Disassembling the carbs

Spent the evening with a glass or two of red and some screwdrivers, following the instructions in the book and stripping down the carbs, one by one. They’ve gone off to a local chap for an ultrasonic bath to get rid of the gummed-up petrol in the insides and ensure that when they go on…

Aldon Amethyst ignition controller

Okay, first up the money shot, so you can see that it works, then I’ll circle back and set out how I got there  To set the scene, that’s my bog-standard 2.0 Pinto with an Aldon Amethyst unit (resting on the heater bowl) effectively inserted between the distributor and the coil, running a user-definable ignition advance curve…

A peek inside the toy cupboard

Among the pile of bits I’ve casually acquired over the years is this; a pair of Dellorto DHLA 40’s complete with trumpets, K&N filters, linkage and a Hiflow manifold – all for £151 from a fella about 20 miles away. If memory serves, it was one of those auctions where the seller listed it badly,…

It’s all in the timing

When you’re sat next to your little girl’s bed in hospital, it’s 4am, you haven’t slept in days and there’s no more Jammie Dodgers left on the nurse’s station – the last thing you want is the banality of 24 hour telly. At times like these, you want distraction, you want warm comforting words, you…

You squeaky little bastard !

One summer I was going out to the garage to find some humdrum household item or other, when I glanced through the mucky windows of the Capri and noticed something out of place, stuffed down the sides of the rear seat. Opened the door and was greeted with that unmistakeable stench of mouse piss  Dug…

There was beer, and then wine, and then gin …

So I’m talking over a beer or two with a mate and he asks how come the car’s still up on bricks in the garage, on the basis that saying I’ve got no free time is silly because if I’ve got free time to have a beer then I’ve got free time to play with…