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It would be interesting to know which type of rack was fitted to the cars with failures. I have the 22% quickrack and have often thought the load on the column seemed excessive at low speed and mid corner. I suspect a quickrack and dodgy column is a bad combination. Superlight #11 now R400R powered

Mick Could I have 2nd dibs if Dick is not having it? Cheers John Superlight #11 now R400R powered

Steve If you need a locking tool I have a hefty home made K series crank locking tool, it replaces the starter motor when working with the engine in-situ, you are welcome to borrow it. I am quite local to you at Clanfield, nr Waterlooville. John Superlight #11 now R400R powered

Boss Thanks for the comments. I think your experience was probably an exception, many of the lathe manufacturers now fit inverters as an option. Was yours an inverter or a converter which is a very different crude beast and never produces properly balanced phases. The Bantam ran very smoothly with no vibration and lovely smooth accelleration/deceleration. I could also run it at about 4RPM which is great for tapping. Setting the inverter current limit to a low value acts like a slipping clutch should the tap tighten up. If you were to see one working properly I am sure you would be impressed. Cheers John Superlight #11 now R400R powered Edited by - strij on 28 Feb 2008 00:07:17

Peter YHM John Superlight #11 now R400R powered

Peter Yes it is 3 phase and I have run it on an inverter for the past 10 years which is much nicer than online starting and gives infinetly variable speed. Cheap single to three phase inverters available on auction site. Easy conversion to single phase if needed. I can supply some HSS and tungsten tipped cutting tools. Also comes with coolant pump, tank and low voltage light Superlight #11 now R400R powered

Bantam lathe 51/2" X 20". Includes makers cabinet/stand, 3 jaw sc chuck, quick change toolpost and 2 carriers, full set of imperial and metric change gears for threadcutting. Machine is ex school so has very little mechanical wear. £750 Full set of imperial collets and drawbar also available Picture here John Superlight #11 now R400R powered Edited by - strij on 28 Feb 2008 00:03:11

If you bond bighead stud type fixings to the wing won't you have trouble fitting the wing to the stay. The stays are approx 90 degrees apart so unless you have some flex in the fittings the wing would only fit to one side of the stay, the other two studs would foul the stay before aligning with its fixing holes. You could fit the studs to the stays and then bond the wing on but then you would make it very difficult to remove without bending something. It was for this reason that I bonded aluminium channels across the inside of the wing, one stay drops into its channel the wing can then be rotated on to the other channel before fitting clamp bolts through both sides of the channel and stay. It also makes it very easy to remove/replace.

I had the same problem after buying an ex race R400 engine with a stack fuel pressure sender badly fitted, I eventually made an inline adaptor to go into the connection between the metal fuel line and the rubber pipe to the fuel rail. I considered making an adaptor to go between the rubber pipe and the fuel rail but the stack sender is a heavy lump and I did not want it mounted on the end of a plastic rail and subject to engine vibration. When I got the engine, someone had drilled and tapped the back of the fitting on the end of the rubber pipe that mates with the rail and fitted the sender, on inspection I found that the sender only needed 3/4 of a turn before it fell out leaving a hole pointing at the driver side bulkhead, highly dangerous. When I get somewhere to host pics of adaptor I will.

This herelooks promising but its a bit expensive. Has anyone tried one of these? John

I use Garryflex blocks here to remove small corrosion pits, these show as black dots when you polish the ali panels. These blocks are a heavy rubber material impregnated with abrasive. The brown 240 grit blocks will remove the pits without leaving deep scratching, it can then be polished with Belgom or similar.

To fit a 97 Superlight or does anyone know where I can get my silver ones powder coated in exchange for something less than an upper and lower limb. Ta John S

Alex I had the same problem, I took out the steel channels and made up new ones in ally. At least then you reduce the chance of galvanic corrosion between the steel and ally. I don't think that there is a strength issue with using ally as its only clamping the base of the scuttle which in its self has very little strength. John S

If you open the hole slightly and fit a rivnut you can use a screw to jack the cap off. John S

Howard YHM John S