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Just ordered a couple of little things from the parts store. No problems at all but had to laugh at the recorded message (whilst I was on hold) letting me know in a rather exited voice that the new 2011 clothing range was now available.....

We are getting there. My son had a few teeth removed that were buried (compacted) in his gums so needed to be put under. Coming to the end , tomorrow of 3 years of dental work, which is great, although you always worry when your kids get put under. He was fine and cocky within ten mins of waking up . Not sure who's gene he inherited there then ! . Family member was found collapsed in her home. She had fallen on Monday night in her bathroom and didnt know much. Was found 4 days later after managing to crawl out to the lounge and call for help. She has a broken ankle, a cut on her forehead from eyebrow to hairline and no much finger nails from dragging herself across the house. So, although we had spoken to her on Sunday, please be wary of our older family members. They maybe 100% the day before. Currently she has a cyst in her stomach which is going to be removed, which was the start of it all, after they get her blood to stabilise. Apparently, the house is a war zone with blood everywhere. All hands on deck coming up, be she wont be out for ages. On a better note, the car is looking good. I have some new dash lights to go in. Also a horn button to get rid of one toggle. I have also re-lacquered the carbon wing covers this weekend just gone and happier with them, although not perfect. Paint seems to react and worm, even though I had flatted right back. Left it to dry and then wet and dried them both. Still waiting my carbon rear wheel arch covers , so hope to get them for Stoneleigh. Not saying what day I am going to Stoneleigh, so I have less chance of assassination . I was spotted though leaving a car meet recently at about 9 mins , if you get bored of other cars

So having bought the Caterham in October of last year, I had still yet to drive the car. As part of the purchase, I had negotiated that the seller (who runs a Caterham motorsport outfit) to attend a trackway with me to help prepare and set up the car. I booked a trackday at Donny for Friday with MSV trackdays. I can recommend to anyone with a race or sprint car to attend one of these days as they are race car friendly, in fact, most cars were race cars on the day - Mini's, Exiges, BMW's, Clios etc. I had approx 30 hours work on the car over the winter: 1. Trimmed and re-covered the bag seat 2. Perfected the fit of the tonneau 3. Greased the extinguisher lines 4. Replaced all the stickers 5. Painted the interior 6. Fixed the exhaust (which was squashed to say the least - record and re-packed for only £65!) 7. Given the car a blooming' good clean and tidy up I should have been looking to this day but I was bedridden for 3-days earlier in the week. I still felt rough on the day but it was too late to cancel. Nonetheless, the day was dry and bright even if a little breezy. I got up early and trailered the car to the track, only to find one tyre had picked up a puncture on the way. No bother as I swapped the spare at lunch. So how does it compare to the Westie? Well, its hard to compare when I have been off-track for 6-months, but for sure, the chassis is more communicative and the turn-in is much better (it's got a quick rack). Its better on the brakes too, presumably due to the weight saving. The bag seat is not as comfy as the Tillet and the layout of the dash and pedals to too compact initially, until you get used to it. Power is comparable. Overall, I would say an improvement over the Westie, but not by any significant margin. In fact, my best lap time was a 1.21.5. I think there is more to come when I heel and toe (one step at a time I thought) and can use the whole of the track (the grass was so wet a lot of the kerbs had sods of grass on them!) and under the pressure to perform during Quali....but my best time in the Westie at Donny? Yep. A 1.21.5. Funny how these things work out! My first race for the dark side is on the 22nd of April at Pembrey. I'm in a difference class now with the 1.6 so I hope to be competitive. Wish me luck! Mike Pics below inc. some nice historic racers who occupied the garage after I had packed up. Interior shot in my garage at the end

Results for the Anglesey (Ty-Croes) races 3 & 4 have now been published and are available on the following links. Any problems, let me know. Saturday (National) results (R3) .... Wet ... cold ... Windy Sunday (International) results (R4) Tiggs

Glad to hear all is OK now and everyone is on the mend. We do miss your input on the various posts........ actually, let me think about that...... no, honestly we do! Watched the whole vid and suspect you were the fastest away from the junction....... looks good

setting off now. Pity the weather won’t be like this!

Few more bits done

Just on the drill for rivet work, I just bought about 5x 4.1mm HSS drills and have only broken 1 during my build - In my book it was not worth paying a lot for a single drill, of high quality, compared to cheap almost throw away items. Would thoroughly recommend an air compressor and a rivet gun, "Mr Rivet" is my favourite tool, and the use of a air gun comes in handy as well. I was lucky in that i already had a compressor, but I added a lube/pressure valve to keep air-tools trouble free. I did buy an air drill, but TBH it was not worth it for me. You will need a standard rivet tool as well as there are some places that Mr Rivet can't get to. You need a general set of drills for odd-jobs ideally 1.0 to 10.0mm, in 0.5mm steps. Also brad-point drill's are useful again for fibreglass work. Step-Drill for all sorts of things, especially for holes in the fibreglass. You may also need one of these rivet-nut tool's, don't bother with the ones that look like a standard river tool as they are crap. This is probably the best tool I have bought from a recommendation for this forum - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rivnut-Rivetnut-Nutsert-Fitting-tool-M4-M5-M6-Kit-car-rivet-nut-special-insert/380904779400?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649 Decent pistol drill either standard 230/240v AC or a decent battery drill, but with extra battery's. Good set of spanners and a socket set - and I'd also go for a decent adjustable spanner, or 2. Set of Alan keys - Metric. Good caulking gun for silicon, Silkaflex etc. Hammer and a Centre punch - a copper-hide mallet is a good idea if you can afford one. Set of screwdrivers flat and philips Set Square (adjustable), tape measure - and I'd suggest a steel rule You will need a torque wrench to go with the socket set, 1/2" worked for me. Set of metric taps is useful, and there is a UNF (cant remember size) for some of the bosses on the chassis - mine were OK - don't need die's Load of clamps (quick type are best over screw type) Cleco Temporary Fastener are really useful but a bit of a luxury (get the right size for 4mm rivets) Crimp tool for electrical - again not essential but very useful - there are different connections depending on car/engine - watch out for echoseel/super-seal/AMP specific. Wire cutters, wire strippers for electrical Dremel tool or similar - cant stress how much i use this with lots of sanding drums Gunson Eezibleed Kit for brake beading - can normally borrow from a club m8 Magnetic tool trays - again useful Hacksaw and Junior hacksaw Consumables - often overlooked but essential - Masking tape and permanent marker pen's - Rivet nuts, not essential but again useful - Paint - Dinitrol black paint (445 I think) and 4941 wax to spray in the chassis as you drill (Dave has a good post on this stuff.) - Cable ties, you get some in the kit, but I'd get LOTS more. - Plastic re-saleable bags - Flexible Corrugated Conduit Pipe - various sizes - you get some in the kit, personnel choice but I've used loads to cover just about everything - Depending on how you are planning to fit the front mud-guards and/or heater - Big-Head screws/Methacrylate Structural Adhesive glue - fibreglass repair kit for strength - Copper Ease - Gaffer tape - Again useful but not essential - Insulation tape - String - believe it or not I find boot laces useful as well I have bought quite a lot of tools from the likes of Lidl and Aldi, maybe not the highest quality but very good value IMHO. Otherwise Amazon, eBay, CarBuilderSolutions (CBS) most are mentioned on here. Can't recommend a build diary enough with LOTS of pictures as this has saved my bacon many many times. Have a look at "Dave's" build, this has saved me many times and there are lot of other I go back to time and time again - AdgeC, Steve Monty etc. Also get along to a local meeting the people in this club are fantastic and can offer advice, best thing I did before I ordered my kit. Sorry for ranting on, but I have kept a list in favourites on eBay and Amazon so I have a pretty good list

Meet at Halfords, Ashbourne, 11.30 YES THAT IS LATER THAN USUAL 11.30 for a skip around the Peak District. PLEASE BE READY TO LEAVE AT 11.30 I have just spoken to the pub (Fri night) and they can only fit us in at 12.30 I get stranger as I get older, so are you ready? I am giving blood at the leisure centre first thing, so that is why we are meeting later. That should be good, they make you drink a pint of water first!!!

Jump to 7 Mins 45sec in for the impatient types

Winkhill - sorry ST13 7QY.(A52 20 minutes north of Ashbourne). Short run would be all day with a late start - not cramping your style! Haven't asked him yet so I will call and see if he thinks it would be ok. Wave your magic wand!!

Yeah I think this is my 5th time at Oulton, but I have found that out the fun way and done some gardening for them before Yeah im sticking with the none 888's! Thanks for the garage heads up guys, see you there 8ish!

I am in negotiations for this one. As it is a later start, I am thinking of picking up Big Bro from Winkfield and bringing him. A short run out may be of more interest as the car may be slightly uncomfortable for him. This would be weather dependant. Are you planning a route ending back in Ashbourne area? Maybe I could get afternoon tea in Winkfield?

Yep...I’ll be there! Kev T Kev B Barry Mike Ken Richard

I'd expect it to be the other way round. My tin top (3 series Diesel Bmw) is far more spongy than the Westie. I bleed my brakes every two years and have a solid pedal. The pads work better once warm but I'm surprised at your experience! You do have to push harder due to the lack of a servo! However this gives much better feel and a firmer pedal. Perhaps you've been unlucky with the cars you've tried. Pop into somewhere like Toybox and I'm sure his cars will all have a nice firm pedal! If the cars you've tried so far haven't had the brakes bled for a while, what else have the not been doing? Did you discuss with the owners etc?

In total 3 1/2 months!! But in fairness it was the first they had done for a 250, with tall screen and side screens. Quite a bit of backwards and forwards with template, mods etc. But pleased with end result.

I saw Sir Gwain Baillie (sp) and others driving those monstrous Galaxies at Crystal Palace in about 1965. My Good Lady tells me that Jim Clark was there too but I'm ashamed to say that I forget. She and I had only been going out for a few weeks and I had other fish to fry...

Dont panic, I am here. Just having a break from the lack of techwiki and repetative writing on brake pipes here and panels there. My sons been in hospital and back out . Also have a very sick family member currently , so fingers crossed there. Car is still in the garage, wife is still the wife ( I think, we dont speak, which means we dont fall out) . Decoratiing to increase spendability on bits. Still tweaking and sorting the car for Stoneleigh. Also been working on Martins westie , with new rack and balljoints in the last couple of weeks. Other than that, it nice you find my scribblings comedic and helpful in the same way. Oh.............................. and no coolant on the garage floor for 2 weeks now. Either its fixed or its all drained out

Westfield suplied hood and MSA bars.

The aluminium drums were also looking a bit tired so these were left with a local company for media blasting. The before and after

Couldn't make it today looks like you had a good one. On the plus the car has 4 wheels back on and on the floor even started up first time.

Think there’s some on eBay

What a great day from starting out to coming home. Here are a few pictures.

Great day, thanks @Stuart Faulkner - Shows & Events Coordinator! Mr Kinder, smoking slightly!

Don't mess with @Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary Dave was aiming at the upper circle, mine are the lower circle. Many thanks to @Stuart Faulkner - Shows & Events Coordinator for the kind invite to the open day at his local range. We've both really enjoyed it! Gave a nice understanding of the challenges of using older weapons!

Went to Duns and Chirnside yesterday for the Memorial events. The church service was particularly poignant as it was the same Order of Service as his funeral, as well as a touching speech by his cousin, Doug Niven and readings by other family members. There were cars on display by Classic Team Lotus and Club Lotus, outside the Jim Clark Room in Duns. The Lotus 25, as driven by Clark, and latterly by Andy Middlehurst was also present. The car is owned by a wealthy Australian, who entrusts it to Andy to drive in classic F1 events, and is maintained by Classic Team Lotus. Andy's own car, the ex-Jim Clark Lotus 43 BRM H16 engined car was also there. Andy doesn't race this car, and only does demonstration laps, as the engine parts are impossible to source now, and it so valuable. Andy and I go back a long way, having been friends for many years since our time in Formula Ford (I was also his co-driver in the 1984 Lombard RAC Rally). The day was very moving, and a memorable tribute to the great man, Jim Clark - arguably, the greatest race driver there has ever been. As Doug Niven said in the service, Jim always wondered what all the fuss was about whenever he was acclaimed for his achievements. He was a very modest man. It's a testament to his memory that a £1.67M extension to the already popular Jim Clark Room is now to be built, 50 years after his tragic death. The existing memorabilia in the current room will be carefully dismantled and placed in storage at the end of May, prior to building works commencing in June. A great day, and a great tribute to a great man.

No promises yet

Few more jobs completed.Replaced the old carbon effect front wings with 100% full carbon fibre items from Carbon NV, fabulous quality at sensible prices. Decided on the CSR style wings because the extra moulding lines at the top of the wing provide a slight but noticeable increase in rigidity.Really wanted to save the old wings as I could have sold them on but they were bonded to the brackets and the one thing I can say about Tiger seal is that once its set nothing is coming free too easily.The bracket is mounted to the front suspension by three bolts but cannot be entirely freed from the car unless the wing is removed from the bracket - after a while of attempted and failed efforts to remove the wing from the bracket with no damage being done to the wing I gave up and cut the wing across its width, thus enabling me to remove the bracket / wing from the car and getting good purchase on the wing to break it free.Once separated it was a laborious job to remove all the existing sealant from the bracket, rub down and re-paint (so much more satisfying and so much cheaper than replacing them)Position the new wings was relatively straightforward, couple of key measurements taken to ensure that each side was identical then a single run of Tiger seal on each "leg" of the bracket was enough to hold each wing in position.24 hours to allow the sealant to harden off and then more seal applied to fill in any gaps and job doneOnly downside to the new wings is that they fit so closely that to remove the front wheel now requires the wing bracket to be undone and moved slightly up and across - fortunately access is good and only tales a couple of mins per side BeforeAfterSecond job was to balance the Jenvey throttle bodies, I had a feeling that they were out of balance side to side and despite reading up on the matter I was slightly concerned I might make things worse.Having acquired a synchrometer to measure the pressure it was a case of winding down the main idle bleed screw, measuring across all 8 trumpets and then adjusting each pair in sequence, once equalised the main idle could be adjusted.I may have been lucky but it was not a difficult job and the car responds to the throttle much more sharply and has got the V8 burble it was missing, they were definitely out of balance before and whilst maybe not 100% balanced now they are not far away

Wow. What a spec. GLWTS