There's Bad News & There's Good News

Having had all the trouble with the starter last weekend, I'd done some measuring & found it WAS the correct starter, but it was only located on the bolts - the location ring being 76mm dia in an 89mm dia socket. No problem, I made up an adaptor ring which also served as a mounting for the new bellhousing dirt shield & bolted the starter back up. It still sounds as awful as before, so I'm hoping the new one due tomorrow will sound better.

So the car was working & there was a blat planned, "Our Leader" wanted to run his new engine in over a weekend, so a way-out-west run was on the cards going right out to Compton Abbas airfield via the wriggliest wroads we could find. Because "Fun Is Not A Straight Line"

So 07:00 saw me sitting in the Fury in a lay by, engine running, waiting for a multi-coloured blur. First past me was the newly re-engined (S2000) green machine, sounding like a jet fighter, & immediately followed by the newly re-engined V8, sounding like a squadron of Spitfires. On my video you can hear the staccato thud of each cylinder firing, then Our Leader in the (again) newly re-engined, newly re-painted Gulf car & finally - in this group, the rarely see Riot. I hit the loud pedal & tagged onto the back.

I then missed out in the overtake-the-tintop lottery, there just wasn't enough road & I got caught behind all through a village, but passed it before the "Pirbright ring" but having taken a short cut I didn't know if I was in front or behind the others. I carried on until just north of the M3, the green & red cars had pulled over. No sooner had I parked up behind them than they pulled away, only to stop & wait again for Our Leader, who it turned out was minus a SatNav.

After a few minutes he rolled up & we set off gain at a cracking pace, taking great strides across the countryside - until - the gulf car rolled to a stop. Attempts to re-start it produced clouds of white from the exhaust, identified as fuel. The bonnet was removed & the collective brains of the SKCC were bought to bare, but it was to prove fruitless & the RAC were called.

The rest of the group headed back towards the east, calling in at Lasham Airfield - where they'd just finished serving breakfast. Gallantly, the chef sprang into action & hash-browns & bacon & coffee was produced, so we were no to go hungry.

That was the bad news. The good news was that having arrived home early, my family was out, so having already solved the on-power / off-power problem, I decided to tackle the hesitation on opening the throttle, my plan was to balance the throttle bodies with the four-way manometer carbalencer. That required the dismantling of the airbox & it's back plate, which is fillier that a fiddly thing, BUT the end result was a car that pulls smoothly - hurrah!

It still seems a little unsure of itself at low revs, but it's drivable, so I'll think about that another day.