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OXFORD DIECAST ZEPHYR MK 3


paul 27
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 These  appear retooled after the first issue,  having recently purchased the very first issue in pale green,

  it has some very noticeable flaws, lip in the roof over the front windscreen and rear screen, seam on n/s/f wing

  and above n/s windows,  might try to file down the lips on the roof this being the most noticeable.

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You could always seek out the Husky toys estate version and fit the Oxford wheels and floorpan to it. And the interior with a bit of modification.

That must have been a rare sight on the roads, I did the same thing with the Base toys Cortina mk1 as I find them slightly over scale,

 having the full range of Oxford zephyrs I was just disappointed with there first issue, any one else tried to correct the body to screen

  issues on there model.

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I never found the printed grille to be convincing on these models either, Husky did a far better job on their model. It was done to 1/75 scale (close enough for jazz!) but an odd choice of model because estate versions of the mark 3 range were particularly uncommon (done with official sanction by a third party converter - was it possibly Crayford?).

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If you think that was fun, you should try one with a Raymond May's head and triple SUs. :jester:

I hope the boatamatic suspension had been stiffened. Better mcPherson struts would have been a good start.

 

The estate version was by Abbott of Farnham.

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G'Day Folks

 

Had a Zephyr 4, back in the early 70's lovely car, only had a 1703 cc engine so not to fast, but very economical, used to drive down to Southampton from Southend, then do a trip up to the S&DJR (after it had closed) then back to Southampton (to drop the G/F off) then back to Southend, all on a tank of petrol, the tank of 2 star was 3.30 pounds.

 

manna

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I hope the boatamatic suspension had been stiffened. Better mcPherson struts would have been a good start.

 

The estate version was by Abbott of Farnham.

Not to begin with, but it quickly became a priority................

 

Fortunately, the Police in various parts of the country had used quite a lot of Mk.IIIs (as in Z-Cars) and the uprated bits were quite readily obtainable.

 

John

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I think the police versions used the engine from the Zodiac - still 2.5 litres, but better porting or some such gave it a whacking 112 bhp, against I think about 105 for the Zephyr 6. 217E was, I think, the engine designation. 

 

Local police had a couple of Zephyrs, and Michael enjoyed driving up close behind someone in the dark knowing they'd wonder if he was plod. All was well until the misty morning when he did that - and then realised the car he was tailgating was a police Zephyr..... At the North Holmwood roundabout they carried on into Dorking and he went round the bypass (passing Deepdene House) and then met them in passing in the High Street. They did give him a funny look, he thought. Great days!

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Thanks for the reminder/correction, Ian - now you've said it, Abbott's does ring a bell. I know Crayford did quite a few of the convertible conversions for Ford.

Shortly before my family left England, my father hired a Zephyr 4. It didn't have a great deal of get up and go, but it was very spacious. Dad was particularly impressed with the boot, being deep enough to stow the suitcases standing up vertically.

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A college pal of mine had a B reg Zodiac with an engine tuned by one of the performance specialists and triple, twin choke Weber carbs, he reckoned it knocked out about 150bhp. We had great fun with night time thrashes up and down the M1, miraculously none of ever picked up any endorsements as a result, the Northants bobbies at the time must have been scared of going out in the dark.

 

The car was in a pretty sorry state and he eventually scrapped it after the MOT tester ran out of lines on his fail sheet. The engine went on to live in a transit band bus converted from a 3 litre ambulance, which must have been an absolute death trap, my pal lived on with a 3.3 Vauxhall Viscount which went like stink in a straight line but barely made it between filling stations.

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i too was disappointed with Oxford's Zephyr, particularly the grille area - far too simplified. I also thought the hubcaps were too flat, not capturing the slightly conical profile of Fords ubiquitous "dog dish" caps of the time. Am I right in thinking that the Husky version was a little exaggerated in width in relation to its length? I haven't had one for many years, so can't make a comparison. I wish that Oxford would revise the tooling and produce a Mk111 Zodiac instead.

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One of those cars that can pass anything but a petrol station :derisive:

I inherited my dad's Cresta PB, which in later years consumed 15 mpg, whether moving or not. When stationary, the gaskets on the carb leaked, whilst, when running, only four of the six pots worked most of the time. Did I mention only first and third gear worked? 

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Changing the subject slightly, I really wish somebody would model the Mark 2 Fords, especially the Consul. The old Matchbox Zodiac is quite a good representation (four-door convertible excepted) but the Consul was much more numerous.

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Changing the subject slightly, I really wish somebody would model the Mark 2 Fords, especially the Consul. The old Matchbox Zodiac is quite a good representation (four-door convertible excepted) but the Consul was much more numerous.

Changing the subject slightly, I really wish somebody would model the Mark 2 Fords, especially the Consul. The old Matchbox Zodiac is quite a good representation (four-door convertible excepted) but the Consul was much more numerous.

One is on the way from Oxford this year :)

Anybody on here done up a husky zephyr with pics to post?

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One is on the way from Oxford this year :)

Anybody on here done up a husky zephyr with pics to post?

Unfortunately they've chosen the top of the line Zodiac version rather than the more common Consul.

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One is on the way from Oxford this year :)

Anybody on here done up a husky zephyr with pics to post?

Well, not a completed one, but one started ages ago with the intention to make a Zodiac saloon:

 

post-1877-0-27645900-1529233766_thumb.jpg

 

I sawed the whole body in half and glued ( 'proper' Araldite) it back together after taking just over 1mm from the width. I also took the chrome sills off the chassis and added the missing depth to the body. Plenty of filler and smoothing (including the deep and wide door lines) and it looks quite good in primer. The original glazing won't fit now, but I'll be cutting flush glazing for it anyway, but the interior does fit! I lost the grille, but it would have needed replaement with a four headlight arrangement anyway. I don't have a ODC Zephyr to compare looking top-down, but I think it's still slightly too wide (though not by much).

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They certainly like their range toppers don’t they?!

 

Even their modern BMW 3 series is an M3...

Unfortunately thats what Joe Public expects. Thats why the most popular full size manufacturer when it comes to die-casts is Ferrari.

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