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Mine is a little different, the quarter trim panels are the same but the rear trim panel is slotted onto brackets at the top and bottom attached to a metal plate shielding the fuel tank. Once the trim is removed, at the top of the metal plate there are 4 slotted screws and one bolt (which has a thick spacer behind) to be removed and 2 screws with upholstery washers which go through the carpet at the bottom. When this plate is removed the fuel tank is exposed as well as the solenoid release for cover unlocking. Whilst the tank was exposed I found that the flange bolts for tank sender etc. required nipping up too, hopefully this will cure the slight whiff of fuel I have been smelling.

Included in the hood operating instructions there is reference to the electric side windows which states that they will automatically lower when the hood is operated, possibly more switches there then!

A small addition, I have been having trouble both raising and lowering the hood which seems to be worse in hot weather, also the emergency release Bowden cable was broken so I set about removing the panels in the boot and at the front of the fuel tank.
On removing the broken Bowden cable I noticed that the hydraulic reservoir seemed to be full to the brim, the hood was in the lowered position, I removed the filling plug and a gush of hydraulic fluid escaped from the filling hole. As there has never been any leaks from the rams etc in my ownership I have never added any fluid so I assume that the tank was filled with the hood closed which has prevented smooth operation as there was not enough space for returning oil during the cycle to go into the tank when opening and therefore stopping the hood operation.
After the removal of a little more oil and an air gap at the top of the tank the hood is now operating.

I hope this finding is of some use to other owners.

Eventually I fitted 225/55R16's all round all with the same tread pattern and have been using the car quite a bit during the good weather. I am very happy with the handling and looks, although initially I thought it may be necessary to tweak the adjustable shock absorbers for ride height but this has not been necessary. One of the original front wheels is now a spare as that is the only size that fits the storage space.

Now scratching my head over the hood!!

Thank you for the information which is much appreciated.

After running the numbers in the Tyre Comparison website there seems to be less than 1% difference in circumference between front and rear and 6 revolutions difference per mile, I don't know how sophisticated the ABS system is - I would think that this small amount would not be a problem.

I will certainly have a look at the tyres this weekend.

I have spent hours trying to find matching tyres front and rear, not being happy purchasing mixed tread patterns, I stumbled upon this web site:-  https://tiresize.com/comparison/



My Proxes tyres are very old and now lacking grip although they still have masses of tread. Falken ZE310 Ecorun manufactures 225 and 235/60 R16 W rated which according to the tyre size comparison site makes a difference in speedo reading of 2mph at 30mph and 5mph at 70mph which I can live with on the Isle of Man as there is no speed limit on our derestricted roads. I have used Falken in the past on an Esprit V8 and been totally happy.

Can anyone see any pitfalls in this suggestion? Any comments would be appreciated before I contact Blackcircle online.

Thank you - Richard