Recent Virtual "Show and Tell" meetings (2025)
Our virtual 'pub meets', which we call Show & Tell, continue to grow in popularity and are an easy way for members to meet each other with only a little commitment of time or cost.
We meet every two months, on the second Tuesday of the month, using Google Meet and often have 20-30 participants through the evening. Professionally hosted when possible, they are enable an informal, free-flowing discussion amongst members from across the globe.
We always have one or two pre-chosen topics to help get proceedings started, typically one 'general' and one 'technical' but the greatest fun and value is frequently in the open discussion afterwards where anyone attending can bring anything forwards to share, ask, or learn about.
Over the past three months we have had some great discussion. Here are a few to give you a flavour, along with some links that were shared, and might be useful:
Air Filters. With original S800 air filters becoming increasingly difficult to source, and typically expensive, the discussion turned to what people are doing to replace theirs. Andrew Dunnell kindly shared images of a re-usable K&N filter he bought from the late Peter Rose quite some while ago. Andrew had kindly recently contacted K&N to see if they could still provide the part (he had the part number!), but sadly they had deleted it from their catalogue years past. But it led to the idea of getting a suitable modern K&N filter, and 'retro-fitting' it into an old S800 filter case.
Others mentioned they had done a similar thing with other types of filter material, with
Solutions exist for other marques, and it was suggested it might be possible to get something suitable. Ramair filters is one such company, but no-one knew of a solution that already existed. See : https://ramair-filters.co.uk/filters/baseplate-filters/rt3-219-406-ramair-twin-carb-bolt-on-air-filters-with-baseplate-mg-pinto-mangoletsi-65mm/ for an example.
As usual, years of experience, and varying options were brought forwards, leaving those all present to ponder THEIR next steps..! But everyone agreed don't throw away your old filters, as the sturdy metal housings may come in very handy!
Recollections of your first S800/N/Z. Some wonderful stories came out when we chatted about this subject, varying from the romantic, or simply amorous, to the improbable but true! Some were tales of impressive journeys in (by today's standards) ridiculously short times – at least one in an N600, btw! While others involved an impulse purchase that resulted in a lifetime of interest an ownership – in fact several people mentioned they directly related to that happening! Not everyone's tale was about one of 'our' cars, and the tale about breaking down in a Humber Spectre at Spaghetti Junction was particularly humorous! As was our Presidents tale about taking his pals to support an S800 competing in the British Rallycross! Someone, with a Purple Convertible, and a Yellow Coupe, described watching the Classic Car auctions and bidding unseen as close to a gambling addition! However, it's clear – everyone remembers their first S800/N/Z experience with great affection!
Brake Pads and Hoses. A question about how to obtain front brake pads resulted in lots of suggestions. Some older cross-referenced parts were mentioned (look on the Club website under spares), as well as part numbers quoted from the air (Ferodo FDB39M for MkII front brake pads, FDB27 for Mk1 !!), and for an up to date option – who knew that EBD offer brake pads that fit S800's in several brake compounds suitable for road or track use! Although it has been noted these seem to probably only suit the Mk11 calipers See: https://www.ebcbrakes.com/vehicle/uk-row/HONDA/S800/
There are a few reports of cars having Wilwood calipers fitted with adaptors, which provided a modern solution to braking, albeit not the those seeking originality! But creativity abounds still!
That led onto a quick discussion about replacement brake hoses, and several members reported success ordering Goodridge stainless steel reinforced hoses from a company called CamAuto. A reminder was to ensure you got the right fittings, as our cars originally had a Japanese thread for the brake fittings, but many cars get 'changed' to more common UK fittings. So check first!
Screws & stuff. On the topic of screws and fittings, James Cowell shared a link to a company he'd used that can supply some of the more esoteric Japanese thread fittings, and they supply in small quantities too... https://www.westfieldfasteners.co.uk/
Lighting Upgrades. Sue & Norman Truran shared their experiences of a/losing all lights on the way home one evening, and b/ attempting to upgrade to something a bit brighter than the original Toshiba sealed beam units from 1968! Several people spoke about upgrading to Halogen lights, and some aspired to LED solutions. For the former it was explained why it is essential to use remote relays to power the lights themselves, to avoid burning out the light switch and wiring loom which was not designed for the higher wattage of those lamps. Several people spoke from prior and painful experience! LED lamps create a whole new challenge with beam patterns, and no-one had successfully (i.e. legally) traversed this option yet!
Water Temperature. A question about engine water temperature lead to an interesting debate about Waterless Coolant. Tony Lowe has been using this for years, and several other members expressed positive results with it too. It is particularly good at heat transfer, which results in lower cylinder head temperatures, apparently. Also, because it has a much higher boiling point it doesn't do that annoying thing of blowing a bit of coolant out of the top of the radiator every time – yes, the bit you top-up, only for the same to happen again, and again, and again etc! While Barry Fernaly and Peter Rose strongly advocated never using a thermostat (at least in the UK) and leaving the system unpressurised, the waterless solution definitely has its fans! Albeit, it's a fair bit more expensive to start with!
Christmas Party. An idea floated by James Rudecki and explored in one of the Show and Tell meetings was a Christmas Party. The enthusiasm from the S&T carried the idea forwards, and we had a wonderful day at the British Motor Museum along with a fabulous Christmas Lunch. Sure to become an annual favourite, great fun, and brilliant value too! See a report elsewhere on REVS! and thanks to James and Tony Sighe for organising it!
Events. Being connected at the same time has been a powerful way to identifying and plan to attend Car events all over the country. This year we are hoping to encourage members to join more events and the S&T discussions are a great help in achieving that aim! Thanks to all those who have made suggestions, or commitments, to attend some great days out planned for 2025! You'll probably hear it first at a Show & Tell!
Wheel and Tyre options. This prompted a significant debate, with all kinds of varieties and options tried over the years. There are also some great articles on the Club website (and in Archive Revs and the Forum) that cover most questions people have asked about 'what to do .' in this respect. However, this S&T was especially notable for all the photo's (or real examples) people shared. Some lovely choices made over the years, some in-period, some not, and some racing orientated, but all very worthy of sharing, and savouring!
Coupe or Convertible? In February we had a topic that really could have divided opinion! Whilst mostly S800 focussed, this brought some great opinions to the fore! The wonders of top-down blasts through the lanes at 8500rpm on a sunny evening, to the practicality of a Couple on a road-trip (or going shopping)! There were lots of votes for the styling of the Coupe, which stands time well to this day in many an eye! It was agreed that probably a coupe DOES tend to amplify the effect of a noisy differential much more than a convertible, but is generally regarded as being better aerodynamically (ask the Racing guys) but also a bit heavier (ask the Racing guys!). Some commented on the relative safety of each option, with mixed feelings both ways! We asked Ron, joining from Australia, under whether a coupe was safer than a convertible in the proximity of Crocodiles, and he answered by pointing out he was pleased not to be anywhere near them, so didn't know, or need to care too much!!
In the end, everyone agreed, probably the best choice was one of each! And perhaps even one RHD and one LHD! And as most cars tend to drive a bit differently anyway, why not!
There are so many other subjects we have covered, including Bleeding brakes and clutches the best way (not many realised an N/Z has only 3 brake bleed nipples until Alan explained how!), methods to put a body back onto a chassis without scratching months of prior careful and hard work, paintcodes and paint sources, rebuilding gearboxes, shock absorbers and setting/lowering ride height, how to get home with a broken throttle cable, body blasting and priming during rebuilds, and regular updates on Tony Sighe's historic racing exploits! And that's just the last 3 meetings!
You can take part in our Virtual Show & Tell meetings from anywhere in the world with a bit of wifi and some kind of smart device – even your home TV perhaps! There's no need to participate if you don't want to – you can just join and watch/listen if you like! Just like in the pub!
The next one will be on Tuesday April 8th, starting at 7.30pm UK time. It's always the second Tuesday of the month, and the full schedule can be seen on the Club Diary on the website. Joining is easy – a single click on the link found in the same place using your favourite browser (or the Google Meet app)! We hope to see you there sometime!
The link to the next Show & Tell is on the front page of the website. We are now able to use the same link for each meeting making life a bit simpler.