East Anglia Region

[robert]

July 2000

Hi all,

Remember last month’s opener about two lusty cobras? Well, someone said things always happen in threes. Sure enough, my very own Dax started making an ‘interesting’ noise from within the engine on the way back from the Wiverton Bell. Not one to like ‘strange’ sounds, Steve, my mechanic (oh! and husband) decided to drop the sump and have a look at the big ends. Well, to cut a long story short, the crankshaft closely resembled the Himalayas and needed a regrind with 2 big ends through to the whitemetal and well into the backing metal (Oops). So he couldn’t go to Le Mans in it and had to settle for the eurobox. Apparently the air conditioning in the Focus came in useful on the hottest weekend of the year. The cranks’ back now and ‘resting’ in the garage before he wrestles it back into the engine, and I’m suffering from withdrawal symptoms from the rumble of the road.

So, on to Le Mans (this report by our overseas correspondent). The Eastern region was represented by one cobra and one not cobra. Andrew Soar had a lucky escape from European rescue by dropping into a Renault dealer in Rouen and getting a new condenser as his was very close to giving up. Apparently, the first symptoms occurred at Colchester but he waited until he was well into France before doing something about it. It’s amazing that Renault stocks parts for Mallory dual point distributors. “Mal d’motor” is now universal Franglais for ‘my kit car is sick’. The race was hot, hot, hot, with a great deal of French beer consumed (as is traditional) and the hours of 01:00 to 03:00 spent, complete with matchsticks in the eyes, at the Mulsanne corner (also compulsory).
The campsite was within the circuit, so it was a short walk to most of the northern parts of the track and many new friendships were made. This culminated in 18 of us crowding into a café in Arnage after the race on Sunday night to discuss the technicalities of the race (or get pissed). Apparently, the only downside was no one could sleep at night, not because of the cars but because of Steve’s snoring.

Meanwhile, back in Sunny England, Bella Whiteside came to the rescue so that I could attend the June meet in the correct type of car. So on with the sundress, and factor 6, and off to the Cretingham Bell near Framlingham, Suffolk on a baking hot day. There were 3 cobras, and one Citroen in attendance. We said hello to potential new member, Barry, who had roared in on his motorbike for a chat and details about the meets. Nice to see everyone again.

Andrew Soars barbecue was very successful indeed, with the inclement weather holding off long enough for everyone to have loads to eat and to roar around his field and the obstacle course on a quad bike. We were also deeply honoured by the appearance of our very own Lord Lucan, Rob Sidgwick who impressed us all with his lovely blue Dax. He also correctly identified enough car makes and models during the picture competition to earn 2nd prize. Unfortunately he disappeared into the night before we could present him with his bottle of bubbly, just like the ever-elusive Scarlet Pimpernel. Rob, you’ll have to put in an appearance again to claim your prize!

Mark Jackson promised to keep us up to date on the progress of his build. Mark regularly attends meets either in his Renault, or his Mini Marcos, whilst slaving away whenever possible with the construction. Here’s the story so far…
Late May was the latest major development in this saga when I collected the body shell from Pilgrim. I hadn’t realised until I went to collect it, on a car transporter trailer, just what a large item these are. Anyway I decided to go for black gelcoat finish, of which I was very impressed with. Having heard horror stories about removal of flash lines, and seen the result of a botched job at removing these with an angle grinder on my Mini Marcos by its previous owner, I was glad to see that they were relatively small on this shell. Anyway, the visit to the Pilgrim factory gave me a chance to go for a test drive in their demonstrator. I had to ask since I was handing over many £s! I have to say I was very impressed with the cars ride and handling, much better than my 10 year old Peugeot, also the impressive torque of the Chevy 5.7litre V8, even though it was an unsorted engine. Jeremy told me, that if it was sorted you could wheelspin it in fifth in the wet. This test drive put my mind at rest because I had never ridden in a cobra replica before now, even though I have been building one since the start of the year.

Back to the rest of the build, at the moment, the chassis is Cortina based with a 2.8 V6 fitted with an automatic gearbox. At Easter the engine was fitted, well attempted because I was given engine mounts for the Pinto engine. This was resolved when the correct engine mounts were collected from the Stoneleigh show, and fitted a week later. This weekend should see the trial fitting of the bodyshell, a chance to see if the radiator will fit in the nose section, which should provide much relief as I will get a chance to see what the finished car will look like. Before that I will have to finish my present job of fitting the wiring loom, since I have already done one late last year this will not turn into a big drama. The plan is to get the car finished, well SVA'd, before August when I go to University, hopefully seeing a ten year dream come true.

I’ll be nagging Mark for updates as he gets more and more of his dream finished. And, if any of you would like to burst into print about the state of your build/ modifications/ repairs etc, just mail me on route66@pgen.net and I’ll give you the copy you deserve.

Now here’s where we’re going to meet on Sunday July 16th. We’re off into Norfolk up to the Castle Acre area, north of Swaffham on the A1065. There’s an English Heritage event at the Priory itself for you to visit after lunch, but for lunch we’ll be going to the George and Dragon at Newton (close to Castle Acre itself). There’s a wide variety of meals and snacks (Sunday Roast for £5.75). Call me on 01206 863 804 if you’re coming for lunch so I can confirm numbers with the pub.

I’ll have a think about some more venues in the area to visit, so any suggestions please let me know, meanwhile it would be lovely to see you at one of our meets, with kit car or Eurobox, or whatever, come along and join in. Hope to see you soon…


Bye for now,
Eileen