It must be summer...

M

MAF260

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My convertible E30 is a summer-only car. By this time last year she'd have been on the road for a couple of months during the great weather. I can wait no longer, so she's freshly taxed from tomorrow and ready to enjoy. She was looking very grubby and neglected after the winter hibernation, so I gave her a thorough clean this evening. Even found time to do a bit of claying, paint correction, polishing and waxing. I'll finish the job tomorrow:
IMG_0750.jpg

Used more of the Iron-X on her. Given she's had very little use and I'd already cleaned the wheels thoroughly, look at the purple residue that came off after the second snow foam:
IMG_0748.jpg
 
Andyk

Andyk

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Not original Brendan...

MAF...get some more pics up when she is sparkly mate...Always like looking at her...
 
Andyk

Andyk

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Well thats the car cleans ed and waxed...Now to get breakfast. get Liz off to work, get the boys up, football skills for Alex at 9, football training for dan at 11 as he has joined Chepstow Town Football club........Then after lunch I think we will have a lazy afternoon in the garden....
 
M

MAF260

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Brendan said:
Nice. Unusual wheels, are they original?
Click to expand...
Not original, Brendan. These are 17" in a similar design to the original BBS cross spokes that would have been fitted. They're wider (7.5") and clear the 4-pot brake calipers I've fitted up front.
 
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

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Also taxing my Stag from today for the summer months.
Can't have too many V8 burbly noises!
 
Andyk

Andyk

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Andyk said:
Well thats the car cleans ed and waxed...Now to get breakfast. get Liz off to work, get the boys up, football skills for Alex at 9, football training for dan at 11 as he has joined Chepstow Town Football club........Then after lunch I think we will have a lazy afternoon in the garden....
Click to expand...

Sorry MAF...This should have been in the good morning thread.......
 
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

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MAF260 said:
Beautiful, Mike - have you restored her?
Click to expand...

It was my first car that I bought myself when I was 19 back in '86 when I was at Poly.
Ran it for 4 years as my only car and then after my first year at work I took her off the road.
Completely stripped her to a bare shell and a local guy who mainly restored Healey's did the bodywork.
New wings, inner arches, sills, door skins, front and rear valances...the usual for a 16 year old british car built in the 70's!
What I got back was a better than new shell. As much paint under the new wings as on top etc.
It then took me another 5 years to rebuild her.
I did everything, nothing was untouched, I even rebuilt the Triumph V8 myself, sending bits off to be machined, balanced, ported etc.
Tuned her up along the way. Four branch tubular exhaust manifolds, stainless valves in gas flowed heads, specially commisioned Holbay camshafts, Holley 4 barrel etc.
She was back on the road in '95 and since then just summer use only, maybe done 10K in that time.
She still looks good 23 years since the body work was done, thats no salt and dry garaged for you.
Still love her, and keep on modifying her.
Recaro seats and retrim to match etc.
Won best modified Stag a few years ago by the Stag Owners Club when I entered her.
Current project is fuel injection, about 75% finished.
Custom fabricated inlet manifold with 8 individual throttle bodies finished, with wasted spark distributorless ignition.
Just need that little time to fit, sort out the throttle cables, and buy an ECU!
I'm never bored with my Stag, Maser, and a young family...lack of time is the problem!
 

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2b1ask1

2b1ask1

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Mike, that looks a lot more efficient than the Lucas injection of the time, good work...
 
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

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2b1ask1 said:
Mike, that looks a lot more efficient than the Lucas injection of the time, good work...
Click to expand...

Thanks, i hope it works!

Its suprising that our Masers produce so much power with a single throttle body.
BMW M's have individual throttle bodies for max air flow, just think if our Masers had individual throttle bodies, not sure if any Ferrari have individual bodies either?
 
2b1ask1

2b1ask1

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mjheathcote said:
Thanks, i hope it works!

Its suprising that our Masers produce so much power with a single throttle body.
BMW M's have individual throttle bodies for max air flow, just think if our Masers had individual throttle bodies, not sure if any Ferrari have individual bodies either?
Click to expand...

What is the technical difficulty of individual throttle bodies Mike? Presumably it is going to be similar to multi-carburettor setting to get the initial butterfly balance right but the injectors are controlled electronically?

Don't know about individual systems on Fezzers but the 430 has a twin system induction for sure.
 
2b1ask1

2b1ask1

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Mike, from the blue pipes down is that aluminium all welded up or stainless? A nice bit of welding either way.
 
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

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It's stainless steel TIG welded.
I work for a pipe fitting company for the food/drink industry and thin wall stainless for process lines are our bag.
So I came up with an idea, rummaged around our stores for suitable sized bends, refined my idea on CAD, organised the necessary laser profiled plates and machining, then got the lads at work to weld it all up...when they were quiet!
I think the total assembly is no heavier than the original setup being thin walled tube, and there is no rule that you have to use aluminium. Aluminium is harder to weld if you don't have the necessary water cooled TIG torches, which we don't need and have, for stainless welding.
 
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