The December issue of Practical Classics magazine has an article about the
Daimler SP250 Dart. In the late fifties Daimler, in poor financial shape,
wanted to capture some of the lucrative North American market for two seater
sports cars. Originally to be a steel bodied car, tooling costs led to
fibreglass panels on a separate chassis. They developed a 2.5 litre V8 to
power it, and the car turned out to be rather expensive compared to the
competition (Austin-Healey, Jaguar for example). Production ended in 1964
with only 2644 having been produced. The sales just were not there. In the
article, David Manners (the English Jaguar/Daimler expert) states "the SP250
is an ideal classic. The V8 engine is both poweful and frugal. To drive,
handling is acceptable and the brakes are good, but steering is heavy at
parking speeds. Gearboxes and axles are weak, but only using first gear to
pull away and never changing down to it while moving will limit problems."
Doug Ingram
Victoria BC
1958 Sprite (AN5L/636)
1963 Sprite Mk II project (HAN7L/30003)
----- Original Message -----
From: <Frmjr45@aol.com>
To: <Metallian6@aol.com>; <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Cc: <spitfires@autox.team.net>
Sent: Sunday, December 05, 1999 7:23 PM
Subject: Re: Daimler SP250 (Dart) question
> Hi Jamie, When I was in college on Long Island in '63-'64, I had a friend
> who had an SP250. It was fibreglas with a mini hemi V8. It was a fast
car
> that got him in trouble and he lost his license. He also encountered a
solid
> object and messed up the front end. However, a shop that did work on
> Corvettes was able to redo the 'glass for him and it looked great when it
was
> done. He left out the grille, which made it look much better. I have some
> pictures of it somewhere.
>
> Russ Mullaly
> Ellicott City, MD
> '62 Midget
>
|