BOB Rocket

BOB went in for its op. a couple of weeks ago now. The MK1 Pi engine was installed along with a recon. box and o/d and carbs were tweaked to account for the new set-up (BFGs for now).

When I picked the car up I was rather astonished by the lumpiness of the cam. I expected a bit of snorting, but it was shaking like a junky and barking like a dog. It wasn't just loud it was positively antisocial. I took it down to an exhaust place recommended by the engine builder (Graham Westwell) to have a resonator fitted (with a 25% parts discount) and some better brackets fitted, and was very happy with the result. A little less harsh, but plenty of presence.

Graham offered a 5,000km warranty on the engine if I adhere to his running in recommendations so I thought I better stick to that. We took BOB for a good run around the eastern side of the state over the next weekend, putting down 1200km whilst staying below 3,000rpm and seeing more amazing parts of Tassie... which is just as well as we're moving to Melbourne soon.

I was amazed that the fuel consumption stayed so reasonable, 28mpg on fairly mixed speeds - and the plugs were perfect.

The car has since been back to Graham to have the oil changed, head retorqued, tappets reset, cooling system flushed and coolant added, etc. It's even better now, getting smoother all the time. We can go up to 4,000rpm now ... and between 3-4k there's an incredible added "Whhhhaaaaaaaaaarp" noise. Ok the idle is still lumpy, but it's rarely ever going to idle if I can help it. There's shed loads of torque so 1st gear is virtually redundant, but it spins up nice and fast too ... I have to keep reigning myself in - can't wait to let it rip.

I picked up a replacement central console the other day off a mate (Russell), and fitted it. The old one had got brittle and cracked as they do, but Russell has a stack of perfect ones, including a very unusual one made of a thick firm plastic with a vinyl covering... sounds shonky I know, but the moulding was perfect and it fits perfectly too and looks exactly like the original. It really looks like it's factory made but Russell says he's never come across one before. Weird.

In a couple of weeks' time we're heading off on a big drive around South Australia via Melbourne. BOB's more fun than ever so I'm looking forward to putting down some k's. Should be great.