richyb66

Long story short but about 4 weeks ago on a late Friday afternoon, I was following a small van on a country A road and he was driving all over the place, across the white line etc. I thought he must be on the phone and after I'd followed him for about a mile (during which he very narrowly missed a couple of head-ons at about 40mph,I got the missus to video him on the phone. After another minute or so he actually drove off the left hand side of the road and then swerved back onto the road so we phoned the police. We were coming into a village and while the missus was explaining to 999 where we were and was giving them all the details, he pulled over on the pavement so I stopped behind him to see what he was going to do. Then, would you believe it - I spotted a police traffic car coming the other way, so I pulled out past the van (and the driver was on the phone)and I flagged the copper down and told him he needed to speak to the van driver. I pulled up further down the road. About an hour later - the driver had been carted off in a another police car, another copper had driven the van away and I'd spent 45 minutes having a statement taken and showed the video to the police. By now I'd realised that this wasn't just about the mobile phone. Two weeks later I got a letter off the CPS thanking me for my help, the driver had pleaded guilty in court to drink driving. 17 month ban, £110 fine, £85 costs. Also, it was a works van so with any luck the tw@t will be looking for another job now as well - muppet!

That's great news Chris - roll on your IVA.

Yes. You say it's mis-firing but you also suggest it might be running rich. Do the plugs look noticeably sooty of does the exhaust smell rich at all? I'd also be looking at the coil pack as that can cause mis-firing if it's faulty.

OK, I'll keep you posted with the full details so you've got the option of a meet-up.

Good stuff, that's 4 of us so far.

Saturday night we could go to the 3rd best beach bar in the world. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2359957/Remote-pub-Wales-named-best-beach-bar-WORLD-beating-destinations-like-Australia-Caribbean.html Where you get this view http://www.tycoch.co.uk/index.php?|||||o||p||t||i||o||n||=com_content&view=article&id=249&Itemid=30&option=com_content

pm sent

That would be OK, the spare wheel hoop doesn't have any sharp edges. If the license plate is in the centre and you fit the spare wheel at a later date, you'll need to move the plate onto the wheel or the hoop. If you're never fitting the spare wheel, you could cut the hoop off and blank off the tube ends but carrying a spare wheel can be useful if you plan longer trips.

No, not unless you want to Again no, the heat from the exhaust isn't an issue as it's effectively exempt, however you do need to make sure that any sharp edges are covered and don't use anything to do this that could either fall off or melt.

If it's been stood a while and not been run much (which from your other posts I suspect it has), then you could be looking at a sticky vane inside one of the airflow meters. Both airflow meters go into a single plenum but I don't know if it's divided internally so each afm feeds one bank. If it is and it's rich on both banks, then 2 knackered afm's seems unlikely so maybe consider replacing the coolant temp sensor. Apart from the rich mixture, how does it run when it's warm? Does it idle ok and rev up smoothly?

You could contact Martin Townsend (laserman) on here - he could laser cut one to your sizes in stainless and they you've just got to bend it around the silencer and make some mounting brackets.

Gaz0571 has just let me know that he's booked Friday and Saturday night at the Terfyn B&B - currently they have 3 rooms available.

I said I’d add more information so here it is. Having the option to either camp or B&B means that we’re likely to get a bit spread out in terms of overnight accommodation but the following B&B’s are all within about a mile radius of Nefyn so should be reasonably convenient. . LLys Olwen Guest House Lon Tan Y Bryn Morfa Nefyn LL53 6BT 01758 720493 http://llysolwen.co.uk/ Adult £33-00 Terfyn Band B Lon Terfyn Morfa Nefyn LL53 6BA 01758 721332 http://www.terfynbedandbreakfast.com/ Adult £30-00 Glascoed B and B Lon Uchaf Morfa Nefyn LL53 6AL 01758 720151 Graeanfryn Farm B and B and Camping Morfa Nefyn LL52 6YQ 01758 720445 For camping, as well as Graenfryn Farm, there’s a couple of additional options, the first was the site suggest last year (but not actually used). This is in a great spot but access to the lower camping field may be difficult due to ground clearance issues so it’s probably worth asking the question if they plan on using the lower field. The owner is very helpful and can accommodate most needs. The location is just a couple of minutes from Nefyn literally at the bottom of my road. Penisarlon Farm Pistyll Nefyn LL53 6LR 01758 721553 http://www.penisarlonfarm.co.uk/home Second option is a bit closer to Nefyn, no website but it’s popular for camping and gets good reviews: Wern Caravan Park Pistyll Nefyn LL53 6LN 01758 720432 I’ll obviously be staying under my own roof rather than canvas so it’s really down to wherever people want to stay and as someone has to be first, I’ll be there whatever the weather. It might not be necessary to pre-book the camping but if the weather is like last weekend, it could get busy and will same hassle arriving on Friday night. So if someone wants to be first to book camping, picks a site and posts it on here then any others can follow suit – same goes for the B&B’s.

Following last year’s Midlands’s area weekend run to North Wales we’ve decided to organize another one for the second weekend in August, 10th/ 11th, exactly one year on, and just 5 weeks away. The destination will again be the Llyn Peninsula, North West Wales but in a change from last year, we’re proposing travelling up late on Friday afternoon 9th August and staying over both Friday and Saturday night. This will allow time to recover from the drive up, then have a full day on Saturday for a more scenic drive out on some great uncrowded roads, see some sights, lunch stop etc whilst still keeping things at a leisurely pace for those that want it. Departure time on Friday will depend on whatever the majority of people think is best but we need to allow sufficient to time to arrive before it gets too dark if people have to put up tents so realistically I think we’d need to be leaving the Birmingham area by 17-30 at the latest. If people prefer to travel up early Saturday, that we’ll try and cover that as well so we can all meet up. Accommodation can be camping or B&B depending on whatever people want to do. Initially we just want to get an idea of numbers so if you’re interested, speak up now and indicate whether camping or B&B suits you best and I’ll get more detailed information posted once I know a few numbers and what people want to do. Any other questions, just ask. Attendance list so far: Richyb66 Camping No-one yet B&B Thrashed......................BOOKED at Terfyn Jez Morton....................BOOKED at Terfyn gaz0571........................BOOKED at Terfyn andi................................BOOKED at Terfyn RedTrev + bro Brian.....BOOKED Llys Olwen Possible theduck

Apparently yes: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dvla-local-office-closure-plan-announced All done online or by post (until they close Royal Mail). It's a complete clusterf**k, I don't see any mention of how vehicle inspections will be undertaken though. With any luck it'll transfer from DVLA to VOSA which would at least ensure a bit of consistancy. Whatever they do decided to do, they haven't updated the website yet: https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/kit-cars-and-rebuilds

He's not got there yet!

From the photo it loks like a fuel tank with the filler directly in the top of it. You could have a removeable cover over the top of the chassis area and access the filler through that but I think getting the pump nozzle down inside the body might be tricky and a removeable cover means faffing around when you fill up. A better option might be to have the cover over the chassis and make an extended filler pipe that lifts the cap up to the level of the cover. If you can possible get to the area meeting tomorrow night then it would be time well spent. The weather forecast is good (at the moment) so we should get a good turnout of cars which means you'll be able to get plenty of ideas and free advise.

Yes and no. Carpet will make it look nice and tidy but ideally you need to make up some sort of boot cover so the whole area is covered over. If the boot area is left open then it's tested for sharp edges the same as the interior of the car.

Understanding Engineers #1 Two engineering students were biking across a university campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday, minding my own business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike, threw it to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want." The first engineer nodded approvingly and said, "Good choice: The clothes probably wouldn't have fit you anyway." Understanding Engineers #2 To the optimist, the glass is half-full. To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. Understanding Engineers #3 A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with those guys? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!" The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such inept golf!" The priest said, "Here comes the greens-keeper. Let's have a word with him." He said, "Hello George, What's wrong with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?" The greens-keeper replied, "Oh, yes. That's a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime." The group fell silent for a moment. The priest said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight." The doctor said, "Good idea. I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there's anything she can do for them." The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?" Understanding Engineers #4 What is the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers? Mechanical engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets. Understanding Engineers #5 The graduate with a science degree asks, "Why does it work?" The graduate with an engineering degree asks, "How does it work?" The graduate with an accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?" The graduate with an arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?" Understanding Engineers #6 Three engineering students were gathered together discussing who must have designed the human body. One said, "It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints." Another said, "No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections." The last one said, "No, actually it had to have been a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?" Understanding Engineers #7 Normal people believe that if it isn’t broken, don't fix it. Engineers believe that if it isn’t broken, it doesn't have enough features yet. Understanding Engineers #8 An engineer was crossing a road one day, when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess." He bent over, picked up the frog, and put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn back into a beautiful princess and stay with you for one week." The engineer took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to the pocket. The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I'll stay with you for one week and do anything you want." Again, the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket. Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess and that I'll stay with you for one week and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?" The engineer said, "Look, I'm an engineer. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog—now that's cool."

Formula Ford still has exposed suspension and wheels - aerodynamically very poor. Think more Lotus 11 and less Lotus 7 for best results - that way the power of the engine is much less important.

If you mean tow on a rope then technically you probably could do but I think it's considered "potentially dangerous" so ropes are only really suitable for emergency use. Trailering is fine as long as you don't exceed the towing weight limits and your licence allows you to tow.No special insurance needed that I'm aware of but probably worth checking the insurance on the towing vehicle. Kit doesn't need to be insured for IVA but probably worth having it covered just in case you have a mishap. If the kit is fully insured (on VIN number because it isn't currently registered), you can legally drive it to the IVA. However, if you fail on a major safety point, they won't allow you to drive it home so you'd need a backup plan. Trailering is probably the safest and best option.

High performance and low emission are mutually exclusive terms when you're considering internal combustion engines. Something like the Tesla Roadster is low (zero) emission, and high performance but not exactly affordable due to the battery and control system technology so I think you can rule out electric vehicles. For internal combustion, low emissions these days would be classed as less than 120g/km and that won't give much performance unless the car is very light and ideally very aerodynamic. Take the Mazda MX5 (as you are), at 167g/km the 1.8 isn't exactly green - this'll be due to the aero design of the car not being optimised for low emissions, combined with an engine ecu tune that's more for performace and driveablility. I think you'll find that similar typrs of car will be much the same because they're in a segment where low emissions aren't really a consideration for buyers in the way that it would be a factor for someone buying a super-mini segment car. If you try and apply the high performance, low emission and low cost criteria to a generic kit car then you'd almost certainly want to include the following things: No 7 style cars - the aero performance is very poor with open wheels and lots of exposed suspension to create turbulence. You want a smooth body style that covers the wheels as much as possible. Ideally no open top cars - or have a removeable hardtop or roof. Open bodies create more drag. Make it small, smaller frontal area cars generally create less drag. As many kit cars only have the driver, a single seater would allow the car to be narrower and save the weight of a second seat and harness. Keep the weight as low as possible - use pressed alloy panels instead of grp because it's lighter per unit area. Use a modern low emission engine for a donor - if you started with a blank sheet of paper and were designing a kit for the next 10 years then something like the 3 cylinder Ecoboost Fiesta engine which is 125bhp turbo and just 99g/km would be ideal because there'll be plenty of them around. The choice of engines is pretty vast even if you only want something Keep the engine capacity small - they use less fuel but they also require less cooling. Than means you need less air forced through the grille into the radiator which reduces drag. Use narrow tyres - if the car is light enough you don't need wide tyres for decent handling. Sadly narrow tyres look pants but they have a lower rolling resistance which help reduce drag. So basically everything you need to meet the original criteria is quite possible to include in the design of a kit but there will be some trade offs if you start to try and get emissions as low as possible.

I just sprayed a few thick coats of black stonechip under my arches - the stuff in the big cans that you put on with a schutz gun and a compressor, not the aerosol stuff which is useless and this seems to have done the job well. You could also use brushable seam sealer available from vehicle paint suppliers and stipple the finish with a brush or small roller or use something like this which is no doubt good but dearer: http://www.cbsonline.co.uk/product/Wunderseal_Underbody_Sealer_WUNDS

I've probably got the fittings you need at home in the garage - let me know if you want to have a look and you can take a load away to try.

That was Keith Baker who was asking.