April 1st, 2018

Spend: £0.00

 

Big day today.  It is dry, almost sunny and now it is time to enjoy it!  Checked oil/coolant levels again before I started the engine and then set off to fill up with petrol 0.7m away.  1st and 2nd gear still not feel right so I returned home and adjusted the clutch cable slightly.  But it was a step too far, so undid the work and then tried to go for a longer run.  Unfortunately, the engine now kept on stalling as soon as I dipped the clutch.  Didn't even make it out of the street before I returned back home.  How to make a grown man 

 

April 2nd, 2018

Spend: £0.00

 

After putting a message up on Facebook, got a text from Jody (who rebuild the engine) with some questions and a suggestion of checking for an air pocket in the thermostat housing where the coolant sensor sits.  He explained that he had that happen once and the result was that the car kept on feeding duff information to the ECU who countered that with feeding in too much/little fuel.  As the car also smelled like a petrol station, that seemed all too plausible.  Run the engine again, this time squeezing as much as I could the hoses to move air around and out.  It ran much better, but because I'd fiddled again with the TPS and throttle body stop it was high on RPM.  Decided that I'd leave it for another day.

 

April 5th, 2018

Spend: £1.90

 

Wife complained about the stench of petrol, so went home to check.  Couldn't find any leaks, so must have still been residue from Sunday/Monday's tinkering.  Received a new throttle cable end, so fitted that as the old one is a pain to do up.

 

April 19th, 2018

Spend: £474.00

 

Big day today.  Car was given into the care of Troy at @Northampton Motorsport to remap it.  Initially couldn't write to the ECU due to a PIN block on it, but after the executive decision was made to erase and rewrite the ECU with a map from another car with the same/similar engine all the options were enabled again.  Troy did his magic and after 3.5 hours was told of the end result; a healthy 177.8bhp @ 6931rpm / 142.2lbft @ 6064rpm.  Suits you Sir!

 

 

 

 

April 20th, 2018

Spend: £0.00

 

Finally the thrill is back.  Car behaved impeccable for the 120 miles I drove today (and work is only 36 miles each way ).

 

 

April 21st, 2018

Spend: £0.00

 

I complained on the forums about my gear knob which keeps coming off as the grub screws have to bridge a large gap, and @Ben (bunje) worked his magic and turned a sleeve for my gear knob so the grub screws got something better to grab into.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 22nd, 2018

Spend: £17.47

 

Changing the oil after running it in.  Started with 5W30, but was advised that 5W40 would be a better choice for this tune of engine.  Never had to do one with the engine in the car, and I'm already not looking forward to next year's change.  Emptying the sump is straight forward, but access to the oil filter not so.  Removed the alternator and bracket which allowed enough access for my wrench to undo it.

 

 

Maybe next year I'll be organised enough to install some flared arches, or a remote filter housing...

 

 

 

Last month: £  7438.59
This month: £   493.37
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Total:      £  7931.96