Engine testing at Buith Wells

Following our trip to the Manx International where another engine let go, I decided to put the 8-port engine back in.

I had rebuilt this since the first event of the year as a 1340cc, with lower compression 11.0 -1 and hopefully some reliability.

I wanted to put plenty of running-in miles on the engine which I managed over the next few weeks. The difference with the 8-port engine against the 5-port, both fitted with race cams, is the 8-port runs like a road engine, pulling from just over 1000 RPM, this makes it a joy to drive on the road.

I wanted to try the car on a smaller event to make sure that I had reliability. With this in mind I put an entry into a small single venue modern rally. I entered the up to 1400cc class and to my surprise I was seeded car no 26.

The venue was the showground at Buith Wells and was a mixture of Gravel and Tarmac. We could only use tarmac tyres, and I had decided this would be a good opportunity to use all of my worn tyres.

The day of the rally arrived and scrutineering went without any hitches. The first stage started on the gravel roads which were wet and muddy, there I was, on nearly bald tyres, but I was there to check the engine not to set the world alight.

We flew off the the start line with the engine reving away and the tyres spinning to try and gain some grip. 

The stage went quickly and we drove from the finish directly to the start again for stage two, all the gauages were reading OK and we were away through the second stage.

We then went into service to check fluid levels etc but had nothing to do as all seemed fine.
The day continued in the same format with two stages then into service, until the last batch of stages which were run in darkness. We were 4th in class and mid-20s overall, which surprised me as the cars in our Class have not only lots more power but had brought new soft compound tyres. I think if I had used good tyres, or ones that would had at least passed an MoT test, we may had been even further up the leaderboard.

The car had ran well with no problems with the engine so we fitted the spotlights for the last batch of stages, and ran the car to the start of the stage.

The next stage went without any drama and we went to the last stage. With less than a mile to go a Hardy Spicer joint broke, and we started to crawl out of the stage to the finish. We came to a hill and the limited slip diff would not pull the car up the hill. With the spectators' help we continued through the stage letting cars overtake us.

As we approched the finish I cut through the tape to miss a small 100 yard loop out and stopped at the marshal to get our final time. It was then I was told that the loop that I had cut, had the finish beam so would not be able to have a time.

The result was I did not get a finish again, but I was competing to try the engine out and we had done that, with no oil needed or water needed.

To top the day off the tow car a Ford Focus (the wife's) burnt a valve so we towed the car back on three cylinders.

The car was checked over and all seems OK, the plan is to change the gearbox as the diff needs tightening so will drive with a broken driveshaft if needed, and it dropped out of 2nd gear a couple of times, so will need to be re-built.