Bristol and Bath AR

Offered on behalf of a colleague who is selling her classic Mini. It is a well loved car which was in daily use until c18months ago: a 'life event' now forces a sale. The car is in Exeter and the owner is keen that is goes to an enthusiast rather than trade. OIRO £20k.  I am told it is a Limited Edition 1 of 50 in Brooklands Green. It has a leather interior.

Some photos attached - note private plate not included.

If you are interested, please drop me a PM and I will put you in touch with the seller.

Jon

If anyone has one of these looking for a new home I would be interested:

https://caterhamparts.co.uk/brackets/6676-high-level-brake-light-bracket-flush-mounted.html

Jon

The above will take place on Sunday 12 June 2022 - there is no need to book, just turn up on the day but participants must sign on at the start. The event is in support of the club’s Prostate Cancer Research Charity but it is also in memory of our previous AR, Brian Hall – I’ve called it ‘Brains Blat’ in his honour. 

Start point for the all-important signing on with your club number will be Almondsbury, Bristol BS32 4SY at 8:30am (exact address on final roadbook) and we will then follow a route as follows: Pucklechurch - Rodborough Common – Oakridge – Stow on the Wold – Toddington - Ashton Ingham – Tutshill - Elberton

For those who wish, we then finish at the usual Severn7s meeting point of The Boars Head, Main Road, Aust, Bristol, BS35 4AX

The route will take you on a carefully curated mix of fast A roads and more technical B roads (with a small section of lane and town driving) north into the Cotswolds, before turning west across the Severn Valley and then south through the Forest of Dean and back east over the old Severn Bridge to complete the full 150-mile loop. My thanks go to Chris Bates and Gerry Ralph for their assistance in plotting the route. 

A provisional roadbook and GPS route file are available - just email me for the links.(Please note both are provisional at this stage pending a final recce and check a week or two before for any road closures etc. I will aim to issue final versions 10 days before the event).

Donations: The suggested donation is a minimum of £10 per car. In exchange, a PCR wrist band or car sticker will be given during sign-on at the start (while stocks last!) or for a larger donation there is a PCR ‘buff’ available. If possible, please donate before setting off on the Just Giving page and indicate the donation is for the Severn7s blat:

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/7club

Use Gift Aid wherever possible to maximise the value of the donation to the charity. Alternatively, cash can be collected at the start during sign-on. 

Any questions, just ask. Whilst it is ok to turn up on the day, if you can give me an indication of likely numbers coming that would help. 

Jon Symons – Severn7s Area Rep

07515 050 672

bristolandbath@caterhamlotus7.club

Just realised it's only five weeks yesterday before this event. Fingers crossed the weather is good:

Bath and Wells blat 7 and 8 May 2022.

Who's signed up? I hear the routes planned are really interesting,

Jon

I've used these on my Type 9 gb: 'Stubby hex keys'. Need to get the set with the 10mm key as there are two sizes of sets

Alan,

No but I don't mind photographing/measuring mine as a guide? Or you are welcome to come and visit to get what you need?

Jon

Infinity Exhausts: 

https://www.infinity-exhausts.co.uk

Made up a "special" for my K Series R300 when the dealer I was buying the car from discovered the previous owner had removed the CAT and it would not pass the pre sale MoT!   They have a good rep around here and support Castle Combe Racing circuit.

Low Flying May edition has a good article on Gear Leaver maintenance.  I would definitely check for wear in the Nylon Saddle.  Also one of our local members found that a simple clean and re-grease made everything more precise.

It is all about your own "dimensions" (height, shoulder width etc.in the car) and the relationship with the existing seat belt mounting points.  The attached document describes how you can make an assessment to determine if the chassis needs modifying.  Bruce Robinson at Arch is very approachable to advise you. Tel: +44 1480 459661

seat-belt-fitting-information-2012.pdf

I can remember nearly asphyxiating myself spraying Sperex onto my exhaust manifold.  Toxic stuff!!!

Good news Larkingabout, no diagonals on Roll Cage!.  All the Harness attachment bolts can be removed easily on the rear bulkhead crossmember.   Sensible advice from 7 wonders on upgrading to 6 point for the added safety.

Always a difficult situation on a car that is not used frequently.  First start up after long lay up.......something does not work the way it did before.........and electrical connections are involved!  The location of the sender and its inherent poor reliability has shown it to be a very frequent cause of unreliable Oil Pressure indications.   Not a happy situation for those who value their engines!

You can go thru the continuing cycle of replacing the sender (not cheap) and hope that the flickering stops.  But how do you know that the signal from the new sender is being accurately indicated on the gauge if you haven't had it calibrated? (Caerbont website is not really clear on where to send for recalibration, maybe somebody else knows?)

I went to Mechanical on my R300 for peace of mind, however I did keep all the original parts so the car could be returned to original if becomes a museum exhibit.

Like lots of people I got fed up with taking the bonnet off (with somewhere convenient to store it) each time I connected my CTEK.   I already have a 12v socket fitted but the wires are quite small gauge.  I also was encourgaged by CTEK have their "comfort" connector availble which gives you a constant Battery condition indication.

The only issue is routing the wires to the best position in the cockpit.  After some careful measurement and "ergonomic study" I have now fitted the connector/indicator socket on the LH side of the dashboard (next to the brake test switch) and routed the wires alongside the existing cables to the Battery Cut Off Switch which goes down the transmission tunnel and up thru the large grommet in front of the gear stick.

Only modification was to cut the CTEK Comfort wires and crimp on 2 male/female connectors as neither the Socket/Indicator nor the in-line fuse will pass thru the grommet.  The length of the CTEK Comfort 1.5m is perfect to allow you to cable tie to existing looms and make everything tidy.

Very pleasing to see the flashing Green Light telling me the Battery is (currently) in good condition.  No more wondering if I need to charge and can monitor how long it stays ok during storage.

N.B. Car is SV Chassis.

CORRECTION!  K SERIES SENDER IS M12

Standard K Series (electronic) Sender is 1/8 BSP thread.  Chris Mintoft at Redline will have one and can dispatch quickly (as per his news items yesterday he is still able to work)

I would advise testing the integrity of the wire to the gauge at the same time.  Send me a request if you need details. 

I would not advise drilling a hole in the tube (bear in mind here that I'm not the "designer", only an ex aerospace engineer!) In the original bracket the hole was drilled in a low stress area adjacent to the additional bracing tube.  In the new bracket drilling a hole to route the wiring would severely weaken the strength of the tube and create a potential failure point.  As you can see in my photo the complete headlight and indicator wiring, all contained in the original sleeve, can be routed along the new bracket using cable ties and into the engine bay to the connector through the cut out in the nose cone.  There is sufficient clearance and the cable tie secures it in position.

I would not advise routing the wiring loom down from the light and onto the wishbone as this would result in it being continually flexed when the car was driven.

Also remember the assembly manual instructions about drawing the excess length of the wires back into the headlight housing to avoid too much "out in the fresh air"

Just for info here are some pics of the new brackets installed on my 2003 R300 SV.  Very easy to install, most of the time was taken in care and attention to cleaning the contacts on the connectors pins which you have to disassemble and routing and securing the loom after positioning the lights.  You have to mark out and file a slot in the Indicator Shroud so the foot of the new brkt sits flush. Just make sure this is centred at 90 degrees to the C/L of the hole for the headlight fixing.  Additional Tip: make sure you check there is clearance between the headlights and the cycle wings when steering in on full lock.

A proper strap and CamLoc with R Pin would the correct "engineering" solution, especially for a race car.  But this Velcro (https://www.screwfix.com/p/velcro-brand-black-heavy-duty-stick-on-tape-1-x-50mm/21670#_=p) is very secure and effective. I use this for my front number plate without any issues. 

Me too, whats the lead time, and do you have a cost estimate?

I'm interested if you make another batch.   Do you have any issues with the Headlights moving around the axis of the mounting from the aerodynamic force exerted at higher speeds or vibration?

I am also interested in seeing the photos of this modification.  My objective being the take the headlight assemblies out of the "line of sight", but without losing illumination.

My email on mobile numbers below.

I'm interested.  Do you have any photos and ditto the long nose question.

Machine Mart do a very compact 1/2 drive digital Torque Adaptor with range 30-360Nm (£43.19) that can be used with a Breaker Bar.  Needs a bit of getting used to the setting up but cheaper than buying a stand alone wrench with the range required.

Nice to meet up with the competitors yesterday and well done for not giving me any problems as Post Marshal out on the circuit!  Some impressive times recorded as well.

Good luck to all of you in your Championship ambitions!