Anything and everything Herald. Talk about anything from the first 948s to the last 13/60s.

Hello to one and all - this is the first message I've posted. I bought a 1971 J reg 13/60 convertible back in August and had some great fun driving along the seafront (I live in Brighton), with the hood down, for the last few weeks of good weather at the end of last summer.

This is my first experience of owning a classic, so I had the car checked over by a local garage (sole trader who was recommended to me by some friends who have an old Fiat 500).

Mechanically, it seems, the car is fine (except reverse gear, which "jumps out"), but it does need a bit of cosmetic tidying. So Tilly, as she has become known, has had a new hood so far, and I am currently bidding on ebay to get my hands on a couple of replacement front seats.

What she really needs is the paintwork sprucing up. She is currently white (Old English I think), but originally left the factory as a Saffron or Harvest Gold colour. Whoever did the respray, some time before the oldest MOT certificate I have (which dates from '95), seems to have sprayed the new colour on top of the old. So, the paint is beginning to flake in one or two areas.

I guess what I am wondering is whether it is enough to get a kind of patch-up job done (getting the one or two rust spots treated at the same time) or whether I should go the whole hog and get a full respray - and if I do, is a new top coat sufficient or do I really need to do the full bare metal thing?

Anyone got any advice as to what is the best thing to do, how much it might cost and any recommendations of places I can go to (I'm in Brighton remember!).

My second problem is that she has a bit of a dodgy speedo, on which the speedo itself works fine, but the mileometer sometimes decides to record miles, but more often than not, doesnt. Anyone got any ideas as to what can be done to rectify this? Or am I going to need what seems to be a very rare item - a new speedo for a 13/60?

Any helpful advice or suggestions gratefully received! Thanks.

ps: I'm also planning to go the South of England meet in May, so maybe I'll see some of you there.

I've got an old 13/60 speedo in the shed somewhere from a car I used the chassis of to repair my 1200 years ago.
I THINK its got around 50k on the milometer (I'll checK tomorrow). And - though I've no idea if it works well - you can have it if you pay for the postage.

Your offer of the speedo is great - would love to get hold of it from you - but as I am new to the site I am not sure how to get in contact with you. Do we post phone numbers etc or is that not allowed?!

Hello again David,
the milometer is currently reading 51070. The speedo looks OK - though I've no idea if it actually works properly as I've said, though its never been exposed to the elements, just lots of lack of use over, I'd guess, about 15 years.
Contact me for details etc.
Matt

Best advice I can give you is go to http://www.ebay.co.uk, search under Herald and look for whatever parts you require.. they all come up eventually!
With regards to the paint it'll be very time consuming and expensive for a full respray, particularly if you want it in the original colour - my Gt6 is STILL in the paintshop despite having nearly 40% of the metal replaced and therefore needing no rubbing down of old paint; it's approaching a year now and costs are rising all the time.... only go this way if you can do without the car for a long time!
If you can live with the new colour, find your local friendly accident repair shop and get the car done one panel (or whatever you can afford) at a time. It cost me Â£80 for an entire side since there's no actual damage to repair and over six months I resprayed my complete car (except the roof) for Â£240... obviously rust treatment will raise the cost but it's still the cheapest solution. Remember - buy all ther paint you need in one go to ensure the colour match - you won't need to worry about it matching the old paint exactly as you'll eventually do the whole car. Do as much preparation yourself as you can, remove handles and trim etc. and let the sprayer concentrate on the paint which you can also supply yourself (although they always buy trade and therefore get it cheaper too!!)

Section : Advice for Buyers / New Owners

New and Inexperienced (owner of a 13/60!)

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New and Inexperienced (owner of a 13/60!)

New and Inexperienced (owner of a 13/60!)

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New and Inexperienced (owner of a 13/60!)