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Hello new member, familiar 2003 STM Phoenix.

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2018 5:16 pm
by Ed Norton
Hi all, i used to work in the kit car industry for a fairly well known build agent and I have always wanted either a Phoenix, fury or more recently a j15. After much deliberation, I decided that I wanted a Phoenix the most and I was going to make an order with Raw later this year. But as is often the case, the wheels of fate had a different plan and after a chance encounter on a train and an is that or isn’t that Lee Champion moment, I now own Lee’s Phoenix. My plan is to give it a full rebuild as it has stood for quite a while now and then have some serious fun in it! I will need to have some help from those in the know, identifying some trashed parts, as I know they can vary quite a bit! Namely the steering tre’s, front bottom ball joints and top ball joints. :D I look forward to meeting some of you soon! Ed

Re: Hello new member, familiar 2003 STM Phoenix.

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 2:32 pm
by pigeondave
Hi,

Please tell me you're going to paint it! If you start to rub it back you'll be there for a while, its been so many different colours :lol:
I fairly sure it's bomb proof now, just drop in an R1 and away you go.

Re: Hello new member, familiar 2003 STM Phoenix.

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 4:14 pm
by Ed Norton
Haha don’t tempt me!!!! Just think of the weight savings! Not sure if you’ve seen it’s most recent colour scheme. It’s silver with a red white and blue stripe and lots of cosmetic rivets so it looks very 1960’s classic racer, which is the look I want to stick with. I will try and put some picks up if nobody’s seen it’s latest colour scheme. (When I work out how to put picks up!) But yea I know it’s an awesome car, I’ve had the new R1 in it already and had it running, but the chassis is in need of some serious tlc, so I stripped it down last weekend to the bare chassis, as I have got to do a few welding repairs because of tin worm. Then it’s off to be blasted and powder coated in a classic look grey. :D I just hope I can do the car justice with the rebuild.

Re: Hello new member, familiar 2003 STM Phoenix.

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:10 pm
by adithorp
It'll be good to see it back on the road.

Here it is in 2010 livery at the summit of the Col du Glandon...

ImageTour of the Alps 2010 176 by Adrian Thorp, on Flickr

And 2011 livery at the base of the Col de Bonette...

ImageAlps trip 2011 187 by Adrian Thorp, on Flickr

Re: Hello new member, familiar 2003 STM Phoenix.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:31 am
by Ed Norton
Hi Adrian
Thanks for the photos of it, it’s great to see some of the cars History and previous adventures! It looks like it must have been a fun trip, the roads must have been an awesome drive! Yea I can’t wait to have it back on the road, It should be done by late July.

Re: Hello new member, familiar 2003 STM Phoenix.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 11:41 am
by Ed Norton
This is what she looked like before the strip down. (I hope this picture actually uploads). https://flic.kr/p/GAn9uC

Re: Hello new member, familiar 2003 STM Phoenix.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:52 pm
by adithorp
Copy and paste the BBcode from flicker...

Image0AD09511-95F6-4B5C-B68F-793AB7A3FBAB by Ed Norton, on Flickr

I like that colour. Liked the blue but wasn't keen on the green.

Which version R1 are you putting in? The 5pw as it had before or a 5vy?
While you've got the body off it might be worth putting some reinforcement ribs under the bonnet. The race weight bodywork is quite thin; One particularly warm day in Italy, when open, it started to fold/wilt across the middle (in line with the top of the arches).

Re: Hello new member, familiar 2003 STM Phoenix.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:16 pm
by pigeondave
Wasn’t the bonnet up due to the electrics drying out and making it not start. Got recovered back to damp and cold old England and started first time.

I think it turned out to be the ignition barrel or the kill switch

Re: Hello new member, familiar 2003 STM Phoenix.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:24 pm
by Ed Norton
Ah thanks for that! I shall do that in the future with pics. Yea I am completely with you about that, I wasn’t a huge fan of the green either. All the other schemes were pretty cool imo, but I loved his martini fury as well, call the green a blip in taste :lol: ! I’ve put another 5pw in it, as one was supplied with the car, but I have a spare bitsa engine to rebuild and maybe tinker with. ;) Thanks for the heads up with the bonnet, I will probably do that short term, but for the long term, I plan on making some moulds off it and then laying up some new ones out of carbon with epoxy resin (with a proper classic paint job on top) so it will be lighter and a lot less flappy.

Re: Hello new member, familiar 2003 STM Phoenix.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:36 pm
by adithorp
I've seen it done by laying nylon rope along the line you want the rib as a core and then adding glass mat over it.