oliverjamesthomas

See you there for a brew 😉

If you want to PM me the details, I’m based in Halifax. If it’s a dealer I will know them and there really aren’t that many IB’s around these parts that are in private hands. For a West Yorkshire based PPI, there is only one name in my opinion and that is Strasse. They’ve forgotten more than most ever learn and their service is excellent 👍

Those Thermos mugs are brilliant, but they keep tea so warm that you can’t drink it 🤣 The E46 is an outstanding choice 👍

Congratulations Matey. That’s cracking news 👍

The best person, bar none, is Mark Robins at Drivelimits: www.drivelimits.com Apart from being the person who ran the driver training for the aforementioned Carlimits before they ceased, he is one of the Porsche Experience Centre Silverstone Instructors and a test driver. I instruct and I have been twice. I know other Instructors who have been and his nickname of ‘dances with cars’ is very well earned. I think he is tweaking his website but if you do the Facebook thing, search for Drivelimits and you’ll see more details. I’m not part of the organisation and I don’t get any kickbacks. There’s a few names I could put forward, but I wouldn’t put any above Mark. He will absolutely blow your mind, irrespective of what you think you know. The added bonus is that North Weald is quite a unique venue. You can achieve things there that you simply can’t on the road or a track.

……. and there’s me thinking we had convinced you to buy a Skyline 🤣 Mark and I must try harder! Good choice on the new car, but I’ve just found out you can get the Pilot Sport 4S in correct GT3 sizes. Keep it and dump the IB; you know it makes sense 😉

See you there Lewis 😉

Cracking buy; that looks really nice. The development budget for them knew no limits. On my hit list when I sort some more parking out.

Hope you are well down there 👍 190E is a lovely thing and has that Mercedes build quality of old. I’ve driven a rather sluggish diesel and a more punchy 2.0, but never a 2.6. As a useable classic goes, they are brilliant. That said, in the interests of being awkward I’m going to win this thread 🤣 I give you a very practical estate..........

Was it the Oxford / Astra one? You don’t need to worry about blood clots. The chip will smash through them 👍

I had mine on Saturday. Felt absolutely fine for twenty hours and then like I’d been run over by a bus. Went to bed and slept it off and I feel fine today. But then, I am a hard northerner 🤣 It was a very slick system from start to finish and that’s coming from someone who contracted and worked with the NHS and knows just how inept things generally are. Whoever placed orders for the vaccine at the outset and secured what appears to be a great supply, should be put on a pedestal. Top job and we’re showing the world how things should be done for once. The added bonus is the embedded tracking technology, which means I’ll not get lost the first time I go out drinking 👍

Thanks for that. Really. You’re doing my savings plans no good whatsoever 🤣

Into the link that you have referenced? It has opened for me. It is obviously yet to host more information, but what’s there is interesting reading.

We’re good thanks Mark. Haven’t seen the car for months though. It’s on SORN and under a cover. Life will return to normal one day! 😉

I was somewhat bemused when the old Region 5 people were removed from post in the manner they were. Having met them several times at Oulton Park and North West based events, they seemed quite an affable bunch and appeared to be well liked by the R5 members. At the time there appeared to be a bit of a smear campaign, which included insinuations around financial irregularities if I recall correctly. I think someone was put back in their box on that front, because a swift clarification was made. Then I read posts from a Register Secretary, who I first met in 2003. This is someone who had given an awful lot to members and lived and breathed the job. His treatment appeared somewhat unprofessional as well. Mark mentioned in his post that RO and RS type positions are resource hungry, so fair play to people who put themselves forward for them. These people should not be poorly treated; (I'm not suggesting you were Mark. Hope you are both keeping well!) It is fairly evident that something is very wrong somewhere. As other posts allude, an awful lot of the membership won't bat an eyelid. They pay their money, put a sticker in the car and get preferential parking at events, which is where their interests are. They aren't invested in the marque; they are more bothered about the image. There are people however, who feel they have been wronged. The mechanism to deal with this exists and that is what they are using. The current Board have the right to defend themselves of course, but having read some of the comments that are being made they aren't exactly showering themselves in glory, IMO. I'm somewhat interested to see how this plays out. I didn't renew my membership because I was pretty disgusted with the way the Club behaved in respect of the SCoM debacle. Hopefully some things will change going forward and there will be improvements. I made some good friends over the seventeen years I was a member and it is sad to see things going awry.

That sounds like the fella 👍 It’s with the people I use for mapping. Quite a nicely specified thing. The pictures are of the Turbo being fitted on it; couldn’t resist plonking it on my car to wind the competition up 🤣. Not sure what happens with the gearbox though?

I know of an imported later generation one, with an RB DETT engine in from the factory. It’s currently being played with and will be four figure horsepower when it is done. Just what you need to outrun those Zombies 🤣

Very much a case of good luck and not good judgement. That section of road is very steep and anyone with half a brain wouldn’t have tackled it. At the same time that was happening, on the other side of town I was picking up the pieces when an idiot in a RR Sport decided, against better advice dispensed at the top, to drive down our hill. Missed my van by a couple of feet and ploughed into a parked car, sending that into a second parked car. One badly damaged, one written off. She drove away. Some people are beyond help.

The simplest way is four axle stands, a pair of builders string lines and two lengths of aluminium tube. The trick is to have the tubes exactly the same length, with a groove at each end, exactly the same distance from each respective end for the strings to locate in. The only downside is the possibility of knocking something, together with an inability to move the car easily to settle the suspension. This is the way we do things trackside and it works. There is a common misconception that wheels are always in the correct positions relative to the centre line of the car, which is often not the case and certainly rare in my experience where modified cars are concerned. I have been told that some of the computer rigs don’t account for this, so the results you get aren’t always what they might be. I built what you see in the photo and it cost me very little. 20mm aluminium box section is used to form two frames, one for each end of the car. A three way boss ties everything together and some marks in the right places on the frames allow everything to go together in exactly the same position each time. Being my car I’ve marked positions on the body front and rear as well, although I can get away with that because race car. The hub stands are formed from 8mm steel plate, with a length of 8mm steel angle bolted to the bottom. They are dual drilled, to suit both the race car PCD and the GT3. I do use turn plates, although heavy duty conveyor type roller bearings are available on EBay that will go into the steel angle and negate the need for them. Turn plates aren’t cheap and for relatively little use might not be everyone’s preference. The likes of Metal Supermarket would supply you everything pre-cut, which makes it all a drill and bolt exercise. If anyone needs dimensions, let me know.

I wonder how many people have said that, before they rolled their car into a ball of snot 😉 I remember a chap telling me over a stein or three that I could go quicker through Foxhole. He raised his glass when I reminded him his car had been recovered using a sweeping brush and that mine was parked round the back in one piece. Hats off to Mr 3.0 Mullet Man in the video. He can pedal and knows the place well. Cracking video and a good reminder of just how sweet the older cars can be 👍

Here you go; pretty much the ONLY Company you need to talk to: http://www.ianjemison.co.uk/ I’ve had work done by them, as have others I know. They are entrusted with some very rare wheels and I’ve yet to hear a bad thing said.

Not sure on that one, I’m afraid. A lot of Caterfield type cars have them and are road legal, so I think it is worth investigating.

Like that a lot Chris. One of those cars that gets better every time you look at it 👍

I wouldn’t worry about buying used or out of date belts if they are in good visible condition. I have just replaced a perfect five point set because they expired on 31/12/19. Nothing wrong with them at all and they have been passed as fit by a Scrutineer at every event. If you are doing track and want to go to the full length, go with HANS and 2” shoulder belts. If you don’t want to use HANS, go with 3” and use wrap around shoulder pads. I would personally advise five or six point belts, although five point may be more comfortable. Wrap the shoulder straps around the cage; if you need a schematic on how to do it I will dig you one out. You will probably find it easiest to replace the lower seat belt mounting bolts with 7/16” UNF eyelets, meaning you can clip the lap straps onto them but still retain seatbelt functionality. They are readily available, but if you struggle in these COVID times let me know. I have loads, so I’ll send you a couple over.

I’m dropping you a PM chap.