudley Dix.


Hull or deck panels, note the jigsaw joints which will really speed up your assembly time.


This is the amount of plywood we CNC cut to make up the boats full kit, there are also some sheets of 4mm okoume plywood which becomes the boats moulded radius.

How easy can this be? well I have myself built two of these boat hulls from our kits in 12 days each.

Simple, yes.

Roy

See what Dudley Dix has to say about our kit supply here http://dudleydix.blogspot.com/


Monday, 5 May 2014

Making your drop keel or rudder

This has been an addition to the CNC cutting of the normal boat kit side.

Shaping a rudder or foil by hand can be quite time consuming, so we offer a laminated timber blank CNC shaped to the correct profile every 50mm, its then an easy job to chop the excess wood out and arrive at the correct shape required.

http://ckdboats.blogspot.com/2009/02/keel-and-rudder-foil-manufacture.html


How easy can this be, just look at the time we save you!

This is the drop keel from a Didi Mini Transat Cruise which we shipped to Australia.

Other designs are also possible.

Roy

Sunday, 4 May 2014

ERA Africa rally

The Jaguar we owned for around thirty one years is an entry in this years rally, by all accounts the car went well on its shake down drive to Port Elizabeth and back to Cape Town.

The rally started at the Cape Grace Hotel, V and A Waterfront, Cape Town at 8am on May 2nd.

This was the basis of the cars preparation for its new owner who was flying in with his wife from Australia.

Greg and Jenny bought the car unseen and on the basis of a phone call. The car is a 1966 Jaguar S type which I restored over the years, it has won the Jaguar Car Club concour' s event five times in its class.



The nice Motolita  wood rim wheel was removed and replaced with the correct and much stronger original Jaguar steering wheel!

This is the route 

http://www.endurorally.com/pages/5th-classic-safari-challenge-2014-route

Twenty six days of rally driving in classic cars,the cost? GBP 24,000 (Rands 430,000?)  for this years entry which was sold out, the next event may be in 2017?

 This is the car.http://kenwal.wix.com/glomads



To take a fine car like this and prepare it for a 26 day rally around Southern Africa is not a low cost item, we can search out and prepare similar cars and of other makes, you will still find this option less expensive than preparing your own car and shipping it to South Africa?

Roy

17th April 2014, the news is they are now in Botswana!


Friday, 2 May 2014

The DS15 racer sail boat in South Africa

We have just been asked to supply a DS15 sail boat kit.


http://www.dixdesign.com/DS15.htm

The difference with this kit order is that it will be built here in South Africa, so from a kit a new class will soon start.

This design started as a 16ft bigger sister to the Paper Jet. It was to be of similar concept but a twin trapeze skiff for two adults. When he told me that he also planned to use it as a picnic boat for four adults with cooler boxes, I told him that the Paper Jet concept really had no chance to serve all of his requirements. The concept immediately changed to what you see in the Didi Sport 15, as a ballasted sportboat.


The Didi Sport 15 design started a few years ago and has been moving along very slowly, at the pace of the prototype that is being built by a very meticulous builder. He is making a beautiful job of his new boat, hence the slow rate of building.

The Didi Sport 15 hull is a little sister to the Didi Mini Mk3 and a direct development from it. It has the waterline beam and stability to serve the picnic purpose that the builder wants, able to carry load in a relatively docile manner if reefed down to suit the breeze of the time. In this mode she is really a sportboat with a modern and powerful rig that can be reduced to be more docile if needed. With her full rig of squaretop mainsail, self-tacking jib and asymetrical spinnaker on a retractable bowsprit and launched from a chute, she will be a spirited racer for club Olympic triangle and point-to-point racing. Or just blast back-and-forth across the bay or lake until you wear yourself out from fun and excitement.


This DS15 was built from a kit.

She has a covered foredeck above a sealed rapid-draining wet deck, which creates a safe and dry storage area and shelter for small crew. These characteristics make her a good option for raid-type racing events that require carrying one's own stores, camping equipment etc over long distances between camping stops. Hanging a tarp or the mainsail over the boom turns her into a camp cruiser, with a cockpit long and wide enough for a couple of airbeds for a comfortable night anchored or nudged up onto the beach in a sheltered private cove.

But this boat is schitzophrenic, it has a very different alternative personality for those who want to have some high-performance fun. Remove the ballast bulb from the daggerboard and she morphs to what I originally intended with this design. She becomes a high performance skiff with one or two trapezes for adults.

Construction is over permanent bulkheads and a ladder-frame backbone, with stringers. Most of the hull is 6mm sheet plywood, the exception being the radius area that is done with two layers of 3mm. The topside chine uses a stitch-&-glue joint and increases the power from the stern when power-reaching. The deck and cockpit are all 6mm sheet plywood using stitch-&-glue detailing.

All information is from the designers web site.

Roy