AndyW

Very true. Different tyre size would help, but would they fit under the front cycle wings?

I'll have to use some plasticine on the high points to see what sort of gap I have between engine and bonnet. Unfortunately I don't think my alloy sump has any mounting bolts or holes like yours.

It's actually worse than I thought now I've measured the gap. In fact I've only got 5.5cm of ground clearance under the leading edge of the sump. And that's without my added weight in the car! So adding any thickness of sump guard material is going to reduce my ground clearance even further. Thanks for suggestions everyone. cb750 - in the Super Spec there isn't a heavy chassis crossmember in front of the engine. It's open for 35 cm up to the L-shaped ally cross member that the lower wishbones mount on. It might be possible to mount a sump guard there but it makes a long stretch back to the sump. Al - as you know I've already got Gaz coilovers fitted which seem to be wound up fairly high. So I don't think I've got much leeway for adjusting the ride height. So not sure why my ground clearance is so poor compared to yours with Zimmers?! We need to get our cars side by side Alternatively, is it possible to lift the engine higher relative to the chassis? I was thinking maybe some spacers under the engine mounts where they attach to the chassis? Not looked yet to see if that is technically feasible. Or would raising the engine have any other negative effects? I still feel I need some sort of skid plate for added protection. Even if it's only 2mm of steel plate mounted on the engine and folded down underneath to give the sump another layer of 'skin'. Al - how is your guard mounted to the engine? Can't remember from my last look.

I feel I'm living on the edge with my Rover engined Super Spec - only about 7 cm of ground clearance to the sump and bellhousing, Rover alloy sumps are near impossible to get hold of now, and all my local roads are peppered with road humps and cushions. One of these days I'm going to forget I'm not driving my normal tin-top and try to straddle one at speed in the Super Spec. The narrow but high ridges across many industrial estates, shopping centres etc are the worst, as I can't stagger the wheels and end up grinding the bottom of the car across them. So I'd like to build a sump guard or some sort of skid plate / rubbing strip for protection. I don't need anything too hefty, not going off-road rallying or anything, just need something to protect the sump and oil filter from grounding and gradually wearing away or being cracked or holed. What material and thickness is best? - I've seen various materials used : 2mm steel plate, 4mm aluminium chequer plate, duralmin alloy, and even sheets of moulded polyurethane or HDPE plastics. Ideally I want strong, light, not easily punctured, but with some degree of 'give'. And how best to fit the guard - mounted to the sump itself with the sump bolts, or side to side across the chassis rails? And finally, does anyone have any design plans for making a sump guard. I recall seeing a picture on the forum of something made by RedSpec(?) in 2009ish. Anyone have a copy of the plans?

Hi Al, sorry, I was planning to come but as it's on father's day I was told I'm not allowed to go - being taken out for a meal. Maybe next time.

Got the tacho working in the end. It needed rewiring according to the later instructions provided by RHE, details as follows: I had 2 wires connected to coil -ve. Remove white/black wire connects coil -ve to engine loom for ECU pin 25. Join this instead to black/green wire that connects to blue connector pin 8 Then modify the wiring into the blue connector block which clips to the Escort instrument binnacle: pin 6 - remove existing black/green wire to coil -ve. now empty pin 8 - remove white/black wire (‘S’ connector on Tachometer from coil +ve). replace with existing black/green wire (to coil -ve), and white/black wire that goes to engine loom for ECU pin 25. pin 9 - previously empty. make new pin and connect to earth pin 12 - remove white/green wire and terminate. replace with white/black wire to coil +ve (‘B’ connector on Tachometer). Good luck!

As this was my SuperSpec we're talking about, I thought I'd just close off the discussions with summary details of the problem in case anyone needs the info in the future. As Al says we eventually discovered the lambda sensor had never been wired up properly in the first place (apparently done by an auto-electrician!). The lambda sensor on the Rover engine has 4 wires - 2 white for the heater, a grey for sensor ground and black for sensor signal. After finding I only had 2v across the heater wires, which meant it never warmed up enough to allow the ECU to monitor the sensor, I traced the wiring back into the engine loom. Discovered that the sensor ground and heater ground had both been connected to the chassis and the other white heater wire was connected to the sensor return in the loom. The real wires for the heater were tucked up unused in the chassis. I've no idea how the ECU managed to get any signals from the sensor at all! 4 wires come from the Rover T16 engine loom near the alternator. The 2 sensor wires need to be in a screened outer sheath to protect from stray noise, and the sensor shouldn't be earthed separately outside the ECU. Wires need to be connected as follows: screened loom grey (from MEMS pin 18) - to lambda sensor black screened loom green (from MEMS pin 7) - to lambda sensor grey loom brown/black (from lambda heater power relay) - to lambda heater white loom black (from loom earth) - to other lambda heater white (it doesn't matter which way round the 2 white heater wires are connected) I extended the sheathed screen down from the loom to the sensor with a braided outer hose, and believe the screen itself is earthed through the loom to MEMS pin 29. After rewiring from the loom down to the sensor, running Al's MEMSAnalyser program showed that we now had a proper functioning lambda heater and signal again. Sorted eventually and just shows the sort of issues you can come across when you take on a car built by someone else.

Got them, many thanks. Now for some studying.

Wanderer - PM sent, thanks

Wanderer - do the additional wiring instructions from 2005 mention rev counter/tacho wiring? If so I would like to get a copy if you can scan or copy them.

Hi Ed, yes I have the original wallchart wiring diagram (issue 5). But the bit about the rear of instrument cluster just lists the wire colours and socket pins. No idea what wire does what! And I haven't pulled it out yet to see if all connections are good. I'm guessing that the rev counter takes pulses from the coil (?), but the coil bit of the wiring diagram only shows 2 wires to ignition switch multiplug and ECU pin 25. Whereas my coil has actually got 1 wire on 1 term and 3 on the other. I'm trying to find out if the extra wires were part of the later RH fix and what they do / where they go. Andy

The rev counter in my newly acquired Super Spec doesn't work - Rover 2000 engine with MEMS ECU and standard RH supplied Escort instrument binacle (I think). Can anyone give me details of how the rev counter should be wired up at sender and instrument loom so I can check all the connections. Also, reading some early 2005 posts in these forums there is talk of the rev counter not working when it came from RH, and they subsequently issued a newsletter with a fix. Does anyone have a copy of this? Cheers, Andy

Hi Dave, as a newbie club member and very recent new owner of a Super Spec, I'd like to attend the Kimbolton fayre to meet up with everyone. Are there any spare tickets? I'm in Bedford so not far to travel. AndyW