| Convair Excell, Nordec Excell and TWM |
| Copyright © Angus Dudley | |
 The
aim of Convair had always been to expand the company and produce a
number of models. The Roadster had been designed as a racing shell and
the GT was an extension of that basic body. The company that to be
successful they would have to produce a proper roadworthy sports car. As
such it would have to be considerably stronger and more comfortable.
Since clean lines were no longer of such importance Clive was free to
add a touch of style. The resulting "Excell" had design cues taken from
the Ferrari California which was THE supercar of the era. |
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| The first body was built at Maurice Gomm's workshop in Byfleet. Progress had been slow so Clive went to the workshops to oversee matters and ended up constructing parts of the original shell. Two sets of moulds were taken from this body and used to manufacture the Excell body. The original aluminium body was fitted to a Ford chassis and became Clive's personal transport for a while. | |
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| The Excell body was constructed with a thicker glass fibre wall, adding to the weight but also forming a much stronger body than the Roadster. The doors, boot and bonnet were also larger producing a more usable design. Headlights, tail lights, hinges etc were provisioned for. Soft tops and tonneaus were available, as was a hard top (as shown above). The initial dashboard was flat and had a comprehensive set of instruments. Clive also produced a few "binnacle" dash boards providing much better access for maintenance. One or two cars were also modified to produce a 2+2 design with a small (very small) occasional seat behind the front seats. | |
| The first bodies were sold by Convair and were advertised as "The Excell". A tubular chassis, called the "S-Type" was made for it. This was built along the lines of John Tojero's designs. Complete cars were also marketed. The brothers parted company soon afterwards but production of the bodies continued as they had a set of moulds each. Terry produced his at his new garage in Newark under the TWM banner (for Terry Wren Motors). Clive continued to produce his using the Nordec company - which was their general engineering arm. Hence these cars may be found under a number of names. In total, probably 70 shells were made. |
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This site was last updated 02/24/06
