Wednesday 17 November 2010

John Frew Memorial Sprint - Kames - 13 November

Kev Metro 2
Pic by Douglas Hunter

Saturday was a rare day - a sprint in November. This could have been a complete disaster knowing what the weather can be like at this time of year. However, someone was looking after us because it was wall-to-wall sunshine all day.

The event was East Ayrshire Car Club's Charity Sprint, this year dedicated to the memory of club chairman, John Frew, who sadly passed away earlier in the year. I met John just a few times but was always impressed by his upbeat approach and friendliness so I was keen to be able to support this event.

Considering the time of year and the fact that a lot of competitors had gone into hibernation, there was a really good entry - around 40 - including a whole class of rally cars.

It was my first competitive outing at Kames in the Metro, recently christened "Snotro" by fellow competitor David Wiggins, presumably because it is green. Anyway, it was also the first time taking the whole family in the racingFive bus (a Seat Alhambra) with the trailer in tow. My dad and brother also turned out so we had quite a clan in attendance!

DSC_0167
Pic by Kevin Clark

Unfortunately, I was the only entrant in Class A1, so I was really just trying to beat my own times. I was quite pleased with my runs - I started with a 104.99sec and shaved about half a second off each run to end with a 103.58sec. A good base from which to build in 2011.

The day ended with a great prizegiving - the trophies were old ones out of the EACC cupboard and winners had to choose them out of a bag at random. My boy, James, picked up my trophy and managed to bag a 2010 EACC Class Winner gong - perfect! Some folk got things like 2005 Grass Test 2nd Place awards.

All the proceeds from the event went to two charities and I here that over £2500 has been raised which is fantastic.

Sunday 7 November 2010

A bit of work on the Metro

I got a chance to spend a couple of hours on the Metro today.

I started by filing down the centre bores of the refurbished wheels I bought as the powdercoating was stopping them fitting properly. The wheels have a set of Kuhmo V70 hard compound tyres fitted and I'll be putting them on the car for the upcoming John Frew Memorial Sprint at Kames on Saturday.

I also took the opportunity to pump up the rear drivers side suspension as it was a bit lower than the passenger side. This was the first time I'd used the Hydragas pump and I made a bit of a mess ! However, the pressure was a bit low so I pumped it up to 450psi and it seems to sit a bit more level now. I tried to check the pressure on the passenger side but I just couldn't get the Schrader valve to seal properly. I need to investigate further when I have some time.......

I've started on the roll-cage too. I unwrapped all the cling film that have been on it to keep it clean and treated the surface rust that had appeared. I then primed and started to re-paint. It needs another coat of gloss black and then it will be ready for fitting. I need to either make up some spreader plates or buy the Safety Devices fitting kit (£75). I might just buy the kit an save a lot of hassle! Photos to follow ehn its fully painted.....