AC 428 CF33 on Ultimatecarpage.com

[nikbj68]

A nice feature on CF33, seen at the 2009 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, is here:
   
   Ultimate Carpage or click pics:
   
         
   (All images, © Wouter Melissen)

[mikemall]

He must have changed the dash as it is the model immediately prior to mine and mine has the older style dash.  Or did they swap dashes on a whim between models?

[Classicus]

Hi Nik
   
   What a fantastic restoration and thanks for the great link, the world's waking up at last !! [8D] [8D]
   
   Paul [:)]

[Emmanueld]

Nice Car!
   
   Emmanuel

[cliffordl]

Having made a study of the various centre console/dash arrangements on those cars where the item is viewable on the Frua website (it was a slow day at the office!)it looks like the buyer chose the layout with switches at the top, then the option of heater/radio, with air con and (in the case of CF25) a speaker grille arranged below.
   The vertical layout is less attractive than a sloped panel for the switches - imo.
   Switches and their layout also saw some change. Last weekend I managed to get hold of all but two of the Clear Hooters rocker switches from Brian Eacott including window winder switches. He tells me the other (square shaped) version is now unobtainable. I'm still looking for the windscreen wiper switch and the main headlamps switch to replace my tired examples.
   Finally the layout and number of dials changed at some point after 1968 with the great 9 dial "aircraft-style" layout being dropped for just 7 dials which looks less appealing and no doubt led the recent reviewer to pass negative comment about the dash. Apparently the oil temp guage was dropped due to the cars problems with oil overheating that goes on to this day. After a longish run my oil can be hotter than the water!!
   
   Cliff.

[Emmanueld]

Cliff,
   
   You need to install a good oil cooler and a large capacity aluminum oil pan "et voila"! high oil temp problem solved. The Aviaid 11 quarts oil pans were original install on all Cobra MKIII-SCs', unfortunately, it won't fit the 428 because of the chassis cross member interfering with the back of the pan, I tried it!. However, the 8 quarts GT500 version works! (part number 155-55412)this is the best pan money can buy, much better than the stock 4 quarts pan.  [http://aviaid.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/ws_oilpns_bbf.html]
   Regards,
   
   Emmanuel[:)]

[Emmanueld]

Looking at these pictures, I would seriously inspect this car if it ever goes for sale! First the dash is all wrong, it is from a late model so it's not original, then the wing lip openings are completely wrong as well. I am ready to bet we are looking at a lead or Bondo queen! Buyer be aware! Also, the cold air hoses are inside the engine compartment which denotes an early model, that is correct for CF33. The last thing is: this car was restored in Italy, one more reason to be cautious!
   
   Emmanuel [:D]

[Classicus]

Interesting the front and rear wing shapes on CF 1 by comparison.... I much prefer the original shape.
   
   
   
   
   
   

[lyonheart84]

The dashboard layout must have changed about CF 45 as I have previously owned CF42 ( old style ) and CF48 ( new style ). This may have been an attempt to modernise/update the cars to interest fresh buyers or possibly due to new expected safety regulations. Certainly CF 33 has had the newer dashboard retro-fitted, perhaps an early owner had it upgraded by the factory as he thought it looked more modern, or perhaps it was 'borrowed' from a car that was converted to a Cobra. I don't personally like the offset number plate either !

[Emmanueld]

The correct shape of the wing lips is quite angular and protruding as one can see from various brochures, also my right front wing after it was stripped, had enough of the original shape left to show us what the original shape should be. Unfortunately, after a lot of patching, it gets covered with filler and the original shape disappears and the lip gets rounder, more slopping and less pro-eminent. In case of CF 33 I can't tell for sure how it was fixed. Maybe it was done right and the body man not having another car to compare it with guessed on the correct shape, which would be fine if done properly and on all four corners. But after seeing my car, I would be extra cautious before spending big money onto buying this one. As far as the instrument panel goes, I would give a lot to go back to the earlier one which is so much more pleasing to the eyes. Maybe this car suffered a fire under the dash which required a replacement! It may be documented with the AC Club if it was done by the factory. By the way, with the exception of the speedo and tach, the gauges are the original mechanical ones re-bezeled. Which means the wiring has not been updated as the later models have electrical gauges. At one point as a matter of fact, I was thinking about replacing the instrument cluster with the earlier one, using my black bezel gauges and a larger tach and speedo. But although very pleasing to the eyes, it would probably be sacrilegious to purists! The clock would remain where it is and the rest of the dash panel would remain the same. I have compared with Jeffrey 's car and it would be an easy swap!
   
   I may be going to far!
   
   Emmanuel [?]