Local independant needed

Paul71a · Post by **Paul71a** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:34 am

Good morning everyone, and a hapy new year to all.

This is my first post, so please be gentle! I have bought an S2 FHC and will take possession of it in a couple of weeks, once the prep work on it has been completed; I'm very excited. This is not my first classic car (I inherited my fathers Lotus 7 some years ago) but my stable at present contains an Elise S1 and a Ferrari F430. So no classic until the E type arrives. Anyhow, I'm in Winchfield in Hampshire (near Hook), and need to find a local independant specialist to do a couple of things immediately (put Electrnic Ignition in, for instance) but I'd like to find one with whom I can build a trusting and long term relationship with going forward, just as I have with my other vehicles. Having done an internet search, quite local to me I have found;

Tom Lenthall Ltd in Arbourfield
Racing Green in Alton

Does anyone have any experience and/or advice on either (please feel free to PM me if you'd prefer, or of forum rules mean you cant be open on here). If there is any other local specialist I've not found yet, please do point me in that direction. Thanks for reading my ramble, and I look forward to becoming an active member here.

Paul

malcolm · Post by **malcolm** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:10 am

Can't help I'm afraid as I'm based in Essex (where I have a great independent by the way!) but just wanted to say welcome to the forum. I'm sure someone will come along with the answer you need soon.

iani · Post by **iani** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:35 am

Another welcome here Paul, for minor tasks such as fitting electronic ignition I'd expect any garage to be able to cope, certainly one familiar with classics.

Ian

vikla · Post by **vikla** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:48 am

Paul

Welcome to the forum. I use Winspeed Motorsport, your side of Guildford - I understand the 2 partners used to be part of Racing Green. They are both out and out XK and E-type enthusiasts. http://winspeedmotorsport.com/

Paul71a · Post by **Paul71a** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 2:05 pm

Thank you to everyone for the replies and the welcome. The chaps at Winspeed are pretty local and I think I might take a visit to see them before my car arrives.

Paul

Gfhug · Post by **Gfhug** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:08 pm

Paul, welcome to the forum. I'm not far away from you, near Andover. Fairly new on the forum myself with an S2 FHC, so won't be able to offer much advice. But one point many give when fitting an electronic ignition is to keep the original distributor, on board on long trips, as an emergency back to basics replacement.

You'll see threads discussing the various electronics, if you've not read them then have a search. You may have to replace the tacho (RVC/RVI) is one possible consequence. https://www.spiyda.com/magento/index.ph ... board.html
Would it be worth just replacing the rotor to start with? This is recommended by various knowledgeable owners: http://distributordoctor.com/red-rotor-arms.html.
Maybe try out the car for a few weeks and get to know what else might need looking at?

Enjoy driving the car (that's a given!)
Geoff

bicknj · Post by **bicknj** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 4:06 pm

Hi there,

Tom at TL Jaguar has had my FHC S2 a couple of times now and on the positive side, he really knows his stuff. He is engaging and enthusiastic and restores/races his own cars as well as looking after some historic racers for other people.

He has customers who own very expensive S1s, but for the cost of a standard service, he will take you car and provide a full appraisal list of suggested fixes and improvements....in priority order. We discussed budget and timeline and he has subsequently fitted sensible upgrades to my car, making it much safer and much more enjoyable to drive.

On the negative, TL is not the cheapest outfit, after all he is enthusiastic but also obviously running a very succesful business. Also, it can take time to get your jobs done as he is very much in demand.

Worth a visit just to see some of the classics and modern race cars that are normally being worked on. Random fact, Tom appeared on the XK8 episode of Wheeler Dealers whilst suggesting upgrades to Mike Brewer and seeling him some cosmetic kit and a new SS exhaust.

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 9:21 am

bicknj wrote:Random fact, Tom appeared on the XK8 episode of Wheeler Dealers whilst suggesting upgrades to Mike Brewer and seeling him some cosmetic kit and a new SS exhaust.

The TL website is hilarious on this subject

" Staring ( sic ) rolls ( sic ) in Wheeler Dealers ... "

I hope that more care is taken with work on the cars !

rfs1957 · Post by **rfs1957** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 12:42 pm

It's the BUZZ that counts Christopher, not the content.
"Never mind the quality, feel the width."
Or the noise in this case.
Plus ca change, plus ....

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