Mister Towed's Tai Chi build - Page 74

Paul D · #**1461** 9th July 2013, 07:30

Truly wonderful result Towed, our heartfelt congratulations on your fantastic achievement. Enjoy the moment in this perfect summer sun.

Mister Towed · #**1462** 9th July 2013, 07:32

A little bit at a time Gary and you'll be on the road before you know it.

Pops, the offer still stands - if you're ever back in West Norfolk I'll take you out for a cheer up blast. It's a great way to put a smile back on your face and forget the stresses and strains of modern life for a few minutes.

Hoping to take a bit of video of my car on the dyno later.

cabbage · #**1463** 9th July 2013, 07:41

looks brilliant, welldone :-)

definitely one of the best dash's i've seen so far

CarNoob · #**1464** 9th July 2013, 07:52

Top Job Mr T

now must push on with mine before envy sets in

Mister Towed · #**1465** 9th July 2013, 11:06

Does anyone know the maximum file size picture that can be uploaded to the Madabout Picture Gallery?

I'd like to add a few more finished Spyder pics to the Sammio album, but I don't seem to be able to get them to load.

From memory, I had to shrink the file size to upload the one I have managed to post, but I can't find the link to the advice I got about a year ago.

Mister Towed · #**1466** 9th July 2013, 18:02

So, the best laid plans of mice and men don't always come to fruition. My plan for today was simple - deliver car to tuner uppers at 9am, watch, assist and video car on the dyno. Pop into Brockwells to get a quote for a tonneau, quick lunch in King's Lynn then home via JD Signs in Southery to discuss the roundels I want.

Set back number 1 - the chap who runs the dyno had a bit of a family crisis he needed to sort out so my car had to wait. Until after 3pm

But hey, the best things in life are worth waiting for, and I got to reverse it onto the rolling road and do the first couple of runs. It does feel really odd winding the car up to nearly 100mph at a standstill.

The good news is that the speedo reads pretty much spot on. Having fitted a GT6 3.27:1 differential I also sourced a non overdrive GT6 speedo to match. My 175/70/14 tyres obviously have a larger rolling diameter than the standard 155/80/13's - about 10% - but this just seems to have taken out the traditional 10% over read that most car speedos have as a sort of safety net to protect the driver from speeding fines.

Bad news is that the tacho has a mind of its own. The videos show it reading over 2,000 rpm at an actual idle speed of under 800, and it winds itself off the scale at mid revs. I'd already fitted a new cable, but does anyone recognise the symptoms? Worn out drive in the distributor or worn out tacho? Got to be one of the two. Or both.

Anyway, here's what you've really been waiting for, some video -

It was then time for the professionals to take over (as they've got rather less mechanical sympathy than I have and wouldn't be quite so reluctant to rev the t*ts off my engine -

Which is when setback number 2 became apparent. To cut a long story short, the clutch and/or the crankshaft oil seal failed, leading to massive clutch slip and close of play for today.

So, car limped the seven miles back home on a light throttle (shouting at people ahead who kept slowing for no reason leaving me having to gently wind the revs back on to pick up speed again) and a new clutch kit ordered.

Plan for tomorrow - take wife out for lunch as promised, but in the Smart not the Spyder

Plan for Thursday - engine out remove clutch and flywheel and see what's what.

Hey ho, these things are sent to try us.

Nike55 · #**1467** 9th July 2013, 18:48

No real problems - just teething troubles...sure you'll get it sorted.

Viatron · #**1468** 10th July 2013, 06:39

bummer, I feel your pain! oh well just looks like the slide from build to tinker has happened a bit quicker than planned then? Engine in and out in a day?

Mister Towed · #**1469** 10th July 2013, 07:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viatron

bummer, I feel your pain! oh well just looks like the slide from build to tinker has happened a bit quicker than planned then? Engine in and out in a day?

I'm allowing two.

Mister Towed · #**1470** 11th July 2013, 17:00

For once the Hayne's manual was accurate. It said to allow three hours to remove the engine and that's about what it took me.

With it on the purpose built engine stand, well, B&D workmate, it was a matter of minutes to get the old clutch out. The good news is that there's no oil contamination, the old friction plate was just wafer thin and smoother than a babies behind (new one on the left) -

New clutch assembly took only five minutes to fit but an inspection of the engine bay revealed that one of the engine mounts had completely disintegrated during the removal.

So, time to bite the bullet and order a selection of parts I was going to source in the winter, but will be much easier to fit with the engine out - in addition to new engine mounts I've ordered a pair of 150lb Spitfire front springs, a 7/8" anti roll bar with poly bushes and clamps to suit and a 7 tooth Spitfire steering rack for a slightly quicker feel (and because play in the steering rack was an advisory on the MOT).

I'm hoping that the combination of softer springs with a thicker anti roll bar will smooth out the ride at the front without sacrificing cornering agility, while the quicker Spitfire rack should make it feel sportier without making the steering too heavy.

That's the state of play at the moment, I'm back to work in the morning and it'll be next week before any of the parts arrive so my car will be sitting like a jet fighter on its take-off run until then -

JG · #**1471** 11th July 2013, 23:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

Does anyone know the maximum file size picture that can be uploaded to the Madabout Picture Gallery?

I'd like to add a few more finished Spyder pics to the Sammio album, but I don't seem to be able to get them to load.

From memory, I had to shrink the file size to upload the one I have managed to post, but I can't find the link to the advice I got about a year ago.

From memory I think we go on max picture size rather than file upload size. I believe it is a max of 4000 pixels wide at the moment.

John

Mister Towed · #**1472** 12th July 2013, 08:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by JG

From memory I think we go on max picture size rather than file upload size. I believe it is a max of 4000 pixels wide at the moment.

John

Thanks John, will try to add a few pics to the gallery.

Mister Towed · #**1473** 12th July 2013, 09:08

Just tried to post some pictures in the gallery - a couple seemed to go through, but a couple of others threw up a warning message telling me that the image description cannot be altered for submitted images. Will be interesting to see if any appear on the gallery.

JG · #**1474** 12th July 2013, 19:12

Hi Towed

We only received one which I've approved. Image size was 2560 wide so no issues there. If you try again and get the same error could you do a screen grab and send it over to me please at john @ madabout etc. And I'll see what could be causing the issue you are having.

Cheers, John

Mister Towed · #**1475** 12th July 2013, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by JG

Hi Towed

We only received one which I've approved. Image size was 2560 wide so no issues there. If you try again and get the same error could you do a screen grab and send it over to me please at john @ madabout etc. And I'll see what could be causing the issue you are having.

Cheers, John

Hi John, not sure how to do the screen grab thing, but I've just tried to submit another picture and got this message -

Warning: getimagesize() [function.getimagesize]: Filename cannot be empty in /homepages/20/d137413215/htdocs/mk/kitcar/processUploadImage.php on line 11

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /homepages/20/d137413215/htdocs/mk/kitcar/processUploadImage.php:11) in /homepages/20/d137413215/htdocs/mk/kitcar/processUploadImage.php on line 34

I'll keep on trying...

seanick · #**1476** 12th July 2013, 22:07

Annoying about the clutch, but at least when it's done its done.
Good move on the 150lb springs. I softened up the front of my Herald based Burlington Arrow and it transformed the ride and the grip. It became agile and confident inspiring in the bends on B roads.
Hard springs are for track cars and boy racers......

Mister Towed · #**1477** 13th July 2013, 08:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanick

Hard springs are for track cars and boy racers......

Amen to that.

The road cars I've had with the best combination of grip, agility and seat of the pants feel: Fiat 128 - 3P Berlinetta; Peugeot 205 GT; and Ford Focus Zetec all had supple suspension that kept the tyres in contact with the road, while the ones that were all over the place and didn't involve you in the process: MG Maestro (What was I thinking?); Ford Escort XR3i; Mercedes A class all had rock hard suspension that gave me no confidence at all going into a twisty B road.

I like a car to soak up the bumps and be adjustable on the throttle without snapping into wild oversteer or ploughing straight on if you get it slightly wrong. I'll keep you posted on how the softer front springs and heavier anti roll bar pan out.

garyh · #**1478** 23rd July 2013, 20:18

Whats happening T, update please...

Mister Towed · #**1479** 24th July 2013, 07:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyh

Whats happening T, update please...

Sorry for the delay Gary. Still waiting for a couple of essential upgrade parts to arrive (on back order) before putting the engine back in. Hoping to have it back on the road next week...

mikmiglia · #**1480** 24th July 2013, 19:28

Come on my towed its not the same without you on the forum