iansoutham

April 18th is Central Day @ Santa Pod so would be no good for me

I should be able to make that. Might not be in the cabby though as it will not be taxed until April.

I am guessing that you are thinking of Nell's Cafe?

Just so that anyone from Kent is aware, there has been an accident @ Thurrock apparently which has now been cleared, but would advise leaving an extra 15 minutes or so to allow for delays. I'll be leaving soon to go over so will see you all there hopefully.

Hoping to pop along this evening and say hi

Go to the battery area and look behind it. There should be another horn there. Chances are that either the wire has come off or the horn has died. To find out for sure if the horn has died, disconnect the wire and put it to one end to a test light and the other end of the test light to earth. When "activating" the alarm, there should be a 1 second pulse. If this happens, the horn is dead. Replacement is simple. The alarm feature is part of the central locking module as far as I can recall, so if the locking is working, the rest of it should be too. As for your buzzer on the lights, have you got confirmed sidelights, dash illumination, number plate lamp and fog lamp? If no, the stalk is faulty and either needs cleaning internally (easy to do if you know how) or replacing.

Just a quick question, have been looking @ some of the upcoming shows this year and was wondering whether the Battlesbridge show in May was per person or per car as the entry states 1 ticket max per member, but it would be me and the other half attending in one car?

I don't know if I'll be there or not yet. It all depends on how the finances go ATM. So far, I have 1/4 tank in the Saff and £10 left to my name until the end of the month.

Hi, is there any news yet on the shows for this year? Just booking myself holiday time for them and wanting to see if I can get the cab on the stand for a couple?

Anyone? It is just that I've got Ford rubber mats in there ATM and want the original-style carpet ones but Ford have completely discontinued the MK4 ones.

Does anyone know how well the MK5 Escort genuine Ford carpet mats fit into the MK4? Shape similarities, length, etc...

Well, not an update as such but I thought I might as well include it..... the cabriolet went for its MOT on Saturday morning and passed with flying colours, no advisories, etc.. Even got commented on how clean it still look Has covered a whole 1,471 miles. The old girl is now put away for the winter to return @ the end of March 2010. Some bits will be getting replaced over the winter hopefully, mainly cosmetic bits and pieces though, although I do hope to get the fuel tank changed if I can.

Double post

Both of you need to check your earth connections from the battery to the engine and from the battery to the shell. Also, check the power lead from the battery to the stater as this is almost certainly where your problem is.

If you can get down to me then I'll change them for you. I'm only the other side of the Thames near Dartford. They don't take long @ all. Would have to be a weekend though due to lack of light nowadays. Make sure that the seals are the modified "tophat" ones though as the early versions won't last.

I agree, a good quality 10w40 oil is the best for the CVH (other than turbocharged). I use Millers XSS-10w40 in my cabriolet and it is fine. If you go to 5w30 then you will tend to find leaks in any worn seals and unless the engine is in very good condition, you can end up dragging any rubbish in the oil system through to the hydraulic tappets causing them to seize up. If you were doing a new engine build, then 5w30 would be acceptable. IF the engine is old (100k+) and is a bit smoky on 10w40, then 5w30 will kill it. In this instance I would recommend a 15w40 grade. Ford changed their specifications of oil to suit the fact that all their new cars were being made with a tolerance more suited to 5w30. Rememeber the early Zetec models? They originally were specced for 10w40 but shortly after got changed to 5w30 due to the problems with the valves. You also need to take into account that manufacturers have to assume that the vehicle could be driving anywhere in the world, not just in the UK. If you were in a hot country, a thicker oil would be better, and in a cold country a thinner oil would suit due to how the oil reacts to temperature.

Okay, all covered in an epoxy-stonechip to aid longevity All finished.. Just got to get them all back on the car now......

Well, I am hoping to get down to the meet. Don't know what car I will be in yet, so look out for either a Grey K-reg Saff, a 2-tone Silver Sierra 2000e or a little X-reg Green Fiesta as they are the most likely candidates. Could be in the Audi A6, but not likely as it has literally only just come back from the paintshop today.

They were then taken into work and given a nice, thick coating of 2K etch primer before being coated in a further 2 coats of normal 2K grey primer: This was the first of many stages. Next was to fully enamel all the parts: The actual bush mounting brackets will be left like this. This is due to the fact that I use them as a "jacking point" so the next steps will cause them to wear the painted surface easier. The actual plates themselves will be covered with a polymer stonechip coating next to aid rust prevention and stone-intrusion issues. Once that is done, a further coating will be applied which will be the final coating.

Well, last week I managed to get time spare to sort out the front antiroll bar mounts. How they were originally: All shot-blasted back to bare metal. They took almost an hour each to blast. Ford use a hard powdercoat-like primer to coat them from the factory. Even that does not stand up to use on the roads, so the final finish should be interesting if they are to last:

If I have fuel I will be down. Have the whole week off work so no time issues for me....

If I win the lottery, then no probs. :eric_paul: :eric_paul: ... would help if I played it first mind.....

I may be down there, but will be in one of the Sierra "selection" as the cabby is off-road until probably next April. Pull over and say hello to me if you see this car:

More updates to follow shortly

Almost forgot about this sitting in the garage as well :cry Brand new galvanised fuel tank sitting waiting fitting over the winter