News
CREATIVE THINKING
Jun 4th
Former commercial accountant, proprietor of a garage business and general car enthusiast, Mike Keoghan, who runs Warrington-based, Creative Sports Cars, is the new man behind the Dodge Viper-inspired Venom, devised by the late Keith Kirk and latterly available from Auto Speciali.
Mike acquired the project in 2011 and has been busy during the intervening period. Rather than warm-up the old project, he’s gone to town and designed a brand new tubular spaceframe chassis and most notably changed the donor from venerable Ford Granada to Jaguar S-Type (1999-2002) not a straightforward undertaking.
However, I think it’s an inspired move and is certainly the More >
FOUR WHEEL DRIVING
Jun 4th
New company, FourWD Engineering, run by Simeon Scruton, has acquired the rights to the NCF Motors range of Sahara and brand new Arctic kits, after NCF’s Nick Findeisen wanted to retire from kitcar manufacturing after some 36-years valiant service.
Arctic is all-new
Nick has been responsible for some very notable kits and following a ‘special’ built with his dad, Mike, his first commercial offering was the Diamond (still the best kit of its type ever produced, in my humble opinion) and he followed it up with all sorts of off-road orientated devices including Out Bak, Traka, Road Rat, Blitz, Blitz 2, Blitz More >
EWENS MAKES PROGRESS
Jun 4th
A newcomer that I’m really liking the look of much is the Ewens Roadster, the work of Gary Downes at Peterborough-based Fenspeed, well-known for their Ford tuning prowess in addition to their mainstay general repair and MOT-work.
Actually, Gary first built a version of the car some 10-years ago – Johnny Come Lately publications might not remember it on display at Newark show, back then.
Now known as the Ewens Roadster, the car is based on Mazda MX-5 and uses a lot of the donor including engine, gearbox, differential, steering and uprights. The chassis is a fine-looking square tube spaceframe (there is More >
SANDY SHORE
Jun 4th
If you’re looking for a high-quality, quiet and effective, electric random orbital sander then the DEROS 5650CV could be the device for you.
Unlike the Finnish company’s CEROS unit, the new one doesn’t require a remote transformer. It plugs straight into the mains. I used it extensively over the recent Bank Holiday weekend and particularly on one often tough annual job, of sanding down a large wooden table in our garden.
I was going to do the task anyway, so thought I try the DEROS out on it. I usually end up with ears ringing and covered with dust, plus what amounts More >
AVOCET FOR SALE
Jun 4th
The Avocet sportscar has been quite lately but is now ready to be marketed for sale internationally as a fully developed market-ready product.
MMI, the privately owned automotive enterprise behind the marque, took the very deliberate decision to use the recent past flat market period to advantage, by undertaking substantial development and testing.
MMI founder and managing director, Martin Miles said: “We have done everything we set out to do – and more. The result is that Avocet is now a highly competitive car, which combines a stylish, ultra-lightweight two-seater body with exceptional chassis dynamics and awesome performance and we have achieved that More >
SLICK COMMA
Jun 4th
The Comma brand Performance Motor Oils (PMO) range of fifteen advanced engine oils provides up to 99 per cent coverage of the total UK passenger vehicle requirements.
Five popular products in the PMO range have newly upgraded specifications – fully synthetic Syner-Z 5W-30, fully synthetic Pro-Tech 5W-30, fully synthetic Syner-G 5W-40, fully synthetic PD Plus 5W-40 and semi-synthetic Eurolite 10W-40. These new PMO specifications will start to be introduced this month.
Comma is also introducing fourteen new part numbers across eleven of the Comma PMO grades to meet the continuing market requirement for an extended choice of pack sizes, including 1-litre and More >
IT’S ON THE MAT
Jun 4th
Suitable for both the busy workshop and to keep in the boot for emergency use, this Laser Tools Racing-branded folding work mat (part number 6046) is both versatile and robust, and will keep you comfortable on the cold, dirty concrete workshop floor.
Folded, it can also be used as a seat, un-folded it is a generous 1200mm in length (435mm wide and 140mm thick) with a padded head/neck rest. Once folded it is a neat 355mm x 435mm for easy storage and includes useful carrying handles.
Finished in the official Laser Tools Racing team colours of blue and black, the folding work More >
SEBRING – BACK WITH A BANG
May 28th
Really great to see Sebring International up and running and in the more than safe hands of Sophie Fisher and Phil Overall. We’ve got a feature done, which will appear in the forthcoming July/August issue of TKC Mag, and we spent an enjoyable couple of hours with them at their Cheltenham base.
If you’re interested in motorsport, particularly, the British Touring Car Championship, then Phil’s name might be familiar as over a 30-year period he’s worked with most of the leading teams and drivers, starting with John Fitzpatrick right up to current day pedallers such as Jason Plato and Colin Turkington. More >
FUSS-FREE RE-FUELLING
May 28th
We regularly get sent new-fangled ‘gonna-change-the-world’ products, with most of them pretty rubbish and/or un-necessary. However, sometimes, a device comes along that makes you wonder why no-one thought of it before.
Such a product is Pump Pal, a simple but nicely-made product that keeps the fuel pump trigger in its engaged position, taking pressure off your grip while you refuel your vehicle. If you travel in Europe, you’ll note that petrol stations there treat us like adults and keep the pump’s trigger locking mechanism in place. In the UK, however, it’s removed…
Pump Pal acts as the trigger lock, in a simple and effective More >
IF IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR NATO…
May 28th
The RNHT48 Rivet Nut Hand Tool, launched by MEMFast (Make Ends Meet Limited) four years ago, has now been approved for use by all NATO affiliated organisations worldwide.
This very robust tool, made in the UK, offers great flexibility – it installs M4 to M10 rivet nuts in steel, stainless steel, aluminium and brass by using a simple ‘spin’ action. There is no stroke to set, it is much tougher and easier to use than conventional hand-pliers and is much more compact than lever type tools.
The extremely vigorous vetting and testing process operated by NATO and its affiliated organisations took more More >
