hawkeracing

I caught the end of the show but missed the car. Mel is still lush though!!! I wonder why the front grille badges have been badly stuck onto the bodywork? Surely not aimed at helping cooling.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291685064697

I will post this thread on FB for you and someone may come over. FB is very simple.....I hate it though....no pictures of my kids, wife, dinner or holidays on there for me! I just do old Skodas over there.

You're in the wrong place.....try here......you will be able to get a new front panel too https://www.facebook.com/groups/skodaownersclub/

BKR7EIX on my race car. On my other car I have Bosch......cheap as chips and decent. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-Bosch-Spark-Plugs-fit-Triumph-Herald-Spitfire-Skoda-Estelle-Rapid-L87YC-/291646170256?hash=item43e7776490:g:Bn0AAOSwQoFWOMTI The 6 and 7 has nothing to do with the size of the hexagonal nut, it's an invisible heat grading.

If your car is fitted with the longer plugs the electrodes will be touching the pistons at high revs because they will protrude too far.....that would cause issues! I did this once and the engine did run but closed the electrodes up and ran like a dog! Worth swapping for the correct ones......doesn't matter much if you use 6 or 7 on the heat rating.

I actually have a set of alloy skinned doors that I bought earlier this year.

Not sure how you think you'd obliterate a fibreglass bonnet or boot lid?!?! Are you planning on having a massive accident!? The bonnets are 3d and very strong. I will see if I can dig out the window kit emails.....just wracking my brains for the name of the firm I talked to. The problem with the Estelle is it's a heavy car for the engine power.....currently mine still weighs over 800kgs and that's with things like a plastic bonnet. I have to retain the glass for my class in speed events.....but you have one hell of a cage there that's going to weigh a bit too. If you're adding things like a birdbath (which for stage rallying would be useful I think) then you're going to have a fairly hefty beast there when you line it up next to a Peugeot 205 or a Mini

I own moulds for and can get you a fibreglass bonnet made but you would need to collect from Cumbria - it will save you between 10 and 15kgs depending on how brave you are with the thickness.....I am also about to have moulds made for a mk1 bootlid....which is basically a plain flat one that you can then do what you want with....hoping to save another 5kgs+. If you post up on Facebook someone will probably have a birdbath you can buy.....they are hefty things, but if you are stage rallying then they may be useful.....I don't really need the extra cooling and would rather go faster! Doors would be very difficult to have made in fibreglass.....the moulds would have to be insanely intricate and the doors would probably still need re-enforcing. I can point you in the direction of a company that do plastic window kits.

I've already shared a picture of the engine.......might as well got for the whole car now! Rob......read more carefully.....2/10 for attention . It's only a replica. Skodapaddy (that can't be your real name!) - the general opinion is it's an early Favorit engine.....assuming there aren't any letters missing after the numbers that can't be seen.

T pistons with rings come as a set. They take 136 gudgeon pins and the 75.5mm fit standard liners. Make sure you specify that its a 136 from a Favorit/Felicia - he sells Fabia pistons which sit at a different height in the engine. You need to check the journal sizes on your cam, there is more than 1 cam size. Your standard valve springs will be fine up to 7000rpm so unless you're going mad with the cam you should be fine. Cam wise.....I don't know, it depends what you're after. Kent will cut your cam to 244 (sk6) profile which is a really good compromise between out and out top end and usable torque. Please mention me when you contact Zdenek at Engitec and tell him I pointed you in his direction (my real name is Peter Garforth but keep that a secret....I wouldn't want to advertise it on the internet or anything )

That's good news. You still really ought to bin the pistons if you're building a competition engine.....they break up between the piston rings with hard use. The engine is a high compression 136 too judging by the engine number.

The engine with the red head is undoubtedly Australian :p The engine number is on the block not the head....next to the water pump

Here is the latest FHR ****e from the MSA.....I think angle wise Graham has misinterpreted things......horizontal from the mounting to shoulder is good. Mandatory use of FHR With effect from 1 January 2016 the use of FHRs becomes mandatory in Racing, Sprints, Hillclimbs and Stage Rallies – but there are exceptions. In Stage Rallying, Historic Category 1 cars (pre-1968) are exempt. In Sprints and Hillclimbs ‘Roadgoing’ category vehicles are exempt. Additionally in Sprints and Hillclimbs, as well as in Racing ‘Period defined’ vehicles are exempt, this is cars of Periods A –H, i.e. those constructed prior to 1st January 1977. A specific document has been circulated in the main MSA newsletter to all licence holders concerning helmet and FHR compatibility which is different for MSA National events compared to International permit events. If you are involved in a championship that involves a round being held outside of the UK, advise competitors to be careful for most ASNs follow the FIA regulations. Therefore irrespective of a race at – for example - Spa-Francorchamps running on an MSA National permit, FIA requirements will likely apply. In terms of harness/seat/FHR set up, refer to the advice on the FIA website. Although it is recommended that the shoulder attachments are closer together so that the straps go outward from their attachments to go over and round the FHR, this is not mandatory. It is recommended that the shoulder straps be horizontal between the attachment and the user’s shoulders, or that the attachment is at a lower point to make an angle of 0-20o to the horizontal. Note this is a recommendation and if shoulder straps make an angle with the horizontal of 0- 45o this is acceptable. It is not acceptable for the shoulder strap attachments to be at a higher point (creating an angle above the horizontal). Note that (K)1.2.2 is updated so as to allow the fitment of not only door bars, but also harness bars to homologated ROPS, but this is only for MSA National events. The addition of door bars and/or harness bars to homologated ROPS is not permitted under FIA regulations. Frontal Head Restraints It is inevitable that this topic is going to repeatedly come up over the next few months. There have been numerous queries concerning tethers. These carry FIA homologation labels and need to be checked for although in normal use they are not loaded they can become worn in use, particular those where the tether are one strap that can move through the mounting points to allow greater rotation of the users head. An FHR in compliance with 8858-2002 can be used with either 8858-202 tethers or with 8858-2010 tethers. For a 8858-2010 FHR only 8858-2010 tethers may be used. In either case 8858-2002 or 8858-2010 helmet anchorages can be used subject to being compatible with the tethers being used. A 8858-2002 helmet can only be fitted with 8858-2002 anchorages and a 8858-2010 helmet can only be fitted with 8858-2010 anchorages. FHR specific harnesses There are some harnesses homologated by the FIA which are labelled as “valid with HANS only” or similar. As previously advised, such harnesses can be used with any FIA-homologated Frontal Head Restraint be it a HANS or one of the alternatives. If you see such harnesses in the car then you should be expecting to see an FHR device for the relevant car occupant. Remember that any FIA-homologated harness can be used in conjunction with an FIA-homologated FHR.

Just noticed it has a fuel pump drive too......if you have the engine number it's possible to age the engine, but I reckon it's a Favorit one.....and far from new

Ok, good.....you have a distributor drive and a v crank pulley which means its not a very late model (with a v pulley it's more likely to be Favorit!) and you have the space for a spigot bearing. You need to take the rocker cover off to see what valve springs you have. The MPI head has bigger ports and flows better but the valve springs break with regular 5000+rpm use. That engine does not look brand new though......has it got oil in it? It's been fitted with a filter and spark plugs which would make me think it's been used. Because of the v belt crank pulley it's likely to be pre 1997 and may even be a 135 low compression version - you can only tell by the pistons.....the 135 is basically the same engine but with low compression pistons......which need to go in the bin f you have them

T pistons are a standard fit or you can get the 77mm ones that go out to 1340cc with bored liners. They come supplied with rings. Photograph the fly end of the crank and look under the rocker cover......if you've got a 'good' 136 it will have double valve springs

Have you checked the spec etc of your 136 engine btw? The 136 pistons are crap if you're planning on using that as your rally engine (130 are better)......they're made from Cadbury's crunchie and don't like constant high revs. If you're building a moderately high tune 136 engine with say 110bhp then you will regularly be revving above 6000rpm to achieve that. You can get tougher lightweight pistons with rings called T pistons from Engitec in CZ....I have spent a fortune with him and whilst he isn't the fastest he does always supply the stuff and is quite reasonable. Same deal as Speedpro though.......fill out an order and then email asking about postage. http://engitec.cz/shop/index.php?action=howToBuy&searchText=〈=2

Kolar may take several weeks to reply to any email in my experience! Front wings for the mk2 Estelle - go on Ebay and look up a seller called Skodashop. I don't think he has any advertised at the moment but he can get them new for a reasonable price. Failing that if you go on the Skoda owners club Facebook site you will find someone will have one although there are no active commercial sellers left in the UK other than Skodashop thse days, a guy called Chris Pepper still has odds and ends (on Ebay as Boroskoda) and Skopart.de converse in English, accept Paypal and regularly send me things like bushes and trim parts. Briskoda isn't really the place for old Skodas....it's more geared up and used by people with Octavia and Fabia VRSs https://www.facebook.com/groups/skodaownersclub/

Look at this page...contains front and rear weld on strengthening kits - basically a load of pre cut metal plate http://kolarmotorsportshop.eshop-zdarma.cz/index.php?category_id=13

Not rear arm upgrades (the 130LR and 130RS both used a different rear suspension set up from common or garden cars that is a popular upgrade) - just a set of pre cut re-enforcing plates.

You should look at re-enforcing all your suspension wishbones and the rear arms in a big way for rallying.....you can actually buy kits to do this from TYM or Kolar motorsport for not much money, or make your own of course! I can see what Graham means about how close the mount will be to the back of the seat......my harness bar sits about a foot back from the back of the seat. The MSA and Hans stuff has really ****ed a lot of people off. I recently met Rob Jones the current MSA boss in my role as chairman of WIgton MC and this topic was brought up - particularly in relation to speed events which are virtually injury accident free....but they just came back with the line - it's a no brainer, it's vital safety kit and non negotiable. Personally they are slowly but surely strangling the clubman end of the sport with the ever increasing start up costs.....

The bar looks to be at shoulder height when you take into account how low the seat will be which is absolutely fine. Roll cages aren't rocket science providing you have a copy of the most recent blue book. Whilst my childhood dream was always stage rallying and I worshipped Lancia in the Grp B era the sport is as good as a dead duck these days. More events seem to be getting cancelled than run and if that wasn't enough the Scottish government are hammering nails into the coffin as fast as their influence will allow following the whole Jim Clark rally incident. Very sad indeed and a far cry from the days of the 80s when I used to watch the RAC rally in Grisedale......that rally is now a shadow of it's glory days, being a handful of day time stages in Wales that no ones notices anymore. god 1985 was the most awesome spectacle! Hey ho....

You need to check on MSA frontal head restraint regulations.......they are mandatory in rallying, racing and most (but not all thank god) speed event classes from next year. Have you actually made contact with Speedpro then? You won't get a postage quote by ordering from the site - postage is only within CZ if you've done an on line order. You then need to email them, using basic English and request a total posted to the UK. When they reply you then need to query the postage they ask for because it will be ridiculous if my recent experiences are the norm.....they will then knock a bot off and send you payment details to do a foreign money transfer to. They pack stuff well and what they supply is good. Whatever you do don't ring them.....they claim to speak some English, but they speak only slightly more than I speak Czech.....which is none!

That's a very impressive cage indeed! Have you had a look at Speedpro then? Firms in CZ can be a pain to order from as most don't yet take credit cards.....they also charge crazy postage rates although if you challenge them they often reduce them to suit. I'm assuming you already have a decent suspension set up for it what with it having been a rally car already. Is it an ex works grp A car or was it just painted to look like it? Do you know what spec the 130 engine in it was?