Trophy Winner
The 2012 pulling season, apart from being the wettest on record, was a brilliant start for the Bluebird Express team as we gained second place overall in the UK Pro-Pullers Championship!
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| Owner & Driver Mark Fewtrell with the Trophy |
But after a couple of months of hard financial saving it was time to see how the 2012 season had taken it's toll on Bluebird Express.
Striptease
Bluebird gets undressed.
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| Splitting Bluebird to Check the Clutch Wear. |
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| Removing the Cylinder Head. |
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| Badly Worn Bores. |
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| And Pistons. |
This engine didn't look like it was going to see us through the 2013 season, so another engine block needed to be sourced.
The Rebuild
We found a 380cui block to replace last years 360cui.
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| New Engine Block. |
And thanks to Richard at Billcar Precision Engineering Ltd for all his help.
Whilst the engine was out we cleaned and painted the chassis.
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| Wot No Engine? |
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| A Long Way To Go. |
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| New Block in Place. |
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| Resetting the Clutch. |
Redesign
We thought we would have a go at a new manifold to relocate the new bigger turbo. So we began by CAD drawing and profiling our own new face plate and flanges.
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| The New Face Plate. |
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| Adding Bends. |
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| Checking Alignment. |
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| Getting There. |
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| Turbo Fitted on the Exhaust. |
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| Stainless Steel Inlet & Exhaust. |
The sharp eyed amongst you will also notice the new aluminium Kirkey seat!
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| Ooooh! |
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| Where's the Eject Button? |
We'll be back soon in Bluebird Express - Naked! Part II, with a few more modifications including some data logging gear.
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