Monday 27th November 2000
Found some aluminium to make the radiator support brackets from. I'm trying to arrange a visit to Jenvey in December, so I can buy the fuel injection system. Their website has loads of throttle bodies to choose from, and I need advise on what the best setup for the Zetec. I cant wait to get that bolted to the engine. The next step will be the ECU, which I still haven't decided on. Again, I'll take advise from Richard Jenvey on that.
Sunday 19th November 2000
More good news. Full oil pressure whilst turning the engine over on the starter! The guage showed 4 bar and was still climbing, so I've got at least (roughly) 60 lb/square inch of pressure! I primed both the remote filter pipes, and the oil filter with Mobil 1, and I wired up a light to the oil pressure switch on the back of the block, and after a few seconds of turning the engine over, the light went out, and the guage started to climb round to the 4 bar position. I'm off to the pub to celebrate!
Saturday 18th November 2000
Another major milestone has been reached today!
I hooked up the starter motor to the battery, rigged up a starter switch, and actually turned the engine over using the battery! Amazing! Thats the first time in over 4 years that the car has had an engine in her thats had any sort of life in it! It such an achievement!! Watching those cam pulleys wizz round was something else, and she sounds really quiet, which is reassuring. So tomorrows task is to fill everything with oil, and get some oil pressure readings. I've connected the oil pressure guage, so hopefully I'll get something around the 60-70 psi range, which would be great! The radiator brackets have been fabricated in steel, but I'm going to see if the workshop where I work can knock me some out in Aluminium, which would look much nicer.
Wednesday 15th November 2000
Heres some pictures of the new radiator. I'm now making up some brackets to hold it in place. Its the same width as the original X-flow rad, but 8cm taller, and has 25 rows, compared to the originals' 18 rows. Theres also a picture of the new dipstick tube from Raceline. It almost fits, I just need to make a small bracket to hold it in place. Poured the remainder of the Mobil1 in tonight, so with a bit of luck I'll get her turning over at the weekend for oil pressure tests.
Sunday 12th November 2000
It was a long journey to the Fiesta Centre at Norwich yesterday, and the bad weather didn't help. Mark bought all manner of things for his Mk1 race car, and I bought a Fiesta Mk3 16V rad, which fits perfectly in the front of Beccy. We took Mark and Sarah back to Heathrow airport this morning, for their 10:45AM flight. Mark had a wooden crate with him, packed full of Fiesta bits. Fingers crossed that he got it on board the plane without paying too much for excess baggage. They had a great time over here, and next year we're visiting the States to see Mark and Sarah racing their Fiesta's at Lee speedway. Check out their site at www.fiestaracing.com Here's a picture of the stainless steel overbraided oil pipes. Thanks to Earls for the great service. They fit perfectly.
Friday 10th November 2000
Apologies for the quiet October. I should have been progressing with the car. November will be a better month. I've just ordered a dipstick tube from Raceline, which should be here this weekend, so I can get on with filling the engine with oil and turning her over to check the oil pressure. How about a new reflective Zetecinside sticker for your Zetec engined car? These are now available on the merchandise page.
Wednesday 8th November 2000
Had a mad weekend with Sarah and Mark Porter, over from the States. We picked them up from Heathrow on Friday evening, after struggling to get some Unleaded in Leicester. On Saturday we visited Warwick Castle, and went out for a meal in the evening. Sunday we visited the Donington Collection, which is the most amazing museum for racing cars you'll ever see. A whole hall dedicated to McLaren F1's! Wow. Then in the afternoon a quick trip to Cadbury's world for some chocolate made the english way. Back home for a roast beef dinner, and then on Monday we dropped them off at Leicester Railway station, for their train to Waterloo, so they could go on the EuroStar to Paris for a few days. What with the floods and other bad weather, we only assume that they made the EuroStar train on time. We're now waiting to hear how they come back to Leicester tomorrow. Most trains are cancelled, and they'll probably get the bus from Waterloo. Fingers crossed that they find their way back alright. We're off to the Fiesta Center at Norwich on Saturday, to collect some spares for Marks racing Fiesta (www.fiestaracing.com) and then they're leaving from Heathrow airport at 10AM on Sunday morning. I'll post the pictures from Donington tonight.
