1959 Peerless Restoration

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spitfire
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by spitfire »

Steve Simmons wrote:
I'll sell ya mine. ;)
The problem is Tiffiny and I really like our non-commute for both of our jobs.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by sub006 »

I trust you know that brand-new frames are being produced in England! However you have done a "peerless" job and likely saved a lot of pounds and shipping costs.

Google peerlesswarwickgt and find their site. Quite active. Latest news is that the heretofore unobtainable rear window glass is to be reproduced. For the first time the back windows and front windscreens will be available with electric demisting wires in the glass!

I first became aware of Peerless when I thought I spotted a silver DB5 in a neighbor's garage in Villa Park, California in the early '60s. The owner's daughter, a school classmate, set me straight that it was a '59 Peerless.

My youngest son (19) is a James Bond fan. I told him a good vintage Aston DB5 is around $150,000 and suggested he look at Peerless and Warwick. He is keen to get one, as the best examples are perhaps only about $30,000 tops in the USA.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

sub006 wrote:I trust you know that brand-new frames are being produced in England! However you have done a "peerless" job and likely saved a lot of pounds and shipping costs.

Google peerlesswarwickgt and find their site. Quite active. Latest news is that the heretofore unobtainable rear window glass is to be reproduced. For the first time the back windows and front windscreens will be available with electric demisting wires in the glass!

I first became aware of Peerless when I thought I spotted a silver DB5 in a neighbor's garage in Villa Park, California in the early '60s. The owner's daughter, a school classmate, set me straight that it was a '59 Peerless.

My youngest son (19) is a James Bond fan. I told him a good vintage Aston DB5 is around $150,000 and suggested he look at Peerless and Warwick. He is keen to get one, as the best examples are perhaps only about $30,000 tops in the USA.
Thanks for the kind words. I put an order in for a full set of new heated glass and the moment I committed the company went into receivership. I understand that the glass bucks have been rescued and I have my finger's crossed that they will be available by the time I am ready. New glass always makes for a big improvement.

Seems that these cars are either like mine (big projects) or nicely sorted and not for sale.

There is one for sale by Hyman.

http://www.hymanltd.com/search/Details. ... ordCount=1

Dean
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

I think I am just about done with the chassis welding. All the firewall metal is on. I have just the rear shock mounts to finish up and a couple reinforcing plates. As soon as the shocks arrive it is off to the blaster for a coat of epoxy primer and paint.

In this photo you can see that both of the new gas tanks arrived. Kind of looks like a 1980's enduro kart. I am sure it is just as safe:)
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This photo shows new fully adjustable door hinges. MGB hinges replace unadjustable, unstable, unacceptable poor Peerless hinges. Now that I know they fit, I'll get these cleaned up.
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Dean
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Martin Keller »

Hi Dean,

Nice job on the frame rebuild or should I say recreation of the frame.

I know how hard that can be from building a car frame from scratch.

Nice Job. :thumbs:
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by whitebuffalo »

The frame is looking nice! :thumbs:
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

I picked up the frame on Friday from Anacapa soda blasting. They also applied the primer.

I applied seam sealer to the sheet metal areas. Next step will be to spray a satin black. I picked up a nice 2K mix for the job.

Sure is nice not to have to look at all the Swiss cheese.
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And from the other angle...
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And from the side...
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Also started to reassemble the springs. Had them blasted and zinc coated. Between each leaf is a strip of 2" UHMW tape.
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That's about all I had time for this weekend. Had to get the old M5 cleaned up for Monterey.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Steve Simmons »

You're fibbing. That isn't the same frame you started with!
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Jimmy »

Steve, just because Dean actually gets something done on his cars doesn't mean he's cheating.
As usual, jealousy will get you nowhere.
In baseball, running into someone is apparently a "collision".
But doing the same thing in a car somehow makes it an "accident".
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

Made a little progress now that the chassis is back. First job was to finish up two welding jobs, that I procrastinated to the bitter end.

This photo show modifications needed to fit the W58 transmission. The gear cluster is offset to the driver's side. Widening the frame here allows it to sit in the OEM cradle.
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The second modification is to fit shock mounts to the upper frame structure. Not seen are the brackets that were welded to the DeDion tube. Shocks are from a GT6. Several Peerless owners in the UK performed this conversion from lever shocks.
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Here they are hanging from their new home.
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After painting the frame, I decided it was time to reacquaint myself with the front suspension. Good thing the front suspension is good old TR3 - turns the Moss catalog an assembly manual.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

Reassembling the front suspension went rather smoothly. I fabricated a spring compressor that threads through the shock mount and pulls the bottom plate onto the lower a-arms. Took a look at the commercial tool, but it was too hard to fork over $60 for a one beer tool. If anyone wants to borrow it... just ask.
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It's starting to look a little less like a rusty fence.
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I am almost finished with the brake system. I am waiting on a pair of flex lines and I could actually bleed the system. I wonder how many years it has been since it had brake fluid...
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This is where I am tonight. The Ron Davis radiator looks like it will fit exactly like the OEM unit. I need to finish up installing the steering box and tie rods, then it is on to hubs, wheels and tires to make it a technical "roller".
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by daysineuropa »

:bow: :bow: :bow:
Awesome job Dean. Can't wait to see this one at the Central Coast Show next year!

You are completing these far too quickly. What is the next project?
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Steve Simmons »

You do fantastic work. You put us all to shame.

I have a spring compressor that I believe would have worked for you. If you need it, let me know.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by whitebuffalo »

It looks fantastic! Almost a shame to put the body back on.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Larry Kluss »

Hard to believe this is the same rusted-out hulk you started with! The photos don't do it justice. Can't wait to see it on the road.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

Thanks to Malcolm, the Peerless TR3A engine is now like new. A tweaked cam, lighter flywheel and 89mm bores should help motivate the driving experience. Hanging off the back is a Supra 5 speed.

You can see in this photo that with the radiator and cross bar removed all we had to do was lift slightly and slide the engine in from the front.
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Well that was the initial thought anyway. It turns out that the oil pan fouls the front cross member and the bell housing hits the top of the trans opening. After a few good tries, it was clear that the trans had to be separated and mated to the engine after it was in place. It would have taken just a little frame repositioning by the factory to avoid the separation drama. I told Austin that the tight fit was due to the now bigger engine (2.3 liters vs 2.0 stock).

Here it is in it's new home.
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And a few more shots from the front/side.
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After a few more accessories are bolted on, the next step is to fabricate an mount for an air conditioning compressor. I am hoping to hide it, but I may just have to paint it black...

Dean
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by gorms68 »

Looks great Dean! Can't wait to see it on the road. :drive
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

I can report a little more progress on the Peerless. I told myself that I wasn't going to put the car together without air conditioning, so to make good on the promise, I started on the air conditioner bracket.

Fortunately I found a Peerless GT Sanden 508 adapter bracket at Pep Boys....NOT.
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Actually, I started with a generic bracket from Old Air Products and welded 40 pounds of additional attachment points so it would pick up enough of the TR3 block to stay connected.
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The good news is the compressor is pretty low and almost hidden from view. The bad news is the tiny alternator doesn't look very period correct. But for the sake of cooling, I think I can live with it for now. I'll keep the original generator and mount for the next owner...
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Next up is finding room for the evaporator and condenser.

Happy holidays,

Dean
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Steve Simmons »

Very nice! Is it the size of the generator that is a problem? If it's just power output, you can get an alternator that looks identical to the old C40 Lucas generators. They aren't cheap though, around $700 IIRC.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Larry Kluss »

HealeyBN7 wrote:I can report a little more progress on the Peerless. I told myself that I wasn't going to put the car together without air conditioning, so to make good on the promise, I started on the air conditioner bracket.
Cool!...(pun intended)
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

Steve Simmons wrote:Very nice! Is it the size of the generator that is a problem? If it's just power output, you can get an alternator that looks identical to the old C40 Lucas generators. They aren't cheap though, around $700 IIRC.
I like the look-a-like generators, but in this case size matters. It is a tight fit with the fuel bowl and manifold so close by.

I explored mounting the modern alternator low, on the reverse side and backwards, but after a couple hours of fooling with options, I lost hope as it started to feel like I was playing three dimensional chess with no board.

Perhaps a little black paint or a future heat shield will help with underhood aesthetics...or I'll keep the hood down, and my foot on the go fast pedal:)
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Steve Simmons »

It would probably be easy to make a sheet metal housing for it, painted black. That would give the appearance of a generator. Besides, you need more projects to work on, right?
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

The rainy weather last weekend removed my last bit of SU rebuild procrastination. Started with a pretty sad set of H6s.
Carbs.jpg
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Luckily the throttle shafts were tight, so I was spared the hard work. Confirms the very low mileage on the Peerless before it was set aside.

I used Eastwood's tin-zinc kit for some of the small metal parts and the phone to pick up the remaining bits from Moss. Sure is nice that they deliver so quickly, but a few items are back ordered.

Originally Peerless only hooked up the choke to the front carb as the jet lever fouled the frame. There is a press article that cites the poor cold running, no doubt do to their shortcut. Fortunately the jet levers are still available as are the linkages, so I'll see if I can get it to work properly, even if it means the rear carb jet doesn't pull down as far.

What I found funny is Peerless used the jet linkage, not as designed of course, but as the heater door pull. When my Moss linkage arrived, I knew I saw one on the box of parts. Those thrifty Brits.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

With the chassis nearing completion, as it is finally on real wheels and not HF dollies, it became clear that the body will need to get finished, or I'll have the world wide award for the most patina collected on a single vehicle.

With some help from Steve and Austin, we moved the body to Dave Wellwood's 's shop in Ventura for fitting on the chassis and final paint.

While I don't recall all the things we discussed, but I am pretty sure he said it would be ready in about a week :)

Austin put together this short video keepsake. Enjoy!



Dean

PS: And here is the videographer preparing for his driving test.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Larry Kluss »

Significant milestone, Dean. It's going to be a great car.
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