Well it's so cold at the moment that the bucket of water that was in the garage last night froze... Not really a good time to be trying to get stuff done. Still over the last couple of weeks I have polished up the alternator to a mirror like finish and started painting the steel... Continue Reading →

Colin Satchells Alloy Alternator Pulley wheels turned up a while back, but I've been too busy to post up about them. Shiny! Few extra weights: Steel v-belt alternator pulley wheel - 180gSteel multiribbed belt pulley wheel - 495g (inferred estimate)Alloy multiribbed belt alternator pulley wheel - 100gAlloy multiribbed belt crank pulley wheel - 220g That's... Continue Reading →

Managed to pick up an 106 8 valve model type alternator during the week. These run on a v-belt rather than a multi-ribbed belt like the GTI engine. The difference between them is weight, the actual v-belt type alternators are lighter, but the real weight saving comes in terms of the rotating mass - the... Continue Reading →

So the new Lambda sensor turned up during the week. Fitted it and was disappointed to find it made absoultely no difference. So then spent the rest of the day trying other things. First up was checking all the vaccum hoses. I hooked them up to the trackpump and gave them a good high pressure... Continue Reading →

Some time ago I opted in for one of a limited number of gear knobs that were on offer. It turned up during the week and weighs in at only 60 grams, 120 lighter than the sparco one it is replacing. The best thing is it won't feel like your holding a bloody icicle in... Continue Reading →

Well tried a lot of things to try and cure the engine and when I took the cam covers off to inspect the timing belt, I decided that it would be a good idea to replace the rubber bumper on the O/S engine mount as the original was looking fairly mullered. Took a while for... Continue Reading →

Injectors refitted, allowed the fuel system to repressurise and then started her up and it's exactly the same as before. Whipped out the plugs and ran a compression test and recorded a healthy 14 bar across each of the four cylinders. So, the good news is that the engine core seems pretty healthy. That said... Continue Reading →

After giving some thought to the misfire problem. It occured to me that the car had been run on a very low tank of fuel just prior to the problems starting. In a bid to try and eliminate another possible source of the problems I had the fuel injectors sent off for ultrasonic cleaning. I... Continue Reading →

Went to drive the car a few days ago and after starting it up, it seems to be running on 3 cylinders - it sounds like a cross between a Subaru and a Tractor and is really down on power. Time to check the ignition system then... Update: Swapped the coil pack with my spare... Continue Reading →

Rallye is back on the road having passed it's MOT after a retest. A week ago it scraped through on emissions, but was failed on the brakes (front discs excessively pitted and too much travel in the handbrake. The washer bottle motor had also packed up when I was doing the final run through things... Continue Reading →

Exhaust turned up, so I did a dry run assemble and it all fits. Ordered a new heat shield as the fuel tank worryingly didn't have one and a stainless steel exhaust clamp so once they arrive I can fit them and the exhaust on. Managed to get the POR15 rust preventative coats on, so... Continue Reading →