alanrichey

Don't expect miracles though. The Superspec clutch is heavy by design. Also, make sure you do a proper search on the forum for "Superspec Clutch" (Include the inverted commas). Not only would it have told you what clutch cable to get but it is a mine of information about the whole system. For example, why it rattles, why the speedo over-reads by 10%..... If you can tell us your engine number (it's on the V5) we can tell you what car the engine was destined for. Makes ordering bits a lot easier.

I wasn’t talking about the phosphor bronze bearing, that isn’t the source of the rattle. I was talking about the thrust release bearing that should be clipped into the release arm.

Does the noise go away if you press the clutch in ? If so then do a search for “Superspec clutch” and you will find dozens of posts. Basically ALL Superspecs have clutch rattle, some minor, some such as mine sound like a bucket of bolts. It all depends on the engineering tolerances used when your particular kit was assembled at the factory and whether the thrust release bearing was correctly attached to the clutch release arm. On my car I assume the thrust bearing was not connected at all so when the clutch pedal is released the thrust bearing rattles around. But it’s done it for 22,000 miles so I have stopped worrying about it.

Can only make the Saturday I'm afraid. Someone else will have to eat my Sunday breakfast

I think you will find GBS can sell you the brackets as well. Be very interested in the result, as that sounds very stiff to me. I actually like my very soft suspension

I think I already paid from a post in April. Do you have a list of those that have paid ?

The Superspec comes with a ‘crash’ switch to cut power to the fuel pump. If it is reachable a sharp tap on it acts as an immobiliser. Could be applied to any car.

I’m next to you so I will bask in the glory as well Are your rear lights legal ? I thought they had to be red glass even if the bulb is red ?

That looks like the standard fit before Andy’s modification. On most of our cars that results in a running temperature of 70-80C, so we blank off the grille a bit to get it nearer 90C. interesting you say it works with the bonnet off. So maybe the problem is just that the hot air cannot escape from the engine bay. I have put some marine louvres on mine to try and help it. Or maybe try lifting the back of the bonnet up a bit to provide an escape route. The modification is to reroute the 20mm pipe so it goes into the bottom hose instead of the top of the rad. But that only affects warm up time, not the steady state temperature.

I may be wrong but I don't think we have any Superspec owners on the forum who are running the DOHC engine, so you might not get a reply.

Only £15 on E-Bay

If it's any consolation, there are 2 types of Superspec owners. Those that have had a clutch cable break and those that will have a clutch cable break. The clutch is inherently heavy because of the design, although mine got a lot lighter recently when I replaced the clutch cable. When I took it off I couldn't actually make it move, it had just seized up. So my car is on it's 4th cable (and I still carry a spare in the boot). Luckily they are freely available on E-Bay.

http://the-superspec-journey.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-clutch-cable.html

This happened to me, identical symptoms. First thing I did was to remove the boot cover, the tunnel top and the bonnet and then start the engine. It was obvious the smell was coming from the tunnel area. It turned out the leak was coming from the join between the plastic red/yellow fuel lines from the back of the car to the green, wider fuel lines that went to the engine. Because the original builder had just pushed the plastic lines inside the green ones without inserting any sort of metal insert, just tightening the clamps simply squashed the plastic pipes and did not make a proper connection. There was no sign of a physical leak, it was just a gradual buildup while the car was sitting in the garage.

Mine is 3" after winding up the front suspension, but I have fitted a sump guard and I still catch it occasionally.

The Superspecs all have a reinforcing piece of steel 80mm x 3mm across the width of the car to which the rear bolts of the seat (and the bottom seat belt mounting) are attached.

Seconded

And me

I assume they are the Recaro seats a lot of us have. In that case they are 20" at the widest point (red lines)

That’s interesting. If the maximum allowable pressure is 7.0 bar (105 psi) then I guess the Pressure Relief Valve will be set slightly above that, so that takes it out of the equation and makes my 78 psi at 3000 rpm look perfectly acceptable. But I still need to figure out why it doesn’t drop more at idle. Although it’s better to be high than low

I assume it's been doing it for the last 22,000 miles so I am not panicking

I'm a bit confused. Let's suppose the PRV is set at 65 psi, which is just above what the manual says is the normal pressure under load.. So when under load it should keep the pressure at 65 psi. If it is stuck then that explains why my pressure goes up to 78 psi under load. But when I idle the engine the pressure drops to only 62 psi and the PRV would not have anything to do with that. Isn't it more likely a blockage ? A bit like narrowing of the arteries causes a high diastolic blood pressure. We also have to bear in mind that most of the Superspec Rover engines idle at 1000 rpm rather than the official 850 rpm, so that would make it a bit higher.