clubstylus

Just posting notice of our exit.

In 2 weeks we are leaving for France. Sold the house & business, bought a place in southern Lot area (I understand its where all the brits go).

Looking forward to a new challenge.

Kevin & Liz

Sorry you're not around in the UK soon but wish you and Liz all the very best in your new abode

Dead jealous as I love France, we usually go to Jard Sur Mer on holiday and love the whole way of life.

Unfortunately we are not near the sea Varaire 46260
But do have an annual sprint on 1 of the main roads in a nearby village.

Cant wait.

Bit of an update.
The Stylus has turned into a different car & really loves it over here. It is under cover now the weather has changed, but I managed to fit in a round trip to "Circuit de Charade" at the end of October for a track day.
A 5 hour trip over the mountains the night before. Signing in at the circuit 8 am. With a sound check immediately as you go through the gate, still not day light. I was worried about this as originally a 100 db limit when I applied. I then got a reminder text the week before which started 98 db. Then an email the night before at 95 db.
I already had put a market at 5 k and told them that was the max revs. But I was over, so they allowed my to drop the revs to 4k. I was still over. However on the bases I had turned up they would let me do a couple of "parade" laps. When I went out on the circuit the organisers held the other cars back so I could do a couple of laps to assess the nose levels. On the bases that I was short shifting I was allowed to carry on! I stopped at lunch time due to the long trip back.
What a great circuit - 4k long. And thanks to the organisers for letting me continue.

95db's is too tight for a Stylus unless never been tuned , even my standard original 2lt Zetec went over the 105db's after the build and before a db specific exhaust was built

As I'm using the Stylus quite frequently now - 70 min round trip to my French lessons. I have had a few (minor) issues.
Indicators not working properly, found out it was the alarms fault.
A puncture. And the rear axle lateral linkage came undone. I'm not sure how this happened as I only adjusted it a few days ago and the threadlocked nut was still there. Luckily I was close to home, but driving without the link was like being on a small boat.
Also had an engine bracket break.

Happy motoring.

The original engine mounts were not reinforced properly , mine cracked on the driver's side . I removed both , webbed the plates and it's been no problem since 2004

stylussprinter wrote:The original engine mounts were not reinforced properly , mine cracked on the driver's side . I removed both , webbed the plates and it's been no problem since 2004

Mine was also the drivers side. Not webbed though.

For new year its Out with the old and in with the new.
Removed the Raceline water rail and replaced with Dunnell unit on my Zetec engine

I had problems with the raceline. The wires to the temperature sensors used to melt from the exhaust heat. Yes I did fit a heat sheild but I still had a problem. Also the data from the ECU showed the water temperature was cycling. This even happened on long journeys on warm days.

The Dunnell unit has the stat positions on the back (as per Ford) and the rail runs under the exhaust. I never had a problem with the original Ford unit, but getting the pipes past the exhaust manifold was messy.

Anyway the Dunnell is installed but - the engine just gets hotter and hotter. I don't think the thermostat is opening. The unit is self bleed and has a cold flow by pass which is working. I'm wondering as I have an old blacktop if the pump is running backwards. Years ago I run a Westfield which I sprinted for a couple of years. This had the pump running backwards and was never a problem (with the Ford thermostat).

I could re fit the dry sump engine (with the corrected pump), but this needs a quick checker and with Matt's help in the summer I will convert to a LHD chassis. So don't want to mess around to much.

Happy new year, cheers.

Take the thermpstat out , remove that silly metal sphere and it's tag then drill out that hole to 8mm , more if needed as you experiment . It will ensure there's always a water flow even while waiting to warm up from cold . Essential with a modified engine

stylussprinter wrote:Take the thermpstat out , remove that silly metal sphere and it's tag then drill out that hole to 8mm , more if needed as you experiment . It will ensure there's always a water flow even while waiting to warm up from cold . Essential with a modified engine

The Dunnell has a decent size bypass for when the stats closed, about 12mm. It's also self bleeding.
As it was a glorious day I drove to the market and back. The data revealed a very smooth warm up and a stable reading afterwards. The journey is only 5 miles though, so not enough to maintain high temperatures. Oh the cooling fan fell off when I got home. It was held on with the plastic discs through the radiator matrix. The discs had worn away.

I fitted my fan from day 1 in 1998 using cable ties through the fan outside frame then over a piece of rubber fuel tube about 50mm long on the engine side and back to the fan frame. They never come loose but I did replace them after the road accident I had in 2002 but those cable ties are still there now