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Originally posted by Emmanueld
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Originally posted by Jappo
I want to buy the Hurst Park car, but wasn't thinking 60K. Are these cars usable. I've heard that they get so hot they are unusable, is this true? Are there mods that can be done to cool them down, do they have air con, or can it be retro fitted?
Thanks for any help.
The AC 428 is a great car, it has some flaws, but nothing that can be overcome! The main one is the heat in the cabin, the second one is corrosion, the third one is the suspension settings. When you have addressed these, you will have one of the most exiting car of the 60s'. Great power and handling, very good brakes, an "exotic" chassis, an automobile which is very reliable and affordable to maintain because of its readily available mechanical spares and on top of the list, one of the rarest vehicle on the planet!
I am in the process of addressing "the heat in the cabin" part, I had insulated some of the firewall before but not enough and the heat was still too much!(Remember, Southern California is my home and we have deserts) Also the corrosion perforation did not help. We are now insulating the firewall completely inside and out (also the part that is in the fender well has to be done as well) , making sure almost no air can penetrate the cabin from the engine bay, on the outside, we are applying aircraft firewall insulation, on the inside, the whole cabin tar like sound deadening has been removed and will be replaced by Dynamat Extreme. //www.dynamat.com This material is great and when applied correctly will virtually eliminate heat and noise. Also, under the carpets, we also will install Koolmat which is a floor insulation used on aircrafts //www.koolmat.com. Later I plan to do some modifications to the hood trying not to disfigure it too much! This should take care of the problem! We will see! My advice is: Buy the car if its nice before prices go up too much!
I almost forgot, a manual transmission should reduce the heat quite a bit around the tunnel as well! Also the two large air ducks which travel inside the hood on the earlier cars should be relocated to the inner fender like on the later cars and insulated, otherwise, the air coming form the front is superheated and released inside the cabin like a heater!
One of these days some famous car enthusiast like Jay Leno will buy one of these cars and prices will skyrocket! Even at 60K pounds, these cars are a real bargain when one considers the performance, the breed and the chassis. Have you priced a Mustang Shelby GT 500 lately? and it is not even 1/2 the car the Frua is! Cheap mustang suspension, leaf springs, solid rear axle, drum brakes, all vinyl and plastic inside, etc. [;)]
Emmanuel
Good stuff Emmanuel - sounds like a lot of work though! Wonder how much has been done to the HurstPark car - I will go see it tomorrow.
Anyone ever fitted air con?