News
NOW, THAT’S A COOL TRANSPLANT
May 20th
Interest in all things MG Midget and Austin Healey Sprite never wains and there’s a real love for those cars in the kitcar industry, of course, either as donors, subjects for conversions or just because they are MG Midgets and AH Sprites!
An interesting new arrival on the scene is James Barratt of Barratt Engineering who offers a Nissan Micra CG engine transplant for the ‘Spridget’. I didn’t know until James told me that Nissan produced thousands of A-Series engines under licence back in the day.
Coincidentally, their latter-day Nissan Micra unit was very similar in design and stature and was also More >
FOERS IBEX ELECTRIC
May 20th
Foers Ibex now available as a kit again
John Foers is a long-established name in the UK kitcar industry. As far back as 1977, John was producing his Nomad kits (under the Foers Engineering name) was akin to a mini Land Rover and equally as capable off-road. Around 180 were sold. Another model, the Triton followed in 1985 although wasn’t anything like as successful.
When Foers came out with the excellent Ibex in 1988, the Nomad and Triton were sold on to another Rotherham company, called Dettech, run by Derek Chapman.
In the meantime, John continued to develop his Ibex, a more rugged, More >
ESSENTIAL READING
May 20th
The people that predicted the end of the book were massively wide of the mark. In recent years not only have there been some great automotive books released but the sales of hard copy ‘proper’ books are on the rise again.
There have been so many corkers lately that I thought I’d group a few of them together.
Two of them have come from The Crowood Press (I’m currently ‘building’ a book called ‘Caterham Cars – The Complete History’ for them!) in the shape of ‘Lotus Elise and Exige’ by occasional TKC Mag contributor Johnny Tipler.
It is a beautifully produced in-depth history More >
ESSENTIAL ITEMS FOR THE GARAGE SHELF
May 20th
Along with a Dremel and its various accessories and Sugru, one of the essentials in my garage is the products of Quiksteel. Absolutely essential.
In case you didn’t know, Quicksteel is a reinforced putty that is easy to use, hardens in minutes and has thousands of automotive uses not to mention those around the home. It hardens like steel and can be drilled and painted.
I used it once on the water jacket of an outboard motor and it worked beautifully. As far as I know that motor is still going strong and still has my Quicksteel repair!
In addition to the Steel More >
CLASSIC DUNLOP AVAILABLE AGAIN
May 20th
If you have a vintage-type kitcar or replica these new Dunlop Sport Aquajet tyres might be of interest to you.
Dunlop has just announced a new production batch of these classic tyres which are renowned for wet grip and fine, dry cornering ability and back in the day they were one of the company’s earliest radial tyres.
The tread pattern was designed to drive water away from the contact patch aided by little ‘jets’ in the tread, hence the Aquajet name.
They are available now and cost £212 per tyre and are available through a variety of outlets including Longstone Tyres – More More >
MOTUL DON’T JUST PRODUCE OIL!
May 20th
I’ve been using the new glass cleaner, which is part of the Motul Car Care range just released in the UK. The French oil giant is represented in the UK by Witham Group.
Having been on a rainy trip to Derbyshire this week my black X5 was looking a bit unkempt and before it rained (again) I managed to put the Glass Clean product through its paces on a couple of the BMW’s filthy windows.
Rather than just being a re-badged version of someone else’s product this one seems to be a bit of a star if the results of my first More >
BAG IT
May 20th
Another storage solution from Laser Tools: this set of three multipurpose storage tool pouches (part number 7837), is ideal for carrying tools, spares, fixings, or handheld electronic devices when you’re on the go.
Manufactured from heavy-duty nylon material for durability, they each have a hanging loop and smooth zipper close and are water-resistant to protect tools from water and stains. There are three different sizes in the set: 30 x 23cm, 23 x 18cm, and 18 x 14cm. The smallest of which would be ideal for protecting your mobile phone, and the largest is big enough to hold most regular-sized spanners More >
NEW YB PISTONS FROM MODATEK
May 20th
Official Cosworth parts distributor, Modatek has just launched a set of long-rod pistons designed and manufactured by Cosworth for the YB engine.
The pistons have the pin bore moved up by 7.5mm and are designed to work with a longer 136mm con-rod. They are forged from aluminium and feature valve cut-outs, anti-detonation bands, oil drain holes and have a Xylan fluoro-polymer anti-friction coating.
The compression ratio is 10:1 and you can choose from three bore sizes – standard (90.2mm, a +.5mm oversize and a +1mm oversize. A set of four pistons, rings, pins and clips costs £856.20 inc VAT and they are More >
GERM KILLER FROM TURTLE WAX
May 20th
New from Turtle Wax, currently riding the crest of a wave is Multi-Purpose Cleaner & Disinfectant with Byotrol Technology.
Easy to use, unlike most disinfectants it has a really nice smell is said to give the sanitised area a full 24-hours of protection and it removes dirt, stains and odours, is non-staining contains no bleach or alcohol.
The best part is that a 500ml trigger spray bottle costs just £7. Lovely product.
It is available now from www.turtlewax.co.uk as well as Halfords stores ENDS.
ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET WHEN WELDING
May 20th
The all NEW PWH616 – Welding Helmet with PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator) with auto-darkening is perfect for all your welding needs. Suitable for MIG, TIG and arc welding it comes with many features.
The lithium battery-powered respirator unit provides the user with a constant filtered stream of air to the users’ head and face for up to approximately eight hours. For added safety, an audible alarm alerts the user when the battery/airflow is getting low.
The helmet features a contoured design for added comfort, adjustable shade control from 9-13 and 5-8 and fully automatic switching from light to dark on striking arc More >
