July 2013

29July

Both the rear wing mounts have been relocated to place the rear wing below the roof line (to make it legal) and Altiss Engineering are machining me four 40mm long 19mm OD spacers which will be used to bridge the gap between the wing mounts and the brackets underneath the wing that the mounts bolt on to. The tailgate also fits, quite easily, below the wing. I just had to file a slot on one side of the GRP door to allow it to clear the left hand mounting bracket.

22July

I am doing the Aintree sprint in September, which usually provides very good value for money.

Whilst in Scotland, a youth in a VW Polo reversed in to the front of my car on Friday, knocking off the front number plate, and damaging the front bumper, pushing it back some 3-5mm. Its all being dealt with by the insurance company so I'm hoping that it'll get sorted quickly so I can start looking at part exchanging the Subaru for something a little newer. I'm looking at the Insignia 4x4 at the moment, but would also consider a 5 series. I need something that will chew through the milage I'm racking up, and tow the trailer without any fuss.

11July

Just found out that my Dad gets a mention in the book Our Hillman Imp, so I bought him a copy from Amazon and its a really good read. Dad used to run a couple of Imps, one for the road (registration 8834PG) and the other for grass track racing. I used to get so car sick in the road going Imp. It was always really hot inside, stank of petrol, and had rock solid suspension. Not a great combination for an often travel sick 10 year old to be sat inside.

08July

Retro Ford Magazine, July 2013
The latest (August 2013) edition of Retro Ford magazine has just hit the shelves. My article this month is on Weight Saving, by adding lightness. I've already penned my next article, for the September edition.

At the weekend I took the rear wing off the car, and I'm relocating it further down the rear hatch to place it below the height of the roofline. It was according to the rules, not legal with it above the height of the roof. Relocating it should still keep it in the unspoilt air. I've also downloaded the data from the ECU following the two 15 minute runs at Lydden in May. I've looked at the data and water temps etc are all looking very good considering I'm not running a thermostat. The water temp is maintained by the cooling fans when driving, which suggests that there is insufficient air flow through the rad when driving forward. I'll see if I can duct the air out to a low pressure area to help draw the air through the rad.

02July

We went to Cadwell Park on Sunday to watch the Mensley brothers in their Focus (ex BTCC) number 22. They qualified in 2nd place, and finished 3rd o/a, 3rd in class. The Focus was suffering chronic understeer on right handers midway through the 40 minute race, and after the finish we spotted a bolt had come adrift from the nsf chassis link, allowing the front wheel to move to and fro. This week they're replacing all the nuts with Nyloc ones. It was a terrific race however and it went right down to the wire.

Loved the Thundersaloon 309, the V8 Kitten, and the stunning white Morris Minor. The Mini (2.2 VTEC Honda) was having a fraught time with noise and a modification they'd made to the rollcage (to clear the drivers head they removed the rear diagonal and replaced it with a curved section, which failed scrutineernig, but they were then allowed to run after some 'negotiation'). When I asked how much the car weighed, we thought it must be under 500KG. But it was a whopping 700KG when it came back from the weigh bridge! They looked a little crest fallen to say the least. Makes me think how competitive my Fiesta might be with a similar power to weight ratio. I think the sequential gearbox would move me up a class though. I reckon I should invest in a race license and venture out on to the tracks with the Fiesta.
Cadwell Park June 2013 CSCC (Sony DSC)