Newbie Questions On Gbs Zero

[Guest davidm]

I must be missing something here regarding the refurbed Mazda parts.

Working with a budget of £1K, GBS source the car for £850. That leaves them with £150.

For that, they’re going to remove all the parts that are needed, clean, & totally refurb them – and all in a single day at that? We’re talking engine, gearbox, diff, drive shafts, front hubs etc etc

It’s impressive if they do. It costs £180 for a pair of refurbed Ford front hubs alone, and that’s the exchange price as I recall. I rather suspect a breakdown in communication somewhere!

Yes, there are references to ‘Mazda donor parts’ on the GBS website, but no mention of refurbing anywhere that I could see. There aren’t any Mazda refurbed parts on the Kitspares website, either.

But... if everything is simply being removed from the donor and loaded onto a pallet ‘as is’, that would make sense both pricewise and timewise. I don’t see a mention of the £1K cost being included as part of the kit price, though.

As regards the Ford crate engines. Were they actually built 10+ years ago & then stored, or were the components produced then and the whole thing only recently assembled? Can’t say I know, but to me the latter makes more sense. In which case you’re not really talking about an engine that’s been lying around for donkey’s years.

[Guest davidm]

I like my heater (from T7 Designs). Belts out a huge amount of heat!

[Guest alfaGTA]

Don't loose sight of the benefits though... you can't do this in a tin-top

 

 

Soon to be repeated Richard! Also a bite of reality, these cars are for enjoying-some enjoy building and some enjoy driving. In Scotland we had a mix of cars with various engines and various drivers, everyone enjoyed the tour.

[Guest Chappie]

Working with a budget of £1K, GBS source the car for £850. That leaves them with £150.

For that, they’re going to remove all the parts that are needed, clean, & totally refurb them – and all in a single day at that? We’re talking engine, gearbox, diff, drive shafts, front hubs etc etc

 

Just to confirm what happened for me. I asked GBS to source a certain model of car, they did and I paid them what they paid for it. I then paid for 8 hours labour to strip all the required parts from it. I then also paid a bit more to swap the propshaft, driveshafts and steering column switchgear for modified and reconditioned units ready for the Zero. Nothing else was reconditioned, just given to me in boxes. So far, doing the reconditioning myself has been quite a lot of fun, although it is time consuming, but then, what isn't?

Edited March 21, 2015 by Chappie

[nelmo]

[quote name=

Chappie' timestamp=1426929306' post='329488]

Just to confirm what happened for me. I asked GBS to source a certain model of car, they did and I paid them what they paid for it. I then paid for 8 hours labour to strip all the required parts from it. I then also paid a bit more to swap the propshaft, driveshafts and steering column switchgear for modified and reconditioned units ready for the Zero. Nothing else was reconditioned, just given to me in boxes. So far, doing the reconditioning myself has been quite a lot of fun, although it is time consuming, but then, what isn't?

 

Hmmm, thats interesting - I was told any modifications were included in the cost and all parts given to me would be refurbed first. This is the problem with talking to a salesman rather than the people actually doing the work.

[Guest alfaGTA]

What's the craic with the mazda diff and altering drive shaft length to make them fit? Also what way is the mazda diff mounted to the chassis?

 

For what it's worth I bought a 1.8 mk1 mx5 with nearly a full years mot for £850, it's an s special so comes with a LSD amongst other nice bits.

[Guest davidm]

As I recall, what you didn’t want to have to do was strip the donor yourself. But... if the parts are all off & in boxes, surely that’s the major problem out of the way? And you may find that a lot of the refurbing easier than you think, whether you go the Mazda or Ford route.

Cleaning. Paraffin and/or Gunk to get rid of the oil. De-rusting. Forget the wire brush. Electrolysis is effortless & virtually free. Having someone sandblast everything is also effortless (though there will obviously be a cost)

Now you have all your donor stuff clean and shiny, what’s then actually involved in the refurb? Engine aside, you’re looking at new oil, seals, bearings, gaskets... that sort of thing. All relatively cheap, and for the most part, maybe quite straightforward to do using just basic tools. Best to ask someone who’s already done it on the components you’ll be using.

[Guest ali2992]

you have to pay for them to shorten the driveshafts

[speedtripledan]

Be much more simple to deal with roadrunner no smoke and mirrors

[Tazzzzman1]

Great minds think alike Dan...

[nelmo]

I contacted Roadrunner but the problem is they do not do a wider body. I only just fit in the Zero GT chassis and the wider bodied Tiger...

 

Darn these big bones

[Shaft]

Nelmo, Stoneleigh is only round the corner mate, it's be tempted to hold off and wait until then when you can see and try for fit a multitude of kits all under one roof.

[nelmo]

Nelmo, Stoneleigh is only round the corner mate, it's be tempted to hold off and wait until then when you can see and try for fit a multitude of kits all under one roof.

 

I know, I know, you're right.....very sensible.....but 6 or 7 weeks!? Seems like forever....

Edited March 22, 2015 by nelmo

[theduck]

You really need to try an MNR and a Roadrunner.

[Guest davidm]

I’m only average height & build, but never felt comfortable in any standard size chassis. Felt as though I was wearing the car rather than sitting in it – wedged in between the transmission tunnel and the side of the car. All a bit claustraphobic, and the driving position didn’t feel right either.

The wider chassis helped a bit, but not with the driving position - that still felt wrong. I decided I’d just have to put up with it.

Wasn’t overly-fond of the GBS seats, so bought a pair of Recaros from Ebay (I believe they were the same as those used on the old 2b) What a difference!! Because they were higher, it no longer felt like I was sitting on the floor, didn’t feel the least bit cramped & the driving position was spot on.