Are You Startin'?

After finally having put the 32/36 Weber on the Pinto-powered Mustang ragtop, I've come to realise that manual choke conversion kits aren't that plentiful any more. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, seeing as the last car made with a carburettor probably rolled off the production line 20 years ago, but it still makes me righteously indignant.

Anyway, the latest issue with the bloody thing involved the starter motor. About a month ago, the sodding transmission cooler lines ruptured AGAIN, leading me to abandon the cooler built into the radiator and to repurpose the redundant air conditioning condenser radiator as a trans cooler. This merely involved cutting off half the rusty trans cooler pipes and replacing them with some thick-walled rubber hose. Don't use thin-wall - I found this to my cost when it burst within five miles last time around.

The new cooler works a treat - in fact, it's probably over-spec by about 200% as the fluid never seems to get warm - but I'd noticed that the starter motor had been getting a bit lazy. Sometimes it wouldn't turn over at all, and, suspecting the solenoid, a common fault on Foxes, I'd bridged the main terminals and got it to start. Then, after a trip of about seven miles to the local bearings and fasteners factors, it wouldn't start. I tried bridging the solenoid but ... nothing. I tried clubbing the starter with a hammer, and still nothing. I could hear the solenoid clicking closed, and could hear the arm that throws the pinion on the starter, but it wasn't turning. You can't push-start a C3 auto so I had no choice but to call the AA and tell them the starter was fubar. So, after waiting just over an hour (there was a pub nearby that sold London Pride which, although it sounds like a gay festival is actually a decent pint. Well, this one was pretty mediocre, but anyway...) the AA patrolman turns up and tells me my starter motor is fubar. Thanks. Fair play to the guy, though, he jacked the car up and whipped off the starter, connected it to his jump-start pack and, sure enough, the pinion shot out but the motor didn't turn one jot.

So, two hours later, a recovery truck arrives to haul the car three miles to the workshop. I'd told patrol-dude I was happy for him to flat-tow me for three miles but he wouldn't - not only might it damage the auto box, there's no towing eye on the front of a Fox.

A desperate plea went out on Faecebook and, having confirmed that a Euro Pinto starter motor will NOT fit, found out that a V8 starter WILL.

The Pinto starter (on the right) uses a three-bolt fixing, while the V8 uses two, but apparently a V8 starter will go on. God bless Billy 'Four-Speed' Cattell, who not only had a spare starter but was also heading to the Hot Rod Drags, where I was going the following day.

As you can see, Billy's starter is clean and painted while mine is foul and filthy, and I think this tells you everything you need to know about Billy and I. You'll also notice that the V8 starter is quite a bit larger around the body than the Pinto one (yes, I know, I'm a fine one to talk) and when it came to mount it, guess what was in the way? Yes, the remains of the sodding transmission cooler steel pipes. Well, if I just bend them out of the way here a fraction, bend them a fraction towards the sump here, then just a tiny little bend heSNAP. Bloody hell's teeth, I thought, with another few quids-worth of ATF dribbling into the gravel, there must be thruppence-worth of shonky steel pipe here but they've already caused me at least a grand's-worth of pain in my fudgy bunghole and they're STILL AT IT! Another cut'n'shut with some rubber pipe and I'm considering buying shares in the company that makes Jubilee clips.

I also had to drill out the terminal end on the starter cable by a mil or two to go over the stud on the V8 starter, which means putting the terminal in the Workmate, the drill biting into the brass, pulling it free and coiling up the starter cable while you get whipped by the loose end. I don't understand why some people pay for this sort of treatment...

The silver lining is that the car now starts with a minimum of fuss, and I may one day get around to stripping down the Pinto starter and trying to find the cause of its demise. I believe that being soaked in hot trans fluid from busted cooler pipes not once, not twice but FOUR times may have something to do with it...

The Uphill Gardeners

Right at the end of August, we all headed off to Shelsley Walsh, one of the hallowed grounds of UK motorsport heritage. On this weekend, though, they'd opened the doors to all manner of scruffy herberts, youngsters and other hoodies.

The Retro Rides Gathering is just that, a gathering, not particularly a show, organised by the Retro Rides online forum. It seems (from the outside) to be blessedly free of club politics and BS, and everyone with an interesting car is welcome. Note: interesting. Not necessarily the rarest, most expensive or laden with billet crap, just interesting. The rarity value they seem to prize isn't the most valuable, rather the car of which there are few left, the forgotten. And they genuinely seem to appreciate resourcefulness and engineering ingenuity rather than who can bung the most money at something. Yes, there were a few examples that make you scratch your head, like cars with preposterously extended and convoluted exhaust pipes like those oddball Japs do, and a few cars with one pint tyres on quart rims, but mostly it's just interesting older stuff. The average age of the car owners is also well below that of the usual rod run.

There were a handful of NSCC cars in the mix, such as Nigel's Anglia (above), many of whom were guests of Mick Wilkes' Wacky Racers, who had a display stand there. Phil Winstanley's Moggy was also there after a long absence.

The hill was open on a RWYB basis, although there was no timing so it was purely an opportunity to blast up the hill for fun. Wacky, god bless him, made several runs in the little Bedford van and was warned by the clerk of the course to take it easy after each one. They also invited him back at a later date to put a few timed runs in, saying that the Bedford was as quick out of the gates as many single-seaters...

It's a buzzing little event to go to, out in the middle of nowhere, and a tremendous atmos. Any pre-1990 NSCC car could have turned up and been welcomed into the fold. There were even a few familiar faces from Shakey there - I spotted a Huxley Falcon and Mr Mulligan's brown Buick. You also know you're west of the M5 by the fact that the bar had a couple of different ciders on tap. Looking for something a little different from the usual rod run? Give RRG a go next year.

Eugene

NSCC Rounds 8 & 9

Blimey, it only seems like two minutes since the last race report, but here's August's! And it's only bloody September! Please do not mistake this for efficiency, and I'd advise you don't expect this in the future.
August's bank holiday double-header at York didn't start very well for Saturday evening arrivals, beginning with Biff locking his keys in his Mustang in the queue to get in (a Mercedes key, provided by a helpful guy in the queue, fitted perfectly, apparently) and followed after dark by some torrential rain. This led to many people attempting to waterproof themselves from the inside out with beer. It doesn't work, but after a while it stops you giving a shit about being wet.

Even with Mr Murty Sr brushing and sledding the track at midnight, Sunday started cool and very damp, and it was a while before qualifying got under way. Nobody was expecting great things from the track, but Russ managed to put the Dutton on pole with a 10.5 at 135mph anyway. Next came Simon Boot in the Bootlegger Camaro at 11.54 and Derek's TVR at 11.8, then Jo Zyla in Eddie's Mitsubishi while her own car is still awaiting major engine surgery, easily rattling off a 13.2. James managed 13.5 in the Cortina, then Steve Gilmour back on form at 13.9 in his Cortina, then Mark Butterworth led the Fox charge three hundredths later. Biff's SN95 was down at 14.5, a whisker ahead of Tom Barker's Astra now sporting a 2.0 engine and a three-second jump in ETs. John Peace was way off form in the next Fox at 14.8, another Fox from Paul Davies at 15.0, then Shaun Wilson's fresh-out SN95 on 15.3. These bloody Mustangs are getting as common as muck. Andy Errington's TVR was down at 15.7, then Nigel's hot four-pot Anglia at 16.2, rounded out by Rick Swaine in the Viva at 17.7. It says a lot that 14.5 was enough for the bottom spot in the top half of the ladder.

Eliminations started with Bootlegger eliminating the Viva, 11.5 to 17.6, then Biff and Tom, only five hundredths apart in qualifying, suddenly went their separate ways, Biff to a 13.6 and Tom to a 16.0. James picked up some form to a 12.5 against Shaun's 15.1, likewise the Foxes of Mark and John both picked up almost half a second, the advantage going to Mark. Gilly got the sprightly MkI Cortina down to a 13.4 against Paul's 15.0, then Derek laid down a relatively gentle 13.0 to put Nigel out. Jo squeezed a 12.9 out of the Evo to Andy's 16.0, then Russ laid down an 11.7-second bye to finish off a first round that went entirely according to the form book.

Into the quarter finals, and Simon Boot opened the bidding with an 11.8 at a low 100mph to Mark's 13.5 at a more-like-it 101mph, then James repeated his 12.5 second form to see off Jo's Evo at 13.1. Russ belted out a 10.7 with Biff crossing the stripe three seconds later, before Derek ran 13.1 with half a second to spare against Steve. Again, all to the form book.

The first of the two semis threw up a bit of a conundrum, Derek apparently running a 7.6 against Simon's 10.5, both of them crossing the line at 128mph. Simon got the win light, though, so maybe it was Derek's apparent 4.2 second reaction that lost him the race. All Derek has to do now is to back up that 7.6 within 1% and he can really stick it to the Twister... Meanwhile, Russ ran an easy 11.2 to end James's day and set up the finals.

That last run had produced some rather funny noises from Derek's TVR, Derek tracing the problem to a split weld on the manifold. If only...
In the final, Simon, on tyres with the remaining structural integrity of a novelty condom, managed to launch hard, picking the wheels up on a 0.5 reaction and rattle off a 10.7 at 129mph. Brilliant, but wily Russ always leaves something in the bag, which he whipped out now and dropped a 9.70-bomb to take the win. Wow.
It should also be pointed out that Derek, Russ and Simon were the last three remaining in the annual Street Racer Shootout running concurrently with NSCC, and Simon managed to put the "hot favourite" out with a 10-second blast, then Russ won overall to take the honours and the prize purse.
The evening saw the KC Cackle on the startline, then a pick-your-own cruise led everyone a merry dance around the countryside before returning to site to enjoy the band and sink another few ales.

Sadly, there was more overnight rain to endure from Sunday night into Monday morning, and Monday started late with a marginal track. The first round of qualifying was run, with the track telling us that that was all we were likely to get, with them running the RWYBers up as cannon-fodder for most of the morning. Then, at lunchtime, with a view to finally running American Super Stock, Super Cup and the like, they glued the track. Sadly, half an hour later, with A/SS midway through their first qualifier, a proper shower of rain came along. This, on top of the freshly-prepped track, gave indications of putting the tin hat on the rest of the day's proceedings. A kangaroo court was convened somewhere in the NSCC pits, and the majority voted to abandon the day.

The rain persisted down for the next hour or so while everyone was packing up, but those who stayed were treated to a track almost to themselves later in the day, and some classes ran to completion. A bit of a whimper to end a weekend that should have gone with a bang, but at least the points could be awarded based on qualifying times. The piss-poor luck award either goes to Russ, who missed the first and what would turn out to be the only qualifying round on Monday, or to Lee who turned up to race his El Camino only to be booted at scrutineering for only having lap belts.

It all certainly gives James a hell of a lead in the championships. In fact, James could hang up his crash hat right now and be almost certain of lifting the trophy at the end of the year. But you never know - we're now into the last month of NSCC 2014, and with many, many people still yet to qualify, it's heading for the Last Chance Saloon with the finals just a couple of weeks away. It's all getting jolly exciting...

Eugene

NSCC Rounds 6 & 7

Yes, with rounds 8 and 9 having happened just over a week ago, I suppose I'd better fill in the race report for rounds 6 and 7 that happened way back in July.

It was, unfortunately, the weekend of July 12th and 13th, which happened to coincide with Dragstalgia down at Santa Pod, an event that called plenty of the usual suspects away. And who could blame them - Dragstalgia featured some real crowd-pullers, not least a pair of old-school Fuel Altereds and a Gasser all the way from the States. By all accounts, it was a blinder of a weekend and NSCC lunatic Andy Hadfield managed to run his first seven in the road-legal Twister T, so buns all round.

This did leave a rather depleted field up at York, of course, with all classes running a skeleton crew. NSCC managed a scant seven qualifiers on the Saturday, headed by Simon 'Bootlegger' Boot on a 10.8 at 128mph, followed by James Murray on 12.7 at 111. John Peace wrung a 13.3 out of the blown Fox, with Knobby Colquhoun a shade behind on 13.5, then Paul Davis in the four-eye Fox Mustang (a car which I'm sure appeared in NSCC in different hands many years ago) on 14.4, Steve Gilmour on 14.7, and newcomer Tom Barker in an Astra on 17.4.

So, a pair of GMs bookending a field of Fords. With only seven players, round one of eliminations was also the quarter finals so plenty of points and more buns all round. Simon ran an 11.1 on a bye run, and why not, while James took Tom out 13.8 to 17.6. Knobby knocked Paul out 13.4 to 14.8 and John got a mighty holeshot on Gilly to make sure of his place in the semis. Although Gilly got a 90.0000mph terminal, possibly the most OCD terminal ever witnessed.

In the semis, Simon ran a relatively sedate 11.9 to finish Knobby's day, while John pulled a cherry trying to repeat his holeshot against James. In the final, Simon handed James three tenths on the line but then got his own back by winning with a second and a half in hand. And that was it. The day was over, done and dusted before 4pm, leaving everybody chance to sit around scratching their suntans and topping up their knackers for a couple of hours before we all went out on a cruise. Possibly. I can't remember. I expect there was a large dinner involved, and possibly a couple of beers upon our return, but I'm not going to swear to anything. I can't remember what happened this morning, never mind two months ago.

Sunday, and we woke up to another gorgeous morning and a couple of extra cars to swell the ranks. Firstly, the "if shit was lucky I'd be constipated" award goes to Stuart Harrison, who brought his super-duper Supra all the way down from Darlington only to shear all the propshaft bolts in the burnout before qualifying.

It sadly wasn't done in time for second qualifiers, so he came a long way to be a spectator... Nevertheless, we still ended up with 10 qualifiers. The top of the ladder looked similar, topped by Simon on 11.0 but now chased by Ian Walley on 11.1, James on 12.7 and Knobby on 13.8. Everybody else seemed to be struggling for form, though, with Shaun Cockcroft's Crossflow MkII Escort nipping into fifth with a 15.02 ahead of Paul's 15.08, John languishing at 15.4, and Lee Openshaw's Punto's 15.50 nudging Gilly's 15.57 down into ninth with Tom shoring up the field on a 17.3.

In round one, Simon dispatched Tom by a clear five and a half seconds, though Simon's 94mph terminal didn't bode well. In the Cortina match-up, Ian pulled a 10.8 out of his bottom to shut down Gilly's 15.4 while Knobby redlit his chances away against John. Paul was gifted a win when Shaun's Escort plummeted to 17.0, then James's no-gas 13.7 was enough to see off Lee's Fiat and set up the quarter finals.

In the quarters, John suddenly found 13-second form again but it wasn't enough to beat James's 12.9 despite his dozy reactions. Simon, on a bye, just broke the beams then backed up to wait for the semis, not wanting to chance anything on such a baking hot day, then Ian ended Paul's run of luck with another 10.8 to Paul's 14.7.

So, Simon was sat at the startline waiting for James to come around and run the semis. He as ready, too, and clicked off a stout 11.3 to James's 13.1 to take his place in the finals. Ian, meanwhile, just had to break the beams on his bye, then back up and wait.

Which is what he did. In the end, Simon left like a man possessed with a 0.52 light and ran an 11.4 at 121mph. Ian, meanwhile, left the line 0.4 seconds later but got to the line just shy of 0.5 seconds quicker on a 10.9 at 126. It must have been as tight as a mermaid's minge at the top end, but the win light came on in Ian's lane and Sunday's trophy went back to Darlington. Simon had a damn good time and took home a trophy and 3900 points from the weekend. Everyone else went home covered in grit and sweat having had a really good, sunny weekend despite the lower-than-we're used to turnout. And, who knows, before the final we might even have the write-up for the August meet! Points and dates are on www.nscc.info.

Eugene