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Updated pics. So far this car has been running perfectly since it was finished. Always starts easily and the engine doesn’t miss a beat!

I know they aren't the last word in speed, but my '85 RS Turbo would have easily gotten away from any cyclist including the real mc Hoy so you must have done some impressive pedal work there Sparkles. No wonder he wanted you to work on the cars!

I recommend getting the rubber boots for the translator ball joints, they will lengthen the life of the joints.

That’s a pretty thing for sure.

@Lotusfab It's absolutely gorgeous.

Yep, it is the third cat. Sounds like it might be worth seeing if I can get some money for it then. I get that I could sell my Larini for £350, but TBH I'm not sure it's worth the hassle - I'd have to pay someone to change it over (transporting them back and forth to the garage), pay for postage, move it to my new house and store it. Once all that has been taken into account I'd probably only make a small amount of money, I'd rather have the convenience of getting rid of it personally.

The temperatures in the engine bay simply make that a bad idea.

@mike_sekinger > well as I watched it I suspected a few guys in the video could be from here and apparently I wasn't wrong!

Fabian you must do what you feel is right... When you put forward the data as you do then you can make the figures produce the SCR you desire. I can only point out what I see in you pics, plus what you have written , then base this on what I have experience in .. A standard combustion chamber is between 40- 42 cc depending on valves and details etc , I always use the 40 figure a reasonable guide . So using your own logic that 8.0:1 SCR is your set up with a 1.2 gasket.. You now have a 1.651 gasket. The difference in volume between the two gaskets is 3.3 cc ... Your combustion chamber has reduced by at least 3.0 cc based on your measurements of 37 cc . So taking out 3 cc from the head and adding in 3.3 cc from the gasket , This will put you SCR at back to 7.98:1.. This is just basic logic nothing else . The 0.25 figure i was referring to in my post was the deck height , not head skim ... 0.25 is only 0.0098'' Looking at your pics I notice the head is skimmed to the inlet seats. I have skimmed a head to just past that point which was 0.045''. This gave me a head volume of 33cc and a final SCR of 8.5:1 on that build. However that is all irrelevant. I only mention it because the head volume is crucial , I just wondered, did you remember to subtract the extra volume caused by the valve recess voids in the pexiglass, when you made your measurement. It all adds in to the final figure .. If you did not then you can still get a basic measurement off your plexigless plate .. and recalculate.. Also did you remember to allow for the meniscus curve on your burette . I'am not a fan of guesstimates, which is why i have tried to go into detail so you can have the most accurate assessment of your engine SCR.. Only you have done the measurements and if you are confident with your chamber volume at 37 cc and have allowed factors mentioned then regardless of what the head was skimmed too we still come back to 8.0:1 .. Personally I can not put any more input to this subject , if you still feel i am wrong with all this then disregard my comments . As i said before putting it on a dyno when done will help match any anomaly and give you piece of mind.. good luck with the rest of the build ..

Out today on my pushbike, other (posh) side of the park, a white 1987 RS Turbo Escort goes past me. Pretty sure I'd seen it on the drive where a TE-shaped car cover resides, I follow it. Turns out it is the guy. I resolved a couple of issues he had with the RS (in a socially-distanced way, naturally), then got chatting about the rather nice silver '85 TE. He then tells me he has another, and opens up his garage to reveal a beautiful shiny red HC TE with full leather. Anyway, turns out he wants me to do cambelts on them both. Weird stuff.

Some of the media today were appalling, they heard good news on PPE their recent obsession..not interested, they hear good news on a drug treatment that could aid recovery...not interested. Having not being able to lay a glove on DC during Brexit they are now fixated, but they the press are losing their grip completely. Absolutely pathetic a new low for our press

Uplighters and downlighters... Only downlighters... Cool

Core plugs were cnc machined from solid block. If anyone wants Some contact Mike at Lotusbits.

Just seen Alistair "remainer/war monger" Campbell on TV. A spin doctor who sent young men to their deaths under false pretences and lost Brexit complaining about a spin doctor who engineered leave making a journey. I'm sure he is not biased at all.

I think that there is now one big reason why he shouldn’t go. Irrespective of his transgression and partly weak explanation that one reason is that no professional body, in this case the Govt, should allow the media to dictate the fate of someone that they want to get their teeth into. It has clearly turned into a witch-hunt and the one thing I would have loved Cummings to have done yesterday was to ask the journalists useless reporters one by one if they had bothered to read the published 50 page document, and when they say “no” then ask them how they can have an opinion when they haven’t taken to effort to do the research. Time has come to hit the media back hard, they get away with far too much Not one of them have bothered to explain whether they had asked to members of the public who dobbed him in why they were at Barnard Castle on the day & how far they had driven hence the overly biased reporting yet again.

Nice post that @Fridge. I think I get what you are saying (I am about as creative as a dead frog). What I like about Harry's videos is the simpleness. No big trashy music, no bling bling look at me and look my lifestyle etc. He is basically just a bloke (obviously a well off one) who loves cars for what they are, as opposed to what he perceives they say about him. Totally different to the dumb ass videos from the nauseating Schmee, the dumb Blondie ("oh look, a kill switch he he he"), etc. Schlick presentation/production is OK, but I think Harry shows that there is little substitution for enthusiasm, passion and KNOWLEDGE. Harry probably appeals to one of us as he is the sort of guy we would like to spend the afternoon with, in a nice country pub, with good grub and beer/wine just talking bollocks about cars, but not in a showy "look at what I've got" manner or way. I guess the Shmee's and Blondie are more focused at the younger generation which is all about "me, me and me" which is probably why this grumpy old fart finds them annoying.

As someone who works in professional video production his techniques are annoyingly crude, but mixed with his enthusiasm, knowledgeable and unpresuming demeanor his films are standouts in a media world which has become more flash and trash. The first video of his I watched was his Muira test drive, then one of his Testarossa videos. Seeing him wax lyrical about his Turbo HC is one of the best adverts for this classic there is. His subsequent forays in it just cement it further as a car to own and enjoy. His passion for it comes across with genuine pleasure, not the mock awe we see from many other presenters. As someone with a background in documentary production, where things are often presented 'as is' (its literal Latin translation), the Harry's Garage videos evoke an earlier period of factual entertainment, unencumbered with a need for the gloss of showbiz. In perhaps a way that James Burke did when describing quite complex and foreign concepts to a wider, less-informed audience. In a way, less is more. Perhaps in media terms Harry's Garage evokes the Lotus philosophy of 'added lightness'? That is informative without the froth.

Thankfully, the pile of bits is getting smaller, I made some reasonable progress today. I’ve got a longer PAS pump belt to see if I can get over the problem I always seem to have whereby I can’t get the PAS belt on without taking the pulley off. For a fiver I thought it was worth a punt so I’ll see whether it’s a goer, but I’ll have to do that another day. i bought the Vernier sprockets because I was sure the head would have to be skimmed, although as it turned out it wasn’t necessary. From my previous research, the cam timing was altered to cater for emissions, and having sought advice from the experts, it would be a worthwhile thing to do. Regarding cam belt frequency, I don’t have a phone app for measuring, I’ve always used the Clavis meter to check it. Or occasionally I’ve used a Sparky, as his nether regions resonate when correct belt tension is achieved.

Gents you’re taking this subject way off topic - PM would be better surely?