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Winter is long here in Montana so it’s the perfect time to design and make stuff. I complete in autocross with my car and one place that needed improvement was when braking from high speed (70 mph-ish - 90 mph-ish). If I simply stomp on the brake at that speed I tend to have one of both of the front wheels lock up. This never happens at lower speeds and the brake bias seems great. I think that there’s plenty of front end lift at speed and this could be the cause of the issue. So I came up with a plan and using CAD (cardboard aided design) I made two different things - - the first is what I suppose are called fender spats. The backside of the front fenders acts like a parachute and air being parted by the nose of the car gets pushed into the backside of the wheel and fender. This certainly causes a lot of drag and I suspect it causes some lift also. So I made a cover for the backside of the fender to keep air from going into the wheel and up under the fender. The material is 1/32” carbon fiber sheet. It was fussy to make cardboard template to fit but once that was done make the real ones out of carbon sheet was pretty simple. - the second and much bigger part of the system is the splitter/canard/diffuser mounted on each side of the nose. They mount to the splitter at the bottom and at the top they bolt to a bracket that is held by the front sway bar brackets. They are made from the same 1/32” carbon sheet and epoxied together to form a hollow box. What you can’t see in the photos is that the underside of these boxes is curved upward like a diffuser. These were not easy to make but it was a fun challenge. I wanted the boxes to reduce lift at speed and to divert the air up and around all the exposed front suspension stuff to reduce drag and wind noise. And the air that spills over the sides can no longer go up and under the fender creating drag and lift. I just drove the car for the first time with everything in place and I’m very pleased and there are a few unexpected benefits. The first is that there is noticeably less wind noise coming from the front of the car. I imagine this is from so much less air passing through all the suspension bits. It’s hard to say for sure but there’s less noise any way you cut it. The second thing that I noticed once moving is that I have less air hitting me in the face. I was shocked. It feels like air flow is now higher and further off to the side which makes it miss my head. It’s a pleasant feeling really and one I never expected. It’s much more calm now just cruising. I’m very sensitive about adding weight to car and make every effort to keep the weight at the minimum for my race class (1400 lbs or 636 kg with me in the car) so making these new things as light as possible was important and worth the effort. In the end the fender back spats weigh 1.1 lbs for the pair and the two nose boxes weigh 2 pounds in total. So the whole mess added just 3.1 lbs. Not is bad. Will it help with high speed braking? I think it will but will need to wait a few months until race season starts. Fingers crossed. Thanks for looking. Dave

Out to play at our monthly meet tonight. Eight of us there which is a great turnout. I recently discovered a Caterham owner living very near me, and he came down with me in his car. Had a great run back over the Blackdown hills, very dark, but dry, no fog and no traffic so was good fun.

Another quick job that I’ve been meaning to get round to for longer trips and euro blats, was using the empty underhood space to fit a tool roll including a jack and wheel brace. Just popped some M5 rivnuts in and used a couple of cycling toe straps, held down with stress relieving plates to hold this natty canvas bag from Amazon. Easily removed if out locally, but I’ll probably just leave it in there.

I’ve been swinging around most of this evening. Now ready to remove the engine. Rear main seal I’m coming to get you! Single garage fun!

Fortune smiled on me this weekend due to a mix of circumstances. Firstly, my Mondeo decided to overheat on me on the way back to my parents on Thursday, so the AA recovered me back home on Friday afternoon. Very good service I must say, one chap delivering me to Solstice Services where another chap arrived within a few mins to take me the rest of the way. Seems like it is likely a water pump or thermostat issue. Hoping it can be repaired as a) I can’t afford a replacement currently and b) I desperately want to get it through 200k miles, currently just over 195k. Secondly, Mrs Stu had a friend down, and was out and about in her car, so the net result was that the Westfield was my only means of transport for the weekend, what a shame as my daughter had her singin’, dancin’ and actin’ lesson for 3 hours on Saturday morning in Yeovil…… Thirdly, the car was back together and generally functioning apart from a broken Speedo (officer). GPS had to come to the rescue. Finally. It was dry, and a little bit sunny. I dropped the short (though growing ever taller!) one at her lesson at 10.15, then had three hours before picking her up at 13.15. I hadn’t been North in the car for a while so headed up to Cheddar Gorge. It was fairly steady going most of the way up, but just nice to be out in the sunshine. The gorge itself was quiet, and I followed a nice looking M2 until part way up where I stopped for a couple of minutes before completing the run. I then caught up with said M2 stuck behind a van in the derestricted part afterwards, and as the van turned off left, off shot the M2, so I followed . He was bl**dy quick on the straights, but I kept up through the corners and we had quite a fun run for a while before encountering traffic so I trailed him all the way down to Wells where I stopped for a quick coffee. Time was ticking on so I headed back to Yeovil arriving with 5 mins to spare. We had a fun run back to Crewkerne, had a spot of lunch and walked the dog before hopping in the car again down to West Bay. Normal fun through Beaminster Tunnel and some of the clear sections on the way down. It was a tad chilly by the coast but the seas were well worth watching and we warmed up with a hot chocolate before heading back. Spotted a nice old Landie in West Bay too So, probably 4.5 hours in the car in total. Great fun to be out; the car is going well, steering wheel mods (Blinkstop system) working very well so bring on the spring! Here is a little YT compilation for your amusement:

A dry day at last and a touch of sun, so my first proper run out this year...in fact my first run out 'full stop' not having had the opportunity since I bought it late last year...whoop whoop Even though it was just for a fresh tank of 'five star'

Holme Moss Summit a SEiGHT and a Westus

A few snaps from a video of my trip up through Cheddar Gorge today. Weather was pretty good, so was out in the car for about four hours.

New toys installed - ready for DIY painting…

Been waiting since December for this one, but well worth it. SBFS Steering wheel bag, takes my modded 250 very nicely, snug, but doesn’t activate any of the buttons so it is ideal.

Finally had a great run out today.. Didn't even need gloves on.. Cars a bit crusty tho...

Treated the tin top to a full valet Thursday at my favourite hand car wash. When it was done, I climbed back inside and found this air freshener hanging from the mirror: Getting a bit paranoid that I’ll be done for double copyright infringement.

I’ve got a few hundred photos but thought I’d start with one from the day a brought it with a coupe in between and finally one at its current stage

Small little clean up from sitting garage for a while

Is this the Autocar article you are looking for?

A little teaser of something in the pipeline.... The XI was a pig to start, but once running it performed admirably .

As simple as this. Four M5 rivnuts, two nylon straps, with plates on top to spread the load and prevent them trying to pull through. All nice and secure.

Couple of simple jobs today, swapped the oh so time consuming to adjust belts to some nice Sabelt ones purchased second hand from a forum member… And swapped the ‘fried egg’ indicator bulbs for some silvered ones…

Today’s items

The first of this years coffee mornings at GBS Cars is on Saturday 7th March starting at 10am. Great British Sportscars and Kitcar spares Maun Way Boughton Ollerton Nottinghamshire NG22 9ZD

So finally got the gear indicator sorted and tyre pressure monitoring system

Bookings are now open for this year's L2B kit car run. Once again its on the same Sunday as Malvern but from where we live its its quite convenient to take in Malvern on the Saturday then travel to Brooklands later in the day ready for Sunday. I've just made our booking and requested a departure time from Brooklands of 0900-0930. This will be our 5th consecutive L2B so we obviously enjoy it! @SteveB21 and @Morris have also joined us on recent runs so if anyone wants any more info on the event I'm sure we'll all be happy to respond.

First little run out this year due to all the rain. MOT booked in a couple of weeks, so nice to make sure it all ran fine before then. Lovely R5GTT filling up at the same time too. Feels like spring is finally on the way with today's nice weather.

Meet as usual, at the Golden Pheasant roughly 7pm if you're eating, 7.30 pm or so, otherwise. See you there!

Yes I've just had a look and it says the struggle is still open.. It's a very twisty road with narrow lanes and steep short climbs. Caution recommended but passable with care. Right on the top of kirkstone pass if you didn't know there's a pub and a junction. Coming from glenridding at the pub you turn off down the Struggle right at the pub. The A592 is closed from there. It's not far for a diversion. There's not much options tbh.. Mountains are hard to shift...

That's a good article. I stumbled on this one recently and found a lot of good info in it - dave https://aricstreeter.substack.com/p/applying-aerodynamics-to-lotus-seven?r=2bb48a&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=split&fbclid=IwY2xjawPpi1FleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR5uYPu176OSu_fnIGlc_pALA3lyBfoOovmG3rgJ7ib7s-9KPizfQO_qv-HVQw_aem_nlr5xgEGaY8T33nY4sdcvw&triedRedirect=true

I was planning to post it to you to ask you that very question as I figured you’d know.

Did it smell like a black pony's ar$e?

I hope it's one of these.

I’ve put a sticker on it

Very impressive @Davemk1 we look forward to seeing the update after you've tested at speed. I really like how you're incrementally improving your car for it's task.

I think lively might be a a good description, particularly since my daily driver is a diseasel Ford Kuga and my last 'weekend toy'was a Land Rover Other than the brief test drive when you don't really get a proper impression, 60mph really does feel like something closer to 80mph, the sound is phenomenal and the ride is surprisingly forgiving.. I was expecting something more like an old school mini, I think its been set up more for comfort...which suits me fine, I was always aiming for more road rather than track use. Roll on summer

Take them to Malvern where they can be given out to potential new members.

Welcome @snakey22! As Stuart has pointed out, you need to be a full member to post photos. Membership is fantastic value and gives you access to loads of benefits, including; WSCC magazine, full access to all areas of the forum (including tech section, which given your intention to engine swap will be invaluable!), regular meet ups, as well as discounts on a range of products and services. Mat

Great to be back out in the Peaks! Nearly two whole months with out a fix! The roads were damp but gloriously quiet on my way in. It's rare for me to be behind @AndrewBClarke lovely V8 as I'm normally at the back of the convoy and he's nearer the front of the Peaky Cake hunt. As there were only 3 cars out, we made good progress and no one took the wrong turning. We found a 'stang at the Yonderman! We had a few drops of cloud sweat, but nothing to worry about! Clear skies and sunshine at Baslow Thanks to all who came along and wonderful quiet roads @Julie Hall - WSCC AO Representative you never fail to delight with your routes.

Evening all just thought I would post as a new member, I’ve got a Westfield SE 1997 which I brought in 2021 had a Ford Crossflow when I brought it but am coming towards the end of a conversation to a Duratec. id upload pictures if I could work out how

As we had a decent weekend weather wise finally managed to get out and fit some larger ignition leads from Burton along with some better matched spark plugs for the webers and finally managed to replace the old k&n filters with this one. Next on the list of to find a place to fit an oil catch can to the pipe that is just hanging down at the moment haha

Welcome

@snakey22 welcome to the fold. I think you have to be a full member to upload photos though

Awesome.. TY

Just a reminder that the Devon and Somerset meet is tomorrow at The Halfway House pub near Cullompton. Start at 19.30, normally finish by 21.30 ish.

Count me in. Driver and passenger please. Thanks for organising @Martyn Vann - Warwickshire AO In fact, that's my car on the far left of the photo you posted. It's a great way to spend a few hours

Great Martyn. Count me in. Thanks, Greg

Hi @Rich Vaughan Would be interested in the Nodiz ECU, what do you want for it?

@aeg you won't find any cake under there will you? so hurry yourselves up, it's March next weekend and time to pay the nice tax man. We, however, met at The Whitworth where they sell lots of lovely food, this is us in the car park and this is us in the cafe Dave had to scoot off but it was lovely to see him and thank you for the advice on the steering wheel, 15mm spacer purchased , thank you Ian for the link don't they look after you xx Off we went on a sunny run round the Peak District finally feeling like Spring is coming. We arrived at The Yondermann Cafe and found a nice parking spot next to a friendly Mustang owner, of course he was friendly, he was from Barnsley, a true Yorkshireman. At 4.6 litre and V6, he let me get in and start it up, ooooooooo, that put a smile on my face. Parked at The Yondermann Some had already moved over to summer shorts Chris joined us for lunch and popped along to the next stop for cake too, he's well trained After discovering it was someone's birthday, we had a good excuse to nip down to The Pavillion, Baslow for cakes Parked in Baslow with Ian's black cloud Monkey's Tea Party So that was it, we managed to have a great day out and we didn't get wet, nothing short of a miracle. I was just missing one of my Winter Warriors, Gnasher, I hope he is ok and look forward to seeing him again soon x Thanks for a lovely day out, it's been superb. We are on holiday next weekend but will be back out the weekend after, weather permitting, see you then x

Hi Nice to hear that you have good experience with Christoph. I called him and he answered. We had a nice chat. Problem solved I think Delivery in a few weeks. Best regards Nils Jakob

First time out of the garage since before Christmas. On it's new tyres too.

Couple from yesterday’s track day taken by my brother….

Rather for EU buyers due to logistics, but sending to the UK could also be possible via private transport if something can be arranged. Bought these seats a few years ago, originally intended for MNR, but they were never fitted — only tried sitting in them a few times. For me they are a bit too tight (dimensions on the last picture). Also, plans changed and I ended up building a foam seat for the MNR and decided not to install a passenger seat to keep the weight down. Very good quality, robust build. Not especially lightweight, but really solid. (In the pictures there is only one seat shown — the second one is identical.) Price for all (2 seats + 1 set of mounts + 1 set of adapters) : 650 EUR Current factory price for this set 840E without shipment https://lusomotors.com/ https://www.rccseats.com/

The doors with this Westy I’m refurbing were very tired looking with tatty edges and faded cloth, the windows wears quite badly scratched in places, anyway I did some repairs using “Shoe glue”. I've fitted some edging and gave them a really good clean, sprayed the material with autoglym spray dye, and then polished the windows with head light restorer and a sponge buffing pad. quite pleased with the result.