SimonRHC

Hi Chaps, Having convinced the nice man next door to buy an alfa 156 2.5 the dam thing is not playing the right tune. well when i say the "right tune" it's not hitting the high notes. It revs and pulls (sounding amazing) cleanly round to 5.5k rpm where it just starts spluttering and smelling rich. (during a drive by with me on the curb) yesterday it was fine, today not so. it has coils on top of each plug so i'm assuming the HT leads arn't HT (we couldn't see any tracking sparks). could the spark be weak? Could it be the extra juice at 5.5k is quenching the spark? could the spark be weak? what would cause it to start spluttering at 5.5k? We have checked the airflow meter and it's not that. he is going to run it up to 5.5k in the morning (what finer alarm call) in nutral just to see if it splutters under no load. the thought being that the revs will be the same but there wont be a lot of cold petrol vapor hitting the spark because they'll be light pressure on the accelerator. we found that there was a split in the concertina tubing between the airflow meter and the throttle valve. maybe at 5.5k the valve timing changes and the extra air being drawn in is causing the split to open suddenly turning the mixture very lean? I'm worried that unless we can fix this we might seace being mates and he won't have as much free time (and imunity to cold) when my caterham needs to get through it's MOT this time around! Cheers Si

Dropped my son off at Gt Haisley nursury this morning. on the way out i was admiring a silver Alpina B3 when the mrs pointed out the club sticker in the back window. just wondered if any one new him, he was dropping his son off at 9am. Cheers Simon

Hi Rob, hope you can make the Oxford meet on the 1st Tues of the month. I'm dying to see your car. Cheers Simon 1600vx

How do chaps, I have found that there's play in the top joint where my cast iron top wishbone joins the hub. the joint seems to be pressed into or an integral part of the cast part of the wishbone. I have a 1600vx live axle car with the mod that adds the front part of the top wishbone isolating the roll bar from those duties. in the other classic cars the roll bar forms the front part of the wish bone. Do i need to buy a whole new cast wishbone part with the joint attached or can i get just the joint? if so what is the part? I think it might be triumph herald? Cheers Simon

Pink Caterham racer, on a trailer being pulled by a modern fawn coloured E-Class estate Turning into Cromwell Avenue, Thame at 7pm Sunday night. Cheers Simon

Hi Stuart, I made one for my car. If you can get the car near the bending and shearing machine it helps. It took about 2 hours. i repossitioned the battery from its low possition. I made templates by folding card board into the correct size and shape. as i built the box up i would seal the joints with mastic. a dremil drill was very handy because you can drill the rivet holes in confined areas. It doesn't need to be massively strong because there's a chassis member that runs underneath. let me know if you need more explanation. cheers Simon

S7 RUN, I asked MEOW the exact same question on Friday and got the excellent info below. Cheers Simon:- ............... Hi Simon, I used Ivor Searle for the head work. You need to ask to speak to Trevor Gibley, he will sort everything out for you. It cost me £460 Inc vat which included stripping old valve/springs and fitting the new ones. I tried to use parts from Vauxhall where i could but i guess it doesnt really matter. So bought the following from Vauxhall: Valve stem seals Cam Front Oil Seal Cam Rear Oil seal Head Gasket Rocker cover gasket Head bolts Head sealing compond Inlet manifold gasket ~£4 Exhaust manifold gasket ~£7 Oil Filter ~£4 Oil £17 I also bought a few tools but nothing too expensive. Total for this lot was £152 Inc Vat. I sourced a AST15 Cam kit from PeterLoyd ralling priced at £324 inc vat (it actually comes with a front oil seal and a new rocker cover gasket which i didnt know about, so can remove from list above). Total: £936 You can probably do it slightly cheaper if you source patent parts. Next step for me is to get it on the rolling road after 3000 miles of running then see how much she is putting out! Edited by - The Naked Engineer on 29 Jul 2008 08:42:23

I just called Simon Lambert for the letter from Holden to Caterham re the build date of the 1600vx engines. He scanned it and sent it through in about 3 mins! If anyone needs it let me know. Cheers Simon

And me please Brunel! No. 30588 Alistair Wheaver's (Autocar) scolaship car from 1999. Acid Yellow Cheers Simon

Does any one in the Oxford / Swindon area have an imperial die that's 1-1/8 26 tpi? I have some mountain bike forks that i want to fit but i need to extend the thread length. It's a quick job it you have the kit. Cheers Simon

Hello, My car is the one David speaks of. I would be interested in the right swap. My car is a 1600vx scolarship car. it is all origial with the engine seals still fitted. It's fully painted in bile yellow. FIA bar. I'd be interested in something fuel injected. Get intouch if you have an offer. Cheers Simon

Morning Chaps, I have limped the last 10 miles (of 40) to work with the battery warning light on. I have a Ford Ka. There is a 3 pin plug that fits onto the alternator. The problem is that 2 of the 3 wires have snapped where they go into the plug. The wireing loom is so short. I can fix it but what i need is a replacement 3 pin plug if possible with flying leads or one that i can add my own flying leads to. What i need to know is if some where like halfords (just round the corner in swindon) or a ford dealers might stock such plugs. Any suggestions? Cheers Simon

Chaps, "My other car is" a 1.3 Ford Ka. Under full acceleration in 1st or whilst standing hard on the brakes the battery warning light comes on temporarily. I topped up the cells in the battery thinking that the electrolyte was not fully covering the plates. This has not fixed the problem. Do any of you know what might be causing this? Cheers Simon

Hi David, I used a plummers blow-torch and patiently and gentley wafted it over the polycarbonate to soften it. I missed your reply here as i had finished on e-mail for the week. The offer still stands, maybe Thursday evening or after 8:30pm tonight (I'm going on a tour of the new Brookes motorsport depatment at 6:45pm). Cheers Si

Hi David, i made a video / hifi guard by bending polycarbonate with a blow torch in the garage. If was easy and great fun. Making a screen is on the to-do list. come over and we'll have a go. Are you guys up for a coffee sunday am? txt if you are about as i'm away from e-mail now. Cheers Si

I picked some up last Friday from an independent, rural motor factors (Faringdon) for £3.50 each. But does any one know where i can get clear repeater lenses? Cheers Simon

See Fig 3 on this webpage below http://www.procarcare.com/icarumba/resourcecenter/encyclopedia/icar_resourcecenter_encyclopedia_starting1.asp This is a link to some diagrams of a slightly different starter motor. I have included it to help with my explanation even though the design is slightly different. Whilst fixing a mate's K-Series starter motor the other week i discovered a problem with the manufacture of the starter. He had wrapped his exhaust to try and reduce the under bonnet temp etc but to no luck. He was now experiencing "click no start's" whilst hot OR cold. Having spent the last 8 years designing starter motors i offered to have a look at it before he spent lots of money on an (unnecessary) special “starter” motor. I slowly and methodically stripped part of the starter. (The whole process took no more then 30 mins.) I removed the "Motor Strap" (the stiff wire that runs from the solenoid negative terminal to the motor body. (See the wire coming out of the top of part 14 in Fig 3 of the above address) I then undid the 2 bolts that held the solenoid to the starter casting. (Listed as part 6 on Fig 3) I then gently removed the solenoid body. (Part 2) The solenoid plunger stays loosely attached to the starter casting because the plunger’s end is attached to a lever inside the casting. (Part 8) The first thing i noticed whilst looking at the plunger is that it was worn at the top-front and bottom-back. This indicated to me that the centre axis of the plunger was not in line with the centre axis of the solenoid during operation. Something was creating a side load on the plunger that was causing it to bind up during operation. This would account for a non-temperature related “click no start”. The pull force of a solenoid at the early stages of the plunger travel is very weak and if the plunger gets stuck the coil heats up rapidly making the pull force even weaker in a catch 22 type situation. When a solenoid plunger has been worn diagonally due to a side load i always look at the interface between the plunger and the lever. The end of a lever moves in a circular path (an arc) where as the plunger needs to move in a straight line. It is therefore imperative that the end of the lever slides smoothly against the end of the plunger so that they can move in their (slightly different paths). The end of the plunger has a kind of mushroom shaped end that sits over a fork shape end on the lever. The lever is a pressing, stamped out of a sheet like a ginger bread man shape being cut out. When this is done the upper cut edge has a rounded profile (fillet) because the metal is being bent slightly. The lower edge has a very sharp corner because it is being sheared. Looking closely at the lower edge it still had this sharp edge present and has not been de-burred adequately. This sharp edge (around the knuckle of the levers fork) is digging into the mushroom end of the plunger. As the end of the lever moves in an arc it is bound up with the end of the plunger. This causes the end of the plunger to try and move in an arc creating a side load on the plunger and causing it to bind up, hence click no start. With a small file I removed the sharp edges on the lever so that they couldn’t snag. I noticed that the grease inside the casting had become thick and blackened with brush dust so I cleaned it out. I lightly greased the fork of the leaver, the mushroom end on the plunger and (very lightly greased) the plunger outside diameter. The areas were greased during manufacture but because the starter is mounted up side down (the solenoid at the bottom) the brush dust collects around the plunger drying up the grease. It is not ideal to have the solenoid as the lowest point on the starter. Although there is a drain tube to let the water out the brush dust will still sit there mixing with the grease. If the solenoid is at the top the brush dust ends up sat inside the starter frame (part 13) where it does little damage. Because the starter is mounted up-side down it may be necessary to clean and re-grease the plunger and lever every now and then. Be very careful when tightening the nuts not to over torque then because many of them bolt through “Bakelite” which can shatter. I hope this helps you fix your starter. Being an engineer I am aware that this simplified explanation may make no sense to a lot of people. If I have confused you please post back and I’ll try and clear it up. Don’t invalidate your warranty, but if you are out of warranty, it’s a very easy job that only requires new grease. Cheers Simon

Has any one tried fitting fitting the "light weight" Ali- ciramic S1 Elise disks to a Seven? I think they are quite light and durable but may be the wrong diameter and use huge calipers. I think they were sintered Ali oxide back filled with Ali. Does any one know if there would be an advantage if they fitted, unsprung weight etc. the manufacture went bust but because they are so durable there may be a few sets in the scrap yards. I have often wondered. Cheers Simon

I had a similar problem that turned out to be a broken engine mounting bolt! Worth a look. Cheers Simon

BRG with yellow stripe, 1600VX (Scholarship?) car. Cycle wings, cloth seats taxed in Bicester Seen at RAF Holton Hockey pitch on Saturday. Do you play for Aylesbury HC? I play for Rover Oxford. Cheers Simon

Copper coloured 21 on M40 heading north at High Wycombe, 7am this morning. appeared to have a white GB type sticker on the back. Simon

Dusty Seven parked down the side of a house with it's hood fitted. (presuably to stop it filling up with the Harrier jump jets!) Cheers, Simon

Is there some thing going on at Silverstone today? Within a couple of minutes on the M40 at 6:50am this morning i saw a F40, GT40, Marcos Mantis GT and Molser all heading north. One reason to get one of those silly Chelsea Tractor things is so i can see over the crash barrier at all the tasty motors going the other way. *idea* Cheers Simon

A (BRG) Green Caterham with HPC wheels parked in Wooton, near Woodstock on Saturday morning. Cheers Simon

A Silver (Hard top) queing on the M40 to join the M25 at 7am this morning How rare are Dare? Simon