Got the AVOs for the back today - 12" extended and 8.5" closed - stroke of 3.5". AVO Part number TA120/085.

This is as far extended as you can go using the chassis mount shock brackets. On full droop the shaft just stops short of the chassis by about half an inch. Of course that is on a standard car - the adapters and CVs on my car add some width (I think) - meaning you could go for a longer shock. But then a longer shock compromises bump - and you'd end up with the shock constantly on the bump end of travel. Going over bumps might be nasty. Plus - you get less suspension travel as the stroke is less. For instance an 11" open length has a 7.5" closed length - but a whole inch less travel than a 12" All compromises I guess...

I am wondering if I should have gone for a slightly shorter shock - which would have moved the area of motion in to the bump region rather than the droop. Seems a waste to have a load of droop as it never gets used...

We'll see.. can always buy another set... I knew I should have modelled the suspension in 3D ages ago...

Well I painted them in PJ1 Flameproof Cast Iron paint - good for 800 degrees centigrade apparently.

No more cast alu texture that will pick up every greasy finger...

Should also point out the exhaust manifold is also in the same paint... though will be wrapped in black 1mm exhaust wrap.

It's taking a while - that's all I'll say!

I used POR Strip to begin with, which has the consistancy of water. You spray it on using a mister bottle. You don't need much at all - a light sprinkle and the paint starts to peel off in minutes. I ran out of that so went and got a litre of Nitromors - despite it being thick, it doesn't work as well at all. You have to use loads of the stuff to get anywhere near the same effect.

A big thumbs up for POR Strip.

Stripping the wheels seems to have taken forever - it's a horrid job. The first layer or so comes off easily - it's getting all the little bits that is the pain.

Well not much has been happening car wise - though I have now got the diff to CV adapters off Josh. I've painted the outside edge in an attempt to stop them from getting nasty surface rust. My new favourite paint - PJ1 Fast Black Epoxy paint - it's fantastic stuff. Really tough - and has a nice powder coat like finish. Not horrid gunky glossy like Hammerite. Which as we all know is an evil paint!

In fact I have been testing various paints - PJ1 barrel paint and the fast black epoxy. Examples of both can be seen below - the matt one being the barrel paint. The barrel paint is a delight to use as it goes on so easily and covers very well. Both are really tough - even a screwdriver wont chip the stuff. The epoxy one is great too - also very hard - if it does come off it doesnt chip at all. The main thing with these paints is making sure you cure them with heat. Putting them on a hot radiator is sufficient - makes them much harder.

Another thing I simply must tell you about is the spray handle thing they do - no more paint on your index finger. Loads more control too. Well worth it - especially as it's less than £3!

http://www.usautomotive.co.uk/store/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=215

I realise I am turning in to one of those people I hate - parts collectors and restoration procrastinators... however there is a plan to get things moving - just things like work getting in the way now - what a pain!

Well the chassis is back - along with every mount and wishbone all zinced and powder coated.

I bought some calipers for the front - HiSpec Motorsport Princess copies. Super lightweight - 900g on their own - and the pads weigh 400g. Pad area is just slightly bigger than a type 16 pad - it's more a case of reducing the unsprung weight as I don't really think I need much more braking power over a GT6. With a Spit you can lock up the brakes easy enough.

Also to go with those are a full set of Speedbleeders for easy brake bleeding.

For the rear I am doing the Bowler conversion - MGF hubs, CV joints etc Tempting to go with discs on the rear too (MGF hubs take a disc as standard) - will have to see how money comes in over the next month or so.

Photos below.

Just about thawed and dried out now!

Last week I got a phone call late one evening from Don. "What are you doing this weekend and have you got a passport ready?" he asked. He had asked me this exact question before - 2 years ago before the first 10CR. This time it was to take part in a night rally that Club Triumph Holland hold every year. I couldn't decline really - it sounded good fun and another weekend on the continent was not to be refused! Everything was arranged and Don was to pick me up on Friday night.

Friday night came and Don picked me up before heading back to his house - the GT6 needed a few things attending to - topping up the gear oil being one. An early night was the only option - as we had to get up at 5am the next morning.

We headed for Dover and got there in good time. Before I knew it we were in France and heading towards Belgium to meet up with Doug and Katie. We met up at some motorway services near Gent and got on with the rest of the journey to Liege.

The cars ran well with no problems - we took the exit from the motorway and crossed the bridge over to the town where our hotel was, which was also the start of the rally. Suddenly Doug fell behind - we stopped and Doug's car came clattering up behind. Something was rather wrong - we parked up and tried to diagnose the car. We towed the car to the Hotel - which was less than a kilometer away.

Realising that the clutch plate was the problem - Doug and Don got ready to attack the problem. A quick phone call to Roger confirmed that he had a spare clutch plate - and that he would bring it with him - but he would only be arriving an hour before the start of the rally! Doug and Don quickly got to work and had the 'box and clutch out in an hour. Though the clutch didn't really come out - rather it fell out in pieces.

Lots of Dutch Triumph owners started to arrive - rather puzzled looks that they could be attempting a clutch change. "You have tools in your car!?" was heard - don't all Triumphs have tools in them? Not that they go wrong all the time - but when they do you can fix them! Roger arrived and the clutch was in very quickly. Me and Katie had co-driver things to do - mainly getting help translating the road book in to English. Doug and Don went to get cleaned up whilst Katie put the interior in. The first cars were already leaving...

Eventually we started the rally - within the first 10 minutes we had taken a wrong turning. The road book was a set of diagrams - mainly junctions telling which way to go. Each diagram had a distance on it - it was quite difficult to do this with the standard speedo's tripmeter. Soon we were back on track - and doing reasonably well.

Two things stand out over the next couple of hours - one was driving across a field. The two Triumphs following us wimped out. I don't blame them - it was a wrong turning on my part! Second was a rather wet twisty section and the locking up of brakes - but let's not dwell on that!

Soon the half way stop came up - a very nice restaurant/bar was the choice. We met up with Doug and Katie - who had got there way before us - despite having started after us! Well to be fair most people were there before us... It's still pretty impressive - Katie certainly has a talent! Food was ordered and we set off in a bit of a convoy to make the drive a bit more entertaining - with Katie navigating - certainly a better choice than me!

The trouble with these diagrams is that once you get a bit lost - you get very lost - and in the end you are totally lost. We ended up lost - it was agreed to head for the hotel. No point in getting in late by driving around in circles and missing a drink and meeting up with the others.

We got back - and found only a few cars had got back. Mostly the obviously furious drivers - we didn't even try and pretend we had got back quickly - I think it was obvious we got lost...

Several drinks later (I am ashamed to say I can't remember if it was 4 or 5) and everyone was back. We headed off to bed at around 2am - I was really quite exhausted having been up since 5am!

The next morning we attended to the cars - Doug and Katie finished off putting the trim back in their car and Don topped up the gear oil. We headed off to Brugge, however it seemed that most of Belgium had a similar idea and we were stuck traffic for most of the journey. Ending the trip in Brugge was nice - lovely place - after eating and downing some rather nice blonde Biere we headed off to Calais.

Overall a really nice weekend - will be entering next year for sure... wonder if I can convince Katie to be my co-driver?!

Well it's been a while - it's all been a bit slow.

Whilst the work to repair the last prang was being done to my car - it became apparent that it needs a new chassis. Not badly - it had a bit of a minor twist. But seeing as everything else was coming out - it made sense to do it now. Today I finally got one - and what a damned fine chassis it is.

I also got my hands on a hardtop - looks a bit shocking - but it's all metal. I reckon this will really set the car off - and for 10CRs and RBRRs it will be far nicer inside the cockpit - nice and cosy with far less wind noise to keep the co-driver awake.

Also planned is a rotoflex rear end - for which I now have the bits for too.

Another add-on are some Revolution wheels - they need a quick polish and to be painted with black centers - but otherwise they're all there and ready to go.

Full report to follow soon, for now just photos!

A brief summary: Superb!

The event was fantastic, for me, due to a couple of cars - Don and Steve in the wonderful "Tomboy" and Dave and Fred in the superb "Green"... would not have been half as special without these.

Many thanks to TomTom for sponsoring us too - it made the weekend go without a hitch navigation wise - a superb piece of equipment - and I am really not just saying that because I have to!

Thanks to Bill at Rarebits4Classics for supplying a spares kit again - luckily Craig's superb Vitesse didn't need any of them.

Finally thanks to Debbie at JeaP Clothing and Promotions for cutting our sponsors stickers for the car at the last minute. They worked out great!

http://www.tomtom.com
http://www.rarebits4classics.co.uk
http://www.jeap.co.uk

Nothing much happened yesterday apart from getting a couple of oversized thrust washers - putting one oversize and one standard in to get the clearance perfect. Also got a couple of main bolts and put those in. Cleaned up some more bits also. Cleaning and keeping everything clean seems to take the longest amount of time.

Today the bottom end was finished off.

The pistons are 0.004" to the deck - they vary by no more than 0.001" across the 4 cylinders - not bad considering that was all luck. Making a difference of 0.11cc between each cylinders at most. Which - in real world terms effects the compression ratio on each one by 0.02. Right enough of the geek stuff... (kindly provided by Dyno2003 by the way - I didn't work those out by hand!)

Tomorrow the cam will be timed up and the hopefully all ready to put in the car. Probably paint the sump with aluminium paint too.

Degreased. Pressure washed. Oiled Bores. Painted. Core plugs next then ready to build on Monday I hope!

Got the AVOs on today - they have transformed the ride totally. Before on uprated 330lb springs the standard shocks couldnt control the spring - so going everywhere was bouncy bouncy - in fact I think it was better overall with standard springs and standard shocks! Now the car doesnt bounce up and down as it goes over simple bumps in the road - instead it just goes over them. Same amount of bump - just less bounce afterwards.

I set the AVOs on 7 clicks from zero - they have an adjustment range of 16. I could fiddle about with them - but 7 seems nice. I will see on the motorway - as it was way too bouncy before at speed. I have a feeling if anything I'll want to click them down a few so that it is a bit softer for the Ten Countries. For more agressive driving it could be slightly stiffer.

I can already see that the great thing about AVOs is that you can adjust them by just reaching down and clicking them.

So, park up at the bottom of the Stelvio and click them up a few notches - get to the top and click them back down. Superb.

Here follows a rubbish photo.

Went with Tim to the TR International today. It was wet, very wet. However - I can still see how it's an excellent show when the weather brightens up.

I used the opportunity to purchase some AVO adjustables for the front of my car. Why not Spax or Koni? Spax - I had a pair and the adjuster screws siezed and sheared. Koni - supposed to be very well made and are rebuildable - however to adjust them you have to take them off the car. I like the AVOs because if I am doing a track day then I can adjust them when I get there and then when I leave for home no trouble at all. Of course - me being lazy I probably wouldn't bother! But it's nice to know that I could if I wanted to. They are also meant to have a wider range of settings than the Spax - allegedly.

They're also height adjustable - if you could use the whole thread it looks like you'd be able to jack the front of the car up 3 inches... (obviously you can't go that high... or can you?) This could be most useful if I am to take my car on something like La Carrera Caledonia again... of course it will screw up the suspension geometry too...

Today I went with Tim in his GT6 to the C&SC Track Day at Castle Coombe. Unfortunately Tim’s GT6 failed the noise test – so no track action for us.

We took a walk around the circuit and watched some nice classic machinery give it large. Unfortunately the range of machinery wasn’t all classic – which put me off from attending. It’s ok to have the odd Sierra RS500 – but there were so many French and German hatchbacks it kind of spoilt things. Some of them were slightly shed like too. Part of the attraction of going to a classic track day is that everyone has some respect for each others old machines. I wouldn’t trust some of these people to do that – especially when you see some BMWs going very very sideways on every corner.

Later on in the day we met up with CT member Malcolm Paris who had bought along his TR7V8. I hitched a ride and went out on the circuit. Was good fun from this perspective – I can see that the TR7 could be quite a good machine for tarmac. The car was certainly quick.

Was a good day out watching some nice machinery – but I doubt I’ll attend again.

Today I got through a little gadget I bought off eBay. It's a G-Tech Performance Meter/Pro. It was cheap.

At the core of the unit is an accelerometer - it measures "g" force. Measuring g force at set intervals allows you to work out distance and speed. Add in to that a timer and you can work out 0-60. Add the weight of your vehicle and you can roughly calculate horsepower.

I've only had a quick play with it - but my car did 0-60 in 19.38 seconds and gave out a whopping 19bhp. Remember that the horsepower figure is minus drivetrain power (approx 25%) and also takes in to account road surface friction and aerodynamics. As my engine is currently totally knackered I would not be at all surprised if that's about right!

I need to check it against the rev counter to work out speed - I was too busy watching the road to work out if it correlated with the 0-60.

Another thing to arrive today - a couple of SIGG 1.5 litre aluminium bottles for use as a catch tank - they look rather funky (and perhaps, some might say, a tad rice - but I intend to keep the SIGG on display)

I was going to use a couple of right angled fuel unions and a length of clear plastic tube as a level indicator - but I am not sure if the alu is going to be thick enough to drill and tap. Need to rethink how to do that.

I can't claim credit for the idea - Mr Dawson thought of it. They're nicely made bottles - useful for all sorts - though I could go in to SIGG overload! Expansion bottle, washer bottle, spare bottle in the boot filled with water for long distance trips etc - then again maybe not...

I painted the rear of the car on Saturday - my first ever paint job - it went pretty well for a first attempt. It's a nice feeling to see that shiney wet paint that you've just applied - it looks lovely.

I didn't see the car dry until Monday - my first impressions were pretty bad - it looked a bit naff. There was orange peel in a few places - but at least it was all covered with paint - with hardly any fish eyes. I depressingly fitted the lights and number plate etc back on - it looked better - but being so close to the paint you notice everything.

Today I took some 1500 paper and colour sanded it (which I think is the right term) - the result was fantastic. As soon as I could see the orange peel go I was really happy. A quick mop later with some G10 and it was looking pretty shiney. I was really only doing a test patch to see what it would come out like - but I will be going over the whole thing now for sure.

Check out the photos below - the right wing is a before shot (the blobs are just dust - they wipe off) - the left wing an after shot. I'm not finished yet as I still need to polish it up a bit more. I love the colour of the paint now! It's nice and dark in the shade - and reasonably bright in the sunshine - not too dark and not too light. Once the chrome bumpers and wing trims are on it'll really look fantastic.

Overall I am very happy - and tomorrow I am picking up my engine from Gosnay's...

Today I did a bit more prep - boot lid got sanded down and I decided to prime it due to the rather thin paint.

I've been thinking about changing the colour - and so we ordered up a tin of Alfa Romeo Rosso (paint code 130 - as used on early 90's Alfa's fact fans) I did my first ever top coat to see what it will look like. I reckon it looks great - I am really pleased. I was worried it would look a bit too dark - but even in the dull workshop it looked just about ok. In the sunlight it will be really nice and vivid.

I thought long and hard about the whole originality thing - but it's only paint - and can be changed back easily enough in the future. This darker red will set off the chrome better and hopefully look fab with some dark Revolution wheels and their polished rims. Overall a bit more agressive...

Ok - took a few bits over to Gosnays yesterday - pistons, clutch etc for the balancing. So that should all be back in about a week - or so they tell me.

My rear valance has been put back on - looking good. Going in to primer next week - hopefully painted too.

Visit twenty counties in 12 hours, planning your own route... simple.

I'll be honest - I wasn't really looking forward to this event. The car is so slow I don't find it fun to drive - my mood was to change a while later. I met up with Ellis and his co-driver Keith, and Tim to drive up there. The journey was dispensed with - it makes a big difference driving with other Triumphs. I started to cheer up seeing Tim's 2.5SU cruising - these Mk1s looks seriously cool - especially Tim's slate grey lowered beasty. Mud flaps make all the difference too... wish I had a photo - but I was a bit busy driving...

We arrived at Canley to meet up with Martin Randle - we were pretty much the first there. Before I knew it cars started to fill the car park - an impressive turn out - and I started to get some good vibes about the event. In a short while Chris arrived in his 'lude- and I have to say my mood turned for the better. I had wondered if Chris was really looking forward to the event - having agreed to it a while back. However as soon as he told me he was looking forward to getting back in to the Spit I was ready for the challenge. We signed in and got down to the pub to plan our route - finding that others had the same idea. Whilst eating a rather fabulous steak we set about a plan - we had it sorted pretty quickly - using mainly motorway to get to all our counties.

We returned to Canley rather smug - arriving to find everyone having their maps laid out over their bonnets. I took a few photos and it was soon time for the off - we were second from last as I was acting as photographer. Everyone was set off in minute intervals - so we were a good 20 minutes after the first car. So we were off.

I won't bore you with too much detail of the route - A45 > M1 > M25 > M11 > A14 > A1 > across Nottinghamshire > A50 > Cheshire > Market Drayton > M6 > M5 > A40 > M40 > M42.

Nothing too exciting happened - we just got on with it. Chris did almost most of the driving - nine and a half hours to be precise.

We got pretty much every county apart from Buckinghamshire - we ran out of time to make a quick detour from the M40. We also failed to get evidence of Cheshire - but we know we got there.

We got back to Canley in perfect time - pretty happy with our result. Chris decided to go straight home - but I stayed on for the breakfast arranged for us at a local pub. Tim announced the results - we came 9th out of the 24 or so crews that entered.

Totally knackered I headed for home - stopping off at Watford gap services for a quick 30 minute nap.

Overall a great event - Tim did a great job - I would have enjoyed it more if we had of taken some more A-roads and had a decent car for thrashing.

As Tim is going to be busy with next years RBRR - Andy Pearce and I have taken over as organisers of next years event. Should be great fun! We have a few tricks up our sleaves already to make it a bit more challenging and exciting.

Yesterday evening was spent clearing the car out and sorting it properly. What a load of rubbish I had in my boot, glove box and parcel shelf! I found the spring access plate wasn’t secure and had fallen off - no wonder it was so noisy! I also put the gearbox tunnel in properly - using gaffer tape to seal it all - much better than fiddling about with screws - and it keeps out anything smelly. The car was really still in the same state it finished the RBRR in - and I was rather embarrassed at the state it entered it in! I can't believe Chris and I drove it as it was - the steering so vague and the cabin so noisy and a bit smelly.

So with all the rubbish out of the way - I slept well knowing the car was ready. I had arranged to meet Fred locally as she had to get a tyre fitted - we then drove up to Toddington to meet Tim. It was only now that I realised just how slow my car is - Fred's should be about on par with mine - but the truth is it just trounces it. It's not her car being quicker - it's mine being very dodgy - my engine is rather worn out!

The day was split up in to 3 sessions of 20 minutes - road, fast road and race - each one rotating. We had missed our first road session and realising that we were next, we signed on. Tim had to fix his exhaust with a coke can - so Fred and I went off for our first jolly.

I quickly settled in to a pattern - it wasn't half as difficult as I had imagined. It probably helped that my car wouldn't do more than about 80mph - so I didn't really have to brake for anything.

I returned to the paddock buzzing - but a bit frustrated due to the total lack of speed. I was reasonably happy with my lines and my heel-toe technique was working well. The car was really stable too. It's a lot easier when you're out there - the track is very wide - and you have lots more space than it looks like from a spectator’s point of view.

For the second session I took Dawson out for a ride - it was good fun as I pushed a bit harder using my knowledge from before. There were some nice cars out there too - and being overtaken by a chorus of 6 pots was fabulous. It was now that I realised that the seats in my car are totally useless for this kind of thing. There is no support what so ever - so half the time you're holding on to the wheel and bracing yourself as you go around corners. Totally off putting - something that needs to be sorted before next time.

Lunch was next - Mallory does some good grub. We also had to go and get some petrol as I was running low - the circuit pump wasn’t open - so we had to go to the local BP. A dose of Millers CVL to the BP Ultimate 97 gave me some 99 octane fuel - but it didn't do much!

TSSC racer Nigel Gibbins had offered to show me the lines - so he sat in the passenger seat as I guided my snail like car around Mallory for my 3rd session.

A typical lap went like this...

Cross the start/finish in 4th, approaching Gerrards brake and change down in to 3rd - taking a wide line. Then about 3/4 of the way around, change up to 4th and head for the end of the end of the inside curb - going straight out towards the outside curb. 4th along the straight then brake and change down to 3rd for the Esses - going in wide and heading for the end of the inside curb and then straight for the end of the outside curb. Straight towards the hairpin and then braking down to 2nd gear - leaving the sharp turn in until just as you get to the corner - you actually go past it. Then yank the car around and head for the outside curb - keeping reasonably wide of the wall on the inside. Then change up to 3rd - Devil's Elbow is taken wide to the right - then straighten up a bit and head for the inside - but just where the corner meets the straight - right at the end. Then straight for the start finish in 4th.

Learning the line was good - if my car wasn’t performing at least I could be getting the line right. I got everything nailed apart from Devils Elbow - which I got right in a later session. I also realised that whilst I love my 15" steering wheel on the road - it's no good on the track - especially Shaws hairpin. I'll have to think about a 14" - maybe even get a nice standard Triumph 13" just for track days? Towards the end of my tutoring session the car decided to go a bit wrong - heading towards Gerrards it lost a load of power - we took it across the grass and parked up. Having been recovered it was a case of elimination - initially we thought it might be fuel. Having proven it wasnt that, Nigel spotted that the heel on the points had broken off. Having sourced a set of points from Richy the racer, everything was sorted.

For the fourth session I took Ben out for a run. Knowing the lines, I started to practice and really get them sorted – it’s amazing how you can feel the car being quicker so easily. 6 or 7 laps in I got given a black flag at Shaws - not knowing what this really meant I headed back to the paddock. I thought I had done something wrong - but it turned out my horn had fallen off. Obviously a critical component in any car!

It was soon time to leave - so me, Fred and Tim shot off with a session to go. I think we were all pretty happy - I was knackered. Deciding to avoid the M1 we took the long route - much fun ensued. First of all Tim ran out of petrol - so we drained some out of mine in to an empty oil bottle. At this moment the fuel tap I installed on my fuel line came in to its own. We quickly got Tim's car going and found the petrol station about 2 minutes walk from where we broke down. With Fred's car topped up with yet more oil, and Tim's car filled up we set off again. 50m down the road and my engine stops - so I pull in and lift the bonnet. Hoping that it's not the points again I go check them out first - luckily it's not! It soon dawns on me to check the fuel tap - yup – it was still off! Sorted.

Tim navigates us down the A5 and across through somewhere or other. We decide some food and a debrief of the day at The Plough is in order. Just before joining the M25, Fred's car decides to overheat and pink like crazy - not surprising considering it had been suffering a head gasket failure since the first session! We carry on at a sedate pace and limp home.

Overall a great day - mainly thanks to being with superb friends.

Below are some of the photos Dawson took - huge thanks to him - I finally have some decent photos of my car in action! Lots more posted here: http://club.triumph.org.uk/cgi-bin/album/album.pl?album=events/trackday2005

Decided that I had best install my blade fuses - took about an hour in total - mainly stripping and crimping. Need to find a better crimper - the ones for the bigger terminals are a pain to do.

I also tidied up the wiring for the alternator - when the dynamo blew in 2003 I did a rather messy job of the wiring when I changed from the dynamo - so that works a bit nicer now.

I also squirted a bit of POR Metal Ready on my GT6 hubs and caliper mounts - the white stuff is where the rust was. It's a superb liquid for cleaning up metal - well worth investigating. Will need to put a bit more effort in to getting the hubs and mounts looking nice. Maybe I'll get some alloy hubs if I have the money.

Or rather a big one.

Finally got to take apart an engine today - a Herald GE small crank block. Everything came apart with very little fuss - nothing siezed or anything. The bearings and pistons are all original - so the block hasn't been touched - so by the looks of it, it's had an easy life.

Only took some photos whilst it was all together - so nothing too impressive yet.

Can't wait to get it off to the machine shop.

Need to design a baffle for the sump (got some photos of a good design) - and I might mod the oil pump pickup so it's straight down too.

Do you ever have those jobs that you put off doing - simple ones that you should really get around to?

I've been meaning for ages to sort my carbs - having stopped them from leaking I decided they could do with a tune up. I managed to borrow a proper carb air flow meter to do the job - much easier than a piece of pipe I can tell you! It turned out to be way out - a quick fiddle with the throttle and mixture later and the car was idling wonderfully steady at 700rpm. It still doesnt start from cold properly though - I think I'll give it a change of oil as I haven't done so since wayyyy before the RBRR! It's used up a good couple of litres since then - and I reckon it's too thin to seal the rings.

Today I finally installed one of my prototype solid state voltage stabilizers on my car. First test and it works perfectly - doesnt get too warm either. All the gauges read correctly too - which is nice as I've always had to take 1/4 off what the gauges are telling me to find out the real reading. You get used to your temp gauge reading in the red at "normal" pretty quickly.

If anyone wants one of these solid state stabilizers then get in touch (see the E-mail link right at the top of the page) - I had to order 10 of the ICs - so have lots left over. I can make you one up pretty easily - see the photo below. Cost is £6 incl P&P.

I've just realised the number of bits that have arrived - but are yet to be fitted to the car - shame on me!

Today I got hold of some ignition bits to make up a Megajolt Lite Jr - a mappable ignition controller that can be fitted to pretty much anything.

Clockwise from top left; EDIS box, coil pack, 36-1 wheel and the sensor.

More info on the MJLJ here:

http://picasso.org/mjlj/

Info about fitting it to Spitfire (or anything) and also supplier of parts in the UK, my mate Josh's website:

http://www.bowler.fslife.co.uk/diy_distributorless_ignition.htm

I decided to try and get my car working again. Having given up after running out of ideas I finally went back and double checked everything. I put some oil and Redex down the bores before Christmas - and got decent compression... but it still refused to start.

I had suspected the Pertronix/Aldon IgnitorII module - but it was sparking and doing all the right things...

So I hooked up the Fiesta via some jump leads - checked the compression again - 90psi with all the spark plugs in... squirted a load of quick start stuff on the filters... turned it over - still nothing.

Called on my Dad to turn it over whilst I checked the timing with a light - couldnt see a thing as it was too bright.

We then decided to rev up the Fiesta - turned over the Spitfire and it fired up straight away! Hurrah! Turns out the IgnitorII module doesnt like low voltages... thanks to Mr Powell for finding that out a while ago - and it sticking in my subconcious memory!

It chucked out bright blue smoke to almost comical levels for about 5 minutes - all warmed up nicely and it idled perfectly. Luckily the smoke showed up a leak on the downpipe gasket... which is seriously smoking. So until that is fixed it's out of comission - and I still don't really trust it. But I will fix that and hopefully be driving it again.

I couldnt resist taking it out of a spin around the block - leaking exhaust fumes give you a bit of a headache...

What an excellent show this is - the crowds seemed to be down on last year... but the stuff on sale was top notch - and the stands put on a good show. Shame I didn't need to buy anything...

It's been a while since the last update... well the 1500 engine has been decided against - so now the plan is to build a 1300. Are you keeping up? No, neither am I.

So plan "Z" - why the 1300? Well the 1500 was only ever chosen because it was there - nothing majorly against the 1500 (apart from having one blow up on me once) but the Mk3 should have a small journal 1300 - it's the nicest engine of the lot in my opinion. So it may not give out the torque of the 1500, but you can rev the nuts off of it all day - which suits my style of driving.

I've lived with a decent 1500 for a good year or so back in the days of XOO, my first Spitfire - and they fly when you allow them to breathe - but I have driven a few 1300s which have really impressed - in particular one that had been balanced and set up right.

So that's the plan - more info to come when I get hold of the 1300 block and take it apart...

Picked up the new engine last night - not much to say really! It looks roughly engine shaped and is rather heavy... it's an engine...

Test fitted the ram pipes in the Weber today - works a treat - just need to replace the old air filter gasket - and modify it by taking off a couple of mm around the hole to allow the trumpet to sit against the Weber body.

Plans for tomorrow; clean and service the Weber and manifold.

Back from the US today - with my US spec dished pistons. Measured them and they come out at 6.25cc - giving me a compression ratio of about 10.2 with the 1300 head.

Today I got some uprated anti roll bar drop links through the post. They're a Wolfitt Racing item - they basically replace and take the play out of an odd rubber ball joint and bush by replacing them with spherical rod ends.

http://www.btinternet.com/~jon.wolfe/wolfitt_products_1.htm

Also got an uprated steering column coupling from Bill at Rarebits4classics - replaces the standard rubberised item with a solid UJ. Should add a bit of extra feel to the car - been advised not to put the solid alu rack mounts that have been sitting in the garage for about a year on it - as it's too much feel!

http://www.rarebits4classics.co.uk/