With last weeks racing canned at Waikaraka and the 53a car's gear change cables repaired it meant that focus could shift back to the new car and trying to get that ready for racing.

During the process of completely welding the chassis, you normally have to expect some of the bars to pull a bit due to the amount of heat generated in the process. However we had huge trouble getting the engine back on its mounts as none of the bolt holes would line up. After a few moments of scratching heads we realised that one of the mount braces had been welded in the wrong place. So out came the grinder and in went the engine.

With the engine back in the rest of the engine mounts have been bolted up and the throttle linkage and lower firewall have been made. Unfortunately the dash board that was built a while ago wasn't quite right so a new one had to be made. Now with the guages moved we should be able to mount the ignition system inside the dash.

Now attention has moved to the bellhousing. At only 5" long it will end up about the smallest and lightest we have built. While we did want to run a ZF gearbox to save a bit more weight and space, the clutch plates suit a HQ box so that is what we will run. By the end of the weekend we should have lined up the bellhousing and hopefully drilled the gearbox mounts so we can move down the drive train and get the diff mounted.

As for this weekend I think everything is organised for all 3 cars (26a, 53a, and 73a) to head down to Huntly. We were going to go down to watch the Stockcar Teams racing anyway, and now we get to race also. Huntly is a good little track and I think even though I have raced there twice, this might be the first time in the 53a car. Hopefully we can get it setup to go around the tight corners.

Good luck to the Auckland Alleycats!

Catch ya....MadPhil