:: Diary - March 2005 ::

:: Saturday March 5, 2005 ::

TVR Car Club Day - and I can't go because my shoulder is till too sore. Missed a pre-meeting run and a swatch at the new Sagaris.

:: Sunday March 13, 2005 ::

A nice dry (but cold) day. I decide that this is lovely weather to do some painting.

First remove the battery and the alternator, and then the rocker covers.

First colour - red. I brush down the battery tray and remove all the loose rust and old coating, then paint on a coat of red Hammerite, using a 1 inch brush.

Second colour - blue. I paint the rocker covers with pale blue metallic hammerite, using the same brush, and also the detail of the plenum chamber, using a much smaller artists brush, and a rag soaked in Hammertite thinners to wipe excess paint off the plenum detail to give a nice edge.

Third colour - matt black. I bought some Very High Temperature paint, when I open the tin it's like water, and no amount of stirring seems to lift the black sludge from the bottom of the tin. Eventually I give up and use a small (about 1/2 inch) artists brush through the watery stuff into the sludge, and paint it on to the exhaust manifold. It goes on easily and covers well, so minimal brushing out is required, and details are easily brushed in. I use a small (about 1 inch square) paint pad (the first use I've ever found for them) to reach down the sides of the exhaust and into places the brush won't reach. I must remember to try this on the top of the chassis outriggers when I get round to that (ie when my shoulder lets me crawl under cars again!) When the paint dries it looks fantastic - a nice plain matt black where it was previously rusty.

I'm going to buy some more in silver, for the cylinder head!

By this time, the red bits and the blue bits are ready for a second coat.

All in all, a good day's work!

:: Saturday March 19, 2005 ::

Put the engine all back together - noticed that the rocker cover gaskets are not in great nick, but look as though they'll do.

Start up and have a wee blatt - car is going fantastic! I noticed that the engine is taking a while to slow to idle when I stop - last time, the new ISCV fixed this problem - it surely can't be that again!

Offside rocker cover is leaking quite badly - seal it with blue Hermetite and some silicone sealer in the meantime, with only limited success - it's still flowing like Guinness at a St Paddy's day party (descriptive and topical, eh?) - new rocker gaskets definitely required!

:: Sunday March 20, 2005 ::

Bought a new rocker gasket for the offside - alternator and coil removed, rocker cover off, new gasket fitted and engine reassembled in just under an hour! (Not including the trip to Halfords to buy the new gasket - which I was gratified to find that they are selling on special offer for only £2! There is indeed a deity...

:: Sunday March 20, 2005 (Later) ::

Having fixed the oil leak, and the weather being nice and all, I decided to have a wee blatt. The car seemed strangely reluctant to go - sometimes fine and sometimes coughing and backfiring. After an hour and a half, when I got as far from the house as I was going, it got a lot worse - loud backfiring and large flat spots, especially after long spells at idle or on the over run.

The usual moving diagnosis suggested that it was fuel problems, and since the tank was full this points to the fuel pump etc. This is not good news. Strange that it should start just after I have replced the rocker covers though - it must be connected to that, it just has to be.

When I manage to nurse the car back home, I have another look with the engine running, and find that a small vaccuum hose at the back of the engine is stretched around the crankcase ventilation hose. This vaccuum hose is connected to the Manifold Pressure sensor (which augments the throttle potentiometer and tells the computer how much load is on the engine) and also the fuel pressure regulator (for the same reason). Because the hose is nipped closed, neither of these two sensors is sending the right signals, so no wonder the engine wont run properly! I straighten the hose out and the engine immediately smooths out. Another trial and it's fine (it also returns to idle immediately again).

Then the interior door handle falls off.

This is the start of several hours play, first removing the door trim, to find that the cable to the door lock has broken right at the lock end. Replacing the cable means separating the door trim and armrest to get to the back of the inner door handle - a task in itself.

I have no spare cable so I devise a system to link the two broken bits of inner cable together, by bending the ends over to make 2 chain links. I have to shorten the outer cable so that there is space for the link to move.

I then spend a couple of hours of hilarity, trying to get it all back together with the cable and end piece in the right position, and having the total cable length just right so that it works the door without excessive slack. This involves fitting the door trim about 20 times (no exaggeration) and dismantling it in between, to change the cable length.

I finally get it to work though!

:: Saturday March 26, 2005 ::

I have a whole week of work to do all the wee tidy-up jobs on the car, and have some blatt-tastic fun.

Cept it's raining.

:: Sunday March 27, 2005 ::

Day 2.

Still raining.

:: Monday March 28, 2005 ::

Day 3.

Raining harder.

:: Tuesday March 29, 2005 ::

Day 4.

Not raining but still damp and overcast. Not very good for driving.

I do, however, find time to remove the passenger footwell trim and clamber upside down into the footwell, to try to locate a source of water that dribbles onto my poor passengers' legs when it rains. Worse than that, it also soaks the carpet, which is starting to go mildewy and we can't have that!

I find that the water is coming down off a red bracket that holds the wiper motor on, and is held onto the bulkhead with 4 bolts. I find two tiny holes (old screw holes for some former accessory or other) and fill them with sealer. That, hopefully, is that sorted.

:: Wednesday March 30, 2005 ::

Day 5.

Only raining gently today.

:: Thursday March 31, 2005 ::

Day 6.

Not raining.

I have to work today so can't so anything to car anyway.