AndyW

When I rewired my Superspec last year I built a fuse and relay board from an ABS sheet - actually the base cut from a large rectangular paint bucket! I looked at mounting it on the inside of the passenger footwell either on the back of the firewall or on the side of the scuttle, but decided access would be too difficult. In the end I put it under the bonnet lengthways next to the coolant bottle and battery on the nearside of the engine bay, and fixed to the firewall and battery tray. No cover on mine but the two led fuse holders have clip on clear covers for protection.

I've got 2 RH brochures that indicate the first batch of Superspec kits (2003-2004) were sold as rolling chassis with Rover engine, gearbox, diff, floor pan, suspension, steering and wheels all fitted. Later they were also offered as separate unbuilt chassis and with a choice of engines. If you look at your engine number on the block under the rear exhaust port, you can work out it's approximate age and which Rover car the engine would have been made for. See post... https://www.rhocar.org/index.php?/forums/topic/24891-rover-engine-codes/&do=findComment&comment=377578

Hi Lloyd Welcome to another Superspec. There are about a dozen Superspec owners that we know about, but not many of us actually built our cars, so there is not much first hand building knowledge around. However, if you search back over the posts in this forum you can find quite a lot of information from the people who originally built the cars between 2003-2009. You've got the Superspec build instructions in the 3 DVDs, but they were meant to provide extra details and differences from the Robin Hood Project 2B build instructions. I think there are 16 videos for the 2B that were uploaded to YouTube, so they would be worth a watch for basic build info, if only for a laugh! See part 1 at www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoXGacMEi-E There's also a Superspec build diary by an original builder with blog and photos at http://www.super-spec.com/index.html which I've found helpful for information about the car.

Well done! Up and running after all that time. Who’d have thought all your problems would be down to a duff ECU.

Did you find the MKC number marked on your ECU anywhere, or are you going by the list on that website? Let us know how you get on with the company - might be useful for the rest of us with Rover engines.

The MEMS unit fitted to my Superspec doesn't have any part number marked on it either, just a Robin Hood label on the back warning about tampering. The original ECUs fitted to Rover cars did have stickers on them with part numbers like MKC103310. So I suspect that RH bought a special batch of ECUs without labels when they had them modified to remove the immobiliser function. If it helps there's a list of ECU part numbers for the different Rover cars at http://ecusdirect.co.uk/Catalogue/rover.htm#Rover Engine Management ECU

Hi Kerry, I'm interested in your scales. PM sent.

Hi Graeme, Like you I’ve also been planning to redo the dashboard in my Superspec, but other jobs have got in the way, so not sure when I’ll get to start it. Same as you I was going to keep the existing dash shape as it’s welded to the scuttle, but re-trim it, and then put a plate on the central angled section to hold a new set of gauges. I like your shape by the way! I was going for a more trapezoid shape. I’ve also been looking for suitable materials to make the plate. Rather than smooth or polished aluminium or stainless steel which would be too shiny, I’m tending towards a brushed, or machine turned finish or maybe a hammered or embossed texture. Another possibility is a matt finish plastic. You can get large kitchen or craft cutting boards in various colours and thicknesses. Be interesting to see what you decide on.

Great feedback thanks Jim, Steve & Bob. I'm not sure if or when the previous owner changed the brake fluid so I was going to do that anyway. And as far as I can see there are no leaks from the system. But I'll give the brakes a complete strip down and clean and see if anything looks amiss with the pistons in the calipers. BTW, does anyone know what size/type the unions are on the Superspec Sierra front brake hoses? I might as well change to some nice new braided hoses while I'm stripping the brakes down, but not sure of the fittings. There are banjos on the calipers and some sort of bulkhead bracket/joiner on the chassis rail to the copper pipe.

Lately I'm finding that the left front wheel on my Superspec is very prone to locking up with only moderate pedal application. That's on a good dry road; on loose surfaces or wet roads I have to be SO careful not to lose the front end under braking. What would make one disc brake more sensitive than the other side? It seems much worse than it used to, so what should I be checking, cleaning or replacing to get more equal and progressive front brake performance and stop the lock-ups? Brakes are the normal Superspec Sierra vented discs at front and drums rear, with standard pads and shoes that have only done 6k miles so plenty of meat left on them, although everything is now 9 years old. Andy

You can check resistance across the terminals of the sensor with the plug disconnected. To check the voltage with it connected you can sometimes get a thin probe into the wire entry point of the connector to reach the metal terminal. If not, in the past Ive pushed a needle through the wire insulation which is better than cutting it.

Al forwarded me your MEMS logfile to look at, and I agree with his comments. As we've mentioned before, you've got something wrong with your air temp sensor as it's showing a fault code. But very oddly it seems to be producing inverted values, starting with high temps and getting cooler as the engine warms. Either the sensor is duff or it's the wrong type, or it's connected wrongly. Did you make the checks I suggested previously? Disconnect the multiplug and check the resistance across the sensor pins - it should be about 2400 ohms at temp 20 deg C (range from the manual is 5700 ohms at 0 deg and 1100 ohms at 40 deg C). Also, with multiplug connected and ignition on, check the voltage the sensor is providing to the ECU - at 10 deg C temp, the green/black wire (to ECU pin 16) should show about 2.8 volts, and the pink/black wire (to ECU pin 30) should show an earth. Also as Al says, your battery voltage looks very odd, and I wonder if this is the root cause of your issues. The alternator output when running isn't high enough, as it should be in the region of 13.4-13.7 v, but yours is mostly 13v and below. Also it doesn't look very steady or consistent, whereas mine stays 13.5v +/- 0.1v for the whole of a journey until turning off when mine drops to battery voltage about 12.4v. The end of your log shows the battery voltage gradually tailing off down to 11.5 v over a minute which is not normal behaviour. It's as though your battery isn't holding voltage, or the alternator output is declining. Engine voltage is critical to many MEMS functions, including air flow calculations, stepper motor control and resetting it after stopping, and coil output. I just wonder if this is the cause of the problems you are seeing. If the voltage is declining after driving for a while maybe the ECU can't function properly and is shutting down? I would get your alternator and battery checked, as well as the wiring between them and all their earth points. Cheers, Andy

Sorry Al, cant make that Sunday this year. Daughter is running a half marathon in Oxford.

Hi Al, sorry I can't make this weekend either, much as I'd like a run out. Cheers, Andy

Thanks Dave & cb750. It looks as though midi and mega fuses are much the same thing, except megafuses are larger and go to higher amperages. Ill go for a 60 amp midi fuse and holder. Hope thatll be high enough to protect all the circuits.