2016 Passion for Speed just over a week away ….

Firstly feedback. Fossa Ford Anglia – Removed her engine, replaced her flywheel bolts, one rev to 5000rpm, and the flywheel bolts sheared clean off again.

Fossa’s Crankshaft with sheared bolts

Engine removal and replacing is becoming too easy. Engine out again. Hours of research do not provide real answers. Everything I find are not applicable to our scenario. We do our own flywheel balancing check test and decide to use one about 500 grams heavier. To confirm my tenth sense, I hang the engine fully assembled with, flywheel, clutch and pressure plate, start it on the engine crane.

Grabbing at straws, this is the AX block which had no lug on the bottom starter motor side and we, using a belhousing aligned the lug of our block that had the conrod through welding it in position. My only thought was that the lug could be out of center allowing uncentered pressure on the flywheel. Well, so far so good, it’s been around the block a few times and to +7000rpms without breaking free …. time will tell.

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Then the update on the spray painting of the Roachcoach ….. Progress was hampered by interference due to theft at the office which had us going there multiple times. This had an impact on our spraying, the finish and our budget ……

Roachcoach 1

Roachcoach 2

Roachcoach 3

Roachcoach 4

And this is our current status. Trust we will get more done the coming weekend, I still have to complete some checks on Fossa before the Passion For Speed at Zwartkops Raceway 29 & 30 January.

Will we see you at the track? Cheers ….

Firstly, Redstar Raceway, 28 November. With Kyalami still in spectacular revamp mode, the final Midas Historic Racing event for the year is diverted to a race track originally designed for bikes. With Fossa not ready for action and probable future races we decide to go and check out the track. We are pleasantly surprised with the tidiness of the facilities and speaking to some of the participants the track is extremely challenging with lots of “farming” stories.

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Back to Zwartkops Raceway …. we completed the outstanding issues on Fossa and use last track day of the year to go and test our labours of the last few months.

Participants arrive slowly initially and then suddenly it turns to probably the biggest attendance track day we have been a part of. With the quantity of race cars present it looks like a race day! The COC makes a wise decision to split the group into five including two race car sessions.

The engine feels a little lazy with the BCF3, still prefer the 244 profile.The brakes still debatable and not quite where I would like them, something I can pay attention to and I may even be able to get used to it. Our best lap time 1:40.88, fourteen seconds off our best to date …… There is a unusual vibration from Fossa’s engine which can be due to the more rigid home cast engine mounts …

Fossa in test mode

And then a sudden rain storm, but not from the heavens, following a rapid increase of engine temperature, water from Fossa’s radiator … We immediately pull of the track and post session return to the pits. We find no oil and water and mixed in either engine or radiator. We check for bubbles in the water while running at varying rpm’s, none found. Confirming her ignition timing at rpm, suddenly sparks from inside the bell housing. Some trackside checks show the flywheel running out of true.

Seeing as those bolts are treated with Loctite and torqued …. I am a bit confused. At least I know where that vibration was coming from. That was the end of our testing.

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And then ….. an invite by Gerdus to join him on a joyride in a “Lotus 7”. What a difference to a “normal” car. The car is set up to the nearest millimeter. The seven is launched out of pit lane with such speed that would have had Fossa in the wall. Corner two flies in and is gone before it was there, time travel is real! The traction achieved is as if the car was born with hot tires. All corners deliver a slight complaint from the Dunlop’s. All too soon the stint behind that Rocam is over. Words to describe the stint? Some not suitable for young eyes!

Gerdus Smit my pilot in the Lotus 7

Should you have the opportunity to go for a ride in one of these time machines in the hands of a skilled driver, GRAB IT!

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And then some sad news, today Gerhard Lottering passed away. Gerhard always zipping up and down Zwartkops Raceway’s pit roads on his scooter, always a smile and a word of advise. Thanks Gerhard, RIP!

Gerhard Lottering

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I trust Fossa will be ready by end January 2016 for Passion of Speed …. I have two other Anglia’s to spray paint …. Let’s see what time allows, biggest challenge, the place to test Fossa to limit ….

Cheers

So we work hard to assemble a second engine for Fossa using all different components in an effort to eliminate any possible “bad” parts and produce an engine for a race at Zwartkops Raceway on the 19th of September ……

Annalie and myself planned for the BIG return to the track putting in leave two months in advance. Thursday evening, Fossa is ready with her engine sounding sweet, we take her around the block finding we have virtually no brakes. I take her around another few times hoping for an improvement to no avail. Well, we are on leave and did plan to be trackside, after dropping Roach at his work we make our way to Zwartkops to go and watch the practise sessions.

We decide to head back home at about 14h30. Within five kilometers from the track our Cortina starts pinging. The pinging get louder and louder. Suspecting that her distributor must have come loose, we pull over to find that her radiator have burst. With no water in her system she gave no indication of overheating. We slowly move through Olievenhoutbosch and pull in at a Sasol service center. There we spend what was to be the only rest we were going to have of the remainder of our leave. Just after 20h00 a plan to return home arrives towing us home.

Saturday morning, we saddle up Roachie and head trackside grabbing our pre-race era speccie spot.

Roachie, Zwartkops Raceway Trackside

After a day of exciting racing without any Anglia’s on track, we head home to our damaged Cortina. In the following days Roachie is our mode of transport visit multiple motor spares shops, malls …. etc. You can simply not exit a shop without finding admirers, or drive without having offers made on your Ford Anglia. Standing at the front at a traffic light, the modern car pulls in next to you, not expecting acceleration from the old car next to them. Victims include all marques …… All I can say,

Every Journey An Adventure, Ford Anglia

Our Ford Anglia Family

As for our racing endeavours, there are still two races this year, an invitational at Phakisa Freeway and a points scoring event at the Redstar Raceway. 2015 has been a year with a MSA license fee wasted. I am waiting for feedback from Denzil Bhana in Zimbabwe for a spare pedalbox and I will prep Fossa for the international event end January 2016. With a bit of luck we might be able to attend a Super Traxday to do some testing before the track closes in December …..     Cheers!