alanrichey

Perfectly, thanks Al

Thanks everyone, lots of good advice. Unfortunately no-one has actually answered my question. Although Bob (Tucker) came close with "Cut towards the direction of rotation". Unfortunately I don't know what that actually means. So here is the question pictorially: And Bob (florin), what do you mean by a 'wiping cut' ? not heard that expression before. Al

Before I get my angry grinder out and my new 1mm cutting wheel, to cut holes in the side of the car for some vents there is one thing I am not sure of. Should the leading edge of the cutting wheel be going upwards or downwards ? Logic tells me it should be downwards so all the sparks go underneath the sheet, and assuming the sheet is resting on something it will be pushed down on to the support rather than trying to lift it up, but is it that important ? Also, I have seen some cars with vents in the bonnet sides and some further down in the body of the car. Any differences ? Al

I'm going to stay flexible this month. The Peterborough Car Show is this weekend (5th/6th). I haven't made up my mind whether to go on the Sunday yet, I'll watch the weather. But it comes highly recommended. The weekend of 12th/13th is the National Meet, but if you are not attending that (I am) then 'HorsePower at the Hall' at Doddington Hall (LN6 4RU) is from 14:00-17:00 on Sunday 13th. I'll watch the weather for the weekend of 19th/20th and Saturday 26th (I am off on yet another holiday on the 27th, although tis time only for a week) and if it looks good I will arrange a pub meet somewhere, hopefully be able to give a few days notice. And just a heads-up for your diaries. The Corby Glen Sheep Fair, which many of us attended last year and was very successful, as well as a nice day out (typical village summer show, craft stalls, pets, morris dancers, classic cars, beer....) is on Sunday 4th Oct. I shall be going, rain or shine (it's only 2 miles away) so would appreciate some company. More details nearer the day. Cheers Al

You will find all Superspecs have the rattle to some extent. Mine sounds like a bucket of bolts but has been the same for nearly 12,000 miles. It is almost certainly the bronze bush referred to earlier. It was machined by Richard Stewart and his tolerances were a bit iffy. I am going to wait till mine disintegrates as removing the engine and transmission is a major task.

HI Derek Thanks, they look good. The Europa one looks closest. Can't actually tell if the fitment is the same (mine has 2 screws, CBS one has only one) but it looks close enough Thanks

OK, I was hoping I could just get plug in replacements. I only looked quickly but couldn't see an easy way to swap over just the rubber.

Where do people get replacement wiper blades ? One of mine is starting to split.

No such luck. All we have is the crude hand drawn sheet that showed what to plug where. Here is what I have discovered so far: http://the-superspec-journey.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-electrics-project-services.html http://the-superspec-journey.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-electrics-project-relays_22.html http://the-superspec-journey.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-electrics-project-fuses.html If you can add anything to we would all be grateful

Same here. Drove home in the rain from the Stamford Show without the doors on and just the top. So much nicer than being totally enclosed, fresh air blowing through, an occasional burst of steam as I went through a puddle and splashed the exhaust pipe. And proper visibility rather than peering through plastic. I do have deflectors fitted, so not sure what it would be like without them, but as Bob said I remained 99% dry.

Just got back home. Only 6 of the 12 cars turned up, which was a bit disappointing, although Pete and Nigel came on foot so we had a chance to catch up. Many thanks to those of you who supported it. As it turned out the weather wasn't bad initially. We all got there in the dry and it didn't start to drizzle till 14:00. Even then there was no wind so with the tops up on the cars and us under umbrellas it was still OK. And there was a a good turn out overall, it can't have been far short of the 500 cars planned, with some very interesting examples. Just hope the weather is better next year. Al

On the standard Superspec with the Escort Instrument Panel there are 3 connections on the Black multiplug Pin 1 (green) +12 V Ignition switched and goes to the B+ terminal on the Fuel Gauge Pin 5 (black) Earth for various things including Fuel Gauge Pin 6 (white) From the sender and goes to the S terminal on the Fuel Gauge And on mine it works backwards Hope that helps. Al

Kerry was looking for a pass, don't know if Pete followed it up. Just PM him your code just in case.

Just PM Kerry with your code and he can print out a set of instructions and a pass. No need to meet in person. Mind you, weather now looking a bit iffy

Hi Peter I suggested that was before we found we had been given a Club Stand. No point now as we will be automatically together. Al

The joy of being retired

There have been a number of threads on this topic, in that the standard Superspec struggles to crank over the engine when it is hot. I have always dreaded stalling at traffic lights as I always worry she won't start. Various suggestions were made: 1. Poor Earth 2. Weak battery 3. ECU leaving timing too far advanced 4. Engine naturally tightening up when hot. And when a similar question was asked on a Car phone-in show (Car Talk in the USA), the hosts suggested the problem was with the starting motor overheating, thereby increasing the resistance in the windings. Well I had tried Number 1, my battery was OK and there was nothing I could about 3 or 4. But I did like the overheat idea. The starter motor on the Superspec is on the top of the engine, hidden under the firewall with absolutely no air flow over it so I could see the logic. So as an experiment I added a tube to the top of the engine, bending down at the back so the starter received a constant ram-air flow over it. Well, I have just done a 2hr+ drive and with the engine nicely warmed up I tried 4 hot starts and on each occasion she cranked over at full speed. So no guarantees of course but I am quietly confident that I have solved that problem now. If only I could sort out the cooling....

HI Andy I've been trying to contact you for weeks but didn't know your forum name and had no replies from your e-mail. You are already booked in as Number 12 on the stand so just turn left as you enter the field and look for other Hoods. Cheers Al

I jammed it in The MOT was last week and as I said in my original post, it just scraped through the emissions (as it has done for the last 3 years) even though this year I had a new cat. Haven't had a chance to get the emissions checked yet.

OK, final post on the subject Weather looks like it should be OK for this Sunday, fingers crossed. I have the following as attending: Me Nigel (niDuncan) Richard (richard7)) Pete Lee Ken (2bcruisng) Derek Chris (tractor) Chris Brown Peter Ray (peter2b2002) Mick (mowerman) the others who registered were: Paul Petch ('the spanner man') Andy Church (don't know forum handle) Neither of them has replied to my messages so I just hope they are going and we don;t waste 2 spots. Just a reminder to all of you that you need to print of the instruction sheet and have it with you when you arrive at the entrance to the field. And remember we are all on the Club Stand so you will have to tell the marshall you want to turn left and not be directed to the 'Modern Classic' area. See you all there. Cheers Al

Nigel's mechanic deserves the praise But it would explain a lot wouldn't it, when it appears all Rover-engnied Superspecs suffered the same. I'll report back when I can manage to get the emissions checked properly with and without the plug just to confirm it isn't just my imagination,

Ever since I have had my Superspec it has been marginal on the emissions test and this year, even with a completely new exhaust system it only just scraped through. At the same time I have always felt that something wasn't working properly. Although she idled OK there was a bit of hunting. When I pulled away she occasionally hiccupped, when I put my foot down there was sometimes a bit of hesitation before the revs picked up, and she would regularly have a small uncommanded surge for no apparent reason (lamda sensor switching mixtures?). Finally, there was lots of popping and banging on the overrun. But up till now I have lived with that, as with a non-programmable ECU and the fuel injection I didn't think anything could be done or adjusted. I just assumed some of the sensors were a bit iffy. But while I was asking for help on the forum regarding my catalytic converter Nigel Evans (n.r.evans) told me of a trick a mechanic had recommended to him when he was trying to pass the emissions test, which I don't recall reading on the forum before, and that was to block off one of the 2 exhaust outlets. So, willing to try anything I shoved the remains of an old tea towel up the exhaust. What an amazing transformation. She now idles perfectly, and there is no hesitation during acceleration. The power (apparently more than before) comes on smoothly when I put my foot down, and there are no more unexplained surges. She is now working as you would expect. There is also no more popping and banging on the overrun (which is a pity as I quite liked it ) So what is the explanation for this dramatic improvement? Nigel's mechanic reckons that when the system was designed there was no attempt made to match all the exhaust components, they were just picked because they fitted together in the right space available. In particular he thinks the lamda sensor needs some back pressure before it will work correctly and with the exhaust as designed there just wasn't enough. Blocking one of the outlets is just enough to provide the necessary back pressure to make the sensor work. Obviously I can't prove it but it seems very logical? I haven't had a chance to check if it has improved the emissions yet but based on Nigel's experience I am very confident. Meanwhile I am enjoying a much improved performance. I just need to find a more professional way of blocking it than an old tea towel. Hope other Superspec/Rover owners find this useful. I would be interested to hear from anyone else who tries it. Al

Mine is posiitoned high on the firewall next to the coil and the cooling expansion bottle. As such it has no effect on the passenger footwell. Looking underneath I think I could extend the footwell a couple of inches before it would interfere with the clutch arm.

I'll take you up on that if I may. No rush, as it was only an advisory, but will have to go to Sheffield hospital sometime in the next couple of months, so could drop by. So if you could put them somewhere safe.... (and the ECU if you can find it ) Thank yet again Al