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as you know, the car suffered prop vibrations on the rollers, so the high end runs where aborted.. a new prop was sourced and Andy took the car to T'n'R again to map the high end, the engines in fine form, bearing in mind its done a fair few hours now (could do with a freshen up really ) I havnt seen teh graphs but the power was still there, but the difference in the way it delivers is night and day different, the pull from low down is so clean now, not stuttering as the carbs try to catch up.. it now pulls and pulls ..
At Combe Andy went out for a few laps.. came back and said the pedal was long.. so we gave em a quick bleed.. out again and a few more laps.. again long pedal.. a bleed again and out.. this time Andy was really loosing the brakes, back to the paddock and pull the pedal box out, rebuild it all up on the bench, bleed.. and nope, poxy AP cylinders have gone over the lay up.
So pack up and wave goodbye,
It wasn't all frustrating as Andy was happy with the way it felt, and the new oil plumbing all worked as it should, so in all it was a day worth doing as it would have been more frustrating at a race meet.
And Mark is right, the next outing is at Brands ..
Right its about time for an update on the lil' yellow escort. After our brake problems at combe we then made various revisions to the brakes only to have the same problems at the brands DMN meeting. Through out the day we tried different set ups but could get very little front brakes so after an unsuccessful day of racing Andy decided that while we sorted the brake system in more depth it may as well be time to strip the car down so we can get it fully competitive for next season.
As I say the front brakes were the main concern so Andy has now fully stripped and rebuilt the calipers with new seals and a bit of a clean up of the pistons as one or two showed signs of binding. His dad also fully stripped the pedal box and got it powdercoated.
With all of the parts now in good shape and with new master cylinders it seamed like a good idea to test the system out of the car because as most of you know trying to sort out the pedal box in situ in an escort can be a real ball ache.
With that in mind a test rig was set up where front and rear systems could be checked and the bias assembly and pushrods could all be set without the need for contorting under the dash of the escort.
This all proved very successful in a number of ways, both in proving all of the parts we have are working and in setting everything up with plenty of bias adjustment and most importantly a nice big bias towards the front brakes. The pedal also had a good 'feel' which had been absent for some time. A couple of hours work but so much better than guessing if everything works and having to take it all out again.
Sierra cosworth turbo race car QMN saloon car championship RETRO Motorsport
The next problem to address while the car was getting a bit of tidying was the engine bay. Due to a paint problem earlier in the year we were left with paint that remained tacky and crazed, basically it looked horrible compared to the rest of the car.
So with the engine out and awaiting a visit to HTs for a freshen up (a bit over due and its a little down on top end power) we thought it was time to attack the engine bay. Steve (Andys brother) has done an amazing job of bare metalling the whole bay and is also half way through stripping the front panel
How many people would kill for inner wings like these;
Bulkhead and front panels also devoid of rust
Sierra cosworth turbo race car QMN saloon car championship RETRO Motorsport
Final update for now is that the front suspension and steering was refitted in order to make it a rolling shell ready for when it goes for a bit of paint just around the front of the car. Hopefully with the brakes refitted, some paintwork and an engine freshen Andy will be ready to test the car early in the new year
Sierra cosworth turbo race car QMN saloon car championship RETRO Motorsport
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