JINGLE BELLS!
Sep 7th
It may seem a little premature to be polishing your jingle bells right now but if you want to kick your Christmas off with a bang you should know about the Heritage Santa Cruise on Sunday, December 3 ASAP, before your festive social calendar becomes too full to take part.
Being run for a thirteenth time in 2023, owners of VW, Land Rover, Porsche, and other cherished vehicles are invited to bring their families (and pets) to partake in this fancy-dress Father Christmas convoy, which spreads yuletide cheer across the Southeast and typically raises around £1000 for good causes.
In exchange for More >
THE HISTORY OF SMITHS INSTRUMENTS
Sep 6th
[title] SMITHS INSTRUMENTS
STEVE HOLE rounds up the story of SMITHS INSTRUMENTS whose gauges have been used in kitcars for many, many years.
The company was founded in London way back in 1851 by Samuel Smith, who set up a jewellery shop in Newington Causeway in South East London. He specialised in chronometers and other scientific instruments.
The company grew quickly but Smith died in 1875 aged just 49. The business had re-located to a much grander address on The Strand in London’s West End.
Smith & Sons merged with their new next-door neighbours, diamond merchants, Charles Frodham and by 1895 they had re-located More >
LITTLE BIG BENTLEY
Aug 31st
The latest model from the Little Car Company is an 85 per cent scale Blower Bentley called ‘The Bentley Blower Jnr’ an authorised collaboration with Bentley Motors and a tribute to the iconic 1929 racer.
Featuring an electric, 15kW, 48-volt powertrain (producing the equivalent of 20bhp) with several drive modes with a quoted range of 75 miles and top-speed in the UK and Europe of 45mph restricted to 25mph in the USA.
It is classed as a quadricycle (L7e class) in the UK, but unlike a Renault Twizy or Citroën Ami, you need to be 17 rather than 16 to drive it More >
TYPE 9s FROM BURTON POWER
Aug 31st
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
The Ford Type-9 five-speed gearbox (also referred to as a ‘Type N’ gearbox in some workshop manuals) was Ford’s first RWD five-speed box.
Today, it is commonly used for five-speed conversions on older vehicles. However, it is not just suitable for classic Fords, but also for other classic makes such as MG and Triumph as well as for umpteen kitcars, of course.
Burton Power has just taken delivery of a batch of these gearboxes that have been reconditioned using the GBT9200 long first gear conversion kit to Ford’s original equipment standards.
This partial gear kit is designed to lower the ratio More >
WEBCON DISTRIBUTOR
Aug 31st
The Magneti Marelli distributor pick-up 71326901 was originally fitted to the Ford Sierra Cosworth and Lancia Delta Integrale, as well as a number of other Fiat and Lancia applications, but was discontinued by Marelli in 2021.
A small number of aftermarket options remained in production until early 2023, but these have also now been discontinued.
Webcon has announced the introduction of Webcon WPU088W which is a superb quality, replacement for 71326901.
WPU088W is priced at just £76.95 inc VAT and is available for immediate shipping.
Available now from 01932 787 100 or visit www.webcon.co.uk ENDS.
MINI BOOK
Aug 31st
Mini Spares is pleased to announce it now has stocks of the latest Haynes Workshop Manual – Mini 1969-2001 (up to ‘X’ registration).
The book provides excellent information on almost any repair task that can be performed by a home mechanic and helps give the confidence to do it yourself.
It even includes roadside repairs and pre-MoT checks that you can do yourself. It’s a must for any Mini owner and makes the perfect present.
Order as BOOK-10 at £26.25.
For more details contact Mini Spares on 01707 607 700 or visit www.minispares.com ENDS.
WANT SAMCO? SEE MERLIN MOTORSPORT
Aug 31st
Merlin Motorsport is celebrating 36 years in motor racing in 2023 and amongst the vast stocks at their Castle Combe circuit-based store is over £150,000 of Samco Sport hoses including various pre-cut lengths of aluminium hose and joiners and they can make up specific lengths and bends for customers.
They carry all the Samco racing parts including elbows, straights, T-pieces etc., Classic, Pro Fuel and Xtreme products. They also keep a large range of Samco car kits.
More from SAMCO SILICONE HOSE & HOSE KITS.
Common questions they often get asked when it comes to measuring hoses and tubes is what do you More >
SHIELDED FROM HEAT
Aug 31st
DEI put to good use all of its experience when developing the best turbo shields on the market. It is no surprise, then, that it also capitalised on that same expertise when developing the new DEI Wastegate Heat Shields.
The Wastegate Heat Shield features advanced textiles. A Titanium LR outer layer is combined with multiple stainless steel and silica inner layers, to produce what is, without a doubt, the strongest, most heat-resistant and precisely fitting shield available.
Wrapping the wastegate/blow-off valve helps to reduce engine bay temperature and minimise the chance of burns when working around the engine. There is the additional More >
NEXT GENERATION FROM MOTUL
Aug 31st
MOTUL’s NGEN range debuts with three new sustainable and resource-saving high-performance engine oils. The MOTUL NGEN range of motor oils either consists largely of high-quality regenerated oils (NGEN 5 and NGEN 7 for motorbikes) or contains a high proportion of raw materials from renewable resources (NGEN Hybrid for hybrid cars) and offers performance that matches or even betters other products currently available on the market.
“In the more than 170 years of the company’s history, MOTUL has not only always adapted to new technological challenges and regularly set new standards but has also remained true to its own demands for uncompromising More >
THE STORY OF THE FERVES RANGER
Aug 31st
STEVE HOLE looks at the story of the FERVES RANGER. Pix by Carol Hardy unless marked otherwise.
A great little paddock car!
Although designer Carlo Ferrari had a famous surname he wasn’t related to Enzo’s family, a point proven when he had to call his fledgling Turin-based car company FERVES, a portmanteau of FERrari VEicoli Speciali (Ferrari Special Vehicles).
His brilliant little Ranger was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show of 1966 and met with very strong critical acclaim. Best described as quirky it was based – like so many Italian Etceterinis – on Fiat mechanicals – 499cc, 18bhp twin-cylinder engine from the More >
