nelmo

It's weird - you could book the holiday and just not go on the tour or stay in the hotels, for less than the ferry alone! Or do you have to book a minimum of two people on the holiday?

That's a very good price! I just did a quote for the ferry alone and it came out at £700! Am I missing something?

Thanks but I'm not going to risk it. Fortunately, I've just discovered the wonders of down-filled jackets. It was 4 degC this morning and I was just about comfortable...should be better when I finally get a roof and doors.

Well, took a punt and ordered some cheap ones BUT a no go - my car just didn't like the thing plugged in; idle went to pot, misfiring - undriveable. My gauge showed the normal 13-14v being churned out so I'm not sure what the problem was - any ideas? I'm guessing maybe the ECU didn't like the extra current draw or maybe the volts were actually spiking all over the place (so the damped gauge couldn't show it) and I know the ECU gets upset if volts drop below 11v? Pretty weird experience...

Really? Jesus, I had neither - my testers (and there were 2 because I failed once and had a retest) were useless... :-)

No mention of that at my test (in August) and they couldn't go by my gauge which changes depending on the phase of the moon, I think :-) I needed to use the hex head to remove the diff panel and adjust the handbrake. Also had to use a couple of spanners to release the nut on the accelerator pedal which, 2 miles from the test centre, in 32 degC and after a 2 hour journey through the London rush hour, had expanded and stuck at half-throttle! They weren't interested in any paperwork or photos but then I do seem to have found the laziest test centre ever - highly recommended! :-)

OLD TOPIC but just wondered if there had been any new experiences. My tin top has heated seats and they're lovely in winter. These look to be a bit better than the cheap, £15 versions: https://www.amazon.co.uk/KINGLETING-Cushion-Intelligent-Temperature-Controller/dp/B01LEPPUMM/ref=pd_sbs_263_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=1N69CRW80FH2PBHRJDDJ

Nothing to do with bank holidays, just a marketing exercise (started in the US) to perk up sales at a traditionally quiet time of the year. Used to literally be just the one day - now the whole week before. But, hey, if we get deals, who's to complain?

http://www.greatbritishsportscars.co.uk

Unless you already know of one, you won't get a part-built with all the parts for £500 - at least £2000, I would guess. A quick search on eBay doesn't bring up any, although there are a couple of wrecks for £200 but with no engine, gearboxes etc.

A true LoCost build involves making your own chassis - that alone makes it MUCH more difficult than any other kit, even if you can weld and already own all the expensive kit you need for that. After that, it's a basic car; engine, diff, gearbox, panels, wiring etc, etc, etc. Slightly different between makes but none are any harder or easier than any other. What makes the difference is your ability and money. The more you have of each of those, the easier the build will be; with more money, you can buy ready-made wiring looms, new un-rusty parts etc. You don't need any experience but anything you do have will obviously help. I don't know about your ability but if you're thinking of a budget of £500, I'm afraid you will struggle. I probably spent £500 on bolts and nuts alone during my build

I was told that getting the right emissions with a Zetec and without an aftermarket ECU is almost impossible. The standard Ford ECU can't be mapped so if you fit it and your emissions aren't right, you're screwed. I have an Emerald ECU and I took it to a local garage before my IVA, connected up to their gas analyser and just juggled the map to get the right emissions. Saved that to one of the maps, fitted a switch that allows me to switch between the emissions-friendly one and a decent power map and job done. Yes, I think you legally must have a cat these days and anyway, you'll never achieve the correct emissions without one.

So the guy got off by basically saying. 'it wasn't me'? Makes you laugh when people worry about CCTV invading privacy and Big Brother knowing where you are all the time - even with the full weight of the police, they still couldn't prove the guy shot someone in broad daylight!

The original post was providing info about the water rail to any potential users - how good or bad it is is just as useful and relevant, no? Loads of people do use them perfectly well but it is also useful to know that the basic Ford setup also works (and for half the price, in my case).

I have to admit I've been surprised by how good the basic Ford setup has been. When I was building, the cooling system was my biggest concern as I had no real idea what I was doing and I assumed the more expensive water rail would be better, working on the 'you get what you pay for' principle. But my standard system has been totally reliable in the couple of months I've been on the road. In fact, my first IVA test was in the 1 hot week we had this summer. If anyone recalls that week, the hottest recorded place in England was Heathrow at about 36 degC and my IVA was at Yeading, just down the road. I had to drive there through London rush hour traffic, so I spent most of the time sat in traffic. And then I had to repeat the whole procedure 3 days later for my retest! I had no overheating issues and that was before I had vents cut in my bonnet - very impressed. Also, I imagine that water rail setup, having so few pipes, must have much less actual coolant in it, no? If so, that isn't going to help...

Can you really compare that engine running in a big, old engine bay with a radiator probably twice the size of yours and probably twice as much coolant as your kit has?

I must admit, I was only looking at rear lights, hadn't looked at headlights yet - what's that black box for? Assuming that would have to fit inside the car body, was the cable long enough to get from bulb? Also, that bulb seems to have a cooling fan built in - is that going to be of any use inside our virtually airtight headlight bodies? Do they get very hot? Anyone changed the rear bulbs? They seem to be much simpler...

I find that when I drive at night with the lights on, my voltage gauge (which normally shows 14v) drops down to 11 or 12 v. I don't think there's anything wrong and it's not the end of the world, I just assume the alternator isn't the most powerful and can't keep up for the draw from the standard H4 headlights and rear bulbs. I'm thinking of just changing the bulbs (not the indicators, I know they would need a special relay) for LEDs - is it that simple? I've read a few people having issues with direction of the light etc?

Why don't you just keep it as a fold-away and maybe spend some cash on improving that?

Hmm, that's a good idea - not sure I'd want it in ally though because the same compliancy that allows tweaks would also allow my clumsy movements to bend it as well, no? But a couple of large plastic sheets might be cheaper than strips...and means I don't have to make joints...I'll look into that...thanks...

That's what I thought - those raked sides on the doors look like they would be right in my eye-line when trying to look left and right. Does anyone have any suggestion of where to order plastic strips (about 20mm x 3mm) from? I'm planning on making my frame from plastic (cheaper and lighter than metal) but everywhere I've seen so far all have minimum order amounts. I need about 12m of plastic and best I can find so far is a company where I can order 25m (their minimum) for £65 (delivered).

I thought about half doors but I plan to commute to work which involves sitting in traffic and I can see half doors not being good enough when unmoving in rain.

Ah OK - I was thinking of having the door go back far enough so that it goes past the rollbar and then have magnets stuck on the door frame so the door clamps to the rollbar and that will hopefully cut down on the flapping - does that seem plausible?

OK, final question on doors; most of the designs I've seen (the ones from Kit Spares, for example) have a very raked rear line from the top of the door to where it meets the wheel arch. Is there a specific reason for this or is it just looks? I was planning on making mine much more square at the rear...

Nice, up-to-date blog you've got there ☺☺