Return of the clown car

So the apocalypse is postponed and we have been allowed to go for drives for a couple of weeks now. Out on a run (the weather has been AMAZING for the last couple of months now), I pulled up at the lights behind a van and noticed in the reflection from the back of the van that my left indicator came on when I braked! My electrical genius strikes again!

Spent time today re-doing the wiring for the high-level brake light by just riveting the negative wire from the unit to the rear body panel. Before, I must have been earthing it through the left indicator somehow, I dunno...

I also replaced the air filter - I was going to splash out on a K&N or Pipercross but when I put a question on a forum asking which was better, the only reply was from a guy who I know builds race cars and said they were no better than the cheap ones you get on eBay. Always happy to save £40, I bought another cheap one (my original was the same), although this one is a bit bigger and has a double cone (?). As suspected, it felt and sounded no different after a short test drive.

I also got some time to look at the accelerator cable. Using the Emerald software, I can never get the throttle position to go beyond 77%. After a bit of re-jigging, it is...no better. But I think the limiting factor is the other end of the cable, at the throttle body. Early in the build, I had to chop some length off the plastic end of the cable and I think I haven't taken enough off, which means the pedal can never pull the body open beyond 77%. It's not critical so I'll get to it one day - in the meantime, the accelerator pedal now sits higher and is much more comfortable to drive.

And I have a new rattle from the engine!! However, I think it is just the bearing on the tensioner pulley - gawd, I hope so, I don't want another 3 month battle with the engine.

Right now, I should be in the Alps, hooning around some hairpin bends but, obviously, our trip had to be postponed (now planned for next year). Very, very hacked off...although there may be a way round this; I was contacted by a German Zero owner who I used to communicate with on the now-defunct GBS owners forum. He wanted to do an Alps trip and asked if I was interested. After some to-ing and fro-ing, we've decided to wait until June 25th or so and see if the lockdown is relaxed enough for us to just go for it. At the moment, you still cannot drive through France and you have to quarantine for 2 weeks after you arrive. However, there is pressure from all sides to lift this and all shops and hotels are opening on June 15th in Europe, so we may be on for a sneaky trip on July 5th, fingers crossed.