Myrtle over the Winter

 So as we are in the colder wintery months, Myrtle has been put away under her car cover. My dad and I don't have any plans to mess with her, as it is just too cold to be tinkering on working outside with no garage for cover.

An old picture of Myrtle, I think I will get her new Smoothies done black again

 

Saying that, next pay day I do intend on removing Myrtle's front 17-inch SMA alloys and getting her new tyres fitted. The 165/35/17 Nankangs which are on at the moment I am replacing for the same tyres, however a 40 profile, the same as the rears. I know it is not much, but those 35's just look way too thin, and I am constantly in fear of buckling a wheel when hitting a bump or a pothole, of which there are loads around here. I am also looking to get Myrtle's Steel Smoothies powder coated.
 

Smoothies to get powder coated gloss black

 

Sometime ago, I bought a pair of 8 x 15 steel smoothies. Pleased I got them when I did, I mean I waited ages for them to come in stock, but I see they have now shot right up in price. I wish I could have bought 7 x 15's as I think they may have fitted better, but hey ho. What my dad and I have done is seen what the fit was like with the 8-inch wide rims alongside the 1-inch rear spacers on Myrtle's narrow axles. We then had the 1-inch spacers machined down, so they allow the wheels to fit a little better with the spacers in place.

Milled down Spacers, I think they are now 19 mm

My only concern now is that I hope the new Kumho tyres I bought look OK on the wider rears. I have opted for 205/60/15 Kumho Ecowings on the back end and 145/65/15's for the front.


Back in October, I had ordered some parts for Myrtle, this way to try and solve the cutting out issues we were having. My dad worked on Myrtle mostly when I was at work, he fitted a completely new steel fuel line from the front to the back of the car, and we decided to fit a new electric Fawcett fuel pump, and filter alongside a regulator. My dad went one step further, fitting a custom-made cut-off valve, which makes it easier for removing the fuel tank. At the moment I haven't got any real sound deadening in Myrtle, and man that little petrol pump is quite noisy. I also have not had the opportunity to drive far in the wee car, so not sure if it has resolved her cutting out problem.

Ern has been hard at work installing the new fuel system under Myrtles tank

I have just got Myrtle back from Bewick Mobility, actually, on Tuesday 4th January. You see, has been away getting her semi-automatic clutch adaption tweaked. What had happened is one day I went to drive her and the semi-auto clutch would not operate correctly? I couldn't get her in gear. Upon inspection, the cable that works through a pulley system driven by a motor under Myrtle's rear seat to the clutch arm appeared frayed and stretched.

I contacted Bewick, and they suggested I pop the car down and then got to work on her, putting a different cable in place that is more durable and also sorting an issue with the magnetic sensor pickup. Long story short, Myrtle now drives a lot better and the semi-auto clutch, although it takes a bit of getting used to, works well.
 

Whilst I am on about picking Myrtle up, it was a bit of a nightmare when we did go to collect her. She had been standing for some time, so her battery was dead, so she needed a jump, then she tried to cough into life and I could hear the electric fuel pump going like the clappers "Tick, Tick, Tick". The fuel gauge isn't the most reliable, so I suggested we dip the tank and low and behold poor Myrtle had no go go juice. Once we put so fuel in she started after a few clicks and I drove her around to the nearby petrol station to pop £20 quid in her.


The drive home from Blaydon was fun, however as Myrtle has no heating it was bloody freezing, another reason Myrtle is a purely nice weather car LoL It is the first time I had driven her since my dad had done all the work on her track rod ends and steering. You see, part of the problem with the 4-inch narrowed beam and the air ride dampers was that Myrtle's steering had to be limited by a stop to prevent her track rod end on the driver's side rubbing against the airbag. After some time experimenting with various track rod ends from Hyundai's and other makes of cars, my dad was able to fashion a shorter track rod end with a curve that cleared the Bag, and I think he said it was from a Peugeot. Anyhoo Myrtle's turning circle now feels a lot better, no longer do I have to think where I am going and panicking in case I cannot get around a corner without having to do a 9 point turn. Really, she was that bad. I think I could just do a full circle on a football pitch.

The Track rod end now misses the Airbag

 

This year I am hoping to enjoy driving my wee car a little, of course she is an ongoing project. Things that are really annoying me are her rear wings. The passenger side appearing narrower than the driver's and the rear light looking wonky. I am hoping I can get either a new passenger wing or tow matching wings to even her up. Then I will need to get her painted. I would also love a bigger engine and free way flyer gearbox, and lastly to get the custom interior I have had in mind done. So as you can read, all these other jobs come at a huge cost, so for the time being I will just enjoy her the way she is. Even had her up to 57 mph the other day. The speedo was reading about 70, but my Dash Cam said 57 mph LoL