Mark Gibson

Does anyone have a spare nose cone lying around that they would like to get rid of? My car is a 2008/58 plate Sigma Academy car - doesn't need to be perfect, just physically intact (which is more than can be said for my current one ) Thanks Mark

I am posting this on behalf of a friend in the Caterham Graduates series: "Hello, You might have seen my ad for an uprated camshaft and pulley a couple of weeks ago. I sent the rest of the engine to McMillan Motorsport in Hinckley for inspection, refreshing and re-assembling but they have identified that the cylinder head, too, is non-standard and that it has been fettled by the legendary Bill Blydenstein at some point. Anyone who knows about Bill will know that he had a long history of top-notch Vauxhall cylinder head work right up until he passed away in 2007. This conversion was fairly popular and quite well documented on Blatchat if you search the archives… I believe the power increase is typically quoted at 25-30bhp. The work involved fitting enlarged valves with waisted stems, flowing the valve seats and inlet tracts and re-assembling the head with Kent uprated camshaft, valve springs and camshaft pulley. As much as I’d love to experience and enjoy this upgrade on my own 1.6 8v race car, I think my competitors and championship regulations might prefer I didn’t! For this reason the entire top end is now for sale, including; -Complete cylinder head assembly (Blydenstein modified with big valves and kent springs, fully assembled with lifters and rockers) -Camshaft housing with Kent uprated camshaft and vernier pulley This conversion would have cost around £1,200 several years ago, and since Bill is no longer with us you couldn’t have the same work carried out now for love nor money. I need a quick sale and a standard cylinder head so I’m asking £425 with possible part-ex for your standard top end." Send me a blatmail if you are interested and I will put you in touch. Mark

Even locking him in his trailer at Curborough wasnt sufficient to "gag" him as there were some fairly choice words being shouted from within 😬

Selling on behalf of a friend in the Caterham Graduates race series: "I bought a used Caterham Vauxhall 1.6 8v engine for my race car from a vehicle dismantlers. It was removed from a Caterham with heavy rear damage. The seller delivered it and showed me the Caterham Odometer which apparently corresponded to the car- it had less than 19k miles on it. It seemed a good basis for a race engine with a strip and refresh, so I set about stripping it down. Long story short, it turns out the engine was fitted with a Kent AST15 uprated camshaft and a Kent alloy vernier pulley. We aren't permitted to use uprated parts so the engine is currently being assembled by McMillan Motorsport with standard parts. So, I have for sale a complete bolt-on 'kit' for upping the power of the 1.6 or 1.8 8-valve Vauxhall lump. I don't know by how much, Kent don't have data for this cam in a 1.6, but it's a well-trodden upgrade path and just the camshaft and pulley would cost over £320 new. Quoted increase with additional head work by Bill Bleidenstein was +35bhp, how much can be gained with the camshaft and pulley alone I don't know. For the sake of completeness, this sale will include the Pulley, Camshaft, housing, bearings, seals etc as an assembly (the bearings are fine and there was no evidence of any oil leaking past the seals so I decided not to remove the camshaft from the housing). I can also include the followers used in this engine which I have labelled and numbered sequentially so they can be re-assembled on the same camshaft lobes. I cannot verify the mileage and nor do I know at which point in those 19k miles the uprated camshaft was installed, but I would say the uprated parts are very lightly used. The rest of the engine was in very good health indeed and I'll be getting it inspected, re-assembled and sealed with no additional work. I have uploaded some Photos here for anybody who's interested to have a look at. Installed with a set of gaskets and a new cam belt, this will be a very worthwhile and straight-forward mod for somebody." He is looking for £200 plus postage if necessary for the lot. Please contact me if you are interested and I will put you in touch. Mark

That's great news and well spotted, thanks Ray. Hope to see you there!

Just seen the finals for Curborough on Saturday and it looks like my first outing in class 1 is going to be a lonely one ☹️ There are others getting late entries so would be good to have some class 1 cars along also - go on!! Edited by - Mark Gibson on 16 May 2013 13:25:13

Wow, that was a close one - thanks Nick. Just called them and all sorted - would have been a shame to miss out when it is part of the policy. Really looking forward to my first club track day. Mark

Paul - I thought you were considering retirement but when I saw you entered for last weekend I thought you would be around for at least another season. It won't be the same without you and your wonderful sounding and looking car. Hope to see you at a future event. Mark

I am supposed to be playing all weekend but not received any confirmation of entry. There is no Academy event this year so I am sure we will all have an entry and I guess finals will arrive this week. Mark

Great - thanks Shaun. That's my entertainment sorted for the day - passenger rides in both Elwell cars 😬

Hi All, We have a spare place on a test day at Curborough on Tuesday 30th April. Cost is £58. Track is open from 10am to 1pm and from 2 to 5pm with only 10 cars (1 at a time). Just mail me if you would like to come along. Even if not for taking part why not come along anyway and see how much I have aged in the past 4 weeks 😳 Mark

Robin - don't listen to the album, his music is awful

Sorry, just fell asleep on the keyboard

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.....of the sprint community was born at 8.22am yesterday morning! Zoe Ellen Gibson weighed 7lbs 4oz and is absolutely beautiful 🥰 Mum and Zoe are both doing really well and should be home tomorrow. We hope to be able to come along to Curborough in May if the next few weeks go well so hopefully some of you can meet her then. In the meantime, I am off to bed now as a few sprinters have told me to get my last proper nights sleep for 20 years 😳 Mark

I would like these - YHM Mark

I know a few members own Lotus Elises so thought some may be interested in this here which my brother is selling. Mark

Hi Burwell7Man - that is a really kind offer. I live very close to you (Burwell Road in Exning) so no doubt you have passed our house many times! It would be good to meet up so I will send you a note separately. Mark

Perfect, thanks Richard. I will give this a try. Mark

While trying to wire up the number light I foolishly left the battery connected 🙆🏻 and accidentally touched the live wire against the earth and the right hand (drivers) rear side light no longer works I have a 2008 Sigma car which is new to me so I have no idea which fuse is which. Under the dash, it seems to have 2 separate fuse boxes (a row of 12 fuses with some relays; and then a separate box with 9 fuses and a couple of relays). I have inspected all the fuses and they "seem" intact and I have also checked the rear side light bulb which functions when plugged into the others side. Does anyone have any idea which fuse position is correct and whether something else may need to be checked? I should clarify that it was working fine before so will definitely be something I have caused. Thanks.

Thanks Ian - about 5mins before your post, I called Soft Bits and placed an order for a new one ☹️ Jez - I know everything about the car since it did the Academy but dont actually know who competed in the Academy with it. Any info would be appreciated (although probably best to blatmail me directly!).

Bradders - no offence was intended. I have borrowed the more expensive one from fellow competitors in the past and was very surprised at how light they were for getting in and out of the boot of a car.

Thank you so much for your kind replies. Having looked at all the options I think I would go with the Clarke one mentioned by a few of you because this looks like one I have borrowed in paddocks in the past. From a scour of the various outlets, the cheapest I could find it was for £91 + £7 postage: here Although there are a few brand new ones on ebay for £99 including postage. Having said that I like the suggestion of removing the wheels of my existing one so I will try this first before spending the £98. I guess the other option is to dig a small hole in the garage floor 😬

Hi. I have a Halfords trolley jack, but it has never been able to fit under my 7 without first rolling the car onto small blocks of wood. Can anyone recommend a nice light-weight jack with a nice low clearance at the front which neatly fits under the usual jacking points (I have only about 8-9cm clearance) that will prevent me having to mess around with blocks of wood etc. Thanks in advance. Mark

I was without one for just 24 hours . I have now replaced my immaculate Superlight with a battle scarred 2009 Academy car 😳 Ironically, I sold a tonneau a while ago which would have been ideal but I didn't need the cage cut-outs then