starch

Hi Peter, yes I have seen your replies, I will email you now. You may not want to leave your email address on the site though.

Another option would be to see how much another complete bonnet would be from a scrap yard in the same color. Could be cheapest in the immediately, just may not have perfect color match. It would give you a doner grill, and something to sell if you want to later fix the original bonnet. Lets have a look at the lotus then stu. Any bits you want if you let me know I will keep an eye out for you.

I was talking to a chap who was hillclimbiing a 500 bhp dialynx swb at Loton park last year. That was a nice piece of kit, turned out he also owned Tom Hammonds old (genuine) swb road car, which he (Tom) used to pull the Pikes peak replica he had.

We got so used to them at our student house we actually started answering the phone with Hello Club 8 entertainment LTD, how can I help you. We would proceed to talk to said cold caller, and pass them round who ever was in the house at the time, pretending that we worked in some sort of bar. We once had some guy on for 20mins, before he figured we were winding him up, and he wasn't going to get anything.

Not seen that before. Hmm Goes to see what can be done with the 90 quattro with a dead shell, and the 80 gl that hasnt run in years, that just happen to be lying around as 'spares'

They are the narrow ronals which were fitted the early cars (I think, and IIRC the Fuches were an option), but I just think that it should have the Fuches on as they are far better looking (but a touch expensive due to being magnesium) I will admit to being an annorac, but having a 20v in the garage, and all being well a 10v on its way soon I think I do have a right.

Some X5's have a camera on the back of them which give you a rear view with 2 lines projecting where each side of the car is going, and the path it will take. Great for fat people who are too lazy to turn around, and the mums who use them to drop the kids off at school, means they don't have any excuse for flattening little Timmy. Personally I also like the idea of removing everything that is not required, great for performance and the environment.

I would worry more about it being the wrong numberplate all together. The first press cars were W reg. It should also be LHD, have twin headlamps and be on Fuches wheels, the stripes are missing down the side, and the rings on the door are supposed to fade towards the rear. Anybody notice any other errors? Having said that I cant wait to see this on telly.

no good unless you are running vista by the looks of it. Shame it sounds good.

cod4 is good but not especially innovative or clever, unfortunately i cant compare to assassins creed, cause i haven t played it.

When I was looking to buy the octy, I was actually looking for an Audi S2, but struggling to find a good one that didnt need the earth in repairs. My uncle on weekend asked if I knew anyone who might be interested in his Vrs, and I ended up buying that instead.

I tend to listen to radio 1. Although I do have a 6 cd mp3 changer, so ive not run out of music of my own to listen to yet. Also listen to the engine but I dont really have much option on that, although im not going to complain. Rammstein are a cool band, only when you translate what they are actually saying/shouting/singing apparently it is pretty abusive/wrong/downright rude, and slightly messed up.

Id be interested in doing one of these. I have been up there on a couple of occasions, but never actually had a proper tour. It is definatley very interesting, and there are things everywhere that just make you realize, just how big an operation something like this is (and M-sport work on a comparative shoe-string). The food is good, not your average work cafe, well worth a visit for anyone who has a remote interest in rallying/fords/motorsport, logistics or is just a bit nosey.

Almost anything, being practically unemployed at the moment. Ideally I always wanted to be paid to drive rally cars in competition, but as im not a multi millionaire, and no more talented than the next man, I doubt that will ever happen. If I could pass the tests I would be an airline pilot, and Im currently applying for jobs in motorsport to make use of the degree. Failing all that Ill move to canada/oz/nz and do I dunno what ever takes my fancy.

Ive been playing Bioshock, which is a pretty awesome game as well. a bit of a story and loads of side achievements to get. I will have to look at getting Assassins though.

I agree Len although crossing some of the ridges on the M62 passing the Xcape junction where the road surface changes is quite rough. Believe me with my car I can almost tell weather the coin I have just run over was heads or tails, and when I buy new shockers it will be even stiffer! The new junction it self is lovely and smooth. Unless Graham has been using a particular stretch I never use.

I know this junction, yes the third lane stops, and the driver was looking to turn right to go north on the M18, that is fairly obvious. It obviously never occurred to the officer that it was not possible for the driver to see him in his mirrors, so how was he supposed to know that there was a car approaching very rapidly. Also IIRC the lines for the inside lane change prior to the third lane stopping, effectively making the it a dual carriageway. Please correct me if I am wrong there though. What it all comes down to is that if he had had his siren, or even maybe just his blue lights the lorry driver may have noticed him earlier, and that to me is what make the difference between it being 'safe' to being 'unsafe' to travel at such speed.

My jobs not there, but choosing the nearest options it thinks I should be earning 2.5 times what I am. I don't think I can really rely on that.

I have found this quite interesting reading. What happens to a car in an accident is dependent upon design, condition and the circumstances involved leading to the accident ie. speed, position of impact, other objects etc. So as such there are too many variables to cover them all, and whilst ultimately the exact circumstances tested in Ncap tests will probably not occur, but what they are testing I feel is very useful and relevant. This for me was compounded in May 2004. A bit of background. Me and my dad are both enjoy cars, I mean everything, looking at them, buying them, selling them, fixing them and driving them. So in late 2003, when we heard that a friend of ours was looking to sell a LHD 205 rallye, that had belonged to my uncle (it was his everyday car and wreckie car for hie rallying) we had to buy it. We had this car not just because it was known to us, but because the French car had only a 1294cc engine, a close ratio box, and twin 38 webers, all developing 102 bhp when new and propelling the car to 60 as quick as a 1.6GTi. The ultimate aim was to spend the next couple of months, preparing it to go and do some hillclimbing, giving me a taste of some safe, competitive motorsport and my dad to have another go (he had to sell his lotus 7 when I was expected). I duly came from university in Swansea to home as often as possible to still fit in my studies, but prepare the car. By March it was back on the road, I had a helmet (borrowed in the first instance) and a brand new 2 layer Nomex race suite. The car was on the road and I was getting used to driving a LHD (the number of times you go to change gear with the window winder, lol) At the end of march I managed a practice day at Harewood where i got in a good number of runs at the place where most of this car mileage would now be. I also completed, the driving school where I learned alot about driving and car control. In fact I learned enough to beat my dad by 2 seconds at the first event in April. There were some improvements to be made, but it was a fun start. A couple of pics of the car. Notice the bucket seat, and there is some full fia harnesses to go with it. A couple of weekends later with new soft rubber sitting at home to replace the old hard tires currently on the car. My dad was going to take it for a full 4 wheel alignment to ensure that everything was as it should be. I was down in Swansea again looking forward to the next weekend racing, and hopefully beating my dad again. This was pretty much where my life changed, in many ways. The Saturday morning my dad went had the 4 wheel alignment done and on his way home driving a road he drove everyday he came around a slight bend in the road and had an accident. This was on a national speed limit road, around a bend that even in the slightly damp conditions that prevailed that Saturday could easily be taken at 40-50mph. That is unless some Gypsie 2 minuets in front of you has had the drum of diesel on the back of his pickup fall over, and because it has no lid on it, said container pours enough oil on the road to make it difficult to stand, never mind drive on. But even that wouldn't be too bad, so long as you avoid the chevrons on the outside of the entry of the corner all there is to hit is a big field with a gentle slope into it from the road. Unfortunately just at the same time a woman was coming the other way in a Citroen Xara. The result of this was immediately well you can imagine my dad wasn't too healthy after that. From my point of view though all was good, my mother was the first to really be affected by it (I know this may sound daft but bare with me here). She is at home waiting for my dad to come back to have breakfast, cause he has to go out after to put the tires on the other rims and some other jobs. So when by 9.00 he hasnt returned she starts to worry, as you do. Its only come sort of 9.30 when she has the police battering on the door to tell her the news. They then put her and my sister in a Panda car and rush them to Doncaster royal infirmary with all the bells and whistles. As some of you know this only happens fairly rarely, in this case because they are fairly certain that by the time that they get there my father will have been declared, but there is that slim chance. In fact he is well considering. My mum aware that the surgeons are working on him, is now desperately trying to call me before Swansea police find me, luckily she gets hold of me first, just as im getting in my 205 (spare parts car) to go back to my halls after a night out the night before. She manages to convince me to go inside and not drive home, as she knows that I would have come straight home, and the 205 would have been flat out. I manage to get a lift with my uncle who drove from Southampton to pick me up, and when i get to the hospital I luckily find my mother, sister, uncle, grandparents, it really is amazing how people pull together at a time like this. When we eventually get to see my dad at 6.00pm we spot that he appears very fat, and he is then whisked away for more surgery. Me and my mum, and sister (when she wasnt at school) spent the next 2 weeks visiting him in the intensive care ward of the hospital. A horrible place to be, but the care is second to none, I hope I never have to go back there, but am secure knowing that the care is the best. During the time he is there we start talking to specialist, doctors nurses etc. and eventually when he starts to be allowed to come around 2 weeks after the accident we start to asses the hidden injuries. The final tally reads as: Shattered left lower leg (fixed with external frame for 5 months) broken right foot (fixed with steel plates) a bruise mid calf on the right leg caused by the gear leaver it self no too bad But this became infected, oozing puss, and has left a very large scar. Then there was the internal bleeding, parts of his bowel and gut were removed. large abrasions across his shoulders. facial injuries, (I will put this in as 1, but there were many) and most worryingly Brain injuries. The facial injuries were caused not in the traditional way by hitting your face on the steering wheel, but the steering wheel coming to hit him in the face. This was also possibly compounded then by the tool box which was in the boot, flattening the back seats, and smashing in the front of the car. Either on the passenger side, or on the back of the drivers seat. The internal injuries were from the buckle of the seat belt and the leg injures were from the floor and pedals. As time went by we asked the doctors how long they though things were going to take, and they were saying probably 12 months, and he might get back to work in more like 15. He was in ICU for 17days, and spent a further 6 weeks in a broken bones ward. Luckily it transpired that there were no real brain injuries, and he is just like he always was, memory was affected and some small personality traits, but that is nothing compared to what i could have been. The biggest thing that has affected my dad long term is his left eye, has had the outer 2 of the 6 that control eye movement paralised in the accident, this means that this eye now points in toward his nose, and his brain can no longer compensate so he sees double of everything, but he has learned to cope. He ultimately surprised the docs by making as full a recovery as possible in time to be back at work by the January. The car however didnt come off so well. The pictures speak for them selves, the car was in a bad way, the back seats touching the front, the engine where the dash should be etc. Nothing on that car was salvageable any more. Ultimately it was the seat and belts that saved his life here, and if it had have had an airbag, perhaps his face and sight would have been better. This is why I have full harnesses in my car now. What happened to the woman driving the Citroen, she had a fractured sternum, and a bit of whiplash, and a couple of weeks later attempted to sue my dad for damages, stating he was driving dangerously. This was immediately dismissed, when the police report said that there was always going to be an accident on that corner. Im sorry for the long post, but it is one I have been meaning to write for a while, and if this makes anyone person reading take a little more care, and think about how possible the unlikely is, and the safety advantages of modern cars, and therefore prevents 1 accident, or casualty I will feel it has been worth while.

My cars mid engined and everybody knows that mid engined is best, therefore my car is best, and its blue.

I thought you were going to have a picture of a V6 clio, or have u given up on that?

I see. oh i thought it was next weekend, how dumb am i. Ah well another time then.

whats happening with this? Is it still going ahead?

Me and my mates were going to make one at uni, but never actually found the time to do the construction bit. Got a turbo off a truck from a scrap yard, with about a 2.5" intake, and had propane knocking about the kitchen, old exhaust silencer that needed some welding for the flame tube. Just need a drill or leaf blower to start it then. The real art is making one that has a working after burner. Somehow I dont think that was knocked up in an afternoon (unless they are jet designers+engineers), they take so much time to develop cause each one is different. Like the idea of using diesel though. Hmm might have to find another old turbo.

excellent cheers, things to do when racing just gets a bit dull.