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Vehicle Maintenance and Safety Tips for Winter
Below are the Harper Sports Cars safety suggestions for preparing your vehicle for Winter, and the cold and rainy roads that follow.
Vehicle maintenance and safety tips for Winter
- Battery – In cold weather, your battery is less effective and will struggle to supply your cranking amps. Older batteries will show signs of stress on cold mornings, in some cases cranking the engine too slowly to start.
- Wipers – Windscreen wipers become hard and cracked over time, so remember to have your wipers checked and changed if they don’t clear the water from your windscreen effectively. They should be quiet and leave no streaks.
- Your tires are your only connection to the road surface, and the tread is designed to clear away standing water effectively. Inspect your tires carefully, if the wear beads are level with the tread surface, it’s wise to have the tires changed. call us if you don’t how to spot the wear beads- we can help you!
- Winter in Cape Town is not cold enough to require antifreeze, but antifreeze also provides corrosion resistance, preventing your precious engine from rusting away on the inside. Always use the recommended antifreeze in your car.
- Brakes are considered “life and Limb” parts- critical to your safety. If you hear an annoying squeaking sound, or worse, a deep grinding sound when you press the brake pedal, have them seen to immediately by a qualified professional. If the brake pedal changes it’s feel at any time, stop driving if possible.
- Your thermostat is extremely important and if your temperature gauge deviates from where you expect it to be, have your cooling system checked out immediately- it might save your engine from destruction. Thermostats are generally inexpensive so don’t scrimp here! The gauge should sit approximately in the middle of the gauge.
- Spark plugs are the way the air/fuel mixture is ignited in your cylinders. Over time they become contaminated with combustion by products and they begin to misfire, leading to a loss of engine power and rough running/heavy fuel consumption. They are generally inexpensive and an easy fix.
Drive safe this Winter
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Our Custom Car Projects and Services
Harper Sports Cars offers the below Custom Car Projects and Services:
Specialised Welding and Brazing Services
At Harper Sports Cars, our team will weld Aluminium, Stainless Steel and Mild Steel. We will design and fabricate your oil catch tanks, water header tanks, boost intake pipes, turbo intake manifolds in aluminium, turbo exhaust exhaust systems in stainless and mild steel for all vehicles and boats.
Glass Fibre Repairs
team specialises in the repair and fabrication of all kinds of fibre glass and carbon fibre parts. Boat hull repairs and modifications, wheel house repairs, hull repairs, vehicle canopy repairs, vehicle spoilers, skirts and wings, we do it all in house.Engine swaps
Are you tired of your vehicle always breaking down, or is it standing without spare parts? Please ring us to discuss how we can assist you to bring your vehicle back to life. We specialise in engine and gearbox swaps for increased reliability and power upgrades. V8 twin turbo? No problem.Our guarantee to you
All our specialist work gets the same 3 Month, RMI backed warranty that our service line offers. No unqualified technicians are employed and all work is signed off for quality assurance.
Special Projects and Manufacturing
Bring us your concept, our team is able to complete the design and build it for you. From food carts, coffee carts, vehicle canopies, racing parts, spoilers etc, we can do it all. Please ring us to discuss your needs and we can explore ways to satisfy them.
Your sincerely
Craig Harper
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The History of Harper Sports Cars
In 2004, in Francistown, Botswana, the Harper Type 5 was born.
Craig Harper simply had a burning desire to create a practical road going race car – one that was equally comfortable on the street at legal speeds as it was absolutely on the limit on a race track.
Craig has worked hard to instill this passion for the automobile in to his team at Harper Sports Cars. As a team we now offer this passionate, but highly disciplined approach to the general public – for all general vehicle service and care.
Harper Sports Cars are now based in the Noordhoek Valley, 35km from the worlds most beautiful city – Cape Town. We are active in several social upliftment programs and learner-ships, offering specialised training in all areas of vehicle design and manufacture.
Harper Sports Cars are R.M.I. and M.I.B. approved.
Setting and maintaining the highest world class professional standards possible.
We would love to hear from you about your passion project and where we can help you advance or complete your special project, as well as assist you with the matter of bringing your creation to the street for your daily pleasure.
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Relocating the Steering Wheel
Relocating the Steering Wheel
Here’s the scenario: You have found your dream car, but the steering wheel is located on the wrong side, and you aren’t allowed to import/drive it in your country. Can it be swapped over and how difficult is relocating the steering wheel?
As with most things, the answer depends on the car. The most challenging item is to re-engineer the dashboard. On older cars this can be fairly simple, but on newer cars, less so, but still possible.
Swapping the steering and pedals over is generally simpler and boils down to an engineering challenge. A different steering rack will be needed and some adjustments to the vehicles internal bulkhead will need to be changed.
At Harper Sports Cars, we are specialists in this kind of demanding work. Please contact us to discuss your project – we can help you.
Craig Harper
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The Harper Sports Cars Service Promise
The Harper Sports Cars Service Promise
Motorsport Precision at Street Prices
We were forged in the furnace we call Motorsport. Here, the consequences of failure are far more serious than simply pulling to the side of the road and calling for assistance. We have developed the Harper Sports Cars Service Promise. This is an approach to every task that strives to reduce the chances of human error causing a failure for our client.
This approach to our work has become so second nature to us that we can now offer this exacting and precise attention to detail direct to you, giving you the peace of mind that when we carry out any work on your vehicle, you are getting Motorsport Quality, at competitive, street related prices.
Performance, efficiency and safety are paramount in our ethos.
Visit our Website to read more about our services.
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Advanced Driver Training with Harper Sports Cars
Advanced Driver Training with Harper Sports Cars
Benefits
When we first are taught to drive, the emphasis is on obeying the rules of the road, parking, hill starts and other fairly mundane driving duties. But what happens if the car you are driving suffers an unexpected tire failure at highway speeds, an animal runs out in front of your over confident child when they have had their license for just 3 weeks, or you hit a patch of spilled diesel, mud or ice on the road?
The advanced driver training with Harper Sports Cars offers real value by teaching you how to drive your car on the limit, when it’s sliding around and barely in control. Very few people ever are able to experience their vehicles in this situation, so when they encounter an emergency situation, they are not ready for what happens next and often freeze up or use exaggerated inputs to deal with the situation. ABS is great, but it can’t save you in every situation.
We start all our courses on gravel roads, in cars we provide and on routes that test your ability to remain in control of the vehicle while trying to cover the route as quickly as possible. It’s educational and great fun. It’s essential for newly licensed drivers, great as team building or as a fabulous gift. Should you wish to go big, we will set you up with a qualified instructor at a local race Track, taking you to the next level- flat out on dry tarmac.
Please book your driver training experience with us now! Singles and groups welcome. Pure education blended with a fun competitive approach guaranteed.
Visit our Experiences page to see more on driving experiences with Harper Sports Cars
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2018 Car Shows with Harper Sports Cars
2018 Car Shows with Harper Sports Cars
We pride ourselves in being present to all first class South African car shows. Here is our reviews of the the 2018 Car Shows with Harper Sports Cars.
The Cape Town Motor Show
Did you join us at the Cape Town Motor Show at the GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World ?
https://www.facebook.com/HarperSportsCars/videos/10155082228910706/
The Knysna Motor Show
On the 29th of April 2018, we attended the – Knysna Motor Show !!
The Simola Hill Climb
The Knysna Speed Festival ran on the 3rd to 6th of May 2018 as the #JaguarSimolaHillclimb !!
Read more about our Driving Experiences
