Jim 123

To avoid a long winded explanation can you find out what brand of paint, layering system,and what technology family your paint shop is trying to match the colour with? Re fuel what price is 100ll Avgas from your friendly FBO at your local airstrip.

Mark, I have checked my S3 installation and hopefully the following is helpful: The length of the metal spigot from the engine side face of the firewall is 85 mm. The black coated outer cable from the end of the spigot is 590 mm long I suspect the hole you see in the heater plenum when looking down is a water drain hole. My car has one on each side. I recall that I did not fit the retaining clip that you mentioned, principally as I did not think it necessary once I had the heater valve in place, and I was also not keen to pop a rivet into the fairly brittle heater casing. My cable routes very much like your photo. The cable outer curves to touch the pedal box and routes between the brake master cylinder and it's lower fixing stud. It then follows a direct path behind the battery and into the heater valve clip.

Just checked the manual and I see the clip you mention. I stand corrected, let me check on my car tomorrow. Off to pub now.

Cradle clip or cable clip? If it is the latter, the heater cable outer is retained by a sandwich plate that comes already fitted as part of the heater valve body, and is the inboard-most part of the installed valve assembly. Perhaps the small hex nut that holds the sandwich plate in place has come adrift before shipping? There are no other clips to hold the cable. With the battery in position and the cable routed behind it, does it still look you have excess cable length?

I'll measure the cable length on my S3 tomorrow and let you know.

Perhaps you have been shipped an SV cable in error?

That's the one Tom. I still think it would be interesting to see if a dash can get it's appearance back by applying a layer of stone chip clear gloss film. Unfortunately I don't have a CF dash to try applying a sample to see if it works.

Frosts in the UK do a 2K aerosol by Eastman. It should be comparable in properties. If it doesn't say so on the can, it is best to wear a protective mask when using these products as they contain isocyanates which have a cumulative and lasting effect on the lining of lungs

Does anybody know of an IVA fail on for self centring a modern kit build with standard castor setting?

The grommet is an IVA fail if it is not fitted. Unfortunately you will probably find it impossible to get a grommet to fit without a bit of farkling. You need to make it look like it is protecting the wiring from chafing on the edge of the hole.

I believe it can, but the steering lock will not work as you would guess.

Make sure you position the wings as per the IVA Test Manual it is quite specific. You probably do not need to worry about the wing touching the body side if this is happening whilst the car is on stands. With the wheels on the ground you should find things reorientate and you will not get contact.

An off the wall thought........................ If you are only wanting to recover the appearance of your dash without a lot of hassle, what about removing the instruments etc. prepping and applying a layer of clear stone chip resistant film as a gloss finish to the dash? I am conscious that the original finish, plus the temperature and humidity cycles in your part of the world may undermine this as a durable durable solution, but you could try fitting a couple of small test pieces to the in-situ dash to validate.

For a dash, which I assume you will be doing at home, stick with the Premium Finish instruction in the Tech Bulletin which Anthony provided the link for, and apply multiple layers as directed. If you don't have access to a large enough oven the Product Data sheets will tell you how long to leave between coats. Lay the dash flat for spraying and keep dust to a minimum. You will achieve a finish that will be as good as anything on a Bentley. As you have observed the process is labour intensive, which is why Class A surface clearcoated CF parts are expensive.

If you go for a new CC part check first if it will be delivered clear coated. I suspect it will not.

Some owners remove the switch for competition. Have you tried to reset the TPS ?

Google "Glasurit Technical Bulletin clearcoat carbon fibre". This will lead you to a PDF with process instructions and materials for both standard or high end appearance.

Is it not on the right hand engine bay bulkhead just outboard of the brake master cylinder?

Jorge, re your photo. I have not seen this problem before but maybe others have and can give advise. Given the number of rivets in the problem area the failure is surprising to me. Maybe your passenger needs to loose some weight : ) As has been suggested before, the problem could simply be poor rivet material that has failed over time and replacing them with steel rivets will be more durable. From the photo it looks to me that the rivets are still OK into the chassis holes. It is the holes in the floor that are pulling off the part of the rivet that is nearest the road (the "rivet head"). This could happen if the diameter of the holes in your floor are larger than the diameter of the same holes in the chassis. If this is the case you may need to get rivets that have a bigger size head or use stainless steel washers to give more support between the rivet head and the floor.

Jorge, If it is floor pan rivets that are the problem you should check that the holes for the rivets are not getting bigger because of corrosion in the chassis frame. This would need a different solution.

Jorge, re number 3 do you have a photo? Your translation into English makes it a little difficult to understand what is going on.

It is worth looking at a janitorial supplies website for cheap hand spray devices. There are trigger sprays with an extended lance on the nose which can draw from a 5 litre container which may be good for hard to get at areas.

I see that in your first picture in #14 there is a bolt missing from the engine mount into the chassis rail. Hopefully your photo was of work in progress?

Could somebody give David the correct part number and a supply source for a replacement Lambda for a 1.6 K Roadsport please. My car is a Ford engine.

Hi Stephen, Engine out sounds like a prudent step as this will certainly make access from the inside a lot better. Even though there are not too many people with experience on the 21, I am sure lots of help and extra hands will step forward to help with the engine. In terms of fettling the chassis, would you get any advantage by putting the car up on trestles after the engine is out instead of axle stands. My thinking is that the working position would be less physically stressful, and illumination would be better.