Winter. I love the bright, clear mornings, I hate the rain. I love the snow decorating our countryside, I can't get home from work… and it's always dark! Well now we are gathering momentum and hurtling towards spring. Oh how time flies.

Since my last report progress has been almost non-existent. Our engine is still in build and we are still investigating front brake options. A huge garage reshuffle was carried out to enable better use of the space. I've also got rid of the Citroen C5 lease car at long last. The hassle that has caused me is unquantifiable, but once the whole situation is cleared up I'll probably write a little about that too.

On a more positive note, I now have in my possession a pair of drilled discs and some EBC brake pads for the rear of the car. We have not opted for fast road or race pads to begin with because the rear brakes tend to do so little work. We have full bias adjustment in the pedal box anyway so there should be no need to use expensive pads unless we overheat the road specification items. We will of course develop this setup in testing.

I now have the materials to construct the fuel tank enclosure lid and refuelling hatch, both of which must have a gas-tight seal. When that area is complete I can also complete the fuel system plumbing.

A recent visit to PowerAlfa in Daventry netted us some useful parts, a little bit of advice and the option to run some modified front brake discs at zero cost. This will hopefully lead to bigger and better things in the future and once our car is up and running, I am hoping they will be more than just a little bit impressed. We plan to take the boss for the ride of his life, just to make sure!

Unfortunately we are still waiting for our engine to be completed so no engine bay package work can commence. This is a little frustrating but of course we don't have to pay for what we haven't yet received!

Following the garage reshuffle it was possible to get the MR2 in the dry and begin the preparation for a season of sprints, hillclimbs and autotests. The first item to be replaced was the rear silencer. The original was looking very sorry for itself, and was lacking one of the usual 2 tailpipes. To keep in the standard classes I had to resist the temptation to buy a sports exhaust (some of which were available 2^nd hand at very reasonable prices) and opted for a new direct replacement part from Auto Jap Spares. Fitting was nowhere near as troublesome as many exhaust jobs I've tackled in the past but needless to say there was some evidence of foul language and minor bodily harm! The end result looks much better of course, and is a little more sociable in the sound it produces.

The next job was to fit the roll cage. This was supplied with the car as it had been used in the car but not fully installed. To gain proper access to the mounting areas I removed basically all the interior trim and unclipped much of the sill-mounted wiring harnesses to prevent damage whilst wrestling the cage into position. Once the cage was assembled inside the car it became apparent that the final installation wasn't going to be as straightforward as I'd have liked it to be. I couldn't work out the correct orientation for the front mounting reinforcements on the body. Luckily I know a chap who owns a number of MR2's one of them a racing car with a similar cage installed. A quick visit to his garage revealed all I needed to know.

With my cage now dismantled again, I finally got the rear section bolted in. I then located the reinforcements on the floor and drilled the holes. The cage section was then removed and the reinforcement plates bolted into position and welded in. Once this was completed I turned my attention to those troublesome front brackets. I drilled them to match the front hoop feet and welded captive nuts to the underside of the horizontal surface.

The front section of the cage was baffling to begin with, even armed with the information from the car mentioned above. Unfortunately, possibly due to my car being the t-bar version, and fully trimmed, the front cage didn't fit properly, interfering with the windscreen surround and causing an amount of pre-load on that area. This would inevitably lead to a cracked windscreen, leaking or broken roof panels or a combination of those issues, so the reinforcements were modified and added to mount the cage feet. It took ages but was worth the effort because it now all fits properly and is very strong. The petty bar mounting was fairly straightforward with some minor adjustment to make the final connections. Whilst the trim was out I also carried-out a number of other body repairs where required.

The seat belts will both be quick release harness types, 4-point for the passenger and a full 6-point for the driver. To facilitate this the cage has a harness mounting bar for the shoulder straps and the standard sill and tunnel mounting points will be used to locate eye-bolts. Also required was a pair of eyebolts to mount the crutch straps. The reinforcements for these are welded under the floor, either side of a longitudinal reinforcement section, for absolute integrity.

Other goodies fitted to the MR2 have been a race steering wheel – somewhat smaller than the bus wheel fitted as standard, some race pedals and a lighter drivers seat. The steel framed seats previously fitted were not exactly heavy but I wanted to use a 6-point harness on the driver's side, so a 5-slot seat was required. I had a spare lying around, originally earmarked for passenger-ride duties in the Alfa, but it's now found a new home in the MR2 and has the added benefit of weighing substantially less than the seat it replaces. In the interest of minimum weight, the dealer-fit alarm system was removed. This required a little bit of tidying in the wiring just inside the cockpit but it was not too difficult.

There has been a flurry of entry forms in the post over the last few weeks, so I've been franticly trying to fill them, write the cheques and post them. I plan to do as many speed events as practically and financially possible before the Alfa hits the track, because from that point on, racing will be the priority. I've also invested in a 12v power supply for my video camera, from the manufacturer, so that I can, at last, have an undisputable record of how good or bad I have been driving. We will use the camera in the Alfa also, at least for testing, but in the MR2 it will hopefully help me get to grips with the car a little quicker than it may take otherwise. I will test the theory at the SEMSEC test day at Lydden on 27^th March if my entry is accepted.

On the 13^th & 14^th March I had my first experience in the running of a rally, by helping out with start line duties on the Hemsted forest stages, part of the Rally of Kent. This served a number of purposes – putting something back into the club by helping out on an event, leaning a little more about how rallying works and last but surely not least, qualification for awards in the Speed League. Saturday afternoon was spent setting out the stage in both directions whilst Sunday was all about final preparation early in the morning then the running of 2 stages in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. It was all a little hectic at times but we completed the task with a minimum of fuss both in the morning and the afternoon. We also got a thorough soaking in the afternoon as the persistent rain attacked us from all angles with wind assistance! Luckily my investment in some new waterproof gear was proven to be a sound one with only my hands and feet feeling damp at the end of the day. My boots were free from work a number of years ago and have seen better days, my gloves served only to direct more water to the end of my pen, thus making writing nearly impossible, so they were soon removed. Even though we had to work fairly hard it was enjoyable to be part of the action and learn more about that type of motorsport… maybe one day I'll have a go, if I can find a suitable car and, of course, a willing co-driver... oh yes… and the money!