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THE BIG SHOW – THE SILURIAN (DEFINITELY ‘A ONE THAT GOT AWAY’)

The Silurian story by Steve Hole

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRIGHTWELLS

The men behind the remarkable Silurian project were Mike Phillips and his business partner, Jack Orwin. They ran a classic car restoration business called MGP Restorations and were based in the wonderfully-named ‘Brassknocker Street’ in Magor, Gwent.

The company specialised in the restoration of Bentleys, Bugattis and pre-war limousines. Phillips and Orwin had intended to build a high-quality petrol-powered children’s car and came up with detailed drawings and plans. Sadly, when they costed the project it was clear that it would be more cost-effective to build a full-size vehicle.

Phillips was a very keen More >

CROSSFLOW FUEL INJECTION

If you are looking to upgrade a Ford Kent Crossflow engine to EFi, Webcon has the ideal manifold for you.

The Webcon MW4230 manifold will allow a Webcon Retroject throttle body to be bolted directly onto a Kent cylinder head.

The manifold can also be used to fit Webcon 32/36 DGV/DGAV, 38 DGAS/DGMS and DCD carburettors to a Kent engine. It comes with mounting points and a water jacket ‘hot spot’ for this purpose, although these won’t be needed for an EFI conversion as the ECU will handle the temperature and the Webcon Retroject uses the original Ford throttle linkage.

A ¼in BSPF More >

VORTEX GT GOES EV!

I always enjoy talking to Vortex Automotive boss Chris Greville-Smith and finding out about tales from his previous life as a designer for a variety of leading mainstream manufacturers including Jaguar. He also created the best wheel design used on the MGF (you will know the ones!).

He’s still busy with his Vortex GT and V2 kits and Chris is busy readying a new electric version called the GT-EV.

The car will feature a revised chassis, new interior, mirrors and new LED light lenses, with anti-dive geometry at the rear.

This will use a reconditioned version of the latest Tesla Model 3 battery More >

BREATHE MORE EASILY

The original factory plastic oil filler cap was never one of Ford’s finest achievements. It often leaked oil through the breather and it frequently came apart while removing it to top up the oil. It could be difficult to reassemble due to the plastic becoming brittle and inflexible.

Burton Power now has its own version of the engine oil cap which is made from polished alloy. It incorporates a filter mesh and is breathable, just like the OE cap, but without the leaks and tendency to fall apart! The Burton oil cap not only fulfils a function it also adds a More >

WHEELS OF STEEL

Dave Colledge and his team at Retro Ford – parts suppliers of a Ford or Ford-based variety – have just released their new range of Lotus-style steel wheels with a PCD of 4 x 108.

These aren’t refurbed originals they are brand new pressings – including the centres – and three widths are available – the original 5½in and 6in and 7in and all are in stock now.

Dave can also supply new hub caps if required as well as wheel nuts. Prices start at £71.60 each.

More from www.retroford.co.uk or 01536 204 823 ENDS.

UNDER PRESSURE AND REGULATED

Webcon now offers a full range of in-rail fuel pressure regulators including a 0-5 BAR adjustable version. These regulators replace the most popular OEM types.

Changing fuel pressure is now as easy as removing the old unit and replacing it with a new higher pressure or adjustable regulator.

The regulators are available as follows:

Pressure (bar)              Part Number               RRP £ (inc VAT) 2.5 fixed                      WFR048                     £69.38

3.0 fixed                      WFR024                     £69.38

3.5 fixed                      WFR029                     £83.28 4.0 fixed                      WFR057                     £113.76 4.3 fixed                      WFR055                     £85.42 4.5 fixed                      WFR043                     £111.06 0-5 adjustable             WFR060 More >

A QUICK DETAILER THAT REALLY DETAILS … QUICK

With impending hose-pipe bans coming my way in East Sussex as well as surrounding areas, I’m going to have to park the Kärcher pressure washer for the foreseeable future, so waterless wash products and quick detailers will be coming to the fore.

There are plenty of brilliant QDs around and loads I’d recommend. I’ve just discovered a new one made by Manchester-based Duel Auto Care, which is called Nitro. You certainly won’t miss the vibrant pink liquid.

I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks with much success including in blistering, full-on sunshine, which can render a lot of quick detailers More >

FANCY A PEEL P50 OR A TRIDENT?

The Peel P50 celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year and P50 Cars of Essex can sell you a kit version plus one for its sister Peel Trident model.

You can power your P50 with either a Honda-type E22 four-stroke motor up to 155cc (although 49cc or 125cc are recommended) or you can also use a high torque electric motor.

Petrol-powered 49cc starter kits cost £2065 with electric versions from £4200. Full kits for these two options cost £12,795.

A Peel Trident kit is also available

The company has recently introduced a limited edition as-original DKW engine option (although this kit costs £14,585).

Little 49cc four-stroke More >

UPGRADED AND NOT JUST A NUMBERPLATE LIGHT!

In my opinion, Gil Keane of Better Car Lighting is the man when it comes to car lighting and particularly upgrading same. He has been helping classic car and period kitcar owners improve their car’s lighting for many years.

He also releases a regular stream of new products. The latest is an upgrade for the ubiquitous L467 standard numberplate light, which did a job – albeit a dimmish one – for many years.

A newly beefed-up version from Better Car Lighting is the L467 Plus Four. At a glance, this looks like the old one but adds four useful additional functions.

When you More >

HEAT RESISTANT DYNO STRAPS

Protect critical tie-downs before serious damage occurs.

“It started with a frantic call from a local tuner, asking if we offered a protective heat sleeve for dynamometer tie-down straps,” said Mike Buca, DEI Product Manager.

“It seems this tuner nearly launched a car while on the dyno because the exhaust heat from the tailpipe actually burned through an already weakened area on the strap.”

Fortunately, DEI already had the right material for the job with its high-temperature-resistant aluminised material which can withstand 500°F (260°C) direct heat and 2000°F (1093°C) of radiant heat.

So, it was just a matter of machining it up into 5in-wide-by-36in-long More >

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