After years of deliberation, Jim Price of Hi- Tech Auto South Africa ( renowned manufacturer of the Superformance range,Rossion/Noble and the 4000 Shelby continuation series) and myself, have finally decided to go ahead with the 289 Riverside Fia/Usrrc style roadster project.
We will be trying to make the kit as affordable as possible whilst still maintaining the necessary level of engineering and fitment expertise that Hi -Tech have to offer the potential purchaser.What I mean by that is that the basic Riverside kit will be offered as a bare bones racer. ie Painted roller,Kwik jacks, painted dashboard with correct SW gauges, single seat ( period racing style) forward braced rollbar, le Mans style fuel fillercap with wind deflection shield, full windshield with the option of being able to lay it back flatter and pin drive Trigo fia rims.It will also come with heim jointed suspension as this allows for easier suspension settings.This was a period mod and although it might may be slightly harder/noisier, the joy of being able so set camber/castor without bending critical parts more than compensates. Who drives a car like this for those sort of comforts anyway?
The extra cost options would include:
1. Painted stripes,ID or full
2. Leather covered dash
3. Full upholstery ie slabside type seats, carpets, door panels etc
4. The larger racing fuel tank and brackets
5. Fuel switch over valve placed between drivers legs
6.
Oil cooler and S/S flex piping (SBF)
7.Wiring option to include door number illuminating lights
8.Small racing screen
9.Brackets for mounting extra Raydot style mirrors on windshield
10.Tyres.Owner to choose from what`s available
11.Rivets on bonnet (hood)
I`m sure, and hoping, that you guys will come up with suggestions and these, depending on merit, could well be implemented depending on how far down the line we are.
From his involvement with AC cars in the late 90`s,Jim has all the original drawings and has actually seen one of the continuation AC fia`s been made on the original modified buck (rear fender). So most of the machining/manufacturing of uprights,transverse leaf springs etc will take place at Hi-Tech.
The chassis will not be triangulated like the coupe, purely because they never were made like that at AC ( easier enough to do) and also I believe it detracts from the cars original character. Good or bad! I`ve also specified SBF only as I believe, if you want bigger, buy bigger! Because of it`s power to weight ratio, plus it`s better balance, they more than hold their own against bigger brother.
To assist and help speed up proceedings, I bought a set of moulds from Tim and Mike at Sagebrush as well as a chassis ( set up and welded by Kris Kincaid) and sent them back to South Africa as a basis to measure ride height and track widths etc etc.against. Fender flares, bonnet air scoop ,the fitment of the body onto chassis, cut back doors etc all altered to our liking and all this has already been completed.
As far as pricing goes, this will be finalized closer to the time.Distribution will be handled by Mike and Tim on the lower West coast and hopefully Rick Muck on the upper East coast. I still have to finalize Canada as I have experienced major set backs here trying to import Shelby`s and Superformance kits.This was in fact one of the reasons which led to this project being undertaken.
Jim reckons he should hopefully have them ready by March next year, but in the meantime please feel free to to contact me with any questions or suggestions.
Ross
289 ussrc/fia New Toy to own
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