sparky_spit

Wow... that was fantastic. Probably the best yet?  A very well done to Ellis, Theo and Roger (and all the other "route-finders") for a superb route, right up to the "mini-Alps" between Nurburg and Rolduc. How many hairpins did we do? 100? 200? 300? more? My Greenstuff pads are now Blackstuff pads and only half as thick. Thanks again.

How many water hose leaks is it possible to have with one engine? And are there any rocker covers that don't have a designed-in oil leak feature? After a frustrating morning piddling about with such stuff it now seems continent and has had several test drives today. I've put the correct ignition map in and setup the carbs, but it will no doubt need a bit of tweaking in the first day or so. So.... we are READY!!!!!!!!

Well the engine runs okay and the car goes backwards and forwards.  Bonnet back on in the morning and give it a test drive. It should be okay as it was in the car up until nine months ago, so should be just odd water leaks and some minor tweaking, hopefully. It will be interesting to see how the FD engine copes with a 3.63 diff and 165/80 tyres.

The newly rebuilt engine, with 1200 miles under its belt, is now kaput. Despite much care in machining and build it has developed a big-end knock at certain revs.  It started with a harshness and slight growl at late 2k/early3k revs on load, and sub 3k on constant light load throttle, which sounded like the gearbox input shaft noise I'd had before, but only in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. 4th was fine.  Post mortem will have to wait until after the 10CR. Yesterday afternoon was different though with a definite big-end sounding rattle/knock.  The engine is already on its way out of the car and the spare 1296 has been dusted down ready to put in later this morning.  Fingers crossed it fires up ok.

One thing you can do with the crank in the car, is to measure bearing clearance figures using Plastigauge.  It is pretty accurate if you follow the instructions properly and take care when doing it. You should be able to use it to measure for ovality as well if you do 4 tests per main bearing at 90degs rotation for each test. It is a good product and I use it a lot. https://plastigauge.co.uk/

I assume this is on a Mac, and not a PC?  If yes, then I'm stumped.  The last time I used a Mac was in the 1990's, and that was to wedge my office door open in summer. I think Howard is your man....

Hi Don - I'm happy to help if I can. I have the four .gpx files on my laptop (Windows) and in TomTom Mydrive, and loaded on my TomTom Go50Pro. I can also put them on a memory stick if you want. PM me your phone number and I'll give you a call.

We are too; Car 8. I suspect a convoy will form naturally anyway, it nearly always does.  We are in a cheap hotel in Charlie Measurer.

Howard, (and anyone else who assisted), the .gpx files are perfect!  Many thanks. After a good talking to, my new far-too-clever-for-me SatNav finally gave up and downloaded the files via MyDrive in an instant, and all 4 day's routes look to be exact replicas of the roadbook maps. Top job!

If you want quality modern tyres, that come well recommended, and look sort-of similar to in period tyres, then Falken Sincera S832 are worth thinking about.  I've just put a set of 165/80 on my Spitfire (5.5"J wheels) are they are very good. The 80s will give you about a 5% increase in road speed per revs, so your speedo will under-read. If you are concerned about that then 70s might be better for you. Via Black Circles or My Tyres, they were just over £200 for all four, fitted and balanced.

Hi Jens - good to have you back here! That diagram of yours is very useful indeed; it explained to me how I put my sills/inners/strengtheners on in the wrong place 10 years ago. They are still the same now but at least I know what I need to do when I finally get round to doing it properly. Thanks.

I'll open the can, but I am wearing a tin hat. For general use, pottering about, a few runs out, etc., I would say use a named mineral "classic" 20/50 oil from the likes of Morris, Castrol, Halfords, Comma etc. For more miles of higher speed cruising, club competitions, long events such as the RBRR/10CR and occasional track days, etc., I would say Valvoline VR1, Millers CS20/50, Millers CSS20/60, Penrite 10tenths 20/60, some of which will be mineral, some semi-synth, some fully synthetic.  

I'll start it off... Ignition/carburation/fuel service items, plugs, leads, spare coil, spare distributor (in case the Amethyst fails). Spare water pump, fuel pump, alternator. Radiator fan in case the electric one fails or it is very hot weather. 4 fan belts to cover differing pump and alternator pulley size combinations. Spare rear halfshaft (with modified brake backplate so it can used either side), front brake pads. Hoses and clips, electrical spares/bulbs/fuses, exhaust brackets/clamps/repair paste. Headgasket and other common gaskets, gasket paper/Hylomar, copper grease. Engine oil/gear oil/brake fluid/premixed coolant. Small lightweight trolley-jack and 2 small folding axle stands. Spare O/D switch (gearknob type) Basically, I'm only taking stuff that I would be prepared to remove and refit by the side of the road. Normal tools and a socket set, plus specific sockets for hub nuts, etc.    

I used MyDrive to create a sample test "route with stopping points" last night, and it's okay but a bit longwinded.  One issue (typical with TomTom) is that the video and online instructions are not totally accurate and some of the terminology used is completely different to that actually encountered within MyDrive. Also, whoever wrote the instructions was away from school on the day they did "Left" and Right" as there is some confusion over mouse left click when it should be right click. It's okay once you have been caught once - just follow normal left/right click protocol. It's very frustrating when you lose your work due to a wrong click though. Adding stopping points is easy but fraught with the possibility of getting it out by miles, depending upon the current scale of the online map you are looking at. Zooming in to near max gives most accuracy, but you get "lost" easily.  If you are used to it then fine, it wil be a piece of cake, but I won't be putting my name forward to create files for everybody.... Importing a .GPX looks to be a doddle, which you can then view (and amend if required) and sync to your satnav. Just my 2p's worth...

Well done Philip. And well done Richard for finding that diagram. I remember his name now, "VensH".

Hi Michael - MyDrive is the programme on your computer that controls map updates, speed camera updates, etc., when you connect your satnav to the computer.  It's an easy way to control and make changes and updates to the satnav.  If your satnav has WiFi built in you don't actually need it, but it is easier to use MyDrive for updates and would be essential to load .gpx files (needed to create routes for the 10CR) onto the satnav.

I'm hoping so.  The (very) expensive one we have just bought has all sorts of features and functions I'm yet to work my way through. For what it cost us it ought to dispense Euro notes when you arrive at an Autoroute toll booth. When you find out how to put waypoint files in, let me know will you?

  I've chickened out of the Augsburg Low Emission Zone lottery and cancelled our Ibis Budget booking and re-booked the Sonnenhof in Gersthofen. It's three times the price but hopefully three times more relaxing. I've read and re-read all of the conflicting info on various websites about permits/historic exemption/permit policing/historic criteria/etc., and it made my brain hurt.

Don't be tempted to just pull/push the sill in and upwards with grips until it "fits" and then weld it on.  I did with mine and the result is not good; you get a large gap between the outside top of the sill surface and the door bottom. Mine's big enough to get your fingers in from underneath and the door fit is awful.  

.... and also be aware that the reproduction inner sills are not quite correct, so when fitted to the floor panel at what you think is the correct height, you end up putting the strengthener at the wrong height, which leads to the outer sill being in the wrong place vertically. There used to be a Nordic member on here some time ago (Vens? Hans? Vans?...) who posted a through-section diagram with measurements of how it should be. I can't find it now but someone may have a copy?

Hi Tim, Howard. We visited some years ago and, in particular, spent some time at the New Irish Farm cemetery as well as the more visited areas. The scale of it all defies description really. Do be prepared for it to be a very moving experience, especially if you are searching for, and subsequently find, a specific grave.

As above, our confirmation and card payment receipt took a couple of days to arrive by email, but it was all fine and we got the sailings that we asked for.

I would advise removing the grease first.  Generally (although there will be some rare exceptions no doubt) oil and grease will not mix with each other and so you won't get oil into all areas of the trunnion threads unless you remove the grease first. EP80/90 Hypoid will be fine.

I am.....

Agreed... primary resistance is 3Ω (1.5Ω if a ballasted system) and the secondary should be about 8KΩ.