Kames test day

Took the racingPug down to Kames today for another shakedown before the season starts proper. It's still leaking oil so I guess the dipstick was not the cause of the problem. However, its no worse than last time so I'll just have to live with it for now.

Took the video camera and managed to get some footage from the afternoon. Times seem to be in the 104 secs which is almoast exactly on a par with the racingMetro but slower than I had hoped. I guess that 84bhp is really not enough regardless of how much weight you lose!

I tried out the slick tyres which was a laugh but I need to get them on proper wheels as the Roland Garros wheels run on the wheelarch without spacers.

I've uploaded some footage to youtube to show how similar the Metro and Pug times are. Metro on the left and Pug on the right:

Battery fitted

I spent an hour or so replacing the very heavy battery with a tiny sealed Odyssey racing battery tonight. I wasn't sure where best to mount it but after much faffing around, I decided to bolt it to the floor on the passenger side. Since its a sealed battery, it can lie flat and doesn't need to be in a battery box. I'll probably leave the battery box in place though so I can put a standard battery back in.



I've also managed to get a set of slick tyres courtesy of the extreme generosity of fellow B1 competitor, Mike Hunter. I had a nice run down to Mike's place in the borders yesterday to pick them up and my friendly tyre fitting them should have them back to me, on the Roland Garros alloys, tomorrow afternoon. Turns out that you can see our old house from Mike's kitchen window. It really is a small world!

I just need to have a go at setting up the gazebo and I'll be all ready for the test day at Kames on Sunday.

Niggle No.2 fixed (hopefully)

Rummaging around the spares in the garage I came across a spare brake reservoir, master cylinder and servo unit for the Metro. Hmmm. 30 seconds later and the cap was fitted to the Peugeot - hopefully that will fix the leaking cap.

I spemt an hour tidying up the front end of the Peugeot on Saturday - painted the grill matt black, replaced some bolts and tied up some loose cables.

Funds are tight so I'm going to re-paint the bonnet black. It'll do while I save for a GRP bonnet. Hopefully I'll get it done before the weekend.

I've started thinking about tyres. The Pug has well worn Yoko A048s fitted but they're 185 x 60 profile. I have lots of Kumho V70s in 175 x 60 sitting around and I plan to get a set of those on the spare Pug alloys. However, I can't decide whether to splash on a couple of 175 x 50 Yokos (which would improve the gearing by 8%) or really splash out on a set of slicks....... funds are tight, remember.

Niggle no.1 resolved

At Kames, I noticed a small oil drip when I came back in after each run. Initially I thought it was coming from the filter but I quickly narrowed it down to oil coming out the top of the dipstick (which didn't seal) and running down the tube. So, a new dipstick arrived today and hopefully that will solve the problem.

Tasks still to do -
Next niggle is the brake fluid reservoir - the seal has perished.
Then there is the exhaust backbox - one of the hangers fell off at Kames.
Still got the Odyssey battery to fit (weight saving).
Remove all the lights and wiring (weight saving).
Get GRP bonnet and fit (weight saving).
Fit steering wheel and shift light from Metro (racing car coolness).
Put together gazebo and do a trial run of putting it up (keep me dry).
Buy a car cover (keep the car dry).

Oh well, that little lot will keep me busy.......