Chillidoggy

Whilst I’d agree that they may not provide the bulk of the funds for some teams, I don’t think the third party sponsors can be dismissed, as they do contribute millions to the running of the programmes. Even Haas had ten sponsors in 2019, albeit on the least amount of sponsorship income, but it was still there. As I said, the FIA agreed cap may ease the financial pressures on teams, but it remains to be seen whether that has any effect on the grid line-up. Theoretically, if they all spend the same money, they’ll all be equal in terms of performance, but we all know that ain’t gonna happen! As for billionaires, I can’t help but wonder how much Abromovich wrote off in taxes with his Chelsea ownership? I think it’s a business, not a plaything! I’m sure you’re right, billionaires do want their toys, but if they’re smart, they will do everything possible to reduce the losses they know they’re going to make. The rest of us just keep on paying for our toys and get poorer! EDIT - I read this morning that despite God knows how many job losses in the main company, Renault have committed to remaining in F1.

Are you sure those teams don’t have any other sponsorship, Neal? I just had a quick look at the Red Bull car and I spotted logos for AT&T, Esso, Citrix, Rauch, and Mobil 1. The Racing Point shows BET, JCB, Claro, Canadalife, Bombardier and infinitium. Billionaires don’t usually end up being billionaires by spending their own money, rather persuading other to do so, Mateschitz and Stroll included. I’m sure I read somewhere how much money a second a lap costs, and it’s crazy, maybe the cap will address that, but I think it will be extremely difficult for the FIA to police effectively.

Weather report this morning said Scotland will be having temperatures of up to 28C soon. You’ll die.

Just so we’re clear, I’m not doing the hug thing with you.

Yes, that’s the barometric sender unit. Haven’t seen any such corrosion on my original coils, but I replaced them with the Moroso ones anyway.

Sorry to piss on your fireworks Tom, but there might be another job in the offing. With that much rust in there, it’s entirely possible that the tailgate drains are leaking. Mine were.

I’ll take a photo of my knob if necessary.

I had to angle my gear lever back, or I’d never have gotten the rose joints to fit in the translator. Your translator position looks fine to me.

Why did you buy new cam followers, then buy another set of new ones? What was wrong with the original new set?

If you piss staking bastards had spent more time looking at the engine instead of shonky writing on a wall plug, you could have saved me half an hour by spotting my schoolboy error of the air-con tensioner being upside down.

Might be worth having a chat with the guy. I’ll PM you tomorrow.

Nice one! Interestingly, I’ve not long sold a brake conversion kit to an S4s owner who lives in Oxnard , not a million miles away from Orange County.

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.

If 200mph is totally unsafe and insane, then what speed is safe? Everyone here has a car capable of more than double the National speed limit, which is ironic.

The cam timing is as good as I can get it after several restless nights waking up at some ungodly hour wondering whether I’ve got it right. I ended up going through the whole process maybe 6 times to be absolutely sure I got as as close as I could. If anyone is considering changing to Vernier sprockets and adjusting the cam timing, I recommend you do yourself a favour and have a good read of Dave Lisle’s posts on the subject, because it’s not a particularly easy job to do. I would eventually have got there (probably in about another week or so!) however his assistance was invaluable in me staying sane. The cam timing is now locked off at 104/104.. I’ve marked up the sprockets to make it easier when the next cam belt change comes up. This means I can start the easier bit of bolting on what I took off, and watching the pile of bits in the garage get smaller. I used the Clavis meter to check the belt tension, a very nice piece of kit that is, and deadly accurate, too. I’ll recheck the tension again before the engine is replaced in the car.