#1 Just got back from Spa Classic
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 8:22 am
I took my E-type to Spa Classic over the weekend. A round trip of some 800+ miles including a mix of some country roads on the way there, and continuous high speed motorway driving on the way back. Here’s some thoughts on how the car performed.
Continuous high speed driving in warm weather seems to get the oil a little hot. Sitting at a steady 70-80mph on the continental motorways sees the oil pressure drop slightly below 40 on the gauge. Normally it’s on 40. My guess is the oil is working a little hard and getting thin, as it can’t shed heat any faster. The coolant stays a steady temp in the middle of the gauge, so engine temp itself is good. I have a S3 xj6 filter head and oil cooler in the shed, so I’ll investigate fitting that. At the very least, an extra litre or so capacity should make the oil work less. My car also has a 3.54 diff. I have a 2.88 to fit, when I get round to dropping the back axle. I hope dropping the revs at motorway speed will also reduce the stress on the engine.
2nd thought is, I’m done with the brake light pressure switches. On the journey, one of the group in our convoy pointed out I had no brake lights. There was someone at the event selling spares, but unfortunately he didn’t have a switch of the correct thread.
Fortunately though, there’s is an ingenious fix available if you have a few tools and consumables, at least for LHD cars. The choke light switch is a push to break contact switch. The choke isn’t even connected on my car as it isn’t needed with webbers. The choke switch was secured to the brake pedal and set up to be actuated by the little tab that holds one of the under dash boards. Cable ties help here. On a LHD car, the loom from the original switch is long enough to reach through the footwell grommet and up to the brake pedal with no modification. I’ll be setting up a permanent brake pedal actuated switch now.
Other than that, a fantastic weekend.
Continuous high speed driving in warm weather seems to get the oil a little hot. Sitting at a steady 70-80mph on the continental motorways sees the oil pressure drop slightly below 40 on the gauge. Normally it’s on 40. My guess is the oil is working a little hard and getting thin, as it can’t shed heat any faster. The coolant stays a steady temp in the middle of the gauge, so engine temp itself is good. I have a S3 xj6 filter head and oil cooler in the shed, so I’ll investigate fitting that. At the very least, an extra litre or so capacity should make the oil work less. My car also has a 3.54 diff. I have a 2.88 to fit, when I get round to dropping the back axle. I hope dropping the revs at motorway speed will also reduce the stress on the engine.
2nd thought is, I’m done with the brake light pressure switches. On the journey, one of the group in our convoy pointed out I had no brake lights. There was someone at the event selling spares, but unfortunately he didn’t have a switch of the correct thread.
Fortunately though, there’s is an ingenious fix available if you have a few tools and consumables, at least for LHD cars. The choke light switch is a push to break contact switch. The choke isn’t even connected on my car as it isn’t needed with webbers. The choke switch was secured to the brake pedal and set up to be actuated by the little tab that holds one of the under dash boards. Cable ties help here. On a LHD car, the loom from the original switch is long enough to reach through the footwell grommet and up to the brake pedal with no modification. I’ll be setting up a permanent brake pedal actuated switch now.
Other than that, a fantastic weekend.