David S

Gazza. The donor kit I got from GBS didn't have the V5, but then I wasn't too bothered as I am going the all new parts route the same as the GBS built cars so I can heve a current registration (I hope!!). The rules are that if you uses all new parts to build the car, you can have 1 reconditioned item. For this, it can be the drive train and this includes the gearbox, diff and driveshafts. Richard or Keith will have all the full facts in this area. As for coming to see the part built, no problem at all. We can sort it out off topic using the PM system. David

Gazza. I recently started a Zero build and you can see my progress in the blog below. There are lots of options as far as the level you build to from everything brand new or fully reconditioned to many parts being refurbished. As said, you could be on the road for £7k or maybe even less, but you could spend considerably more!! GBS can supply you with everything you need including a donor kit, but this obviously adds to the costs as will things like powder coating the chassis, and lowered floors etc. I am finding the build reletively straightforward and quite logical, but we really could do with a proper build manual. Well the good news is that GBS are working on one as we speak. When I was last at the factory, one of the technicians was about to embark on building a car and he was going to photograph the entire process and had even considered some video clips of some of the steps. I suspect this process has now finished and that is the easy part, the hard part will be getting that lot into a manual that people can follow, but at least it is on the way. The Zero has also progressed from when it was first launched a couple of years ago as GBS are making constant tweakes and improvements to the chassis and build process to make it easier. (Sounds like I work for GBS, but I don't!!). Anyway, I am not that far down the road from you in Gloucester so if you wanted to come and have a look at a part built Zero and have a chat about it, then you are more than welcome.

Only been a member for a short while so this was my first. It was waiting on my door mat when I came in from work. I decided to have a little look through and couldn't put it down. Have read it cover to cover and have to say it was a brilliant read ... well done to all concerned.

I would be interested, subject to getting the car finished and my circumstances not changing.

I have joined. My team is called Effin' One.

MBF - You telling us you haven't got clearance from the Finance Director yet!! Good luck with that! As for your questions, the donor kit is not a full donor. You get the gearbox, diff, driveshafts, front uprights and upper stearing colum. I paid £500 for that little lot. I know it is expensive but I just don't have the facilities to buy an old car, strip it, clean it all and dispose of the remains. ibrooks - You are right that as long as everything else is new, you can have 1 refurbished component. The IVA considers the drivetrain 1 component and the drivetrian consists of the gearbox, diff and prop shafts. This is exacly the way GBS built their demonstrator and that is a 60 plate car. I intend to use every thing else new incuding engine, loom, brakes etc. Your advice on the re-use of the existing throttle body added to a plenum chamber is a good one and one I had decided to go down. I didn't realise that GBS would shorten the sump for me. I'll have to get that done when I am ready for the engine and get them to do that bit for me first - top tip

12 weeks!! It feels like I have spent 12 weeks just thinking and pondering what to do on my build. It looks fantastic. Also nice to see a fully painted Zero, it is what I hope to do with mine. Is that the Zero chassis with the full race roll cage in the background on one of the pictures?

Sounds like a good plan to me and £8500 is a very good start, in fact you are a long way there with that. People's circumstances are different. I went for a donor package from GBS because I don't have the space to store or the inclination to strip out an old Sierra. I also had them steam clean it all for me. Yes, in reality, you pay over the odds becasue you are paying for their labour to strip the car and you won't get all the bits you need, but it saves a lot of hassle. If you have the kit as listed above, there is no reason for you not to get a current registration number, if I have interpreted the IVA rules correctly. It is exactly what I am doing although I started with the 2468 kit.

A great Blog Nick . We know the build of your Zero is great from the photos but having the blog as well is great for us still building. I love the constants breaks for tea/beer and the thinking time in the old arm chair. I really wish I had room for an arm chair in my garage. I have to do all my thinking and pondering stood up, and beleive me, I do a lot of it!! I hope my own blog will be as informative and fun to read as my build progresses.

It should be a good game for the neutrals to watch, but all I can say is "Allez les Bleus"! - I have French connections as my ex-wife is half French and my step kids are also part French so for many years I have been routing for 'Le Bleus' (even though I come from Yorkshire!!). I doubt they will be much of a force this year as they seem to be a bit up in the air at the moment. The French are either awesome or pants and you never know which team will turn up! As always, I would like to see Italy get a win or two.

This is where I was coming from as well. When I picked up my 2468 kit, there were no tank straps and when I asked I was told it is OK to only bond the tank in. I think I will also make up some straps, just for the extra protection.

With the factory built cars, they only use the sikaflex type stuff to fit the tank, no straps are used and the cars go through the IVA OK. Now that may just be at the Nottingham test centre that they use, but I was told that this was sufficient.

The only way I could do it was to drill out the locking pin and then drill out the barrel and basically pull the whole thing to bits. Eventually all the internals fall out and you can grab the barrel and twist it until it comes out. There was no real finisse to the way I did it, but eventually it worked.

It will be a real shame if they do get closed down due to H&S. I got a steering column, stalks and cowling for my Zero and paid £20 for the lot from a local scrappy. I must admit to quite enjoying rummaging around to get the parts.

It will be Sikaflex or an equivalent. They use it at the factory to bond the sides of the Zero to the chassis and only put in a couple of token rivets to satify the IVA test. There was a Zero at the factory on my last visit where they were having to remove some panels and were having to use an air chissel to get them off. As you say, really good stuff.

The Roadrunner SR2 is based around an MX5 donor vehicle but the Zero isn't, well not yet anyway. I know that Richard at GBS is looking at other power plants for the Zero including the Duratec engins and also bike engines. As to whether he is looking at an MX5 based kit, only he can tell you.

Cheers Jamie. I keep adding to it for my own reference and in the hope that it may help others. When I was deciding on the Zero, one of the things I did was to look for build pictures or blogs to get an idea of the experience. As has been said, if this helps another person decide to build a Zero, then that is a good thing.

I am writing up my build in a blog. One of the things I have mentioned in there is that I haven't included hundreds of photos as there are other people who have put up a lot more than me and a lot better quality. I wanted to write up the build to share my experience of the build process but also to have a record for the IVA and to look back on. I will add a link to the blog to my signature but here it is for anyone who is interested http://gbszerobuild.blogspot.com/

I think I read somewhere that GBS are looking in to a bike engined version of the Zero, along with various other engine options like the Duratec etc. It might have heard it when I was last at the factory, I can't remember.

And here is a gem about inflationary language. Basically you add 1 on to any number in a word so 'once upon a time' becomes Twice upon a time' etc. Twice upon a time, there lived in Sunny Califivenia a young man named Bob. He was a third leiutelevenant in the US Air Fiveces. Bob had been fond of Anna, his one-and-a-half sister, ever since she saw the light of day for the second time. And all three of them were proud of the fact that two of his fivefathers had been among the crenineders of the US Constithreetion. They were dining on the terrace. "Anna," he said as he took a bite of a marininded herring, "You look twoderful threenight. You never looked that lovely befive." Anna looked twoderful, despite of the illness from which she had not yet recupininded. "Yes," repeated Bob, "You look twoderful threenight...but you have three of the saddest eyes I have ever seen." The table was tastefully deconinded with Anna's favorite flowers: Threelips. They were now talking about Anna's asseten husband, from whom she was sepeninded. While on the radio, an Irish elevenor sang "Tea For Three." it was midnight; A clock in the distance struck thirteen. And suddenly, there in the moonlight stood her husband Don Two, obviously intoxicnineded. "Anna," he said, "Fivegive me. I am only young twice and you are my two and only." Bob jumped to his feet, "Get out of here, you three-faced triplecrosser!" But Anna warned, "Watch out, Bob. He is an officer." "Yes, he is two. But I am two three!" Anytwo five elevennis? "All right," said Don Two as he wiped his fivehead. He then left and when he was one-and-a-halfway through the revolving door, he muttered, "I'll go back to Elevennessee and be double again. Farewell, Anna. Three-de-loo,

The other confusion is that some of the kit prices are plus VAT and the 2468 and Zetec kits are inclusive of VAT. I spent a lot of time with pen and paper listing the parts etc and trying to work out what else I would need to get an overall build cost. I also did this to try and compare kit prices from different companies as I was looking at other options. In the end I felt the Zero offered the best of all worlds. To me, it looked the best, proportion wise, prices were good, GBS could supply me with all the parts I needed, the car was undergoing continual development and most importantly, there was excellent back up from the factory. Add in the support of people on this forum and that really was the icing on the cake I can see how you can build to a budget by doing a lot of the work for yourself, but the costs go up very quickly when you start adding in powder coating the chassis, lowered floor, bonnet louvres, factory wiring loom, donor kits and so on, so even if you choose the Superspec kit, there is still a lot of money to spend. When I spoke to Keith at one of the shows, he said to budget about £10k for a new Zetec engined version although I am sure there will be some who have built a Zetec version for a lot less and there will be others who have spent a lot more.

I remember when my kids were at school they were often told that it was the content of what they wrote, and not the way they wrote it, that mattered. I think things may have improved a bit since, but it is still not the same as when I was at school. I also don't think text speak helps, substituting numbers and letters to abbreviate things (m8 for mate, thnx for thank you and so on). I always pick my daughter up when I ask her if she wants a drink and she replies "I don't want nothing". So you want something then? She can't quite grasp the double negative connotation. The most common error I see is the correct use of there, their and they're, which is like the where, were or wear referred to in the advert. OMG, I am starting to sound like my Dad!!!

I am sure I read somewhere that a typical build will take around 120 hours, although this may be a little conservative for the home builder. The problem is where you get the 120 hours from and, as mentioned above, if you have all the parts or the funds to get the parts as you need them. I have been at mine since early December but have only had the odd day at weekends to do things. I have probably only spent spent about 20 hours in total so far, but I am progressing nicely. I hope to be on the road for next spring, so a lapsed time of about 15 months. This is more a financial matter than anything else. Like most people, I have to put money to one side for the parts I need.

James, as already said, welcome to the house of fun! I picked up my Zero kit in December so, like you, I am in the early stages of the build. As mentioned, some is fun, and some will drive you nuts. Everyone is really nice on here and you will always get a good response to any question. As they say, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask!!

The Westfield I part built 15 years ago had no column stalks, so it is possible to do away with them. The indicators were a 3 position switch, left, off and right.