Looking good....possibly too late now but I would recommend leaving the sides off as long as possible. Do all the engine bay stuff first and leave suspension to last - so much more access with the sides off.

9 hours ago, nelmo said:

Looking good....possibly too late now but I would recommend leaving the sides off as long as possible. Do all the engine bay stuff first and leave suspension to last - so much more access with the sides off.

Thanks Nelmo, I might have missed that boat!  But a good suggestion nonetheless.

Slow and somewhat frustrating morning today, but I have made some progress and a few mistakes along the way..

I put in the tunnel panels along the near side to allow me to properly clip in the brake lines and the electrical harness.   Having inspected the harness I have found that many of the labels have given up over the years, but it mostly falls in to place, so should be able to work it out as I go.

Passenger foot well panels:

Rear NS Tunnel panels and first mistake - I made a pattern to locate the diff bolt, but was nowhere near when I got the panel in.   Made a bit of a mess, but at least it will be hidden by the carpet!

I then put the battery tray panel in which needed a bit of a trim.   Faffed around with the pedal box, which I have struggled with.   It was badly laser cut and/or bent and the through bolt for the accelerator is well out - I probably need to patch this and rivet in a new square of stainless.

Crap picture, but wish they hadn't tried to laser cut this hole out!

Giving up on the pedal box for the time being, I decided to fit the firewall.    This took some modification to widen out the cutout around the clutch master cylinder and brake lines (by about 5/8" to the off side.   Some nasty sharp edges, so I have put some edging strip around this to save the brake lines - hopefully I have not cracked any during the 10 plus fitting attempts.

Looking at Richard Lincolns build - Richard's GBS Zero: Battery tray panel & Firewall, I've probably missed a trick by not cutting out a removable section of the battery shelf to give better access to the tunnel.   In his design the whole scuttle is removable in one section if needed.    I'm thinking about whether to go back and redo these steps!

 

 

 

Anyone know what these parts are for?   

 

My best guess was closing up around the steering column, but can't see they would offer much improvement.

Unravelling the Loom:

 

My car and loom date back to 2007/8, so this is one of the earlier Gen 1 Zeroes.   The loom is fitted with a six way fuse box and 3 relays and bears little resemblance to the current  Gen 2 loom, with 16 way fuse box and 6 relays.     

There's a really good thread in this forum from 2010, containing a great post from Shaft (Nick) that provides a full run down and colour codes, functions for a slightly later 9 fuse version - the colour codes in this seem a good match.

 

It was loose fitted in place when I purchased the car and, over the rears many of the labels and IDs have fallen off and it's looking a bit tired.   However, it does have all of the right tails and, rather than drop another £ 564 for a new shiny factory loom, I am going to spend a few days working it all out and building a proper fuse board.   At least I should end up with a better understanding and will be able to fully own any issues that result

Full disclaimer - I have no previous experience or auto wiring and will be doing most of my research online.  

Okay main loom mapped out and relabelled.  Colours were in line with Shaft (Nick's) post, other than the NS and OS indicators were reversed (Near Side - Green/Red and Off Side - Black/Green).

Working back from front end of the loom:

 

Rear End (working back from fuse box):

 

Logically it helps me to think of the two main halves of the loom and I think I may split it  into two connector blocks at the fuse box, though obviously indicators and side lights circuits will be joined.

I am also need to wire to Ignition, Aux/Column Switches, Battery, Gauges, Lower Panel switches and Engine Mgt at the fuse box - quick brain dump and I think I will need six molex/spade connector blocks (just need to count up pin requirements):

I have got the Emerald ECU and Zetec harness from GBS, so I think this replaces the engine connectors in the front loom.  I have also got the GBS gauges and harness inbound.  These will need changed connectors to the fuse board

I will try and keep the same basic fuse and relay layout as the current Gen 2 wiring, but will probably want to add a few bits (heater fan, USB charger ..)

 

Starter and Alternator wiring looked a bit dubious to me.   The starter has 4 brown wires, probably just under 4mm squared each.   Two will go to the battery and two go to the alternator.   This is probably more than adequate for charging, but looks very light for the start current and looks like max ampage is rated for 40-50A at 12V.

The battery will be central so quite a short run.   Interested in what other people are using, but does 16mm2 sufficient?

 

Starter motor normally only runs for a few seconds so the cable does not have time to heat up very far.

Also starter cable normally runs in free air and not part of a bundle so has better cooling.

So 16mm2 on the light side but not too excessive. I would be more worried as to how good the crimp was at the end as this is most probable failure point.

Do not forget that starter current has to get back to the battery and ideally needs its own earth return of the same size I always wire a starter mounting bolt to battery -ve cable to save problems.

30 minutes ago, IanS said:

Starter motor normally only runs for a few seconds so the cable does not have time to heat up very far.

Also starter cable normally runs in free air and not part of a bundle so has better cooling.

So 16mm2 on the light side but not too excessive. I would be more worried as to how good the crimp was at the end as this is most probable failure point.

Do not forget that starter current has to get back to the battery and ideally needs its own earth return of the same size I always wire a starter mounting bolt to battery -ve cable to save problems.

Thanks Ian - very good points, especially on earthing - I've got some copper lugs that will nicely crimp up, but will double check these are solid.   25mm would be the next step, but given the runs are so short hoping I can get away with 16mm and this should definitely be better than the 7-8mm currently wired!

Slightly confused by these external quadrant panels, in that they don't line up as expected and will overlap the side panels on both sides.   In the newer zeroes this panel is incorporated in the rear tub.   Trying to find some inspiration in older build threads...

 

 

 

I'm thinking these should probably go on after the rear tub, so that the overlap is front over rear, though I know most of this will be hidden by the rear arches.

Yep, this looks about right - picture from Richard Lincoln's build blog:

 

Overlaps are as expected.  Hope mine looks as good, when all the wrap is off and these are polished up!

Short weekend after taking my lad to uni yesterday - hopefully, looking forward to doing this run in the Zero next year.

Managed to get the radiator brackets fixed - just waiting for some 35mm flanged dome heads to tighten it all up properly.   Radiator mounts up fine, but not sure how to mount the fan, probably need some spacers to pack this out.  I will trawl though some older build threads for inspiration.

Also started to form and dry fit the scuttle - trying to do it on the car is probably not the best method, but I wanted to see how it would all fit in.   The firewall and dashboard support are new aluminium parts, but the scuttle itself is stainless steel,  and probably original from 2007-8 - this is not pre drilled and does not have tabs at the sides.   It was quite tough to bend the right angle folds at the base and I resorted to rubber mallet.

The panels are nicked front and back, though leaves some room for interpretation:

 One bent the edges slid in quite neatly under the ends of the firewall

 

All locked up now for the day and hoping that the tent survives storm Amy

Schoolboy error - seem to be making a few of these!  Looks like the radiator brackets are mounted the wrong way around and should be on opposite sides inside the frame, ears out:

Not a big problem as I needed to replace the bolts anyway, but feeling silly to miss this!

Also realised that fan mounting is pretty simple - just need a little ally strip to bend some backets back to the main bolts

Edited September 15, 2025Sep 15 by Jake Gully
omission

In my experience the correct way of fitting something is always obvious ................ shortly after you've fitted it the wrong way 🤪

Just tried to refit and looks like I was right the first time, odd!