Landie71

..... You've not met them yet!! Sorry seriously the youngest is only 2 & off to bed anytime & mrs not back - hope you have/had a good evening Marcus

I'll try, my mrs might not be back until later on (got kids so better not leave them!) - If she's back in time, I'll pop in for a swift half Cheers M

I've got most of the body panels on, suspension & brakes are all but finished & I'm working on electrics at the mo (my favourite bit if I'm honest!), dash is done too. I've got it up on a couple of workmates at the moment as I'm planning on putting the engine & gearbox in last so it helps my slightly clanky old back, not working too low all the time. The build itself is going ok, my problem is getting the time to do it - three kids & a business to run seams to sap most of my time. Just recently though, I'm getting the odd hour here and there & after finding this club, I'm a bit more motivated to push the car build up the priority list. Thanks for the offer of getting together Mower Man, it'd be good to meet up sometime. I'll send you a PM if that's ok? Cheers Marcus

I really want to get my Zero finished now!!

Can only help on question 1, but just had a quick look at the tank on my Zero - the return pipe at the top of the tank just goes to the top, there's nothing on the inside of the tank taking the 'return' to the bottom of the tank. The IVA manual states the tank has to be vented to prevent vapours building up & I'm sure I've read somewhere that the fuel filler can be the 'vent' if there isn't another one - think most filler caps vent, but don't quote me on that! Cheers Marcus

Mine's still being built - if you can give me an idea of what to look for & where I'll try & have a look this weekend if that helps?

There's quite a bit more to this than I thought - thanks to all that's replied - think maybe an old coat might be as easy (& maybe a big work-light!)

Thanks Al - I'm actually using the MK2 housings from CBS, they just don't quite fit the profile of the GBS arches, hence I was looking at having to fill a possible gap at the top. There's a few mm I can take off the bottom, but it's not going to be enough to make the lights at right-angles to the road, but as KT's helpfully pointed out they don't need to so I'm going to re-visit trimming the bottom of the pods rather than filling the top so the sit nearer to right angles to the road. Cheer Marcus

I guess if you can't track one down, maybe you could 'adapt' one of these to the right length - need to check the diameter, but I don't think they'd be far off: http://www.wickes.co.uk/coupler-20mm-pk4/invt/712966/

Got a Td5 Disco II Auto 7-seat ES with 112000 on the clock - had it for nearly four years now & it's been very reliable. I've put General Grabber AT2 tyres on it - they really came into their own when the snow came down a couple of years ago & they're no more noisey than standard road tyres used every day. We've got three kids (& a dog which goes in a dog box in the boot) & they all have a proper 3-point seat belt in the back - the youngest has a full baby seat (she's 2) & the boys (8&9) have booster seats and they all fit in just fine. The seats in the boot a good for kids to use (with boosters ifneeded) & have 3-point seat belts, but there's not really enought leg room for an adult to use as there's no foot well as it's the flat boot floor. I've had it serviced regulaly, I changed the rear air spings when I got it (had a Range Rover before that popped one & caused the compressor to burn out) so for the price & peace of mind thought it worth it. Its stood up to the kids over the years well & with a good valet comes up like new. You might guess I'm a bit of a Land Rover fan, but this isn't a rose-tinted view of the Disco II - honest! Marcus

Pleasure - might be a bit late in the day, but finally got in front of a PC & hopefully attached a couple of piccys - one is the plastc ring taken on the bench (on its side, steering wheel would go on the left hand side) & the other is the ring on the column - I've not put the seering wheel on yet. Cheers Marcus

Not sure from the piccys, but it looks like you're missing the plastic ring that 'self-cancels' the indicators. It's about 20mm long with a bit that stick out into the steering wheel. I'll upload a piccy when I get near a pc Cheers Marcus

that's a thought - probably won't be too much of a problem anyway, if it's anything like the progress so far, I'll get the building bug, do a few hours over a couple of weeks & then other stuff'll take over for a few months & hay-presto it'll be spring again

Just tried & a 22mm socket goes on the one on mine - its a sierra column from a GBS donor pack if that helps?

Nah mate - looking forward to the day the cobbles get tarmac'ed over though!

Hmm - more to this than I thought, but thanks for the info. Maybe a long sleeve shirt & a cup of coffee might be safer!

Thanks for that - probably easier to put up too. I guess tacking it above the door & then rolling it around a pole would make it easy to roll up put of the way. Might call round to our local Wickes tomorrow & pick a roll up - at that price it's worth a go. Cheers Marcus

Now it's getting a bit cooler, I've been thinking about insulation the garage doors so I might go out in an evening a bit more. I'm thinking of putting polystyrene sheets on the inside of the doors (up & over metal ones). Has anyone else done anything like this & is it worth it? Cheers M

I'm going to re-use the rear wiper part of the switch on the column as naturally there's no rear wiper. I'm trying to avoid having any switches on the dash so I'll cover over the wiper picture (maybe spray it over) & put a fog light symbol on it. As for the wiring, I'll need an extra relay, which'll have the coil powered from the 'rear wiper come fog light switch' & the switch contacts fed from the headlights so it'll need the headlights switched on & the 'rear wiper come fog light' switch on for the fog light to come on. I've checked it out with a meter & the switch looks like it'll do the business, but only time (& probably a few blown fuses) will tell!

Thanks KT - very interesting - I'm planning on putting the fog light on the back of the body, opposite side to the fuel filler to 'balance the look out' so it'll be at least 100mm from the brake light (checked that in the IVA manual). Getting that at 90 to the road souldn't be too difficult, but if I'm reading what you've put right, the other rear lights don't need to be at 90 degrees to the road, just visible (which they will be) so maybe I don't need to fill in such a bit gap after all. I've got one of the very earliest zero's with one of their original looms, but I'm ok with 'lectrics (probably just jinxed it now). I'm putting a mk3 Fiesta indicaotor column switch on (the sierras one in the donor pack I got didn't work & I had a spare one in the garage with a column couling) so there's a few little changes to make anyway, but hopefully it'll look ok when it's done. Might take another run over to GBS, think they're used to me doing a bit, getting a load of questions, popping in for inspiration, then leaving it for months on end while other stuff seems to take priority & eventually the urge to garage tinker wells up inside again & I dust off the kit again Thanks again M

Hi all, new to the group & putting a zero together (very slowly). Been in the garage this afternoon to try & make a start on fitting the rear lights - I'm putting LED lights on & I've got a couple of pods from SVC to put them in. The problem is the curve of the wheel arch isn't the same as the pods so there's a gap of about an inch at the top. I'm thinking of using either fibreglass or metal mesh with body filler over the top to make up the gap. Does anyone know if I'll have any problems with an IVA inspector if I ever get that far? Thanks in advance Marcus

Cheers - I'll do my best to make it

Hi all - just joined the club as I'm part way through putting a Zero together, not sure if I'm going to be free on the 3rd yet, but if I am can I just turn up & say hello? Cheers Marcus