P

Issue 3.

Issue 1.

ISSUE 1MONTH

Welcome to the third issue of the UKPOC Newsletter.

PROBEFEST EDITION

All the usual features plus all the info you need for Probefest

Page 1

Issue 3

From Your Editor.

Welcome to the third issue of the newsletter

I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this issue. I hope you enjoy it

This is the last newsletter before Probefest, so don’t miss the articles on Probefest. And if you haven’t got your ticket yet ! Why Not ??

Once again please remember we need your stories and pictures, If you have something to say, then call me with your story You can contact me by private message at UKPOC or By email at pk270@sky.com, or on my mobile on 07789655473

ProbeFest Program

Tech Guru Spot by head tech Numnuts

Hints and tips on how to prep your car for the show n shine competition Also a piece on how to bypass the Probes built in amp

The Car’s The Star Paul Seymour’s Owned From New

Members Stories Members Memories Of Barcelona Bangers Event

Events Up and coming events for your diary, Details of the new club shop Members Gallery The gallery has been removed from the newsletter now that we have a working picture gallery on the forum. If your cars not there yet then post it in the gallery for all to see

,2,

MUTSNUTS MENU Breakfast served from 8am - 10am . ,

MuttsNutts Birthday Breakfast : 2 bacon, 2 sausage, egg, hash brown, beans bread and butter

£3:00

Bacon cob or Sausage cob: £1.20 Veggie cob: hash brown & egg s £1.20

Lunch served 12pm until 2pm

Chips £1.20 Chips with cheese £1.50 Chip cob £1.50

Daddy Burger £1.50 Sausage Cobs £1.20 Sausage and Chips:3 sausages served with

chips £2.50

Maybe jacket potatoes Maybe chicken wraps

Kids sausage and chips £1.50 Kids chicken nuggets and chips £1.50

Dinner Served 5.00pm until 7.00pm

Chilli and chips £3.50 Chicken curry and chips £3.50

Maybe jacket potatoes, Maybe pasta bake, and everything else you get at lunch

Selection of soft drinks and Red Bull

Thursday Early Bird special (pre order required): Homemade Lasagne, Garlic bread, chips &

salad £4.50

serving the special only on Thursday night then will start cooking proper Friday morning

PROBEFEST EVENT LIST/TIMETABLE

THURSDAY : SET UP DAY

FRIDAY : QUIZ NIGHT, EARLY BIRD RAFFLE, TIMING CHECKS

SATURDAY: SHED OF THE SHOW, SHOW AND SHINE, TIMING CHECKS,

TUG OF WAR, SPACE HOPPER RACING. CODE READING DEMO

KARAOKE/DISCO

SUNDAY : EXHAUST & ICE SOUND OFF/BEST INSTALL , VOTING TIME, PRIZE

GIVING, RAFFLE

Events times may change or be cancelled subject to weather conditions and time

factors

SPEAKER UPGRADE

If you have ever fancied upgrading your speakers of your sound system in the Probe,

and by passing the amp at the same time, follow our step by step guide.

1

2

3

4

To start you need to remove a number of panel pieces, and remove the door

card, link on how to remove door card

www.ukpoc.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=4927

Remember to keep the window in the up position. Now remove the panels

in the following order. Panel 1 lift bottom towards you and pull up gently.

Panel 2 grab inside edge and pull up slowly Panel 3 is held in

with two panel pins, this will just slide out afterwards.

The cable shown is the old speaker cable inside a rubber tube, simply cut

and remove them. Pic 2.

Now, we need to drill two holes Pic 3, one on the edge of the door and one

on the body panel. From the tiny lip shown below, measure 9.5cm and work

out the centre. (I took approx guess for middle).Using a piece of cardboard

with a corner place that flat across your line and you can mark the same

height for your door panel Pic 4. Once you have the marks in place, measure

again and just to be sure.

The car panel has 2 skins, so once you drill through the panel there is another

just behind, you need to go through both. The door panel is just one skin. I

started with a small drill bit and worked my way up to get the required hole

size. This makes it easier to get it centred and also make it easier to drill. I

used some rubber grommets.

REMEMBER you are drilling the size of the inner hole plus about 1-2mm.

I kept going up in drill bit sizes until I could get the grommet in without

too much prodding and poking. Do the same for the door. (this is fiddly as

the door doesn’t open fully – if you go in at a slight angle it won’t matter,

but make sure to get as flat a cut as possible, you don’t want an oval hole.

Once the grommet is in try a piece of speaker cable into the hole so you

know it fits, If it’s too small, just widen the hole using the outside of the drill

bit that’s smaller than the hole. It should end up looking like Pic 5, repeat

for the door. Then feed speaker cable through your

door panel from the inside out. Now feed the speaker

cable through the car panel grommet and out through

this hole Pic6. The best way to do this is to put a right

angle bend in the end of the cable, push the cable in and

wiggle about until you see the end of the cable and pull

through the hole. (I used tweezers to pull cable through

the hole). With your door wide open, cable tie the

speaker wire from your door speaker to the door panel,

I cable tied mine twice Pic 7. Inside the car put a knot in the cable so it

meets the hole, this will stop the cable pulling back through. Pic 8. (continued

next page)

5

Thanks to Ashes for supplying original write up and pictures

The rest of the cables just need wiring to the stereo under the dash.

I found leaving a little loop in the cable between the door and car

ensures that the cable isn’t being pulled to tight and also and water

that may hit the cable will drain off Pic 9 .Depending how thick

your speaker cable it’s advisable to put some silicon sealant

around the cable inside and outside the cable and also around the

outside of the grommet. You just need to let the sealant cure before

closing your door. The cable on fuse box side can be run under the

fuse box and around the back. Now re fit the panels removed in this

order, 3, 1, and 2. the end result looks like Pic 9.

Thanks to Ashes for original write up and pictures

6 7

8

9

How to prepare for the Show and Shine competition.

In this competition we are not looking for cars to be in Concours condition as none of us have the money

to be that extreme, however, we are looking for the car to be as clean as possible.

There are 4 Main Areas that we take into consideration:

1. Bodywork and Glass

2. Interior.

3. Wheels

4. Engine Bay

1. Bodywork and Glass Make sure that you get the car washed using plenty of shampoo and a hosepipe.

I use a wash mitt that is kept only for the bodywork. Rinse of loose debris with a hosepipe set on spray,

then with a wash mitt in a bucket of warm water with lots of shampoo in it go over the entire car using

circular movements to remove any muck that the hose didn't get rid of. Rinse the mitt out thoroughly and

regularly to avoid it picking up any grit etc. make sure you get into all the areas that a carwash would

miss (door shuts, inside the fuel filler flap, into the cut outs in both bumpers etc).Rinse the car off again

using the hose. Now dry the car, using a drying towel (water-magnet or microfibre). The next stage will

depend on the condition of your paintwork. If you have beautiful, smooth paint you may not need this

stage. If the paint has a rough feel when you run the back of your hand over it, you may need to clay bar

or compound it. This will remove any tar spots, ingrained bird droppings, or swirls from poor cleaning.

Use plenty of water if you do either of these as you may damage the paint if you allow it to dry out. Make

sure to have plenty of clean microfibre cloths available during this stage. Now your paint should be

1. Bodywork and Glass ( Continued))

Make sure that you get the car washed using plenty of shampoo and a hosepipe. Use plenty of water

if you do either of these as you may damage the paint if you allow it to dry out. Make sure to have

plenty of clean microfibre cloths available during this stage. Now your paint should be beautifully

clean and smooth to the touch. It’s now time to seal the paint with a coat of Polish. Use a good

quality polish, something like meguiars, autoglym or dodo juice products. Use an applicator pad to

apply the polish, so you can identify any rough areas that may need further compounding. Do 1

panel at a time using small circular movements. Once the panel has been covered, get a clean

microfibre cloth and buff the panel to a deep, smear free shine. Do this over the whole car. Next

repeat the above stage using a clean applicator pad and microfibre, but using a High quality

Carnauba based wax. I use Meguiars Gold Class paste wax or Dodo juice hard waxes. Using a

proprietary glass cleaner and yet more clean microfibre cloths, give all of the glass a thorough clean

inside and out. The outside of your car should now look stunning.

2 Interior. Get yourself a hand full of clean, dry cloths, a vacuum cleaner, and some furniture polish.

The glass should already have been done when you finished off the outside, so no its time to polish

all the interior plastics inside the cabin and boot area. The choice of polish is yours depending on

whether you like a matt or shiny finish. I prefer matt. clean the dashboard, the clocks, switches,

steering wheel, gear knob etc along with door cards (front/rear and all boot panels till you are happy

they are as clean as possible, next fire up the vac and using a brush attachment clean off the

headlining, sun visors and parcel shelf before heading down and making sure the carpet and any mats

fitted are spotless too. Interior is now done.

3 Wheels. Remove each of the road wheels and spray them inside and out with a wheel cleaner. This

will soften any ingrained brake dust, Put the wheel to one side to allow it to soak. Using plenty of

water (jet wash if needed) give the inside of the wheel arch a good clean. Make sure any build ups of

mud etc are removed from the rolled lip of the arch. Once the brakes, arch liner and strut are clean,

you can if you wish, polish the plastics and freshen things up with an aerosol of underseal.

Back to the wheel; use a microfibre mitt with plenty of soapy water to clean the inside and outside of

each wheel to remove all old brake dust and road grime. Make sure the wheel is completely dry and

give it a coat of polish/wax to make sure the lacquer has a bit of protection and also a little bit of a

shine. Put the wheel back onto the car and lower that corner back onto the ground. Dress the tyre if

you wish to.

4 Engine Bay. This is an area where there is a great deal of work to be done. This doesn't mean just

the addition of shiny bits. The main things to look out for here are clean plastics, no build up of oil

anywhere, HT leads fitted correctly and fastened to the engine. Original plastics come up amazingly

well by being polished with smooth peanut butter, rocker covers etc will clean up a treat with a bit of

wire wool, autosol and a bit of elbow grease unless they are painted / powdercoated. Make sure the

inner wings are clean and possibly polished depending on the size of your hands. A toothbrush is a

useful item to get into some of the smaller nooks and crannies if you need to.

This is not a comprehensive list of bits or methods used, but it will make your car look better and it is

a really good way to get started.

PAUL SEYMOURS OWNED FROM NEW

Paul’s Story

In 1994 I was invited to the launch of the ford probe at our local dealer, when I arrived there

was lots of drink flowing and a car was hidden under a cover, waiting to be uncovered. After a

long speech it was uncovered to reveal a stunning ford probe in Electric Currant Red. Well I fell

in love with this straight away, and said to the wife I would love one of these. And to my

surprise she only went and placed an order for one, a 16v 2lt as she had just been was made

redundant, she paid cash for it a total £18,500. When I went to collect the car and drove it back

home, everyone was looking at it and saying what a stunning looking car I had. However after

getting the car home I had a good look round it and fount some faults with the body work. So I

took it back, as the policy was if there was anything wrong with the car they would replace it

with a new one. so the manager came out to inspect it and agreed to replace it, but because I

had a put a personalised number plate on the car the transfer costs to the new car that would

be down to me, but I explained I would not need to change it if the car was in a1 condition. So

after a bit they decided they would pay the transfer fee, so we agreed and I left the dealers

very happy

.

After about a week I picked me new probe up from them and drove

it home. When I got home the wife said what's up with the

passenger door I said nothing. But when I had a look, it had a bad

scratch down it and a ding that you could not see in some light, so I

took it back again and the manager came out again. What's up?

now? Mr Seymour, I explained about the passenger door so he had

a look and said the person that cleaned it must have done it. So he said instead of changing the

car again we have still your other car here and we could take the door off

and replace it with the one of that. I replied did I buy a kit car or a new

one. They decided to change the car again. But they insisted that I would

have to pay for my number plate transfer myself this time .As my wife

worked at the local newspaper, I went and had a word with one of the

Directors about my car and the problems I was having with it, he said go

back and explain you have had a word with me and if this is not sorted he would put it in the local

paper. So they decided that as good will gesture they would pay for it for the last time, so happy

again. But over the first 2 years it broke down every 3 or 4 months,

they must have replaced 4 or 5 complete distributors over this time

until they found the fault. Yes it was the (IMMOBILISER) they said

they knew how to fix it but it could not be done through the garage

officially as their hands were tied, but they could do it through the

back door for the sum of £75 without any warranty. So I decided to

have this done as it would save me money and hopefully cure the long running immobiliser

problem,

Now the car was fantastic never let me down since. I was now a very happy chap. I have had many

years trouble free and enjoyable driving years since then, but then one day I needed a part for my

probe and could not get it as parts had been discontinued, I hen remembered knew where I had seen

lots of these car down the road, so I decided to knock on the door and ask if he knew where I could

get this part, the first thing he ask, are you in the Probe club, I replied what Probe club, so he

explained about UKPOC. Numnuts was his forum name and he was very helpful. So I went home

and joined and I have never looked back, I have met some lovely people and very helpful people.

The first time I went to the Probefest and put my car in the show I

came 2nd in the standard Probe class, and I

was beaten by Mojo. After that I decided to

personalise mine by adding some bits to it,

I have added a full stainless exhaust,

Subaru spoiler, leather seats, 17 inch chrome

wheels,Euro back lights, GT reflector, engine

bling, air filter, oil catcher tank, an American

style front number plate surround.

I can honestly say that I would never sell my Probe. Even in the early days with the initial problems

I never thought of getting rid of it, once you get in it and drive it you fall back in love with it.

The ford probe

DOES goes the distance

MUTLEY’S STORY Barcelona Bangers is not a race, but a gathering of like-minded people having a drive across Europe. So it’s worth choosing a reasonably comfortable and spacious car as you’re going to be sitting in it for 3 days, and so for us, the Probe seemed like the ideal vehicle. All we had to do was find one for less than £200, which was the maximum applied to all participating cars in 2009. Once we had sourced the car we set about making it fit for a journey that covered the length of Scotland, England and France, including some of Spain. Probe loaded including two 2 spare wheels which had been donated by a member of UKPOC. We set of from our home in Lossiemouth in Scotland and headed to Dover to catch the ferry to Calais. The rally’s official start was Friday 22nd May from the car park of the hotel Ibis, Calais, We were team number 18, (Team Pitstop). The first day’s drive was to Nantes 600 kms with a choice of routes through Normandy and Brittany or via Paris and Le Mans. It was a lovely sunny spring day so we elected to take the coastal route to Le Mont St Michel, then the direct route to Nantes. The probe completed this section of the journey without any problems so that was the first 600 kms done, with many more to follow.

Since its introduction in 1994 the Ford Probe has had many different write ups and reviews both good and bad. Over the years many thing have been said about its faults and reliability, in the following story we are going to highlight just how reliable the Probe can be, In fact we are going to tell you the story of two different Probes both of which made amazing journeys, both taking part in the Barcelona Bangers event on two different occasions while raising cash for different charities The Barcelona Bangers is an event which takes place annually. In involves buy a car for up to £200.00 Then driving it from UK, through France and ending in Spain end then returning back to the UK. The two Probes in this story are known as Mutley driven by Mike and Rita and Rusty driven by Nigel and Jackie

The second day was a drive to Toulouse, a distance of 580 kms.

There were 2 choices of route, through Bordeaux, which was

mostly motorway or via Limoges. We chose the latter and once

again a challenge was set. We were reminded that it was not a race

and the competitive element was trying to win the challenge.

We found the French roads to be well-maintained and uncrowded

this made for enjoyable driving. Our arrival in Toulouse was not

as trouble free as the rest of the day. We drove down the main

road a couple of times as we could not find our hotel. One of our

wrong turns took us into a backstreet that had us in the queue for

Saturday night recreational drugs. We managed to convince our

new friends that we were not buying and shot off, only to be driving down the ramp of an underground

car park, a quick exit and we were out of the car park and back on the hunt for the hotel, but by this

time the car was starting to cause a slight concern as we thought that the clutch was overheating. (It

turned out that it was the clutch fluid that was boiling) We were in heavy traffic, heading out of town

and knew we had to turn around. As we drove back along the way we had just come we were delighted

when a couple of fellow bangers ralliers jumped out, yes we were at the hotel and found a parking spot

almost outside.

The final day involved a 300 km scenic drive across

the snow–covered Andorra Mountains. The Probe

performed faultlessly, and the Probe was

wonderful, flying up the gradients with ease.

Later that day the probe delivered safely to

our hotel in Barcelona

Now the rally was over, we were given details of the

local scrap yard, as many entrants scrap the cars and fly home. There was no way we could have even considered scrapping our reliable pink Probe so we took a couple of weeks to drive it back to the UK (detouring even further into Spain), in time for Probefest 2009 and the rest is a well-known story. By the time we returned to the UK we had covered around 2400 trouble free kms in a £200.00 Pink Probe. Who says Probes aren’t reliable Who say Probes are not reliable, in total our trip covered 4300 miles without any major problems in a £200.00 Probe, speaks for itself if you ask me.

RUSTY’S STORY The Barcelona bangers rally is a 3 day rally starting in Calais and ending in Barcelona, in which drivers

have to complete challenges along the route, all this in a themed car worth no more than the £250.

On 31st May 2012, Jackie and I set off on our road trip, heading to Calais via the channel tunnel.

Once in Calais we made our way to the Ibis Calais Coquelles

hotel to check Rusty in for the rally. This gave us a chance to

meet some of the other drivers and check out their bangers.

There were some weird and wonderful designs there and some

teams had put a lot of thought into it.

After a chat, a laugh and some photo’s with the driver it was

off to the Black bull pub for a meal and drinks with the rest

of the drivers.

1st June - Day one of the actual Rally.

The object of this day was purely to get to Lyon, taking any route you wish. We decided to take the

motorways for this journey as a lot of the drivers did. It started off as a long convoy of bangers heading

though Calais, but soon dispersed as drivers travelled at different speed and directions, but meeting up

again at tolls and service stations. This day’s challenge was to get the best photo of a Mentos and Coke

bottle fountain. We put their bottle inside Rusty’s mouth and had the fountain squirt out. That evening

in Lyon they all met up at the Hotel Ibis Lyon centre Perrache for a chat and drinks.

2ND June - Day two,

We had to make our way to Nice via Monaco, this days challenge was to buy as many individual items

as they could for 1 euro. We chose to drive through the mountains to see the beautiful views, stopping

of in a town called Gap for refreshments, we then headed towards Monaco.

Monaco. Once in Monaco, we drove round the F1 circuit, bearing in

mind, this was one week after the Monaco Grand prix so all the signs

of the race were still present. To our amazement people wanted to

take photos of Rusty, even stopping us in the road to do so.

The challenge was to see if anyone could get a photograph of their car

outside the Monte Carlo casino.

Pulling up outside the casino, I spotted a parking space between two

supercars, so I had to do the obvious thing and park Rusty there,

no sooner had I parked when a casino concierge came running down

the stairs and asked me to move as these spaces were reversed,

but before I did, Jackie manage to get the photo. After a walk around Monaco town centre to buy

souvenirs (there is nothing in Monaco for 1 euro) we headed off to our hotel in Nice and like the

previous nights it was off to the Hotel Ibis Centre Gare for a chat and drinks.

3rd. June - Day three,

The final day of the rally, All the driver had to do today was just to get to Barcelona, the challenge was

to finish the rally in the best fancy dress costume, we opted out of this challenge as we had plans of

our own.

Jackie who suffers from gephyrophobia (fear of bridges),

promised to drive over the Millau bridge (tallest road bridge

in the world) if we reach a certain target for our chosen

charity, this we managed, so on our way to Barcelona, we

made a 140 mile diversion to Millau. About ½ a mile from

the bridge it was time for Jackie to take over and drive, she

had never driven abroad before, so her first time driving in a

foreign country she had to drive over something she feared, but for the good course of the charity and

the people that donated money, nervously, she took a deep breath and proceeded towards the

bridge, but once on the bridge she began to calm down and realised there was nothing to fear, at one

stage she had her hand out of the window as she could touch the clouds, after crossing the bridge she

pulled over and we took photos of her achievement, the best to combat your fears is to face them and

this worked for Jackie.

That evening in Barcelona to mark the end of the rally everybody met up at the George Payne bar,

this was party night, all the teams members were having a laugh talking about what they did though

out the rally, a meal was put out for us, there was Karaoke and of course there was a lot of drinking.

All the people who took part in the rally received a very nice medal for finishing.

The Probe did really well on the Rally and the trip home, visiting many famous landmarks, and doing

over 3000 miles in 11 days without missing a beat.

2014 is the 20th Anniversary of the year the probe was introduced into Great Britain.

We plan to mark this occasion by attending as many events as possible throughout the year,

but the main event of the year will be Probefest.

Only around 5 weeks to go till Probefest An extra day has been added for the anniversary year of the Probe,

Probefest starts on Thursday this year. The dates are the June 5th to 8th

If you own a Probe it’s the place to be, and the one meet not to miss this year.

We hope you can make this event, and help us mark the occasion with the biggest turn out of Probes ever. It only requires a bit of forward planning to enjoy a great weekend at Probefest

Book the time off work NOW, so you know you can make it

Cash is always an issue in the current climate with fuel cost etc.

To help with not do this why do what some of the members do, start putting any spare

change you have in a savings jar, by the time fest comes this would help cover your fuel cost,

Mutsnuts catering allows for inexpensive eating while at fest. Also if there is anything you would like to see at Probefest, or anything you think we could do better, please let us know via the Probefest topic at UKPOC

Dates for you to remember for your 2014 show season Some events are organised by other clubs, dates/venues may change - please check the forum for updates. Fiesta in the Park TBC Fins & Chrome 24 &25th May

Probefest 5th – 8th June Blackpool Ford Day 7th September Pembrey 11August - Sunday 17 August For further information on any of the above shows, please check the events forum on the main site, these and other shows and meets are listed in more detail

NEW LOOK UKPOC SHOP OPENS

The new look shop now opens, this time it includes a shopping basket, to store your purchased items and make payments easier

Annual membership

Probefest tickets

Club merchandise

Link to site will be available from main website