nelmo

Doesn't sound right but I'm no expert. Is that the HC-Cargo alternator or the Denso? GBS don't supply the HC-Cargo one anymore because it was utter crud (mine died after 2 months use).

Am I the only one who always looks to see if their own name appears in the 'birthdays' section, even though I know it's nowhere near my birthday? :-o Anyway, for the last 3 days, I have been clicking on the profiles that appear in that section and today was the first day I found someone actually still active on the forum (happy birthday, enforcer)! So far, the oldest 'last active' date has been 15 years ago!!

Yup, I watched it - very interesting. Would you expect a chassis to be that bad after 20 years? Would that chassis have been powder-coated (I couldn't tell from the program)? I'm guessing no as that might explain the state it was in and the fact it had reacted with the ally panels and corroded those as well.

When you first started this thread, I assumed you'd be doing a quick cut-and-shut. This is in another league - you should start a business!

If they were happy, then it wasn't mis-spent :-)

Sorry, I didn't mean I was trying to sew the vinyl ON the frame, it will wrap round the frame and then sew vinyl-to-vinyl. The online videos talk about the binding stuff... I'll look into it more if I end up trying it myself.

Marine vinyl is more like tent canvas, not shiny/smooth on one side. It's about 2mm thick - would a cheap machine be able to get through 2 layers of that, does she think?

I'm having problems finding anyone prepared to sew vinyl on to my metal frame for my doors - has anyone tried this themselves and can advise how to do it, what equipment used etc? I found a video showing how to use an Easystitch sewing awl, which looks funky but not sure if it's the right thing for marine vinyl (the same stuff my hood is made out of). Other online videos all use decent quality sewing machines, which I don't have. I've considered buying a cheap sewing machine but I don't think it would be up to getting through the vinyl.

Just to clarify, they didn't fit the screen, just cut it to the right size - I had to fit it.

I used these guys: https://www.nationalwindscreens.co.uk They came out, measured up, went away, cut the glass and brought it back, all for £90 or so, which seemed reasonable?

Personally, I find it all amazing, as a guy who works in IT and, until I built my car, hadn't done much more than wire a plug! 'I had to cut the right side mounting bracket off the chassis and Tig weld it further towards the front' ?!! Mind. Blown.

Ah, that's what's happened then... Thanks...

Yes, that's exactly what I've done - I haven't been in to check it today but looked OK last night. Do you happen to know if lacquer is affected by temperature? It was about 6 degC in my garage last night and I also sprayed the lacquer on my newly-painted black wheelarch and it really dulled the original gloss black. Not checked this morning so maybe it's dried clearer but wasn't looking great last night...

No idea but why bother? The Zetec is all ready for FI - why put carbs on? Do a search on here for threads talking about carb problems - one of the most common topics. I realise there is a certain, misty-eyed nostalgia for carbs but for the difficulty so many people seem to have with them, I'd steer well clear.

I've put a vinyl sticker on the rear ally panel and I want to try protect it - can I just spray a coat of lacquer over it? The instructions on the can only mention using it on paint...

Leather-covered rollbar?!

5 weeks!!! Five! Weeks!

Welcome to the forum! I'd do the usual 'ask any questions, lots of help on here' but I get the feeling you aren't going to need much - in fact, we're going to be asking you Shame you're not closer to me as I have a Lexus RX400 as my daily car and I could do with someone who knows more about them...I also had one of the early Lexus IS220s back in 1999 - that was called the Altezza in Japan, I think (well, it was in Gran Turismo )? Both Lexus's (Lexi?) have been the best cars I've ever owned...

Thanks for that but, apart from the fact that my soldering skills are sorely lacking, I had to cut the unit open to get to the inside for that pic. Also, there has been some arcing going on because the side of the relay unit shows signs of melting, probably when I was running it after the capacitor dropped off. Bottom line - it is one very dead relay/flasher unit - new one on order...

It's just one unit, isn't it? This is a pic of the inside - you can see the capacitor has dropped off which was the rattle:

So, I'm guessing a relay that rattles like a castanet is kaput, yeah? And coincidentally, it's a Cargo relay (surely the most ironic product name ever), same as my alternator that died a few weeks ago. Guess which manufacturer I'll be avoiding for, like, forever?!

Yes, fair point - I'd forgotten that you'd been told the 'baffled' tank would work...did you pay much more for the 'baffled' tank? Maybe you can complain to GBS and they might give you some cash off the swirl pot bits? They did something similar for me when my alternator died recently...

Well, yes but that is because it IS what you have to do - as you are finding out, not doing that doesn't work Modern cars have a built-in swirl pot in the tank, don't they? They don't just rely on baffles, so why should we? And putting the swirl pot outside the tank seems much more sensible to me - it doesn't waste space in an already small tank and it makes for easier maintenance should anything go wrong with it. What alternative is there that GBS could have designed to make it cheaper/simpler for us? I always feel sorry for companies who have to bite their tongue when they hear a customer (ie. an amateur) tell them how to do their job better... Also, out of interest, how does foam in the tank work? Might stop fuel sloshing about but how does it ensure a constant supply to the outlet? Reading online, it seems to be designed to prevent surging and limit the amount of fuel that escapes in the event of an accident.

Ahh, hadn't actually checked that - I was working on the belief that this would cause the indicators to flash even faster, which is what happens on a normal car but I'll check - thanks...

There only seems to be one type of fuel tank on the Kit Spares website, and it has this description: 'Complete with six hole boss baffled and swagged inlet' ...which is not clear if it means the whole tank or not. The option of a baffled tank was never mentioned when I bought my bits in 2015....you could retrofit the swirl pot and pumps? If you do, get the swirl pot of eBay - I paid £30 for mine rather than the £90 GBS charge... BTW, you said this happens when going round a roundabout? The fuel pickups are on the left-hand side of the tank (looking from the rear of the car) so going round a roundabout should push all the fuel up against that side of the tank and you shouldn't have a problem, no? Left turns would be a problem as all the fuel will slosh over to the right side of the tank, away from the pickups (or have I got my physics wrong?).