PI is alive!!!!!

Yes, it's alive, but it wasn't as easy as expected. It took me a long time to figure out why the car wouldn't run. First I took care all the injectors fired, which needed a lot of time and patience. Plus a good battery! As there was no result I thought it would be clever to check all timing marks including the timing of the camshaft. The engine has been rebuild by previous owner and hasn't run since. I needed to know if everything was spot on. Even with the engine on time there was no go. This was weird and to be honest, I was at the end of my inspiration. New input was soon found after posting my PI troubles on the CT forum. So after checking the timing again (and again and again) and feeding the beast with fresh fuel it still wouldn't fire up. The next day someone suggested to change the plugs as they could have suffered from overfueling. Eureka! That was it. After changing the "new" plugs for some old ones the engine finally came to live! Not to say I was pleased with the result. Engine is actually running very smooth with good oil pressure. Next job is rebuilding the throttle linkages as there is too much play. Then the car needs finishing off with all sorts of little jobs. Plenty to do but we're getting there slowly.

2011 Nacht van het Oosten

One week later it was Chinese rally time! Again in the Mini for obvious reason. This year the event used the same chinese restaurant as last year which has a rather unusual buffet that includes chips, meatballs and Mc Nugget lookalikes. Tasted good though! Only two entrants from the UK this time. A bit disapointing but with Stoneleigh the day after we didn't expect many more. Luckily Team Wake and Bishop kept the CT tradition high and got in trouble on the way up to the rally. Why break a good tradition! Colins windscreen got smashed in Hoek v Holland. A quick phonecall to Bert Boevee sourced a new screen and seal. Bert lives not far from Hoek so that was a big advantage. They made it just in time for the start. We also had our troubles on the way up as the Mini bottomed out at the rear on a bumpy motorway section. We had to stop and remove the rear wheel arch extension as it came loose. The wheel clearance issue followed us during the rally. Many speedbumps (drempels) slowed us down a lot. The Mini has so little (none) suspension travel that I had to drive very carefully. Els did an excellent job on the navigation, giving perfect directions. Unfortunately she got sick again and we deceided to call it a day at the halfway point. So we went straight back to the hotel where we enjoyed some rather nice beers.





































The day after..... Colins new windscreen

First time out

Last saturday of February we had our first car event of the year. Unfortunately not in the PI as it's still a no go at that point. Our little Mini was used again and this time it was Els behind the wheel. Rob and I organised a 170km run for our local classic car enthusiasts. We started off with a healthy breakfast at Toms farmyard. It was the first time we used this rather unusual venue but it turned out to be one great experience. Imagine a farmyard full of cats and agricultural equipment that includes a pub that serves home made food from home grown animals. Fully self supporting! The run itself wasn't that exciting for us as I had designed the route myself. Luckily the route included some nice backroads. Els enjoyed driving the Mini in anger! Must say she gets better and better behind the wheel. Back at Toms place we got welcomed with home made soup which was again very tasty. Think all entrants enjoyed our first time out. And the Mini survived without loosing or breaking any important parts!