Benedict.

My advice: Many years ago I drove to an SVA test (what the IVA test used to be called) legally as above, pre- registration, obviously. When I drove back, I passed one of those Police/DVLA pop-up spot check sites and they were pulling anything that looked like it might even smell odd. Of course with no numberplates I was straight in. Initially the policeman who spoke to me was adamant that I should not be driving *anywhere* pre registration. At all. Fortunately I had with me the booklet with me that clearly said that "You will be allowed to drive" to and from the test centre, provided you're insured and comply with construction & use. The poilecman checked that the lights & indicators worked and that it didn't look like it was about to fall apart and sent me on my way. So basically don't expect the local constabulary (even traffic/RPU) to have any knowledge of the law here at all, take whatever booklet / documentatuion you get. That may invilve printing something nowadays or having a dvla page available on your phone.

The main reason was to keep the current setup with the current adjustable regulator. I don't know what pressure that is set to, so to put a different type of regulator on would need at least an accurate pressure measurement and setting the new one to exactly match, and ideally a CD session to check the mapping at least. I also wanted to use the existing copper tube for the lower pressure return due to the fittings used to connect either end.

Apologies if this is a duplicate. I tried to post this earlier but it doesn't seem to have shown up, so reposting from initial textfile. Yes, Hi Ian I went to Concept Racing, (chosen mainly due to countless recommendations by the perfectionists that are the amazing RetroPower (If you're new to them I'd suggest starting with the build diary of the Mk1 Escort for Gordon Murray (yes, that one))) and got a new tank built to accommodate an external pump and a dip-tube sender. I particularly wanted a dip-tube sender to introduce some linearity into the fuel reading. I already use the Stack programmable fuel gauge, which is great as you can set it to any resistance range. I used the VDO dip-tube sender, which Concept were also able to supply. The other main drive behind this was to eliminate non E10 compatible items, hoses,gaskets, etc. I bought the hose, fittings and filters from Torques as they seem reasonably priced and I'd heard from a few people who were happy with their service/products (FWIW I am too). My car was (from after loads of upgrades before I bought it) using a copper pipe running down the t/tunnel to supply the fuel rail and a black plastic tube returning to the tank. I binned the plastic tube, used the existing copper pipe for the return and installed new hose from the post-pump filter to the fuel rail. It was all stainless overbraid, so I've secured it as immovably as possible and anywhere it comes into contact with anything else wrapped spiral-wrap around to stop it abrading anything. I initially bought a Bosch 044 Sytec "equivalent / replacement" as an external pump, following what I've seen found a couple of people do. The only place I found to mount it was on the bulkhead behind the rear seat, near the old Rover filter. This ended up being quite noisy; "A squashcourt full of a million angry wasps" was the phrase that sprang to mind. It seems that a couple of issues contributed to this; even though it has a rubber surround within its mounting clamp, it still uses the bulkhead as a soundboard and it seems, with further reading, that it's a fecking noisy pump anyway. It all worked OK, but I've now bought a the Bosch made replacement for the "044" after reading that while not silent, the design is much quieter in operation. I'll either sell the (popular) "044" pump on or just keep it as an emergency spare. Unfortunately I have not had time to finish getting that fitted before having to go in for a hernia operation. That was 2½ weeks ago, and while I'm ostensibly fine now (minor discomfort) I am under very strict instructions not to lift or do anything exertive until well into June. Unfortunately, and rather annoyingly that leaves me rather snookered in getting the job finished and being able to use the car . However, what I would say is that I have all the stuff that I removed available to sell; so that's the original tank, fuel sender and pump, that were all working when removed. I'm not sure what the going rate is, but give me a shout if you're interested.

I've still got these for sale; I was thinking of bringing them to the autojumble at Stoneleigh, but they're rather unwieldy to transport in the 7 (or pretty impossible with a passenger), so I thought I'd re-list them here and if someone wold like me to bring them, I can sort something out to get them there. Complete exhaust/cat System for K-Series in S3 chassis. Standard original from 1999 Roadsport. 4 into 1 internal collector, wrapped in thermal wrap. Boss underneath for lambda sensor. Standard silencer with built-in catalyst and outer shield. Outer shield has a couple of small dings in it - see pictures. £120 Pic Collector pic Silencer/cat/shield pic

Temperature now stable, so looks like it was indeed an airlock despite my initial meticulous care on filling. The 'stat was indeed the right way round - I had to check(!), and I (re) tested it in a pan with a thermometer as well. Interestingly (for me anyway ), the new stat opens a good few degrees later/hotter then the old one, even though they're both marked 82-degrees. I've stuck with the new one, as it looks slightly better made than the old one, and opens to a slightly bigger aperture, not that matters, I'm sure. Now to the business of getting it run in - had a good few miles in the sun this morning Cheers and thanks all, Ben EDIT TO ADD: Forgot to say, just refilled it taking even longer and with more meticulousness and hosey squeezing than last time and that bit seems fine. I'm sure there'll be more teething troubles though...

Wouldn't you just know that some idiot neglected to check that is his annoyance that it wasn't going smoothly! Cheers, Ben

Yup, got a T-piece in the top hose; I use a mod'd 2L pop bottle with a bit of garden-hose and gaffer-tape as a makeshift funnel for filling from there, so it wedges in and slowly fills. Maybe I should bin this, so air can come out of here as well? Thanks for the link, I've pretty much done exactly what Andrew recommends in that post, which is why I was confident of a good fill. I might just (re) check the 'stat, then re-fill doing more squeezing. Cheers, Ben

I have a newly rebuilt (head by me, bottom-end & assembly onto head by DVA (& me)) 1.8 K-Series. On it's first and second brief forays onto the road, the water temperature worryingly climbed much much more quickly than previously, sailing well into the 90s within 3 miles. It never previously got into the 90s unless static with no radiator airflow. I chickened out before it got >100 but it was heading rapidly that way. The bottom end is mostly new, but the head is as originally removed, just cleaner. THe ECU, induction etc remains the same. The thermostat is new, same temp rating, with the much prescribed ~2mm hole drilled near the top of the diaphragm. I tested it on the hob in a pan with a thermometer before fitting! I was sure that the coolant was filled successfully, I certainly seemed to get the quoted capacity in (can't remember what that was now, but it was as per BC probably). However, I've not been able to employ my previously 100% successful method of filling the coolant, as this involves idling on the drive, jacking, bleeding & filling until the 'stat opens. My choice of running in method prohibits idling as much as possible. Am I right to assume an airlock, anything else you think I should check for? I'm pretty sure it's not running lean, as I've had it slightly lean before (low fuel pres. due to regulator problem) and as a symptom it refused to blip, only increasing gradually. It blips OK at the mo. All advice gratefully received Cheers, Ben

...the type without a drain plug! I'd ideally not like to have to take a tin-opener to it! The plan is to use iso-prop (as I've got lots of it) to clean the sludge/crap off the bottom, then suck it all out with the Pela vacuum sucky thing, as the baffles don't make it possible to pour stuff out of the top. Any tips / experience would be much appreciated. Cheers, Ben

I've ended up staying with the K; with help and guidance from Dave Andrews it's not been too expensive at all. I've not had as much time to devote to it as I'd have liked, and so it's not going to be finished until mid Jan, though I'm happy with the how it's going. As my failure was down to a piston cracking for no really obvious reason, I've taken it as "one of those things", as Omega pistons generally have a good record / reputation, and that could've happened to any engine. I can understand if your K keeps letting you down (Andygoodlife), that's another factor, but until this I've been very happy with the Ks I've had in both my 7s. I can see the attraction of going for the full Duratec swap, but ultimately for me, having looked into the various permutations / options, it was just going to be far more expensive that I could really live with, at this moment in time, to go for the Duratec and do it properly. I had no idea (hadn't really thought about it TBH) that Think-Auto would do a while-you-wait service; glad you mentioned that (Shaun_E), it's been squirreled away in the memory banks for future reference. Cheers, Ben

The grill's yours Paul; blatmail on the way... Cheers, Ben

WIngstays are yours, JPE_no19. I could combine with the SACD/CD/DVD player for, shall we say £107 (to get a "7" in there!). I'm sure I could get them boxed together (I'd want to keep the SACD in its original box for best protection), with the wingstays around the SACD's box, in another bigger box. I could probably arrange to get it collected from work if you want to arrange your own courrier - I'll still check how much it would be with royal mail and/or parcel force. Just let me know if you want the player as well - It's very nice(!), I've only stopped using it as I want blu-ray capability for video and I now digitally stream my music round the house (yet to find anything better than the now sadly depricated squeezeboz system).

BTTT before bunging them on eBay at the weekend...

Cheers Mankee, thanks for the feedback. ETA: and LesG who replied while I typed the above Ben

Thanks for the links - I wasn't aware that the archives were now visible to google. It's a K-series engine. I've not personally had an problems with the normal ones yet, though I do recall a few people having failures, so if I can increase my confidence in reliability (and hopefully actual reliability as well) then it may be worth it. The engine's out at the moment, hence my query. Mankee - did you find any reduction / increase in vibration reaching the chassis compared to the standard ones? - Oh and thanks for the suggestion, if I decide to go for them, I'll probably do as you suggest and pop down. Save any postage costs at least, and could be interesting. Cheers, Ben