Jeff Young

It does sound like an air leak. Hopefully you've got it sorted....

I think it depends on what the question is. Some of us want to know "will cheap-and-cheerful get the job done?" Others want to know "is the step up to middle-of-the-road worth the cost difference?" And still others want to know "is the bees-knees tool something that will make me smile every time I use it?" All three seem to me to be valid questions. Trouble is when someone asks "what should I buy?" we don't really know which question they're asking. Some of us provide the answer to 1, while others provide the answers to 2 or 3. Jeff.

My lathe is circa 1950, so it's a little short on all the modern safety stuff. You can see the forward/reverse switch going off the top of the picture. No chuck guard in sight, though.

I've never left the key in the chuck before because I always give the chuck a test spin by hand before hitting the power. But I don't usually unplug the lathe while chucking/unchucking, and it occurs to me that I might inadvertently hit the start lever. (I suppose a start button would be safer, but my lathe has a forward/reverse lever on top of the headstock.) Do other folks unplug or otherwise disconnect the power every time they chuck/unchuck? Jeff.

Looks nice. I'm a TIG man myself (I do a reasonable amount in aluminium and as a hobbyist I'm not really worried about production speed). But they don't seem to be very popular on this side of the Atlantic. Jeff.

I think they're usually under £1000 with no MOT (well under if they need chassis or bulkhead work), and around £2000 with an MOT. A few months ago I think the V8 might have added a bit of value. Maybe not so much now with the surge in fuel prices. 200/300 tdi would have knocked a bit off an otherwise original 2 or 2a, but probably not much affected the value of a 3 or a bitsa. I'd imagine now the 200/300 would add value to the 3 or bitsa, and maybe even an otherwise original 2/2a. I've only been paying attention for the last 6 months or so, though, so if others suggest different probably better to believe them. Jeff.

He he... you obviously haven't tried to buy one. ( Several have gone over £400 in the last few months.) Jeff.

The overdrive (if working well) is worth £300+ on eBay. With no MOT all the rest together probably has a similar value. So at a guess (and I'm no expert here), you'd want to be in the £500 to £1000 range. Jeff.

Yeah, about the best you can do is practice. I never got very good at it before switching to a Drill Doctor (mostly because it could do split-points). They also take a bit of practice, but I found it easier to get even pressure and duration with their pivot system. Jeff.

Check the fill pressure (or gas volume) of the southwestgassupplies. If they're supplying Adams Gas cylinders, then they're only filled to 137bar (for a total of 1.2 cubic metres). The Air Liquide 11litre cylinders are filled to 200bar (2.5 cubic metres), as are the weldinggasses.co.uk bottles (probably about 2.4 cubic metres for their 10litre bottle and about 4.8 for their 20litre). So the bigger bottle from weldinggasses looks to be about 4 times the gas for a bit over 2 times the cost. Jeff.

Air Liquide are now doing non-rental bottles. They're still a bit small (11litres, 2.5 cubic metres), but that's 42 disposable cylinders. There was another place in Wales that had non-rental 20litre bottles, but they were closed over the Chrismas holidays when I was over. Found it: http://www.weldinggases.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=5 Jeff.

I do the diffs every 2 years and the tranny every 3. It's not a daily driver, though, covering only about a thousand miles a year. I've got a pump but it's a pain to use cause it doesn't screw into the top of a container, so you've got too many things to try and juggle. Jeff. EDIT: I misread the original post; I thought he meant the drain and refill interval. I agree that the levels should be checked and topped-up MUCH more frequently.

If the helmet -is- called into play, it should be considered junk whether it appears damaged or not. I think the Snell rating is updated every 5 years. In the States, most organisations required either the current or last Snell standard (giving a max helmet life of 10 years). Belts, on the other hand, were dated. IIRC they needed to be within 3 years of their manufacture date. Jeff.

It's not a bad plan, but... newer (softer) tyres are a lot more predictable. I tried going through school in a FF with old tyres (figuring it didn't matter for school), but it made the car a real handful at the limit. One lap it would do a corner fine, the next I'd be spinning. That was on slicks though; it's possible that older/harder treaded tyres are more uniformly (un)grippy. Jeff.

His tire costs will rapidly overtake whatever he spends on the car; just something to keep in mind (esp. when considering weight). Personally, I think drifting at the limit is more fun than top speed. The MX-5 is a blast on roads, but even it feels a bit heavy and soft on a track. Something light with RWD and very little rubber can also be a hoot: you'd be shocked at how fun an old Sprite or Midget can be on a track. (Personally I'm not a big fan of the Mini because I find it harder to drift.) What about an open-wheeled car? The budget probably won't stretch to a FF, but do they run FVee over here? FVee also benefits from being a very cost-concious class and they therefore have good tyre options without breaking the bank (something that can't be said for FF in the States, where they run on $$$ slicks). A lot of guys in the States love the old Mustangs -- but you're looking at $800 in tyres per weekend. Jeff.