I've been a bit lax keeping this site up to date, so here's a very rapid update.
I finished the first of the head restraints and it seems to work fine. However,
there has been some suggestion that it's a bit too flexible. It doesn't seem to be very bendy, but I can see the
point. The problem is, it's hard to work out how to make it really firm without welding something into the roll-over
bar. The support bar just slots into the bracket that I made a while ago.
This means that the restraint can just be unslotted which is nice for putting on the tonneau cover. The bungy bit
is actually made from a wooden disc with some foam and covered in the same material that I covered the sidescreens
from.
Since I did my minor mods to the sump
I've been wondered what would happen when I got the car on the track again. The chance appeared when some spaces
appeared on a local track day and three of us Cambridge people signed up for it. The day was a bit murky but it
didn't look as though it was going to absolutely tip down so Chris, William and I met up at Bassingbourn. The track
was a bit stony at first, hence the protective silver gaffer tape.
The car went well on the track, reminding me how quick it actually is. What's more, the oil pressure looked fine. (I think I drove with one eye on the oil pressure gauge all the time.) I'd still like to get a kosher baffled sump though.
However, I suffered a repeat of the problems that appeared at Bruntingthorpe last year. This time, of course, I knew what the problem was although I had hoped that the new alternator mounting bracket had fixed it.
So, back home today I made a much chunkier bracket than
I had before to mount the alternator adjustment gadget to. This bolts onto the front of the water pump and one
possible explanation for the ejection of fan belts is that this isn't firm enough and is allowing the alternator
to move a bit. Once I get this back together I'll have to find a track again!
If this carries on, though, I'm going to have to find some way of using a poly-vee belt instead.
Finally, as part of my continuing efforts to make it possible to heel-and-toe I started modifying the throttle pedal to make it "taller" as the pad bit is currently very small. The theory is that if the pedal projects below the brake pedal it will be easier to get at it. (Thinking about it, most cars have pedals like this including my old Westfield.)
However, I ran out of time today, perhaps tomorrow as the weather is great and it'd be nice to be using the car.
in case you've got to this frame directly and can't get out, go here.