:: Diary - January 2008 ::

:: Tuesday, January 1, 2008 ::

Intended to have a New Year's Day run while the roads are quiet, but seeing as I didn't get up until nearly 10am, and it was bucketing rain all night, I decided to forego that pleasure for another day (although the weather forecast suggests that the rain isn't going away soon - I think I'll send out for the gopher wood and start an evening course in floatable zoo building.

A test of the battery voltage shows 12.38 - so still keeping its charge.

In the course of opening the bonnet, though, I put my hand on the drivers side footwell carpet, and it's soaking. No wait a minute, it's not just soaking, it's actually floating. Great. There's no obvious sign of where the water is coming in, but I don't think the bonnet was shut right so it might have been through the bonnet locks in the bulkhead. It might also be around the windscreen, or past the door seals, or half a million other places. There is a tiny bit of the far side windscrean sealing tape that has come loose, so I cut it out and replace it (but it needs a better and more permanent repair, using the Sikaflex I bought in November).

Then I spend ages mopping out the water with an old sponge, drying the fixed carpets as best I can, I take out the footwell carpet, squeegee most of the water out against the side of my wheely bin, and then put it indoors against a radiator. I put the car cap over the roof and windows, and I'll see what it's like tomorrow.

Then I have to sit myself down and update the web site to 2008 - it doesn't happen automatically you know! That alone has now taken me close on a whole hour! The site is written in simple html, none of your fancy asp or php here - mainly because I don't bleeding understand it, and I haven't got time to teach myself (given that it's taken me donkey's years to self-learn html to my current level of hopelessness, I don't think I'll live long enough to learn anything new). So I'll take the grief once a year...

:: Wednesday, January 2, 2008 ::

Well it's not raining today, so I think I'll have that wee drive I've been promising myself all week, before I take the car back to the garage seeing as the forecast is for snow tomorrow!

First I check the state of the footwell - and it's swimming in water again. Now, seeing as I have had the car cap on, it can't be getting in round the windscreen, the hood, the doors or the windows, so further investifation required. I sponge the water off the bare floor and put the newly-dried carpet back in.

The car starts first time no problem. I move it out of the drive to where I can get a jack under the rear, and then jack up each rear side of the chassis so that I can adjust the shock absorbers (you can't reach the adjuster when the weight is on the suspension - jack it up and you can get your arm in over the tyre). I soften both sides to 2 clicks off full soft (ie I soften it by 6 clicks from where it was).

Then I have a drive and the ride is much better - maybe just a teeny bit too soft, the car is slightly wandery at the rear.

There is still that tiny bit of bump steer - barely noticeable but definitely there. After thinking about it, I suspect that one of the front shocks is maybe slightly softer than the other, so is compressing more and so slightly steering the car. I stop and soften the nearside by one click (the front ones are easy to reach with the bonnet open) and that seems to make it better.

As I drive back to the garage congratulating myself on how brilliant I am, my mind strays to the water leak - and realisation dawns. If the footwell is filling with water and it's not getting in the windows or the doors, then it must be coming through the bulkhead somewhere, but how can it suddenly have started, because the car was watertight before? Aye, ya stupid lump, but that was before you changed the steering column bush that goes through the bulkhead above the driver's feet. I stop again and feel the carpet - and yep, it's wet below the steering column, but dry above it.

Mystery solved. I'll have to take the bearing out again and put a gasket or sealer between it and the bulkhead. Curses.

I get the car back to the garage and put it away safely. I forget to pick up the old steering column bearing, that I could have used to make the necessary gasket. Brilliant, aye...

:: Saturday, January 5, 2008 ::

My brilliance continues... or not as the case may be.

I set off to reseal the windscreen, stick the side indicators back on, and reseal the steering column bearing with marine sikaflex. Except that when I get to the garage, I realise that I've left the Sikaflex at the house.

I use ordinary silicone sealer around the steering column bearing, after first removing the wheel and the inner wheel arch, and disconnecting the lower part of the steering column. I push some silicone into the join between the bearing housing and the bulkhead, and reassemble.

That cordless impact wrench is some machine! Wheel nuts on and off in no time!

Then I remove the TVR badge on the boot, to fit the new one I bought. The wee studs on the new one are slightly splayed so don't fit through the holes in the body, so I try to straighten it with pliers - and it snaps off. Brilliant. I stick it back on with some Araldite putty and leave it to set.

Right what can I break next? I adjust the rear shock absorbers again by 2 clicks stiffer, and then tighten up the grub screws in the spring cups to lock them in place.

I do however remember to take home the old column bearing in case I do end up having to make a gasket.

:: Saturday, January 12, 2008 ::

It's bloody freezing! I had intended to take the TVR to the club meeting today, but I have to take the Lexus into the garage, and anyway the TVR garage is in the opposite direction, and it's freezing and there's a lot of salt on the road but maybe not enough so it might be slippy and... and... anyway enough excuses, I decide not to take the TVR to the club meeting.

3 people turn up in Cerberas. I like Cerberas. They just have that something, between the looks and the noise, and every time I see one, I want one. I don't have the same for other TVRs, Griffiths, Chimaeras, Tuscans (well maybe a wee bit), the T350 or the Sagaris. Now don't get me wrong, they are all very nice and I wouldn't say no to any of those, or the older wedges, 3000s, Vixens etc, they are all very very nice, but the Cerbera is just something special, I just like them.

It's not that they are too expensive - I could get one if I wanted to. I'm not particularly put off by their reputation (in some circles) for costing a fortune in maintenance. Yes they can (in common with any sports car - and these are supercars in my opinion) go "bang" and cost you a serious amount of money to put right - again I could afford that if I wanted to. It's just that I bought mine to drive AND to tinker with, and I don't think the Cerb is as tinkering-friendly as the older cars.

Besides I wouldn't be able to manouevre it into my garage.

Or take the roof off.

And mine is fast enough for public roads.

I still want one though...

In the meantime, 3 of us S-owners discuss this year's S-CLub meeting in Notts in June, and "Snakes alive, it looks like we got ourselves a convoy there, good buddy". There might be 6 of us going down for the weekend - excellent!

:: Sunday, January 13, 2008 ::

I nip along to the garage just to finish fixing on the rear badge - that takes about 5 minutes.

I notice that a lot of the stuff in the boot is soaking, so I clear the boot out and lift the carpets to let it dry out.

I also notice that there's a lot of moisture under the car cover. At first I think the cover is leaking but then I realise that it's actually condensation caught under the cover - the car was wet when I put it away last time, and I notice that even the wheels have condensation on them.

I also notice that the wheels are manky, so I dry them off, give them a wash with instant cleaner, a rub down with wire wool and then a polish with the polish ball, which brings them up ok, but they really need a proper 3-stage polish to bring them up right.

While I'm doing it, the man with the motorbikes in the other side of the garage turns up, and says that a guy who comes into his shop (he's a motor factor) does powder coating of wheels, so he'll get me a price. Worth thinking about!

Then when I've finished all that, I check the coolant level and top it up (first time since I emptied and refilled it) and am pleased that the coolant is still nice and clean.

Then I start up the engine just so that I can hear it... as you do!

:: Saturday, January 19, 2008 ::

I promised to take the car along today for a presentation of a cheque from the Sporting Bears to the children's charity we were collecting for last year, particularly the Selkirk Rally (the one in September where it bucketed rain the whole day).

When I get there, though, I find that mine is the only "classic" car there - maybe because it's the winter. Anyway, after a very pleasant chat, the cheque is presented. A passing polar bear mistakes the car for a Fox's glacier mint and gets himself into the photo as well.

I don't have time for a nice drive before or after, though, which is a pity because the weather is quite nice - so I have to take the car back to the garage to its beddy-baws.