Just a quick snap of the 2 tone colour scheme currently sported
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Monday, 22 March 2010
Post Snetterton Repairs
Nothing major to repair after Snetterton, just a bit of bent aluminium and broken fibreglass. Its just so annoying that the brand side pods and new aluminium panels i made lasted 30 seconds of racing!!! But it could have been so much worse, so i'm counting myself lucky! Plus it gives me the excuse to paint the side pods white now!!!
If Colins wheel had impacted 30mm forward or rearward it would have missed the chassis outrigger and his wheel wouldn't have been destroyed, i must try harder to point the soft parts of the car at him next time!!
The fibreglass has been getting very hot near near the exhaust, even after cutting a lot of it away after the test day. The top edge of the pod has lost its shape as it was obviously very hot and soft after the race and as it cooled it was all out of shape due to the collision. and set hard again in the wrong shape. I wanted to try straighten it out as much as i could before laying up the fibreglass repairs so heated it up with a blow torch and reshaped it as best as possible. I really need to try and stop it getting this hot!!
After a bit of reshaping i screwed the pod to the work bench ready to lay up the patches
The rear tub had lost its shape quite badly due to the lump of body missing and the cracks, so before laying the GRP up i clamped the side against a straight piece of wood, hopefully the patch of GRP used to repair the hole will hold the tub back to about its correct shape. I forgot to take any after GRP'ing shots, so you'll have to take my word for it that its all finished.
I didn't have a piece of aluminium larger enough to replace the panels, so a bit of panel beating got them back to a roughly the correct shape!
While i had the spare time i took the opportunity to check the car over ready for Mallory. The one front pad was completely shot, luckily i think there is about 1 micron of pad material left so it didn't damage the disc!! What did concern me was that the 3 other pads had at least 4-5mm left on them, and they had all worn at an angle. At least i got my moneys worth out of the one pad ;). I decided to try a different pad this time, as the RS-14's fitted are the most expensive pad you can fit, and i'm not convinced the extra money is worth it as the car is so light. I'm trying some EBC yellow stuff this time, they may turn out to be crap, but the brakes have very little feel now, so i can't see how they can feel much worse. If they turn out to be rubbish, i just chuck them in the box as spares so nothing lost.
I found a small amount of up and down play in the input shaft to the rear axle, there shouldn't be any so i think its getting nearly time for a rear axle rebuild. I won't get this done for mallory, but its something to put on the the to do list. The play may have been there for a long time and i've just not noticed it, so i'll keep an eye on it at Mallory.
So other than filling and rubbing down the repaired areas and refitting the body the car is all ready to go to Mallory, which all seems a bit too prepared!!! I'm sure something will scupper it!
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Busted!
The wife is currently reading my blog!! She has also offered to "decorate" the side of the bus with what she considers suitable and deserved slogans! Keep your eyes open for "W@nker Racing" coming to track soon!! LOL!!
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Snetterton 14th March 2010
I couldn't make the allcomers race on the saturday as the wife was on her sister hen do on the saturday night, so i was left literally holding the baby. I consider myself a modern man and am heavily involved in the care of the the kids from day 1 (although i don't think the wife shares this view entirely), but i had been dreading this night for months! Henry, the newest (and last) addition is a handful at night, he only sleeps if attached or next to his mom, and the longest he has ever slept in one go is 2.5 hours! When Emma was taken into hospital a few months back he basically screamed for 2 hours until he eventually fell asleep, slept for an hour then screamed again for 2 hours before going back to sleep. I blame it on breast feeding, plus when he has to have have a bottle (only 3 times in his life) he has no idea what to do with it. The wife scoffs at this and it usually results in a "disagreement", and there is no way i am going to win this argument against a breastfeeding midwife!!! So after a lot of crying and pacing around i got him asleep at 9.15pm, i had a drink and decided i'd better try and get some sleep. Just as i was dropping off he woke up and i spend until 1am trying to settle him again, at which point Emma came home and he shut up instantly!!!!
at 3.30am the alarm went off!! If it wasn't for the excitement of the day ahead i'd have never managed to drag myself out of bed!!! Dad arrived at 4am and after connecting the bus battery up (i'd disconnected it incase the battery drained itself) we set off on the long drive to the Norfolk! The drive was uneventful and the bus went like a dream, and the journey actually flew by. As time was a bit tight dad decided to cook our breakfast on the portable stove while travelling at 60mph down the A11. Luckily i persuaded him that using the full jerry can as a cooking bench was not the best idea!! Note the use of a saucepan to fry bacon on the move, it helps prevent spillage of oil and/or bacon during braking and accelerating!!
We arrived at about 6.40am and parked up in the RGB paddock area, there were very few signs of life from the motorhomes so we started banging around unloading the car and doing the last few jobs on the car. Bob soon arrived clad in lycra, he says he was off for a run, but it does seem to surface most mornings dressed like this so i do wonder ;-).
I hadn't managed to get a new bulb holder due to the diesel shortage in the bus on friday, so the plan was to refit the light and connect up the brake and sidelight to the same bulb connection, a quick 2 minute job. But as usual a 2 minute job turns out to be more. There was a short in the wiring somewhere causing all the lights to come on at the rear when the bulb was connected to the faulty holder. It was nothing to do with the holder, although this was broken anyway. after some scrabbling round it turned out to be the connection plug on the loom at the rear, one of the spade connector clips was shorting out on the earth, so after a bit of poking about it was sorted. I then went to stick my numbers on, which only arrived on Friday, to find there were only 2 sets, after starting to make the numbers from electrical tape James informed me i could buy them from race control.
So after sign on and sticker purchasing i trundled off to scruitineering expecting issues with the fact i had no nearside side light. In the end he never even checked my lights and i went through with no problems. I now had a bit of spare time to catch up with some of the guys in the paddock, which i find almost as much fun as the racing!!! I'm looking forward to the first RGB BBQ and proper social night!
As i went down to the holding area i started to feel a bit nervous, it had been a few months since i'd properly been out in the car, 12 months since i'd been to Snetterton and the first time i had been round Snetterton in the Fury. But once out there i felt right at home again, and the adrenalin fuelled high came flooding back into my life!!! The car felt good and i started to build up the speed. I never felt like i had a complete flying lap or that i had managed to get every corner right to the best of my ability for one complete lap, i managed a time of 1.19.96, which was 3.5 seconds a lap quicker than last year in the old car and up there with the class C times posted last year so i was pretty happy. Then when i saw the grid positions and was over the moon, i was fastest in class!!! It was slightly false as Colin had an air intake problem which had slowed him down and there were only 5 class C cars, but i was happy to take it!!!!
The car only needed a refuel and a checkover, so we had time to watch a bit of racing and the start of the F1 race, which turned out to be pretty boring!! What was nice, was being able to sit in the bus, get out of the wind, and be able to get changed into my race suit without standing in the middle of the paddock in my pants!!
I was 12th on the grid so right in the middle of the pack, i didn't need to overtake anyone if i wanted to grab my first class win, so i needed to try and keep the red mist at bay!! I usually manage to get a good start and it would be a great opportunity to get a few cars between myself and the other class C cars behind, so when the lights went out i went for it and managed to squeeze up a few places. Unfortunately the rain started as we sat on the grid, it was only spitting but as we reached the first corner it was evident that it had been raining for a while up that end of the circuit, lots of slipping and sliding followed and unfortunately my back end drifted out at Sears and clipped colin who was trying it on round the outside, this sent us both into a spin, luckily ending up on the outside of the circuit out of harms way as the rest of the pack went threw. The rest of the race proved very difficult but highly entertaining, myself and colin fought our way back up the field until we caught Phil up and then proceeded to swap positions several times, with all 3 of us being in 1st, 2nd and 3rd several times during the race. Colin had managed to get a bit of a lead over Phil and I but then had an off at the Esses which left me in 1st position, and the pressure got to me!!! I really didn't want to spin off like i did at Brands last year, and the conditions were very unpredictable with the rain stopping and starting at different points all around the track. Every corner was different on every lap, with one part of the track being soaking wet and another being bone dry, then on the next lap it being the opposite!! I ended up backing off slightly to try and preserve my position, but of course this just had the opposite effect, and while coming down the Revett Straight into the Esses i was done up like a right kipper by Colin and Phil who went either side of me and i went from 1st back to 3rd!! I'll put this down to experience, they are both old dogs who know the score ;-) LOL!!!
Jame in his class A car also came to play in this battle which lead to a very exciting last lap between him, myself and Phil, which almost ended in tears at the bomb hole where James semi spun infront of me pushing me onto the grass. If that hadn't of happened i think i may have just sneaked past on the putside and had the best line down towards russels pass them both and grab 2nd in class. But as it all worked out i came 3rd in class, my 2nd podium finish and a great start to the season!!
The collision with colin has caused some damage to the bodywork, scuffing my nice new bonnet, cracking the battered rear tub, partially destroying my brand new lightweight side pod and bending some of the new ali panels i fitted! I'll be needing to get the fibreglass out in the next couple of weeks along with the usual checks! I do ask myself is it really worth smartening up the rear tub, should i just leave it in the magic round about colour scheme!!!!!!
Heres the video of the race:-
And here is my new photo gallery with all the pictures my trusty side kick Dan has taken:-
at 3.30am the alarm went off!! If it wasn't for the excitement of the day ahead i'd have never managed to drag myself out of bed!!! Dad arrived at 4am and after connecting the bus battery up (i'd disconnected it incase the battery drained itself) we set off on the long drive to the Norfolk! The drive was uneventful and the bus went like a dream, and the journey actually flew by. As time was a bit tight dad decided to cook our breakfast on the portable stove while travelling at 60mph down the A11. Luckily i persuaded him that using the full jerry can as a cooking bench was not the best idea!! Note the use of a saucepan to fry bacon on the move, it helps prevent spillage of oil and/or bacon during braking and accelerating!!
I hadn't managed to get a new bulb holder due to the diesel shortage in the bus on friday, so the plan was to refit the light and connect up the brake and sidelight to the same bulb connection, a quick 2 minute job. But as usual a 2 minute job turns out to be more. There was a short in the wiring somewhere causing all the lights to come on at the rear when the bulb was connected to the faulty holder. It was nothing to do with the holder, although this was broken anyway. after some scrabbling round it turned out to be the connection plug on the loom at the rear, one of the spade connector clips was shorting out on the earth, so after a bit of poking about it was sorted. I then went to stick my numbers on, which only arrived on Friday, to find there were only 2 sets, after starting to make the numbers from electrical tape James informed me i could buy them from race control.
So after sign on and sticker purchasing i trundled off to scruitineering expecting issues with the fact i had no nearside side light. In the end he never even checked my lights and i went through with no problems. I now had a bit of spare time to catch up with some of the guys in the paddock, which i find almost as much fun as the racing!!! I'm looking forward to the first RGB BBQ and proper social night!
As i went down to the holding area i started to feel a bit nervous, it had been a few months since i'd properly been out in the car, 12 months since i'd been to Snetterton and the first time i had been round Snetterton in the Fury. But once out there i felt right at home again, and the adrenalin fuelled high came flooding back into my life!!! The car felt good and i started to build up the speed. I never felt like i had a complete flying lap or that i had managed to get every corner right to the best of my ability for one complete lap, i managed a time of 1.19.96, which was 3.5 seconds a lap quicker than last year in the old car and up there with the class C times posted last year so i was pretty happy. Then when i saw the grid positions and was over the moon, i was fastest in class!!! It was slightly false as Colin had an air intake problem which had slowed him down and there were only 5 class C cars, but i was happy to take it!!!!
The car only needed a refuel and a checkover, so we had time to watch a bit of racing and the start of the F1 race, which turned out to be pretty boring!! What was nice, was being able to sit in the bus, get out of the wind, and be able to get changed into my race suit without standing in the middle of the paddock in my pants!!
I was 12th on the grid so right in the middle of the pack, i didn't need to overtake anyone if i wanted to grab my first class win, so i needed to try and keep the red mist at bay!! I usually manage to get a good start and it would be a great opportunity to get a few cars between myself and the other class C cars behind, so when the lights went out i went for it and managed to squeeze up a few places. Unfortunately the rain started as we sat on the grid, it was only spitting but as we reached the first corner it was evident that it had been raining for a while up that end of the circuit, lots of slipping and sliding followed and unfortunately my back end drifted out at Sears and clipped colin who was trying it on round the outside, this sent us both into a spin, luckily ending up on the outside of the circuit out of harms way as the rest of the pack went threw. The rest of the race proved very difficult but highly entertaining, myself and colin fought our way back up the field until we caught Phil up and then proceeded to swap positions several times, with all 3 of us being in 1st, 2nd and 3rd several times during the race. Colin had managed to get a bit of a lead over Phil and I but then had an off at the Esses which left me in 1st position, and the pressure got to me!!! I really didn't want to spin off like i did at Brands last year, and the conditions were very unpredictable with the rain stopping and starting at different points all around the track. Every corner was different on every lap, with one part of the track being soaking wet and another being bone dry, then on the next lap it being the opposite!! I ended up backing off slightly to try and preserve my position, but of course this just had the opposite effect, and while coming down the Revett Straight into the Esses i was done up like a right kipper by Colin and Phil who went either side of me and i went from 1st back to 3rd!! I'll put this down to experience, they are both old dogs who know the score ;-) LOL!!!
Jame in his class A car also came to play in this battle which lead to a very exciting last lap between him, myself and Phil, which almost ended in tears at the bomb hole where James semi spun infront of me pushing me onto the grass. If that hadn't of happened i think i may have just sneaked past on the putside and had the best line down towards russels pass them both and grab 2nd in class. But as it all worked out i came 3rd in class, my 2nd podium finish and a great start to the season!!
The collision with colin has caused some damage to the bodywork, scuffing my nice new bonnet, cracking the battered rear tub, partially destroying my brand new lightweight side pod and bending some of the new ali panels i fitted! I'll be needing to get the fibreglass out in the next couple of weeks along with the usual checks! I do ask myself is it really worth smartening up the rear tub, should i just leave it in the magic round about colour scheme!!!!!!
Heres the video of the race:-
And here is my new photo gallery with all the pictures my trusty side kick Dan has taken:-
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Pre Snetterton testing
So with 4 days to go i only had to fit the newly repaired and painted bonnet, test the car, test the bus and pack everything up ready to go. Wednesday evening i went to my parents to fit the bonnet and see it for the first time since dad had spent 20+ hours repairing and spraying it. And i must say i was impressed!! I never thought he would achieve such a good finish in a dusty cluttered garage, but it looks great!!! How long it will look this good is questionable though!! I attached all the new fittings (headlights, bonnet pins/catches etc) and dropped it on. The car looks a bit of dogs dinner in its multicoloured state, but other than the rear body work i have got all the jobs done on it over the winter i intended and felt confident the car was sound and ready for the season. So i loaded all he tools, spares and car into the bus ready for Abingdon on friday. One thing i have noticed is that it is very difficult to strap the car down with the spare wheels ratcheted to the side of the bus as they get in the way. I will need to find a different place to store these!
6am Friday i went to start the bus and it was totally dead! It had been fine all week, so there must be a leak somewhere draining the battery over a few days. I tried to jump start it off my car but the battery wasn't man enough, so we pulled dads car up along side and connected that up to my car at the same time, i have no idea if this is the best way, should i have connected each car directly to the bus (although this wasn't possible as the jump leads weren't long enough)? It still didn't have enough juice to turn over properly which we couldn't understand until we saw smoke pouring from the jump leads connected top the bus! I had used the cheapo thin leads for the final connection and they were red hot!! We swapped the leads over as the other set were big thick heavy duty leads, and luckily this time the bus fired up. Now i can't be having this all the time so i'm going to have to fit a battery isolator switch and maybe get a trickle or solar charger.
Eventually i got on the road, it was the first proper trip out in the bus so i was really interested to see how it went and had my fingers crossed nothing broke!! After a 2.5 hour journey down to Abingdon i was blown away by the bus, it drove great and cruised at 70mph no problem with no need to change down for hills! I had to keep reminding myself how big it was and be careful not over shoot junctions or go for overtaking manouevers that were more suited to the Fury!!
After unloading and enduring the "briefing" (please note MSE, the clue is in the name!!!!) i set the new hans specific harnesses up and trundled round for the sighting laps. I hate airfield days and hadn't been on one for years, i hadn't forgotten how bad the briefings are, but had forgotten quite how rubbish the circuits are, there is no racing line as there is either a massive area to let the car go where ever it wants to and then you are on the straight, or the "chicanes" are so narrowly coned off you can only just fit the car through. I was glad i had only booked the morning as i knew i was going to be be bored rigid, but kept telling myself that its just to test the car is working, not improve my driving or learn a track. I'm even bored writing about it. First session showed that the side pod was not cut back enough and the exhaust was going to cause it to set on fire and the brake lights weren't working. I removed the ali panel from above the exhaust and discovered that the top of the side pod (under the ali panel was so soft from the heat i could cut it with a stanley knife, so i hacked it all back and put it back together. I removed the rear light to find that one of the bulb holder connections had snapped and was shorting out on the other contacts, so i removed it with the intention of getting a new one later on in the day. I did 2 more sessions in the pouring rain and packed up. I will never do one of these days again, if you ever hear me suggest it again please remind me not to!!!! Anyway, it had done its job, the car was tested and i'd blown a few cobwebs away.
I set off home, rushing as fast as i could as i had to be home by 3.45 to take my lad swimming, this all fell apart when the bus ran out of diesel 15 miles from home!!! I now know the gauge is a little dodgy, i had been waiting for the light to come on like the last time i drove it, but it never came on! Luckily i broke down outside a farm, so i waded through ankle deep cow muck, knocked on the door an bought a gallon of diesel (i was an strange pinky colour) off the nice farmer!!!
6am Friday i went to start the bus and it was totally dead! It had been fine all week, so there must be a leak somewhere draining the battery over a few days. I tried to jump start it off my car but the battery wasn't man enough, so we pulled dads car up along side and connected that up to my car at the same time, i have no idea if this is the best way, should i have connected each car directly to the bus (although this wasn't possible as the jump leads weren't long enough)? It still didn't have enough juice to turn over properly which we couldn't understand until we saw smoke pouring from the jump leads connected top the bus! I had used the cheapo thin leads for the final connection and they were red hot!! We swapped the leads over as the other set were big thick heavy duty leads, and luckily this time the bus fired up. Now i can't be having this all the time so i'm going to have to fit a battery isolator switch and maybe get a trickle or solar charger.
Eventually i got on the road, it was the first proper trip out in the bus so i was really interested to see how it went and had my fingers crossed nothing broke!! After a 2.5 hour journey down to Abingdon i was blown away by the bus, it drove great and cruised at 70mph no problem with no need to change down for hills! I had to keep reminding myself how big it was and be careful not over shoot junctions or go for overtaking manouevers that were more suited to the Fury!!
After unloading and enduring the "briefing" (please note MSE, the clue is in the name!!!!) i set the new hans specific harnesses up and trundled round for the sighting laps. I hate airfield days and hadn't been on one for years, i hadn't forgotten how bad the briefings are, but had forgotten quite how rubbish the circuits are, there is no racing line as there is either a massive area to let the car go where ever it wants to and then you are on the straight, or the "chicanes" are so narrowly coned off you can only just fit the car through. I was glad i had only booked the morning as i knew i was going to be be bored rigid, but kept telling myself that its just to test the car is working, not improve my driving or learn a track. I'm even bored writing about it. First session showed that the side pod was not cut back enough and the exhaust was going to cause it to set on fire and the brake lights weren't working. I removed the ali panel from above the exhaust and discovered that the top of the side pod (under the ali panel was so soft from the heat i could cut it with a stanley knife, so i hacked it all back and put it back together. I removed the rear light to find that one of the bulb holder connections had snapped and was shorting out on the other contacts, so i removed it with the intention of getting a new one later on in the day. I did 2 more sessions in the pouring rain and packed up. I will never do one of these days again, if you ever hear me suggest it again please remind me not to!!!! Anyway, it had done its job, the car was tested and i'd blown a few cobwebs away.
I set off home, rushing as fast as i could as i had to be home by 3.45 to take my lad swimming, this all fell apart when the bus ran out of diesel 15 miles from home!!! I now know the gauge is a little dodgy, i had been waiting for the light to come on like the last time i drove it, but it never came on! Luckily i broke down outside a farm, so i waded through ankle deep cow muck, knocked on the door an bought a gallon of diesel (i was an strange pinky colour) off the nice farmer!!!
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
The Bus has lost her Cherry!!
The Fury is now all back together and cleaned and ready for the off, well apart from bolting the freshly painted bonnet back on! The next big moment was inserting the Fury into the bus for the first time! Although i had measured the width of the Fury and the gap between in the back of the bus i'd always just had a small worry it wouldn't fit or be too tight. I took the bus home and parked it in the high street over night, blocking the frontages of 3 houses/shops!! Emma also saw it properly for the first time, she actually laughed at it, which is better than the usual hissing and spitting!! She had expressed an initial interest in going away in it in the summer holidays, but now she has seen it in the flesh she has definitely binned that idea!!! So yesterday morning i parked her round the back of the house, loaded up my tools and tentatively drove the fury up into the back of her, half expecting year grating and cracking, but to my surprise she fits lovely, with slightly more room than i had envisaged!! There is even room to strap the spare wheels and/or jerry cans down the side!
Pictures were taken with my Dads phone as the wife decided to throw my Blackberry in the kitchen sink during a "discussion" about the trackday i'm going to on Friday!! I've dried it out and stripped it down now and its working again, although not quite as slick as before!! I'll be doing a 3 hour morning session at Abingdon airfield on Friday just to check the wheels go around, fingers crossed there are no problems as i have no time left to sort them!!!
Pictures were taken with my Dads phone as the wife decided to throw my Blackberry in the kitchen sink during a "discussion" about the trackday i'm going to on Friday!! I've dried it out and stripped it down now and its working again, although not quite as slick as before!! I'll be doing a 3 hour morning session at Abingdon airfield on Friday just to check the wheels go around, fingers crossed there are no problems as i have no time left to sort them!!!
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Before and after
Just a quick post showing before and after shots of the rear. I think its an improvement! I do need to remove the flashing beacon!!
Disco Action
Spent the day tidying up and finishing off a few bits on the bus. Its not quite ready yet but i'll be doing a trial fit of the car and the associated lashing down points and a test drive all loaded up on sunday/monday.
With all the junk removed its a big old van inside:-
With all the junk removed its a big old van inside:-
You may have noticed i have removed the safety rails etc from around the cab area and there is now a passenger seat. I have decided to leave the one set of safety rails in place for the time being as it adds a lot of strength to the side of the body at the door opening. Eventually there will be a bathroom here so i will remove it and add bracing inside the partition wall. The fuel tank is under the floor on the passenger side so i need to drop the fuel tank to fit the bolts/spreader plates for the passenger seat, so its just rested in place a the moment, and for the start of the season it will actually be mounted through in the original minibus front row position behind the drivers seat.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Itchy stuff
I haven't updated recently as i only seem to get short spells out in the garage so don't feel like i'm getting anywhere. But as you can see from the pictures the Fury is back on all 4 wheels. I have liberally coated the chassis in the POR15, which i can report back is a good as Tim reports, although it ruins brushes and is a cow to get off your skin and nails if left too long.
The nice shiny nose is the new ali air duct i have replaced the bent and split old one with, which may require some fettling when the bonnet is refitted. My plan of new body work went out the window as the supplier was too late delivering, but i did manage to get some new light weight red side pods. So my dad has the bonnet at the moment as is grinding, filling and fibre glassing it to get it back to a reasonable finish (thanks dad!). This will hopefully finished and sprayed in the finished colour ready for Snetterton. The new plan is a white body with Martini racing stripes, but that may change as there is an outside chance of a small bit of sponsorship. The rear section will be untouched for the first race so the car is going to look a bit of a dogs dinner with a white bonnet, red sills and battered yellow rear! At least the site of it may put people off and give me half a chance.
After refitting all the suspension and front end i reset all the geometry, repacked the exhaust and did a few of the little silly jobs i'd been putting off for ages (remaking some more ali panels, carb balance pipe nipples). Setting the castor is a real PITA without the proper tools, so i've done as best as i can, but seem to have run out of adjustment on the offside to get the full 4 degrees, although it maybe my measurement technique. One thing i have noticed is that the ride height seems a little high all round (92mm front and 115mm rear). I wanted to drop this but i didn't have a C spanner to wind the spring seats down. Also i'd like to do it while testing as i think i should try and reduce the rake to try and increase the rear end grip.
All i really have to do now is bleed the brakes, top up all the fluids, and refit the bodywork. Fingers crossed i'll be at Oulton Park for a trackday on 9th March, but before that i need to do a few jobs on the Disco Bus!!!!
The nice shiny nose is the new ali air duct i have replaced the bent and split old one with, which may require some fettling when the bonnet is refitted. My plan of new body work went out the window as the supplier was too late delivering, but i did manage to get some new light weight red side pods. So my dad has the bonnet at the moment as is grinding, filling and fibre glassing it to get it back to a reasonable finish (thanks dad!). This will hopefully finished and sprayed in the finished colour ready for Snetterton. The new plan is a white body with Martini racing stripes, but that may change as there is an outside chance of a small bit of sponsorship. The rear section will be untouched for the first race so the car is going to look a bit of a dogs dinner with a white bonnet, red sills and battered yellow rear! At least the site of it may put people off and give me half a chance.
After refitting all the suspension and front end i reset all the geometry, repacked the exhaust and did a few of the little silly jobs i'd been putting off for ages (remaking some more ali panels, carb balance pipe nipples). Setting the castor is a real PITA without the proper tools, so i've done as best as i can, but seem to have run out of adjustment on the offside to get the full 4 degrees, although it maybe my measurement technique. One thing i have noticed is that the ride height seems a little high all round (92mm front and 115mm rear). I wanted to drop this but i didn't have a C spanner to wind the spring seats down. Also i'd like to do it while testing as i think i should try and reduce the rake to try and increase the rear end grip.
All i really have to do now is bleed the brakes, top up all the fluids, and refit the bodywork. Fingers crossed i'll be at Oulton Park for a trackday on 9th March, but before that i need to do a few jobs on the Disco Bus!!!!
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