During the evening of 02.06.06.
Haydn Davies has returned my e’mail answering many of the questions that I had previously posed.
“I recall that you mentioned that the front and rear wings were purchased directly from Morgan. Was that the case?”
That was the original idea, but they needed to be modified. The Morgan wings bolt through from ‘top to bottom’ whereas Burlington wings bolt from ‘side to side’, so a flange had to be ‘glassed on’. What happened in reality was that I found a supplier of fibreglass wings who could produce them with the flange in the right place. I used several suppliers over the years. The guy that has the moulds now is Neil Duncan, 01938 500518 (North Wales).
“Could a straight six replace the 1296 engine?”
Ermm…I think so…I have a feeling that if you do this you may need to re-route the steering column, (the engine mounts get in the way). It’s been so long that things like that have faded from my memory. You could ask the question on the Burlington Newsgroup.
“How did you come up with the idea of moving the engine back and reversing the turrets to improve handling..etc..?”
I think it was because the Triumph engine was too far forwards to fit under the nose cone, and, to save messing about with welding up new engine mounts, I discovered that the suspension towers were identical, except for the brackets that held the engine. I also recall that other manufacturers did the same thing, (and claimed that THEY had discovered it). The problem was it was a bit too far back, and the bell housing hit the chassis. That’s why there are some spacers in to move it forwards a bit. I think this is the case on the SS, but it may be only on the arrow.
“Would you know how many SS were actually produced?”
I supplied somewhere between 100-120 kits. When I sold the business and the SS2 was developed, with doors and a higher standard of trim etc.. put the price up so much, they went bust… I think another 50 were built. There are about half a dozen on the register, but there are probably a lot more that don’t know the register exists. I am going to Venice for the summer hols, and I am visiting a man in Italy with an arrow, and maybe another one in Switzerland. Arrows got around the world more than the SS because of the fact that it was easier to build from the plans than ship out a whole kit. Having said that, I do recall at least four kits being collected then transported to France to different people.
“Is it possible to send the project a Burlington badge?”
No problem. Just stick a five pound note in the post. I’d send you one today but I’ve run out again. No, I don’t sell loads, it’s just that for every one that I cast, I get about three scrap ones. Then I burn my fingers on the molten pewter, and give up after making two or three. I’m about to make some more next week, so I’ll get one off to you as soon as they are ready.
“Would you know how many SS are still in existence?”
I’ve just looked on the register http://uk.geocities.com/burlington_register /links/him and discovered that there are 20 Burlington SS owners there (there are 48 other Burlingtons in total listed). This ‘sort of’ works out. Say there were 170 kits sold, 11.7% are listed. Say there were 500 other Burlingtons built, 9.6% are listed. It is reasonable to assume that if 50% of the cars ever built no longer exist, the 20 % would have managed to find the register.
“In your opinion where is the best place to locate parts?”
The best way to locate parts is http://www.looking4bits.com/. The quickest way to locate car parts on E’bay.
The response from Haydn has answered many of the questions that we must address during the on coming weeks. The explanation of how the wings were developed was interesting, the contact with the register must become a priority, if nothing else but to establish the existence of ‘the very first Burlington off the production line. Very soon we shall be engrossed searching for the most reliable suppliers, whether or not that is e’bay or Botany Bay, Rimmer Brothers or the Sheep Dip Brothers will be contentious. With regard to the size of engine, reversal of turrets and who exactly could claim that piece of inspiration shall stay in the domain of the anoraks.
I must confess to be somewhat personally, yet selfishly gratified to discover that there is a very strong possibility that there cannot be many SS still ‘alive’. Without appearing smugly derisive about the quality of the building instructions and DIY materials offered in the early kits it would be inconceivable to think that there could be more than a handful of cars still complete. It would be even more difficult to comprehend that there would be any actually on the road. Dovetail the uniqueness of number1 Burlington SS together with the realisation that there will not be many other ‘fruitcases’ who are likely to have the determination to rebuild a ‘flawed’ diamond, who have ready access to professional expertise and a sizeable budget to guarantee quite a special outcome, indicates that 001 should be indisputably ‘unique’.
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