:: Diary - April 2009 ::

:: Thursday, April 2, 2009 ::

While the f1 panel is still off, I decide to clean up the Cerb's steering rack so that I can see where the leak is. It's just possible to spray it with degreaser from above, and then work a stiff-bristle brush to loosen the muck. I don't want to jet wash it off (I've learned my lesson about Cerb electrics!) so I find a little spray bottle that once held de-icer, that has a "jet" setting in the nozzle. I fill it with water and then use that to blast the muck off - and it works pretty well.

Then I get a bit excited at how good this stuff is so I clean the rest of the rack, the sump guards, and some waxoyl off the chassis so that I can see that it's in good nick underneath.

:: Sunday, April 5, 2009 ::

Today is the local car club meeting so I decide to take the Cerb for its debut. First I go along to the garage to get a couple of things out of the S - and the first thing I notice is that the edge of the windscreen looks absolutely crap. I tried masking it off and spraying it black, but the paint is lifting off in big flakes - it just hasn't stuck at all. The screen is sealed OK, so the paint is only there for cosmetic reasons, (ie to cover up the delamination around the edge) but it looks terrible again. Must fix that.

Anyway, back for the Cerb, and then meet up with Jim and Dave, then we head off.

The Cerb isn't exactly a subtle car, really. Apart from being bright purple, it's a wee bit noisy as well, so it attracts a few looks as we trundle through various towns. Quite a lot of those looks probably say "tosser", if we're going to be completely honest, but why should I worry? It's a bleeding fantastic car this.

When we arrive at the meeting, we park up as usual. Another two Cerbs turn up, which is good - another 4.2 and a speed six. I can't remember the last time we had 3 Cerberas at a normal meeting. Once again there's a couple of new faces as well, so that's also encouraging.

When I get home I discover that I've been spotted, on the web site! My first in 6 years!

The car seems to be going well but it's running a little bit hotter by the time I get home. I guess that there must indeed be a slight water leak, then.

In the evening, I have a think about the windscreen of the S3C. I decide to try a new tack - I need something black and shiny... black parcel tape! I order a roll from ebay.

:: Sunday, April 19, 2009 ::

I decide to spend some time today with the S3C, along at the garage.

First I scrape all the paint off the edge of the windscreen with a Stanley knife blade. Then I clean the edge of the screen with white spirit before I stick on the black parcel tape so that the edge follows the edge of the black band round the screen, with the rest overlapping onto the bodywork. The top edge works ok, and so do the sides. The tape won't follow the edge of the bottom though, because of the curve. I end up doing it in sections which looks ok but not as good as I'd hoped.

Then I trim around the edge of the glass and take off all the excess tape.

It looks ok, but now that I've tried it and thought about it, I might have been better using a hairdryer to warm the tape around the curves, and also maybe sticking it on flatter and then trimming it to the inner curve edge afterwards.

Unfortunately the black adhesive has stuck to the paintwork and I'm out of white spirit... Have to do that later.

I footer around with a few other wee insignificant jobs like dusting the seats and oiling hinnges, before I go home.

The Cerbera's hubs are quite rusty, and visible between the wheel spokes. I take the wheels off one at a time and paint the hubs with high temperature paint. Looks much better now.

While I have the front offside wheel off, I inspect the steering rack, and there's no sign of any new fluid leaking. Good news!

:: Saturday, April 25, 2009 ::

Not had a chance to get along to the garage this week, because work has just been stupidly busy. First step is to remove the tape adhesive from around the windscreen, with my nice new bottle of white spirit. It looks not too bad...

Also, I've remembered the keys today, so I decide to make sure it starts ok. Jump in, turn key to "on", wait till fuel pump primes, turn to "start" and it burst into life instantly - not after 2 or 3 turns of the engine, I mean instantly. Magic wee car!

Tomorrow is the national TVR gathering at Chartsworth in Derbyshire, and Dave, Jim and I have arranged to meet at dark o'clock for the journey down. I'm in two minds - I want to take the Cerbera, but I'm still a bit concerned about its cooling - it seems to be ok but I'm not sure how it'll last. Maybe I'd be better taking the S - but that hasn't moved for a month...

After humming and hawing for ages, I decide to take the Cerb, so I wash and dry it, and then make sure the coolant is properly topped up! Just as a final sign of faith, I put my tool box in the boot.

:: Sunday, April 26, 2009 ::

4:15 am. The alarm goes off. I have 45 minutes to get up, get organised, get out of the house and get to our meeting point for the 250-mile drive to the TVR meeting at Chatsworth.

4:30 am. I get into the car, which I have carefully placed pointing out of the street, and get myself ready to start it up, stick it in gear and get out of the street before I wake anybody (or at least before I give them a chance to get up, come outside and murder me). Apart from a brief panic when I nearly press the horn instead of the wipers (to clear early morning dew) I make it intact. 4:45 am. Arrive at meeting point in McDonalds car park, to find Dave already there. Jim arrives shortly after. At 5:00, just before we leave, another car arrives at McDonalds, and, despite the fact that the car park is totally deserted apart from two TVRs and a scooter (no relation), he decides to park right alongside mine and then struggles to get out, because he can't get his door open. Once he has extruded his fat arse through the space, we advise him that McDonalds doesn't open until 6, so he squeezes himself back in again and disappears. We don't know what time McDonalds actually does open, but it serves him right for being a dick.

We set off down the road. Dave elects to accompany me because it's still early and my heater works.

6:00 am. After about 40 miles, I notice the temperature guage creep up, but it settles back down again. Then on Soutra Hill it climbs again and takes a little longer to settle. Going down the other side, it's fine for another 20 miles or so. Then it creeps up for a bit before settling again. This goes on for a while, before the time it spends at "hot" get longer than the time at "normal".

7:00 am. I decide that I'd better let it cool a bit, so we stop in a wee layby, in a cloud of steam. While I am waiting for it to cool, I decide that since we still have about 140 miles to go, I'd be better not risking it.

We are only 20 miles or so from the TVR dealers at Hexham though, so I decide that I'll drop the car off there and get them to fix it. That means getting the train home, so rather than carry the tool box about, we decide that Jim could take it, and I'll get it back later in the week. Jim and Dave pile into the other car and leave with a cheery wave.

7:30am. The car has cooled enough to let me take the cap off without boiling myself alive, so I add some more coolant from the 5 litre bottle in the boot. Start the car up and it sits only slightly above "normal" so I set off for Hexham.

8:00 am. Arrive at Hexham but it's closed. Of course it is, it's only 8am on a Sunday! I decide to have a walk about till the car cools again, and so that I can check the train times.

8:30am. There's not a lot to do in Hexham so I'm back at the car. I decide to see what time they open, by looking up their web site (there's no sign in the window). Ah great. "Sunday - closed". There's nowhere to leave the car, and nowhere secure to leave keys. Looks like I'll have to try and get the car home. I put in some coolant and then decide that it would be better if I bled the system - the symptoms are very similar to last time I was here!

Except - my tools are in Jim's car. Slight problem with that idea then!

8:45am. Set off for home.

10:00 am. The temperature is all over the place again, so I stop to let it cool a bit, then put some more coolant in.

10:25am. Then I set off on the second leg.

11:45am. Another stop. Let car cool. Fill ystem. That's the last of the 5 litre bottle I brought with me... got to get home on this lap (I only have about 18 miles left to go though).

12:10 pm. I set off again.

12:30 pm. Arrive home. 120 miles in nearly 4 hours. Jees, cars used to travel faster than that when they were following a man with a red flag. I'd have been quicker on a moped...

While the car is cooling, I mix another 5 litres of coolant, then refill the system, this time bleeding it with my second tool set in the shed. A quick run round the town confirms that temperature is now normal, which is a relief - I thought the head gasket was gone!

I have a good look at these pipes and I still can't see any leaks. The first photo shows the front-back pipe on the offside (and a steering rack that still isn't leaking!) and the second photo shows the pipe that goes across the front of the engine. They are even rustier than I first thought though - if they aren't leaking already, they're going to fall to bits soon.

I order new stainless steel coolant pipes from ACT.

So that just about sums up the TVR experience - if you're not scaring yourself silly at the car's performance, you're scaring yourself silly that it's going to lave you stranded in the middle of bloody nowhere. You have to laugh...