That's where the coil is on a fair number of the race cars, The Lumaca I2F one included, no reason it won't be fine there.

Cheers Russ, it seemed like a logical place really.

My engine seal kit arrived today so whilst I'm posting, I'd like to ask - when rebuilding the engine, should I use copperslip on crankcase/cylinder head bolt threads etc. or as it's an engine, would engine oil be better? In fact as I don't intend stripping the engine again for quite a while, should I even bother with thread lubricant?

Also, I'm sure the barrels & cylinder heads are just a straight fit back together but would it hurt to use a bit of blue goo or is it totally unnecessary?

Belinda went straight through her MOT today with an advisory on a windscreen chip & a quick mention that the handbrake could do with adjusting

While I was there, I thought I'd take a few pics to give you an idea of the sort of place I take an A series to.

A proper garage with attended fuel pumps, drive over bell strips & knackered old vending machines



A rusty old michelin map on the wall



and a tow truck that doesn't look as if it's moved for years!



I did go hunting to see if there were any hidden gems in the undergrowth but only came up with this



Since I've fitted the Harley coil, Belinda hasn't missed, stuttered or spluttered once and she's driving really nicely at the moment. I'm kind of thinking of the ignition as equivalent to a heart - you'll survive on a dodgy ticker but if it's in tip top condition, you'll feel healthier & perform much better.

Blimey, Bullwinkles of Baumber, that brings back memories. I spent an afternoon taking photographs of various old Citroens in their back yard in summer '89 for some A-level art project or something. They used to have some great stuff back there. Some of it with trees growing through it.

After reading another post tonight, I meant to ask another question about the state of my engine.

As I've ordered a full seal kit from Uncle Roy I thought it silly not to replace the valve stem seals but when I looked at my cylinder heads a bit more closely I noticed that one of the spark plug threads has a helicoil in it.

I know a few owners have experienced stripped threads and I did have the same problem on an old BX of mine so is it anything to be worried about?

It's been all about bodywork this week for Belinda & I. I'd been thinking about some light guards for sometime and whilst I was doing bodywork, I thought it wasa good time to see about guards. I'd initialy thought about fabricating some grills but was araid they might be a bit over the top, so after seeing a picture of a FAF with some simple bars over the headlamps this is what I came up with.

All I did for the tail lamps was cut some strips of metal & using a lamp unit as a template, drill equally spaced holes, bend some suitable thin bars & fit them into the holes. Once through, I peened the ends of the bars with a ball-pein hammer so that they spread & became a interference fit.



The fronts were a bit more difficult but in the end I secured them by cutting an M5 thread into the ends of the bars & securing with a nut either side of the lamp surround.





Painted up, I think they suit the vehicle quite well

They look very business like Bertie, great job. Whats the story with the tailgate though? Has the paint come away from the plywood or something?

Yeh, the paint is slowly flaking away causing the wood to delaminate. I'm planning to wait until the winter & do the whole tailgate including the window surrounds & new wood. There's no point in doing it yet while I'm still using the car to attend meetings & I like the stares of disapproval that I get when the car's parked next to a Warrant Officers Austin Healey at the back of the Sgt's Mess

Those light things look the part, nice work.

<chuckle>