historic cars, my car

911 2.2S Engine Rebuild – Part 12: Car & Engine Reunited

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Wed 12th Feb 2014

I called Steve at Jaz on Tue 11th Feb to see how he was getting on after he’d picked-up the engine from Neil Bainbridge’s dyno the Saturday before. The good news was that the engine was “almost” in the car. The “almost” was due to bit of a problem with modifications to the oil cooling system  – he suggested I visit the following day to see what was what.

My mate Stan and I headed up to Jaz on the 12th to find engine man Dave at work underneath the car which was up on one of the Jaz ramps. The engine was fully fitted and attached to the gearbox which had remained in the car whilst the engine rebuild was in progress.

Continue reading 911 2.2S Engine Rebuild – Part 12: Car & Engine Reunited →

historic cars, my car

911 2.2S Engine Rebuild – Part 11: The Long Awaited Dyno Test

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Tue 4th Feb 2014

I called Jaz on Mon 3rd Feb and got the great news that, at long last, my engine was being run-in on the dyno at BS Motorsport.

Earlier, Steve had temporarily given up on his fight to bore out the mis-matched 2.0L inlet manifold to 2.2S spec. However, through a fortunate and timely parts swap, he got hold of a proper matching 2.2S manifold to stick on the engine which enabled dyno testing  to go ahead.

Steve had delivered the finally complete engine to Neil Bainbridge (who heads-up BS Motorsport) a couple of weeks previously, but we had to wait patiently for Neil to return from his annual pilgrimage to Daytona and then for him to then catch up on a backlog of other engine jobs.

Inside the BS Motorsport dyno control booth - Neil Bainbridge at the helm
Inside the BS Motorsport dyno control booth – Neil Bainbridge at the helm

With running-in under way – I arranged to meet Steve at the dyno the following evening (Tue 4th Feb) to discuss the running-in results with him and Neil and to observe adjustments and further power runs to optimise engine set-up and performance.

Continue reading 911 2.2S Engine Rebuild – Part 11: The Long Awaited Dyno Test →

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911 2.2S Engine Rebuild Part 10 and three quarters – A Further Delay

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Mon 18th Nov 2013

An email from Steve at Jaz explained the latest delay in getting my engine onto the dyno test cell for running in and fine adjustment.

When fitting the inlet manifolds, air boxes and air tubes onto the throttle bodies Steve noticed a difference in the diameter of the bores of one inlet manifold when compared to the other. Would you believe it? Two different inlet manifolds!!!

Continue reading 911 2.2S Engine Rebuild Part 10 and three quarters – A Further Delay →

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911 Bodywork Repairs at Sportwagen 2010

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During a service at Jaz early in 2010 – Steve expressed his concern about the state of the underside of my car. Use of the car in all weathers over a number of years had started to take its toll and the floor pans and sills were becoming distinctly frilly round the edges.

Steve pointed me in the direction of Bruce Cooper at Sportwagen.

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Endurance Racing, historic cars

A-Z of Car Stuff: B is for Bell & Bellof

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A-Z of Car Stuff

This is one in a series of posts on cars, drivers, designers etc. that have interested me over the years. I’ve bored my family and friends with this stuff for years – now it’s your turn!

See A-Z of Car Stuff page for more posts in this series.

I was reading an article in the Nov/Dec 2013 edition of Classic Porsche about a recent celebration at the Nurburgring of the late, great Stefan Bellof and it reminded me of the times I’d seen him race in Group C endurance cars in the early 80s.

I was fortunate to see him during a period where he was one vital half of a wonderful racing partnership with Derek Bell driving a Porsche 956 in the Rothmans sponsored factory team. What I didn’t realise was that Bellof was idolised by a young up and coming fellow German driver – Michael Schumacher! Shades of the Vettel & Schumacher relationship in more recent times.

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historic cars, Veteran Cars

Regent Street Motorshow – Sat 2nd Nov 2013

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1904 Oldsmobile. 1 cylinder, 7hp. Note the boat like tiller instead of a steering wheel!
1904 Oldsmobile. 1 cylinder, 7hp. Note the boat like tiller instead of a steering wheel!

This event has been held annually for a number of years now to coincide with the weekend of the London To Brighton Veteran Car Run. To show the cars Regent Street is closed is closed off between Oxford Circus and Picadilly on the Saturday to allow a range of the veteran cars participating in Sunday’s run to be viewed at close quarters. Their owners also tend to turn up clad in matching period costume which makes for quite a spectacle.

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historic cars, my car

911 2.2S Engine Rebuild – Part 10.5: Part 11 Coming Soon – Honest!

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Wed 29th Oct 2013

Throttle Bodies Missing In Action

Where are my throttle bodies?
Where are my throttle bodies?

Sorry folks – I had hoped to be reporting back on the results from dyno testing today but Steve at Jaz has still not managed to retrieve the throttle bodies. It looks like the engineer working on them is missing presumed on half-term holidays.

The good news from Steve is that the fan is sorted and ready for him to pick up en route to BS Motorsport for the dyno test. He’ll fit it before plugging the engine into their test cell.

Continue reading 911 2.2S Engine Rebuild – Part 10.5: Part 11 Coming Soon – Honest! →

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911 2.2S Engine Rebuild – Part 10: Almost Complete

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Fri 25th Oct 2013

Waiting for fan, throttle bodies & other bits and pieces
Waiting for fan, throttle bodies & other bits and pieces

Work prevented me from getting across to Jaz earlier but It was clear upon arrival that Dave had been a busy man. The engine was looking almost complete with heat exchangers, cam covers, timing chain covers, MFI fuel metering pump, engine tin ware, modified shroud etc. all attached. The quality of finish on each individual compent just takes your breath away.

Continue reading 911 2.2S Engine Rebuild – Part 10: Almost Complete →

historic cars

Question: When is an Aston not an Aston?

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Aston Martin Spridget
Aston Martin Spridget

 

Answer: When it’s a Spridget!

My old mate and fellow petrolhead Pete who works out in Oman sent me a link to to a really funny advert on Dubizzle – a Dubai based website. The ad was for a “Very special classic car –  1969 Aston Martin”.

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but trying to make a 69 Spridget (MG Midget or Austin Healey Sprite) look like an Aston Martin is stretching imitation to its limits.

Continue reading Question: When is an Aston not an Aston? →