'71 Tourstar on CarandClassic

Yes we paid the asking price as we are useless hagglers, the young sellers were very nice and the vehicle is really great. To be honest we have no real idea about values of these vehicles as this is our first classic 'car' but £12k seemed very reasonable.... - I have more experience with classic motorbikes really (currently have three 1970s bikes - Triumph, Guzzi and Yamaha). After a bit of a checkout, Pootle seems in very good condition and once weather improves a bit I'll get under her for a good look-see to checkout her mechanicals. On the plus side, our first outing to get her home was 250 miles down the M1 & M25 with no problems which must mean something!
Tony
 
Once you get into it you will start looking around for things to improve. I don't think Pootle needs any cosmetics but a bit more performance is simple bolt on stuff. An SU carb conversion (HIF44) transforms the engine, more power, more torque and hills become less daunting. Martin Maltas at Commer Van Spares http://www.commervanspares.co.uk/product-category/engine-transmission/ does a conversion with tubular manifolds and a reconditioned carb that is ready to go straight on. An alternative is to send you manifold to Tim (commeracer on here) and he will adapt it to take your own SU. Couple that lot with an overdrive gearbox and you have a very competent cruiser which is a lot more economical to boot :)
 
Panky said:
Once you get into it you will start looking around for things to improve. I don't think Pootle needs any cosmetics but a bit more performance is simple bolt on stuff. An SU carb conversion (HIF44) transforms the engine, more power, more torque and hills become less daunting. Martin Maltas at Commer Van Spares http://www.commervanspares.co.uk/product-category/engine-transmission/ does a conversion with tubular manifolds and a reconditioned carb that is ready to go straight on. An alternative is to send you manifold to Tim (commeracer on here) and he will adapt it to take your own SU. Couple that lot with an overdrive gearbox and you have a very competent cruiser which is a lot more economical to boot :)
Click to expand...
Hi
Well I had a bit of a look under Pootle and nothing really evil found although I think the petrol tank may be leaking a little which isn't really a surprise. I have put some boards under her for now to identify any active oil leaks and will get under there and spray sump/gearbox/diff with jizer to clean of old oil and have a good look-see. One thing I couldn't really identify is a large tank sitting near the silencer. The petrol tank sits at the rear and across the chassis but this tank sits along the chassis on RHS and close to the silencer. There is a pipe from somewhere in the floor down to the tank (can't see it inside the cabin) and there is an 'outlet pipe'(?) that has nothing connected.... Perhaps it's a waste-water pipe for sink or something?
I will have a look at the engine at some point and a carb upgrade does seem a possible improvement. I think the head would normally be iron on these engines? Are there any worthwhile engine mods to improve usability? Cams/heads etc? You mentioned an overdrive gearbox - what vehicle would that be from and would it need Diff gear ratio changes?
Sorry if these questions have been covered in other posts in the past...
Cheers
Tony
 
Panky said:
Once you get into it you will start looking around for things to improve. I don't think Pootle needs any cosmetics but a bit more performance is simple bolt on stuff. An SU carb conversion (HIF44) transforms the engine, more power, more torque and hills become less daunting. Martin Maltas at Commer Van Spares http://www.commervanspares.co.uk/product-category/engine-transmission/ does a conversion with tubular manifolds and a reconditioned carb that is ready to go straight on. An alternative is to send you manifold to Tim (commeracer on here) and he will adapt it to take your own SU. Couple that lot with an overdrive gearbox and you have a very competent cruiser which is a lot more economical to boot :)
Click to expand...
Or chuck a dirty great V8 into it lol
 
Hi Tony, like some others, I put a rebuilt 1725 Sunbeam Rapier engine in our Tourstar. With this engine with the alloy head, an Overdrive gearbox and the 4 branch tubular exhaust manifold plus the single SU carb, we can cruise on the motorway at about 65mph (taken from the Satnav not the speedo!) Dolly will easily go over 70 mph but these vehicles are obviously not designed for doing this and really detracts from the purpose of slowing your life down!
We also have the electronic distributor conversion which helps with reliable starting. We love our Tourstar, the standing room and the beautiful interior. We are looking forward to the better weather to get out and about more, hopefully we’ll meet up somewhere soon.
Regards
Colin
 
Congratulations on your new acquisition. Pootle is well known for most us here, I think. A lovely Tourstar she is.

Getting home without hiccups must be a good sign. Most of us have not experienced such fortunes.. :D

I guess the tank you've found beneath the floor could be the vehicle's original freshwater tank. We have a Highwayman which is an entirely different conversion altogether, but the basics are often similar. Ours has a freshwater tank on the left hand side, immediately behind the outer skin, just below the floor.
Also, as you mention possible leaks from the fuel tank, I just wanted to say that Commerracer does manufacture aluminium tanks for these. In case you should need a new tank.

Happy to hear that Pootle has got new enthusiastic owners. Always nice to hear.

Good luck with it, and happy camping!




Pootle's Owner said:
Hi
Well I had a bit of a look under Pootle and nothing really evil found although I think the petrol tank may be leaking a little which isn't really a surprise. I have put some boards under her for now to identify any active oil leaks and will get under there and spray sump/gearbox/diff with jizer to clean of old oil and have a good look-see. One thing I couldn't really identify is a large tank sitting near the silencer. The petrol tank sits at the rear and across the chassis but this tank sits along the chassis on RHS and close to the silencer. There is a pipe from somewhere in the floor down to the tank (can't see it inside the cabin) and there is an 'outlet pipe'(?) that has nothing connected.... Perhaps it's a waste-water pipe for sink or something?
I will have a look at the engine at some point and a carb upgrade does seem a possible improvement. I think the head would normally be iron on these engines? Are there any worthwhile engine mods to improve usability? Cams/heads etc? You mentioned an overdrive gearbox - what vehicle would that be from and would it need Diff gear ratio changes?
Sorry if these questions have been covered in other posts in the past...
Cheers
Tony
Click to expand...
 
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