James

If you can go for a megajolt then don't waste money on a 123 — you want the megajolt no without a doubt.

Ideally you want a big fuse to cover the all the lights close to the battery and then smaller fuses near the relays?

Seems like the best solution.

Roy how did you "check for good earth"?

If it was just with a multimeter measuring resistance then that's no indicator.

Roy how did you "check for good earth"?

If it was just with a multimeter measuring resistance then that's no indicator.

I fitted my HIDs to my inner main beams — still need to get one of them working after all this time — have the same issue as the one I described

I fitted my HIDs to my inner main beams — still need to get one of them working after all this time — have the same issue as the one I described

They draw as much or less — but they need a big spike of power to turn on in the first place.

You need to make sure your power and ground cables are big enough- or else they'll be a bit flakey.

I'd run new fat power and ground lines direct from the battery (with a fuse on the power, close to the battery) and use the existing power to switch relays directly next to the ballast units.

A choke or restrictor will still cause an effect with EFI.

It still won't work as well as a throttle body that is the right size— depends on software and the way the throttle cable pulls open the butterfly. Everything stops being linear.

Most certainly you have to put in workarounds with big throttle bodies.

Use one of the later coil packs so you don't have to specifically use the funny Ford clip connectors.

Practically any coil pack will work.

Best off finding a Bosch one or similar with a JT connector for the coil driver side of things and "normal" HT lead connectors.

A good pair of crimpers is a very big must — pay at least 25 quid or more! Those connections are vital to your car working.

To answer the easy bits:

Throttle body should be as small as you can go for the size of the engine — one that is too big will cause you issues. Find one that mates up easily, has a throttle position sensor and a decent way to attach a throttle cable.

You need two coil drivers for running wasted spark on a 4 cylinder.

Injector sizing you need to use a calculator (google it) and be realistic about the amount of power you're likely to be producing.

Generally you can use all the stuff from an engine that is of a similar size and power.

I'm glad Colin bought up ear plugs and eye masks — helps you get more of a proper sleep. You don't want to just snooze, you want to totally tune out so that when you wake up you forgot where you were.

Consider draughts too — especially in a soft top. That slight breeze on the back of your neck will be annoying after a few hours and in the cold of an October night.

The best cars are usually the ones that are used on a regular basis - not the ones that have just been put together or taken out only a few times a year.

For daily drivers 2,000 miles is hardly anything.

As for sealed beams — they aren't as good as a decent set of halogens — fit decent or updated bulbs of you can. A couple of hours driving at night is very different to the potential 24 you'll do on the RBRR.

The special prep you want to do for the RBRR above the normal checks are ones that allow you to survive better. Make sure you're comfy, fit reclining seats if you don't have, additional or uprated lighting to make the night driving easier and more relaxing, decent wipers and rainx so there's less strain on your eyes too.

I worry less about the car and more about myself.

I bought a pair that were utter crap — sharp pointy edges, needed drilling to fit properly and failed within months.

The ones I got from Witor have been good so far — nice rounded edges and fitted perfectly.

The kunifer pipes that are in my engine bay have no bead and just hose clips — have been working at 38psi fine for almost two years :)

*touches wood*

The fuel rail also holds the injectors in - so id just keep it simple and use that.

LED bulbs?

Problem is they flash a bit too on/off

For ease of wiring mount the EDIS is the engine bay — but I doubt it matters too much — if you do it sans-EDIS with a Megasquirt then it's all mounted in one box anyway.

Is it really the bearings fault? I have County bearings in my 2 litre and its fine. I'm sure there are lots of other 2.5s that have done more than 2000 miles with County bearings.

Much more likely to be the machining?

Check out the tool on my website to find cruising speed etc

Details in my signature.

You can get Wellseal from most motor factors.

I wouldn't mind about the rust spots once you clean them off assuming you are going to use the Wellseal.

Having said that — if you are in any doubt just wait until you have a new head gasket and use that. You don't want to go through the misery of changing the gasket again.

The megasquirt relay board is a bit dodgy anyway if you ask me — screw terminals? no thanks.

Check on my site — it's a nice way of doing it — relay holders with integral fuses.

Nick — that's the one I meant — mount it in it's own little box and job done.