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Daimler Dart restoration

by Esmond Tearle

If I'm going to be perfectly honest, things have reached a bit of a go slow at present. I think that what with the holiday season and everything else, it was inevitable that nothing much would happen for a while. So, now is an ideal time to perhaps tell you all about the bits and pieces that have been going on behind the scenes as it were.

As with any old car restoration project, it's not always as simple as nipping down to the local car spares shop to buy the bits you need. I'm lucking with the Dart as David Manners in Birmingham, the Jaguar/Daimler spares specialist keep many of the parts I could ever want, but there are still some parts that are difficult to source. There is also the financial aspect to consider, as nothing these days is particularly cheap.

I have been busy searching for those elusive bits and pieces that I will need at some time in the future, and it's a case of grab them whilst you can. You just need to know where to look.

When I had my first Dart, I had a beautiful Moto-Lita wood rimmed steering wheel, which I foolishly let go with the car. I think that when my current Dart is all finished, a Moto-Lita will be just what is needed to add that finishing touch to the wonderful burgundy leather interior. I checked out the manufacturer website, and they are readily available but quite expensive when you think that a smart steering wheel is only of cosmetic value.

I managed to pick one up second hand. There were a few very light scratches as you would expect on the alloy spokes, and the varnish had a few chips, but generally it was very nice. I decided to spend a bit of time and see if I could improve it at all. The spokes responded well to a very light rub down with 1200 grade wet and dry paper and when the scratches had all but disappeared, I used Solvol Autosol metal polish and a sheepskin buffer on the electric drill and now the alloy is absolutely as new. The wood was rubbed right back to remove all the varnish, and I applied eight coats of satin matt clear yacht varnish, which was carefully rubbed down between coats. The end result is that I have an absolutely perfect wheel for a fraction of the cost of a new one. You would never be able to tell it wasn't brand new. I even managed to pick up the correct fitting boss attached to an as new leather rimmed wheel. The plan is to sell the leather wheel and keep the boss.

Other bits just seem to come along. I picked up a brand spanking new, in the box, Lucas chrome rear number plate lamp. The one on the car is alright, but now I have a prefect one.

I have even found a few little bits that are genuine period extras. A new, and original AA badge that has never been fitted. Also a new rubber stopper for the top of a Lucas screen wash bottle.

Other bargains include a side lamp lens which whilst only small, I believe quite a rare find. There was a set of new Lucas brake pads and many, many more things that have obviously lain hidden in the depths of people's garages for years.

It's always worth keeping a look out for those period extras that will add those finally finishing touches. I found a flexible map reading light. I have also bought a new but old stock Wipac elbow map reading light so I will have tosee which one looks best in the car.

The lovely V8 engines are prone to running a bit hot when in a build up of traffic. If the air rush isn't happening, then the gauge can be seen to creep up. I fitted a Kenlowe electric fan to my V8 saloon, and that is temperature controlled. It works very well. The car still has its original equipment dynamo and I have been caught out when the battery has drained and the dynamo is not packing much of a punch to keep it up to charge. The Dart will have a small electric fan installed to help the original fan behind the radiator. I have bought the fan and it will be wired in so it works off a switch as opposed to a thermostat. I even managed to acquire the correct period illuminated switch so it won't look at all out of place.

Does anyone remember those bonnet catches with the wire loop? The type of things that were period accessories on rally cars. I even have a pair of those still in the shrink wrap pack.

When I bought the Dart, the inner steering column had been removed as the wiring for the horn and the indicators had become brittle and had broken. It's a common fault. I managed to find a new Lucas kit with all the parts and even the wiring needed to replace the old one, so when that is done, the car will have a completely new loom as I had one made by a specialist firm.

My biggest find to date is a genuine Dart windscreen surround. It's so good it doesn't really need chroming. I found it advertised on the owners club website. I had agreed to buy it as Darts did have a tendency to let the bonnet fly up at speed if it wasn't properly adjusted and the mechanism didn't hold it well enough. The end result being that a new bonnet was needed, and the screen surround would be wrecked is it took the full force. I bought mine and then found out that a specialist who deals in Dart spares has one for sale for £650 more than mine cost! The only difference is that his one is in need of chroming. I think it's fair to say they are as rare as rocking horse dung, and the dealer knows that some poor unfortunate soul will be in desperate need of it sooner or later.

I am still after a few spares, just to add those little finishing touches. If anyone out there has an old Daimler Dart ashtray to sell, please let me know. My car came without one, and although I don't smoke, it would be a useful place to keep spare fuses or similar.

So folks, if you are restoring an old car, it figures that you will have to find some elusive items, or they may even just be useful as spares, either for you to keep hidden at the back of your own garage for years, or maybe someone will need what you have and want to do a worthwhile swop.

Hopefully next month, I will be able to report that things are happening again and that the rebuild is progressing once more.

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