:: Diary - May 2010 ::

:: Saturday, May 1, 2010 ::

Time to finish tidying the S up after the Chatsworth run last week. First I take it outside, and wash it.

Then I have another go at fixing the drivers door mirror - the cover keeps popping out. The metal plate that the mirror is mounted on has a slight bend in it, so the cover can't sit in place properly. I give it a twist with pliers, and after about 1,000 tries, the cover finally pops properly into place.

Then I decide to replace the foam pads on the edge of the bonnet - first I make a cardboard template to the shape of the edge of the bonnet.

The problem I have is that the bonnet sits slightly too far back on the driver side, and I need to adjust it. This isn't a result of the hinge popping out last Sunday - it was like this before! Add to list of jobs to do!

Car now ready for TVR Car Club meeting tomorrow.

No news on the Cerbera this week...

:: Sunday, May 2, 2010 ::

Meet up with Dave, Mike and Jim for a run to the TVRCC meeting. Dave has decided to go in a Porsche - a very nice one too.

Off we go, me at the front (again). I think I need to learn to pretend that I don't know where I'm going, either.

Anyway, we get to the meeting, where there are already a couple of cars there before us, including TY's wedge that he found in a barn, and George's Cerbera fresh from its service. Both look very nice. Despite being there early, I end up being the last to order my lunch... Too busy blethering.

Turns out that it's Dave's birthday (I knew that before we set off...) and they've arranged a cake with some candles (not the full number of candles because the hotel doesn't have a certificate for that size of flame).

Then I end up leading the way back - I'm a bit short of fuel, but bearing in mind that I got 40 miles on no fuel last weekend, I should be ok.

20 miles later the car splutters to a halt. Bloody TVRs - never behave the same way twice. I have a spare can in the boot so it doesn't delay us for long.

I stick some more in before I get home, and the car seems to be running fine. I am sure that I can still hear an exhaust blow though, so when I get home I check the manifold bolts again and find one loosening.

I also decide to lift the bonnet on one side by adjusting the hinge, so it's off with the wheelarch again, and loosen the adjustment lock bolt. Except that in the light in my garage, I can see the whole hinge mounting move. Closer inspection reveals that the box section on the chassis, that the hinge bolts into, isn't a box section any more, but has opened along its front egde - so instead of being a U-shape is more L I shape with a gap in one corner. There's no sign of damage or splitting or tearing - it looks as though it's never been welded - but I know that it was!

Anyway, this is allowing the hinge bolt to flex downwards and backwards, so the bonnet doesn't fit properly. It needs to be pushed back together and welded along the open edge. I'll have to get the wiring and other melty bits out of the way first, and get the bonnet vertical to improve access.

I'll also have to learn to weld... I've been planning on learning that particular black art for about 40 years, and haven't got around to it yet. I did have a go at one point, about 30 years ago, fixing sills onto a Ford, and it was passable (ie it passed an MOT) but I spent more time extinguishing burning carpet and then burning overalls, than actually welding. Now is the time!

:: Tuesday, May 4, 2010 ::

I decide to have a go at patching up the bonnet hinge (even if it's only temporary to prevent the box section tearing itself apart).

I need to make up a couple of clamps to hold the section together, one above the hinge bolt, and one below. After measuring up the box section, and thinking of various options including U-bolts cramps, etc, I nip down to B&Q and buy a couple of metal brackets for a pound.

The box section is 40 mm square. The bracket is 100mm, so I put it in the vice and put a 90 degree bend in the middle. Then I drill a 6mm hole near each end, and bend the ends back at 45 degrees. The other half of the bracket is exactly the same. I bolt them together through the holes, and tighten the nuts up to pull the hinge together perfectly. The metal isn't quite strong enough and the ends deform a bit as I tighten it, but it works! Another piece of brilliant engineering!

I need to make another one for the bottom, but I wanted to make sure it worked before I spent another pound!

Those brackets will also hold it in place eventually, while I weld it later. After I buy a welder. And learn to weld.

Then I spend a bit of time adjusting the bonnet catches so that the bonnet sits a bit better.

:: Wednesday, May 5, 2010 ::

You know how sometimes, somebody starts speaking to you, and long before they get to the point, you know that the news isn't going to be good? Doctors are good at it. So are policemen.

Well, so are Cerbera doctors. He phoned me today, and he only got as far as "Hello Andrew" and I knew that my car was dead. As the conversation went on, I was proven right...

Let's get the good news out of the way first. They have finally found out why it has been overheating, so no more guesswork required.

It's a long story, but basically, the cylinder wet liners haven't been fitted correctly and are about 12 thou too low, and haven't sealed properly against the cylinder heads and gaskets, particularly on the left hand bank (remember the steam from the left exhaust coming back from Corbridge last summer, Dave?). As a result, compression gasses are escaping into the coolant and pressurising it. They need to check if the wet liners have been machined too short, or if the engine block itself needs to be replaced to get the liners to sit properly.

In an attempt to get it to seal, the head gaskets have been covered in red hermetite, and the heads torqued down to a huge torque setting.

There is also evidence of worn valve guides on one of the heads, but that's not a major worry.

So... we are definitely into the realms of a full engine rebuild. It's buggered, basically. So is my bank balance but hey-ho, you can't take it with you. As my granny used to say "There's nae pockets in a shroud." Miserable old bag - I was only 5 so how was I to know what she was on about? I just handed over my half-crown pocket money like she asked.

:: Friday, May 7, 2010 ::

Discovered today that Dave's got a welder! He came round tonight to weld up the bonnet hinge,

I take off the wheel arch liner, remove all the light wiring and the cold air hose to the cabin, and disconnect the battery, before removing the bonnet strut and putting the bonnet vertical. Then I clean up the metal, and clean off all the waxoyl and wire brush the metal. Then Dave sets to work and welds the seam back up.

Adjust the bonnet up a wee bit more, and it's sorted!

I need to clean up and paint the chassis on both sides, but I don't want to do it right before its MOT test on Monday - newly-painted chassis always looks a wee bit suspicious!

:: Monday, May 10, 2010 ::

Took the car for its MOT today. It's not due till the start of June, but take it early and I've got 4 weeks to fix it, as long as it's not unroadworthy.

I've noticed a bit of vibration on braking recently, so meant to replace the brake discs, but I forgot to order some, and it's a bit late when you remember about half an hour before the test. Ah well... I take the car for a run, to warm it up before the emissions test. Because I had the battery disconnected on Friday, the ECU has reset itself, and needs to go through a cold-hot-cold cycle before it figures out where "normal" is. Until then, it idles too fast, so I hope that doesn't affect the test results.

During the test, he calls me over for a look, and points out that both rear dampers are leaking slightly. Bugger. He asks if you can still get them. "Yes" I say, "Gaz make damper / spring kits" as I produce "Sprint" from the back, and show him a couple of adverts. This seems to convince him that I was going to change them anyway (I was, a couple of months ago, when one of the front springs broke) so he says it's not bad, it's an advisory this year but won't last till next year.

So it's a pass!

When I get home I leave it running until the fans cut in, and then switch it off to cool, to reset the ECU.

If only everything in life was as reliable as a TVR. Which reminds me, I must find out what the news is on the other TVR in my life.

:: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 ::

You know how sometimes, somebody starts speaking to you, and long before they get to the point, you know that the news isn't going to be as bad as you expected? Doctors are good at this too. So are defence lawyers.

Well the Cerbera doctor phoned again today, brighter of tone from the start. Apparently, the engine block isn't scrap after all. They have managed to track down the necessary shims, so with new wet liners, she'll be fine. Also the cylinder heads have come back from crack testing, with two passes, so they are also fine.

So the rebuild is under way into the old block, and should be finished in 2 weeks or so. Then the car's service needs to be finished.

So it's looking better - still bum-squeakily expensive, but not quite as bad as we first thought!

:: Friday, May 21, 2010 ::

The Cerbera doctor phoned today. The engine is now complete and will be installed next week. They are now getting on with the rest of the service, and it should be ready for collection on Saturday!

I meant to spend some time today getting the S ready for S-Club this weekend. Unfortunately, I've used up all my enthusiasm (and my energy) in fixing up my old house so that I can sell it, so I only got on to the S at tea time.

First I want to fit the new mud flap extensions to the front wheel arches, to try to avoid water and stuff getting thrown up onto the front and top of the front outriggers. I fitted plastic extensions a few years ago but they have cracked and one of them fell off last time I used the car. I found a sheet of black rubberised plastic in the packing of a washing machine I bought, so I cut that to the shape I want.

Then I take off the back section of the inner wheel arch and drill out the pop rivets that hold the old flaps on. Then refit the wheelarch loosely, stick some masking tape onto the front of the mud flap, push it up between the flap and the body, and mark where the edge of the inner arch is, when the flap is properly in position.

Then take the arch off again, put the flap in the right position and drill holes through both, remove the masking tape and pop rivet them together, then put them back on the car.

It's absolutely roasting today and by the time I've done that, I'm knackered. I decide that it will make more sense to wash the car when I get there, so I'm not doing it now. It's pretty clean anyway, just a little bit dusty.

All ready for the weekend!

:: Saturday, May 22, 2010 ::

We're off to S-Club today, at the RAF Museum at Cosford in Shropshire. We have arranged to meet and set off at 8:00. So I'm up at 7, getting the car ready, taking the roof off etc, and packing up my stuff.

So we set off. Then we stop after a quarter of a mile to regroup, after some fall off the back at the first junction we come to. So we set off again. Then we stop after another half a mile to regroup after John's mirror falls off. Then we set off again, and lose one or two at the first junction we come to. I decide "Sod it, 300 miles in 10 minute hops are going to take forever, they can catch up". And they do!

An hour and a bit after I left home, we pass the bottom of my back garden. A few miles later I've lost them again after a huge gap builds up somehow. I decide to press on a bit and give them a chance to catch up again, except this time they don't. I decide to stop and turn in a side road and let them go by so that I can follow on behind at the pace they have set. Hopefully I can do it without Jim at the front realising I'm there, so he's still pressing on trying to catch me up. And it works for a bit!

When we reach the motorway we cruise down at 65, much to the confusion of various speed camera vans who see 5 TVR approaching and think it's Christmas, only to find we're the slowest cars on the motorway.

Over the border and into England, where we stop at Southwaite Services to meet James and enjoy the statutory greasy breakfast (it's the law that travelling from Scotland to TVR events requires at least one cholesterol-enhanced stop to be recorded on the McTachograph).

When we come out we stand about and blether and take photos, then we set off with me at the back again. Just as we leave the car park I see a guy shouting and waving at me, so I stop and reverse back to find that he has a TVR mirror cover. My TVR mirror cover, to be precise. After much thanks, I set off after the others, who have shown the customary group consideration by pissing off down the motorway and disappearing over the horizon. I have to drive somewhat more rapidly to catch up before they reach a junction where they might turn around to come back looking for me. Or, more likely, not.

We motor on a bit, before we have to stop again for fuel. Oh and cakes. Another little-known law.

Finally we're on the last lap of about 30 miles to the venue at the RAF museum - this is a tricky bit which needs navigation, so I get stuck at the front! We arrive before the planned runway runs, and are invited to take part in the preliminary "slow lap" then watch the timed runs.

Back to the travel lodge, where we meet up with William and Michael from Northern Ireland. We all head down to the carvery for dinner, and some great chat. By the back of 10 0'clock, the waitress keeps arriving to collect glasses, shut the windows, shut the curtains, and various other subtle clues that they want to chuck us out, because they aren't used to being open this late...

:: Sunday, May 23, 2010 ::

Up bright and early to clean the cars. I seriously consider not bothering, and taking it as it is, to show off my newly-acquired extensive collection of unrecognisable insects, but decide to clean them off. By 7.30 it's already roasting hot.

Travelodge have many advantages, but one of them isn't the quality of their breakfasts. Or even the existence of breakfasts at all. So we set off up the road to a roadside cafe, whose quality is assured as soon as we arrive, by the presence of 100 bikers. The circumference of most of these bikers guarantees that they recognise a decent breakfast during the brief glimpse they get between it hitting the plate, and the inside of their stomachs.

Suitably stuffed, we set off for the show, which is only about 15 minutes away, discounting the half-hour stop at Tesco to buy sandwiches, for fear that an RAF museum open to the public might not have a cafe adequate enough to cater for 10 starving Celts. Unfortunately, I've lost my sat nav, so spend most of the half-hour emptying the boot and raking through all the corners until I find it, so I don't have time to go in. We discover a vagary of English trading laws - although the store is open and full of people, they aren't allowed to open the tills until 10:00, so there's already a queue.

We arrive at the show and the sun is splitting the trees by this time. I have a great time, meeting lots of people I already know, and a lot more that I haven't spoken to before. Some people wander down from the museum to see the show as well.

Jim wins best S1, and also loudest S, while Ian wins best S2 and best in show. Ian also wins a birthday cake in the form of a chocolate car - well it was when we left Scotland, what we finally hand over is a chocolate puddle. To make up for his evident disappointment, he gets his other present which is 4 supersoaker water pistols which have been thoughtfully pre-filled for demonstration purposes.

This then leads to a supersoaker competition between Dave and Jim, which Jim appears to find too exciting.

After the show finishes, we head over to Ironbridge for ice cream and to pass some time before we go back to the hotel.

When we go out to dinner, we discover another strange English custom. We have been asking around, and there are three pub/restaurants within walking distance, the two best ones being the furthest away. Nobody thinks to tell us, though, that if you want to eat out on a Sunday, you need to get it down you early. The first one stopped serving food at 7:00, and flatly refuse to serve 8 of us at about 7:15. I decide that I'm not feeling hospitable enough to have a drink there either, so 3 of us set of for the alternative.

They closed at 4:00. I mean, that's hardly enough time to let your breakfast go down. What's the bleeding point of having a kitchen if it's empty most of the day? Maybe I should ask the wife...

Finally, an hour after we passed it the first time, we get back to the first place we saw, which is still open! We have a nice meal and a wee whisky then walk back for bed time.

We also have a discussion about setting off time tomorrow. It appears to be difficult to co-ordinate the time between getting up, meeting up, getting breakfast and then setting off AFTER the peak hour when the roads are busy. Everybody has a different view about the precise timings and the optimum setting-off time. After half an hour of discussion, I'm none the bloody wiser. We synchonise watches and agree to meet in the morning at zero900 hours. Or was it 8:00? Or maybe 8:30. I've forgotten already...

:: Monday, May 24, 2010 ::

Well, after sitting up writing the web site last night, I don't get up until nearly 8:00. I therefore deduce that meeting-up time was 9:00 and that's my story. Fortunately it turns out that everybody else thinks so too, so for once, it comes together.

We nip to the garage next door for petrol, where the old boy is ecstatic about seeing 3 TVRs in one day.

Then it's back to the roadside cafe for another hearty breakfast, then we set off up the road.

When I get home, I discover that the Cerbera doctor has tried to phone, so I call back. Now I'm confused. He told me on Friday that the engine was finished and was to be re-installed next week. I know he said that - I wrote it on the web site at the time, while it was fresh in my mind! Well it turns out that those shims for the wet liners were supposed to arrive by Friday, but they didn't, and now they say they are lost in the post system - the last set of shims available in the universe, apparently. Since the shims are the first bits to be installed before you build anything else, I have my doubts about the completion of the rest of the build by the time he phoned last Friday. It's now two full weeks since they said they had tracked the shims down. I think I'm being fed a line here...

They are trying to track down where these bits are, by tracking them through the Post Office. He says he'll let me know so that I can stop worrying about getting the car back before the Sporting Bears event on 6 June.

I'm not going to kick up a fuss just yet, I want the car back first. However, unlike Pistonheads or the TVRCC, this website has no commercial sponsors, no advertising income, and therefore no "name and shame" policy. It would be up to them to prove that what I said wasn't true. Since I've kept a public record of my notes of every conversation, they won't find that too easy...

But that's for another day. Today, I'm reflecting on a great weekend in great company, and with my wee car not missing a beat in almost 700 miles.

Supplement

One thing I noticed was that the exhaust blow from the nearside was getting worse, and I was sure it was the nearside manifold gasket. Well in a fit of enthusiasm I decide to take the manifold off tonight - it only takes about 20 minutes! (bear in mind that mine was off relatively recently - well about 3 years ago now...)

When I inspect the gaskets it's obvious from the carbon deposits that two of them have been blowing slightly. I could reseal them with fireseal but it's getting late, anmd I don't want to upset the neighbours (not with the sound of spanners, but because the swearing involved in lining up those gaskets will carry for miles at this time of night!)

:: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 ::

I was right about the swearing. It took me ages tonight to get the manifolds back on with the gaskets properly lined up. When I start the engine, though, it seems to be sealed. I have a short drive and it seems much better.

I also glue the mirror cover back on.

I had to phone the Cerbera garage again today. He was supposed to be going to phone me when they tracked down these elusive shims. But he didn't. The good news is that the Post Office have fond the package and it should be delivered tomorrow. So the timescales now is to finish the engine build this week, and install it next week (bearing in mind that Monday is a Bank Holiday). So I should still be able to collect the car in time for the Sporting Bears event.

:: Friday, May 28, 2010 ::

The Cerbera garage phone again - the engine is almost finished, should be completed on Tuesday, and reinstalled by next weekend, in time for collection before the Sporting Bears event.

So still going to plan!

:: Saturday, May 29, 2010 ::

Git Jnr came home late last night - I heard his car coming long before it got here. It sounded like a Jamaican steel band falking down a lift shaft. Looked at it today with one of his mates who fixes these things, and it seems it's a big end bearing starting to sieze. We don't want to listen to it for too long in case it decides to make an exit through the side of the engine block.

So that's an other engine rebuild!