nelmo

16 hours ago, Baba said:

I am dreading it now mate. Maybe I've made a horrible mistake

Sorry, I didn't mean to panic you... 

Are you planning on doing any of the work yourself? Labour is the most expensive part of any work - I spent around 200 hours building my car and many more since I finished it, on repairs and upgrades. And I'm afraid to say, the last push to IVA was the most labour-intensive, getting all the little details done (look at my blog for examples - link in the sig below).

So if you can do the work yourself, it will be MUCH cheaper and easier. If you find a pro, he'll charge, what, £50-£100 per hour? Quite rightly as it is his day job but it's expensive for you.

I hid the post so no-one clicks on the dodgy link....

On 6/15/2022 at 2:29 PM, steve1506 said:

As suggested by Chris, I sent an email at the end of May to DVLA requesting  a VIN and I have received a formal reply with various forms and the allocated VIN number today. Not bad just on 2 weeks. Now that I have this I have a number of questions which I hope some one can help with

- DVLA request that the dealer or local garage confirm and sign a declaration which is part of the letter I received that  the VIN is correctly stamped  or embossed in the chassis, is this something to worry about or is it checked as part of the IVA inspection and signed by the inspector.

- As for the VIN marking how is the best way to do this, do you stamp an area on a stainless chassis tube or is there another way that might be easier as I am not sure how easy it is to stamp a stainless steel tube or  what are  the best stamps to use.

 

Steve D 

Don't worry about that first point - it gets checked at IVA.

For the plate itself, get the VIN engraved onto a metal plate (I literally took the metal piece to a key cutting shop) and then weld it on to the chassis somewhere visible/accessible. Mine was welded to the rail that the bonnet sits on (GBS leave a gap in the side panel especially for this), so very easy to see.

(I would like to point out that I don't weld - a kind member (thanks Bob) did it for me ).

You can't add a location unless you're a paid-up member... 

Ah, those 'it only needs a few tweaks to get it through IVA' adverts - I really hope that is right but if it was that easy, why didn't the original guy do it and then sell the car for much more?

I have a 2L engine which was a new crate engine when the car was registered in 2017. On my V5, the CO2 field is blank. On the 2 MOTs I've done so far, both testers just did a smoke test. One guy was just lazy and the other couldn't get the sensor far enough up the exhaust to get a reading.

In theory, emissions tests are done on the year of the plate, not the year it was registered; the car may be registered in 2016 but may have an age-related plate, in which case it should be tested against the emission standards of that year. 

I doubt there will be any difference between a 1.6 and a 2L.

I saw that car in someone else's pic - £34k !! I was at a show on Sunday where I told a newbie that GBS were cheaper than Caterham - not so sure now...

Be thankful, you hardly get anything in the newer kits - I'd hate to list the number I bought during my build, I was always complaining of not having the right nuts and bolts...

Sounds like a trip - I have never worked with carbs and you have ensured I never will   - fuel injection is the future. Actually, sadly, even that is going - amps and volts are next...

I've just got back from a week-long trip to the Scottish borders - details in my blog:

https://zerolifebuild.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-middle-earth-tour.html

I would get him to put it through an MOT - that way you have some check on it's condition and you can then go up there and drive it back.

With the price of petrol, £350 to get it trailered down is a good price 

No rubber in mine, if that helps? Mine was bought from GBS so no idea what its from (Cortina?).

Weird - works for me (obviously)...maybe try on a normal PC rather than a phone?

Is that an iPhone? They are sometimes a bit hyper-protective over what you can click on...

I didn't use a water rail but several pages in my blog may help. 

This one in particular has a diagram that may be useful:

https://zerolifebuild.blogspot.com/2016/04/28.html

Well done...

Fun, innit? 

I do wonder sometimes what has happened to people on other forums for them to ask us to be nice. We're always nice... 

For my flash button, I just bought a non-latching switch and wired it into the same circuit as the main beam switch. It did help that I made my own dash wiring harness so I knew where the wires all went - that's always the hard part of any electrical work. 

Without knowing your wiring schematic, it's difficult to be any more use. 

Best bet is to email the DVLA and ask them. It may also have it in the IVA manual (available to download online)?

GBS also seem to be the best prepared for a Mazda donor - I believe they have special chassis mods to allow the Mazda engine to fit better, for example.

There are probably 4 main kit makers; Caterham (although they don't like being called kits and they come half-built anyway), Westfield, GBS and Tiger. There are numerous other smaller makers (MNR, Exocet, MEV etc).

Do a search on here - pretty sure the question of 'which kit?' has come up numerous times.

Yeah, you can say that again - at Stoneleigh, GBS were advertising a new Duratec engine on their stand for £3k, which didn't sound too bad until you realised it didn't include the £1200 TBs, the £1200 gearbox, the £500 sump, the £800 ECU, the alternator, water rail etc, etc.

I think they quote around £23k (or is it £28k?) for their Ultimate build which is all new parts? Probably cheaper than Westfield but not by much...

Sadly, you have missed the days of those surplus new Zetec's that Ford had and were selling off cheap (I paid £900 for mine).

Urgh, it wasn't the bung, it was the whole rad - it sits a couple of inches forward of the old one, so no space in the nose.

Judicious use of a hammer, Clarkson-style, has allowed me to move the whole thing back and I think it's sorted now... 

I'll update my blog (link below) when It's finished, should you be interested.

Older cars do get corroded but no idea if that is for the reason you say - I would have thought powder coating would be good enough as there is no metal-metal contact, no? 

My car is 5 years old now and the powder coat all looks good and I assume the steel underneath is OK. 

You need to consider what you want the car for - exocets are much less practical than a normal 7 and are more of a day out fun car whereas a Zero or similar can have doors and roof so can be used for longer trips etc. 

If you're worried about the corrosion thing, look at a Tiger - very similar to the Zero but has GRP bodywork. 

Anyone fitted a coolex radiator to a Zero? 

My original GBS-sourced rad got a leak, so I bought a coolex. Fitted today, all seems fine although it does sit about an inch further forward because the bracket flanges are on the engine side, unlike the previous one. 

Tried to fit the nose on but thunk - it's catching on something. I think it's the drain plug underneath which the GBS rad doesn't have. 

Just wondering if anyone else had this and how they resolved it. Only thing I can think to do is cut a hole in the nose for the plug to go into (the hole will be behind the number plate, so not visible from the front). 

Any other ideas? 

I don't recall, it was 5 years ago...but I'm sure that will work...if not, it will reply back with the right one.

I don't think you need any details - I just emailed them to ask what the process was and the next thing I know, they've sent me a VIN number!! I didn't even ask for it...

If you're happy to get to Tamworth, our own club member, Rich, is your man. Runs his own garage (GBC) and has personally fixed my car a couple of times.

You can message him on here @richyb66 or email him: richyb66@yahoo.com

Highly recommended...

Jees, sounds horrendous . 

Never used a grinder in my life, hope I never have to...