June 18th. At last- work resumes!

With the Scottish rally now a distant memory and the hangover recovery process complete, I had a few weeks rest away from the cars. This was mainly due to friends and family functions and parties to attend (So the hangover was soon in full swing again!) and also to build some monies back up after spending a small fortune preparing and competing in said rally!
The first port of call was to sort out the ill running estate. Just before I went away I fitted it with Simon BBC electronic ignition. It was running well on tick over, but due to the demands of Gertie, I never actually got to test drive it. Once I returned from Scotlandshire a run out in the estate revealed it to be puffing and chuffing like a sea lion on 60 a day!  Various tests and adjustments were carried out, but no matter what I did, it still refused to run right. In the end I decided rip the bloody electronic ignition out and go back to points and condensor. What a transformation! It's been running perfect ever since. I shall be contacting Simon BBC with regard to either a refund or maybe try another unit. We'll see what happens. Not impressed! Particularly as this was going to be the back up car if Gertie broke!

With the near 1200 miles that Gertie covered on the rally, her new engine is now well and truly run in. So the next job on the agenda was an oil and filter change, re-torque the cylinder head and re-adjust the tappets. Once funds allow she will be booked into Mowatts in Essex for a rolling road session to address the advance curve on the distributor and possibly have different carb needles fitted too, but for now there are other pressing matters.
The first job to address in the vibration that occurs at the front of the car from 65mph onwards and is still evident at 95mph. (If there are any policeman reading this, Peter Fern pointed this out when he was driving.) :-)
Various different items have been changed not just to eradicate the problem, but also as upgrades. Changes so far: Propshaft, outer wheel bearings, having the wheels balanced, gearbox cross member mounts, suspension legs, steering rack, drag struts, ball joints  and even driving up to 110mph to see if it smooths out at all. (This occurred in Belgium in March, so I can admit to this one. -I think!) ;-)
I have some superflex drag strut bushes so I'm going to fit them on and also I'll be changing not only the inner and outer front wheel bearings, but also the bearing cups in the hubs as well. These are the only items that haven't been changed in my ownership, so if it isn't these causing the vibration....I'm buggered if I know what it is!

(New polybushes on the drag strut)