nelmo

Yup...

What, you have to take a driveshaft off just to change the brake pads? Seems like overkill to me...

Buy a Bentley? BUY?! Don't BUY a Bentley, BUILD one...which is what I am doing, piece by piece :-) Also, I find that on a long drive, the vibrations from resting my arm on the cockpit edge makes my arm go numb (yes, I know, 1st world problems :-) ).

I was out with a Caterham owner a couple of weeks ago (sorry ) and he had these cool armrests fitted to his doors: https://caterhamparts.co.uk/sidescreens/4996-sv-armrests-leather.html They hook over the cockpit edge, so double as straps to hold the door in. I'm planning on something similar for my doors and was thinking of using a sheet of ally, cut to shape and covered with foam and vinyl - does that seem like an ok way to do it or is there a better material to use? I'm thinking about the ally really - would PVC-type stuff be better? I just remember having trouble bending that, when making wind deflectors...

Stencils and spray paint it on?

I have a pair of brown, leather driving gloves - sod-all grip and very thin but look cool (IMO)

I bolted a flap of ally on the nose and then just used the adhesive pads that Halfords sell - picture at the bottom of this post on my blog: https://zerolifebuild.blogspot.com/2017/07/look-back-in-style.html

No idea how it works on that engine but i doubt the dipstick will be able to damage the crank. I recently had the sump off my Zetec and the dipstick does run quite close to the crank but i know who would lose out if the 2 came into contact. The only vaguely delicate parts of the crank are the journals and they're well covered by the bearings, so i wouldn't be worried.

I don't think you can ever say 'this guy was the best' - just too many factors involved (ability of the car, quality of rivals etc, etc). Personally, I think the whole F1 grid are as good as each other and it's just down to the cars. Put Hamilton in a Williams right now and let's see how well he does I'm afraid I'm not a great fan of car racing - if you want decent racing, watch MotoGP, that's proper, edge-of-the-seat stuff. This is an example of one of the best race endings EVER (and the best commentary team IMO):

Click on 'Garage' at the top of the page....you might find yours in there already...

Can you not hold on to it until spring? Should get a better response then...

Didn't have time but i effectively did because I took the sump off twice with minimal driving in between.... Just spent the weekend in a very wet France and all ran bootiful...

I AM AN ENGINEERING GENIUS!!! Yup, it's official, I am the greatest mechanic in all of...er...my road. Ok, sorry but I'm very excited - big end bearings replaced, car back together and, amazingly, it works! Rattle is gone, all is rosy (although I've only done a 10 mile road test so it could still go pear-shaped). Apologies for getting so excited - for you guys, this is all in a weekends work - this was my Everest, well outside my comfort zone. Many thanks for all your comments and advice...much appreciated.

Hopefully - just waiting for sump sealant to dry and will try starting up tonight...fingers crossed...

I've never heard of GRP bodywork for a 2B but Kit Spares (the new owners of Robin Hood) still sell the panels and in aluminium, which is lighter than s/s. https://www.kitspares.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=43_1&product_id=1140&car=43 They probably also still do them in s/s. If you're worried about the weight affecting performance, i wouldn't - it will make gnats-all difference.

So, you know how it's supposed to be near impossible to NOT locate the HT leads on the spark plugs? Well, let me tell you a story... On cylinder 4 in particular, it seems you can push the rubber bit in and actually COMPLETELY miss the top of the spark plug but, and here's the funny bit, it looks like it's on fine. So when you go to start up and your engine runs like a dog and you get that sinking feeling of 'what the Hell have i broken now', when, in fact, you're just running on 3 cylinders. Oh, how I laughed when i worked this out a mere 3 days later... FFS.

Yeah, that's why i didn't bother - chamfering 8 holes would probably take me ages and it's taken me long enough to get this far. Surely there would be other factors in allowing an engine to rev higher other than just these bolts?

Where does it say stretch bolts? Although it does say use new ones, which the Haynes manual doesn't mention... EDIT: ah, it seems the fact that the tightening process says 'torque + 90deg' means they are stretch bolts...jees, more expense...

Jees, never heard of stretch bolts - I don't think they are as the Haynes manual doesn't mention them and it doesn't even say they have to be replaced. Considering they're about £50 a set (£80 for ARP), I'm very glad of it...

OK, looking good so far - with a light rub of emery paper, the remains of the bearing came off the crank and I cannot feel or see any scratch or other damage. However, it looks a bit dull - what do I polish it with? Can I clean it with brake cleaner? Couple of other questions - I've done cylinder 4 and the Haynes manual says torque to 15nm and then another 90deg. But I did about 30deg extra and it doesn't feel like I can easily go much further. I've had a history of stripping threads by over-tightening and I really don't want to do it here - is that extra 90 deg really what I need to do? Cylinder 4 was, thankfully, ok although there is a line down the centre of the bearing which suggests it might have been going the same way as cylinder 1:

Was that after you had worked on it?

Yes, it seems my oil pickup pipe was a Friday afternoon special from Tiger - this is what i found when i first took the sump off: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XVbRhZSzZrVegodi8 This was the pipe originally: https://photos.app.goo.gl/4MpnTK4Jp9Z7BnYNA ...and after i had it re-welded: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dw665ATbrZReFADP6 So pickup touching the sump floor, bugger all oil pressure for 3500 miles! Hence buggered bearings etc...

Not got them all out yet - this is one half of cylinder 1 (next to a new one for comparison): https://photos.app.goo.gl/N9dnZuDDeTnRXDcb8 I think the others should be ok because i did a cylinder isolation test and the rattle only came from cylinder 1 (but i will change them all anyway).

Yeah, exactly what i was thinking of doing - if it goes bang in the future, then I'll obviously take it out and get another but i just don't have the time or energy to do that now - I've spent long enough in the garage this summer. Apologies for the cowboy attitude everyone, i would love to do it right but can't right now.

Ha, aha, aha....for you, maybe. For me, with my single garage, no engine crane, wife moaning about how much time I spend in the garage, not a chance - it would take me weeks. I think I fixed the low oil pressure problem (did an oil pressure test after re-welding the oil pickup pipe and got 5+ bar). Can I take the crankshaft out with the engine still in the car?