SIMCA 1200S Coupe

[scmick]

progress on RHD 1200S. Have fabricared inner sill from flanged sheet bought at Newark Autojumble, beefed up inside with rectangular box section. Outer sill is adapted 2 door SIMCA 1100 panel. Total SIMCA 1200S originality 'nerds' could tell the difference but , for me it does the job. Rear arch is temporarily in place. Inner and outer arch was cut back to good metal........yes I did find some eventually!.. then seam welded together. outer arch is a fibreglass panel thanks to the faci I never throw anything away. It is the bit I cut out of a front wing for my Talbot SAMBA oval racer many years ago to fit an Escort bubble arch. It's more or less the right profile for the 1200S rear wing...Lots of bondindg & filling but no more ruat in furure. Now I'm faced with the same on the other side and the front arches. Bits I saved from fitting big arches to SIMCA 1000 saloons will come to the rescue there.....
Mick

[scmick]

[img][http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i347/wardsim/100_2145.jpg/img]
Must start on the mechanical jobs. Engine runs OK but plan to take it out to get access to rear subframe and fuel tank. In the rear engined SIMCA range, the only models that used disc brakes at the rear were the coupes and the Rallye 2 & 3. This car has been off the road since 1977 so callipers could be well seized. The callipers off my 'spares car' were in surprisingly good order but they're earmarked to get my 1000 Rallye 2 up to scratch for its MoT.
Mick

[scmick]

photo that should have appeared in last post.

[scmick]

Moving to other side and, as expected it needs as much, if not more welding. The sill looks a bit better than the passenger side but, I'm not being fooled.... It is a SIMCA 1000 with an Italian Coach builder's body after all = double trouble in the rust stakes.
Meanwhil the engine's now out and I'm working on getting the sheel lifted high enough to comfortably remove the rear subframe, gearbox and fuel tank.
Mick

[scmick]

The engine's been put to one side...It runs spot on. Toget the shell up high for welding under the back end, I've unearthed the lift I made when rebuilding various SIMCA 1000 saloons. It was originally the works from under a vet's opeating table. A mate got it to make a lift to work on his motorbike, never used it and it came to me. The hydraulics will really lift some weight... must have been the @Elephant' model in the Vet's catalogue..!!!
Mick

[scmick]

Finally got back to the 1200S this weekend. Have dropped rear subframe complete with gearbox to get access to rust areas. Rear suspension on '67 1200S was newlt introduced semi trailing arm set up later adopted on all SIMCA 1000's. Earlier cars (from '61 to'67 ) had a simpler swing axle setup similar to that on my FIAT 133.
Will have to have a thorough 'dig' aroung the subframe. From past experience of 30+ SIMCA 1000's, they rust roud the lugs that mount the trailing arms. I've now got access to remove fuel tank which lives above the subframe. The tank containns some 'stuff' that was petrol back in '77 when the car was last on the road.
Mick

[scmick]

aother shot of Coupe with rear suspension removed. Honda/Rover twin cams in foreground are waiting to go into SIMCAs.
Mick

[Renrut]

Is that engine going into the coupe? Please say it is

[scmick]

This coupe is getting its original 1204 SIMCA engine which runs really well. I'm keeping it reasonably original except for some Minilites as it's one of just 6 right hand drive 1200S coupes made. The silver Left Hand drive car is getting the full works... one of the Honda twin cams in the picture on twin Dellortos. I've just knocked up a manifold to fit them made from a £15 Ebay CVH manifold and an alloy adaptorr plate.
Mick

[scmick]

The other possibility for power for the 1200S when it is finished is to pinch the head and supercharger from the gold SIMCA 1000 I used for the 2010 £999 challenge. It's been running reliably since. Just will have to make sure everything would fit under the sleeker, lower rear end of the coupe... although I've got a fibreglass 'Abarth Style' rear lid, which would give more clearance. All thet will have to wait until I've finished the welding marathon though.
Mick

[scmick]

This weekend's priority is a tidy up in the garage so I've room to do a bit more work on the 1200S. Have now adapted the CVH manifold to fit the twin Dellorto carbs to the Honda twin cam. They were hooked up to the Honda engine already in the SIMCA 1000 using a SIMCA manifold... right spacing but the angle they worked at was a bit dodgy...and I need that manifold back to use on one of the (SIMCA powered) SIMCAs. Weather permitting, I'll ge one of the twin cams complete with light flywheel and better clutch fitted in the 1000 that hasn't moved since it came back after wrecking its clutch at PPC in the Park.
Then, with various other bits like the trim out of the coupe can be stored in the shed...or is that too tempting a feast for the mice over the winter...???
Also want to try the other Honda twin cam on bike carbs after seeing how well they transformed my'FIMCA' 133 at Retro-Rides.
Mick

[Rob Bell]

Blimey! A garage that looks more cluttered than mine!!!

The problem with garage tidy ups is finding the parts you've "tidied away" afterwards...

[scmick]

Too true...!! I'm still trying to find things I put in a safe, tidy place when I had a clear up earlier in the year. As it is...it looks chaos but, if anybody from the SIMCA club is looking for parts I know just where to find them in the 'heap'....
I need to make some space so I can crack on with work on the suspension etc. away from 1001 welding jobs on the shell...
Mick

[scmick]

Under the rear end of 1200S once the fuel tnk, its metal shroud and rear subframe are removed Chassis legs and bulkhead are remarkably sound compared with those on some SIMCA 1000 saloons we have rebuilt.
Mick

[scmick]

Car has not been used since 1977 and what was in the fuel tank certainly wasn't liquid..!!! Have run the engine but from a remote fuel supply. The 'stuff' on the sheet of paper is what poured out..a flaky mess probably making up 3/4 of the thickness. of the tank.
Was going to ask about treatments for old tanks like this that anybody might have tried but poking a few rust patches on the tank found a number of holes. Next job is to take the tank off the silver LHD 1200S to see if that's any good...???
Mick