A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIM with 54 years of the Phæton

Built 1967 using all Sunbeam Alpine components 1725cc (93bhp), registered 1968, the Mantis.

1972 B Type

Early 80’s Phæton S3

Mid 80’s

Late 80’s Phæton S4

Duttons in Competition

Super Shell building, at Goodwood, one of our factories in the late 80s, in the most famous “shed” in the world.

For further information click ‘History‘.


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The design brief was simple, to produce a 21st century version of the best selling “Super-Kit Car” in the World – the Dutton Phæton, 1000’s upon 1000’s were made since 1973.

The Phæton is not just a car – it’s a story of heritage reborn. Fifty four years of innovation refined for today’s driver. 2000cc, 160bhp, 4 wheel disc brakes, ABS, 6 speed gearbox, limited slip differential and a lot more as standard.





Once the body is unbolted (6 bolts)and lifted off by 2 adults the complete rolling chassis can be built up in a day. Click on the photos for larger images.

Specifications for Phaeton 5

	inch	mm
Overall Length	139	3,530
Overall Width	68	1,727
Ground Clearance under Chassis *	5(F) 6(R)	127(F) 150(R)
Track	57	1,447
Wheel base	86	2,184
Weight (dry) total	1,600 (lb)	730 (kg)
Weight front axle **	837 (lb)	380 (kg)
Weight rear axle **	770 (lb)	350 (kg)
POWER	2000cc 220 bhp/tonne	1800cc 180 bhp/tonne

* Phaeton 5 has – as standard – Gaz coil-overs so ride height and damping are adjustable

** Close to a weight distribution of 50/50

SPECIFICATIONS (typical, depending on MX5 donor)

Left or Right hand drive. 5 or 6 speed gearbox. 1800cc or 2000cc 4 cyl engine. Limited slip diff. 4 Gaz adjustable coilover dampers. 4 Faulkner racing springs. Stainless steel side exhaust system. Power steering (can be immobilised if preferred). Adjustable steering column. Fully reclining black leather front seats with head rests. Heated seats. 12V 120W power socket. 3 rear storage boxes, 1 lockable. Interior lamp. 11 gallon/50L fuel tank. Diagonally split ABS dual brake system, servo, disc front and rear. Locking/immobiliser.

7J x 17″ Aluminium 10 spoke wheels with low profile 205/45/R17 tyres. 1 internal dipping mirror. 2 door mirrors. Heater/windscreen de-mister. Halogen headlamps, Pair fog lamps, LED rear lamps inc fog and reversing, LED front indicators, hazard warning. 3rd brake light. Speedo, rev counter, fuel gauge, water temp, oil temp. Wiper 2 speed + Mist + Int. Boot with electric key locking

What you get in the Phæton 5 kit:

Fully assembled:- Body tub in your colour + all internal flooring in black bonded monocoque unit BOLTED to:- Complete finished steel space frame, painted. Locking/hinged bonnet. Locking/hinged boot lid. Loose:- Front diff mounting Rear gearbox mounting Windscreen with interior mirror plinth and aluminium surround. Black dashboard with all holes precision cut. Whole set of cupro nickel brake pipes. Whole set copper fuel pipes. Complete stainless steel exhaust system. 2 front/2 rear suspension adjustable GAZ dampers. 2 front/2 rear Faulkner racing coil springs. Extended handbrake rod. Steel roll-over bar with IVA compliant seat belt anchorage. Pair wiper arms/blades/wheel boxes. Battery master switch and cables. Full set of decals – 2 off black DUTTON PHÆTON 5 (sides), 5 off DUTTON (4 hub cap + 1 steer wheel centre). Light pack:- pair 7 inch headlamps + side, pair LED front indicators, pair combined LED rear – stop/side/reverse/fog/indicator. Front/Rear lighting wiring diagrams. Black carpet set inc. boot floor GRP heater box heater motor Loose pack:- Fasteners – that are not taken from Mx5 Sundry brackets. Wiring and diagrams

What you don’t get in the Phaeton 5:

20 PAGES verses 47 PAGES?

It is recommended that a Companies assembly manual is forensically examined to determine:-
a) Can you build it?
b) Does it show all the parts being fitted with clear photos?

Our manual is 47 pages with 75 colour photos

It is counter-intuitive to assume that a 47-page manual means the build-up is twice as long/complicated as a 20 page manual.

DONOR CAR PRICES PLUMMET:

If you are buying a fully built Phæton 5 there are two main sources of Donor Car…

Since UK insurance companies have decided that fully comprehensive cover is cheaper than basic fire & theft, the market has been flooded with cheap slightly damaged cars.

1. We are registered with www.copart.co.uk (other auction sites are available) that auctions 1,400 (that’s not a typo) damaged cars every day. If you have ordered a fully-built Phæton you can search Copart free of charge for the Donor Car that you want us to use. Bear in mind that these are bought by virtual auction so are sold ‘AS IS’; we can only rely on the description and photos shown. THERE IS NO WARRANTY (and expect to purchase any damaged parts that need replacing).

Give us the bid number and maximum price that you want to pay and we will bid for it on your behalf. If we win your bid you MUST pay within 2 days. See Donor Car page as an example of the fees involved.

2. As an alternative, you can supply the Donor Car; by joining an online auction site like Copart for £100 and bidding yourself (and arrange delivery and collection), or use other sources.

CHOOSING A DONOR
Look for a donor with lots of light body damage category C, D, S, N or U (unrecorded) NOT stolen recovered as there might be some expensive parts already missing nor cat A or B.

Please note: the option for us to bid on your behalf is only applicable to fully built cars, not kit sales.

CERTIFICATES/TYPE APPROVAL/SAFETY/WARRANTY

We have been committed to customer safety since the 1960’s. As an example, in the early 1980’s the department of transport could not decide whether kit cars needed a physical seat belt anchorage test.
Rather than waiting for them to decide, we took it upon ourselves (at considerable expense) to do a full, physical Type Approval seat belt anchorage test on our entire range.
The pictures below shows Phæton platform (includes Melos and Leggera) and Sierra platform (includes Drophead, Panel van, Rico,Shuttle and Benito) being tested in July 1984 by Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) the world renowned testing centre – The NMI seat system is loaded with a total of 3.5 tonne, and must be able to keep the load for 0.2 sec. without breaking for the test to be approved. For the record all our models passed first time of testing.

Reliability and Quality

For well over 59 years Tim Dutton has been building cars that are deliberately basic – this means they are easy and inexpensive to service / repair anywhere in the World.

DVSA (was VOSA) Inspection

Part of the comprehensive IVA test. This is for a Surf but it’s the same test procedure. The Dutton 5 Phæton is IVA compliant.

WARRANTY

It doesn’t matter how many degrees or diplomas you have there can never be a substitute for over 59 years of continual vehicle production. At Dutton we can look at a component and “see” what it will look like in 10 years time and design / position it accordingly – you certainly can’t learn that looking at a computer screen. This is borne out by our spectacular lack of warranty claims. To see how tough our rectangular chassis are see the 1983 video of our Sierra being put thru it’s paces

WARRANTY:- All Dutton manufactured items 12 months. As the donor Mazda MX5 we purchase is always from an online auction and bought “sight unseen” there is no warranty. Vehicles must be returned to factory at owner expense for warranty work. Date runs from date of delivery

The IVA test and Package

ALL low volume body/chassis kit cars in the UK have to pass the IVA test. Without an IVA certificate you will not be able to register your car for road use. For exports it is usually easier/quicker to get us to IVA test and register the car in the UK before submitting to register in your country.

We cannot stress enough the importance of the IVA test and not just from a legal point of view – it also shows that the car has been assembled to the highest Government standards.

We have been subjecting our vehicles to SVA/IVA testing since 1997

Our IVA package for Fully Built Cars includes the following:-

• DVLA 1st Registration Fee
• 1 month UK road tax
• Pair number plates
• Full fuel tank
• Full day attendance at IVA test station
• Attending to ALL paperwork with DVSA and DVLA up to and including fitting number plates to your Dutton (including your cherished number if required). You simply arrive at the factory, jump in your new 5 and drive off.