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The OUMF 1968 Riley Kestrel 1300: A story…

2/5/2023

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Those of you who have been following OUMF recently will have seen that we now have a current project in the form of a Riley Kestrel. This has been on display to the public at the NEC Classic Motor Show in November 2022, and many will have seen it in a particularly sorry state… body panels missing, half painted, no interior - the list of things that were missing or badly damaged was probably longer than the list of what was present. Some of you may wonder, what prompted this departure from the dedicated competition car projects to date, and where did this car come from?

However, before I address these questions, I should first say that – possibly to the surprise of many - this wasn’t how we got it, even though it was fully running and driving when it arrived! So, how on earth did the car end up in the state that is in now?

This story begins - remarkably - in the winter of 2019. OUMF were having one of our weekly team gatherings, at which Ding informed us that a functioning Riley Kestrel was being offered, as the owners thought might be adopted as a race car project. The couple presenting this generous proposition were none other than Harris and Carol Khairuddin, uber-enthusiastic leading lights of the hugely OUMF-supportive Riley Owners Club. We were told that the car was now running, driving, and in roadworthy condition, having spent thousands of pounds on renewing the floor – right before they moved house and lost their garage. Its 24,000 miles from new had prompted their desire to save it, but it still required some further work and dry storage to prevent it from dissolving on the street. We obviously didn’t quite know what it was or what kind of race car it might represent, nor what we’d do with it - we just wanted to save it.

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OUMF PRACTICAL PROJECT: Application of Zircoflex, Zircotec, and Epoxy Mastic to the Underside and theexhaust system of the 1968 Riley Kestrel 1300

20/3/2023

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​The problem that we had with the 1968 Riley Kestrel project arose only after painting the interior of the shell and then comprehensively lining the floor, doors, and other panels with a sound-deadening product called Kilmat. This is a butyl rubber backed foil, similar to other products like Dynamat, and is a dense, malleable sheet - very like the bitumen panels found on older cars - that absorbs drumming, and drivetrain and road noise very effectively. Once the lengthy process of cutting it to shape, sticking it down, and thoroughly rolling it into place is completed, it is extremely difficult and very messy to remove. The Kestrel came to us following extensive renovation of the floor, including replacement of the sills and much of the floorpan. We stripped the floor inside back to bare metal and it was very sound prior to painting with Rustbuster epoxy mastic , and top coat in body colour. The underside had been finished with a coating of black ‘schutz’ type underseal which was lavishly applied and did not appear to need further attention - all of which gave us the confidence to apply the Kilmat.

It was at this point that two issues arose in quick succession. The first was that we were kindly donated an LCB manifold and pipework by John Ashley Exhausts, and Joe Ellis at BTB Exhausts generously offered to help by undertaking various modifications in the course of making it fit as snugly along the underside of the car as he could. His artistry resulted in there being very little clearance between the stainless steel silencer boxes and the walls of the tunnel - which looked fantastic, but spelled big trouble for the very meltable Kilmat now glued just above it. The second problem was the chance discovery that the schutz underseal had been applied to bare steel – without any signs of it being primed or painted first. Water had already made its way underneath the schutz in places and surface rust was starting to take
hold. As you can imagine, this disappointing find meant a very serious rethink of how we were to take the project forward.

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OUMF's Newest tool- The MAX Bristle Blaster- A short report

6/3/2023

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My arms are sore, it’s cramped, and for gosh sake, this underseal does not come off easily! This was my situation before the holidays as I lay on the freezing barn floor with a flathead screwdriver and a hammer trying to prep our 1969 Riley Kestrels underside for a new coat of paint (or even just any paint!) and then some Zircoflex in the exhaust tunnel. Before any of that though, we need to rid the car of this horrendous underseal.   
​
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​(The State of the underside)

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The OUMF ‘Action Week’January 8 th - 15 th 2023

8/1/2023

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Firstly, I’d like to take a moment to say a big thank you to all of our sponsors and the individuals who made this week possible. Without you, this would not have been feasible and we are all better off for experiencing this opportunity.
Sunday

​The start of action week began on Sunday the 8th of January. We converged at the barn at 11am to begin preparation in order for the week to run as smoothly as possible. Now I must say we were extremely productive and put our engineering minds to the best of use: we invented crutch cricket and kicked an increasingly muddy football around whilst we waited for Ding to get some PayPal issues sorted out with the help of Bobby Bragg. Whilst our own, slightly disorganised, version of the OUMF Olympics was underway we sporadically packed up Ding’s Volvo with the engine blocks that were going to go through the baths at Lenton Treatments, packed laminates of the sprite and team photos
that had been lovingly signed by all the team taking part in Action Week and packed all the teams personal kit. It was a struggle, but somehow we managed to fit all 10 of us into two cars, plus the kit and the engine castings. In Bobby’s car was Marcus Ward, Arran McLuskie, Archie Stewart and myself. In Ding’s car were Seb Paul, Luis Albas, Eddie Scheer and Sean Harvey. Luckily for us, Ollie Raja-Brown would be meeting us at Fuchs Lubricants the following morning so that there would be space for Joe Taylor, and all our kit to be distributed between the three cars.

The drive to the Taylors home in Congleton was mostly uneventful though we now have learnt not to trust Bobby’s navigational skills, with him leading us away from the right destination even though everyone in the car saw Ding take the right turning. ‘Surely he’s going the wrong way?’ No, he went the right way, although we did get a more scenic route seeing all that Congleton town had to offer. Roughly 15 minutes behind Ding the second car arrived and we were shown around Joe’s home. A very warm thanks to the generosity of Joe’s parents for letting all of us stay. They kindly put us up in the garage which had been converted into a lovely den with a pool table, sound system and fridge
liberally stocked with beer – and for that fridge we were very grateful! Before we settled in, John Taylor, Joe's father, offered to show us around his workshop which was a short 10 minute drive away. Here, John supplies used Amada sheet metal machinery, all expertly renovated to ‘as new’ condition. We were shown around machines we could only dream about having at our HQ, and not just because they were all bigger than our workspace! One was probably the size of the shed! He also had some interesting classic cars stashed away, which we really appreciated being shown and of course we all got a closer look.

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The OUMF Newsletter 2023

25/12/2022

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​Welcome to the latest OUMF update - and the most important news is that we are still going! -
despite the best efforts of Covid, Putin, and the economic downturn to kybosh this amazingly resilient &
resourceful student initiative. This edition of the OUMF Newsletter reflects one pithy bit of feedback
about previous ones: “Nobody wants to read a telephone directory of thanks you’s. We all know you’re
grateful! Just give us the highlights – and make it snappy!” Wise advice, acted on, and we hope you enjoy
the shorter, clearer, more digestible result! If your appetite is not appeased, and you find yourself hungry
for more, please see our OUMF website for further news, detailed race reports, great photos, the roll of
our many great supporters, and much more. So here goes…


The 79 th Goodwood Members Meeting – April 2022

Our long-delayed Sebring Sprite project was finally completed in October 2021, making its successful debut in torrential rain at the HRDC ‘Season Finale’ races at Silverstone GP. It instantly lived up to its nickname, ‘Little BeWT’ (derived from its numberplate), by being awarded the Brian Archer memorial ‘Sebring Sprite Trophy’ at the NEC Classic in November - to the joy of all the OUMF cohorts who have played a part in its build since 2016. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, this honour was followed by the invitation to race it in the 2022 Weslake Cup at the 79 th Members Meeting. As you can imagine, the invitation was accepted by return – and the prep began! The students negotiated many
hurdles to get the grid, including fitting 50 kgs of ballast, meeting the Goodwood Technical regs, new Dunlop L’s from Phillips Tyres - and an engine rebuild!). After expert dyno tuning at Aldon Automotive, the team reached Goodwood and set up camp. When the ice had melted off the tents in the morning (!) the Sebring’s first ever run on a dry track saw it qualify 20 th /28. And then, in the 11 lap race, No 11 fought its way through the field to take the chequered flag..in 11 th place! But as always, this tremendous achievement with a car ‘straight out of the box’ (aka shed) is perhaps less important than the effect the event had on the students, and what one described as the exhilaration of feeling part of ‘Goodwood’. It reflects very well on the GRRC that its inclusive attitude makes it possible for a debt-laden student team to be there, and to be able to gain unequalled all-round trackside experience by competing against the
‘crème de la crème’ of similar cars. The event totally inspired the students, and will doubtless ensure they remain historic motor racing enthusiasts (and Goodwood customers!) for life when they graduate.


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The HRDC ‘Season Finale!’Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit- Final Report

23/10/2022

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Given that time has passed, and exact recollections of this event will soon become hazy, it is with some urgency that this report has been compiled in order to document that great Silverstone weekend.
​
The latest intake of new students meant that our team was not short of members, with us committing ourselves to a team of about 30. With 9 tickets in hand, this was already set to become quite the logistical challenge. On the evening before, we made our way to the track with six drivers - myself, Wesley Thung, Bobby Bragg, Tom Grant (in Ding’s XC90), Ollie Raja-Brown towing the Riley in his Defender, and the LWB (or FL) Sprinter race van towing the Sebring Sprite. Ollie went ahead to get ourselves a favourable space in what was expected to be a packed paddock (119 cars over the weekend), whilst the rest of us pulled over outside the circuit to rearrange ourselves in a more ticket-friendly fashion...
​We had made our way through security with a heavily packed van and four empty cars trailing close behind, all of us repeating the usual ‘I’m with him’ as we breezed through, somehow not rousing any suspicion on the way (how they didn’t question this, I don’t know). We practised our racing lines around the service road (sensibly!) until we reached the Silverstone ‘Wing’, and the van could finally unload itself outside of the pit garage Ollie found us. Pit garage?! This was certainly my first time in a pit garage with OUMF, I almost felt jealous of all the first-timers amongst us who haven’t had a taste of the gravel yet (hold that thought), although I suppose I wasn’t complaining. We emptied the van of all our tools, made ourselves comfortable on the smooth painted concrete, and gawped at the ranks of lovely cars parked in the garages - Mustangs, Cobras, Escorts, Cortinas, Alfa GTVs, MK2 Jags... our Riley 1500... a truly incredible collection!

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And an Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite, of course.

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Mood upbeat at OUMF after qualifying at Silverstone

22/10/2022

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The Oxford Universities Motorsport Foundation has put in a very impressive performance so far in the final meeting of the Historic Racing Drivers Club race series. 

Even though the weather conditions were less than ideal, OUMF managed to qualify fourth in class with the Riley 1.5 and seventh in class with the Sebring Sprite.

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OUMF prepares for the HRDC Silverstone meeting

21/10/2022

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This weekend, the Oxford Universities Motorsport Foundation will be competing in the final round of the prestigious Historic Racing Drivers Club race series.  With packed grids and many professionally prepared cars, this weekend will undoubtedly be a test of competence and team spirit.
​
​To further increase the challenge, the team will be competing in two classes across the weekend. The first of these will be the Jack Sears Trophy with the Riley 1.5 litre being used and the other will be the Dunlop Allstars series where the Sebring Sprite will be on grid.  

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OUMF Invited to the Classic Motor Show at the NEC Birmingham

20/9/2022

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The National Classic Motor Show, which takes place at the NEC Birmingham exhibition centre, has invited OUMF to stage their own 80 square foot stand at this years exhibition. The show plays host to a great many orginisations and clubs of classic cars, and most importantly multiple different orginisations that are integral to OUMFs mission and provide invaluable support for our multitude of projects. 

To be given such a large stand presents a massive oppertunity for OUMF to showcase multiple projects, many of which have undergone lots of development and change since the last public showcase pre-COVID 19, and infront of an audience of thousands of people and multiple long time partners of OUMF. So its important to have a strong showing of eager students ready to lend a hand manning the stand.

There is still a lot of perperation work to go into our showcasing efforts, however for OUMF members this is an exclusive discount code available, for anyone who is intrested on attending the comeptition, offering discounted prices ​on both single day adult and Multi Day Family and chld tickets, by qouting our members
code at  www.necclassicmotorshow.com

For members that are intrested in getting a ticket, contact main@oumf.org.
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OUMFs "Historics On The Hill" 2022

3/7/2022

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The annual ‘Historics on the Hill’ at Lydden is always a cracker, and it is exclusive to members of the
HRDC (Historic Racing Drivers Club) of which OUMF is an invited founder member thanks to our
magnanimous patron Julius Thurgood. The layout of this wonderful little track means that spectators
have unobstructed views of every inch of the racing action, and also the limited number on the grids
translates into a great deal of time spent out on track.

​This year the OUMF team brought both the
Sebring Sprite and Riley 1.5, resulting in 8 sessions in five and a half hours between the two cars!


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