"Ring preparation"

[Trevy man Redcar]

well i,ve test loaded the mini today and was quite pleased with the results
should even get some food/clothes/bedding/grog on board as well
but not necessarily in that order
also fitted fresh filter and oil, so shes set to go.

[ABOS05966]

Mine is in the garage, having a full nut and bolt check, and yes i am that sad to go and check it all because i go the extra mile of loving my car

I am greasing the necessary parts that need greasing
Fully washing and waxing
Checking for any severe leaks or any minors
checking levels of oil and coolant etc
checking all lights are working and dashboard instruments
Check tyres pressures
Put my rally tags on windows

then gotta load the car..

And im putting my fingers up to my neighbours around here because they hate the noise of my car!

Rock n roll

[Tom2]

Original engine decided it was going to eat two of its piston rings in February for some reason, so ring preparation for me has involved building a whole new engine which isnt bored out to the mentally unreliable size of 1399 and is a more modest 1330cc.

To make up for the lack of cc's said engine has an MED ICE spec crank, lightened & balanced rods, Omega forged ultra lightweight pistons, ultralight verto flywheel, AP racing clutch, Swiftune duplex vernier timing gear & Aldon Yellow Dizzy.

Add to this the bits that I pillaged from the old engine, Kent 286 cam, CMES Stage 3 head, Large bore LCB, Twin HS6 SUs, ITG Ultimate Filter etc etc & im hoping for a bhp figure in the 90s, the old 1399 was just over 100 (100.6 to be exact, and yes the .6 is important and you can really feel it!)

Running in at the moment, up to 440 miles and it needs to be at 750 plus before it goes on the rollers the day before she has to be on the ferry!

Having to not go above 3000 rpm with an engine who's power band is 2500-6500 rpm is a little annoying now!

Thats quite a spec! I'd love to see how it goes. I fancy a 286 and the next motor. How do you find clutch choice using a verto fly?

[A Series Screamer]

Using the AP racing plate that Steve from MED recommended, its like a switch which is a bit of a pain when pulling away and takes a bit of getting used to so you dont look like a t*at by stalling it or revving it up to about 4 grand before it bites!

But once you are on the move its awesome, split second gear changes are easy. Used to run a pre verto with an orange diaphragm which used to push so hard on the thrust washers it would stall at traffic lights when you put the clutch in! changed the diaphragm for a blue cooper s one which solved the problem but it would slip on full throttle in first & second when there was more than 1 person in the car!!

Changing to verto seems to have solved all the problems, clutch is much lighter & feels much better without bogging down when you put it in on idle. Not run in or rolling roaded yet so Im not sure if the new one will slip as I havent been able to give it the full beans thus far! only another 300 miles to go!

[Tom2]

Thats interesting. I stuck with Verto despite several people advising me to use pre. I went for the 'Heavy Duty' cover (no idea what its rated at), and a pre-verto AP organic plate inside. Its never slipped and I've given it some real pain. The motors just about touching 90bhp so Im pretty impressed. It was pretty on/off when it was brand new, but still a long way off the paddle clutch that used to be in my father's Caterham.

Im planning on a St3 1380 next year with a bit of giggle gas so I think a meatier clutch is in order but I'd like to stick with Verto. I know pre-verto plates are fine, but its the lack of covers available thats the problem.

Sorry for going off topic Splinter & Kitty!

[kitty55]

i had a bit of ring preparation to do this morning...which included standing outside with a strong hairdryer trying to get rid of the flood (sort of flood) in my boot and especially in the little battery hole in the boot. jesus, i remembered your words a few weeks ago very well tom, when you said "there must be water in the battery hole thingy (whats the word for it???)" and i said "nah, there isnt..thats all fine..blablablabla" - wish i wouldve checked before...i dunno how it got in there but i guess it happened when i tried to fill up the windscreen washer thing and spilled a bit of water. guess it was a bit more water unfortunately. now, ive got everything out of my boot and got it all dry again with my hairdryer..silly stuff..couldnt get the battery out tho cos its too heavy for me so i tried to hairdry it all round..hope thats fine now

[the wing commander]

I got my spanners out and did a load of work on Nikita's car. I have had the front suspension and driveshafts and hubs apart so many times now, I think I could do it blindfolded! Anyway, I will only know tomorrow if this has cured the wheel wobble. If not the next thing on Monday is replacing the poly subframe mounts with regular rubber mounts. This all takes time and is really rhubarbing me off. Ah well, will see you all at the Ring!