brumster

Bit late to this party but - have you done this yet? I mean properly, ie. a guage into the fuel rail somewhere, if there's a fitting to fit one, otherwise splice one into the line as close to the rail as you can? I have a guage I can loan you if you need one.

Yeah, I suspect it's all online these days - the emissions testing kit is connected online and the tester just enters the car reg (I assume), and it looks up the requirements off the DVLA computers and tests to it. No-one has ever asked to see my V5!

I suppose everything is clear cut apart from one important irregularity... the use of the term "first use". "First use" isn't something documented anywhere on a V5; you've got a manufacture date and a registered date - and on modern V5's you don't have the manufacture date any more, just 2 registration dates - an "original" and a "first time in the UK". I would suggest the registration date is the nearest logical thing to first use, since "use" implies the point at which the car gets driven on UK roads rather than when it came out of a factory (or a garage). This is unfortunate because obviously if there genuinely was a car that was produced in 1982 but sat unregistered for 30 years, there's little chance of it getting through modern-style emissions! I would be guessing there is some wriggle-room with DVLA/VOSA with a well-written letter to argue the definition of "first use" but you'd probably need some evidence. At this point I'm talking in a generic fashion for all cars. For kits, it's probably a little more awkward. Either the owner/builder has knowingly skirted some of the regulations around IVA/SVA and registered it as the old donor, or otherwise the DVLA has made some genuine mistake in setting up the details on the V5... I wouldn't pretend that neither of these things happens out there in the real world ;)

Chin up mate, you'll get through it... speaking from experience (not me, but family member)...

Ignore the date-related plate; it's the V5 document you have to go off. In this case, you need to look at when your 2B was registered (ie. after it had the IVA). Since it's a 2B, it's almost certainly built and registered after 1998

Bloody hell! I need to get the grease gun out and make up for lost time! I don't think I've ever greased a prop (although in my defence the Exmo would have been lucky to have done more than 2000 miles it it's entire life, and the Zero is on all of 200-odd....) !

Changed what the Honda CRV? That's one definite cure, I'll give you

I had a Puma once, that's the Sigma engine I believe, in which case the inlet manifold was on the front... so by my reckoning, the exhaust manifold would indeed be on the same side at the Pinto (ie. RH side for us hoodies)...

Could it be some bearing, maybe on the cam/fan belt, alternator bearing, something like that.... viscous fan maybe....? I take it it doesn't do it at a standstill which is what's making it difficult to diagnose? Gawd, could be a plethora of things I suppose... :-S

Is it definitely engine-related, ie. if you dip the clutch it's still there? If you turn the engine off and coast, does it disappear? You say under load - if you go to a trailing throttle does it disappear?

Someone say 875mm, someone say 875mm.....

I believe so yes, unless it specifically asks for a cover note? I sent mine, since I had it in place for the IVA (I was paranoid that someone would go into the back of the trailer while I was taking it down there and boom, there goes the whole lot with no insurance!)...

Not to register, but I'm fairly sure the tax now checks for insurance to be in place before it'll allow it to happen. I needed insurance, got it sorted on a temporary cover note based on the chassis number until I had a number plate assigned - then just updated the policy and away we went.

Really coming together now isn't it! The minute it starts to look like a caravan I bet you get excitied/enthused. I remember when the panels went on the Zero and it came back from the sprayshop, there was this lightbulb moment where just by it looking like a car was good inspiration to crack on...

Do yourself a favour and buy a suitable bearing for the top mounts while you're at it, rather than the radial bearings that RHE supplied in the day (completely inappropriate type of bearing for the job in hand). From memory I fitted some tapered roller bearings, maybe not as ideal as a thrust or spherical bearing but felt that the taper would at least stand up to the vertical forces a bit more. I think a spherical bearing would be the best but would pack the suspension up too high; ideally you'd want to figure and engineer some way of it mounting into the top of the buttress rather than having to sit underneath it. Quite a bit of design/engineering work there, hence why the taper roller bearing is a bit of a compromise but easier - certainly better than a simple radial bearing in terms of handling the axial thrust loads that are hitting it... when I removed mine after 1000 miles or so, the original bearing was battered and starting to deform, hence why I swapped it.

Well I suppose the obvious answer is, did you check that the control arm is the right length before and after? A common fit was P100 arms and bushes as the bushes were slightly "stiffer", I believe...? Maybe this resulted in it holding the arm slightly tighter in position? Otherwise if it was fine before and now it's not, I'm not sure what else it could be, assuming the top mount hasn't moved into another hole, or maybe it's slotted in some way and has moved outward?

Is this some sort of automotive LED strip that you *know* is designed to take 12v in? Do you have a link to the specs, for example? Wiring up backwards wouldn't blow fuse, you'd just get nothing. All I can think is one or more of the LEDs has blown, maybe because they were designed for a lower voltage, and have now melted in a fused (short) state, so every time you're turning them on they're just shorting out and blowing the fuse.

The ICO will have far bigger things on their plate. This is unlikely to result in any action. They weigh up a lot of factors in the breach, including the number of impacted subjects, the type of data released and the potential impact (damages/losses) as a result of it. In this case, the impact is incredibly minor. In my humble (and expert) opinion, you could by all means report it but I suspect the ICO will send you a template response back and then, when they finally get around to investigating it, tell us to stop being silly buggers and wasting their time...

What an odd looking "paddle" friction plate :-o

The only saving grace is that at least I'm only sticking in 20-22 litres rather than 60 !

Just a +1 here to re-enforce you're not the only one tank uses a vented filler neck so quite generous, I think the only way I'd get it any better would be to fit a rather massive breather pipe to the opposite side of the tank!

Gearbox sold; post can be deleted

Indicision on the female side of the camp means that I'm almost certainly coming, but don't know if it's 2 of us, or 3+dog at this point in time

<hand up>

Helix direct are useless, as you have discovered. Go through a knowledgeable dealer like Anthony, or Mardi Gras motorsport.... but, yeah... you're sorted now, so makes no odds