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Hi all, long time no see! Really looking forward to meeting up on the 25th. Sophie can't make it unfortunately (working all day), our menu choices are: Tomato soup x 2 Roast beef x 2 Blackened Salmon x 1 Thanks Bob and Sylvia for organising - see you next weekend.

Hi Bob, Please add 4 to the list for lunch. Thanks!

Hi Bob, please add me and Rob to the list - see you all there on Tuesday!

I've been asked by our Area Secretary to organise our next meeting at a new venue on the 8th of October at 7:30 pm. I've booked us a table at the Titchfield Mill, PO15 5RF - it's very easy to find (just off the A27) and the food is good. Further details are on their website: http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thetitchfieldmillfareham/ Please let me know if you're planning to come, so I can let them know how many people to expect. Cheers, Ed

Hi Dave, Rob and I will definitely be coming, along with two others. We'll see you there on Sunday! Cheers, Ed

Well, it's working now! A massive 'thank you' to Chris for coming round and spending his entire Saturday in a cold garage working through the issues. It turns out that both of the starter motors we were using were struggling under load, even with an improved earth connection - a third one has plenty of oomph to turn it over though! A lack of fuel getting to the carb was fixed by using a different fuel pump and bypassing the old Sierra vapour separator / pressure regulator unit. I'd fitted the distributor incorrectly too - it was only out by about 90 degrees - oops! An oil leak was fixed by straightening out the rocker cover and fitting a new gasket. With it running, Chris even got the timing spot on using his strobe light so it's set up perfectly now. Not only is the car back on the road, but I've learnt a lot about the pinto engine too - thanks again Chris! Best regards, Edward

Hi all, A quick update: We spent a few hours on Sunday looking at the electrics and we think we've got it turning over at a fairly decent speed - not absolutely whizzing round, but ok. Despite the battery appearing to hold a charge, the voltage across it was dropping to about 8 V when cranking so we've fitted a new one which is doing a lot better. However, the engine still won't start! Is anyone free anytime this coming weekend to share some of their experience in return for copious amounts of tea / coffee and biscuits? The car is in Whiteley, just off junction 9 of the M27. Or, failing that, does anyone have a car trailer we could borrow so at least we could get it home? Thanks again, Edward

Thank you for all the suggestions and offers of assistance. To answer a few questions: We do have a starter button switch, but this doesn't take the full starter current - it just activates a relay which in turn supplies the solenoid; Tried foot on/off the clutch in case the clutch was dragging but it made no difference; We don't have a battery isolator switch fitted; The flywheels / ring gears were absolutely identical as far as we could tell - I think we fitted the one from the 1.6 just because it was shinier! The two starters we tried both had the same number of gear teeth. It does sound like we need to carefully check the connections from the battery to the starter and the engine earth, and try bypassing each in turn with some heavy-duty jump leads to isolate the problem. Unfortunately I'm away from the car for the next couple of weeks but I'll take another look when I can and report back on the results. If it's still not going, I'll get some biscuits in and invite everyone round for a cup of tea / head-scratching session! Best regards, Edward

Hi, We're struggling to get our recently-fitted 2 litre pinto to start because it's turning over so slowly on the starter. Here's what we've tried so far: Engine tightness - it can be turned by hand using a spanner on the front pulley so it's definitely free to rotate; Battery - fully charged - also connected with jump leads to another car with its engine running makes little or no difference; Starter motor - tried the one from our old 1.6 engine and another from a 2 litre - both struggle to turn the engine over; Ignition timing is set about right, based on the pulley marks (and disconnecting the spark plug leads makes no difference); Earth leads - all seem fine. Taking the spark plugs out allows it to turn slightly quicker, but not much. I'd be really grateful if anybody has any other suggestions of what the problem might be? Many thanks, Edward

Great - thanks for your assistance chaps! Best regards, Edward

I'm currently replacing my 1.6 litre Pinto (from a Sierra) with a 2 litre Pinto (I believe it's from a Cortina). The distributors are quite different inside - the 1.6 has a 3-pin plug (and connects to a Motorcraft ignition amplifier) whereas the 2l one seems to only have a single connection to it. 1.6 distributor: 2 litre distributor: To avoid changing my wiring too much, I intend to just put the distributor from the 1.6 engine onto the 2 litre. Is there any reason why this shouldn't work? Presumably the drive gear will be the same on both? Many thanks, Edward

Hi Bob, count me in please (unfortunately Robert can't make it).

Hi Bob, Please add us to the list too!

Rob and I will be attending again this year!

Please add me and Rob to the list of attendees. Looks like a great weekend - can't wait! Thanks, Ed

Hi Bob and Sylvia, Sounds great - please add me and my brother to the list. We'll bring the Robin Hood and the Morris Minor if that's ok? Edward

Just wanted to say thanks to Malcolm for organising Sunday - we had a really great day! Sorry we lost you on the way back - we got stuck at some traffic lights and then couldn't catch up with you! See you all at the next monthly meeting. Edward

I'll definitely be joining you - see you at Cadnam!

Thanks very much Chris! I'll definitely get some photos for you - think I owe you a drink too! Cheers, Edward

Just checked mine - it says it's a Robin Reliant which is slightly embarrassing! My insurance documents and V5 both say Robin Hood though... any ideas how to change what's on the MID?

Very nice! I had the second one as my computer desktop a few months ago. NASA do a photo gallery after each shuttle mission Nasa Shuttle Page Next launch is on Tuesday I think.

Thanks - I'll get the cheque in the post tomorrow!

Some relatives have expressed an interest in getting one of the Rhocar calenders. Am I allowed to order more than one? Thanks, Edward

Hi John, we used a strip of scrap stainless on the inside of the nose cone for reinforcement and long self-tapping screws to pull it all together (working from the centre of the bonnet out towards the edge). Then we replaced each screw in turn with a stainless rivet. On this photo you can see the gap we had on the passenger's side before the screws went in. I seem to remember the driver's side gap being over an inch but it all pulled together using the screws and it looks fine with the rivets in. All the best, Edward

I passed my test just before I turned 18 so I did have a couple of years driving a Morris Minor before insuring the Hood. However, I wasn't a named driver on the MM policy and had no NCB. Dan's suggestion of doing the pass plus should get you a lower quote - it's something I thought I should do but never quite found the time!