American Spec

[ruplaw]

Hi Folks,

I am looking at possibly importing a US spec Series 1.5 Roadster into the UK from Florida. Any major differences with the twin carb model from the States, and is the value therefore affected much? Are Series 1.5 values steady or climbing, all things being equal?

Regards, ruplaw.

[christopher storey]

American spec cars are not highly sought after in the UK and thus they are marked down a good deal compared with an equivalent UK spec car , particularly if they have Strombergs as yours does. To replace these with a Euro spec 3 SU setup you must allow ?1500 to ?2000 at a minimum. However, the major drawback to US cars is that the overwhelming majority of 4.2s have the 3.54 axle, which produces only about 21.5 mph / 1000 rpm in top and thus not only makes the intermediate gears very short by UK standards, ( although very accelerative) but also makes cruising even at 70 mph busy and noisy by comparison with the 3.07 axle cars . I think both Angus ( who goes on these boards by the name 1954) and Peter Crespin have had 3.54 cars and can give you direct experience. I should also add that of all states in the USA, Florida is one of the least desirable because of the very high humidity and proximity of the sea . Corrosion may thus be a real issue

[ruplaw]

Thanks for the reply, good to get some feedback. I am hoping the corrosion issue has been sorted, as the car has been subject to a recent bare metal restoration and subsequent rust proofing.