We have just been advised that another F2 is available for purchase, and at a very attractive price. This is F2044, and is still in the hands of the original owner, Gary Thomas.

Gary took delivery of his chassis and component parts in 1989, and worked steadily on his new project for several years. Like one or two others, however, circumstances changed, and the F2 dropped down the list of priorities, to the point that F2044 has now stood, virtually untouched, for the best part of 15 years.

Accepting that there is now little likelihood that he's going to be able to complete his Latham, Gary is now offering it for sale, part-built but complete with nearly all the necessary parts to finish the build. Here is a description of the kit . . . .

Completed Build
The kit is at the rolling chassis stage, and most of the major components and ancillaries have been incorporated. After such a length of time of inactivity, however, some elements may require a further degree of refurbishment.

F2044 is fitted with a rebuilt Dolomite Sprint 2.0 litre 16 Valve engine. This work was done at the beginning of the build, so there's every chance that the engine may require a strip-down before being started for the first time. Certainly the new owner would be advised to proceed carefully. The engine is mated to the Sprint overdrive gearbox and comes supplied with the special inlet manifold and twin 48 Weber carburettors. In addition, the rare and very sought-after Latham four-branch exhaust manifold and complete twin-pipe system is installed. Note also that the front Spax adjustable dampers are already fitted - these are only made to special order and are now costly to obtain.

As is normally recommended, the door skins were fitted as separate elements - inner skins and hinges first, and then outer skins to achieve a good fit to the monocoque. Gary has completed one side, but the second outer door skin has yet to be bonded to the inner, although this is in position.

The wiring is very nearly complete with just the section behind the dashboard to finish it off. The dashboard is not yet fitted, although a full set of gauges (previously unused) are boxed and ready to be clipped into place.

The headlight units, side lights and rear lights have all been installed. The brake and clutch hydraulics have also been plumbed in, although Gary suggests that these may need checking, a possible refit, and fresh fluid.

With the exception of those items listed below, all the unique Latham parts are present and correct, including dashboard (uncut as yet, but marked up for the instrument apertures), pedal box cover, transmission tunnel trim, heater elbow and seat shells. These, together with the unfitted bootlid, can be seen in the photograph below.

Gary is also "throwing in" a huge stack of spares, parts and extras, including leather-trimmed steering wheel, spare axle rods etc.

Components Missing
The following items are not part of the sale, but will be required to complete the build: Latham acrylic headlight covers, soft top (although an MGB hood frame is included -see photo left), windscreen glass (but a suitable frame part of the deal) seat trim, side window glass, and all soft interior trim. Availability on these items varies. Headlight covers will be available again shortly, pending sufficient orders to make remanufacture viable - and we're only two or three sets short of that number at the moment. Windscreen glass, being MGB, is readily available. Side windows are flat glass, and a template is available, and new glass can be made to order by any reputable automotive glass supplier. Hoods are basically MGB in design, with some slight tweaks to the rear three-quarters, and similarly, any experienced hood manufacturer should be able to make a new Latham hood. Patterns are available. Seat trim is a matter of taste. F2044 comes with a pair of Latham seat shells, and these could be trimmed by a competent upholsterer, but other proprietary seats can also be employed.

The asking price for F2044 is for offers in the region of £900, and in the first instance these should be made to us here at the register via email.

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This information was current as of January 2008

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