brumster

Personal preference really, on how you want the car to feel and how well the suspension is set up, and also the tyre compound. I run 22 myself.

I noticed in that for sale thread for Gaz's "Hood" that he uses Lotus Elise seats, which look rather nice a fit.

I've got the intatrim ones and they're not great comfort-wise, to be honest (they're not horrendous, don't get me wrong, but my previous Westfield ones were better), the angle they sit  is (for me) too flat, they don't lift your thighs up or pitch you backwards enough to create a natural arch to your legs when on the pedals because obviously they're pretty much flat on the floor. They need tilting back really, like on a wedge (or raising up, but I don't really think that's sensible or practical in a Zero!)

Green flag you have to provide details of one vehicle but on the personal cover you're not locked to it, so it doesn't matter. I put our tin top down but claimed on the Zero a couple of years ago, no problems.

edit: Green Flag renewal is up for me too, for personal UK cover, including onward travel to a destination of your choosing, for myself and partner (all cars), is £80.

Mark, come visit and I'll show you what a proper set of ratios can do for you

In short (ha - see what I did there) a shorter diff will improve acceleration across the board but obviously at the expense of revs; your engine will be revving higher for any given road speed, compared to before. It's a trade off really. For me, I don't mind, I don't have this car to do long motorway cruises.

Stamp it into a piece of steel then fully weld that onto the chassis somewhere, as per the regs above. This way you're also derisking the stamping process a little as they can stamp it up off the car, no risk to the chassis if someone gets the number wrong or a stamp doesn't impact good enough to make a solid impression. When you're happy with the stamped tab of steel, you can weld it onto the car. Job done.

1 hour ago, MarkBzero said:

I was thinking about it because I still have the old facet bullet filter fitted. It's been there for 3500 miles.

I mean, it could be many things but the minute you said that...

Do it the same as how the previous TPS was set up prior to your engine being mapped. So if the previous TPS was calibrated by pedal, do the same now. That will keep your map consistent.

The magic of IT. I get it all the time.

Wot e said ^

I knew a chap who worked for SPA Design and designed their QRB. He said the quality and engineering that went into some of the cheap ones was shocking and, when you think about the repercissions of a QRB failed, coupled with heavy play in the spline, it really should make you think carefully about buying cheap. Buy one designed for race use, then it will surely hold up to anything you throw at it on the road.

My steering wheel is a Sabelt SW733, 330mm on an Escort quick rack (2.2). I love it.

I think it's just take your pic of the major brands. Personally, I've got Dewalt but it's just because you buy your first one and that's it then, you're locked in for the lot

But the battery connections haven't changed in donkeys years and the other thing I like is that Dewalt sell spare component parts for any tool so, for example, with one old drill I could replace the motor cost effectively rather than having to scrap the whole unit. But, Makita/etc might be the same.

I think just pick one on the basis of cost and go with that...

Meanwhile you've got these cheeky buggers running around in electric cars entirely for free! Maybe we should all do this magical switch to electric and imagine how on earth the government are going to fund any road license at all

(Yes, I know, they'd start taxing them.... I was being facetious )

I had the same problem on my Zero, I didn't like the throttle pedal ratio and I wasn't able to get quite full open throttle.

That should be fine, you WANT to prove to the DVLA that the old chassis has been scrapped. I took photos of the old chassis being cut up and disposed of, in case they asked for evidence. I kept the chassis plate and VIN number (chopped out of the chassis) myself, so that (i) there was definitely no ID on the scrapped chassis that could have been taken by a nefarious scrap dealer but also (ii) so that I could show evidence if the DVLA asked for it. As soon as I got the new car sorted, I disposed of them.

18 hours ago, richyb66 said:

There's plenty of sliding pillar cars on the road, no reason why they won't pass IVA. If you don't have a VIN plate for the Sierra donor then you'll need to go the Q plate route.

VIN number for the RH can either be applied for from DVSA or you can make up your own. It's probably worth checking what others who have taken IVA recently have done regarding the VIN number as the process have always been a bit open to interpretation from DVLA/DVSA side.

I just applied to the DVLA via a letter - it's in my build thread somewhere - and got a VIN assigned within a week or so. It was no hassle at all. Thus :

Quote

Dear Sirs,

I am constructing a self-build kit car and would like to stamp the VIN number into the chassis in accordance with the IVA regulations. My local DVLA branch advised me that the correct process is to contact yourselves and request a new VIN number for allocation on my vehicle. Therefore please accept this letter as a formal request to the above.
If I can assist you with any queries please do not hesitate to call me on <blah blah>.
Yours faithfully,

<blah blah>

 

You then put it on the chassis somewhere (I stamped it on a steel plate then welded that onto the chassis), along with the more traditional VIN/chassis ID plate (the tin one with axle weights/etc on it) somewhere more visible - that you can buy from GBS or a number of places.

That's true, I didn't think of that recommendation (!) - you can always use a kit car as a donor car, that's true! Probably cheaper than trying to find a Sierra too!

I'd agree with the sentiment on the 2B - to be building a 2B on a Sierra donor and avoiding a Q plate, if that was your goal, would have to be a very good deal on the donor and even then, the 'quality' of the resulting car might be questionable... however there's nothing to say you couldn't get it on the road with the Sierra engine/gearbox/etc and then "upgrade" it over time.

But if there was an option for a newer kit using more readily available donor parts (eg. MX5) then, even if it was a little more expensive, I'd consider the savings of being able to source a single donor that got the car completed rather than fighting to find parts (or succumbing to the Q-plate, if that doesn't concern you)...

8 hours ago, DoctorDee said:

There is always a way.... So I have a KA master cylinder which I will have to use with a remote reservoir  in order that the bonnet will close......What did you use for your master cylinder push rod please  Dan

I honestly can't remember where it came from, it's probably off Demon Tweeks or some other similar online place, coupled with a suitable clevis for the pedal. It's nothing special, I just cut it down to length, there will be some pics in my build thread somewhere... and I made a pedal stop to ensure you can't pull the pedal up too far and the pushrod could fall out or partially remove and lose alignment, which would be pretty disastrous

My Zero is on standard brakes all round, with a Ka m/c and no servo, and works lovely. Granted it's a smidgen lighter than a 2B but as Peter said, given these brakes were designed to haul up a tonne-plus of Sierra, I don't really see how they can't be made to work for our application....

Here's a link to the google spreadsheet, so you can muck about with any values you like :

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LQSbKlyGIUP5RQsNfQq0tfoluxTSvHvBSelTBwvNDs0/edit?usp=sharing

2 hours ago, DoctorDee said:

I went back and checked the calipers I have removed from "thing". Just in case it was a murphy's.....Definitely 54mm.......Would not have surprised me in the slightest if they had been a wierd non standard size.

Be grateful if you could run your spread sheet for me

Here you go 11% change in caliper/piston ratio, so easier to press but obviously you will end up trading travel for that (your pedal will go longer to achieve the same pressure as before). I assume all other aspects remain the same ie. master cylinder, pedal pivot points, etc.

Brake piston calculations - Std Sierra to Mondeo.pdf

What's the piston diameter on the new calipers? Your old ones are 60mm right? Are the ST ones a sliding caliper design I take it? If so, I'll run some numbers into a spreadsheet I have to give you an idea of what change you'll see at the pedal...

4 hours ago, Bob Tucker said:

The settings are 32 ft lbs big end bolts, and 65ft lbs mains studs.

I am guessing you're saying that for the fact the mains studs seem higher than the big end bolts but do you not have instructions on 2 or 3-stage angle-based tightening *after* that inital torque setting?

1 hour ago, richyb66 said:

Stroker crank

Yeah, coz your engine is just sooooo small.....

Money no object and you go for Gaz?!?!