Once the chassis paint had weathered I started to build up the car, some of the parts were either missing or had seen better days. Money was tight and the kids were starting to lose interest (huh! wanting to play with their friends) actually they were still enthusiastic although it wasn't progressing as fast as they liked. Then the winter had started to set in which tested all our enthusiasm (winter won). The car lay in our drive with a cover over it (Mr popular with the neighbours) we had no garage and out garden shed was full of  parts, engines,axles wheels etc. at this point my wife loved me. Over the winter I started to advertise for parts, I bought a racing harness, a set of weller wheels, oil, water and rev counter, a helmet, rear view mirror, electric kill switch and another 2 litre engine out of a Ford Sierra because the original was seized and finally a gearbox.

Spring arrived, I started to service and paint the parts and fit them onto the car. The car was now beginning to take shape, The hard part is that 11 year old kids are not so good at lifting engines, gearboxes and axles and subsequently I gave them a back seat when it came to this type of work. I became Friendly with  another Carronshore racer (Andy Cochrane F2 116) he's a really nice guy, both he and his crew gave me good technical advice and were always warm and welcoming. This was good for me in my moments of despair when things were not going to plan. The weather wasn't so good throughout the summer and thus limited the times I could work on the car. Money  was thin on the ground again (summer holidays and other commitments) and the project was taking more and more of  a back seat. At this point I seriously considered selling the car and recouping my money, not my time! On reflection the car cost me £200, the 4 good tyres that came with the car would just about cover the initial cost. The new parts I got quite cheap and set me back another £150 plus £50 in bits and bobs - total to date around £400. Now you may not think this is a big sum of money but when your wife doesn't like the idea of the car, and thinks the money should go elsewhere, its a difficult life. The harsh reality  is that the cars worth more broken up.

After some serious soul searching I've decided to keep the car, I've put too much work into it to just sell it. Its a big part of a dream that will just be a memory if I sell it. During the summer of 99 I hope to complete the project although I don't expect to race it. There's too much play it the suspension points which could be dangerous in a racing environment not just for me  but for others. At present the main goal it to get it up and running and use it as a big toy on areas of land around the country, but then again I might just get my act together and sort out the cars problems and knock a big hole in that Cowdenbeath racewall........ Lets hope the story continues.

Latest picture to be added complete with engine, rack & wheels

Walker laing