Monthly Archives: August 2020

So what’s new, kids?

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Gosh, where to begin! Nah… just messin’ with you. 😉 Nothing new. Went to go for a spin to get some fresh air in the Mantis last week & car wouldn’t start. Alarm LED still flahing, DRL illuminate, clock still working, stereo fine (mighty fine! Oh yeah!) but f**k all from the starter. The new(ish) NOCO starter did… nothing. Bit of a bummer seeing as this is a new deep-cycle Optima yellow top. So, lots of stuff that should work that didn’t. No drive that day then, eh? Any road up, put the CTEK charger on & fully charged a day later & the car started fine but didn’t have time to actually drive it. Jumped in the car today due to unexpected sunshine (on a Bank Holiday, what’s going on?) and nothing from the starter again. However, battery is at 12.65V so that’s not the problem. Some electrical issue… I guess I am just not destined to drive the car at the moment. C’est la vie. Texted an auto-electrician so let’s see if they respond & can help (although they are in N Wales! Not had much luck with the local ones).

So, shiny stuff. The filler cap is getting stiff. Wondering if I should get a replacement Aero 400 from Newton Equipment.

Out & about

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Some nice trips out in the car recently as the weather has been decent & the cooling issues seem to have gone away. One of these was a little trip up the M6 to Wigan to see the legendary Morrisons, Debbie & Darren. Their LM500 is still on the ramp as they await the refurbished wheels but they have made good use of the time & the car is… immaculate. Everything is either colour coded to match the striking purple on the LM, polished to a shine or carbon dipped. It looks stunning (must be the neatest car in the north… or at least equal with Dave Barlow’s Marcos). Shame this horrible Covd-19 lockdown is preventing car shows to allow everyone to appreciate it.

Darren also spotted that my bonnet catches are very corroded & one of them is moving around enough that is is wearing a hole in the bonnet. Yikes. New ones ordered from Marcos Heritage but not sure how I will fit yet. The nuts & bolts are so heavily corroded there is a risk they will snap in situ. I did think about replacing the bonnet catch cup & latch in the car body. At least, until Rory from MHS explained that this required the front mudguards to be cut out from the body to get access, then re-attached with industrial quantities of poly-urethane mastic. Probably reasonably straightforward given plenty of time, space & tools. But…

A request on Facebook for Marcos photos from Nick Marsh, one of Jem’s sons & a painter, has thrown this image up which I suspect is the Marcos Mantis launch. Great picture & lovely looking car which Phil Cunningham still runs (& occasionally washes).