The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

[Nickp]

Nick kindly popped around today and swapped the shims for slightly larger ones and everything is pretty much spot on. Thanks again, Nick

That'd be smaller shims to increase the clearances, just saying...

[Magic Beans]

Nick kindly popped around today and swapped the shims for slightly larger ones and everything is pretty much spot on. Thanks again, Nick

That'd be smaller shims to increase the clearances, just saying...

My memory is shot at the moment, that's the excuse I'm using

[slipping clutch]

week of sunny westy weather coming up Phil - photo. opportunities etc. etc.

[Nickp]

And back to the rollers to give it THE BEANS!!

[slipping clutch]

And back to the rollers to give it THE BEANS!!

Oh Yeah and of course a video of it on the rollers

[Magic Beans]

week of sunny westy weather coming up Phil - photo. opportunities etc. etc.

Oh Yeah and of course a video of it on the rollers

And back to the rollers to give it THE BEANS!!

I have been out and about in it every now and then, in a bid to try and put a few miles on it before it goes to be tuned again. Which incidentally I'm hoping to get done later this week or some point next week. I'm hoping he can sort these carbs out and overcome the sluggish lower rev range as it's currently almost exactly the same as the old car, with very little happening until you hit boost/cam (circa 4-4.5k revs). Minus that lovely screamer noise though. How I miss that noise

Amongst other jobs I changed the oil and filter a few days ago. It had been running some basic mineral oil since the rebuild, with a view to adding something decent once it was run in a little more. As with most jobs it became a fight, this time with the sump plug not wanting to come out.. A few choice words, threats of fire and a selection of tools later and it was out and done. Stubborn sod *shakes fist*



The 10W60 is so thin when cold! Seems to be the right stuff for the job from what I've read and I have every faith in Nick's advice Well, most of it

Next time you see photos of this car it will likely be sat on rollers. Maybe a cheeky video too

If it makes the numbers I want and sorts the low rev issues, somewhat at least, it'll be heading off to MCR for the chassis work.

[ashley]

Bring it on!!

[pistol pete]

good work.. look forward to the Rollers result...

and of course my ride in aq few weeks time

[Magic Beans]

Right then, all booked in. He's a busy man at the moment so in order to ensure it's tuned before Blyton we booked it in for either next Wednesday PM or the following Wednesday PM

After having a chat with him he reckons that there should be room to improve the low down hesitation, even if it's by using a smaller needle and losing a little bit off the top end. Currently it's a little like having a small engine with a big turbo (sounds familiar huh ) with sod all happening until you hit cam (boost). It should transform the feel of the car and make it much more drivable. Fuel injection is king in my eyes, carbs aren't really my bag as they're just not precise enough *cough* Megabusa *cough*

Another job done is sorting out the brake light switch, as I discovered (by being informed by a kindly motorist) that my brake lights were pretty much always on The obvious cause was the switch was either sticking or the pedal wasn't returning back properly and after checking it turned out to be the latter.



The fix was either to adjust the spring, which in this instance wasn't an option, or to adjust the pedal's zero point.



The easy fix was to wind in the pedal a couple of turns.





Done. No more lights on permanently.

I also sorted out the NS wing mirror as it was a little like a chicken with a broken neck and kept drooping down. Now properly held in place I could enjoy the huge increase in rear visibility..... Behold!



It's a good job my neck works and I can just look over my shoulder!

[Magic Beans]

So, I went back here yesterday..

[Ben]

I shall be banging on your door later this evening to kick the tyres

[slipping clutch]

So, I went back here yesterday..

And? your being a tease again Phil.

[slipping clutch]

Still waiting!

[Magic Beans]

Sorry, Martin. A full report is coming, along with photos from today's trip to Blyton

[Magic Beans]

Right then, time to catch up on what's been happening..

Took the Westy to see Russ at Torque Tune the other day, to see what could be done to solve the rich running before the engine hit cam. We popped it on the dyno and did a few runs to see what the fuelling was like at the various rev ranges and while it was spot on above 4.5k it was off the scale lower down. This I already knew as it was flat and boggy lower down, then shot off like a scalded cat once the cams kicked it. After some beard stroking and tinkering it was pretty apparent there wasn't a whole lot that could be done, in terms of adjusting the jets and the needles. The needles (Dynojet ones, apparently) were at their limits of adjustment, meaning there wasn't any movement left to reduce the flow at lower revs. So basically because the cams are the way they are and it's running carbs it's difficult (impossible) to get the AFRs right at both low and high revs. Frustrating...

However...

He did have an idea which involved swapping the springs out for some heavier pieces. This would mean there's more resistance to the vacuum of the carbs and the needles wouldn't be wide open so soon. Effectively preventing excess fuel from pouring into the engine at lower revs, when it doesn't need it, causing it to bog. Springs fitted we ran it on the dyno and while it's still running rich at points it does give a reading and it does make a big difference at lower revs We took it for a test drive... Massive improvement! Much more responsive at lower revs and a big reduction in the sluggishness (yep, it's a word ) felt before. I paid the man, took it home (in the hail and rain, ouch!) and it felt like a new car.

Next up was yesterday's charity track day at Blyton. A superb day out and a good opportunity to get the Westy on track and get a feel for what it's capable of. The engine ran well and pulled pretty damn hard, feeling the improvements from the tune a couple of days before. I got some good information when driving it, in terms of observations about what felt right, what felt wrong and what needed to be done going forward.

There was a good selection of cars there, including other kit cars, a Cosworth Turbo engined Reliant Kitten!!, Franks "Cunning Plan", Ben and Pete's MR2s, Porsche, Rage off-road buggy type things. Some of them where bloomin' quick, especially one Hayabusa engined kit car which I was lucky enough to go out in. That thing was insanely quick! I was all but ready to hand out money to anyone who could provide me with one right then! There was a photographer there who got some good shots of the various cars, which I've lightly tweaked in Lightroom and are below for your viewing pleasure:



Pete's Zombie Response Vehicle, which is a great little car















Black Stig! (Nick )













I'll leave Ben and Pete to add their's should they wish to

A few of the observations from the day, Westy wise, are:

1. The geometry etc is WAY off and is apparent in the skittish behaviour when driving. It doesn't feel planted and doesn't inspire confidence when driving. It needs to go away for full alignment, corner weighting, ride height adjustment etc, which I'll sort over the next few weeks.

2. The exhaust mani is now blowing, which I'll sort by fully removing the exhaust and sealing.

3. The pedals are too close together, as seen below:



I'll work out the best way of adjusting them in the coming days. I might trim them down too.

4. The driver's seat isn't ideal. Basically I had to bring the seat forward (it's bolted directly to the chassis) as I was struggling to reach the pedals (insert jokes and photos of Short Round here ). The issue with moving the seat was that part of the chassis fouls the ideal location, meaning the seat needed to be slightly further forward then is ideal. With the seat forward the pedals are in a better position but it means you're a little too close to the steering wheel and with a helmet on your neck is bent forward, which gets tiring. To fix this I had the idea of putting a spacer under the front of the seat, causing it to be tilted further back and hopefully making everything sit nicely. Time to have a go and find out...

This is the seat position as it was.



After doing some measurements and testing a few seating tilt positions I worked out that the seat needed raising 65mm at the front. To act as the spacer I grabbed a piece of the spare timber when Project Decking and took about trimming it down to fit. I used this wood as it's light and already weather treated, so won't rot over time if it's exposed to water etc. Oh, it was the perfect height too



I painted the wood to match the interior and to act as an extra layer of protection. I also sourced some M8 90mm bolts to hold everything in place.



Seat bolted back in it now looks like this:



It's now perfect in terms of arm reach, ease of shifting, pedal distance and also allows for a helmet to be worn without constantly clattering it on the seats.

Hmm, guess that's all for now. I know I'm bored of typing anyway so you're probably bored of reading, or just looking at the pictures

[JD]

Excellent. Love that seat adjustment.

[slipping clutch]

Not bored of reading at all Phil, excellent write up of both the dyno experience and outcome and of the track day - ( I think Pete mentioned you should change your user name from magic beans to spinderella or something like that - no idea at all to what he is referring too. )
All in all well worth the wait Well done and keep the updates coming.

[slipping clutch]

P.S. Is that your better half staring angrily at the camera from the passenger seat because she is having a bad hair day? (third picture down)

[Ben]

Good write-up there Phil, and thanks again for putting up with Pete and I for a couple of days! Blyton is a brilliant circuit, much narrower than I was expecting (think I've been spoilt a bit by Bedford!) but some great technical sections and not much to hit (fortunately, eh? ).

It's a cracking car you have there, sounds awesome on cam and its not far from being spot on - it feels plenty capable enough as it is so I can't wait to see it once the last niggles are ironed out. Get it down for Castle Combe in a month, you know you want to

And, just because it'd be rude not to, a couple of pics of mine

[Magic Beans]

Excellent. Love that seat adjustment.

Thanks

Not bored of reading at all Phil, excellent write up of both the dyno experience and outcome and of the track day - ( I think Pete mentioned you should change your user name from magic beans to spinderella or something like that - no idea at all to what he is referring too. )
All in all well worth the wait Well done and keep the updates coming.

Haha, ran out of talent and got punished MR style

P.S. Is that your better half staring angrily at the camera from the passenger seat because she is having a bad hair day? (third picture down)

I think that must be her concentration face, as that was the sighter laps

Good write-up there Phil, and thanks again for putting up with Pete and I for a couple of days! Blyton is a brilliant circuit, much narrower than I was expecting (think I've been spoilt a bit by Bedford!) but some great technical sections and not much to hit (fortunately, eh? ).

It's a cracking car you have there, sounds awesome on cam and its not far from being spot on - it feels plenty capable enough as it is so I can't wait to see it once the last niggles are ironed out. Get it down for Castle Combe in a month, you know you want to

You're more than welcome anytime

Your SC is superb around little tracks like that. Such a nicely balanced package which allows for tail-happy fun but never like it's out of control.

Castle Combe in a month eh. I think that could be arranged