A couple of minutes work with the Dremel saw the necessary adjustments made to the openings in the bonnet and it was then a simple task to fit the handles and bolt them into place:
Time for a slight change. The existing bonnet locks are fit for purpose (SVA) but have started to annoy me. For one there is no obvious visual indication that the bonnet is locked, plus when you have unlocked the bonnet you have to heave on the front of the air scoop to lift the bonnet.
The latch can then be fixed using a couple of 3/8 washers to space the latch off the shoulder of the shaft:
Tomorrows job will be to modify the holes in the bonnet to accommodate the handle base plates.
The other night we decided to go to Seahouses for a fish supper. Nice 100 mile round trip up and back down the Northumberland Coastal Route. It was a nice evening when we set off..... but about 10 miles short of Seahouses the heavens opened. Even trying to keep some speed up didn't help and we got soaked. Luckily I managed to find a covered petrol station forecourt in Seahouses and took some shelter 'till it passed.
I still need to fit the stoneguards on the rear arches..... haven't found myself bothered to jack the car up and remove the rear wheels yet!
Had a couple of nice days up here so it seemed rude not to take the Cob to work:
Not really the car to use if you are trying to sneak in late though!
Now that the car is (nearly) finished (for the moment) I put my self forward as the Area Rep for the North East / North Yorkshire Area Group of the UK Cobra Club. There a enough Cobs hiding up here in the North East / North Yorkshire to have a viable monthly meet so it's time to get them to come out of the woodwork.
It is on the A68 just by Derwent Reservoir and can be found here.
This gave me a good excuse for a drive out to check it out and get the agreement of the landlord. I had a bit of a drive round Derwent Reservoir when I was there and ended up doing 112 miles - the longest trip to date - with no problems. When I filled up upon returning it would appear that I had done just over 15mpg... but then I was taking it steady!
That's the other one done then:
Fitted one of the engine bay louvres tonight. This was done using four M3x30 button head allen bolts self tapped into 2.5mm dia holes. The Louvre was spaced off the back of the rebate by passing the bolts through some small diameter aluminium tubing (again painted matt black). I'm quite pleased with the end result:
Looks quite convincing...... could almost be the engine bay behind the vents.... not just a matt black painted rebate! You have to remember that on the GD you can't really have "proper" vents as these would provide an opening into the footwell compartments.... which would be OK if you guarantee you would never drive in the wet.
Having picked up my engine bay louvres and stoneguards at Stoneliegh I once again had some jobs to do on the car..... just like the good old days! You'll remember that I fitted blanking plates for the SVA test and crudely bodged them into place with silicone adhesive. I ripped the plates off to be confronted by the remaining silicone:
It was at this point that I remembered what a bugger silicone can be to get off anything - not to mention GRP. However off I went to my local Screwfix Direct (3 miles away) and in exchange for less than three pounds got a little pot of this:
Tried it out on an off cut of GRP - no reaction. Applied it to the remaining silicone - waited 20 minutes - applied some more - waited 20 minutes and yup..... No Nonsense..... Just scraped it all of with an old credit card. No silicone and no scratching or marks to the GRP. A quick roughing up with some wet and dry it was ready to paint matt black:
Here's the finished article ready for the Louvre.... when I've got me hands on some M3x30 allen head bolts that is:
Simply repeat for the other side.
475 Miles was close enough to 500 so I changed the oil to Valvoline VR-1 20W50. Took a bit longer than expected (abut 4 hours longer!) as the filter crushed when I put the pliers on.... oops!. Next time I'll do it on a car lift down my local garage..... I've had enough of grubbing round on the floor under the car!
Having collected the old oil I poured it out into a large tray and had a good look at it for anything untoward..... not sure what I was looking for but could find nothing out of the ordinary!
I found a place about 25 miles away in County Durham that had a rolling road and were happy to work on a chevy : http://www.macdonald-racing.com/. A proper old school place that had a pre-war Lagonda outside the workshop with some other older stuff inside undergoing restoration - Wish I hadn't forgotten my camera!
They wired the cob up and set about adjusting the idle mixture - turns out I hadn't quite got it right despite my best efforts. With that done the rolling road was brought into play and the cruising mixtures were checked at 1000,2000 and 3000 rpm together with gentle acceleration (too early for WOT max power runs). It got quite interesting because as the resistance of the rollers went up - more gas was needed and when the secondaries opened the wheels would spin!! So one chap had to sit in the boot! Again - wish I hadn't forgotten my camera!
The consensus at the end of the day was that it was running just slightly rich across the rev range (up to 3000) but that was no bad thing for running in. The main thing for my peace of mind was that it was not running lean or over rich.
They finished off with running it up to 3500 rpm which showed 285BHP at the wheels so it is probably on target for 450 at max rpm.
All in all it took 45 minutes and cost me 35 quid - money well spent as on the way home driveability just off the throttle was improved. I was surprised how much of a difference could be gained from small adjustments of the mixture screws on the idle circuit.
They finished off by telling me not to bring it back for WOT and max power tuning as their dyno was only rated up to 400 BHP!
Nonetheless.... and handy little outfit to have on your doorstep.
By the time I was back home that was now 475 miles on the clock..... then it started raining! So hopefully a few more miles on Saturday morning then I can change the oil and start to increase the revs.
Ohh...... and on the way home one of the bonnet hinge pins fell out!!! Good job I had some gaffer tape in the boot. I have now replaced it and checked the other one is tight. Remember to check things that are not on the SVA/IVA inspectors list!
Visitors Since 10 Dec 2006
