My n
ew t
oy!
Ratchet straps
off, ramps re
connected
and the Cobra
was offloaded
.
o
ont
e kit
h
t
t
o
We g
ailer.
the tr
Building m
my dream car
Part 3 of Stuart Clarke’s Hawk build.
The Hawk kit
Gerry Hawkridge’s range of Hawk cars
is growing all of the time with different
variations of the theme.
I’d decided on a 289 Roadster that was to
be powered by a Ford 289 engine with a T5
gearbox. I took the opportunity of visiting
Gerry who went through all of the different
options and we came to an agreed spec.
Gerry is a very knowledgeable man and
this is reflected by the work in progress at
Hawk cars which is to a very high standard,
with very fine attention to detail.
The visit reassured me that I was making
the right decision and hopefully I’d be able
to do the product justice in the quality of my
build. Luckily for me there was a body shell
that was already available and a chassis
that was very close to completion so we
arranged a collection date for 3 weeks
later and I left a deposit.
I planned to purchase everything I needed
to complete the rolling chassis. This would
be my first milestone and I planned to
have this completed within 6 months of
collecting the kit. (All the best plans are
made in vain... are they not?)
I ordered the 289 chassis and body shell
with rounded wheel arch edges (which I
think are a little more authentic and one
of the things that, if not done, are instant
giveaways that it is a kit!). I ordered the
Hawk brake kit, Hawk clutch kit and all
the relevant master cylinders and SVA
compliant reservoirs, panhard rod and
anti tramp bars, special rear leaf springs
and packer kit, prop shaft and last of all
I ordered the door catches which, when
ordered with the kit, are fitted free of
charge.
I sent Gerry the remaining payment for
what I ordered and sorted out a trailer to
go and collect the kit.
In the meantime I also spoke to Gerry
about brake options. The original MGB
brakes are a little “underpowered” and I
wanted an up rated option. The options
that he recommended were new aluminum
4 piston calipers or refurbished Princess
4 piston calipers. As I’d heard many a
recommendation for the Princess (yes
from the old Austin Princess) calipers, I
went for those with a set of nice chunky
vented discs.
The day of collection arrived and the alarm
went off at 4:45am as we had over 200
miles each way to cover, some of which
involved the M25 around London, and
we wanted to avoid the traffic. I’m not a
member of the caravan fraternity so towing
to me is something that I don’t do on a
regular basis. 4 hours later after a couple
of convenience stops and we were there.
My new toy!
T H E 2 8 9 R E G I S T E R 17