Newsletter No 20

06 September 2005

I recently went to Lubango for the races, which were very interesting. Last time was in 2003 and you can definitely see the economy picking up.

A Porsche came in 1’st and 2’nd with a imported racing Megane coming in 2’nd.

For the races in Angola I am building up a Hyundai Accent for a friend of mine.

This is the first time I have gotten actively involved in Motorsport since coming to Namibia in 1993. Reason is, that I am allowed to do it professionally. We have built some racing motors in the past; who will forget the brutally fast Golf of Roelf Lisse or Oswaldo’s Courier that whipped everybody at rallying.

I ran into clutch problems with some of the vehicles modified by us. Either the clutches would not last or even worse slipped under heavy load. I believe to have found the solution with a Ceramic Clutch plate. The disadvantage is a very rapid take up and a bit of a shudder.

I would not hesitate using something like this in a Rally car, as a racing clutch not being able to take the slip you have to apply for take of when a car is stuck. Cost is also very moderate at +- 1500 N$ for a complete assembly.

As far as using it in a daily driver ? I use it in my Bantam but do find that the shudder is a bit disconcerting, especially when the bakkie is not carrying a load.

This is a spin of in my Hobby (motorbikes) where I was looking for a Heavy duty dry clutch for modified BMW’s. BTW, did you know that I import BMW bike parts directly and we have somebody manufacturing SS exhaust systems for us ?

I have another special in my range of Recreational articles.

I want to try something here, with a Wanted and for Sale column pertaining to the spirit of this newsletter:

It’s a 96 GTI 2.0 Full house. I’ll be happy with about 45K. Then also a Sonic 98 Golf with 75K on the clock. Anyone can make an offer. This one is still brand new. Pio

Cheers

Nick von Bergen