What kind of company does re-lacquering on wheels please? Also do you know what causes the “worming”?
Moisture gets underneath the lacquer and it looks like a worm,it eventually spreads and makes the wheel look awful. Any local wheel refurbishment company or body shop will be able to do it for you
Yesterday (Sunday 21st August) myself and a few friends headed over to Santa Pod Raceway for their Run What You Brung events. Having never done this i was pretty nervous…
MX5 - 200hp
MR2 Turbo - 363hp
Astra GSi - 276hp
Leon - 325hp
It wasn’t until my last run of the day that i found the Intercooler pipe on the Charger side wasn’t attached. By the time we managed to get it fixed the track had closed. The times aren’t the best for the car spec,but i now have targets to beat for next time
On the 10th September it was 3 years since i first got the car
Not much has happened recently with the cars,we went to Japanese Auto Extravaganza a week or so ago (UK’s largest Jap show)
On the way home from the show,the ONLY time i put my foot down (properly) the car decides to break down 
A massive misfire and lots of smoke
Its currently running on 2 cylinders (1 and 3),i’ve changed the spark plugs,ignition leads,ignition coil and the cam angle sensor. I’ve checked the timing belt and it hasn’t slipped a tooth and the cams aren’t damaged. I’ve also tested the ignitor unit,igniton coil and leads off the silver car and still no change.
I’m yet to do a compression test (waiting on a friend to bring it round). All the injectors are working,there’s PLENTY of fuel but for some reason cylinders 2 and 4 aren’t sparking as good as they should be (plugs look brand new still).
Need to check all the wiring too as i’m sure thats the fault,but it doesn’t explain all of the smoke when it first happened? (oil getting past the piston rings or dropped valve possibly?!)
A little update
Did a compression test with the engine cold
Cyl 1 - 140
Cyl 2 - 120
Cyl 3 - 135
Cyl 4 - 120
I understand its low,but surely it should still fire on all 4?
I’ve sent the injectors to Clive at Autotronix who cleaned and flow tested them and they’ve come back fine.
Today (Sunday 16th) i refitted the injectors along with a replacement fuel rail and fuel pressure regulator. We tested the injector pulse with an LED,cylinders 1 and 3 pulse fine but 2 and 4 (the ones i’ve got problems with) are constantly on.
With the ECU removed,i got my friend to open it up and found one of the Injector Driver looked damage,see photo below
Above and to the left of the driver is abit brown so its gotten abit warm at some point. Reverant from MX5Nutz who built and supplied the Megasquirt ECU is looking into it and i’m waiting on a response 
At least i’ve finally found the issue and hopefully have it sorted soon. Once its running again,i need to address the low compression and hope it hasn’t washed the bores too much
So after almost 3 months of trying to fix the car i gave in and dropped it off to H&S Performance for them to look at it. Within 20 minutes they had it running.
Y’know how you kick yourself over something ridiculously simple/stupid? Yeah i’m doing that…alot!
Fuel lines were opposite way round on the fuel rail. The fuel pump wiring was earthing out too. So add those to the damaged injector driver on the Megasquirt and there we have it!
They’re gonna do an oil and filter change and run it round the block to make sure its all ok.
Easy mistake to make,you live and learn!
Great to hear the monster is on the mend. I’ve had a few of those moments myself
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Enjoy.
Great work Well done.
Some great pictures of a super looking car
Headed into the city where a new light tunnel had been put up. Would have been rude not to get some snaps
Nice pictures Chris.
Certainly not the most exciting christmas present you’d usually receive,but i’m thankful
Received an engine stand and a 1.6 UK long nose engine. Compression is very good 198/202/210/210.
Plans are to strip it down and clean everything up with a lick of paint or powder coat. Will also be fitting a coolant re-route,COPs,GarageStar pulleys (already have these). Replace majority of the gaskets and seals and the usual service stuff.
The supercharger will also get a new coat of paint along with new intercooler pipes as and when the current engine is removed
Managed to grab a set of Toyota Coil On Plugs at a very good price. Even better that the wiring has already been sorted
Been collecting a box of parts ready
Today (Weds 4th Jan) i was finally able to degrease the block inbetween the rainy showers. Theres a few smaller areas that need cleaning (behind the silver tape for example) but its 90% ready for paint. I’ve switched from aerosol to brush on as it’ll be easier to do with the unexpected weather at the moment
Finished off the prep on the block and masked it up ready for paint
A couple of layers of Smooth Silver Hammerite,job done!
Started to spray some bits and pieces in VHT Wrinkle Black
Also had some bits and pieces powder coated in Gloss Black
Today (13th Jan) i received my GarageStar/Circuit Dreamer order,much excite! rare part! wow!
Mazda 323/Mercury Capri Valve Cover
Coil On Plugs bracket
Alloy Overflow Tank
Cam Gear Hardware
I also received majority of replacement stainless bolts for the front of the car
Fitted a front Stainless Tow Hook from Jass Performance along with their new Interior Mirror and retro style oil cap. I also fixed the broken side light on one of the TSIs.
While the bumper was off i refitted my HIDs as the current bulbs are pretty useless
With the car breaking down back in September i was starting to have enough of it,this meant it didn’t get cleaned for 4 months! The other half kindly cleaned it for me,as it always seemed to rain when ever i had a day off 
Made alot of progress with the spare engine recently
that engine is a thing of beauty!
Yep, and a joy to behold
Thank you for the kind words
It was that time of year where my local car club organise a charity meet raising money for Big C Cancer and to remember our good friend Mark. Weather held out and we filled the car park again,raising £1161 on the night
The other half has been wanting to do a group photoshoot of our cars,luckily the cars stayed clean and the weather was dry
