After Oulton and Snetterton Test afternoon.

We had two weeks between Oulton and the last round of 2009 at Snetterton. Fortunately, there wasn't really anything to do to the car. Things outside of racing had rather changed. As per previous posts, I knew that I would be made redundant at a point in the not-too-distant future. What had changed is that I'd stopped looking for work and Kate and I had instead started planning a 6-9 month career break and some travelling. This meant that I was actually facing a situation where this would be my last outing in my Stuart Taylor Locost #41. This wasn't at the forefront of my thoughts at this stage however. There was a race weekend ahead.

I originally thought I'd be unable to find time to test at Snett on the Friday but as we approached the race weekend it became evident that I would have time. Daily phone calls to MSV finally resulted in a booking for the PM session. Kate and I arrived after a long west-to-east journey to Norfolk to find a paddock bristling with all sorts of machinery. There were clearly some on budgets much bigger than the usual 750MC clubbie crowd.

Amongst the cars testing was a Caparo T1 (the car that set fire to Fifth Gear presenter and BTCC racer Jason Plato) as well as a Mosler MT900. These are some of the fastest cars it's possible to buy and pretty much the exact opposite of my Locost. Pictures can be found on Dan's write up of the day here: DanB back in RGB. Fortunately, the T1 had been moved into the single seater sessions, but for some reason the Mosler had stayed with us in 'closed wheel.' Already there from Locosts were Sian Stafford, Dave Boucher and Campbell Cassidy - all supported by the good folks at TMC. After a quick chat with them, I got myself signed-on, got the car unloaded and got myself kitted-up.

The test day was different to the one at Oulton in that the afternoon would give me just two fifty minute sessions. The difficulty with this is that my fuel tank wouldn't hold anything like enough juice for that period, particularly as so much of the lap is at full throttle. I'd thought ahead and had velcro'd a stop-watch to the dash. The plan was to do 15-18 minutes, come in, refuel and get back out again giving myself four smaller sessions in the afternoon.

Initially, the other Locosts were much faster. They had been testing all day and, in some cases, using data logging and comparison against multiple race winner Matt Cherrington to help them improve. As the time went on though found myself keeping pace, only occasionally unsettled by the Mosler. That thing is ridiculously quick. I was exiting Sear Corner onto the long Revett Straight and checking my mirrors: nothing to report. Then, BOOM the Mosler would explode past on my left and thunder down the straight in front of me; truly something to behold.

At the start of my last mini-session David, Campbell, Sian and I were all bunched-up having a mini-race of our own. It was great fun - Campbell later gave me a bit of a ribbing as he made a lunge for a pass at Coram and I backed-out fearing that he was following Sian and not wanting to turn-in on anyone. As it was Sian had fallen back and I needn't had worried. Campbell was quite happy with that though (the swine!) and it set the tone for the race on the Sunday.

The following lap, as I accelerated out of the Russell Chicane something started making a horrible noise and I thought I'd lost power. I pulled-off into the pits wondering if my season was over. Once parked-up I called Matt at Procomp and explained the lawn-mower-like noise. He suggested that I find Tony from TMC and ask him to check the rockers on the engine. I hadn't really met Tony and felt a bit cheeky asking for help, but he didn't hesitate to assist. On hearing the noise, the rocker cover was removed and all of the clearances checked. Everything seemed to be fine. If it was the bottom-end it was game over! I considered going home. All that made me stay was the fact that we weren't racing for 48 hours so that gave me some time to find a solution. Even so I was less than happy. After finding a good spot to camp and getting the tent sorted out, we spent the evening in the bar with our fellow ‘Locosters’ and had a good chat with some fellow 'Welshies' who raced in SaxMax and Stock Hatch.

The following morning I got up and started the engine.  The noise seemed to have gone. I had a look over the car and spotted that the rear exhaust mount was broken. I must have grounded-out when running wide at The Esses where there is a big drop from the race circuit down to what may be the surface of the original airfield. I checked the rest of the exhaust and found that number one primary was no longer welded to the flange; result. Easy enough fix. I went and found Tony again and asked for his help in welding it up. I went and removed the exhaust while he got his welding gear and headed for a pit garage. I then rang Matt and asked him to bring a replacement exhaust mount. Later that day, the car was all back together and clean (Motors TV were filming the weekend for their 'Race & Rally UK' series.)

Job jobbed (this is becoming a bit of a cliché on this blog I think?) I showered and Kate and I then took a drive to Strada in Bury St Edmonds for dinner which was nice. I was fairly tired by the time we got back to the circuit and was looking forward to my sleeping bag. I certainly needed to get some rest ahead of another race day.

Oulton Park

Not to put too fine a point on it, the weekend of 4th-5th August at Oulton Park was epic. It felt like a coming of age. While Silverstone was a hugely important day for me, the combination of the ‘newness’ of it all and what is a pretty featureless (National) circuit meant that things hadn’t really sunk in. After Oulton I felt like a racer and was totally addicted.

Things didn’t start well. By the time I’d completed my first lap on the Friday test day I’d been off the circuit, the back window of the van was broken and my mate’s posh gazebo which I’d borrowed had collapsed in the wind. Ah yes, the weather – blowing a gale and streaming with rain. I was just about to write it off as a bad job and go home. A big hug from Kate and a stern talking-to from myself had me mostly sorted out. As the day went on the weather improved and I seemed to be finding my way around a bit better. Even so, all the Locosts there seemed to be much quicker then me. Not a surprise but I’m not good at dealing with ‘personal failure.’

Apart from being an amazing (and long, at nearly 2.8miles) circuit set in rolling parkland, the other good thing about Oulton is that it’s close to Steve’s house. I’m very grateful to Steve and Milenah for their invitation to stay as that meant good company, a Chinese take-away, a DVD and a warm house rather than a wet tent.

Race day loomed and a ‘double-header.’ Qualifying would take the normal 15-20 minute format but with the best two laps being counted for the two races. I was still struggling; spinning a couple of times and making a hash of Lodge in particular. I never really got a good lap. Frustratingly, I nearly did – I followed Dave Black for nearly a whole lap with him on a flyer, only to throw it away at Lodge again. If I hadn’t have spun on the last proper turn, I think I’d have been far enough up the grid to give myself a nose bleed. As it was, I was 23rd for Race 1 and 21st for Race 2.

Race 1 saw a couple of big incidents. In the end a total of 10 of the field didn’t finish. I had worked my way into 19th at the end of the third lap before throwing it away at, you’ve guessed it, Lodge. Annoyingly, on this occasion I was forced wide by what was some erratic driving in front. Some useful advice, having viewed the footage from Campbell Cassidy’s car, came from experienced hand and front-runner Matt Cherrington. I should have allowed a bit more room and concentrated on putting myself in a position to pass the two cars in front on the start-finish drag rather than get involved at the point of turn-in. Lesson hopefully learned! I didn’t hit anything but flooded the carburettor and stalled. The car just would not restart so I watched the remainder of the race with the Marshalls, who were great. After a push start I was able to make my own way back to the paddock. At least everything was in one piece. I did have a small oil leak beneath the rocker cover but that wasn’t anything to worry about and just really needed a wipe down.

I effectively started in 18th for Race 2 as three of the guys in front didn’t make the start following incidents and problems in Race 1. I’d passed Max Lees by the end of Lap 2 and was going pretty well. This was pleasing as both Kate’s Mum and Dad and my best mate, Karl and his girlfriend came to watch. I was excited; maybe too excited. I was on my own as I entered the Knickerbrook chicane. I made a total hash of it and spun, stopping in the middle of the track. Now the car had at times felt unforgiving and I put some of my spins to-date down to that. Not this one; just a total lapse in concentration – idiot! I’d stalled as well so it didn’t take long for Max and the others to be on top of me. I’m massively thankful that all of those behind me showed great skill in scattering either side of my car (onto the grass) and didn’t hit me or anyone else. Sorry!!

This was Silverstone all-over-again. Dead-sodding-last! To say that I wasn’t happy would be something of an understatement. I had the bit between my teeth. I made one pass on lap 4, two on lap 5, one on lap 6 and a further two on the last lap; finishing in 18th. My best lap was a 2:08:43 which made me the 10th fastest car out there. It’s a shame I couldn’t be consistent! What is more, that best lap is over a second faster than Tony’s fastest lap when he drove the car at Oulton in 2007 – and he finished 8th! Clearly, everyone has moved on and got faster in the last two years and the conditions may well have differed but that gives me hope. The fact is, I seem to have some raw pace but I’m absolutely full of ‘rookie mistakes.’

Still, onwards…

I've been trying to take some screen-shots from Real Player but that's been a disaster so instead I urge you to check-out Steve’s great photos at www.p4nts.co.uk/tlr

Post-Silverstone but pre-Oulton

I really need to get the blog up-to-date as there is quite a lot of activity on a new project. Unfortunately, there's also a dissertation to write so perhaps the updates will be a little more lightweight...

Having dipped my toe in the water at Silverstone, I decided that it made sense to get the suspension set-up to suit my bodyweight and establish what we were playing with. I also hoped that we might be able to dial-out a little snap-oversteer.

So, the car and I headed-off one Sunday morning to see Matt and Ivan at Procomp. Once the car was rolled into the workshop, they removed the dampers and got them on the dyno to see how suited they were and how balanced the pairs were. The results were not fantastic with the rear valving in particular looking more suited to a saloon car. In addition, the rebound valve on one of the fronts appeared to be stuck. I had never intended to replace these and so the decision was made to make the best of a bad job. At least the springs seemed about right. Next the ride height and geometry was measured and set. Interestingly, the rear wheels were shown to be running a lot of negative camber. Now, conventional thinking would suggest that the camber can't be altered on a live axle. In reality it can. I believe that the most common way of doing this is to weld the axle so that it gently kinks. In the case of my axle, no welding was evident and Ivan's best guess was that it had been put in a very large press. Money had clearly been spent on the axle so this seemed to add-up.

Once the suspension set-up was done, Matt extended my throttle pedal and repositioned it slightly to aid my heel-and-toe issues. Ivan then spotted the throttle mechanism and insisted that "No car is leaving my workshop like that!" He seemed to regret this exclamation as the fix took quite a while.

I eventually left Procomp's Birmingham base about nine hours after arriving. I can't fault their service - even the sandwiches tasted pretty good!

Next up... the fabulous Oulton Park circuit.

Silverstone

We arrived at the circuit at midnight and found ourselves a quiet spot two-thirds of the way up the old runway. By the time we’d pitched the tent and got ourselves sorted it was about 01:00 before I got off to sleep. It’s perhaps not such a surprise that, contrary to expectations, I wasn’t quite raring to go the following morning. Rising 25 minutes later than planned, I found that the car didn’t like starting when cold and damp. After some frantic manoeuvring of the van I managed to get it jump-started and warmed up, taking a few gentle runs around our corner of the runway to get some charge into the battery. The next job was to find Matt Gilmour who had kindly offered to bring me an aeroscreen and mounting bracket. The regulations state that you must have a screen of no less than 75mm tall and 250mm wide. I just hadn’t had the time to get this done. Unfortunately Matt was still on-route and I was starting to worry that I might fail scrutineering. Fortunately Ivan, Matt’s father, was on site and had the screen. He helped me fit it, turning the bolts from above while I lay uncomfortably below the scuttle with my feet up in the air. “Thank goodness that is done.” I dashed back to the tent to get my racewear, then to the signing-on office, returning to the car just in time for scrutineering.

I was one of the first in-line. Unfortunately, the car failed on the first test – no brake lights. These had previously been working. I returned to the pit garage and was greeted by Matt. He told me to calm down and went to get a multi-meter. We soon found that the brake light switch was not getting 12v and decided that the best course of action was to run a jump-wire from a free terminal on the coil. With brake lights working I re-presented the car which sailed-through the other checks. It was a shame that I’d left the signing-on slip in the garage so the scrutineer couldn’t issue me with a card showing that I’d passed. I drove the car back to the garage and then jogged back to the scrutineering bay where I was finally issued with the critical piece of paper. To say that I’d had a fraught start to the day was a bit of an understatement!

There was now really only time to get togged-up and strapped-in ready for qualifying. Until now the furthest that I’d driven the car was from the camp-site to the pit garages; Gulp! Matt was again very helpful and told me to follow one of the regular racers to the staging area to wait for our twenty minute session. He then met me there and just told me to relax and enjoy it. To be honest, this was the most relaxed I’d felt all morning. I set myself the goal of not qualifying dead-last. After the first lap I was sure I was going to fail to meet my goal. It seemed as though everyone was streaming past me. The car seemed very neutral but then gave no warning before the back-end would lose traction. It certainly felt a whole lot less forgiving than my Striker. As a result I spun three times. As the laps went on and I started to get used to car and circuit, I felt like I was getting a bit quicker. The one thing which was making it difficult was that the throttle pedal was a huge distance from the brake. I’ve since had some debate about whether or not heel-and-toe is necessary or desirable in Locost racing but when you’re used to applying the technique, not being able to do so made my driving feel very clumsy. Worse still, the pedals were so far apart that on more than one occasion my boot just fell between the pedals and I found myself pushing on bulkhead!

It wasn’t long before the chequered flag came out and we were marshalled back into the pits. I felt relieved but was sure that I’d be at the back of the grid. Oh well, I’d never driven the thing before. About twenty minutes later a few time-sheets appeared. To my surprise I’d managed to qualify 26th out of 35. Goal #1 accomplished.

I figured that there was little point in faffing with the car and just checked the fluids and topped-up the fuel. I found that I had a very small oil leak from the rocker and just wiped-up a small amount off the back of the engine and top of the gearbox. I explained the handling characteristics to Matt who suggested that I soften-off the rear dampers, which I did. We had virtually the whole day to wait for the race, with only a lunch-time parade to mark the 10 year anniversary of the series to worry about. I was keen to do this as every lap of the circuit I could do was bound to be of benefit. The rest of the time was spent with Kate, my Mum and Kate’s Mum and Dad who’d all come to support. The weather was glorious so it was good to sit in the sun and watch the rest of the racing.

The parade laps were useful and Kate commented that I looked faster than I did in qualifying! This probably wasn’t far from the truth. Mid afternoon came and went and it was soon time to get my gear back on and get myself strapped-in for my first ever race. This really was something that I’d wanted to do since I was 16 so I was delighted that I’d made it. All the months and years of studying and grafting and striving to get up the career ladder suddenly felt worthwhile as I’d put myself in a position where I could afford to take my first tentative step in motorsport proper.

We waited for what seemed like an age in the staging area. Whatever race was ahead of us had a red flag and a lengthy stoppage. Finally we were sent out to the grid. I’d spoken to Matt briefly about the start and our plan of action had been to drop the clutch at 4000rpm. It was perhaps a symptom of my less than perfect rear traction but I didn’t get a great start and was passed by one or two but I then managed to get myself on the inside of Copse and took a place or two back and had a decent run up to turn two. I was actually racing! This excitement was soon cut to shreds of despair as I braked hard and went to take a good blip of the throttle as I changed down. I completely missed the throttle pedal; the drivetrain shunted awkwardly, locking the rear wheels and caused me to spin backwards off the circuit. Not good; dead last!

I was still 5.5 seconds behind the next-worst placed driver when I crossed the line at the end of lap one. I spent the remainder of the race gradually reeling in some of those in front of me, passing three ‘on the road.’ With several retirements I actually finished where I’d started in 26th. On balance I was delighted with this: I wasn’t last despite doing my best to throw it away early on. I’d done it though – I’d fulfilled my dream - the last milestone that I wanted to reach before I hit the ripe-old age of 30. There’s not a lot that feels better than that.

TC

Race Prep

By the time the car was home it was the middle of July. I had booked my ARDS Test at Castle Combe and I seemed to be on track (as it were) to make my debut at the 10th Anniversary of the Locost series at Silverstone on the 22nd of August. So what was there to do? Working from front to back:

• The front arches were from two sets and, as the rest of the bodywork was changing from green to black, the green one had to go.
• The scuttle area under the bonnet was just a bit of a mess and difficult to work on. The header tank was from an unknown production car and was precariously balanced/mounted in such a way that it obscured the fuse box and throttle-pedal pivot. The battery was also mounted upright in the general area and could have done with being moved away from the tank overflow.
• The GRP scuttle itself had so many holes in it (from old mirrors and pull-cables) that it looked perfect for draining boiled veg.
• The extinguisher was out of compliance and needed to be serviced and refilled.
• The seat was a GRP item which sat far too far back for me and was mounted using timber! It also wasn’t very comfortable.
• The passenger compartment contained lead ballast and some aluminium framework to support a passenger seat. Being a stone-plus heavier than Tony this wasn’t needed.
• The rear arches were in a terrible state; broken and full of filler.
• The back panel was aluminium and caved-in. It also looked like it had been welded back together.

 

So, it was a quite a long list but in essence should have been straightforward.

I started by removing everything that I didn’t need or was replacing. Ballast, bodywork, seats, battery etc were all soon removed. I should have guessed that things were not going to go terribly smoothly when the terminal snapped off the expensive ‘Red Top 20’ battery as I tried to disconnect the cable. Thankfully a mate was able to sell me a spare and with the help of a posh aluminium tray bought from eBay, the new battery was moved to its new location.

Next-up was to dry fit the bodywork. This is where the real problems started. The GRP back panel that came with the car had ‘radiused’ corners. The corners at the bottom-back of the chassis were square. Result: new part wouldn’t fit. Next, it became apparent that the new scuttle (from White Racing) was taller than the Stuart Taylor original. This meant that it would not fit below the roll-cage. Finally, the nose-cone was a completely different shape so would not fit the original mounting points. This was not good.

First thing to do was to have the back of the chassis cut away and a nice smooth curve welded in. Step forward Derek. Derek is my best mate’s Dad and I tend to think of him as a grumpy legend. He’s a ‘mobile mechanic’ and works on everything from large agricultural machinery to vintage cars. Where he generally excels is in problem solving. For example, if you snap a bolt off and need to remove it he’s your man. If your bike-engined MK Indy won’t charge and two auto-electricians can’t find the fault, Derek will. Or at least that’s my experience. On the down-side he’s grumpy. Rather like my mate.

Anyway, I trailered (my Striker came with a good home-built single axle transporter which I kept) the car to Derek and with the help of a template which I made, he did the job in a day. Having got the car home I used Hammerite to paint the fresh metal and the area around any holes where rivets had held on the old aluminium back panel. I also sprayed down the holes with Waxoil to help protect the tubes. I then used black polyurethane sealant from Car Builder Solutions to fill the rivet holes and then bond the back panel in place. I taped the body in place for 24 hours while the sealer went off. Job jobbed!

I’d been driving myself crazy trying to decide what to do with the scuttle. I considered replacing it, cutting it, even smashing it up. It did have some advantages however. Firstly, it was ‘free’. Secondly it had both an integral dashboard and bulkhead. I really do like to use as few separate components as possible so I liked the idea of using it. I cut, away the old bulkhead leaving a couple of inches for the scuttle to butt-up against. After much effort, I decided that if I could lubricate the part I might just be able to force it beneath the roll-cage for a touching fit. Nervously I pushed (shoulder-charged) it into place. It fitted – just. I marked some bolt holes, removed the scuttle, drilled the holes in the chassis and cut the holes for the dials and switch-gear. Finally it was fixed in place having slammed my body into it for the final time. At least it seemed to be well made and robust!

All of this and my ARDS test had taken three weekends. I only had one left and the job list wasn’t really getting shorter. The knock-on of the taller scuttle was that the bonnet no longer fitted. I had planned to change this at some point as it was a bit untidy but not now! I really didn’t think I had the skills to get this done quickly. I also needed a new cover for the boot area. I turned to the Yellow Pages and lucked-out. I found a superb father and son team of sheet metal fabricators in Andy and Ross Metcalfe of ADM Services in Brynmawr. They were interested enough that they came to look at the car on the way home. We agreed that they would have the car the following Friday/early Saturday to do the work.

I still had a lot to do – the arches needed putting-on, I needed a headrest and had to make a foam seat to sit on. I still had to re-install all of the dash components inclusive of running and reconnecting the wiring. The new header tank (from Chris Eva – as always) needed fitting, filling and the system bleeding. Oh, and the car needed an oil change and a full nut-and-bolt check. I was actually considering calling 750MC HQ and withdrawing as I didn’t think I’d make it. I needed help, but fortunately knew just the person to ask.

Steve Hignett and I hadn’t spoken much since the MNR build. In hindsight, I think we both had such an unhappy experience with that car and its foibles that we just didn’t need reminding of it. There was no bad feeling between us; we’d just been doing other stuff. I more-or-less begged Steve to travel down on the weekend and give me a hand. After consulting the lovely Mrs H he agreed. Suddenly I felt like I had half a chance of making race-day. Since I hadn’t driven the car at all and hadn’t been or the circuit in 10 years, I had also booked the Friday test day so the pressure was really on.

Steve travelled down on Friday night. I’d just spoken to Andy at ADM who’d told me that they had a bit to finish on the car in the morning. He said that we were welcome to start work on the car at his premises while he finished off the jobs. In the end, he and Ross were kind enough to let us stay all day and make use of his facilities (and materials.) Total stars! The bonnet was complete and looked smart but the boot cover was something else: perfectly formed return lips and a sliding door with ‘pinch’ stops for refuelling would later result in several positive comments by fellow competitors.

Steve was quickly into his stride. Finding that the guys at ADM had a tube bender, he hatched a plan for the headrest, tacking it in place and allowing the talented Ross to finish the upside-down welding. Another job done. Next he had the rear arches mounted. Meanwhile I fitted and wires new rear lights to replace the crappy looking originals. Steve then fitted the front arch before we embarked on the foam seat. I’d attempted to make a seat for the Striker with minimal success but the experience was useful. I’d purchased the two-part foam a few weeks before along with a survival sack, essentially a big, sturdy plastic bag ideal for filling with foam and sitting on. The seat making went very well with the exception that I hadn’t taken steps to prevent the foam from expanding into the space between the chassis tubes on the edge of the cockpit. The result was that I could only get it out in two parts. I was able to later repair it but it wasn’t as tidy as I’d hoped.

The following morning Steve and I checked nuts, bolts and fluids before agreeing that he had done all he could and that he really should get back to Milenah. We’d made huge strides and all that remained was to cover the seat, finish the wiring, re-route the extinguisher cables, change the oil and apply some stickers. I was set for a reasonably busy start to the week so I booked the Thursday off ahead of Friday’s test – in theory this would give me enough time to finish the jobs before Kate and I made the journey to Silverstone that evening.

I really should know by now that these things never go to plan. Problems with the wiring and in particular rusty extinguisher cables meant that the car wasn’t completed on Thursday. Fortunately, Austen, one of the RGB guys that I’ve got to know was testing and he managed to sell my test sessions to one of his colleagues. Kate was an absolute star on the Friday – I’d have never have got the car back together without her help. I’m so lucky – beautiful and handy with a spanner! Finally we got the trailer and van loaded and set off for the circuit, arriving at midnight. Was I worried that I was racing for the first time in a car I’d never driven? Errr……..

TC

What happened next (Part 2.)

So, while travelling back from Anglesey through mountainous mid-Wales Kate and I got chatting about my racing ambitions. This culminated in a statement along the lines of, “If it’s the last thing on your ‘things to do before I’m 30 list,’ you have to do it!” It was and the encouragement was enough to give me the final push I needed.

On returning home I put the Striker up for sale. It was a short but pleasurable period of ownership. The low-point was when the accessory belt snapped one evening and I had to send Kate into M&S to buy tights to get the thing back to shelter; at least I have a tale to tell. Anyway, I priced the car at a level where I knew it would sell. I couldn’t afford to wait very long. Two guys from the Southampton area bought it (they’ve since sold it again) and, aside from them costing me a whole day’s work waiting for them to collect, the transaction went smoothly.

But what now? What was I going to race in? In my mind there were three options. I was certain that I wanted to race a kit car but I could do this in the 750MC Locost Championship, the 750MC RGB Championship or the WRDA Welsh Saloons and Sports Cars. The deciding factor in the end was cost, or ‘financial exposure.’ Given my work situation, I wanted to have as little funds tied-up in a car as possible. So, I looked around. There wasn’t a proven RGB car or WSSC-suited racer available for less than £7500 but there were three Locosts advertised between £4000 and £5200. My decision was made. One of the cars was less than an hour from home so I went to see Steve Kirby one evening. I’ve seen plenty of club-level racers and this one was in fantastic cosmetic order. I sat in the car and started it. I was pretty sold on it but decided that I should see another car. I spoke to someone I respected, Matt at http://www.procomp.co.uk/ and he informed me that a good friend of his, Dave Black was nearing completion of a rebuild of his old car to then sell. I spoke to Dave and the price was okay but, rightly or wrongly, the fact that it wasn’t ready and didn’t include a transponder was enough for me to look elsewhere. So, the following Saturday I travelled to Silverstone to see the cheapest of the three cars. Tony Jones had completed four races in 2007 and the car had sat idle since. It was the polar opposite of the first car in terms of appearance but it came with a huge amount of spares, including replacement bodywork.

The car had some good points though. The chassis appeared to be from Stuart Taylor which was good. The (primary) wheels were the excellent Compomotive CXRs and the harness was a very nice (read expensive) Schroth one. I chatted to Tony and while it was clear that he could drive a bit, the car had never been outside the top-ten in his ownership. I made a ridiculously low offer and, to my amazement, Tony accepted. This was great in that I had a car but, as much of the bodywork appeared to be held together with filler I knew that I had work to do.

TC

What happened next (Part 1.)

So, I’ve been thinking that it’s a bit of a shame that I never chronicled the next stages of my kit car experience. Well, having sold the MNR, several months passed and things looked ‘ok-ish’ at work. It looked like I’d be employed for a while yet. So, I started to look for a new toy to keep me occupied over the summer. Kate and I decided to go and look at an ex-RGB racer in Sussex. As it’s almost an age-away, we booked a cosy pub-slash-B&B so we didn’t need to spend the whole day on the road. About 90minutes into the journey we got a call to say that the car was sold. Dammit! It was then I realised that the Deitling Kit Car show was on the next day fairly close to our intended destination so we decided to press-on and go and see if anything caught my eye there. In summary nothing did. I did however buy one of the kit car rags and had a quick flick through the classifieds. Unbelievably there was a Sylva Striker for sale at an extremely good price… four (yes FOUR) miles from home! Just to emphasise the significance, we don’t live in a great metropolis where hundreds of thousands of people inhabit every square mile. The image below shows the local terrain. It’s green, because it’s essentially a mountain

I rang the guy and arranged to go and see it as soon as possible. Of course, after all that travelling, the car on my door-step was great. A 1600cc x-flow powered Mark II Striker; kit built in 1990 and finally SVA’d and registered by its second owner 17 years later! It makes you wonder how many kits are just sat waiting to be built in peoples’ sheds. Anyway, it was cheap and fun. I proved this by picking it up the following Saturday and driving it straight to Llandow Circuit for an afternoon on-track. It ran faultlessly. I didn’t touch the suspension settings, the oil pressure stayed good and it kept-up with a friend’s much more expensive (and heavy!) Zetec powered Striker. Happy Days.

Perhaps the car’s biggest adventure under my short spell of ownership was the trip that the brunette and I made to the National Kit Car show at Stoneleigh. We managed to get a tent, sleeping bags (lashed to the roll bar) and all sorts of other stuff in the little boot. The weather wasn’t great on the way to the show and it was even worse coming home – I was bloody frozen!

On the subject of poor weather, we also spent a weekend on Anglesey watching the 750MC racing; at least that’s what I think it was. It was so wet it could have been powerboat racing! I hadn’t visited Anglesey Circuit before and was keen to. Despite the weather and one or two bizarre locals (yes, I’m talking to you Restaurant Manager-lady!) we met along the way we had a good time. Problem was, I felt that racing itch again. Big Time.