Scans of AC 428 Frua Articles & Ad's...

[cmaddox3]

Here is the last installment of the trio of articles I finished scanning today...
   
   From Throroughbred  and Classic Cars from September 1983:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   If you've read the conclusion of this article, you'll note that this is the first part of a two part article.  Unfortunately I do NOT have the second part...  [:(]
   
   So if anyone has a copy...  Consider this a request to scan and post, or if you would consider mailing me the magazine, I'll scan, host and post the article and return the magazine and cover postage each way.
   
   Enjoy!
   
   --   Chuck
   
   P.S.  Oh, and as always...  Larger sized scans of these pages are available here: http://home.xnet.com/~cmaddox/motorin/frua/198309_Throughbred_and_Classic_Car/

[cmaddox3]

quote:Originally posted by Classicus
   
Wow another one that was quick haven't read the first one yet! I think I'll leave it all till the morning to be on the safe side ! [:p]
   

   
   Well...  As Britney would sing: "Whoops!  I did it again!"...
   
   --  Chuck[:D]

[runt]

Very kind of you to do these Chuck; I have the Classic & Sportscar issue somewhere in the attic; saved me searching! Hadn't  ever seen the others, cheers!
   
   Best views of a Frua.. difficult, the 3/4 'overtaken' angle is great, also the full profile, the full on front 'view in the mirror' of for example Andy Shepherd's gorgeous red drophead is suitably menacing also!
   
   Paul.[:)]

[cmaddox3]

quote:Originally posted by runt
   
Very kind of you to do these Chuck; I have the Classic & Sportscar issue somewhere in the attic; saved me searching! Hadn't  ever seen the others, cheers!

   
   Well, if your attic has the second part Paul...  I'm beggin'!
   
   

quote:Originally posted by runt
   
Best views of a Frua.. difficult, the 3/4 'overtaken' angle is great, also the full profile, the full on front 'view in the mirror' of for example Andy Shepherd's gorgeous red drophead is suitably menacing also!
   
   Paul.[:)]

I can't argue with you on that...  IT's a gorgeous example of the Roadster.
   
   --  Chuck
   

[runt]

Chuck, I'll try and find that, plus..scanner has gone west; so we need a new one..[:I]
   
   Paul.[:)]

[cmaddox3]

Hello again everyone,
   
   I recently purchased these off of eBay and I thought I would share them with you all...
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Full Sized versions of these scans are available via this directory:
   http://home.xnet.com/~cmaddox/motorin/frua/ac_428_convertable_brochure/uk_price_sheet_800.jpg
   
   It seemed to be information of interest...
   
   Enjoy!
   
   --  Chuck

[Classicus]

Very interesting and important archive material as well ! Thanks Chuck ! [8D]
   
   
   
   And what a fantastic car and shot that once again definitely says it all !! However nothing against suburban housing but surely couldn't the photographer have at least stumped up the costs of a trip to Monte Carlo, or at the very minimum found some sweeping Surrey hills or woodland as a more suitable background ? ! [:0]

[runt]

Yep, this is the kind of thing I like framed and hung on the garage wall, thanks Chuck.
   
   Paul.[:)]

[cmaddox3]

Y'all are welcome.  I hope to have additional scans next week which should be of interest.
   
   --  Chuck

[cmaddox3]

This one is pretty self-explanitory...:
   
   
   
   Full sized scan lives here: http://home.xnet.com/~cmaddox/motorin/frua/Stand_127/AC_Listing_Full.jpg
   
   Enjoy!
   
   --  Chuck
   
   P.S. For what it's worth, I think there are many better color choices for the Frua than white!

[cmaddox3]

Here's the last of this weeks scans:
   
   
   It's easy to pick out the Frua if you know what to look for!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Full Sized originals are located here:
   
   http://home.xnet.com/~cmaddox/motorin/frua/19670427_Autocar/
   
   Enjoy!
   
   --  Chuck
   
   P.S. The same issue also had a nice write up on the Ford GT program.  But I ran out of time to scan that today.

[Classicus]

Great write-up on the 428 and an interesting article! Thanks Chuck goodness knows how you found this one but certainly very nostalgic for me ! [8D]
   
   Really liked the comparison between the 428 and the Sprite. My Sprite I think always in top gear as well definitely felt like a pedal car  when I went round Castle Combe circuit in my only attempt at a race ! Second from last and a huge blue haze of burnt oil in the mirror sums it up nicely ! Never knew why it smoked as it was always a very nimble and reliable rally car but at least the old man never found out !

[cmaddox3]

quote:Originally posted by Classicus
   
Great write-up on the 428 and an interesting article! Thanks Chuck goodness knows how you found this one but certainly very nostalgic for me ! [8D]

Oh! It's real easy...  I go up on eBay about three times a week and do a worldwide search on "AC Frua", "AC 428" and "AC 428 Frua" and if any magazines, ad's, brochures, or other stuff I don't have that I want, I either bid on or buy outright.  Most of the recent stuff has come direct from the UK.
   
   So I guess I probably should call "Dibs" on anything I'm bidding on so that we don't compete against one another and drive the price up, eh?

quote:Originally posted by Classicus
Really liked the comparison between the 428 and the Sprite. My Sprite I think always in top gear as well definitely felt like a pedal car  when I went round Castle Combe circuit in my only attempt at a race ! Second from last and a huge blue haze of burnt oil in the mirror sums it up nicely ! Never knew why it smoked as it was always a very nimble and reliable rally car but at least the old man never found out !

I especially liked the photo's of the MGB straining to keep all four tyres on terra firma, and the Triumph Spitfire III exhibiting a case of "Hark the Herald Axle Swings!".
   
   Cheers!
   
   --  Chuck

[Classicus]

quote:So I guess I probably should call "Dibs" on anything I'm bidding on so that we don't compete against one another and drive the price up, eh?

   Oh you're perfectly safe there as I refuse to buy anything on EBay these days !! People coming in at the very last second just when you thought it was all yours got too annoying in the end ! Still Dibs it is, if ever [:D]
   

quote:.. and the Triumph Spitfire III exhibiting a case of "Hark the Herald Axle Swings!".

   Lol never heard that one ! [:p]

[cmaddox3]

quote:Originally posted by Classicus

quote:So I guess I probably should call "Dibs" on anything I'm bidding on so that we don't compete against one another and drive the price up, eh?

Oh you're perfectly safe there as I refuse to buy anything on EBay these days !! People coming in at the very last second just when you thought it was all yours got too annoying in the end ! Still Dibs it is, if ever [:D]

I'm one of those snipers,  I find it's the only way to play.
   

quote:.. and the Triumph Spitfire III exhibiting a case of "Hark the Herald Axle Swings!".

quote:Originally posted by Classicus
   
Lol never heard that one ! [:p]
   

Well, that one I heard from my cousin Roger...  He was an MGB GT driver.  The summer of 1976 he worked along with me for my Father/Grandfathers's construction company.  I would have been 14/15 that summer.  Anyway, along the way to the restaurant where we ate lunch there was a used car lot where there was a nice condition Triumph GT6 I had taken a fancy to [seeing where I was already starting to look for potential cars when I got my driver's license the next summer].  Anyway, I mentioned it to him [probably a big mistake because he was an MG driver after all] and he related that the problem with the Triumph's [especially the GT6 and the Spitfire was that the rear suspension was borrowed from an earlier car called the Herald.  Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:
   

quote:"The only major criticism was of its rear suspension; the GT6 inherited the swing-axle system from the Spitfire, which in turn was copied from the Herald small saloon. In the saloon it was tolerated, in the little Spitfire it was not liked, and in the powerful GT6 it was heavily criticised. Triumph had done nothing to improve the system for the GT6, and the tendency to break away if the driver lifted off the power mid-corner was not helped at all by the increased weight at the front of the car. The handling was most bitterly criticised in the USA, an important export market for Triumph, where they were traditionally very strong. Similar criticism was being levelled at the Vitesse saloon, which shared both the GT6's engine and its handling problems."

   And he said [I can't remember if he was quoting a magazine review [probably] or jibe's from MG owners [possibly] or made it up himself [he was/is a very sharp customer]] that the phrase "Hark The Herald Axle Swings" was a frequent retort with folks commenting on the Triumphs so equipped.
   
   I thought it memorable.
   
   Anyway, I can't remember for the life of me what year the one on the lot was, I want to say it was a 1970, but it could just as easily been a 1971 or 1972[my cousin's MGB GT was a Gray 1972 I believe, the last year with the "pointy" tail lights which he greatly preferred to the later "blocky" lights] It may well have been a late enough model to have an upgraded suspension [which dealt successfully with the issues suffered by the earlier models...
   
   The tail end did look like this snap:
   
   And not the earlier styling as shown below...
   
   
   
   I did finally convince them to stop one day to take a look at it, and even then [By that time I had probably past my 15th birthday] the small Spitfire sized coupe was really too small for me as I was already nearly 6" tall by then and over 200 lbs. ...  A Datsun 240/260/280Z might still have been a decent fit, the MGB GT would probably been tight fit, but the Triumph was already out of the running.
   
   I still think both the MGB GT and the GT6 were handsome coupes.  I think I prefer the looks of the 2x0Z Datsuns to either, but they were handsome rides.  None are really in the same league as the Frua though.  But the Frua was out of my league [at least financially] as a teenager.
   
   --  Chuck