JBA Falcon

JBA Falcon 2+2 in Black and white

JBA Falcon 2+2 at Ripon Grammar School. Black and white shot.
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JBA Falcon 2+2 Against Sunset

White JBA Falcon 2+2 set against a sunset
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Period picture of JBA Falcon at Beningbrough Hall

a white JBA Falcon 2+2 in front of Beningbrough Hall. Period feel to the picture
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JBA Falcon 2+2

In March 1987 we drove over to Wigan to collect the kit part 1 and brought it back home. At the time I was living in a flat with a lockup over the road with no power. We rigged up a car battery to a small fluorescent light and that was it - but the bits were in a garage and I could make a start.

When looking at the Wyvern they agent had proudly proclaimed that it came ready coated in Hammerite. Thinking this was a good idea I bought the primer and plenty of Hammerite and started coating the chassis. I found out later this was a mistake - the slightest touch with a screwdriver and the Hammerite flaked off taking with it the primer and the coat that had been on when it came from the factory. I tried underseal. Same. Eventually I came across a rubberised compound at a kit car show and tried that - it did the trick!

I didn't have long in the lock up as we moved house, sticking the chassis back in my Dad's van for the move to the new house - the garage here was a narrow wooden garage held together by the woodworm holding hands - but it had power. Admittedly it was only one light and one socket but it had power. My father in law was an electrician and very soon had fluorescents and more sockets in for me.

Sadly work was progressing slowly - I had a lot of 'extra' to do at work (I was a teacher), we'd moved house, had to sort the garage out, had to work on the house, I had the Herald to look after, and I'd written a couple of books with a colleague. So all those people saying I wouldn't have time to do this project were probably thinking they were right, but I was determined this was no going to suffer the ignominious fate of being sold as an unfinished project.

By now we had the donor car (a MkIV 1600 Cortina estate) and were dismantling that at my Dad's work and I was touring scrapyards collecting the bits I needed, and I had started placing the initial panels on the chassis

Donor car almost totally stripped

We'd almost got the donor car stripped - just needed to get the suspension off it
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Priming the chassis

working in the little lock up with no power, applying Finnegans to the chassis ready for the Hammerite
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Chassis coated in Hammerite

I'd got the chassis coated in Hammerite - this didn't turn out as expected
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Pedal box and steering column fitted

By now I was in the little wooden garage with power! Here I'd added undercoat to the chassis and fitted the pedal box and steering colum
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Pedal box and steering column

View from inside the car of the pedal box and steering column. That's the Herald outside
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Another reason that progress was slow was my lack of experience. Before starting on the build the sum total of my experience was that I had changed the oil once on my wife's car. Therefore Maggie and I both enrolled on a car maintenance evening class. Every stage was - read the book, buy the bits, do it!

Time was in short supply, I'm afraid. I was getting a couple of hours one week, half an hour another week, then nothing, then maybe 4 hours - and so it went on. This was going to be a looooooong build!

Rear suspension fitted

by now I'd reconditioned the rear suspensio and axle and fitted it
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Front suspension fitted

I'd also reconditioned the front suspension bed and steering and fitted it
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Rolling chassis

Now we have a rolling chassis. It starts to look something like a car
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Engine and radiator fitted

Now we are getting somewhere - engine, cooling system, drive train all in place
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Working on the Engine

By this time I was feeling I was making some progress - but there was still a looooooong way to go
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Sadly Maggie's Dad died and so we then had to look after Mum - visiting once a week in the evening, having her with us each weekend and sorting out the barn. This mean that there was no work on the kit car for three years and then it slowly picked up again, but by then we had added to the family when Tom was born - logical that the kit car kept getting pushed to the back of the queue, but there was progress. It was very slow and tiny steps but there was progress. Then after a breakdown I left teaching and went into sales. That didn't help my mental state so I went back to university to do a Masters. This was extremely intense and so was another year with no work on the car. I stayed on to do a PhD and treated it like a job so now I could pick up the car work again. By now we had collected the rest of the kit so had some parts in the loft, some under the bed and some bits at my parents' place.

Engine bay wiring

Starting to get to grips with the wiring
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Wiring

now getting onto the wiring in the cockpit
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Boot and filler cap

By now I'd got the boot and fuel filler fitted
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Doors fitted

Fitting the doors made a real difference to the looks
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Wings fitted

and now it is really starting to look like something with the wings fitted
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As the 90s progressed there was talk of a new test for self-build cars - the SVA, with all new regulations. There was going to be some 'leeway' for cars that were already underway but it was still going to be tighter and then even tighter. The pressure was on. As the deadline drew near I called on the help of Steve at Yorkshire Kit Cars - please check it over for SVA and get anything sorted that it needs.

And that was it - she passed, I went to the DVLA office at Leeds with the paperwork and was given a number. She was on the road!

What a delight to drive! It wasn't finished. She wasn't trimmed at all and had no carpet - but she was driveable and road legal. I could sort the other stuff later - but later turned out to be 'much later.'

Bonnet fitted

Now we are getting somewhere - bonnet is fitted
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Painted!

Panels are back from the spray shop and I can start refitting
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Painted panels fitted

Now we've got the bonnet fitted
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Dashboard

Dashboard all ready to be fitted
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One day when putting her away towards the end of the season I noticed a fuel leak from above the exhaust pipe and figured I would sort it out over winter. Then I was made redundant, set up my own business and all my attention went onto that. Then VX came along and, again, that took all my time. All the time the poor car was languishing in the garage. I got her out one time and cleaned her up and tried to start her with no luck so she just sat there, forlornly, in the garage. I figured by now she had been off the road eight years - it was heart breaking. Then I looked at the tax disc and realised it had been 15 years. This was ridiculous. I had to get her back on the road but with being under so much work pressure I didn't have the time so I enlisted some help, and finally she was back on the road - but still not right. She still wasn't running quite right and she wasn't good to start.

Getting my friend Mike involved we found she had blown a head gasket and there were some other issues to sort. Finally, we had her sorted - then the Covid pandemic hit. This had the disadvantage that I couldn't get out in her - but by the same token I couldn't work either. This meant I had the chance to do the trimming and carpeting and other final bits and pieces! Obviously I started on the most difficult bit of trimming, something I had never attempted before. I have to admit I made a bit of pig's ear of it. Having done the rest I think I can do that bit better so I might have a go at redoing it some time

And here we are, finally, back on the road, after what must be the longest build in history.

I told them I would do it and she wouldn't be sold as an unfinished project!

SVA Ready

car all ready for the SVA
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Registered!

and we're on the road! We've got a registration and are road legal. Still lots to do, though!
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Trimming

It wasn't until Covid that I had time to tackle the trimming and carpetting
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Was it the right choice? Absolutely! Of all the ones I looked at the Falcon has been the longest-lasting. Although the company changed hands a few times and was dormant for a while, JBA Motors are up and running again and producing excellent BMW-based kits. Spares are still readily available for the donor cars . There is a thriving owners' club and with the number of Falcons on the road it is almost a classic in its own right.

Would I do it again? I'd love to - but I have learnt a lot and would do some things differently (obviously).

Falcon at Byland Abbey

Byland Abbey is a lovely location for a photoshoot
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Falcon as a Wedding Car

It has been a delight and privilege to use the Falcon as a wedding car for friends
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Falcon at Beningbrough Hall

She suits this location perfectly
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Falcon at sunset

Always keen to find locations to shoot a photogenic car
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