Well it's been an emotional day, on the way back from a job interview this morning I noticed an unfamiliar sound so I checked the oil and it was 350-400ml low, not a fat lot I know but it has been low on other occasions before. I did whip the rocker off and check none of the lifters had collapsed etc but from the sound, I'm confident it's the bottom end bearings, so the car is now not being run again. I will investigate the problem and repair the engine once my new engine is in & running as I ALWAYS want this engine in my posession as a spare as it has been purely epic.
This engine held up well considering I got it on 80,000 miles, put a further 20,000+ miles on it, over the course of 2.5 years, it spent most of it's time on the limiter, weather on the road or on the track as I bet the thing has done nearly 20 track days!
I'm just glad I've got this new engine to look forward to, otherwise I'd be scrapping the Almera and quitting the whole scene.
Bring on the new motor now !!