Introduction:

I built this car in 1984/85 but this report written in 2011 is from memory. It is amazing how much of the detail I can remember. This part of the report details the build and the early years with the car. During the 80’s and 90’s the car underwent a number of modifications including different engines but also minor changes to improve reliability etc.  At one stage in the late 80’s the car was even swapped for a ‘Normal’ car but was bought back again a year or so later. For the last 15 years, the Dutton has remained under sheets in a dry garage but is now being prepared for use again and is going to have a major overall to ensure it lasts another 27 years. The renovation area details the restoration 26 years later. 

Construction:

I can’t remember why I chose a Dutton Phaeton maybe it was cost or because it was based on Ford of which I was familiar or just because I had seen one somewhere. Whatever – I paid my deposit and placed the order.

Whilst the chassis was being built, I had lots of preparation work to do.

Although the kit is designed to use a Mk1 or Mk2 Escort donor car, I had a Mk1 Ford Capri1600 GT that had excellent mechanics but rotten body work. I decided to use as may parts from this as possible but accepted  some parts would have to come from an Escort. The Capri gearbox were cleaned, new seals fitted where necessary, painted and refilled with oil. The engine was completely stripped down cleaned and rebuilt with new seals and gaskets through out. An Mk2 Escort axle was stripped from car in a scrap yard, cleaned, serviced and painted.

I then had to work out how to get the kit back home to Colne in Lancashire from the Dutton factory in Worthing. A work colleague and I decided to convert an old caravan chassis into a car trailer. A few weeks later I set off to collect the kit. At the factory, I loaded the kit and left my prop shaft at the factory to be resized once I had the engine, gearbox and real axle in place.

With the kit finally at home I stared at all the bits and wondered where to start – time to read through the instruction manual – a rather simple guide but enough for anyone with basic car mechanics experience.

All the metal components including the chassis were painted with two coats of ‘Hammerite’ and a generous coat of Waxoil to help ensure the chassis lasted as long as possible. The main section of the GRP body was trial fitted to ensure all the fixing were in the correct place.

Starting at the rear, a pair of second hand Escort MK2 rear leaf springs were bolted to the chassis (new one would be too stiff due to the lighter weight of the kit). The axle was then attached with 2 inch lowering blocks to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible. New adjustable ‘Woodhead’ shock absorbers were bolted on and set initially to a soft setting. Escort 1.3 rear brake assemblies were fully re conditioned and new shoes fitted.

At the front, Dutton modified Escort lower struts and proprietary top wishbones were attached to the chassis. A reconditioned Escort steering rack was fitted to the chassis along with new track rod ends. Refurbished Capri hubs, disks and callipers completed the front assembly. The car was fitted with temporary wheels and tyres to create a rolling chassis.

The engine and gearbox were mated together with a new Capri GT clutch and cover. The whole assembly was lowered onto the chassis with new gearbox and engine mounts. The length of the prop shaft was notified to Dutton and I was told to expect a couple of weeks for the return of the modified version.

Whilst waiting for the prop shaft, a number of additional parts were fitted including: new brake pipes, new Escort radiator, alternator, fuel pump etc. Once the prop shaft was returned and fitted, the kit was now ready to have the main GRP body section fitted and secured. This took a bit of fiddling to ensure it was not stressed and did not creak and rattle.

Once the body was fitted, the fiddly jobs could start. One of the biggest being the electrical wiring loom – being an electrician, I made my own from scratch using a wiring scheme specific for this car.  ‘Bedford’ rear lights and ‘Hella’ head lights were fitted along with all the other lights, switches and sensors around the car.

I decided to use the Capri fuel tank instead of the Escort van type as specified – this took a bit of extra effort but once fitted left the car with a slightly deeper boot and a bit bigger tank. The Escort pedal assembly was re designed to accommodate my driving position and long legs! The Escort steering column, heater and wiper motors were bolted on as was the Capri dual circuit brake master cylinder.

Many of the water pipes and hoses were off the shelf from car accessory shops but the under mount exhaust was hand fashioned from new bits of pipe and silencer boxes. The GRP dash board was professionally covered in leather substitute before all the Capri GT switches and dials were fitted into the dash. This was then fitted to the car and connected up.

The car was now starting to take shape, the interior had custom made carpets fitted together with a (classic 80’s) sound system. The original GRP seats were ditched as too basic but were replaced by ‘Cobra’ bucket seats. Three point seatbelts were installed and the handbrake fitted. Highly polished Wolf Race 'Slot Mags' 13” alloy wheels were shod with 205 x 60 Pirelli tyres.

Once all the main components were fitted, the car was fuelled up and the engine started for the first time. A number of minor tweaks took place to stop leaks and rattles etc. The bonnet and boot were fitted and the final trim applied. A Dutton supplied soft top and doors were fitted and final preparations made for the initial DVLA inspection.

Compared with today’s kit car tests and checks, in the 80’s it was pretty simple, A DVLA inspector came out to take a note of the chassis number, engine number, colour etc and asked where the parts had come from. As many of the parts were from more than one donor vehicle, the kit was given a ‘Q’ registration and the new V5 document arrived a few weeks later.

The only other test required was a standard ‘MOT’, this was booked as normal and passed without any major recommendations or issues. With a V5 and a MOT certificate all that was required was to arrange some insurance then pay the standard ‘Road Tax’. In just over a year the car was complete and ‘on the road’

Driving the Car:

Speed and handling:

The Dutton is great fun to drive, acceleration is excellent but top speed at just over 100 MPH is nothing exceptional but feels fast enough! In the dry the car handles very well but can ‘tramp’ a little if the clutch is dropped with high revs.  In the wet, more care has to be taken, despite decent tyres, the rear end can slide on a bend if too much power is used at the wrong time. The brakes are balanced and effective.

Living with the car:

As with most two seaters, space is limited but sufficient, Entry and exit with the doors and hood on is a little tight but without the doors is easy. The heater is powerful and keeps the legs warm. The sound system is ‘loud’ but needs to be on a motorway as wind noise is considerable. The driving position is comfortable with excellent visibility all round.

During the mid and late 80’s I used the car on a daily basis for a few years and travelled extensively and included Ski trips in Scotland, North East England and South Wales as a student and also to the French and Swiss Alps on a mountaineering holiday.

Modifications in the early years:

One of the first modifications was to fit a sump guard, after hitting the low sump a few times, it was clear it was only a matter of time before it was holed and the engine possibly damaged. A sheet of ¼ steel was bent and fastened to a new cross member under the engine.

The next modification was again related to the low ground clearance and necessitated re routing the exhaust from underneath the car to the left hand side. In addition to new pipe work and silencers etc, A new aluminium body panel to cover the exhaust was fabricated.

The original design has the handbrake cable running under the car, due to the lowering blocks, (so lower body) it was found the prop shaft often touched the cable and on occasions this snapped, by re routing this inside the car, the problem has been solved.

Due partially to the lowering blocks, it was found that with two people in the car and a full load of fuel, the rear axle occasionally bashed against the chassis, over time this weakened the chassis member supporting the rear shock absorbers and it eventually cracked. The old damaged section was removed and a new section installed. This was done by a local garage as we did not have the means to carry out this work at the time. The replacement section was of a reasonably quality but did not interface very well with the existing chassis. As described later in the restoration section this would need further work many years later.

The most significant modifications were to the engines. Originally, the car had a 1600 Capri GT ‘Kent’ engine but at some stage a 1300 Kent engine was fitted for a while (I can't remember why I did this !) even with this engine, performance was great as the kit is very light. The most exciting engine however was a ‘Lotus Twin Cam’ from the Lotus élan and Cortina models. This was a modified Kent block with an aluminium cylinder head with dual overhead cam shafts and twin Webber 40’s carburettors. This engine was exceptionally powerful for the car and was very quick but unfortunately, the complicated nature of this engine rendered it far too high maintenance, with chains slipping, valves being bent and the Webbers always going out of tune it was soon replaced by a more tame but reliable 1600 Kent cross flow again.

To accommodate the extra power of the Lotus Engine and make space around the Webber carburettors, the brake system was upgraded to include the vacuum servo mechanism from the Capri. This has since been left in place.

Whilst the car was in the temporary ownership of a friend, it was shod with a new set of tyres 185 x70 x 13 – these are still on the car but may need changing now. He also added ‘go faster’ stripes down the side of the car (very 80’s)

After returning to family ownership, my brother used the car on and off for a couple of years and did some maintenance by adding zips to the doors and hood which were a little worn. He used the car extensively in and around London and Edinburgh but also took the car to the French Grand Prix in Monaco on one occasion.

Since 1995, the car has been stored in a dry garage waiting patiently for someone to use it again. In early June 2011, I hired a trailer and travelled from High Wycombe to Colne to collect the Dutton.  I intend to give the car a full overhaul and return it to the road again later in the year.

See Restore area more more info on this.