26 February 2000 After putting in a week of 12-14 hour days, Jonathon, from JLH Minor Restorations, and with help from his friend George, plus a bit of interfering on my part (I fitted the headlights!), Moose was finally in running order at 11:00pm on the night before the BBC Top Gear TV show was due to be filmed. Sure, there was only one seat and the glovebox door was taped on but it was ready!
When JLH got it back from the air-con/security fitters the Trav had all the air-con bits fitted but it wasn't in working order and the grill hadn't been fitted. Of course when Jonathon tried to put it all together again he found out that the pulleys weren't parallel and they interfered with the radiator. Another nail in the air-con guy's coffin. So, Jonathon removed the air-con pulleys and fitted the radiator and alternator from his own project car, and bought a new electric fan to replace the remote Austin Metro fan motor. His friend George helped him to sort out some of the water pipes and to bleed the system of air. Moose was finally in running order at 11:00pm and put to bed.
>At 6:30am the next morning we rolled Moose out of the workshop and onto a trailer and headed off to Darley Moor racetrack in a convoy of 5 or 6 Minors, including a standard convertible and a V8 split-screen Traveller. We arrived at Darley Moor to find Tiff Needell, BBC reporter, racer, and power-slider extraordinaire, dressed in tweeds and a flat cap ready to take to the road in the convertible. Later on, on the track, Tiff seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself driving all the other modified Minors - 1400cc K-Series, Rover V8, and 2.1 litre Fiat to name a few. He admitted a preference for standard Minors but I think he may be coming around to my way of thinking ... :)
It was a doubly special day for our 'Moose' - not only was it the first day out in the sunshine being driven under it's own power, but the Trav was also a star of the show! I was asked to pilot Moose out on the track whilst the camera crew in another car gave me directions over a walkie-talkie and filmed my antics. Later on they also parked Moose out on the track and interviewd ME! It was great fun, and I tried not to look too much like a grinning idiot but I think I failed miserably! :)
Driving Moose was AWESOME! It is SO quick! And it handles brilliantly due to the new front suspension design. I felt totally comfortable pushing it through the esses. The power comes on at about 2500 revs and goes on all the way up to 6800 RPM where it produces a dyno-tuned 160bhp. The final setup of 48mm throttle bodies, high-lift/long-duration camshafts and Lumenition engine management seems to be working really well.
There were a couple of niggles on the day: there's a small brake fluid leak from the rear brake bleed nipples, and there seems to be a bit of fuel starvation after sharp corners, but these problems should be easily cured in the next few weeks.
Another problem was the weather. No rain, but a biting cold wind that etched it's way through our clothes put a real damper on standing around watching the film crew play with our cars. It took them all day to get enough film and photos together for a 4-minute TV item. By that time we were all frozen to the core and just wanting to go home to thaw out.
The show should be on BBC 2 in the UK sometime in April 2000, Make sure you watch it or get a friend to video the programme, and buy 5 copies of the magazine! You'll finally get to see what a Minor Maniac like me looks like ... :)
