Ready for Abingdon? Not quite!!!

[Lucky Ed]

I had a few minor teething problems two weeks ago at Abingdon. The car was running well in the morning, once the fog had lifted, and was pushing on really nicely in the afternoon until there was a sudden loss of power and a nasty rattling sound, so I coasted into the pits - oh dear The engine was really tight so it was time to head for home early.

With the head off there was some piston to valve contact on all the inlet valves but there was no damage to the valves that I could see. Not too bad I thought until I got the sump off to get the pistons out. No3 big end shells had picked up on the crank and pretty much welded itself up solid, hence the tightness. After a lot of head scratching I think this bottom end damage was caused late last year when the bottom hose blew off and the engine must have got a lot hotter than I thought at the time - anyway it's TOAST especially as the crank is still tight with no rods attached, so it's got very,very hot



A new cheap short motor has been sourced, the head has been stripped and checked and the new pistons are being pocketed. It's now Saturday and I haven't got any of the bits back yet, so I'm going to be burning the midnight oil this week, but I'm determined to make next Friday.

Miners helmet anyone?

[Bulldog Bri]

Good luck with the rebuild. When you've finished I've got 3 back axles to swap and a front suspension set to change. 

['The Gaffer']

That is unlucky Ed, surprised it ran at all Hope you get it sorted in time. Wish I had time to give you a hand, but hardly time enough to even post on the forum the last few of weeks.

[Moleman]

That's a real shame mate.    Hope you get it sorted. If not take that truck of yours around instead. 
If you don't you can always still go & you can be a passenger to all the guys new to this as I'm sure your input on the circuit will help them a lot. You are also welcome to be a passenger in mine anytime mate. 

Hope you get it fixed though mate.

[Iancider]

Ed,

I am sending my sympathy but I know you wont be reading this until you have finished.  So I hope telepathy worked for you!

Good luck
Ian

[Lucky Ed]

Thanks guys, I should get all the bits back tomorrow, so there shouldn't be any problem being ready for Friday

...... it won't be the first time its been rebuilt in a mad panic