Jonathan Kay

As I understand it, the actual petrol is the same for all brands as there are few refineries and it all comes from them. However, it is the additives put in the petrol at the forecourt that makes the difference. In the Telegraph there is a chap who's been answering car questions for years and he always recommends using a proper branded petrol rather than the cheapest supermarket stuff. Honest John? I'm quite impressed with "him" generally but could only find this in correspondence rather than from the writer(s). Surprisingly little from people within the industry, and the additives seem to be added at the yard rather than the forecourt. Jonathan

He is a sensible sort of guy and does enough millage in a year to know the difference in my view, after all it is his pocket that is directly affected. Despite that myths abound in every other area of life that I know and I'd start with assuming that this is no different. If he's doing that many miles with that sort of saving why hasn't he done, or could you persuade him to, run a quantitative comparison? As for aged petrol, lawn mowers seem to run on really old bad smelling stuff perfectly well. I had some really vintage year old juice I put in. It had that old smell and I am not even sure it was not 2x as it had been in my dads shed since I could remember. Sealed container. So whilst I know it goes off a lot has to do with what engine you need to put it in. That's also my experience with mowers and boats. Not sure how to confirm the adverse effect of old petrol on starting 7s except for switching back to it immediately after failing with old and succeeding with new. Jonathan

Water and oil temperature on the same traditional gauge with a switch to select? Gauge working normally for water temperature? What model of 7? Inspect and wiggle all the wires and connections. Test the continuity through the switch with a multimeter. Select oil temperature and short the lead that goes to the sender to earth: what does the gauge do?Jonathan

Received. Same one, but much more useful format. Many thanks Jonathan

Yes. Did you send me mine? :-) I tried PDF merging and compression but didn't gain much. Please can I have a copy of the Zipped set? Thanks Jonathan

On yachts you can fit sacrificial blocks that corrode before the important bits by creating a cell. Always wondered if they couldn't be fitted to cars. And active systems that drive the metal the good way. Carbon fibre parts (with something different to play with) are also vulnerable... what's the state of the art with those? Jonathan

I have it as about 20 PDFs but they're big. Happy to send them: please let me have your email address in a Private Mail. But what have you got, John... ? Jonathan

That's the way to do it! Jonathan

Fuel pump: Doh! Sorry. I'd try an immobiliser reset after 3, 4 and 5. Jonathan

"All has been fine since I got it back." Including the immobiliser switching off after the engine upgrade and before the untangling etc? Does everything including the ignition warning lamp and the fuel pump come on normally when you try to start? It's just the starter that doesn't? Recheck ECU and engine earths. Reset inertia switch. What's the battery voltage with the ignition on just before cranking? Do you have the reset procedure for the immobiliser?Jonathan

If they don't appear after Peeling Slowly and Seeing what's the SOP? I'd prefer a self-grip wench to grinding... Jonathan

Private Mail sent Jonathan

I don't think it is... but there are some fans over here in the Film Club... Jonathan

People refer to "racing stays" as being a different size, but I have no idea how many types there are in all. Jonathan

It would be interesting to see both sides of that without the paint... Jonathan

Can you easily release it from the throttle to check that the stickiness is in the cable (or pedal)? Jonathan

Welcome. Before you go any further have you identified the special directional fittings that take the straps just behind the doors? Are those the ones you're referring to in the last paragraph? Jonathan

Thanks Jonathan

... it's surprising how much a wheel flexes! About how much does the metal rim of a wheel on a 7 move? Thanks Jonathan

Private Mail sent. Jonathan

Welcome. Do you have an Assembly Guide? Send me a Private Mail if you want one. Jonathan

It's going to be a bit hard to diagnose if it only happens that rarely, but: Clean all related connections, including the main engine block earths, as you suggest. Can you get it to fail by playing with the lead and cap when you're not near the IoW? Usual HT precautions. There is test kit available for HT systems. I think Paul had some and may be able to advise. Fitting a(nother) replacement cap and lead (and even more of the distributor if that doesn't cure it) may be a pragmatic approach.Jonathan

One, please. Jonathan

so whilst the fill was hardly burnt it was absolutely saturated and weighing very heavy , no wonder it was noisy the full was doing nothing except cooling the fumes ? Or is it supposed to be wet ? What was it saturated with? Jonathan

Deterioration on prolonged storage: Lots of anecdotes, chemically plausible. Any good studies? Anyone ever gone back and refilled with the old stuff after getting an engine going with new stuff after a lay up? Using a higher rated fuel: Point about knock sensing already made. Beyond that no benefit that I've ever seen documented... Branded fuels and detergents and other additives: I was brought up with the dogma that the fuels were swapped between suppliers and most branding was just that*. Several decades on things might well be different. Someone who knew a lot about this once described on BlatChat how much crossover there was nowadays and where supermarket fuels actually come from. Does anyone remember that, or know about current practice? Jonathan * That was after the disappearance of benzole mixes etc PS: Rob at Ratrace recommended 97 RON for my rebuilt 1800K with unchanged compression ratio.