Carisma won't start!

Well it does start now. I found the problem in the end. One of the wires from the ignition module had fractured. It should have been earthed (a brown wire!). The round earth terminal was hidden by two others at the same point and this is what confused me. As soon as I re-earthed it and turned the starter it fired up. Great relief all round. My fault for believing that it was earthed via the heat sink (doh!) and I spent ages cleaning it up with my dremel to get a good contact. At least it doesn't look quite as scruffy now. I eventually got the color codes from a man selling new ones on the internet - he talked himself out of a sale.

For the record if your sierra based car uses a Motorcraft 83BB12a199b3a095078 ignition module then the codes are as follows:

Brown - earth

Orange - distributor

Purple - distributor

White - tacho

Black - coil +

Green - coil -

It's running beautifully now - Phew!

carisma dash part four

Well I've finally got the dash installed. time has been at a premium of late and it as taken a lot longer than I thought. I've effectively rewired it and installed a second fusebox for auxillaries. My knowledge of vehicle electrics is a bit lacking so I've had to check and double check everything. The upside is everything works bar one thing , I can't get her to fire up. I'm not convinced it is anything I've tinkered with as I have power to the coil, the amplifier (ECU?) and the starter is working. I am failing to get a spark at the plugs so I suspect either the amplifier or the distributor has a fault. It was running perfectly when I took it off the road so this is a bit of a blow but I'm sure it is a minor thing that is managing to elude me for the moment

Steadman TS 100 (SS100 recreation) for sale on EBay

Have just spotted an ad on EBay for a Steadman TS100. There were not many of these made as they were hand built with aluminium panels and used Jaguar running gear. The ad itself is interesting reading. The price is £29995 or best offer. Outside my range I'm afraid. Have a look at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jaguar-SS100-Evocation_W0QQitemZ300414881036QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item45f21f4d0c#ht_550wt_1167

If anyone can tell me how to lift photos from ebay it would be nice but I think they have stopped it as a security measure.

The dreaded 'Q' plate

A lot of kitcars in the UK have a dreaded 'Q' plate which indicates that the exact date of manufacture was not recorded when it was first registered. This can have a detrimental effect on the vehicle's value although I am not really sure why it should. It probably has more to do with number plate snobbery than anything else. I would like to reregister my car with a conventional plate to give it a more authentic 30's look but have been told by Swansea that I need confirmation from the manufacturer of the date that the body/chassis unit was manufactured . However, the original invoice/delivery note is not regarded as sufficient. I don't have details of the donor registration as I have failed to trace the original builder and the kit manufacturers Carisma Engineering of Sandy, Beds ceased trading many years ago.

Has anyone got any bright suggestions or do I just have to live with it?

Andy

madabout-kitcars

Here's an interesting link for those interested in the Carisma Century kitcar. There are some lovely new shots of Lady Anne at Detling 2009.

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/pictures/349/Carisma+Engineering_Century

Dash

Well I'm back from Down Under and at last the sun is shining here in Cumbria. Now I've got to make some time to prepare Carrie for the road. Regular followers will know I've been rebuilding my dash to a new design. It's still some way off completion but I have offered it up and it fits pretty well and everything seems to be accessible. Now all I need to do is connect up the wires correctly and calibrate the new speedo. Doesn't sound much but it is a major task for a duffer like me. Anyhow I've taken a pic of the dash roughly in situ covered in cling film and it looks OK but needs relieving round the steering column which I have raised by about 3/4".

As long as I can get everything to work it will be a major improvement over the original (see below).

It seems awfully quiet out there with the exception of John in Wales. I'd love to hear from some of you

Spring has Sprung

A new season is upon us at long last and the last attempt at driving the Lady in Red was freezingly disasterous. In fact I turned around after a couple of miles and went home tail between my legs.
But now we are getting a tropical 8 degrees Celcius and as soon as the Sun comes out it will be high time for a spin to get the cobwebs out of both of us. I think Andy is still in Australia, but not sure and hope to hear from him soon, with news of the trip. I bet he wished he had Carrie with him in all that lovely Sun and heat.
I will keep you informed of my latest trip shortly. Cheers for now. John