sr2

Bruce Manon at Manon and Butler Motors, Unit 1/ 62 Barrys Point Rd on the Shore. (Just over the bridge, Bruce is as good as it gets).

"make 3rd party compulsory and leave it up to the insurance companies to decide what's an acceptable risk on our roads."
​wow, that is truly the most ridiculous suggestion I've ever read. you reckon the system is " bogged down in unworkable self serving regulations" yet you think we should leave it up to insurance companies?
​im speechless".

You've misquoted me badly by omitting to include the "almost" at the beginning of my statement.

The point I'm making is that the current certification process has become so cumbersome and unwieldy that leaving it up to the insurance companies wouldn't make it much worse!

Absolutely not, an inspection of the vehicle by a competent person has to be  paramount.

What I am suggesting is that the current system has become so bogged down in unworkable self serving regulations that getting a car certified under current regulations is now on a par with  trying to get a building permit in Auckland! (Believe me I've done both recently).

There has to be a reason why hugely experienced certifiers are departing in droves! (I'm not mentioning any names but I'm sure you know who I'm talking about).

Bottom line is that the cert process works badly if at all; in hindsight it's hard to lay blame on the amateur club members who stepped up to try and fill the gap but an increasingly large number of us can't ignore the elephant in the room any longer, the cert process is a mess and needs to be fixed.

I've been modifying street cars and building race (rally) cars since well before 92 when the cert B/S started, I'm convinced nothing has improved and am almost at the point where I think we should just scrap the LVVTA, make 3rd party compulsory and leave it up to the insurance companies to decide what's an acceptable risk on our roads.

My 10 cents worth;IMO our current shambolic certification process is apt proof that leaving the decision/rule making process making to amateur parties (usually with a vested interests) backed up by the LTA not only doesn't work it morphs into a self-perpetuating disaster area! The fact that many standard cars currently on the market would fail the NZ certification process adds some weight to the argument!

I would far prefer to have the safety (i.e. risk evaluation) of my modified car determined by an actuary based on submitted information rather than someone trying to apply the totally unworkable status quo.

A classic example of the inherent insanity of the current system has to be their rejection of using a state of the art digital alignment machine to measure bump steer in favour of a couple of bits of angle iron and a tape measure!

 http://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/infosheets/LVVTA_Info_05-2
010_Bump-steer_Swing-check_Procedure.pdf

The mind boggles and I rest my case! (no offence intended).

What a fantastic car, thanks for sharing.

Having had it in the family since new makes it very special.

 At .7" (I suspect it's probably 3/4" i.e. .75") the MG booster will have less boost but more fluid displacement than the original smaller 5/8" booster. The good news is that with the booster being connected to both front and rear axels you will not alter the front/rear bias.

Hook it up and give it a go, you'll need to give it a "little more jandal" when you hit the brakes but you just may get away with it.

Let us know how it goes.

To the best of my knowledge (and bourbon ravaged memory!) both the MkIIA & MkIIB Powerstop boosters came with either 5/8” or 3/4” bore sizes. They both share the same size control valve so the crack pressure is the same but with the increase in boost at 41.9 % the difference is significant. They are not difficult to rebuild although the rocker/poppet control valve makes them somewhat quirky & different to your average Hydrovac booste, (I used to teach staff how to overhaul them and other boosters in the early 80’s at APPCO Brake & Clutch).

I’m not overly familiar with the 65 Snipe but I’m making the assumption it has boosted front disk brakes and no assistance on the rear drums? With the 3/4” Powerstop being suitable for a full boosted drum/drum setup fitted to the Snipe you’ll end up with far less assistance and far too much rear bias – very handy for chucking the rear out under brakes to get it sideways (it’s a blokes thing!) but a little scary on the motorway in the wet.
Your options are limited to rebuilding the existing booster (kits available on eBay) or fitting an Aussie BPR VH40, (avoid the temptation of the more commonly available VH44 as it has a 5/8 slave and a smaller vacuum diaphragm).

Hope this helps, great project and feel free to ask for more advice. If you were closer to Auck. I’d say bring both boosters and a 6 pack to the Milford man cave and see what we can do.

Well then, the plot thickens. Firstly, when i tried to park it in my shed the first time it was dusk so visibility was marginal. I tried to back it in but the gravel slope was not helping, plus it started to piss out what looked like steam or white smoke. I then got it in forwards and the smoke cleared up on the flat.

At the time I asked Jones and it had happened to him also, he thought the valve seals were worn and the oil pooling in the head when on a slope was the cause, meh I thought, no biggie...

I talked to him just now about it with my theory and he says the smoke thing started about the same time the brake fluid disappearance started.

I would bet money the booster is the culprit in all of this. Funnily enough one of the things we found in the workshop appeared to be a remote booster, I gave this to Alex/yoeddynz a couple of weeks ago thinking I would never have a use for something like that. I asked the previous owner of the business/hoarder what it was and he said it was off his MGB and was working fine when he took it off....

So Alex has kindly agreed to give it back to me, even if I swap it out as a temporary measure while I fix the original that will be extremely useful....

LOL, looks like you're on to it - don't say I didn't warn you about the white smoke! 

I spent a lot of time on boosters in the late 70's and early 80's, let me know if you need any help.

So Jones told me to keep an eye on the brake fluid, I though this was a slow leak or something but it is directly proportional to the amount of use.

I realised this when the pedal went to the floor when i hopped in this morning, so a bleed is on the cards for tomorrow.

Jones has chased this issue and replaced everything with new or recon parts except for a couple of the hard lines. There are no obvious leaks, but the shit disappears pretty quick.

He had the vac booster rebuilt when he got the car, and my theory is that this is leaking a tiny bit and sucking fluid through when vacuum is applied - then getting burned in the engine.

Any other theories before I start chasing this?

Fluid loss with no sign of a leak points to a leaking pushrod seal in your Girling Powerstop, (booster), the fluid will be accumulating in the rear vacuum chamber (as mounted on the car). The chances are that it hasn’t been drawn through the motor; if it had you would have noticed the dense, white smoke!

Pull the plastic vacuum inlet check valve out of the rubber grommet and poke your finger or a bit of wire into the vacuum chamber, if it comes out with any brake fluid on it you have a pushrod seal issue (very common with these boosters). If it is leaking get the booster out of the car and stripped down asap, the brake fluid will eventually take out the vacuum diaphragm.

If you're a jarpie you have no choice but to build an "in the spirit of" Sierra XR8 Replica, and you will have my lifetime respect, (see http://www.crustworld.co.uk/pdf/xr8.pdf ).
 
In my opinion however, a high performance Sierra can only mean one thing; 4 cylinders, twin cams and big boost!
A genuine Sapphire Cosworth has become a much sought after collectors item and even in their day were anything but reliable, (we raced a Holbay-Cosworth  powered unsuccessfully Sapphire for a few years!).
 
There is however  a great power plant option, the humble 4G63T.

https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/400281323.jpg

https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/400281093.jpg

https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/400280734.jpg

https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/400287313.jpg
  
If ever a motor deserved to be under a Sapphire bonnet it was one of these.
Custom sump, inlet & exhaust manifold; 6 speed Geartrag V161, Turbo by Turbonetics, SM4 Autronic ECU (traction/launch control with antilag), 2.4 stroaker crank, Ross rods & pistons,.....etc, assembled and tuned by the best I could find.

Although the latest Targa build is a pretty mean135i I still miss the old girl, (we named her "Kosevo") and I've always felt a mild street version would have made an stunningly quick yet reliable and most importantly driveable road car. It wouldn't have to be a high budget build, there are a huge number of Evo 0 to 3 motors out there and I know most of the tricks and can supply a few good links as well (try http://projectzerog.com/ for a start).

Great project.

What: 1948 J14 Vauxhall.

Why: I needed to buy my first car, hopefully get inundated with nubile girls and eventually get laid. (Stupid question at that time for a 15 year old!).

WHEN:1973. (When it arrived home on the end of a tow rope with Dad’s 6/110 on the other end; my family promptly named it “Rigamortice” and the name stuck).

How: Neither Trademe, Trade & Exchange or even the internet existed. It was parked on the side of the road in Mirangi Bay with in a dilapidated condition with grass growing out from under the hood and a faded for sale sign in the window. The guy wanted $20, I had only $10 so I borrowed $5 from my dad and bought it for 15. (I’m not sure if I ever paid Dad back!).

What Next: As it’s only had its reggo on hold since 1993 and despite happily dissolving in the back garden for the last 20 years or so it’s probably time to put the old girl back on the road.

(Haven't figured out how to post a pic in a thread yet).

Thanks for the warm welcome guys, I'm feeling at home already.

(Will try to get a build thread going as soon a poss).

Help, just wrote a long intro in Word but site will not let me copy and paste it here?