MISTY MOUNTAIN HOP!

Go on admit it. How many times, usually on a hot summer day in direct sunlight have you tried to polish your car, only to be left with a smeary mess that feels like you’ve stuck concrete all over the body? No matter how hard you try that polish haze will not shift!

I’ve been there over the years, which is why the news pieces on car care products on totalkitcar and in TKC Mag, bring you products that we know do work and come recommended.

One of my favourites and yep, I have to say, lives on my ‘go-to’ list is More >

NICELY WARMED-UP LS LONG BLOCK

New from Summit Racing is this Summit Racing 450 HP Remanufactured 5.3L LS Crate Engine.

It’s an LS-Series long block rated at 450bhp and accompanied by and 480 lb-ft of torque.

The engine is machined and assembled for Summit Racing by us by the highly-rated crate engine experts, ATK.

It is based on the 5.3-litre LM7 found in 1999 to 2007 GM pickups and SUVs, in the USA but Summit and ATK have warmed it up a bit with a Summit Racing Pro LS roller camshaft. It’s even backed by a two-year, unlimited mileage warranty.

More from www.summitracing.com ENDS.

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BIG GUNS

Royal Warranted car-care expert Autoglym has released details of its latest detailing ‘must-have’ – the Polar Blaster snowfoam gun.

Polar Blaster is a unique foam gun designed to work in harmony with all Polar Series products, providing the speediest way to safely pre-wash, wash and protect your vehicle.

It creates lashings of thick, clingy foam with Polar Blast, optimises the density required to efficiently deep clean with Polar Wash and produces the perfect consistency to apply the hyper-hydrophobic Polar Seal in seconds.

The adjustable spray pattern allows you to easily follow your car’s contours, ensuring total coverage and appropriate dwell time on mud, More >

NEW COMPACT KARCHER

New from Kärcher is the K7 Compact model, which in essence their top-of-the-range K7 model in, er, compact form!

There’s no digital lance or detergent bottle cavity but the powerful, water-cooled 2.8kW motor remains and is still able to handle up to 550-litres of water per hour.

It’s small and easy to manoeuvre, but still has the same power as its big brother but not as wieldy. I think it’s possible to miss the features of the K7 Premier as the Compact version is so simple to use, by contrast.

The pack comes with 10-metres of kink-free hose, a line for your chosen More >

JUMP TO IT

Here’s a great device for kit and specialist car enthusiasts. It comes from Ring Automotive and is a very compact Jump Starter Powerpack (RPPL700). Unlike some of these micro starters that in my experience, er, don’t start your car or manage one and then need re-charging, this one can carry out multiple jump starts on once charge.

What sets this one even farther apart though is that thanks to its rapid recharge technology you can leave it connected to your vehicle for 40-seconds after the vehicle has been jump-started and it will regain 100 per cent recharge ready for further use.

The More >

SANDING AND A POLISHING

The Laser Tools spot repair orbital sander and polisher (part number 7683) is a compact but powerful air tool that is powered from the workshop compressed air supply (recommended pressure 90psi at the tool).

This is a neat and very compact sander/polisher that weighs just half a kilogram. It has excellent performance with a maximum RPM of 13,000 available but boasts an efficient average air consumption of just 2.6 CFM. The speed of the spot repair sander can be easily adjusted on the instrument.

It’s smooth, well-balanced action and selection of sanding pads are suited to smaller repairs, letting the operator contain More >

PIE CHUCKERS!

These little slices of stainless steel will make building stuff like exhaust systems, turbo plumbing, and air intakes a little easier.

Vibrant’s Pie Cut Sets come with six .304 stainless steel pieces cut at a 15° increment, allowing you to make tight-radius bends that are impossible to do with conventional tubing bends.

That 15° increment also makes your maths simple – use three pie cuts to make a 45° bend, six for a 90° bend, and so forth.

The Vibrant pie cuts are precision-cut, deburred and will not deform even if you cut them. They are available in 2in, 2½in and 3in OD More >

NEW UNIT FROM ALCOSENSE

The latest generation of the UK’s award-winning personal breathalyser has been launched.

The AlcoSense Elite 3 features upgraded Semi-Conductor alcohol sensor technology for unrivalled accuracy at this price point.

Designed in the UK and easy to use, the Elite 3 fits in the palm of your hand and gives your alcohol reading in seconds.

Simply turn it on and insert a blow tube. When the blow symbol is displayed on screen, blow through the device for approximately six seconds until it beeps.

A few seconds later your results will be shown in increments of 0.01 ‰BAC or mg/L, giving you a detailed understanding of your More >

TOP TRIBUTES FROM TRIBUTE

Chris Welch of Tribute Automotive has been busy lately with no fewer than four new kits on the chocks.

The first pair are the new Z3 GT, which as the name suggests is BMW Z3-based. It will be available in hardtop form with kits priced at £5994 inc VAT with a convertible version at £4394 inc VAT.

Also available now at Tribute Automotive are a pair of classic TVR models both based around Triumph Spitfire mechanicals. The Grantura Mk1 and classic Griffith 200/400 kits both cost £3240 inc VAT.

More information from www.www.tributeautomotive.co.uk or 07901 544 214 ENDS.

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NEW ROOF FOR SONIC7

Equilibrium Kit Cars is going along quite nicely and their Sonic7 must be one of the most under-rated sportscars around. If you fancy an affordable, not to mention hugely capable kitcar then you’d do a lot worse than considering this one.

A new development this week is that the company is bringing back the roof set-up for the Sonic7 originally created by the car’s designer, Stuart ‘Stiggy’ Mills but not hitherto offered by Equilibrium’s Angus Weijers.

Having received an order for one, however, Angus decided to investigate the idea further.

Prices have yet to be announced and they’ll also be coming up with More >

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