nelmo

I got mine from GBS.... couldn't find them anywhere else.

yup, that is still a thing in the biking world....bit surprised the AA guy didn't work that out - they've usually seen it all before...

I've seen more genuine owners immobilised by their immobilisers than would-be car thieves . Once waited for 6 hours at the top of a French mountain for a recovery truck for my mates motorbike because the stupid immobiliser wouldn't let him start the engine.

You do not need an immobiliser for IVA - steering lock is enough, so just leave it out until afterwards if it is a problem.

I have the opposite experience of wind deflectors - did very little for me. Possibly they weren't big enough (pic here: https://zerolifebuild.blogspot.com/2017/09/weve-got-bleeder.html ) but they hardly made any difference. Half hood and doors are awesome, IMO. My doors stretch all the way back to the rollbar and I have a couple of neodymium magnets to hold them against the rollbar and it works pretty well BUT then the natural airflow pushes them against the rollbar anyway, so they really just help with cross-winds. I think you'd need quite a few of them if you want to use them on a half-door and be aware they may mark the panel over time because they will move more than if you just used poppers.

Very sad - I found that forum invaluable when I was building, although I suppose that was down to Simon mostly. Considering the minimal cost of hosting a forum, I'm surprised GBS don't keep it going - it must be useful just to offer prospective customers? Yes, I know everyone uses FB but FB is rubbish for searching or putting large amounts of text, which you need when building your kit.

If you won the lottery, you'd buy several cars to cover different categories (can't take a Lambo off-road, for example). If we limit it to just 1 car, BMW M5 estate (or 550i if they don't do a M-series estate) - fast enough to beat most cars and space to take a wardrobe to the tip. Or maybe Porsche Cayenne for same reasons.

Do you know what is meant by 'early' - bought mine from GBS in 2015...

So how long can I expect my powder coated chassis to stay rust-free? I've read a few stories of people having to basically rebuild their cars because the powder coating started to flake off and rust set in. Is there anything I can do now to prolong its life?

Can you get heated bucket seats? You need some padding and a cover for heating pads to work against, otherwise you'd be sitting directly on a heating element, no?

Were there any pictures I could use in the next mag?

Probably the biggest problem with sat-navs is that you don't need to know the name/number of the roads you're on - I was on several great roads through Wales last August but I have no idea which they were. There's a video at the end of this blog page - from about 5 minutes in is the summary of a 45 minute hoon through the Brecon Beacons, chasing a mate in his supercharged Elise...my personal best so far... So, lots of Wales...

ME190? That's a Messerschmit, isn't it? Oh no, ME109...darn, a good joke ruined...

If you have to worry about the weather, road trips are always going to be tricky. You know what this country is like - it's possible to get 4 seasons in one day and the weather forecasts are dodgy anything more than a day or 2 in advance. Sort out decent wet weather gear, assume the worst and just set off... I saw a beautiful kit on FB and the guy said he'd done 16 (sixteen) miles in the last year!! I just cannot see the point of that....

Some stuff in my blog may help: https://zerolifebuild.blogspot.com/search/label/Wipers