PART 11
(2005)
MY COVIN (2005)
Not
much progress made on My Covin this year due to other commitments, namely James
Latcham's Covin Re-Build and my Wife Claires Covin Re-Build, to name but two. I
feel things are going to be a little hectic this year.
Work
started on James Covin in February and continued in stages until August so I was
only able to carry out small jobs on My own Covin when time allowed.
In
between working on James Covin I also began work to Claires Covin on 20th May with a
complete engine build of a VW 1641cc Type 1 engine to take the place of the CVH
that was currently installed. it also needed a new gearbox, re-wire, full
interior fitting, doors sorting out and a host of other jobs including MOT. All
this was to be completed in only 3 weeks to try and get it ready for the Newark show on 18th June
2005 so the clock was ticking.
SEE CLAIRES COVIN PROJECT
As
mentioned earlier James Latchams Covin required some extensive work and this
will be fully covered in the Owners Gallery so you can expect some changes to
his Covin when you next see it at the shows.
SEE JAMES LATCHAM COVIN
So with
all this going on and MORE, my Covin has been put on hold once again so only a
few jobs have been possible ....
I
think I need a miracle.... Or Harry Potters wand.....
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My COVIN APRIL 2005 |
|
This was the first
chance I've had this year to get something done to my own Covin. I decided
to tackle a possible problem with the fuel outlet from petrol tank as I
suspected that this was restricting the fuel supply. |
|
I made a new fuel
outlet on my lathe from piece of aluminium bar I had lying around. |
As you can see, a
slight improvement. On the left the old part and on the right the new part
which is double the size. |
|
THE FRONT "PROTOTYPE" UNDERTRAY |
| For those of you who read the
aerodynamic article I did last year you'll know what all this is about. For
those who didn't read it, I suggest you do so now because your Covin will be
suffering from this problem and It's an easy fix. |
|
I decided right
from the start that this undertray was to be made as simple and cheap as possible. You have
to admit you can't get much more simple or cheap than a £2.99 sheet of
hardboard. This had the front edge trimmed to shape in order to sit under the front bumper lip, secured by
4 bolts. |
Once the front was
shaped and holes drilled, the sheet was coated in ROOF SEAL water proof
treatment and 2 small brackets were fitted to the cars floorpan close to the
bulkhead. These brackets had captive nuts secured to them so once fitted the
undertray can be easily removed in the future.
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The very simple
prototype undertray fitted and ready for the 400 mile round trip to
Stoneleigh.
Scroll down for undertray verdict. |
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THE
DAY BEFORE STONELEIGH SHOW |
| You didn't think that was all
I managed to do did you ? |
|
Here's my Covin Ready for
Stoneleigh show 2005
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1st
& 2nd MAY STONELEIGH SHOW 2005 |
|
Another good
turnout for Stoneleigh show 2005, I was expecting to see a couple of newly
built Covins on display but they never showed up which was a shame.
My Covin and the
new look to James Latchams Covin following the work I carried out this year.
I must make a note
here Ref: David Isles who has been doing lots of work to his Covin over the
winter period of 2004 which includes fitting Porsche 5 speed gearbox and
Porsche 2.4 Engine to name just 2. I'm expecting to see further changes at
Stoneleigh 2006 so well done that man.
Here's a picture of David
Isles new Porsche engine
|
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UNDERTRAY VERDICT
The drive to
Stoneleigh and back was the best drive I've ever had in my Covin, the
changes in driving by fitting the undertray are massive. No more wandering,
no more light steering at speeds and better running temperatures as the
pressure under the car has been reduced, remember "AERODYNAMICS".
I feel further
improvements can be made by blending the front undertray into the inner
wings and also by adding a rear undertray section, so this is the next job
to do ready for 2006.
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LATE MAY
2005 |
|
Following the
Stoneleigh show I decided it was time to get Claires Covin up and running at
long last and the goal here was to get it done in time for this years Newark show in only 3 weeks
time. See
Claires Covin Project for full details. |
|
CVH Engine OUT,
gearbox OUT, Electrics sorted |
New Gearbox in.
Newly rebuilt 1641 engine in & running |
|
Almost ready for
MOT with just 1 week before Newark show and no time for full testing other
than the drive to the mot
. |
Here's
Claires Covin at Newark show 18/6/05.
Claire drove her
Covin for the first time the night before the 160 Miles trip to Newark so it
was a BAPTISM of FIRE so to speak. |
|
Note: Work is
still ongoing on Claires Covin as it was a rush to get it on the road in
order to attend the remaining 3 shows and support the club. I do plan on
fitting the CVH engine back in over the winter period following a full
engine rebuild and also addressing some other issues.
If Claire can
drive her Covin a total of 1000 miles to shows this year alone why can't YOU
?
SUPPORT YOUR CLUB.... PLEASE
MAKE THE EFFORT AND COME TO THE SHOWS
I PROMISE YOU WON'T BE
DISAPPOINTED. |
|
18th & 19th JUNE NEWARK SHOW 2005 |
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|
|
A good turnout at
the Newark show this year and the weather was considerably better than
the previous year. "Victor Meldrew" was still complaining mind you.....
Those who come to the shows will know exactly who I mean. . . .
Notice the Blue
Covin belonging to Paul Saxon who once again brought his UNFINISHED Covin to
the show on a trailer.
He's a star. |
 |
|
Here's Claire and
Darren at Newark |
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10th
JULY
CLAIRES
BIRTHDAY PARTY 2005 |
|
We had another
party for Claires birthday this year and like last year the Covin club
members came on the day for a club get together before the masses arrived in
the evening time. There were about 40 people turned up in total which is not
bad considering 26 people couldn't come. The party went on from 12
midday until 4am and a good time was had by all.... Mark Turner started
drinking my rum at 2am while we were playing pool and I thought he'd need a
stretcher by 4am but he somehow managed to stagger off to bed . . . . He
lost at pool by the way . . . |
|
A slow start at 12
o'clock but
that soon changed. |
Here's Mark Turner
caught in the act trying to steal my Teardrop mirrors for his own
Covin... The cheeky chap. He must have spent over an hour routing through
the stuff in my garage, we thought we'd never get him out of there. |
|
There would have
been lots more pictures but I'm afraid once the drinks started to flow the
camera was soon forgotten. We'll try again next year. |
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11th
AUGUST
2005 |
|
I decided once
again to carry out a quick modification to my Covin just 2 days before the Harrogate
show. In the quest for cooler running temperatures and following the last
successful radiator upgrade, I made the decision to try fitting a new
intercooler from a Mitsubishi Shogun and comes complete with it's
own cooling fan. This intercooler is more than double the size of the
standard RS Turbo unit so should work very well. The location of the new intercooler was to be inside
the rear wheelarch in it's own blanked off pod which would force cold air
across it under pressure and therefore reduce charge air temperature from
the Turbo thus reducing operating temperatures and increasing power. |
|
The location of
the new intercooler, this will be protected from stones etc by fine mesh. As
you can see the air-flow will be forced through the intercooler and out the
rear. |
View from
underside, note the fan. I wired this up via switch in order to test it's
function better. |
|
If you look near
the
middle of steering wheel you'll see the digital temp readout I fitted to
monitor the cooling system temperature. |
The engine bay
with old intercooler removed. All done and ready for test drive on the way
to Harrogate. |
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13th & 14th AUGUST
HARROGATE SHOW 2005 |
|
The main story was Alan
Jones being presented with BEST COVIN AWARD for 2005
ALAN JONES WAS AWARDED
"BEST COVIN 2005"
|
|
Harrogate show was
another success this year with a good turnout. The weather was a little
chilly in the evening but it could have been worse. Claires Covin made it to
the show without problem and my latest intercooler mod was a complete
success, working better than expected by removing some 20'C from the running
temperature of the engine which is great news and means I can at long last
start tweaking the Turbo to release more power. |
|
Club stand at
Harrogate 2005 |
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Day 2 at Harrogate |
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James Latcham,
Darren Parker & Claire Parker at Harrogate. |
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27th & 28th AUGUST RUN TO THE HILLS
SHOW 2005 |
|
With the Castle
Donington show being off the calendar this year, I decided to attend a new show.
The one we chose was an all new VW event called "RUN
TO THE HILLS" organised by DUBLIMINAL VW CLUB and held at Matlock Rugby
Ground. It was 160 miles away from us but we thought we'd give it a try.
Not knowing what
to expect upon arrival, and bearing in mind this was not a big well known
event like the kitcar shows we usually attend. This was simply a VW
Club event organised by Dubliminal VW club.
You can imagine our surprise
when we were greeted at the gate by Adey (he sent me the show details) He
not only knew who we were but pointed us to our allocated club stand,
waiting to be set up for what was to become one of the BEST shows we've been to.
I can't give
enough credit to Dubliminal VW Club for organising such a good event.
One thing is certain.
The Covin Owners Club Will be
Attending this show next year. |
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What a great well
organised show this turned out to be. The Covin club stand was well received
and drew lots of interest. The VW guys were all genuinely nice people who
had time for everyone and the turnout of VW's was very impressive.
Click the link for
further information
DUBLIMINAL VW CLUB
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THE DAY AFTER RUN TO THE HILLS
"CRAZY PUP ALERT" |
|
Well, I was so
impressed with Run To The Hills show that the seed was sown for another
project, but before all that....
On the second day
of the show Claire spotted a 16 week old Spaniel Puppy.... You can
all guess where this is going....
She decided on the
spot that "we simply had to get one" and so, the Day after the show we searched about
and finally came back home with "FUDGE" a 6 week old Springer Spaniel . . .
Oh yes... He's like a 4 legged hurricane. |
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FUDGE AT 6 WEEKS
OLD
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FUDGE AT 18 WEEKS
OLD |
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I'm sure you'll
all get to see Fudge at next years shows as he'll be coming along to most of
them.
|
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22nd AUGUST VW
CAMPER PROJECT 2005 |
|
Now then, remember
I said the seed was sown for a new project ?
Well, when we got
the puppy, I had one one of my brain storm ideas and suggested to Claire
that we should buy a VW Camper Van for the shows and going away with our new
dog. . . . You know where this is going as well.....
Claire agreed and
soon after I was the proud owner of what must be the most rotten Camper on
the planet. |
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It needs a bit of
work |
Or does it need a
miracle ? |
|
With this Camper
van project becoming more and more involved I made the decision to create
another web site to cover the build and also to cover past builds I have
carried out over the years.
For those
interested please follow the links to.
www.vwbaywindow.co.uk |
VW BAY WINDOW PROJECT 2005
See my new web site
www.vwbaywindow.co.uk
|
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FULL Re-Build details can also be
found on the Covin Forum Click Here
1972 VW
BAY RESTORATION |
| Well that's about
it for this season, just a Camper to rebuild, a dog to train, Claires engine
to change and eventually MY COVIN to modify...... Oh did I mention a new
bathroom? |
 |
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Thank you to
all club members who attended the shows and other events this year. It's
your continued support that keeps the club alive.
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