An 07:00 start and the first leg was the A30 down to Honiton services to meet up with the Dorset WSCCers for breakfast. Cloudy but dry it was a good run and by 08:05 there was 4 Westfields in the car park and it was bacon roll and tea time.
A straight forward run to Dawlish with a fuel and sweet stop at Sainsbury's before heading off to Colin and Pat's. By 10:30 all 6 cars had gathered and we headed off on the "Shore to Shore Tour" taking the A379 from Dawlish to Teighmouth then over the causeway to Sheldon and on to Torbay and then Brixham for the first stop. After a drink we split up and toured the harbour and small market. By 13:00 we were back in the cars and heading over to Dartmouth via the cable ferry and then off to Bigbury-on-sea and lunch.
After parking up we walked over the sand bar to Burgh Island and the Pilchard Inn for a pint and baguette. After lunch we had a fairly quick run back to Dawlish to booking into the various B&Bs before heading back to Colin & Pat's for a BBQ.
The following day was to be a treasure hunt followed by lunch in the Smuggler's Inn but after a night of Tricia spending more time in he bathroom than bed we picked up the car and headed home. Many thanks to Pat and Colin for an excellent weekend, well apart from Tricia not know which way to face the toilet..........
After the Poole Quay run I noticed that the radiator had sprung a leak and it had gone from a minor top up every week or so to half the expansion tank over a 100 mile run. I ordered a new radiator from Coolex complete with a direct fitting Kenlowe fan. Fitting was straight forward, drain the coolant, disconnect all the hoses and electrical connects then unbolt. Refitting was the reverse and I also replaced the temperature switch for the fan with a 92 to 86 degree in an attempt to stop the fan running almost continuously. Refilled the system and rant the car upto temperature and everything worked as advertised.
I decided to tackle an annoying scuttle squeak. After removing the the dash, drilling out the internal panel relays I removed the 4 scuttle plots and expansion tank bolts. I then removed the pedal cover and oil catch tank from the front of the scuttle. With everything disconnect I ran a knife through the silicone sealant and attempted to lift the scuttle. No movement, so out with the pry bars etc and thinks started to move, unfortunately I levered against an area of void in the gel coat and the inevitable crack and chip happened. I completed the removal, removed as much of the silicone as I could and applied anti fret tape. I then tried to repair the gel coat and couldn't get it to go off so it's now sealed up hoping that without air it will go off.
I had to refit the scuttle ready for the Devon Run so completed the reverse of removal. When testing the electrics post refit of the dash I noticed a problem with the offside headlight. Having dismantled it I found the dipped beam shield was broken so removed it to use as a pattern to make another. Many hours later I eventually got the new shield in place and working.
All in a full day in the garage, not feeling the best after a curry and beer run the night before started their revenge. Still need to sort the gel coat but at least it's back on the road for the weekend - oh and the exhaust rattle is back so looks like time for another repack......
James and I have booked a Westfield experience day on the Saturday before I drop him off to Uni so something for the two of us to look forward to and means his first track type day will be in a factory car not ours.
