Pre-scrutineering fixes...

Saturday... what a day!! Damian got stuck into Booger Mobile pre-scrutineering feedback items, while Scottie was at his house doing battle with his busted Hilux...

First cab off the rank was to tie open the choke butterfly on the carby - this was an item from Barry Mac, not pre-scrutineering, but it's been done all the same!!


First (and easiest) of the pre-scrutineering items - the addition of a substantial new earth strap between the battery and the chassis. There is an earth strap to the engine (as per usual), but Gordon recommended an additional one to the chassis due to the current draw required to run the flashing lights, sirens etc.



Next was the installation of the chrome-mesh headlight protectors... This involves removing the outer headlight chrome, and the pressing on of the protector (it simply clips on), then reinstalling the outer chrome which prevents the mesh from escaping even if it does manage to rattle its way loose!!

Here's the before picture...

And here's the after picture!!

Of course, there are two headlights, so the driver's side one was also installed, via the same process!

And a gratuitious shot of the front chrome, with Booger Mobile disappearing back into the darkness of the shed...

Not an item on the pre-scrutineering list, but it is on the actual scrutineering list (confusing - let me explain - there is a scrutineering list of items that each car requires, lights, fire extinguisher, numbers etc - these are simply tick and flick - you either have them or you don't! The pre-scrutineering list of items I am working on is the list of suggested fixes or enhancements that the car requires to make it bigger/better/faster/stronger/less likely to break down.) was the placement of the car number on the rear window on the driver's side.

These numbers are meant to be 100mm high. There are some spare numbers from the door cutouts... These are 200mm high, so might be a bit of overkill, but let's see...

Turns out the rear window is big enough... wonder how the huge 200mm numbers look?

Holy snapping duck pooh!! People are going to know it's car 64 alright!! Funnily enough, even though the numbers look enormous, they aren't visible in the rear view mirror due to the superb placement by Damian!!

There are a set of numbers required on the front windscreen on the passenger side. The 200mm high numbers are too large for there, so Damian will get Elli and Steve to whip up a 100mm set of numbers.

Next item on the pre-scrutineering list of items was the replacement of the tiny piece of fuel hose between the fuel tank and the metal fuel line. This is the old piece...

And here's the shiny new piece!! Damian had a delightful unleaded petrol bath while changing this over!!

Gordon pointed out that the fuel pump was weeping slightly, and was likely to cause grief during esCarpade. Barry Mac had also mentioned some pressure issues with the fuel pump - it was pumping way too high a pressure for the carby to handle.

The solution? One brand new fuel pump!! Damian is constantly amazed at the number of parts that his local Autobarn store has on their shelves!! It seems the more obscure the part, the more likely they are to have it in stock for Damian to purchase!!

Here's the old fuel pump...

And after returning to Autobarn to buy some more gasket goo (Damian's previous tube seems to have disappeared, or been used up), the new fuel pump was installed. Hopefully this will solve both issues!!

With a bit of luck, Scottie will be down on Sunday morning to get some more work done on Booger Mobile. There's not much time left, and still so much to do - Damian has lined up a bunch of work to be done to Booger Mobile during the week, and will probably have more lined up for the following week (while he's away at Camp Quality Senior Camp).

Stay tuned... the engine is!!