<![CDATA[Catz Auto Restoration - Projects]]>Thu, 10 Oct 2024 05:20:06 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[1936 Jaguar SS 100 2.5 litre. Part One]]>Fri, 15 May 2015 18:38:27 GMThttps://www.catzauto.com/projects/1936-jaguar-ss-100-25-litre-part-oneAbout the SS100 2.5 litre
​The SS Jaguar 100 is a British 2-seat sports car built between 1936 and 1940 by SS Cars Ltd of Coventry, England.

The '100' was so named to reflect the theoretical 100 mph maximum speed of the vehicle. In common with many products of the thirties, the adoption of an animal name was deemed appropriate, and once approved by Sir William Lyons the name "Jaguar" was given to a new saloon car in 1936, and from that point to all the cars.
It was on an SS100 that the famous Jaguar 'leaper' was first prominently displayed, despite an inauspicious start. In mid 1936 the first version of the Jaguar vehicle mascot was apparently described by the founder of the company as "looking like a cat shot off a fence". A later publicity photograph of the new Model 100 "Jaguar" (registration mark CKV 250) parked outside the offices of SS Cars Ltd in early 1937 shows a revised Jaguar 'leaper' mascot mounted on he radiator cap. It is this more stylised 'leaper' that became the basis for subsequent mascots and the trade mark for Jaguar Cars Ltd that has been used to the present day.
Following the Second World War, because of the Nazi connotations then attached to the initials "SS", the company was renamed Jaguar in 1945.  Widely considered to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing Jaguar cars it is also one of the rarest, with only 198 of the 2.5-litre and 116 of the 3.5-litre models being made. Most stayed on the home market but 49 were exported. 

 About CAK497 Chassis #49027 Engine #L1021E

Every Jaguar received a license plate that because matched to the car for life.  This plate number CAK497 was attached to this one, of the 198, 2.5-litre Jaguars that made it to the United States.  It was purchased August of 2012 from a dentist in North Carolina.  We brought it to our facility and began the restoration process in the Spring of 2013.

1939 Jaguar SS100 for a client in Switzerland. The car was disassembled and boxed 30 years ago, and it needs a total restoration. The owner has had the car for close to 35 years. He purchased the car from RM Restoration where it was supposed to be restored for a client that was going to take it to Pebble.  We'll be posting more as a we complete various part of the car.
]]><![CDATA[1959 Talbot Lago Coupe America chassis #0001 out of 5]]>Wed, 01 Oct 2014 18:10:47 GMThttps://www.catzauto.com/projects/1959-talbot-lago-coupe-america-chassis-0001-out-of-5Here's our restoration process for the 1959 Talbot Lago Coupe America.

Our Restoration

Talbot Lago America History
When received the car we began by disassembling  and documenting all of the component parts and assemblies. We began work on the body
We also began the chassis work...
The Engine and Transmission required a comprehensive rebuild
And,of course, the interior needed to be completely removed and restored.
Talbot-Lago returned to building exotic cars for the street, but never enough of them to ever be more than a step or two away from the brink.

The engine developed for the car by Talbot proved unacceptably fragile. Lacking the resources to engineer the necessary improvements, for 1957 Talbot-Lago  had to resort to buying in an engine. They chose the V8 2580 cc light-metal unit made available by BMW, albeit with the bore diameter slightly reduced, to 72.5 mm, which gave rise to a 2476 cc engine displacement, positioning the car (just) within the 14CV car tax band. Reflecting the company's export plans, Talbot now rebranded the car as the "Talbot Lago America" and (finally) came into line with other French automakers by placing the driver on the left side of the car. Market response remained lukewarm, however, and only about a dozen of the BMW-powered Talbot Lago Americas were produced. It was now, in the early summer of 1958, that Tony Lago decided to accept an offer from Simca president, Henri Pigozzi, for the sale of the Talbot brand to Simca. The sale of the business went ahead in 1959.

With the sale of the business to Simca, the new owners found themselves with the final handful of the Talbot Lago Americas, which were still awaiting engines. There was now no question of Simca being permitted, or wishing, to produce cars with BMW engines, and the only solution available was to fit the last batch of cars with Simca's own high performance 2351 cc V8. This engine had its roots in 1930s Detroit, and was originally provided by Ford to give the (then) Ford Vedette produced by their French subsidiary a flavor of the driving experience offered by an unstressed US style V8 with a second carburetor produced 125 horsepower. Claimed top speed was now 165 km/h (103 mph). In addition to installing their V8 engine, Simca replaced the laterally sliding windows in the doors of the final cars which now wound down into the door in the conventional manner: the change also involved adding front quarter lights / quarter windows at the front end of each door.

At the 1959 Paris Motor Show a stand had been booked for what was by now the Simca-Talbot brand. The Simca-engined cars, still bearing a list price in excess of 2,000,000 Francs, proved hard to sell, with just six of the Simca-powered car sold according to one source. No further cars were produced once the final batch of cars from the Talbot production era, having received their Simca engines and window modifications, had been disposed of.

 

This car, chassis 15-0001, was the car at the 1959 Paris Auto Show as the photograph depicts. This car was purchased by an American engineer by the name of Everett Dean, who has since past away. We found this car parked in the rear of his house where just the body sat on a boat trailer. The chassis and other parts were stored in the garage of that house. Unfortunately the car sat out for many years and the lower section was rusted away. We purchased this “box of car” project with the intent of just loosely assembling it and resell. It wasn’t until we found out about its past that we decided to take on the task of restoring it to Concour standards. We then found out that Mr. Dean was the original owner who bought it off the 1959 Paris Auto show floor. We have documentation and the original license plate dated to 1959.  The “box of car” came with the matching numbers Simca V8 engine, along with the Pont-à-Mousson high performance transmission and rear differential which were also matching numbers. This car received extensive body restoration to exact detail. The car carries every original part, all being stamped “Made in France” and painted the original color “Bleu Orion” with the same color tan interior. Each stitch of the interior, each panel, each mechanical item was returned to its former glory and not “over restored”. To our understanding this car is exactly all original according to the Talbot Club of France which provided us with a copy of the original build sheet. This car is chassis #001 out of only 5 produced. This car is in its final assembly and due to be out Spring of 2015.

 
]]><![CDATA[Unrestored Roadster: 1936 Fiat 508 Balilla 4M Spyder]]>Wed, 16 Apr 2014 13:42:19 GMThttps://www.catzauto.com/projects/unrestored-roadster-1936-fiat-508-balilla-4m-spyder
This 1936 Fiat 508 Balilla 4M Spyder is described as 1 of 12 thought left to exist, and one of only three built in Italy instead of France and Poland where Fiat licensed the bulk of production. 

The car was parked in 1979 after a blown head gasket was found, and was resurrected and sorted mechanically at Catz.  It runs and drives fine but remains unrestored.

The body wears black paint that is believed to have been applied in the 1950′s, and, from a bit of scratched paint in an inconspicuous location, shows it may have originally worn royal blue paint with black fenders and tan interior. There is surface  rust on the car, although the underside also has a good amount of surface oxidation.
The interior is covered by a tan colored top that may be the original, and the frame mechanisms appear to be functional. The upholstery on the bench seat appears to have held up moderately well, while the floorboards look worn but intact. The gauges and hardware look a little tired after almost 80 years, but they are complete.
"The second word on the grille is Weber as in Weber carburetor.

The 1930 t0 1933 were an older dated version. The 1934 to 37 model years ran the “new” body/grille, more HP 32 I think, and the new Weber carb instead of the tractor carb.

This model was also produced in France and Poland, the differences being the bumpers and lighting to conform with their laws and the side grill styling, wheels and some of the badging were different. Fore instance the Polish badge on the front grill said Fiat but had wings added to it (had nothing to do with Red Bull!)" ~ Tom Zabrasky
Besides the headgasket work, the car was put back on the road with a rebuild of the Weber carb, points, plugs, and wires, and brake work that included a rebuild of the brake and slave cylinders. The engine has a gravity feed fuel system and thermosiphon cooling.
"I myself did not know the rarity of this car when I bought it. It was only after that my research found that there was little to no information on this car via the internet. I contacted the Balilla Registry in Italy and they said of the 100,000 cars that were built they only knew of 45 Italian built Balillas and that of those 45 only 3 were the Roadster. Of the Balillas out there 1I found only 1 similar to mine, it is highly incomplete with parts that are impossible to find and the asking price is $40K USD. Coupes and sedans have sold for at least that much and the Fiat Sports are in the $250K range. So this did not just come from my own ideas of what it is worth. Like they say it only costs too much if you can find another cheaper, in this case there is no “other”. ~ Tom Zabrasky
]]><![CDATA[1960 Ferrari PF Cabriolet chassis #1969]]>Wed, 18 Sep 2013 21:55:29 GMThttps://www.catzauto.com/projects/1960-ferrari-pf-cabriolet-chassis-1969
The 250GT was the most successful Ferrari of its time, production of all types exceeding 900 units, of which 200 were Series II Cabriolets. 

The Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series II was launched at the Paris Salon of 1959. The Series II was made more practical for grand touring with a more accommodating and luxurious interior and larger boot. 

The car had the latest Colombo 128F V-12 engine with outside plugs, coil valve-springs and 12-port cylinder heads that produced 240 horsepower. Other performance attributes were improved as well, since the Series II was also equipped with disc brakes, tube-type shock absorbers and a new four-speed gearbox with overdrive. 
Production started in 1959 and lasted until 1962; during this time, the Series II Cabriolet was the most expensive car in the 250 GT range. In total, 201 Series II Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolets were produced.
]]><![CDATA[Lot #961 1970 FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302 FASTBACK]]>Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:48:43 GMThttps://www.catzauto.com/projects/lot-961-1970-ford-mustang-boss-302-fastbackWe are proud to announce a record-breaking sale of a 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Fastback that we recently restored. See the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2012 auction site for official auction details. 

The previous record was $124k, the sale price was a record-setting $209k!
Details

VIN  0F02G160678
Exterior Color  CALIPSO CORAL
Interior Color  WHITE
Cylinders  8
Engine Size  302
Transmission  4-SPEED MANUAL
Description
Calypso Coral with white deluxe interior, Shaker Hood, 6-year professional restoration to original condition completed in 2011. Total body-off, dipped and rotisserie restoration. Motor rebuilt with new pistons, solid cam and valves. Rebuilt original Holly carburetor and rebuilt original transmission. All component parts are either new or rebuilt to exact factory specifications. One of 25 Boss 302's with a close ratio 4-speed transmission in Calypso Coral with white decor bucket seats. Just two miles on the motor since restoration.
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