Holden Vintage – BMC Road Trip to Coupes Moto Legende, Dijon – Blog 11

Mixing business and pleasure?
Most people think it’s a good recipe; Holden Vintage and Classic will be doing just that with the Bromyard Motorcycle Club at this year’s Moto Legende.Twenty club members will be travelling with the Holden Belstaff road show to Dijon later this month.

24th May will see them en route from Bromyard, England via Caen for a leisurely ride to Beaugency. Arriving mid afternoon in preparation for celebratory dinner that evening, this to mark the pending marriage of confirmed bachelor and Triumph rider Bob Bemand (56) who is getting married to the lovely Tracy Whiting in July this year.

25th May – we ride to Dijon and set up Holden’s Belstaff stand (B100) and club camp site. This will be the base for the weekend’s events. Potential customers will be able to choose from a full range of Belstaff jackets and have the opportunity of being served by some of Bromyard’s finest monosyllabic linguists!

All purchasers of Belstaff Jackets over the weekend will receive free Herefordshire Cider.

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Pour mélanger des affaires et le plaisir, la plupart des personnes pensent que c’est une bonne recette, et le cru de Holden Vintage and Classic feront juste cela avec le Bromyard Motorcycle club, à la Club légende de Moto cette année . Environ 20 des membres voyageront avec le Holden Belstaff à Dijon ce mois.

Ils laissent Bromyard en Angleterre le 24 mai pour un tour insouciant à Beaugency passant par Caen.

ils arrivent mi après-midi en vue du dîner de célébration cette soirée pour marquer le mariage en attente du célibataire perpétuel, (Triumph rider) Bob Bemand (56) qui se marient en juillet.

25 mai. arrivez à Dijon au camping.et installé l’exposition pour de Belstaff – Holden Vintage and Classic. Ce sera la base pour les événements du week-end. les abonnés pourront choisir d’une gamme complète de vestes de Belstaff, et ont la possibilité d’être servi par les plus bons hommes de Bromyard !

Tous les acheteurs des vestes de Belstaff au cours du week-end recevront le cidre libre de Herefordshire

Holden

Caterham V8 – testing and Shelsley Walsh – Blog 10

Having spent the last eight years building a V8 powered Caterham, the moment of truth had finally arrived… Test day! The test track is two hours west of Bromyard, a pleasant and accommodating called Llandow but open to the Atlantic on the Welsh coast between Cardiff and Swansea. Not surprisingly we were the only car there due to torrential rain. Each lap had standing water and this coupled with circa 500 bhp per ton gave a wild sensation – a cross between offshore power boat racing and the nitrous scene from Mad Max. After a few laps we returned to the pits to make sure all was well and noticed a colourful oily patch appearing around the car, easy to spot as the paddock resembled a swimming pool! A spilt hose near the oil filter was soon fixed by the ever dependable Jonathan Hall of Hardy Hall Restorations. The following lap causing a big, big grin with 100mph (4th/6000 rpm) being reached surprisingly quickly. Lap thirteen saw the end of the big grin as the thing went phfutt! The following week the engine was out to discover the problem was a broken timing chain and twenty four hours later the engine had been completely rebuilt by JE Developments, leaving two days before it’s début at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb, giving just enough time to reinstall the engine and prepare the car.   Shelsley Walsh is a formidable hill. My fist run ’red flagged’ due to the Subaru Impretza hitting the bank at top ‘S’. My my second and fist timed run was embarrassingly slow, caused from starting off in third! The two following runs were more respectable but hampered by a dragging clutch. Advice was plentiful, if contradictory, from the amassed fellow enthusiasts. In the end, drilling the clutch pedal and repositioning the master cylinder push rod worked instantly. Dancing on one’s furniture at 2.30 am is not recommended before the early morning service at Shelsley’s lovely church nor for the first race run at 9.30am. However a time of 34.92 secs and 96 mph over the finish line looked more encouraging and a base for a good time in front of family and friends who were due to watch the last race in the afternoon. The sight of the start line over eight fire breathing carbs for me is automotive heaven. This emotion encourages more revs, wheel spin and smoke than is really required for a good start but does put you in the right ‘place’ for the rest of the climb…..well, until on this occasion it went blurrr, change gear, still blurrr as I rolled into the escape road to the sounds of laughter and cheers. Until next time… Holden

Concerns continue about the use of ethanol in petrol….Blog 9

The product ethanol added to petrol may also be called bio-ethanol to link its use with non-fossil derived or renewable bio-fuels. Bio-ethanol has been used at times over the decades, but its recent use is linked to EU directives to increase the proportion of automotive fuel derived from renewable sources, in order to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

The fact that all petrol now contains a small percentage of ethanol raises two very important issues :

Ethanol is hydroscopic which leads to a separation of the ethanol and petrol, with the ethanol going to the bottom of the tank/fuel pump/float chamber etc;

and,

Ethanol is not compatible with a range of materials such as­ aluminium, brass, natural rubber, etc. See full list below(link).

Shell UK have advised as follows ­:

“The fuel we sell will continue to comply with the relevant fuel standards and specifications as it did previously. The finished petrol will meet the UK gasoline standard EN228, and the maximum amount of ethanol blended into the fuel will be in line with this and the RTFO (renewable fuel transport obligation – 5% max). However that doesn’t really help owners of vintage vehicles. There are several things you can do to minimise the effects of ethanol. Firstly run a non-alcohol based fuel stabilizer all year round. Older engines were designed primarily for straight gasoline, and using ethanol without protection may cause corrosion of some metals in the engine. It also may damage natural rubber and cork parts. Fuel Stabilizers contain additives to protect against rust and corrosion caused by ethanol fuel blends. If practical Install a water separation filter and fuel filter, and replace fuel lines, gaskets or o-rings with new ethanol resistant materials. Similarly replace the fuel tank if necessary with one made from an ethanol resistant material.

In terms of laying up the vehicle; Assuming the above measures are in place (we cannot make a laying up procedure if they are not, as it simply would not be advisable with fuel containing ethanol), we would suggest filling the fuel tank to about 95% of its capacity with fuel, rather than leaving the fuel tank low. This minimizes; the tank-breathing effect, the loss of volatile components and the ingress of moisture into the fuel tank. The latter, in extreme cases, can cause the appearance of free-water in the fuel.

If a fuel is to be stored in a motor vehicle fuel tank, then maintaining fuel quality is important in order to maintain good start-up and a good level of vehicle drivability. When an engine fails to start after a period of lay-up, it may be less to do with fuel deterioration, and could be related to un-seasonal fuel, which may not be sufficiently volatile to start the engine from cold. Non volatile residues are often observed in the fuel tank, delivery system and/or carburettors in cases of severe evaporative loss of a gasoline. The residue can manifest itself as either a gum or lacquer-like film or deposit, or a gel-like substance. This residue would be a combination of low-volatility constituents and detergent additives that are found in gasoline, but concentrated after evaporation. We do not advise storing fuels in vehicles for more than 6 months. You should also take into account the differences between summer and winter grades of petrol. Petrol has a higher volatility in the winter in order to enable cold starting. For this reason it is better to fill the tank with a winter grade fuel (16th October – 14th April) rather than a summer grade.”

Material	Recommended	Not recommended
Metals	Carbon steel	Brass
	Stainless steel	Copper
	Aluminium	Lead
		Tin
		Zinc
Elastomers	Fluorocarbon	Nitrile rubber
	Nylon	Buna rubber
	Teflon®	Neoprene
	Viton®	Chloroprene
		Natural rubber
		Hypalon
		Styrene-Butadiene rubber
		Butadiene rubber
Polymers	Carbon filled acetal	Polyethylene
		Polypropylene
		Polyurethane
		Polyvinylchloride
Others	Fibreglass

This list is not comprehensive and the quality of the material must be appropriate for the intended application. More information can be found at http://fbhvc.co.uk/bio-fuels/

At Holden Vintage and Classic, we are happy to be able to recommend (and we use) these new products from Millers Oils:

VSPe POWER PLUS
DESCRIPTION:
An “all in one” fuel treatment providing ethanol protection, lead replacement and an octane boster for unleaded fuel.

£7.66

APPLICATION:
Recommended for all classic engines previously requiring leaded fuel and now running on unleaded fuel.

USER BENEFITS:
• Adds up to 2 octane numbers (20 points) to unleaded fuel
• Prevents valve seat recession when used with unhardened valve seats
• Prevents detonation, hot spots & running on
• Prevents fuel system corrosion helps protect components
• Combats the adverse effects of ethanol in fuel
• Carburettor anti-icing formula
• Contains anti oxidant to improve fuel life

TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Specific Gravity@15°C … 0.813
Flashpoint °C …75
Colour …Clear

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MILLERS EPS – ETHANOL PROTECTION
£6.31 (ex VAT)

RECOMENDED FOR:
Rebuilt classic engines / vehicles with hardened valve seats previously requiring leaded fuel and now running on unleaded fuel and where an octane improver and lead replacement is not required.

Combats the adverse effects of ethanol in fuel

Prevents fuel system corrosion/helps protect components

Carburettor anti-icing formula

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MILLERS VSPe – ETHANOL PROTECTION/LEAD REPLACEMENT  £6.71 (ex VAT)

RECOMMENDED FOR:
All classic engines previously requiring leaded fuel now running on unleaded fuel and where an octane improver is not required.

Prevents valve seat recession when used with unhardened valve seats

Combats the adverse effects of ethanol in fuel

Prevents fuel system corrosion/helps protect components

Carburettor anti-icing formula

Contains anti oxidant to improve fuel life

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POR-15 FUEL PRESERVATIVE & STABILIZER
£11.20 (ex VAT)

When you are not using your car or motorcycle the fuel in the tank and system breaks down chemically and can cause problems.

When you pour FUEL PRESERVATIVE & STABILIZER in your tank, oxygen is chemically isolated (preventing oxidation) and corrosive compounds are neutralized (stopping rust formation).

The special dispenser bottle will measure exactly for you with no waste. Use 1 ounce per 3 gallons for normal maintenance, or 1 ounce per gallon to thoroughly clean your fuel system.
Contains NO alcohol

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Please note:
Castrol and Morris Oils are currently reviewing their ethanol product range.

Fuel guide type/octane/RON guide (octane and RON are one and the same)

2 star = 92 octane/RON
3 star = Ordinary Unleaded =  95 octane/RON
4 star = Super Unleaded = 98 octane/RON
5 star = 101 octane/RON

Holden

Gentlemen, Start your engines……… Blog 8

De-winterising your car.

Now that the weather has improved and the salty winter roads are but a distant memory, thoughts are surely turning towards unearthing your cherished classic from its winter hibernation, shaking the cobwebs out and returning it to the road.

We have several useful pointers for you, before venturing out on your first journey.

Tyre pressures - if you over-inflated the tyres prior to winter storage, check and return them to their normal operating pressure. Inspect your tyres for wear or any damage, and check the wheel nuts / spinners are tight.

Tyre Pressure Gauges     Hammers & Mallets     Wheelbraces

Coolant

Check the coolant level and replenish as necessary.

If the car has been stored for an extended period, it may be necessary to flush the cooling system thoroughly and refresh the coolant altogether.

We recommend, and indeed use in our own classic cars, 4Life, which is an advanced coolant, providing a greater temperature range, and improved corrosion resistance when compared to a traditional water/anti-freeze mix.

Go to Coolant, Anti-Freeze, Radiator Fluids

Electrics

With an assistant, the long-suffering wife, girlfriend, or even a mirror to help, go through all the lights and make sure everything works as it should, paying particular attention to brake lights and indicators, as these are safety items.

Check electrical contacts and bulbs, replacing where necessary. At the same time, ensure you have a small kit of spare bulbs.

This is mandatory in some EU countries and is highly recommended.

Go to Bulbs & Warning Lamps

Oil

Check and top up oil to the required level with the correct grade of oil.

Ensure that you use the same grade of oil that was put in at the last oil change.

Go to Oils, Grease & Fluids

Braking System

Check fluid levels where necessary (if your car has cable or rod operated brakes, visually inspect the system, lubricating joints and pivot points)

Brake & Clutch Fluids        Oil Cans, Funnels, Guns

Disconnect and store your battery conditioner, and re-attach the battery leads if you removed them, paying attention to ensuring cleanliness of the battery posts and terminals.
If your battery is not of the ‘dry’ type, check the level of the electrolyte, topping up with de-mineralised (distilled) water if required.

You could try recycling water collected from your condensing tumble dryer, or from the collection tray of your fridge. (We believe both of these sources provide a de-mineralised water, but would welcome any feedback on this.)

Lastly, smear a light coating of grease on the terminals to prevent corrosion.

Battery Anti-Corrode

MOT, Insurance & Tax – Check to make sure that all the necessary paperwork is in order, paying attention to the renewal dates. Whilst insurance companies will send you several reminders that your policy is reaching its expiry, VOSA do not, so check and note the expiry date of your MOT.

Once you have carried out a detailed check of the car, now arrives the moment to start the engine.

Once running, allow the engine to warm through before setting out too far. At this point, depress the clutch and ensure you can engage gear – this will give you a clear indication if your clutch has seized. This is something which is not uncommon if your car has been stored in slightly damp conditions.

Having satisfied yourself that all is well and whilst waiting for the temperature gauge to register an acceptable reading, take the opportunity to have a look around the engine bay for leaks, listen for any unusual noises or signs of problems.

Once satisfied, remember to secure the bonnet before moving off.

Inspection & Working Lamps

Possibly head for the petrol station and put in some fresh fuel, not forgetting fuel additive if required. It is important to note that modern fuel contains ethanol, which can be harmful to classic fuel systems.

Once fuelled, give the car a reasonable run, 2-3 miles simply isn’t enough.

Pick a favourite route and go for a sensible run, 20 miles or so will be enough to warm the engine and transmission oils thoroughly, and re-acquaint you with some of the ‘peculiarities’ of your car.

Fuel Additives

Maybe now is the time to consider those little maintenance jobs that “I’ll do over the winter” but you never got round to, (mainly because the prospect of spending time in the colder environment of the garage is not very appealing). Your first trip out will remind you of things that may need attending to.

Finally, enjoy your seasons motoring, whether competitive or otherwise.

J Holden.

www.holden.co.uk

Goodwood Press Day 2012 – Blog 7

I was lucky enough to take my father to the re opening of the Goodwood circuit in 1998…. and keen enough to get us there at 8am, at the moment Ray Hanna flew his spitfire along the start finish straight, at the same level as the grandstand seats, as a show opener.

14 years later, even without the sound of the merlin engine and the tear in my father’s eye, press day in front of Goodwood House was as special. The 100 plus top draw cars ranging between a 1904 Mercedes to Ferrari 250 GTO/SWB, half a dozen Cobras, motorcycles, bunny girls, hospitality (cottage pie on silver trays) and bunny girls, did it for me!

Interestingly, the Earl of March was showing his Kellison, a late 50’s early 60’s V8 Coupe from the USA. A stunning looking machine (all be it with fuelling problems) during the afternoon. It looks however a formidable contender for the TT race in September.

Last week, I was lucky enough to hitch a ride with Mathew Humphries, Morgan’s chief designer. We ‘smoked rubber’ (in a gentlemanly fashion) in the stonking new Plus8 during a brisk demonstration running the full length of the hill climb course (front drive) – how nice it would be to be back next year with a light-weight race version!

Below you will find a selection from the 359 photos I’ve taken and a selection of our British-made. weather proof picnic rugs, in case you fancy one for a Goodwood occasion!

Holden at Goodwood Press Day

Browse Perfect Picnic Rugs for any Occasion:

Robertson Square Drive Screws – Blog 5

www.holden.co.uk

Pomeroy Trophy Competition – Celebrating 60 Years

I had wanted to do this peculiar and oddly popular event, held at Silverstone and run by the VSCC for the last 15 years, or more.

Since its launch 60 years ago, the “Pom” earned a cult status. Truly a one-off with multiple driving tests, hood and suitcase tests, followed by a 40minute Regularity Trial.

Why was this normally sub zero event so popular? I had no idea but at long last I was about to find out, and very unexpectedly in the sunshine too!

Why I had I failed to enter in the past? Maybe that is easy to understand, with plenty of excuses coming to mind. The fact that it is the first track event of the season, with car prep taking place alongside trials repairs, end of year tax bills, snow, rain and ice, is just a start to understanding why not.

Why so popular?  I guess the extraordinary diversity of the cars, wacky formulas and likewise people make it special. Would I go next year? Well, until the results appeared I was not convinced. But being only 3.1 points away (348.1 v 351.2) from an award and with the knowledge that fitting old fertilizer bag as a roof and a Tesco’s basket for additional luggage space would have gained me another 30 points….well, as it is said, I will be back!

www.holden.co.uk