History of 127/206
My car is one for the first FF Mk IIs, built early in 1970. Luckily it was fitted with the E series HC 383 engine, so it was also a relatively quick car in those days. I believe the original owner was a motoring journalist; the ownership trail is then a bit hazy, but at some stage 127/206 was acquired by Norman Long, who was the Parts/Service manager at Cropredy Bridge. The car clearly liked its new owner, as Norman famously kept it in concours condition, and indeed it won many such competitions. Norman had many of the engine parts and ancillaries chrome-plated, which may have looked good, but ensured that the correct spanner would not quite fit unless well-worn!
The car was then sold to Norman Wheat, who lives in Leeds. Norman must have driven the car quite hard and long, as its history file at that time shows various tests that Norman undertook with it, and one note records that he was thinking if fitting a supercharger to it – more power was evidently desired. Norman also has a Lotus Super 7 for hill climb competitions, so he clearly enjoyed his time with 127/206.
But time passed, and the car became unused, sitting in Norman’s electronics factory in air conditioned splendour. And that’s where I found it in 2004 with the help of Dave Barnett. I had been looking for an Interceptor to buy, and had looked at several. Unhappily one prospective purchase even ended up in a successful court action to retrieve my deposit from a rather unscrupulous Jensen “dealer” located near March.
The car was bought with Dave’s advice (despite no MoT!) and then trailered down to his house for re-commissioning and MoT. After that, I ran it for about a year before accepting that the car did indeed need some money spending on it – in reality the car superficially looked in far better condition than it actually was. So, off to Cropredy Bridge it went in 2005, resulting in a large (but fair) bill for work that included replacing both chassis tubes, which were quite rotten..........
After that expense, I drove the car quite a bit, but gradually came to accept that, at 40 years old, anything that hadn’t already been replaced probably needed replacing quite urgently. First to be dealt with was the bodywork, so the car went to C&H Autos in 2007 for a complete repaint, where Colin did a splendid job (his workmanship is truly quite extraordinary, and his prices very reasonable indeed).and I had certain bits of chrome replated too. After much debate we’d chose to have the car repainted in it original white, bit a slightly different shade with a tinge of blue in it. As Colin said when I rang him to ask him how it looked, he said “just like a fridge!” and the car acquired a new nickname from then on.
But, the engine and transmission had both been dribbling ever since 2004 (don’t we all as we get older?) and similarly wasn’t quite as hairy chested as in its youth...... So, rebuilding of the engine and transmission was the next priority. I finally ended up talking the car to John Sleath Racing Ltd.; John’s business is based on modifying engines (especially American V8s), notably for the drag racing fraternity. After much discussion and research, I ended up with a stroked and bored engine with a Pro-form carb, and an upgraded transmission, and 475bhp/581lb ft on John’s dyno.
Not surprisingly, 127/206 certainly now went very well indeed (Dave Newby took a short trip in it at the time and exclaimed “bloody hell!”) but it had a matching thirst as well. And it also ran hot, which exacerbated a tendency to pink at high revs.............
So, in 2009 I took the plunge by getting John to fit EFI (the F.A.S.T. system) which reduced the thirst, but gave rise to a whole lot of new problems with blocked fuel filters, new petrol tanks, and – it still ran hot!
Since then, I have spent most of my time trying to get the engine to run cooler. I already had a Cropredy Supapack radiator, so up rated Bosch fans were fitted. The engine still ran hot. I then fitted a new purpose=-built aluminium radiator and Spal fans – and the engine still ran hot. I then fitted even bigger Spal fans and a cold air induction system – and the engine still ran hot. I’d tried everything, from Water Wetter to high flow thermostats, different temperature sensors, etc. and it still ran hot.............
Last winter one of my sons came across a Dodge Charger forum where the guys had been struggling too with their Chrysler engine running hot. It’s really worth a magazine article in itself, but on their recommendation I fitted a high flow Milodon water pump and thermostats and – PROBLEM GONE!!!! So now, at long, long last, I’m able to drive the car in heavy traffic without anxiously watching the temperature gauge all the time. Happy days indeed
And that’s about the end of the car’s history to date. Future plans include doing something with those rear leaf springs – do I get them replaced, re-tempered, or fit coil over shocks? I also want to up rate the brakes, which will mean fitting larger 17” wheels so I can get space for 6-pot callipers; I’ve finally found a firm who can supply 17” Rostyle type wheels, but have yet to check the offset etc to see if they’ll fit the FF hub [Zac – they won’t].
Watch this space!
Paul Strange.
