Head Port And Polish

[MarkK 2]

Just found that out ! ,there was a noise if i was rough lifting the clutch in reverse,sounds like the next job....will it damage anything meantime???

[projectpug 0]

Hard to say realy-can cuase cracking to the manifold around the welds though. So be best to get it done sooner rather than later.

[MarkK 2]

Off to Shenpar this morning,to get the engine mount sorted at the same time having a new battery and starter motor and a shiny new rad as they all are getting a bit suspect,looks like my kids will be getting an orange each and a couple of walnuts for christmas!Really hope this sorts the car for a while the carb idea is officially shelved for now.....Just want some reliability so when i go to the car i know it will start.

[MrG 3]

well done Mark. The GpN mounts make a difference, will you be doing the lot or just the bottom one? I have all in GpN and the car is harsher due to this.

[MarkK 2]

Nick is pretty sure that the one mount will solve the problem with the graunch, on another note since i put the new Piper camshaft in i was sure that the car was more "ticky" than before but it is getting quieter as i put miles on it....!?-went to show Nick the noise and couldn't hear it,i looked like i right old fusspants!!!Can't wait to get the car back...again....!!

[MarkK 2]

Aaargh!The Group N Mount does the trick with graunch on the manifold,but i hate it,can't live with it,going to try a brand new standard mount to see if it stops the graunch enough as it will be newer and hopefully stiffer than my old original.......?On a positive note the car starts brilliantly now and the exhaust had some "blows" on it that are fixed and that has improved the noise and feel of the car,it is plenty quick for me now for the time being,just need to get rid of the stiff group N mount..............Then its holidaytime from garages.....Very impressed with Shenpar,Nick is a top bloke and is really patient,and has sorted the rest of the car brilliantly.

[projectpug 0]

They do quieten down a little over the first week well mine definately did but it still vibrates the car a fair bit.

Glad it has stopped the graunch though:)

[MrG 3]

mines fine for the use it gets on track, but I'm not sure I could live with the harsher side of these mounts on a day to day basis.

[MarkK 2]

Thought i could live with being a bit more hardcore,but i like to use mine alot around town,aswell as cross country thrashes,the group N mount is just too much for me to live with,besides i might need to do the occasional school run and i think the noise would scare the kids,its gotto go unfortunately,the lack of engine movement makes the throttle response instantaneous just feels like all the slack is taken out- that bit feels superb,the head and cam are running sweet now makes a MASSIVE difference to the car,more pleased with that bit than i even thought i could be,i would quite like to take the car on a dyno to see if it is making near its standard quota.

[MarkK 2]

Will know tommorow if the new standard mount did the job,fitting some new gear change linkages and having it settup for a shorter throw,the brakes are having a refresh aswell with new EBC pads and discs and goodrich metal hoses (I know EBC don't seem to be rated on here,but the disc and pad are matched and i have heard good things in magazines so are going to give them a try).Can't stop thinking about a new set of dampers but if i do that it will deffo end up in divorce.....

[nick 3]

Stick with the mount mate, I was the same as you when I first fitted mine, hated it! it blurred the mirrors and was horrible. I've done about two thousand miles on it and it is absolutely fine now. Bear in mind that this is my only car and my daily driver.

 

Nick

[MarkK 2]

Hi Nick,are you saying it Beds in and gets less harsh???

[nick 3]

Absolutely... like I say mine is my daily driver, so I was paranoid about it being harsh and rattling everthing to death, but it's fine now.

 

Nick

[Tom Fenton 1,524]

I'll also say the same, give it a couple of thousand miles and they bed in nicely and end up not too harsh at all.

[MarkK 2]

Got the car back this evening from Nick at Shenpar,i am really pleased with what he has done with it, it the engine doesn't move enough to cause the graunch noise with the 4 branch anymore and at the same time is still really refined,just using a brand new standard engine mount (sorry just couldn't hack the harshness of the GpN mount ...),with the exhaust sorted (no leaks causing funny noises),the car is a nice little package that suits what i am after,the quickshift that Nick fitted is really direct and feels great- really feels like all the slop has gone,really firm brake pedal now aswell.With the car sorted now just want to stick some miles on over the winter and enjoy it a bit,maybe make a few meets.

The whole head saga has been more expensive than i would have liked but i got a bit carried away with other stuff,but the car is sorted for what i want it for and i think will be lots of fun in its new guise.