Special K

Phones are a verbal interface, tablets are for curing infections, pc stands for 'political correctness', a phrase that has lost its purpose (rather like this Forum upgrade)
If you like Facebook (a.k.a. washing your jockstrap in public) you'll love this new-look Forum. Needless to say, I don't - it is truncated and distilled down to an unrepresentative snapshot - like the front page of a newspaper with a big-breasted woman as its only 'gotcha'  . .  literally a mouth on display without teeth.
What next? - will we be forced to adopt Twitterspeak ?
Grumpy Old Git

Phones are a verbal interface, tablets are for curing infections, pc stands for 'political correctness', a phrase that has lost its purpose (rather like this Forum upgrade)
If you like Facebook (a.k.a. washing your jockstrap in public) you'll love this new-look Forum. Needless to say, I don't - it is truncated and distilled down to an unrepresentative snapshot - like the front page of a newspaper with a big-breasted woman as its only 'gotcha'  . .  literally a mouth on display without teeth.
What next? - will we be forced to adopt Twitterspeak ?
Grumpy Old Git

The other forum does it better..... 
*runs*

you cant go wrong with this format.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/
http://www.civinfo.com/forum/index.php
http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/
http://mr2oc.co.uk/forums.html
 

You're savvy. Others are not, and I am numero uno  of the 'clueless' pack.
One of the worst 'forum' facepages on the net, in my opinion . . worse than the dark side (now) by a  Wales/England score. 
Unfriendly in design, layout and displayed content.
Spec K

Hate it.
Awful
Can only see the last 5-6-7 posts. Cannot follow my 'threads'
Spec K
 
 

Yay a meet we can make. Put me and Lorraine on the list

looks quite angry from the front

it looks a bit familiar though, maybe red fog lights and you have this...

Yes.
But I don't use my full armoury on the road, as it frightens cattle and causes gerbils within a 2-mile radius to spontaneously abort . .
It perplexes me that a carbon fibre boot kit is a magnet for every d*ckhead Golf GTI/BMW M  to take it on.
They cream past you doing 100mph on the motorway 'cos they wanna willy-wave. I snick it down into 4th at 77mph and boot it, I'm up their chuff in less than three seconds, flash my headlights, they boot it further, I snick into 5th and overtake on their inside doing 134mph. As I overtake I give it the ".. Bum's Rush.." - change back down to 4th and bullet it at 6800rpm -
(.. NOT !..)
Works on Ferraris. Astons. Lambos. Especially Maseratis (they *HATE* it) . . "They don't like it up 'em. Mr. Manwairing.."
Take care back from the studio. May the force be with you. (Not on your tail)
Spec K

After 60, if you don't wake up aching in every joint you're probably dead.. ( indeed, I've now reached the age where "happy hour" is a nap..)
 
The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket..
 
Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs
 
Do you realise that, in about 40 years, you lot will have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos..?
 
A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep sh*t...
 
... and remember, politicans and nappies should be changed often and for the same reason.
 
Spec K
 
Always be yourself  -  the people that matter don't mind and the people that mind don't matter

It does all tend to happen at once doesn't it Keith! It's not a lie that bad news comes in threes 

My Dad, Eric, died at 6.00am this morning, aged 93.
He was a skilled mechanic, having served an apprenticeship in my Grandad's garage (which was on the Army & Navy Roundabout, Chelmsford) and as a Chieftan tank fitter/instructor based at Cark-in-Carnforth in Cumbria during World War 2 - he taught the Prince of Wales (later King George) to drive.
So, when I decided to buy a second-hand 750F car in 1969 I turned to him to prepare it for me - which he did with considerable skill, particularly when it came to polishing and porting the head (this was in the days when the sidevalve 750cc engine was being superceded by the 600cc Reliant alloy lump)
I came second in class at the first Championship round - Cadwell Park - in April 1970. 31 May 1970 saw us (Dad, Mom, new missus and me) at Snetterton, which I won and set a new lap record. My Dad and me were over the moon, as you can appreciate, so we decided we would celebrate on the way home and we stopped at a highly prestigious hotel for dinner- The Bull at Long Melford.
Us four greasy spoons in a sea of upper class tranquility . . .  until we decided that, as a finale, Eric and I would enjoy crepe suzette, cooked at the tableside. With a little encouragement (err, a lot actually . .) the Maitre D'Hotel was exuberant with the brandy and, when he 'flamed' it the conflagration hit the ceiling, and set off the sprinklers...
... The restaurant guests got soaked, the hotel was evacuated . . .  Eric and I couldn't stop laughing.... it still creases me up when I remember it now . .
... happy days . .
 
Spec K
 
 
 

Thanks for indulging me in my moment of reminiscence . Yes, we were prepared for it, as he was diagnosed with mitral stenosis (failing heart) on top of his blindness, lung disfunction and failing kidneys three weeks ago and has been on an 18-hour daily oxygen regime since discharge (there's no way they will dream of a heart valve replacement at that age). His GP was ready to hook him up to the 'driver' of happy juice (morphine and valium - float away) three days ago but Eric told him to fsck off . . what a grumpy old sod . .
Went over to his home today, saw Mum (Mags) and my two brother were there, Noel having flown in from Portugal this morning. Said my goodbyes just before the undertakers turned up. We've agreed that the funeral will be after next Saturday week (10th) as my daughter is getting married on that day.
It's one of the reasons I didn't make Blyton on Sunday . . but I'm sure as hell gonna go for Cadwell.
 
Spec K
 
 

My Dad, Eric, died at 6.00am this morning, aged 93.
He was a skilled mechanic, having served an apprenticeship in my Grandad's garage (which was on the Army & Navy Roundabout, Chelmsford) and as a Chieftan tank fitter/instructor based at Cark-in-Carnforth in Cumbria during World War 2 - he taught the Prince of Wales (later King George) to drive.
So, when I decided to buy a second-hand 750F car in 1969 I turned to him to prepare it for me - which he did with considerable skill, particularly when it came to polishing and porting the head (this was in the days when the sidevalve 750cc engine was being superceded by the 600cc Reliant alloy lump)
I came second in class at the first Championship round - Cadwell Park - in April 1970. 31 May 1970 saw us (Dad, Mom, new missus and me) at Snetterton, which I won and set a new lap record. My Dad and me were over the moon, as you can appreciate, so we decided we would celebrate on the way home and we stopped at a highly prestigious hotel for dinner- The Bull at Long Melford.
Us four greasy spoons in a sea of upper class tranquility . . .  until we decided that, as a finale, Eric and I would enjoy crepe suzette, cooked at the tableside. With a little encouragement (err, a lot actually . .) the Maitre D'Hotel was exuberant with the brandy and, when he 'flamed' it the conflagration hit the ceiling, and set off the sprinklers...
... The restaurant guests got soaked, the hotel was evacuated . . .  Eric and I couldn't stop laughing.... it still creases me up when I remember it now . .
... happy days . .
 
Spec K
 
 
 

Thanks for indulging me in my moment of reminiscence . Yes, we were prepared for it, as he was diagnosed with mitral stenosis (failing heart) on top of his blindness, lung disfunction and failing kidneys three weeks ago and has been on an 18-hour daily oxygen regime since discharge (there's no way they will dream of a heart valve replacement at that age). His GP was ready to hook him up to the 'driver' of happy juice (morphine and valium - float away) three days ago but Eric told him to fsck off . . what a grumpy old sod . .
Went over to his home today, saw Mum (Mags) and my two brother were there, Noel having flown in from Portugal this morning. Said my goodbyes just before the undertakers turned up. We've agreed that the funeral will be after next Saturday week (10th) as my daughter is getting married on that day.
It's one of the reasons I didn't make Blyton on Sunday . . but I'm sure as hell gonna go for Cadwell.
 
Spec K
 
 

SS - I can state without fear of rebuttal that your comment above has been a "public service announcement".
 
It is *NOT*  an outrageously blatant piece of advertising. .  as I am sure everyone will agree..
 

 
Spec K

On the subject of wear rate on the Conti 5s, did an evening on track at Brands recently in the dry - albeit not in the 86 but a Golf GTI mk7 - and the fronts more or less fell apart. Large tears and lumps coming out of the tread. Although I was whacking the kerbs a lot, so self inflicted I suppose, but I was surprised at the extent of the tyre damage. Even the rears had a fair degree of wear on them. However they were fairly grippy and worked well enough, just a ? over wear on track in the dry. By all accounts they are mega in the wet... I'm interested to hear if anyone has run them on track in the wet, especially in a competitive scenario...


Haversack

I have to agree with Lauren Keith
I find flappy paddle driving totally unrewarding and would only own one for a daily commute on congested roads for a relaxed drive into work.
I admire your resolve for what you are doing Keith after so many setbacks even though I feel you haven't been enjoying the car as much as you should.Anyway your new FT 1 is getting close to ordering

General information update
 
I shipped the broken trans back to Kris at SSP in the States. He promised to get into stripping it immediately and get back to me - it took five weeks.
 
He pronounced the problem as "overheating" but could not go into better detail as his technician was in Hawaii or somewhere on holiday.
 
He got back to me on Tuesday. 1st and 4th dog clutches had "disappeared" - completely burned out, not a shred left of the upgraded friction material. It's down to me and my driving, he implied ..
 
Then . . .  Hallelujah! He received back a transmission with *IDENTICAL" issues from another user - it is not down to me (spit on LFA).
 
The diagnosis, following analysis of both transmissions is ".. oil surge.." - the shallow sump, with the oil pickup sited towards the rear and 10mm off the floor, is allowing the pump to gulp air when the oil moves under G-force. The result is obvious . .
 
Kris suggests it is 'cornering forces'. It is not - Merkins don't do cornering on drag strips, hence his claim his trans can handle "600+bhp".
 
I have discussed the findings with Fensport. I am developing a modified transmission oil sump/uptake to my own ideas and with their technical input. I shall test it.
 
I am also inviting Kris at SSP to modify my spare trans to his specification/design and I I will ship that back to the UK to try it.
 
If both fail I will revert my car to n/a. Toyo are totally disinterested in "performance" or "mods" to the autotrans (knowing it is a crap detuned Lexus abortion). A perverse view, since autos are their biggest sales in the US / Far East.
 
This has been a public service announcement.
 
Spec K

General information update
 
I shipped the broken trans back to Kris at SSP in the States. He promised to get into stripping it immediately and get back to me - it took five weeks.
 
He pronounced the problem as "overheating" but could not go into better detail as his technician was in Hawaii or somewhere on holiday.
 
He got back to me on Tuesday. 1st and 4th dog clutches had "disappeared" - completely burned out, not a shred left of the upgraded friction material. It's down to me and my driving, he implied ..
 
Then . . .  Hallelujah! He received back a transmission with *IDENTICAL" issues from another user - it is not down to me (spit on LFA).
 
The diagnosis, following analysis of both transmissions is ".. oil surge.." - the shallow sump, with the oil pickup sited towards the rear and 10mm off the floor, is allowing the pump to gulp air when the oil moves under G-force. The result is obvious . .
 
Kris suggests it is 'cornering forces'. It is not - Merkins don't do cornering on drag strips, hence his claim his trans can handle "600+bhp".
 
I have discussed the findings with Fensport. I am developing a modified transmission oil sump/uptake to my own ideas and with their technical input. I shall test it.
 
I am also inviting Kris at SSP to modify my spare trans to his specification/design and I I will ship that back to the UK to try it.
 
If both fail I will revert my car to n/a. Toyo are totally disinterested in "performance" or "mods" to the autotrans (knowing it is a crap detuned Lexus abortion). A perverse view, since autos are their biggest sales in the US / Far East.
 
This has been a public service announcement.
 
Spec K

General information update
 
I shipped the broken trans back to Kris at SSP in the States. He promised to get into stripping it immediately and get back to me - it took five weeks.
 
He pronounced the problem as "overheating" but could not go into better detail as his technician was in Hawaii or somewhere on holiday.
 
He got back to me on Tuesday. 1st and 4th dog clutches had "disappeared" - completely burned out, not a shred left of the upgraded friction material. It's down to me and my driving, he implied ..
 
Then . . .  Hallelujah! He received back a transmission with *IDENTICAL" issues from another user - it is not down to me (spit on LFA).
 
The diagnosis, following analysis of both transmissions is ".. oil surge.." - the shallow sump, with the oil pickup sited towards the rear and 10mm off the floor, is allowing the pump to gulp air when the oil moves under G-force. The result is obvious . .
 
Kris suggests it is 'cornering forces'. It is not - Merkins don't do cornering on drag strips, hence his claim his trans can handle "600+bhp".
 
I have discussed the findings with Fensport. I am developing a modified transmission oil sump/uptake to my own ideas and with their technical input. I shall test it.
 
I am also inviting Kris at SSP to modify my spare trans to his specification/design and I I will ship that back to the UK to try it.
 
If both fail I will revert my car to n/a. Toyo are totally disinterested in "performance" or "mods" to the autotrans (knowing it is a crap detuned Lexus abortion). A perverse view, since autos are their biggest sales in the US / Far East.
 
This has been a public service announcement.
 
Spec K

General information update
 
I shipped the broken trans back to Kris at SSP in the States. He promised to get into stripping it immediately and get back to me - it took five weeks.
 
He pronounced the problem as "overheating" but could not go into better detail as his technician was in Hawaii or somewhere on holiday.
 
He got back to me on Tuesday. 1st and 4th dog clutches had "disappeared" - completely burned out, not a shred left of the upgraded friction material. It's down to me and my driving, he implied ..
 
Then . . .  Hallelujah! He received back a transmission with *IDENTICAL" issues from another user - it is not down to me (spit on LFA).
 
The diagnosis, following analysis of both transmissions is ".. oil surge.." - the shallow sump, with the oil pickup sited towards the rear and 10mm off the floor, is allowing the pump to gulp air when the oil moves under G-force. The result is obvious . .
 
Kris suggests it is 'cornering forces'. It is not - Merkins don't do cornering on drag strips, hence his claim his trans can handle "600+bhp".
 
I have discussed the findings with Fensport. I am developing a modified transmission oil sump/uptake to my own ideas and with their technical input. I shall test it.
 
I am also inviting Kris at SSP to modify my spare trans to his specification/design and I I will ship that back to the UK to try it.
 
If both fail I will revert my car to n/a. Toyo are totally disinterested in "performance" or "mods" to the autotrans (knowing it is a crap detuned Lexus abortion). A perverse view, since autos are their biggest sales in the US / Far East.
 
This has been a public service announcement.
 
Spec K

Rab - I've got F1 Eagles on my Rota rims.
 
Fitted the Contisport Contact 5's to the TRD rims, they are a distance ahead. Fantastic in the wet.
 
Spec K

Oi!
 
(The delightful lady to my right is Carla. Tank Girl on the Forum. She has my guide dog and white stick in her handbag . .)
 
Spec K

Cheap . . .
 
. . . if I had the spare cash I'd snap it up at that price . . .
 
Spec K