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Automotive Engines, Tuning & Modifying, Hydrogen Fuel Cell (water fuel)

 Hello there, fellow engine enthusiast! 

My name's Emmanuel Grigoriou and some of the things that really get me moving are:

  • building my own high performance engine in my backyard
  • tuning and modifying classic engines
  • best tools for the job
  • hydrogen fuel cells
  • Diy info re: engines
  • watching good youtube driving videos
  • automotive engines

...if you're built the same way then bookmark this site.

  I started this site to log what I'm doing in the engine section of my life.  If any of you reading this have interesting related info to share then I'm happy to log that too...  (contact page coming soon)

My 'project' started about 4 years ago, after I'd moved to the UK, when I saw an ad in the local paper for a 1983 ford capri.

At that time, my knowledge of capri's was limited to knowing only that this was an old car I'd seen drifting and bellowing in and out of corners while waiting to catch the bus home after school, in Greece.  I thought this car was really something!  ...amazing! ...and of course I dreamed of owning one. 

When I saw the ad, I was working hard as a waiter and thought "the time's arrived... classic ford, here I come!"

I hired a recovery lorry, drove to the address and £280 officially made me a ford capri owner. I thought then that it was a bargain but now I know otherwise!

Anyway, I towed it home, parked it on the drive and gave it a quick once-over.  I remember it had a great crop of mushrooms growing under the carpet fed from soggy mud infested in rust particles.  After a while I realised that this may take longer than I thought.  ...BOY, was I right!!

This is when the ford capri began to make sense to me.  I started reading books on vehicle maintenance, restoration, engineering history, technology, racing etc.  I started looking for information and related articles and videos on the internet. Only after all this research - which is still on-going - did I start to realise what I had unknowingly brought my self into.

Still working as a waiter I started restoring the shell in a garage unit I'd hired.  It was an industrial garage previously used by Barnardo's charity - an organisation that helps young children develop their interests and in this garage they had been building and then racing the cars, together with the youngsters! 

But Bernardo's needed more space so I sub-hired from them half of the unit and moved in with 2 gentlemen who were training themselves for paintless dent removal.

I pushed my capri the half mile to the unit and rolled her in!  brought in the collection of tools I'd inherited from my uncle, Robin, and was ready to roll...

First off, I bought a second-hand welder which was a complete waste of money because it was knackered.  Lesson learned, I went and got a new one and set to, cutting out the rust and welding fresh lashings of steel.

I taught myself to weld through trial and error but it didn't take long to get the hang of it.  I also learned how to use leverage.  I say leverage because the angles I got that car in to weld it were pretty amazing considering I only had basic equipment. I would set the car up in a way that would help me negotiate difficult areas with ease and safety; no sense in getting squashed before I had the capri on the road.

The garage was large and in amongst forging factories and car graveyards. I had to watch out because I would often be there alone, working away all hours of the night with no one around to help in case of an accident. Some of the work I undertook was pretty industrial and heavy duty. 

Often I worked until the early hours of the morning. The experience was unique which I am sure others alike will understand.  My aim was to produce an individual machine that was unique, powerful, and inspiring!

For about 6 months I worked and negotiated obstacles and challenges that sometimes worked and sometimes did not. The garage was equipped with 3 phase electricity so I could use powerful lights and power-tools which was great! 

Then one night... the garage door opened and the demon eyes lit up...
(ha-ha!) I fired it up and drove it for the first time up and down the empty street (no brakes yet).  What a sensation!

The engine is a standard 2000cc ford pinto engine, the colour is mixed due to fitting panels of other cars; it's been poly-bushed all over; all running gear has either been replaced with new parts or restored to excellent condition. The bottom has had oil-tar treatment to protect the body from rust and the internal compartments have been wax-oiled. I used black Hammerite paint on all running gear such as the diff, tca's suspension units, anti-roll bars, leaf springs etc. It looks really good underneath.

It failed its MOT the first time, due to incorrect positioning of one of the front springs, which I sorted. So it got its MOT, tax and insurance and then it was on the road! I was warned by ex-capri owners to be aware of the rear end as it really likes to go sideways (thats why I bought it ;-).  When you sit in it it just feels cool! it has a kind of "I will consume the road" attitude, a predator... a bit like a shark.

It's been having a bit of a rest recently as I've been setting up a business as a courier pickup/delivery service.  The next step is the  painting of the body and then the much anticipated modified pinto engine which I've bought but not started on yet. 

I searched online for classic insurance and found the best value ever for under-30's - only £109.00 for 12 months.

If you've got any questions or comments you could send them from the contact page on my other site, just click on the link above and then on the 'contact' button - it'll probably be a few weeks till I have a contact page set up on this site here.

  I've used Ebay a lot for buying parts and tools and I've had good quality with great prices so I'm planning on having some easy-reference Ebay pages made here.  If you can't wait for those then here's a link Ebay site

 
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