History

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=198 style=" border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC;" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0490ac61egerdp.jpg"> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Excalibur Crusader Kit Car Owners Club ">Home</A></div> <div> <B>History</B></div> <div> <A HREF="pictures.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pictures">Pictures</A></div> <div> <A HREF="technical.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Technical">Technical</A></div> <div> <A HREF="news.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News">News</A></div> <div> <A HREF="forum.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Forum">Forum</A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=282 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Excalibur Crusader Kit Car - Owners Club & Resource Centre</B></FONT>   </div> <bR> <div> History</div> <div> <B>This was an easy to build kit car, which produced a lightweight stylish performance sports car of which there are very few examples around. Perfect track day car with room in the back for children, room in the boot for shopping and a heater!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The car was a full 2 plus 2 sports car - as much room in the back as a Ford Capri - and uses Ford running gear. All inline engines which bolt to a Ford Mark 9 gearbox will fit - Crossflow, Pinto, Zetec, Cologne V6 etc.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Kit Manufacturer History.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Excalibur Crusader was a high quality kit car manufactured in Cornwall from the mid eighties until the early nineteen nineties. It used a Ford Cortina Mk III / IV or V as a donor vehicle. </B></div> <div> <B>Any of the Ford engines used in these cars could easily be fitted to the car - Kent 4 cylinder push rod, Pinto 4 cylinder OHC or the Cologne V6s. Similarly the derivatives of these engines - Twin Cam, BDA, Pinto Cosworth etc. are an equally good fit. The Ford type 9 gearbox, 4 or 5 speed, fitted to these engines as standard is used, with a shortened one piece propshaft to a Cortina / Capri back axle, English or full width Atlas. (The very last cars built had a flip front, which allowed fitting of the Rover V8 engine.)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The engine is situated well back in the chassis, making a very well balanced and nicely handling car. Nevertheless, the car is a genuine 2+2, with as much room inside as a Capri and has a proper - large - boot. The twin wishbone front subframe from the Cortina is used complete and the rear axle location is by twin trailing arms from the Cortina, the chassis mountings positioned to give particularly good axle location.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Excalibur has an extremely strong box section mig welded chassis - described in the original paperwork, onto which is bolted a very high quality fibreglass bodyshell. Incorporated within the body shell is a steel rollover cage, which also provides the door pillar seat belt mountings and door hinge mountings.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This particular kit was originally sold to be built as a demonstrator by Eldon Automotive, who then had various disagreements with the factory. (Historical note: they bought the manufacturing rights to the LA Roadster, renamed it the Eldon, manufactured it successfully for some years and then sold the project on. It is now sold as the Phaser.) It then passed to me. I was having supply problems with the factory myself and indeed the factory shortly closed down. In company with many kit car originators, Clive Clark, the company owner, found it was not possible to produce a kit of the high quality on which he insisted and still make a profit.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>