The Tropic Zone Racing "HP Edition" Anglia...
Our "new" 1959 Anglia 105e gasser - 06/12/2006
As you may have already guessed, our Anglia will be just a little modified from the original specifications. We plan on playing with this car at test 'n tune nights and will keep it street legal so we can attend cruise-ins around the area. It will probably get a new paint job...the lime green chassis has to go.
Here are some pictures of the car when we first brought it home.
Front view as purchased
Rear quarter pic of the '59 Anglia
Front quarter pic
You can see how small the car really is.
A rear pic of the car in the trailer
Inside view of the original trunk
From the outside the car didn't look too bad, but when you opened the doors the lime green chassis just didn't do it for us.
Front shot of the original interior & dash
Rear picture of the original roll cage
Bottom shot of the original chassis
As Dave started inspecting the car more closely, he discovered that there were many problems in the fabrication of the original chassis. First of all, it wasn't square. Also, the rear tires rubbed. I won't go into the whole list of problems.
Once again, we trashed everything except the body and started over.
The remains of the original chassis
The remains of the original roll cage
Starting from the bottom up - 02/10/2007
We didn't have the proper equipment to build a new chassis, so we took the car to someone who did. After the old chassis was removed, the body went on the building fixture. We were starting from scratch.
Due to its small size, this car would present some challenges. We wanted an NHRA legal chassis.
The body is on the building fixture.
Getting started on the new chassis
Setting the rear ride height
First challenge...the rear axle housing needed to be shortened before it was fitted into place.
Fabricating the 4-link & chassis
Side view of the 4-link installed
Setting body height to the main frame rails
Setting the centerline
Setting up the rear engine mount plate"
Interior view of rear engine mount plate
Front down tubes & strut mounts
Side view of strut mount & rack and pinion
Door bars fitted in place
Main hoop and halo bar
Interior view of 4-link mount
Front motor mount plate
Interior pic of door bars
Halo bar mount
Inside front view of cage
Sheet metal firewall
By August '07 we were ready to fit the rear tubs
2nd shot of the rear tubs from inside
Pic of rear tubs from in the trunk
2nd pic of rear tubs from in the trunk
3rd shot of rear tubs from in the trunk
Door bars fitted in place
It was time to take the body off to make welding the cage easier
Taking the body off the chassis
Four people can lift the body easily
The body is off the chassis
The body gets stored in the trailer
Rear shot of the bare chassis
With the body off, it is easy to see the cage structure
It's also easier to do the finish welding
Then it was time to bring the car back home and begin the engine and suspension setup.
Our American Torque Thrust wheels arrived. We wanted a retro looking wheel
"Big & little" comparison
For fun, we lined up the mounted drag tires next to the road race slicks.
We started assembling components and doing mock-up assemblies to ensure everything would fit before coating the chassis.
Front struts with brakes
9" Ford rear after being cut
Assembled 4-link with differential
Mock up engine in place
Rack & pinion installed
Transmission installed
In Sept. '07, we were ready to make patterns for the interior using light-weight cardboard
1st version brake pedal
Rear view cardboard pattern
Hoosier DOT slicks
Front wheel view
Rear view of the Hoosier DOT tires
The brake pedal is too close to the seat and needed to be moved forward
A new pattern was made for a pedal box
We did our first draft of the aluminum pedal box. It was redone later on to include space for the clutch pedal.
Front side shot of pedal box
Interior view of the pedal box & assembly
(Dec. '07) The brakes are installed
Left front brake rotor
Right front brake assembly & heim joint washers for rack
Overall shot of progress
Rear shot of mounted wheels
(Jan. '08) We took the car up to Jim Britts to have the headers fabricated.
Fitting headers
Right side header tacked together
TStarting left side header
Shot of tacked headers
Headers ready for finish welding
Jim also did some fabricating of the interior panels.
Driver's side floor
Close-up of shifter
Shifter and interior panels
Interior panels with roller beading
It was obvious that it would be necessary to fabricate a custom gas tank
Fabricated gas tank
Great welding on the gas tank
Fabrication work continues
Jim did a great job fabricating the transmission cover
Left view of the transmission tunnel
The gas tank, which holds 9.3 gallons, sits neatly between the frame with the tubs on either side.
Interior shot from the rear with seat mount holes
Clecos holding the interior panels
Jim Britts, the master fabricator/welder
Fitting the wheelie bars into such a small space was a challenge. Later on, we shortened the wheelie bars
Side view of wheelie bars and trimmed tubs
(February, 2008) It was time to set the body back on the chassis so we could see how to mount the front bodywork
The body is back on chassis
Rear shot with body on chassis
Interior wheel tub shot with body on chassis
Front view, some assembly required
(Mar. '08) The front fenders are mounted on the body
Side view, cool wheels!
3-quarter view with complete body
Rear 3/4 shot...neat lines
Car sitting on its own wheels and tires
Jim also fabricated a battery box
We took the car back home and worked on brake lines and interior pieces
Steering rack & brake lines
We fabricated a hatch to have access to the tranny. (May '08)
The shifter mechanism is mounted
We fabricated a front spoiler to help keep the car on the ground and played around with hood scoop ideas.
Trial hood scoop :)
A shot under the car from the rear
We shortened up the wheelie bars. (June, '08)
Brake master cylinder installed
We are undecided on using the Powerglide or the Jericho transmission, so we're setting the car up for either.
Powerglide transmission
Jericho cover
The trunk with the fuel tank & battery box
(May, '09) It is time to disassemble the car and powder coat the chassis.
Rack & pinion
Going back to the bare bones
While waiting for the chassis, we fabricated a rear window deck.
Rear window deck interior
The powder coating is complete! We powder coated the chassis a satin black. Now we can start the final build.
Powder coated chassis front qtr view
Powder coated chassis rear view
Powder coated interior pieces
The rear diff with the wheelie bar mount
Rear diff front view
Rear, wheels & brakes are on
We fabricated some door panels out of aluminum
Front wheels & brakes are on
Rear chassis view
The firewall panels and brake lines were installed
Then the floor pans and transmission tunnel were put in place
The wheelie bars were put on
3 Qtr view
The gas tank and battery box were fitted into place
Fuel pump
Inside the battery box
Battery cables
Fuel tank pickup
We installed the shifter, the power glide transmission and started running the gas line
Gauge mock up, fuse box & shifter RPM switch
Routing wiring
Starter battery cable & wire routing
We put together an old engine block and parts to use as a mockup, so we could run the engine compartment wiring
Carb fuel lines, fuel regulator, front wiring
Throttle rod, MSD box mounted
Close-up of MSD box wiring
Tail light & brake light wiring...waiting
Interior wiring spagetti shot
The radiator was mounted in place
The transmission cooler was mounted under the car along-side a frame rail. Later in the build, we installed a "real" cooler instead
The Strange strut front suspension
Our switch panel located in front of the steering wheel
Sue made a cool Anglia decal to put on the steering wheel
Switch panel located in front of the steering wheel
A 3-qtr pic of the build progress
The next step was to paint the interior of the body and get the headliner in it. Then we could get the body back on the chassis.
We wanted to keep the color as close to our first Anglia as possible and went with Ford Screaming Yellow.
Painted interior trim pieces
With the instruments temporarily set in place, the aluminum gauge panel looks great!
Side view of painted gauge panel
Painted aluminum interior rear deck panel
Time to paint! We taped the windows on the body and put it on some plastic in the front yard. (Sept., '09)
Taped side rear windows for painting
Interior of the roof before painting
Body in yard ready for paint
Allen Armstrong came out to the house to paint. The first coat was a gray primer.
Gray primer is on - RR qtr pic
Left rear qtr pic
Gray primer - front
The second coat was a white base coat to give the yellow a nice clean color
The white base coat on the front dash
The white base coat on the interior
Then Allen started spraying the Screaming Yellow as we watched on
A peek at the Screaming Yellow in the sun
Dave stands clear of the paint fog
We painted some rivets to match
Dave creeps closer
The yellow is looking good!
The yellow is almost done
The yellow coat - Left rear qtr pic
Yellow coat - front dash
Yellow coat - peek under the front and the rivets
The front edges won't show, but we put on a coat of yellow to keep them from rusting
The final clear coat is on! The clear coated front dash
The yellow rear deck shines now!
The windows look good too
The next day, Allen came back and sprayed the interior of the trunk and rear quarter panels with black
Most of the black will be covered by panels and the wheel tubs. Very little will show once the body is on the chassis.
Once everything was dry, we pulled the tape and paper off. The fluorescent shop lighting makes the yellow look a little funny
The rear window paint looks good too
A picture taken through the side window
A picture taken through the front window
Dan Moon came out to the house and installed the headliner. Headliners in old cars, like this one, are vinyl held in place by metal bows and glue.(Sept., '09)
The fabric trimmed so the ends of the bows are exposed
The bows are attached with screws, beginning at the rear
Working toward the front putting bows in place
The last bow is put in place
The headliner gets stretched for a test fit
Time to apply the glue
Dan sprays glue on the edges of the headliner
Since we are missing some original trim pieces, we made some custom ones out of aluminum sheet.
We'll take them back off and do some "fine tuning" to the pieces and paint them to match. The wrinkles will work out with some heat
Anglia headliner stretched around the door and front window
Custom rear quarter trim pieces
Dave installing the custom pillar trim piece
Custom front pillar trim piece
Anglia 100e front headliner from inside
View of the Anglia headliner around the front window
View of the Anglia headliner around the rear window
We fabricated a couple of trim strips for the rear quarter panel area
Close up of custom rear trim strips
The painted window trim is installed. The window will go in after the body is back on the frame
Close up of painted rear trim strips
Painted rear qtr panel trim strips
Before we put the body back on, J.T. Barron, the NHRA inspector, came out to certify the chassis.
The Sportsman class certification is good for a quickest permitted E.T. of 8.50 (qtr mile).
J. T. Barron, the NHRA inspector
The NHRA certification sticker
After our inspection, we relocated the fuel regulator and re-routed the fuel line under the car
Fuel lines
Re-located fuel pump and line
Fuel line routed under the car
We had a custom window net made. The brackets for the top bar needed to be welded on before the body went on the frame. (Oct., '09)
Window net exterior view
Window net interior view"
Our son, Mark, rounded up some help and we got the body back on the chassis. (Nov. '09)
Carrying the body to the chassis
Fitting the body onto the chassis
Fitting the frame bars into the holes in the body
Checking the clearance
The old gassers had windows tinted to match their paint. We tinted the rear side windows yellow.
We put the doors on before welding the body in place, to make sure they were aligned properly
Checking drivers door alignment
Passenger door alignment
Finally, the frame and the body are one piece again! Welded and ready to to move the project along
The wheel tubs are the first to be fitted in
Left rear aluminum floor pan in trunk
Underside of wheel tub
Interior shot of installed wheel tubs
A pic of installed wheel tubs from the front
Just in case we decide to put the 4-speed back in, we installed our retro Sun Super Tach. We wired and installed the instrument panel in the Anglia
The instrument panel was fabricated from sheet metal and painted
Instrument panel installed
The wheel tubs were rolled and riveted. The next step was to secure the wheel tub edges to the inside of the fender.
Wheel tube secured to fender with clear caulk
Underside of wheel tub with caulk
We wanted the front fenders mounted in a way that they could be removed easily. We fabricated some 90 degree flanges for the rear edges of the fenders and secured the front with a sub-frame.
Fender mounts riveted and "machine turned"
Fender bolted to flange
Trial fitting the "dog house" (front body work)
The original hood had a cut-out in it that didn't line up with the new engine placement. Once the front bodywork was attached we fitted our replacement hood. Thanks, Terry.
Front view of the new, old hood
Side view of replacement hood
A 3 qtr view of the replacement hood
Sub-frame support for hood and front bodywork
New driveshaft for the Anglia
A snapshot of the differential and trans
Looking in the end of the exhaust collector
Since the car is street legal we installed the original vacuum wiper motor and wiper mechanism. Later on we converted to an electric motor
Santa brought an Anglia key fob for Christmas! (2008)
We took a couple of pictures of the car. A little more prep and we'll be ready to paint the exterior
Rear 3 qtr view of the car
Side view of the car
Rear view into the toy box
The last thing to do before we paint the exterior was to prep the wing vents and install new seals
Getting wing vent ready for new seals & paint
Before painting, we decided to convert the wiper motor from the original vacuum one to an electric motor. We used a Bosch motor out of a late 70's Mercury Capri.
To fit the motor on, we pulled the knurled wiper knob off and trimmed it to fit in the stock triangular plate. We used a dzus fastener plate, trimmed round on one end, as a bracket fitted around the output shaft. It goes between the two hold-down nuts. For the other end, I made a simple sheet metal bracket.
In the pictures below, you can see where they are welded to the original mounting arm. The end bracket is held to the Bosch bracket by a button-head screw and nut.
Bosch electric wiper motor
View of wiper motor with brackets welded on
The wiper motor mounted for a trial fit
The exhaust pipes. The flange will get welded onto the end of the header. The muffler can be easily unbolted for use at the strip.
View 2 of the exhaust pipes
Flange end of the exhaust pipe
The exhaust is back from being ceramic coated. (Feb. 2010)
Right side header ceramic coated
Left side header ceramic coated
The body is getting prepped for painting - the engine mockup removed and bodywork patched.
The "dog house" is pulled back off
View of the front without the doghouse
The rear body is sanded
Side view car being sanded
Patching the trim-strip holes
The under-side of the front body-work
Primered front body work and doors
Primered rear
Primered trim holes
We painted the underside of the fenders, hood and trunk lid black.
Painted underside of front body-work
The underside of the front cowling
Painted underside of hood
We sanded the doors
We taped the car to paint the door and trunk edges
Driver's door taped to paint the edges
Rear taped to paint the trunk edges
Allen Armstrong sprayed the doors. (March, 2010)
First coat of yellow paint on the doors
Doors with yellow paint and clear coat
Close-up of painted door
We painted the door edges, so we could paint the exterior of the car with the doors on
Passenger door edges painted & with clear coat
Painted trunk edges
After the paint dried, we removed the tape & paper. Then we could put the trunk lid and doors back on
Door mounted on the passenger side
Interior of the passenger side door
A 2nd picture of the passenger side door
The trunk gap stands out in yellow
The trunk lid mounted and open
Driver's side door mounted
Open driver's door
A view through the rear window
The sanded hood
We have a few trim pieces to paint before the car goes to the paint booth
Headlight and tail light bezels
Painting the window trim
Taped & painted wing vent
Painted wing vent trim
Drying window trim
Finished window trim
Due to the curvature of the body, we had to fabricate a trim piece to bridge the gap between the floor pan and the car body
Driver's side gap trim piece riveted in place
Pasenger side gap trim piece riveted on
Passenger side gap trim piece
Close up view of the gap trim piece
We welded a short piece of round stock to the frame to use as a jack point
Close up of the new jack point
The car is ready and waiting for its turn in the paint booth
Front view of sanded car
Sanded dog house
Bob Eubanks, the owner of Rusty Acres (Ford replacement parts), let us use his paint booth.
We dropped the car off and Allen stayed to tape it up
Front of car covered & taped
Hood and rear of car
Trim pieces hung for painting
The first look at the new paint. It's definitely brighter in the paint booth now!
Front, painted, but still taped
Wow! That's a lot of yellow
Painted trim pieces
We took the car home and parked it in the sun for a couple of pictures. It's definitely Screaming Yellow. (April, 2010)
Dave set the hood on the dog house
Painted car with the dog house set in front
3/4 view of the painted car
Side view of painted body
Closeup of the dog house and hood
Pic of car and interior
View of paint from the rear
We cleaned the Anglia, put the wheels & wheelie bar back on
then the trunk handle, rear bumper, script and battery connectors were put on
After 3 years, the license plate is on the car!
The stainless steel trim is held on with "buttons" riveted to the car.
Buttons riveted on and front trim piece on the Anglia
Side trim on the Anglia
Side trim on the doghouse
Time to install the yellow tinted windows.
The window lace is stapled to the window trim for thee rollup windows.
The rear quarter windows went in first.
Then the side wing vents and rollup windows.
The yellow tint looks good!
The door before installing the aluminum interior panel.
The door panel is complete with hardware.
Pic thru the rear (minus glass)
Dave put the fan on the radiator.
The windshield is the only glass we didn't tint yellow.
Looking good! Rear 3/4 shot
A close-up of the front window.
A close-up of the rear window.
May, 2010 - tail light bezels and lenses installed
Side view of the rear tail lights
Side view with the tinted windows.
Trial fit of the seats
We put in a multi-panel rear view mirror.
Dave and the Anglia with the full body.
Car with the front grille.
The radiator installed
Clutch setup for the Jericho (in case we decide to use it).
Fuel regulator & key switch wiring
Radiator fan w/ weather pak connectors
Front lighting weather pak connectors
July, 2010 - It's a 396ci small block Chevy. Approx 500hp
Rear of motor shows oil sending sensors
The motor with headers on the stand.
August, 2010 - the motor is ready to put in the Anglia.
The motor is almost in!
The motor is bolted in place.
The distributor clears the wiper motor.
We installed the headers.
A low, front view.
The exhaust pipes.
We hooked up the throttle linkage.
Fitting the accessory drives.
A close-up of the belt drive setup.
Top view of the belt drive setup
Alternator showing wire jumper
Front view of drives
Radiator and fan mounted
Then it was time to put the fenders back on...hopefully, for the last time
We found out that the trans cooler we had installed was inadequate, so we mounted a B&M plate style cooler under the car...the only place with space.
Rear view of trans cooler
Front view of cooler with lines.
The motor installation is complete!
The Anglia ready for its 1st start-up.
August, 27, 2010 - We finished the radiator hoses and wiring odds & ends. Then we primed the oil system and went for start! The motor started right up!
We topped off the trans fluid and radiator; checked for leaks (tightened the trans cooler fittings), and set the timing.
All the electrical systems worked. No over-heating problems. The Anglia sounds great! A great day...after 3 years of hard work.
With smiles, we buttoned up the trans cover and installed the seats and seat belts. Check out the video on our Anglia Videos page.
Interior view.
Our custom Anglia floor mats.
Seats and belts installed
The Anglia is ready & waiting for its first drive.
A rear shot of the Anglia gasser.
Sept. 04, 2010 we took the Anglia for it's 1st drive and it passed with flying colors! There is plenty of torque and the motor sounds great.
We're going to change out the springs and tweak a few things, but we are VERY pleased with the HP Edition Anglia. Check out the video on our Anglia Videos page.
The builder after his first mile.
Oct., 2010 - We replaced the laser etched valve covers with vintage Corvette ones.
Corvette valve covers installed.
We took some pictures of the finished car.
Driver's front 3/4 view
Driver's side view
Passenger side view
Window decals
Driver's rear 3/4 view
Front view
Rear view
