Mini Rust Beater - Domino HT

Today's blog comes from the BMW Plant near Cowley where the current range of retro Mini's are made and where I saw this splendid little Domino HT at the recent PistonHeads Sunday Service.



The Domino's in 4 styles were Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) kit cars designed around Mini running gear and manufactured by Fibretech GRP Ltd which was taken over by Domino Composite itself renamed Composite Designs from at least 1978 to 2007 when liquidation forced the cessation of production. It would appear an wholly autonomous group DominoCars - Organisation is attempting to keep the Domino brand alive.



The HT (hard top) model seen here was the follow on from the original T top Pimlico model and is loosely based around a standard Mini though it is bereft of the standard Mini seams and gutters. It is also significantly different below the waist line with built in flared wheel arches and a flared body around the top of the road wheel line. The doors are 2/ 1/2 inches shorter than Mini doors to accommodate the higher sills needed to aid the structural integrity of the GRP body.



If your original style Mini is falling to bits with dreaded tin worm you could do worse than find a smart Domino GRP body, take of all bits of your Mini and transfer them straight on to the GRP shell including subframes, interior, windows, up to 13" wheels and off you go in your new car with parts recycled from your old one.

Hope you have enjoyed to days Glass Reinforced Plastic edition of 'Gettin a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Fit for a Sheikh - Bristol 405 Drophead

The Bristol 405 introduced in 1953 was the first Bristol to dispense with the BMW inspired grill and is unusual for having a single fog light placed in the middle.



There were two versions of the 405 this Drophead of which 43 were built and an imposing 4 door saloon of which 308 were built until production ended in 1958.



A 1971 cc / 120 cui straight six motor was exclusively tuned to produce 125 hp for the Drophead, the Saloon was given a 105 hp version of this engine. One blogger described the sound of this motor as being like 'a squadron of Lancasters'.



The first two 405 D's were strictly two seaters with fully retracting roofs, however all bar one of the remaining Dropheads had roofs that rested on the rear body work making space for rear seats. A one off 405 D was produced for Sheikh Yusuf Mohammed Al Tawil and shipped to Jeddah in 1955 painted gold with silver wheels, white wall tyres and an electro-hydraulic operated roof.



The slick action four speed gearbox of all 405's were fitted with a Laycock overdrive for high speed cruising operated by the large toggle switch to the right of the steering wheel.



The first 18 to 20 Bristol 405 Drophead chassis were sent to Abbots of Farnham where the bodywork was crafted. Abbots landed a large contract to build estate / station wagon version of the Ford Zephyr and Zodiac models and the remaining 405 D's were sent to Tickford, in Newport Pagnell, for body work to be built according to the Abbots of Farnham drawings. I am not sufficiently drenched in Bristol Cars lore to tell you where this particular body was crafted... yet.



I suspect I could get used to fresh air motoring in a vehicle fit for a Sheik that sounds like a 'squadron of Lancasters' how about you ?

Thanks to the owner of this fabulous vehicle for bringing it to the Sunday Service at the BMW Plant a couple of weeks ago.

Hope you have enjoyed today's fit for a Sheikh edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres and that you will join me again tomorrow for a Swedish tease. Don't forget to come back now !

California Dreaming - Ferrari California 2+2 Convertible

A couple of years ago I was at an airport and I noticed in the duty free area there was a Ferrari on a turntable that was a raffle prize.



I'd never seen one like it before turns out that it was a California, at £25 / $40 a pop for a ticket I passed on what may well have been my only opportunity to own a Ferrari without regret.



Allegedly the California was originally conceived as Maserati, however the economics of the project dictated that only a Ferrari badge offered any hope of a financial return on the vehicle.



Researching this blog I was surprised to find the California introduced in 2008, shares it's engine design with both ALFA Romeo and Maserati models.



Over 1,000 hours are said to have been spent in a wind tunnel perfecting the aerodynamics of the California so that it's drag coefficient is 0.32 the lowest ever achieved for any Ferrari.



I have to confess it was not until I had run a registration check on these vehicles that I had any idea of exactly which models they were and indeed they were both the same type, I thought the red one was a 612 Scaglietti !



Allegedly there is room on the back seats for two adults in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti something at 6' 2" I'd love to put to the test.



Even if I had known it comes with a front mounted 450 hp 4.3 litre 260 cui V8 engine I doubt I would have been tempted to buy a raffle ticket....



because for all the attention to detail ...



beautiful craftsmanship ....



seven speed dual clutch transmission ...



and promise of the joys of open air motoring ...



alone price of the road tax on the Ferrari California is enough to keep me on the road for a whole year in my 20 year old jalopy ... but that does not stop me from dreaming :-)

With thanks to the PistonHeads responsible for bringing these dream machines to the Sunday Service at the BMW Plant in Cowley a couple of weeks ago.

Hope you have enjoyed to days California dreaming edition of 'Gettin a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow for a look at another vehicle bearing the California name. Don't forget to come back now !

PS Should I have failed to quench your thirst for Ferrari's take a look at the new Ferrari FF with Michele Rahal over on The Drive Channel.