nelmo

Having just registered my car with a 2L Zetec, I was annoyed to find that the road tax was £245 rather than £140 for the 'standard rate' cars - I am on the PLG tax class 11 for some reason. I was wondering if it would have been cheaper if I was taxed by CO2 emission but after looking here: http://www.nextgreencar.com/view-car/5653/ford-focus-2.0i-16v-4dr-saloon-2004-petrol-manual-5-speed/ ...it seems my 2004 engine has CO2 emissions of 205 g/km which would mean a tax rate of, get this, £1,200 I decided to shut up and sneak away...

Yeah, lots of torque and they all move fine. I'll try weaken the spring a little on the 2nd arm... Thanks Ian...

I had to get a couple of new tyres so I went to Kwik-Fit and, dear Lord, the levels of car knowledge by some people is sad. One guy came in asking how he was supposed to get his car with flat tyre to them. When it was suggested he use his spare tyre, he just looked blank. He finally decided to call the AA to put his spare on for him. Funnier was the guy who was getting new tyres and asked if the wheel balancing could be checked 'because it hadn't been done for a while' ☺. How the fitter stopped himself laughing, I don't know....

I've just fitted wipers to my screen but even with water on the screen, the motor doesn't seem to have enough power to move both blades. It worked OK when I had just the one arm on but with the 2nd one, it's not doing anything (also OK if I lift the arms up). The springs on the arms are incredibly strong so I'm not too surprised - I had a hard time pulling them back myself. Has anyone had a similar issue?

Exactly - I'm sure it will happen but add at least 20 years on to that figure. They're only announcing this because France said the same thing a few weeks ago and France are political flavours of the month right now as they're about the only people that Trump hasn't insulted (on Twitter, of course) and they've got a young, good-looking president As Richard said, there will just be hybrid/electric kit cars - GBS just got a £2m grant to develop a hybrid/electric kit car so it's started already.

I was at Santa Pod a couple of months ago and some guy there had a standard-looking Mini which did a 10sec quarter mile time, hitting 136mph I got talking to him in the paddock later and he still had the standard 1.6L BMW engine (all the internals uprated) and a turbo that was almost the same size as the engine - he said it made about 450-500bhp - from a 1.6L engine!!

What business would show photos like that? Why not 'prep' it first, before taking the photos? Looks like a heap of junk that's been sat in the back of a yard for years... tidy it up first and they could have asked for £25k...

Dear Lord, who would spend £3k+ on that? That's a late night, alcohol-fuelled eBay mistake... :-) I mean, what happened to those rear wheel arches? I'm useless with a tape measure but even I wouldn't get them that far out...

I've got one of those. It has grub screws but they're not particularly hidden. That extra threaded section itself screwed on to the existing thread on the gear lever. I've never tried to take it off, so not sure why it's stuck... Mine were very cheap (about £10 for 2!) so maybe not the same; if they are, just buy another and sacrifice the threaded bit (hacksaw it off, assuming it's plastic, like mine)?

I did my IVA last month and I've used most parts from GBS but as someone else said, it's the DVLA who decide reg, not the DVSA (who handle the IVA test). Be aware that, apart from the engine, nothing is 'new' - these are Ford Sierra hubs, diffs and driveshafts, for example - Ford stopped making them, what, 20 years ago? Even the 'new' crate engine I got was actually built in 2004 and has just sat in a warehouse since then (and I believe there are very few, if any, of those left). I'm still waiting for my reg to come through but I'm assuming I'll get a new reg because I sent off invoices for all my recon parts (diff, gearbox, hubs etc). I could be wrong but I believe a professionally (ie. invoiced) refurbished part counts as 'new'. If you use a single donor, you should get a reg for the same year as the V5 of the donor. If you buy everything off eBay and don't have a V5, then you get a Q plate, I believe. A full spreadsheet of my costs (so far) is on my blog, if you're interested (link in my sig) - £16k at the moment. I reckon you could save £2k - £4k going down the donor route (depending on how much you re-use).

If it's a Sierra column, you should see a corrugated-type section - that is the collapsible bit (good pic in the IVA manual if you're not sure what I mean). This is the text from the IVA manual: Steering wheel construction It is vital that the wheel is constructed so as to minimise the risk of facial injuries or concussion. The rim of the wheel should be padded or at least made from a material which when deformed does not splinter or fragment. The centre boss should be padded or recessed below the level of the rim. Wheels with a very deep dish are stiffer than flatter wheels and, as such will absorb less energy. The centre boss will often be of a collapsible type comprising a convoluted crushable section or a series of metal fingers with a deliberate fold introduced to initiate a collapse. Bolts used to secure the wheel to its boss (if exposed) should ideally be flush with the wheel surface but otherwise are required to meet the radius requirements if contactable. Bare metal spokes are allowed as long as they conform to the edge radius requirements. Components likely to catch in the driver’s clothing or jewellery are not permitted. Admittedly, it doesn't actually say it MUST have a collapsible boss (highlighted in red - don't really understand it) but my tester did ask the question and I pulled the cover back a little to show him the collapsible section.

Stick some edge trim on the spokes, just in case, like this: https://zerolifebuild.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/soft-and-squidgy.html Passed my IVA OK but you also MUST have a collapsible boss behind that (which you don't need, I believe, with the Sierra wheel). Sadly, my edge trim blew off on the trip back from the IVA test - very windy these cars, you know...

You do know the rule about 'no pics', right?

Nice one Les, worked a treat - many thanks!

Thanks Les, I hadn't thought about moving that external link around and I see what you mean... I'll be trying it out shortly and many thanks for your time on this.

Ah, that looks promising Richard, many thanks - I'll give it a go...

That actually doesn't mean anything - as a builder, you can make up any chassis number you like and as long as it is unique, the DVSA/DVLA will accept it.I was tempted to put 'FERRARI' in mine ... However, looks like a good build otherwise, so no problems.

OK, I've got a 3-position switch for the wiper motor but I can't work out how to wire it up (without an extra relay) - can anyone help? This is the wiring diagram for the switch (sorry, this forum doesn't like Google pics): https://photos.app.goo.gl/FQviPOfRi6mkmB9w2 Its effectively a DP but that link between pins 2 and 4 is an external jumper that can be removed, if it helps (although it then becomes a 2-position switch). My problem is that, in one of the end positions, I need to connect the PARK and SLOW speed terminals of the motor (I think?) without getting a live connection (which blows the fuse) and the other 2 positions need the live connection for the 2 motor speeds. A small beer and bag of peanuts for the right answer... (if there is one)

I would imagine that stopping for more than 30 seconds anywhere NEAR Westminster Bridge would instigate large numbers of helicopters, men with guns and a long trip to Guantanamo Bay Westminster have also recently started charging motorbikes to use bike ranks, so I can't imagine any parking space will be free

That bit from Crawley southwards is very good but the best road IMO is the A272 that goes east-west. I've not really gone further east beyond Tunbridge - must do that some time...

Does the official run just follow the A23 down to Brighton? Pretty dull route, I can tell you...I know some much more interesting runs and roads in the area (done them all on my bike numerous times). If the DVLA get their finger out and get me my V5 this week, I'll be there this weekend on my first run out! #notintheleastbitexcited

I can understand why the official run doesn't bother starting there, I used to commute in that way and while it might have been nice in Genevieve's day, it's a hole now. Although we'd get a lot of attention...

You haven't paid your $400 to Photobucket http://www.rhocar.org/index.php?showtopic=45689

I spoke to Carling Technology today and they are, very kindly, going to send me (for free!) the right type of switch I need, which will effectively be a ON-ON-ON type, so I can enable the Park signal in the first position (if that makes any sense) - means I don't need a relay.

That's exactly what I'm struggling with at the moment, although just passed IVA, so I've got 3 years to get it working ☺ Problem with my switch is that it's a OFF-ON-ON type with no connection in the OFF position. I've found a circuit online which uses 2 relays to make it work but I'm going to try get a different switch which has a 3rd usable position for Park.