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24 May 2015

And then it was race day. Only got the car loaded up on the trailer at 9pm the night before, so a bit hectic. But cruised on up to frosty Goulburn. All the dew from the fog promptly froze all over the car, and then it wouldn't start cause it was so cold. Lucky a guy had a little jump starter thing which helped get some life into the battery. Lining up for scrutineering I was getting very nervous, there was a lot of serious looking machinery around. Passed no probs, got my stickers and we were good to go. Had to wait a few groups to get my turn, and the track was still very cold when we went out, the tyres took a little while to warm up too. First few laps were very tentative, but the car felt good, really good. So started revving it a bit more, working out where I needed to change gears and generally chucking it about some more. First session I actually managed a 1:24.68. I was over the moon, I thought I'd be lucky to get into the 20s. On the last lap the throttle pedal went dead. The end of the linkage had popped out, so back in and a cable tie sorted that. Also with the revs and corners the old xflow was breathing pretty hard, and oil was being pushed out the bottom of the dip stick. No drama, but it made a bit of a mess and looked bad when the oil dripped onto the floor.

Next session out I got down to a 1:21.83, and there was still more in it. The LSD was feeling fantastic, you could pick the throttle up nice and early and the rear would pivot out a bit and grip and go. Great fun. I did have a clunk in the front when it was loaded up at the top of the hill and I think the struts were bottoming out on the couple of bumps. I might need some stiffer springs or maybe even some shorter struts so I can get more travel. Next session we gassed it up and got the time down to a 1:20.77. I was stoked with that and though a 19 might be doable. Pushed too hard next session and got a bit scrappy and only managed a 21. The best time I managed was a 1:20.70, and missed 3rd in class by 0.03sec. Ah well. Overall a very, very successful day out, loads of fun, good chat with the other SFCC guys there. And the car drove back on the trailer at the end of the day. I bloody love this old banger! Thanks to Denis and Leila for coming along and taking some pics, its a bit hard to snap photos when you're running around and driving. Dad came to say gday too, and Steve dropped in before heading out for a club run.

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Here's a few pics from Thornleigh Car Club member Tyrie Starrs. Good to see the old girl in action.

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And a few more pics from photographer Bruce Moxon who was offering CDs of pics. Thanks for sending them through Bruce.

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20 June 2015

After the track day I was swapping wheels over and noticed the inside of the back right was covered in fluid. Thought it might have been brakes, seeing as that side was still using the old wheel cylinder. But on puling the drum off it looked like it was the axle bearing leaking. So a plan was made to pull it out and check it over. But before I was able to do that I managed to cop a hockey ball to the thumb which pulled the nail out and fractured the end of it. So out of action for a while. Before I did that I took a road trip with Brendan up to the lower Blue Mtns for him to get some struts. Guy was selling wheels as well, so I couldn't say no to another set of slot mags. Think they're a Cortina offset though, dammit.

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21 July 2015

After a month of no car work cause of my thumb, finally I got back to the shed to pull the leaky axle out. Was simple enough, and I managed to do it without having to take the wheel cylinder off the backing plate, so brake system stayed intact. The bearing looked fine, and the housing looked OK too, but a little grubby. After asking some questions sounds like a rub down with emery paper, then a bit more sealant and it might be OK. I also pulled all my fuel bits out again to make a bit more of a plan and see if it all might work. Another job I should get on with.

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3 August 2015

Managed to pull my finger out and finally dropped the 1600 engine block out to Everlast at south Nowra. They're going to ring back once they've given it a clean up. Hopefully they don't loose the thing! And while I was dropping stuff, I'd talked to Jamie about getting my flywheel lightened, and doing some machining on the crank. He was awesome and took the big lump off the back of the flywheel, not sure how much it weighs, its still too heavy for all my scales. But the crank we thought best to ask more questions from the internet experts. To get clearance for the duplex timing chain, I'd need to take about 3.5mm off the nose of the crank. Seems like way too much really and not right. We must be doing it wrong. Also got the rear axle back into the car. Sealed up with some Ultra Blue gasket sealant this time. See how that goes. So the orange car is back on the deck finally.

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1 September 2015

Just to complete the axle job, I did manage to get it all back together again. I bought some new sealer, and put a good gob of it around this time. Hendo from the SFCC suggested a blob of weld on the bearing retainer to stop it moving at the track, but I'll have to do that next time. Threw it all back together again. Took the car for a drive to hockey to make sure all was OK. No leaks yet, but then it wasn't a challenging drive.

After no word from Everlast I gave them a ring to see what was happening. That was a Monday morning, and the block was still sitting on their bench. They said ring back Wednesday and it'll be ready to go. So much for sitting in the tank for a week. They'd cleaned it up a bit, better than it was, and as a bonus they honed it for me too. Only charged $50 so a good bargain there. That was back on August 18. I had a spare half hour and hit the block with some wire wheels of varying sizes. It cleaned up very nice.

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3 September 2015

I thought I'd dummy up the crank, cam, pulleys and timing chain to see what it all looked like before locking things in. Put the crank sprocket on the 'wrong' way around. Then fitted it all loosely up. It looks close to being OK, but on measuring the distance from the block to the outside of the chain at both pulleys, there is a 2mm difference. The crank sprocket needs to come out 2mm. So I'm thinking a spacer will need to be made to fit behind the crank sprocket. But I'll ask the internet experts again to see what they think.

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And to keep things moving along, and before it decided to go rusty on me, I put some paint on the block. The first side I put it on a bit thick, so had some runs after flipping it over. The other side went much better with a light coat. Then this morning I stuck a 2nd coat on and its looking much better. Good enough for a dodgy old Escort anyway!

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6 September 2015

Matt texted Friday afternoon that he'd nabbed a sheet of alloy and got it bent for me for the rear firewall. So went round to his to pick that up. Stayed for a few beers and some work on the old 'Cruiser as well. Then Saturday the kids and I managed to spend some great time in the shed. I got to measuring and double checking everything in preparation to make the first cuts in the alloy. Very nervous times! The two wheel arch cuts went well, smoothed the nibbler cuts out with a flat wheel. In between marking and cutting and helping kids do stuff too (Tal was making a toothless dragon tail out of some wood offcuts) I got a few coats of paint stripper onto the old B1 bonnet. Got heaps of paint off it, but still more to go there. Saturday evening I did more measuring and template making for the cuts to the parcel tray side of the alloy. Then Sunday arvo I got back down there and make more cuts, then spent a long time offering up, trimming and fettling here and there, and finally it was in. Fits really nice. Now I just need to work out how to attach it.

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16 September 2015

Managed to get another of the rear firewall pieces made the other night. Used my template that I'd made to do the big curve on the main piece to do the vent holes up top. Now just the small ones in the corners to go. I also bought some new front springs. Going up to 275lb, hopefully that's not too stiff. People do run 300-400lb ones, so I took a guess and backed mine off a little. I probably won't get a chance to fit them up before we head off for a school holiday trip up north though.

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22 October 2015

Another month has gone by and not much progress on the car. Its very frustrating, but what can you do. Life just gets in the way. The springs are still sitting on the bench, and the firewall isn't attached yet. Gotta talk to Matt and find out the best sort of rivets to use for that job. Made a start on cutting and flaring and bending the fuel lines. My bender is shite and just kinks the pipe rather than do a nice bend, so that's a pain. And the original plan of putting it all under the boot hit a bump when I couldn't get the flarer onto the pipe cause the run from the tank to the floor is just too short. So change of plans, I'll just run it around the boot and pop it out the drivers side chassis rail.

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12 November 2015

Little steps again. I got some more info from an expert in Sydney on the cam gear issue. So I need to mock all that up again to double check things. If any machining needs doing he said to take a bit off the nose of the cam, not the crank. Had a fiddle with the pieces for the firewall. Got one in and sorted. Was going to do the big one as well, but more thinking needed on where to put rivets (plus I need more), and how to work the bolts for the harness bar. I might have to stick the washers under the alloy sheet. Have also got a bit more done on the fuel lines. Have got to the point of poking it out of the boot to under the car. The SFCC display day is on this Sunday, so I'll probably take the orange car up there cause Betty still isn't running right. I need to start the car and get it out for a drive to see if its all good to make the trip. Otherwise I'll just take the Mustang for a burl instead.

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18 November 2015

Well my Sunday blat up the hill didn't go to plan at all. B2 drove fine into Bomaderry for fuel, then off to Cambewarra Mtn. But as soon as it loaded up there was a splutter. Then a big pop, and then nothing. She died on the 4th corner up, not in the best of spots, but not on a bend at least. Trev came to the rescue with the Prado and dragged me up out of the way a bit. We had a fiddle and found that spark was coming from the coil, but not getting out of the dizzy to the plugs. Maybe cap, rotor, or maybe the dizzy itself. So I rolled the car back down the mountain and Trev pulled me back home. Took the Mustang for a drive up to Camden for the SFCC show instead.

Even though I have found my spare cap and rotor I still haven't got around to chucking them on to see if that fixes things. But last night Brendan came over and we thought we'd check out the crank and cam sprocket situation again. This time we used the crank shims, and used the new cam. And it all lined up so much better. So good in fact we decided to lock it all in, and put the caps on. Next we set about doing the pistons and rings. It got a bit late, but we got it all in. Very exciting progress. I just need to swap out all the bolts for my fancy new ARP ones. Then torque everything down. After that we pulled a couple of heads out and tried to work out which might be the better one to use. I have to consult the book to see what the next step in the engine build needs to be.

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