the final drive of the season...

[thor]

Always a sad moment: Yesterday it was time for the final drive of the season before snow, filling up with the new Shell racing 99octane, blasting around Oslo with the heater on (5-6 degrees outside). After some lovely overtaking of japanese hot hatches and the like, I'm stopping at the hibernation destination. A friend of mine's warehouse, with light, heating and tools. Finally I'm able to actually do some work in the winter.

But still a sad moment when I put the dust cover on...

[b-havers]

Well Thor, at least you have a drivable +2...
The storage room looked spacious and great for working on the car. Is it heated?

As mentioned before I had to push my +2 to the winter storage. Now I hope to spend the winter finishing the Europa, and then have time to do the Elan before next season.

Sorry we didn't find time to visit Jens and get all four norwegian +2 gathered..

Stay tuned for Feb 1st, the Lotus/Caterham register will be responsible for the Norwegian Sportscars Clubs monthly meeting at Frysja.

[thor]

And an hour ago it started SNOWING! Just in time putting away the car, and three hours ago I change the wheels on the Golf..
the warehouse has central heating and it never gets below 8-12 degrees, which is absolutely lovely-. The same as my mum's garage which is the usual resting place, but it's an undreground car park space with no space to work in...

I'll be ready to help with preparation work for the meeting in February, just let me know.

[archigator]

Thor,

It's just getting good here in Miami. Infact, this morning I mixed some 113 octane racing gas with 93 octane pump gas (=103 octane) and took my Sprint out for a blast through Coconut Grove and over to Key Biscayne... the first cool weather of the year! Otherwise, in summer here the heat is too stifling.

I guess Elans are still running all over the planet, all times of the year. I hope your Elan's hibernation is short-lived. Oslo is a beautiful city; you must have some great drives there.

Gary
'71 Elan Sprint
Miami, Florida

[chrishewett]

Gary,
Don't rub it in!
It is bad enough here in lincolnshire thinking of the long winter.
I shall be using my car every chance I get and looking forward to next years events.
Chris

[b-havers]

I almost skid off the road at 05:30 this morning.
One degree (celcius) below zero, and wet surfact. Average speed of 20 km/h didn't help; I had to drive even slower...

Is there room for us in Miami?????

[reb53]

Interested in Garys comment about making up some proper fuel for his Sprint.

Does anyone have any definitive info about the pros and cons of using Avgas?
What ratios to use..and with what other octane.
Are there any before and after dyno figures?
Most of the info I've ever seen is rather vague " ran much better" type comments with nothing to back them up.
Is there any substance to the suggestion that Avgas is fine in big old Cessna type 5 litre flat sixes at high altitudes and low temperatures, but has all the wrong additives and insufficient volatility for a 7000rpm twink ?

You guys are living on the wrong side of the World......Summer's just started here and should last for the next 5 months. Put the top up twice in the last 15 years.....

Ralph.

[rgh0]

Ralph
Twin cams run fine on Avgas at least in Australia. However you get no benefit unless you increase the compression ratio to suit.. My Elan runs with 12:1 and 31 degrees optimum max total ignition advance. The increase in compression ratio is worth 10 hp with my engine setup up going from approx 165 to 175 hp compared to a normal road 10:1 ratio.

regards
Rohan

[archigator]

I used to mix pump fuel with avgas (readily available for airboat owners near the Everglades) until I spoke with a racing fuels manager at the Homestead Motor Speedway. He didn't advise against it per se, but he said that there were additives like de-icers that you may not want in the mix. I have since bought racing gas from VP Fuels. They have an actual gas station in Ft. Lauderdale, and you can pull up to the pump and pump out 113 octane (for track racing purposes only), and you must pump it into a gas can, not your car's tank.

Octane FAQ -

http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Miscellaneo ... itives.htm

VP Racing Fuels -

http://www.vpracingfuels.com/vp_01_fuels.html#leaded

Gary
'71 Elan Sprint
Miami, Florida

[gsminors]

The weather here in Alberta Canada turned for the worse this weekend 6cm fell on Sunday and Monday morning temp was -16c. My +2 is in my garage but I hope to bring it down to my shop after the new year to get some of the jobs done ready for the summer. To do list. Fit weber head and carbs, replace the rear strut inserts, new head lining (p.o. sprayed it the lining black, yuck) Thats about it for the +2. Not looking forward to this winter, spring arrives about April.

[thor]

ah, Geoff, the joys of northern winters... Same here, no life until April here again.
At least you have a substantial fleet of vehicles to keep you occupied!

[gsminors]

Hi Thor
What you don't know is I have a 03 Chevy Silverado 4x4 truck a a old jeep Cherokee with a 2" lift ready for these brutal winters with out them I would never get around (today 168 accidents reported this morning in Calgary alone) you think people would take it easy in the snow but no they still drive like it is summer. BTW I own a machine shop I have more then enough to keep me busy.