Joel

Happy Birthday

Manifolds, Throttle Bodies, Trumpets and filters are all obviously available in different lengths, but what would be my optimum setup, baring in mind I have 240mm max from head to chassis (Jenvey quote an ideal system length of 350mm from the face of the trumpet to the centre of the valve head for a 9,000 RPM engine) I already have a 3" manifold, so ideally I want to use it rather than buying new, although shorter versions are an option. I'm guessing the best bet would be the shortest possible TB (30mm), which leaves me around 130mm for trumpets and filters? It's for a modified pinto - maxiflow head, FR32, 2.1, etc....

Uncle Henry must be posh around these parts - I got charged a tenner

I don't know what the technical term is, but I'm after one of those dust cover things that goes where the clutch lever arm pokes through the bell-housing on a type 9. Anyone got a spare knocking about? Cheers Joel.

Well you're more than welcome to buy a share in it, assuming no one else wants it of course (did I mention it's tax and IVA exempt people?? ), but it's not really a case of needing spurring-on. I'm fully spurred. I just don't have the time or money to do to it what I'd like to do, and before you make a witty comment about me having all the time in the world, if that were true you'd have your kitchen doors by now

Here's quite a tidy finished example.

***FOR SALE*** This is relucatant as I had big plans, but I think it's time to accept I'm never going to make a start on this one. So..... It's a FT Bonito, which is a Volkswagon Beetle based kit, loosely in the style of a Ford GT40. The big-sell is that it's tax exempt and potentially IVA exempt too. I say potentially as it's a bit of a grey area, and the rules seem to change regularly, but essentially it's the same principal as those Ferrari/MR2 body conversions where the chassis and mechanicals are retained, and the basic identity of the vehicle remains the same. So, it could be a cheap and interesting project for someone. As mentioned already, the kit uses an unmodified Beetle chassis. In this case a tax-exempt J-reg 1971 1300 Beetle, which I have the V5 for and is currently on SORN. It looks to be in fairly good shape, and by all accounts has been dry stored for most of the kits life. The one major component missing though is an engine, but the gearbox is there. On top of the chassis sits the one piece fibre glass tub, which as mentioned is loosely inspired by the Ford GT40, although only really on the fornt nose cone. If you consider it in it's own right, it's actually quite a nice design, and particularly from the rear 3/4 looks like a 70's muscle car with those big flared arches. The kit dates from 1983, and was sold by a company called AED international in Torpoint, Cornwall. I have quite a comprehensive folder of paperwork and invoices from the original owner. As I understand it, he kept the car at his place of work for all those years, until finally for whatever reason he had to move it and had nowhere else to store it so it had to go. It then passed through a couple of hands more recently before ending up with me. The previous owner had a fairly comprehensive roll cage fitted, had the front and rear windscreens installed and a few other service items like a new gearbox mount. I have boxes of parts to complete the kit, and various internal body panels, window winders etc. Front and rear lights are there. The doors are hung. The wheels are Wolfrace 15x6 slot mags, and are essentially unused despite the age of the car. A good polish and they'd be as-new. The tyres also are basically unworn as they've never really been used, but unfortunately are showing signs of perishing. So, any takers for an interesting and very rare tax-free and IVA exempt kit car? ***£750*** (buyer collects). ...editted to make the price more obvious.

Put me down for an option 2 (unpainted kit) Do we have to supply the old dummy struts for exchange BEFORE the new kit is delivered, or can we do that at a later date?

I'm in.

Tried them. They don't sell individual components, only full kits.

Does anyone know of a UK supplier of Megasquirt parts? I need a MS2 daughter board asap. Tried diyefi.co.uk, but they seem to be winding down and won't be getting any new stock. Don't think there'll be any postage from the states for a while, the way things are going.

Of course. I used to use them when I had my Saab, didn't think they did Ford stuff back then though. Cheers

Can anyone recommend a good online motor factors (other than ebay) to buy clutch kits, brake parts, etc from? Cheers.

That's what I wanted to hear, I think we may be on to a winner. Ian, have you tried http://www.northhantstyres.com We were hoping to get some Bare Smoothies, but they won't have any stock till mid-May. edit: I should add for anyone who thinks I've lost the plot, this isn't for a Robin Hood.

Does anyone know from which car I might find a set of standard steel wheels in Ford 4-stud 108PCD fitment, at least 15" diameter? Maybe an old Granada or something?? Thanks. edit: Seems like Mk1 Focus might be an option - does anyone know if the PCD and bore are the same on a Focus as a Sierra? http://www.fordpartsuk.com/shop/focus__6j_..._wheel_1413.htm

How do I run a normal executable file in Ubuntu? Is it because I'm running it from a disc that no programs work? Should I install it to the hard drive as a secondary o/s?

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be an install cd with it - it's an Acer piece of merde that came with a pre-install and no disc. I should add the knackered pc belongs to my parents, who think anything beyond the 'on' button is whichcraft, so any questions about install discs are just met with a blank expression.

Thanks for the replies so far. Agent_Zed - I did a bit of research and came to the same conclusion, and I've downloaded Ubuntu which has given me access to the files but it's not quite fixed yet as I can't run the original program to un-quarantine them. I'm chatting to the guys on the a-squared forum so hopefully I'll get it sorted out soon. Cheers.

I might have imagined this, but I'm sure this question came up before and we threw together a kind of buyers guide?? As I said, I probably just dreamed that but it might be worth a search. Anyway, I'm not aware of any 2B-specific problems, apart from those agent_zed mentioned, but as a general rule I think first impressions count with kit cars, particularly Robin Hoods, so if it looks a bit tatty on the surface it probably is throughout. By which I mean, if the screw heads and p-clips, etc, are all neatly lined up and evenly spaced, then chances are the builder has put the same level of fastiduous effort and detail into the grubby bits you can't see as the shiny bits you can. Having seen a few 'factory builds' up close, I'd be having a ruddy good poke around too! Otherwise it's just stuff that can be fixed yourself, but can be annoying and fiddly to do, so it's worth checking out from the start - like does the steering/suspension work in all positions without any rubbing or catching; does the fuel guage read properly; do all the electrics work; etc. Good luck.

One for the computer whizzos.... Anti malware program (a-squared) picked up a false-positive in C:\Windows\System32\services.exe (Vista OS), file quarantined, and now windows won't start. I suspect this is because services.exe is a system file and a-squared is preventing it from running at start-up??? So, at the moment you power up and it goes into an evil cycle of trying to repair start-up, but never gets anywhere. I can't even get it to start in any version of safe mode. I can get into the bios and the advanced start-up menu (safe mode, etc), but whatever ever I try doesn't work and it defaults back to the start-up repair thing. It won't even start with a command prompt. Any suggestions would be enormously appreciated.

Cheers

Find your local industrial estate - you're bound to find a welder who'll do it for next to nothing.

I've got a subsription to Complete Kit Car mag and I have to say I think the content is pretty good, and good value too at £40 per year - less than a tank of fuel! Fair enough, some of the articles are a bit light on detail, but at least it's all fresh, and whilst there are adverts there you don't feel like you're turning page after page to find the real content. Plus in the last few months I've had a free mug, free calender, free Sevens DVD, free guide to track days...... Perfect reading material when you're on the throne

I might have imagined this, but was there ever an article about chopping the top off a dizzy off and bolting a coil pack in it's place, whilst retaining the oil-pump drive bit? Can anyone point me in the right direction - I checked rho-wiki and northwest hoodies but can't find anything. Cheers.

I'd like to change this culture of fining/prosecuting 'soft targets' for the governments financial gain, because they know nice middle-class families will pay up and not kick up a fuss. This covers everything from motor related fines to more serious stuff. With the CPS in particular, everything seems to be motivated toward getting an easy result, and not getting the right result. Police and other agencies seem to apply very little discretion, apart from who's most likely to pay up. P.S. No, I don't read the Daily Mail