Does anyone on this forum own a Scimitar? There's one for sale in the Detroit area and I'm in a mildly masochistic frame of mind. If I were to get this would I regret it? There's something about the looks of the estate version that I find appealing and it's RHD, too.
I always like the style. Basically a ford Capri with a tuperware body no?
As with all things British adn automotive, it should have a bumper sticker telling you that "The parts falling off this car were built by the finest British craftsmen".
I looked at several in the UK with a view to buying one, but I always furiously backpedalled.
First, which model is it? SE5? SE6? The SE6s are more spacious inside and generally a little more upmarket, the SE5 is a little more sporty. Either one will suffer from typical plastic Britcar problems - chassis that rot rather well (check the cross members behind/in front of the wheels for existence), electrical issues (grounds gone AWOL, as usual) and water tightness - once the water got in (easy), it'll be held perfectly in the car 
. Only very late SE6bs and I think the SE8 got galvanised chassis. Don't expect Rolls Royce levels of fit and finish either, a lot of them look like they've been put together after a somewhat liquid lunch down the pub.
IIRC all but the SE6b can suffer from overheating if the cooling system isn't 100%. Check for holes drilled into the bodywork, missing spare wheels (IIRC that acts as an air duct) and other indications of the car not being able to cope with 70F weather.
They come with three basic engines - 3L V6 Essex, or the 2.8L and 2.9L Cologne V6s. Most people prefer the 3L and the 2.9L, they had to lower the gearing for the 2.8 to make it feel reasonably sporty and they have a drinking problem as a result. Gearbox is usually Ford, too, the rest of the mechanical bits and quite a lot of the lights etc are UK parts bin.
Parts availability in the UK is OK, no idea what it's like over here.
http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/3055239735.html
The pictures in the linked album seem to show a pretty solid looking chassis. It's a 3 litre according to the seller. How do you tell the SE%, from SE6 ,etc ? Is that related to the model years, Tim ?
Yes, the first models (the coupe) are SE4s, the SE5 was the first generation GTE and the SE6 the second generation. On photos, they're very easy to tell apart by looking at the front. This is a random SE5 found on the net:
You can see that it's got dual headlights with both lights the same size. If you look at the pictures in the ad you linked, the headlights are two different sizes and the whole front looks subtly different. That one is an SE6. If you parked them side by side you'd also see that the SE6 is a little bigger.
It looks like it's in pretty good shape. Not sure about those wheels with covers though that the seller calls "original" - all the ones I came across in the UK had alloys, usually either Wolfrace or the dual colour black & silver ones.
TBH with that sort of description and the pictures, I'd be over to the seller's place in a flash if I was anywhere near that car.
There's something I vaguely remember about the front suspension - there are several parts that need greasing including the upright and if you don't, it gets expensive. It might also be that you're supposed to use 90 weight gear oil instead of grease but I can't remember.
Front suspension is pure Triumph TR series so no real worries there. There is an alternate parts book that is quite useful. Some of the alternates are just as obscure now though - like the Hillman Hunter tailights. I owned a '69 GTE for a while - it was pretty rough and never got it streetable. I'd guess there are maybe ten of so GTEs in North America. Quite good club support from the UK.
I'd make sure the windshield is there and all trim is accounted for.
see my profile for one in NZ recently refurbished
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