Imp Free - and lots of other jobs

Well the rain was on the way for the morning but as I was expecting the Caterham and I was working outside I thought I'd chance the Imp. So first thing saw the fan heater go on it again and we got to work on the ... MK2 Golf. 

I started the car a few times and all seems well [famous last words] so I decided to screw the lower cover back on. That was not possible as the screw fittings had disintegrated on the upper part. The plastic clips had also broken off too so I was a bit stuck. I then thought if I could 'remake' the upper fittings I might get enough friction to keep it up. Having tried several plastic pipes it turned out that the outer plastic sheath of Earth wire was about right.

So there it is. I stuck two in place and it sort of works ... I even hoovered the car out to clean it a bit.

Next I got the SAAB ready for a hoover too, but before I could start the Caterham [and the rain] arrived. We quickly unloaded it and off they went.

So back to the SAAB cleaning. Everything from the Xmas tree onwards was in the mess. This was just the hoard under the drivers mat.

Eventually I'd hoovered every thing up and it was time to tackle the Imp.

Usual process then - oil squirted in each cam cover to 'wet' the rockers. While I was doing it I also noticed the new orange gaskets - I'd not spotted them before.

Before starting I pumped in three or four squirts of petrol into each carb - but it was not enough and the car refused to start. I gave it a few more squirts and it started second go that time. The exhaust sounding more 'fruity' too.

However almost no 'steam' was coming out of the exhaust which was a good sign. After a while I thought I'd just take it up the road for a few hundred yards - only for the steering to be almost uncontrolable - some one had not bothered to deflate the tyres back down. 

After lunch I packed away the bubble. First the frame some of which was very tough to dismantle - then the fabric - which was impossible to roll up because somehow I'd left some of the frame in it. That sorted and as the sun was out I thought I go for a run. The Caterham seemed to be the best choice - especially as I am still a bit worried about the Imp - so loaded with carboard I set off for the allotment.

Those dropped off I took it for a longer run. It sounded a little different and there were more pops from the carbs than usual but it went well. After filling up with petrol I noticed quite a lot of water under the car but as it had just been for the service they had probably overfilled it.

The road was closed [again] so I retraced my route home. 

Parking up there was no more signs of dripping.

So then it was time to man up and take the Imp out again. This time with proper tyre pressures it was fine - obviously very bumpy - but steered well. It also seemed to go better with 50 mph more of a norm and not a stretch. 60 mph on a few occasions too.

So as before I did the run almost twice [22 miles in all] and got a bit more confident again.

Finally I needed to go to the local shops so I walked - at least that will save the planet I thought.