04/04/14 – Upgrades

Long time, no update!

Since my last update I’ve been pretty busy. I’ve driven the Mini on a 1500km trip to the Goodwood Revival, taken the engine out to fix an oil leak, fitted a new set of Avon tyres, replaced the exhaust manifold, done a track day in Mondello, bought a set of split Webers, decided on a new engine build etc….you know, the usual!

The drive to Goodwood was an experience to say the least. Really glad I did it, but don’t think I’d be in a rush to do it in the Mk1 again – high revs, low speed and motorways aren’t ideal on a long journey!

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The trip took its toll on my 2 front tyres, hence the new set of Avons, and the prolonged revs and long stints between stops meant the heat disintegrated the welds on my exhaust manifold, hence the new one!

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After getting the car back to working condition again, I booked myself in for the car’s first track outing. The tune of the car wasn’t 100% (which I knew in advance), but it still performed incredibly well without any problems at all through the entire day. Lap times were a little off the pace, but we’ll be back at Mondello in May hopefully with a proper tune and a rear anti-roll bar!

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The next few months will also hopefully see the car with a bit of an upgrade under the bonnet – not only with the addition of some split Webers in place of the HS4s, but also a complete new motor.

Watch this space!
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