PACR

Thanks Oily. I span a bearing again (you helped me out with advice and parts for this a couple of years ago) and took the crank, a spare crank and the rod / piston assy to a nearby engineering shop. It seems the spare crank is straight and has cleaned up with a polish. The chap who was checking the rods (in case the spinning bearing had caused damaged) left a note saying he thought the big ends were not standard size (they were from a 160 engine I used for parts so don't know full history) but all the same when he was checking for bearing availability. I don't know what size they actually are hence trying to find out the tolerance for when the chap's back in on Monday. Seems to be +/- 0.01 from 51.68 if it's same as the journals.

I'm trying to find what the range of acceptable sizes are for K Series 1.8 con rod big end diameters. I can find the journal sizes and tolerances for the different journal grades - from the pdf engine manual. I can't find the big end diameters and tolerances for the different rod grades 5,6&7. It looks like 51.68 is nominal from the aftermarket rods on offer - but unfortunately they don't quote a tolerance band +/- for their rods. Does anyone have the tolerance band sizing for the 1.8 rod grades? Or is there a 'known' size range for big ends that's acceptable? Many thanks Piers

Possibly a bit too late but... if you want to try out an electric car try Onto. I rent a Zoe on a month by month notice basis, all inclusive (inc charging). Not cheaper than some of the deals on Zoe's but allows you to try and swap cars as well. I've found the Zoe to be great but regularly get caught out with public chargers - yesterday I came out of the restaurant and found the charger had stopped just after I left the car meaning another 30 min wait to be able to get home, then later in the evening the fast charger in the pub car park showed as available but the site was closed for building work. I charge on the std 3pin to top up at home which is fine for school runs and local trips - and pre-heat the car on frosty mornings. Apparently having a commando socket installed by an electrician and buying a smart 7kw charging cable is a cheaper option than a non standard charger install (if your parking isn't near your fuse box).

Carb video was fascinating but I then fell into the rabbit hole and ended up watching, at 100k FPS, a golf ball being fired from a vacuum cannon at 300mph into an anvil and, of course, through a watermelon. This was after watching an AK 47 being fired in a swimming pool (if you are more than 6ft from an AK equipped terrorist underwater you are going to be ok).

Apologies Peter G. Just found the message in my junk folder. Consider it yours.

I've got a booster seat that I used for my kids taking up valuable garage space. It worked to raise them up to allow 4 point harnesses to grip them and keep the lap harness down, even past the 135cm tall requirement. My youngest has grown out of it (tall 9yr old - 12/13 clothes size) The cover has had a recent wash but slips off easily to clean / dry and the blow moulded base is fine. I think it's Halfords but it was a challenge to get a booster to fit the normal chassis width - hence if it's of use to anyone you can have it rather than it go to the tip. I'd suggest it's not worth making a special trip for so if you are near or passing through Marlborough then it can be picked up.

I've got a Halfords Advanced 2T. Using the club discount saved a couple of quid and it's got a three yr guarantee. Works well with a Seven and also lifted a Mini high enough to put on a rotisserie. Very heavy so only suitable if you can roll it around your garage.

Now all fixed. Pretty simple in the end. Plug welds do the job. I used a couple of washers to replicate the thickness of the handbrake lever mounting when tacking the brackets in place and alignment is spot on. I'd noticed my handbrake lever had been catching on my arm by not sitting down fully and an occasional clunking noisy when putting it on. I think a couple of the brazed spots must have been fractured for a while and the movement has overloaded the remaining until complete failure. If you try this keep an eye out for the fuel lines at the top of the tunnel.

My handbrake lever brackets have come adrift. Luckily this was when I was putting the handbrake on whilst stopping to fill up so was on a flat forecourt. I've got the tunnel cover off (1999 de Dion so tunnel mounted lever) and it looks like I can clean up the small section tubes that brace the tunnel that the handbrake lever brackets were brazed to. I can then clean up the brackets, drill three holes on the mating faces and give exposed areas a coat of weld through primer. I can get a mig torch into the tunnel so three plug tacks through the holes per bracket can be made without much heat. I may be able to reassemble the brackets to the lever in the tunnel (had to unbolt to remove through the top) to hold in the right place for welding. Does this sound like the best solution without stripping out the propshaft or tunnel skins? Has anyone else done something easier / safer?

I've been strongly requested to stop using my airguns in the garden, whilst the nearby range is great it's not the same as just grabbing the gun for half an hours plinking with the kids. I've got: Weihrauch HW100t package - Full size, legal limit pre-charged pneumatic Air Rifle (no Firearms certificate required) Walnut thumbhole stock .177. 14 shots per magazine. About 3 1/2 yrs old. Very good condition, only used in garden in the summer and the range so never been out in wet fields. It is a very good hunting combination but I've only shot paper and metal targets. Usually at 30yds 5 shots are well hidden by a 5p piece - the gun is more accurate than I am. Bad points - two marks on the stock, one from the bipod cushion slipping and a little ding on the cheek piece. Complete with original box and 2 magazines plus charging fittings, Scope (Hawke Vantage 4-12x40 AO) and mounts, Bag, Bipod, Cylinder (2016/11 dated) and some pellets and some paper targets. (I bought new). £725 (may consider selling gun only if I keep the others). Wiehrauch HW40 PCA - Air Pistol, .177 single stroke pneumatic. 2 yrs old. No recoil. Easy for kids to use (pony club use them for competitions). 'Fibre Optic' open sights, can also take scope. Excellent condition less than a tin of pellets used. Original box and instructions. Some pellets and targets to get you going. (I bought new). £95 Stoeger X3 TAC - Air Rifle, .177, Break Barrel Spring, polymer tactical stock. 2 yrs old. Low power suitable for young children. Reasonably accurate and more than good enough for plinking safely in a garden. Can take a scope but open sights are 'fibre optic' so easy to use. Excellent condition. Some pellets and targets to get you going. (I bought new). £50 BSA SuperSport Custom - Air Rifle, .22, Break Barrel Spring. Wooden Stock - correct Custom stock, refinished recently in very good condition (oiled not varnished). Serviced mechanicals. Shoots well but very different to a PCP HW100. Light and powerful but probably more for a collector as these are pretty rare than a hunter. Scope and mounts included - Nikko Stirling 3-9x40. No open sights. Pellets and targets inc. to get you going. I bought this as soon as I legally could so it's at least 27 years old. I bought as S/H in very good condition. £175 Walther CP99 - CO2 Pistol, .177, repeating or single action, 8 shots per magazine, 2 magazines, uses 12g CO2 capsules. Faded top slide but in otherwise perfect condition - recently rebuilt with new seals where required. Reasonably accurate at 5m / 6yd but more for quick fire fun in the garage. About 20yrs old but always kept in it's original box - it was unused for many years after a house move - hence recent rebuild when I rediscovered it. Bag of capsules and some pellets and targets to get you going (about 20 yrs worth of capsules at my rate...). I bought it new. £80 Collection only at 2m distance I'm afraid - once you are happy with the condition, price etc. you can test. I'm about 10 mins South from J15 of the M4. Pictures can be sent - I've a PDF of them all which I can send by return to any PM. Please let me know if you are interested - I'm offering them here before taking up a gunshop on their offers. Piers

From the experience with people not realising they have space saver spare wheels, tool kits, inflator kits, vast caverns etc in their own cars a bit of foam to hold stuff in place with a trimmed panel over the top seems the best way to hide things in the boot. This is especially true if the spare lives under a panel in a space under the main boot floor like the XC90. A breakers or eBay may have a civic / CRV / jazz boot floor to cut up. Golf parcel shelves are also pretty tough and light composite panels. I guess if some tea leaf sees no wheel on the column there may be a quick check in the boot for it as it's the obvious place to store it.

I've used the Lidl pump on a k-series (warm) and a-series (cold) but not on a crossflow. I also used it to remove the gearbox and diff oil on the Caterham without issues (actually as the a-series was in a Mini it also removed the gearbox and diff oil in that...). In both engines the sumps came off and there was little oil left. It does make it easier to extract directly to an old bottle for disposal rather than a tray and then bottle. They can run 'dry' for a bit so you can do a measure and mark on the extraction tube against the dipstick length / sump to dipstick hole length to get the bulk out and then feed a bit more in to search out any pockets of oil without too many concerns of it sucking air. For the money it's a good bit of kit. I did think about getting another 'clean' one for refilling the gearbox and diff - if you've not gone in through the gearbox top plate and got the floor out I'd suggest this (or just reuse the same one if you are happy that the bits are all out). Piers

Got it off - lots of heat from my trusty Aldi Heat Gun and a 30 year old Opinel knife. I fancied a Clubman Estate but they seem to be really popular now. I guess the rarity value increases as they were unloved for many years.

Looks great. I'm sure there's many projects started with a grinder and welder that would be better off with a new shell - I hope mine's not one of them. There seems as many options for Mini brakes as for Caterhams now. Changed a bit from swapping to Metro 4 pots.

I've tried getting a loop of welding wire around it - found that after pulling and snipping off bead on the end of the wire and jiggling the welder tip whilst holding down the trigger on the old MIG welder frees up the wire well enough for it to push 5mm or so into a finger! Once I could grip the wire (blood clotted...) I found I couldn't get access. Heat gun in anger tonight- sacrifice the plate to save the block. Stu, Moz: The car is a 'bought unseen' Red and White SPi Cooper. I'd looked at an older 1000 and a newer MPi heading into proper auctions and joined online bidding briefly with my wife's approval - they went for about double what I'd considered reasonable. So when one came up locally on eBay I snapped it up before the approval lapsed. It's sat for a couple of years and needs A panels, wings, outer sills replaced and doors reskinned and bottoms welded, rear boot floor and driver and passenger foot wells. I got the engine running with some duct tape used on a vacuum tube - drove to an MOT test which it failed but nothing unexpected. It's now a stripped shell - almost! The upper dash pad and remains of the loom are a pain. Engine is stripped but I can't lift the crank out. Main bearings have scores in them so will need to see if the crank can be saved. The head is ported which was a surprise as everything else looks standard - looks pretty good job but with std inlet valve size. Plans are to get a new Cam kit (SW5) in a 1293 block using std +20thou pistons with the head possibly going to MG Metro inlet valves. Not sure on roller rockers at 1.5 ratio or forged 1.4. Then Maniflow LCB + exhaust (inc new cat as the one I took off was empty!) and K&N element. Should be about 75/80 bhp and sound like 100 which is half the fun. Apparently the SPI set up can manage to adapt to this and revs kept around 6000ish should mean it holds together ok. For the body I want to get the 7.5" brakes for 10" minilites, grp 2 arches and keep flame red but change to a black roof. Not too bothered about the interior so will fix the drivers seat and sort the lacquer on the dash (but I think black crinkle finish will be nicer than the walnut). I just need to learn to weld again now and then improve my painting (and patience in rubbing down properly). I'm tempted by the roll over jigs as I think it will make it much more appealing and back friendly to work on it. Minis are a good fit with a Caterham in the garage. With both in a double garage there's still room to work on stuff. I was surprised how well the SPI started - no playing with chokes and trying to give just enough throttle as it coughs into life. Piers

I've just bought a 1995 Mini and on stripping down the engine I've found that the front cover - couple of mm thick steel plate - is bonded to the block with a black sealant or adhesive. It reminds me of black Sikaflex adhesive I've seen used for holding wings on. Mechanical removal is given as the only option for Sikaflex but I can't mechanically reach the stuff. The plate bends before the black stuff yields enough to get a blade or wire in to cut it. Can anyone suggest any way to get the parts apart or guess what sealants may be used in an a series rebuild? It's stood up to hot oil pretty well - is there a solvent that anyone has successfully used to remove similar stuff from wings or wing stays? Or is heat a way to soften it up? Piers

2014 Eurovision?

I switched to RainExpert 3 on my std 14" wheels from A048s. This has made the car (K SuperSport) more pleasant to drive on a/b roads. I've not been on track with either the 48s or RainExperts but for the road they give a high enough grip level and feel progressive in break away with the benefit of not making me want to park up and walk in a downpour. It's easier to break traction from a start over the 48s but they feel to be a good match for 130ish hp. I can't recall how much they were so probably quite reasonable. Piers

Rattle cured by removing the drop links and cable tying the arb to the fuel tank strap. New ones to be ordered - thanks for the tip for the beefier versions. Piers

I've noticed a rattle from the rear of my Seven when driving along (had the doors off which makes it stand out a bit more), seems to be related to slightly bumpy straight roads. With the back on axle stands (on chassis not de Dion) there's a few mm of free play on the rear arb and I can get a rattle from the drop links when jiggling the arb. This seems to tie in to the noise occurring on straights rather than when the links are under load. I'm pretty sure there's always been play in the links - anyone else had this issue with the rear arb causing a rattle? How much play and rattle is normal? I guess easiest way to test and stop the rattle is to disconnect the rarb but it may be that new links are needed anyway. I just don't want to change them and find that they all wobble a bit. Piers

My daughter called out “there’s your car” as we saw a doppelgänger heading up the A4 in front of us. Unfortunately we were in the sensible car for a quick trip to Tesco spoiling the chance of giving other motorists deja vu. We’d managed to prove the practical side of the 7 picking up a pack of 2.4m long planks from Swindon the day before.

I’m pretty sure I saw a 21 flash past on the Salisbury Road out of Marlborough just before noon today as I pulled out of a side road (not in my 7). I gave my daughter a potted history of the 21 on her way to her piano exam, despite her having not seen it and me being in a bit of doubt if it was a 21 or a Ginetta...

It looks like splitting the bell housing from the gearbox and checking it’s the actual starter may be less time consuming and more accurate than playing about with a template. I hope my neighbours don’t mind a bit of angle grinding on a bank holiday! Thanks.

I need to modify a standard k series block to clear the starter. I have the original block as a template and can make a guide up from card to allow me to check I am replicating the modification before bolting everything except the starter together or breaking into anything important. What’s the best method for removing the aluminium with normal tools (no milling machines etc in my garage)? Before I attack it with an angle grinder if there a best way to do it and using what? My thoughts were to make cuts in the ribs down to a marked line then angle cut to nip the material out. I think it’s easier to cut Ali with a thin disk than grind out (from memory grinding Ali can bung up a disc quickly) so I want to leave minimum grinding. Thanks, Piers

No Apollo fitted. Road use only mainly with Yoko 48s. The Apollo isn’t on the Caterham parts web store - just a bracket at a discount. Where’s a good source for these and the fittings?