kevin the chicken

They should have a small filter on the inlet. I think its just a small plastic sock type, better than the weber ones which are prone to getting squashed.

My switch had failed so I bought one from CBS. I didn't go down the route of trying to get the probe sealed inside the top hose and bought one of their inline housings with the adaptor, chopped a small piece of hose out and fitted this in place. Looks neat and works fine. The only consideration is the adjustable unit has to go somewhere it is not going to get wet and this is limited by the length of the probe tube (this must not get kinked or its scrap) Space is limited in my engine bay so there was plenty of head scratching before I found a dry space that didn't have the vulnerable tube draped across the engine bay. I ended up with the unit on the bulkhead with the tube running along the length of the engine protected by a piece of cable ducting

Thanks for that Mike. Has your dads car got seatbelts in the back?. I know they can be fitted but haven't yet investigated how or where yet. We finally got it insured today and took it in turns to take it for a test drive and I must say it was even better than I expected. I thought the low profile tyres would make the ride harsh but not so, there were a few rattles and squeaks but not many and the engine was smooth at idle and pulled well. It has only got a cherry bomb on the exhaust and even that seems very efficient for what it is and sounds good too. It is crying out for a fith gear though.

Well I laughed if she didn't. She said its a ladies car wot ladies drive. Best sell it to someone appropiate then.

Photo's as requested. Not sure about the wheels, think something more retro would be better. Shame, they are new and have new tyres on them

I went on a fire behaviour course for the fire service on saturday and by the time I got home Claire had sourced herself a car! Went to view it on sunday, taking a trailer just in case, a near 300 mile round trip and came home loaded up. Its a Spartan based on a MK4 Cortina with a two litre pinto engine and it not only runs but it has mot and tax so thats a good start. The trim leaves a lot to be desired but that should keep Claire amused, mechanically it seems ok but as usual the wiring looks to be quite a mess and there a few little things that need tinkering with, but thats half the fun of a kit car as long as it doesn't keep me from driving mine.

My wife was looking on eBay the other day and when I asked what she was viewing she said a kit car! Should this sort of behavior be encouraged or is one looney in the family enough? It would be me paying for it of course. She fancies something with old fashioned styling like a Spartan or a gentry. As long as its slower than mine or I might have to detune it.

The less dvla know the better, half of them would say its ok the other half not. Probably is ok. Shouldnt cause a problem except maybe when you sell it if the purchaser is picky. If the chassis number matches you would be ok as far as the police are concerned. Dont worry about it.

Get the plates done online, don't need any documents then. If they are the proper size and font they will not bother the boys in blue and their anpr

That should hurry them up. Stand away from the letter box.

A bigger expansion bottle would probably tell you if there was a problem. I have been experiencing something similar in that if I fill the header tank up too much then the next time I check the level it has gone down but there are no leaks visible. It stays at this lower level and I have come to the conclusion that the expansion of the coolant is more than the capacity of the overflow bottle so it overflows, then the rest is drawn back when the car cools. I would like my header tank to have a slightly higher level due to its low mounting point (no space) so I will probably fit a slightly bigger overflow bottle at some stage

I will try that when I get a chance tomorrow but I have ordered a selection of nyloc nuts in all sizes and threads so that I am never stuck with a car in pieces for the sake of a nut!

As above. Does anyone know what thread is on the ball joint of the track control arm, Sierra type. I can't see to find a nyloc nut to fit in my spares

If you dont have a fuel pressure regulator fitted that would probably be a good idea. The webbers dont need much pressure, 2.5 to 3psi if my memory serves me correctly and too much can cause leaks from around gaskets. You shouldnt need any sealant if you use a gasket after all you dont use sealant anywhere else on the carbs. Is there much to remove from the carbs before you can fit the plates? Mine still have the cold start gubbins fitted and although they dont leak yet I am going to keep an eye on them and blank them off at the first sign of trouble.

Should have had mine by now, posted last week. Can you put a list somewhere so people can check that the applications have made it?

Consider trading her in for a dishwashing machine. Its my mother in law that always breaks my special mugs

These are for my rh s7. Tried to put them in and they are falling to bits already so ordered some poly ones. Do you still use the cup washers with the poly bushes?

I took the track control arm off so I could put it in a vice to get the old bushes out. The ones you have certainly look better but I only need mine to last until the winter when I am going do a tie rod conversion and bin the arb. I managed to find a drawing of the correct way to put mine in on an advert on ebay. My wife copied the ad and enlarged it so I could read it, a bit of a result as I don't want to be waiting for something else to arrive in the post. Poly bushes are the way to go though

Get your money back. If he won't play ball report him to dvla and he will lose a lot more than a hundred quid.

Are these the correct bushes for the sierra control arm to anti roll bar. If they are then which way round do they go? top two or bottom two They are nothing like the old ones to look at and nothing like the ones shown in the haynes manual. The new ones have a metal bush that goes through both pieces whereas the old ones had two metal bushes and although they look similar to the ones in the manual I suspect that they may have been in the wrong way round. Surprise surprise I have measured the bushes and although they will fit in either way round a fair bit of rubber will protude out of the ends whichever way they are fitted presumably if they are correct the metal cups would squash them quite tight in the arm. Regards Kevin

Having just visited the dentist again for more replacent fillings due to an oversprung front end I have decided to investigate the fitting of some softer front springs. My first question is how do I identify the springs that are currently fitted? Are they marked in some way or identified by size? Secondly if that is indeed the problem, where is the best place to get the correct replacements from?

My series 7 XE has no plate over the flywheel either and I've never worried about it. Mine was in tatty condition when I bought it not having run for several years and needed a lot of time to get it running properly but I had that it was the money that was in short supply! I had budgeted for either a replacement engine or box but needed neither but did get Dan E to rewire it as the loom was a mess. I paid 2300 for mine but it is fairly basic compared to the one you are looking at but I am very very pleased with it now as it is a good setup with a torquey engine. It sounds like yours has been done properly so you just have to check the logbook and then you can join the series 7 XE club! There are several people with these setups in the club so any questions you have will easily be answered. I am going to run mine this summer and then get the tie bar conversion done on the front suspension and possibly some engine upgrades as at the moment mine was rolling roaded at 153bhp which is plenty but you can never have too much!

If you have a swarm of bees nesting in your chimney dont be tempted to try to smoke them out by lighting a fire (despite what you have read on the internet). The nests are full of wax and paper and are highly flammable. The end result will be loads of firefighters trampling through your house, a pump appliance in your front garden, a turntable ladder in the road next to your house and the whole village wandering or driving past to see what idiots done what. AND ME MISSING MY SUNDAY DINNER AND HAVING NO TIME TO PLAY WITH MY KIT CAR. Just in case anyone was considering it.

Sounds like my old friend the air lock. Probably just getting that bit too hot without the mechanical fan and boiling up in one spot when you turn off. Cured mine by fitting a header tank. No more emptying out on the garage floor or surging out of the top of the radiator and spilling out of the overflow bottle. Just fill up, put the cap on and drive. The mechanical fan will be uneeded most of the time as the electrical fans only cut in when the water temperature in system exceeds a certain level. The mechanical fan does absorb some valuable horsepower too, probably most noticeble in engine pickup. Most people seem to favour a sucker rather than a blower, biggest you can fit on the rad for maximum efficiency when needed. Sort the localised boiling/airlock before looking at changing fans though as that is your primary problem

Mick, you have already sent me a copy of the plans. I am going to leave it until the winter but I just need to put a bush (or pair) in the car to get it back home from father in laws.