Nice but cold first drive out and build summary

Couple of photos after fitting the windscreen and number plates. Think this might be the last weekend before some unsettled weather arrives, I've not got any weather gear fitted, and to be honest don't think I'll fit any ? quite like the look as it is, so its just a fair weather car !

Going to enjoy this !

Update...

Had to go out again the day after these photos where taken, got to make the most of the weather ! nearly 100 miles on the clock, and gave the brakes a bit more welly to get them bedded in, seems to be working and have noticed they work better when they are warmer.

Build Summary...

The Stats...

Nearly 300 hours of build time
Picking up kit to on the road Tax and plates... 51 weeks, That's 1 week ahead on my plans !
Cost... a little over budget, not a lot, and not a loan in sight. (forgot about IVA and registration fee's)
400 tea bags
7 large jars of coffee
7 bags of sugar
200 cigs (Duty free trip to France)
1 packet of plasters
Box of 100 paracetamol
Box of 100 Dihydrocodeine


Made just over £10 from the swear box (10 pence per word)

The look on passengers faces...  Priceless !

OK, putting everything aside, it was fun building the Zero, and even more fun driving it. There where days when everything went to plan, and there where days when nothing went to plan. Any one thinking of building a Kit Car, just do it, you'll won't regret it, because everywhere I went in the last 2 days everyone stops and looks, wishing they could build or have one, nothing but compliments. The feeling that a year ago I had boxes of parts, bags of nuts, bolts, and rivets, metal panels etc all in the garage, now assembled sounding fantastic drifting round a corner is overwhelming. (on a private road ? ).

Would like to thank the following...

2 x Steve's for helping lift and unload the van on day 1
Russ for Engine and gearbox installation
Simon for Engine and gearbox installation and lots more; and company on those days when things  did not go to plan ! ( you know those days ! lol )
My 2 boys; Ben and Alex for those fiddly jobs where my stubby short fingers couldn't reach !
All those at GBS for putting up with my constant visits and questions.
And finally Alison for letting me build it in the first place.

I will update this blog from time to time as things may change, but until then... where did I put those keys.....

P.S.

And the total cost, after everything taken into account, and I do mean everything, I have just enough left over for a takeaway for the family from a budget of £14,000.

Bill.

Registration and fixing some issues

Been 3 weeks since it passed its IVA test, and earlier this week got a call from Ruth at GBS to say my registration documents and tax disc had arrived ! YAY ! So a quick drive over to pick them up and get the number plates made up. Not in a hurry but got over to GBS, got the plates made, and fixed to the car in about 90 minutes ?

OK, now for a few issues which raised their heads within the 1st 10 miles...

Near side repeater indicator on the cycle wing not working, a rather simple fix, just a spade connector had come out of its plug holder, a quick adjustment to the spade connector to make sure it fits properly and it works again.

Speedo not working... Not looking forward too this as I can remember it was a pain the 1st time I installed it due to lack of space to get my large hand and stubby fingers into the transmission tunnel. I had to remove the hand brake cable to get reasonable access to the sensor, and quickly noticed the problem. The sensor had moved very slightly backwards, so was picking up more of the prop shaft flange than the bolt heads.
Removing the sensor was surprisingly easy... except... I dropped the nut into the bottom of the transmission tunnel... AARRRR!!!
After over an hour looking, poking, and bending sticks with magnets on trying to savage the nut I gave up and headed down to the local nut and bolt shop for a replacement nut, got home and the nut failed to fit, only about 1 turn and no more, so its not an M6 ? back down and exchanged for a 5/16" UNF and guess what... that didn't fit either... its going to be one of those days ?
So back to the car feeling rather upset ? and then saw a shinny corner of the nut  just under the diff ! managed to get a stick to knock it into the inspection hole and onto the floor of the driveway, then found out its not magnetic !
OK, now back to the problem, I re-drilled the hole in the sensor bracket so the sensor would now be over the bolt heads and nowhere near the prop shaft flange. Refitted the sensor.

Clutch biting point to low to the floor, adjusted the cable, and of coarse adjusted to far, so adjusted again. Seems to be a bit better, we shall see how it goes over the next few miles.

Back to the speedo issue, After re-fitting the sensor all that was needed was the handbrake cable reattaching. Well with the issues of my arm and elbow injury this was just impossible with one arm, think I'll wait for so help later. Help did arrive later on and all fixed within 5 Min's.

Testing the speedo... had to have a ride out, but time had flown, and it was 8pm, dark and cold, but what the hell. Woke the neighbours up !  he he he .

Next day and windscreen fitting.

All seemed rather straight forward, except fitting the windscreen surround to the side uprights ? seen a few different blogs about this, and basically its a mixture of different ideas. Mine would be to mark out the windscreen surround to the uprights, drill and tap to M6 and use short M6 button head bolts x 10mm long to fix together.
Many thanks to " Fairy liquid" for helping me to get the windshield into the rubbers, and then into the frame.
Well it all went together easily, wing mirrors fitted but the mounting holes had to be drilled out, way under sized.

Time for another test drive... big grin !

So still got the wipe motor, gearing, and blades to fit, think I'll leave this for another day, going to have some fun now, see you soon.

Total time for these fixes ... 12 hours

Total build time now... 280 hours

It's passed the IVA !

Well its been a few weeks since I last posted a blog. Been busy with house work, gardening before the weather turns, decorating the spare room, building wardrobes, fitting new wooden blinds to the front windows, going away for a few days, and several visits to the local Hospital only to be told that I now have to go onto Insulin injections... damn.

Anyway, 2 weeks ago the Zero passed its IVA test ! Many thanks to Simon and Raf at GBS for all their help preparing it for the test. Their where a hand full of issues which needed sorting before going for the test, some of these I sorted in the last blog, but Simon picked up on  a few more...

Forgot to put some trim on the cut out on the bonnet for the exhaust, For some reason the rear fog light switch did not illuminate when pressed... it had worked before I recessed it in the panel, think I knocked a wire off re-fitting it and failed to re-test. Had a low coolant problem, didn't notice this when I got the engine up to temperature but it was an air lock in the system. Throttle cable needed re-routing and after now returns to "tick-over" properly. I had also put a normal washer along side a spring washer on some of the bolts, the IVA tester doesn't like this, so these had to be changed to just spring washers, or normal washers with a Ny-lock nut. Setting up the speedo, had no instructions on this bit, but it was minutes to adjust by simply pressing a button and going through the menu settings on the speedo.
Finally the low brake fluid switch was not working, bit annoyed with this as it was a brand new item ? The old switch, which was pretty dirty and old was swapped with the new switch and it all worked well, unfortunately it needed re-wiring which added to the labour bill.

So all in all not many modifications to be done, plus the usual changes that GBS do for the IVA, such as extending the front indicators to the correct measurements, adding side a rear mirrors, changing the steering wheel to the large padded Sierra one, and other things they know about.

A few extra items for GBS to sort out after the IVA test....

1) Fitting the boot cover, Having seen Simon at GBS fit one, he made it look easy ? I tried to fit the "press studs" with a hammer and punch and failed ? easier for Simon to do it !

2) Fitting the rear diffuser, simply a lack of space in the garage, and getting access under the car to fit it ? I seem to have knackered my elbow building the Zero and it doesn't seem to bend very well now, and getting the rivnuts in under the car with limited access seemed too much effort, GBS said its an hours job, so to avoid lots of bad language while under the car all day on a cold floor it was a "no brainer" for them to do it.

3) Geometry set up. I've not got the equipment and measuring kit to set up the geometry of the car properly. So ride height, tracking, camber, Tyre pressures, damper settings etc where all set up by GBS. Instead of guessing all these settings and messing around adjusting for hours, and possibly getting frustrated when things go wrong it was another "no brainer"!

4) Registration and paperwork... they do it all the time, and I want it correct first time so I can get the plates on and have some fun !

So picked it up from GBS 2 weeks ago, and had a careful drive home, I had borrowed some trade plates just for the drive home, 2 items raised while driving back... the nearside repeater indicator failed ? was working earlier ? and then the speedo stopped working ? will investigate these in the next couple of weeks, think it might be a loose wire or connector for the indicator and an issue with the speedo sensor ? Will report back in the next blog on these.

So now just waiting on the DVLA for my V5 form and tax disc.

The Zero has left the building !

Finally the Zero has left for the factory for the pre-IVA checks.

Fingers and toes crossed, and touch wood !

Extra work before IVA... Whoops !

Thought I'd just about finished work on the Zero before the IVA, but since posting my last blog a couple of issues came up after a closer inspection of the photos by eagle eyed Simon from GBS. First off was the angle of the fog lights, for IVA they have to be 90 degrees to the floor, (think they allow a degree or two, but still they need to be trimmed ). As I fitted these a few months ago I seem to remember how awkward they where to fit, on closer inspection today, they are IMPOSSIBLE to remove ! they are secured with M6 lock nuts and are out of reach between the rear panel and the fuel tank.

NOTE TO SELF... On the next build, use rivnuts !

So after lots of head scratching and cursing came up with a plan ? ... why not trim the lens instead ?

I am hopeful this will work, instead of trimming the black box ?

I repeated it for the reversing light as well, its difficult to judge as my drive way is on a slope, but its more like 90 degrees than before. (give or take a degree ! )

Simon also pointed out the fog light switch and horn switch looked like they where protruding from the centre panel to far. He explained to me that the IVA man has a 100mm mushroom looking gauge and if it catches on the switches then its a fail ?

Took the panel out and disassembled the switches, and again had a head scratching moment ! think it was lack of sleep this week, but needed a small screwdriver to push in a locking clip to remove the switch part so I could remove it from the panel. Once apart it all made sense, and re drilled the hole to 22mm. Reassembled both switch and now they are nearly flush fitting.

Lastly, and nothing to do with IVA, but I have several boxes with lots of bits in them, so sorted them out into 1 last box of bits, mainly bits to go on after IVA... wipers, wing mirrors, badges, etc. but slightly worrying is a couple of handfuls of nuts and blots which I have no idea where they go ??

So today work time... 3 hours

Total build time ... 268 hours

Photos before leaving for IVA

Still got to do the "nut covers" and a final walk round before it leaves, but here are a few photos before it leaves for GBS and the IVA test.

Summer Holidays, IVA trim, and Bonnet.

Its been 4 weeks since I worked on the Zero, most of the time was spent on Holiday ! A drive over to Holland with the family and a fortnight of R&R. While away, Ruth at GBS was sorting out the paperwork with the DVLA, and now that's running its course its given me a deadline to finish the Zero. GBS should have a slot in their workshop for my Zero in the next fortnight for pre-IVA inspection and other small jobs to finish off... i.e. Setting up the geometry, tracking, etc as I have not got the equipment for that part of the build.

So on the list of things to finish are...

IVA trim
Bonnet fitting with location pins and latches
Fill with some more petrol and check that the fuel sender is working
Boot cover
Nut covers for IVA

Just before I went on my Holiday I cut the bonnet for the exhaust header pipes, a rather scary moment cutting away with the angle grinder on an expensive bit of stainless steel...

Used a cardboard template, measured it about half a dozen times before making the cut, and it fitting back on perfectly !

Also the bond on the cycle wings had worked a treat after I took off the ratchet straps...

Look even better with the wheels back on...

 

Well back to today and fitting the IVA trim, starting at the front of the car. There is a list from GBS where all this trim should go, not going into all the details on the blog where everything goes, but the basics are that sharp edges are covered to stop harm coming to them if they come in contact with the car.

 

 

Alex just loosening the headlamp to get the trim around the edges...

 

 

 

That's one side finished !.... only took 1 hour !!!

 

 

While Alex was battling on with this little bit of trim, I was having my own nightmare with the nose cone trim...

 

 

 

 

 

The GPR was too thick for the trim, so a bit of fettling with a drum sander was needed to "thin" down the edging of the nose cone, once again took and hour to do one side !

 

Had enough of trim now ! time to fill the car with petrol, I had already popped 5lts in when we started the car weeks ago, so put a further 20 Lt's in, as it is a 30 Lt tank I would imagine the fuel gauge to read approx. 3/4 full...

 

 

Not bad, reading just over 3/4 ! (so the fuel sender works !)

Back to the trim.... cycle wings...  another hour per side ?

Beginning to hate this trim stuff ?


DAY TWO...

OK, ran out of time and another week gone by, Doctor, blood and Hospital appointments took up last week, plus Alex turned 15 at the weekend so didn't want to disappear into the garage. so 2 jobs left to do... Bonnet pins and latches and the boot cover.

Bonnet pins fairly straight forward, 5 in total, 2 on the drivers side and 3 on the exhaust side, these where set in with rivnuts, then placed the bonnet on top of them, marked where the holes to drill. Drilled the holes 2mm over size to allow for some adjustment, in the end drilled them 4mm over size ? think my marking was a little out ? any way it fits.

Now for the latches...
Screwed one of the latches to a piece of wood to make a simple card template.

Made a little mistake with the card template, I punched a hole slightly off centre, made another but lost it when I came to take photos after the latches where fitted.

Used a ratchet strap to hold down the bonnet, then used a bit of masking tape to mark out the holes to drill from the template.

Drilled with a 4mm drill bit for the 4mm rivets.

Next the boot cover, and it started to rain ! to cut a long story short, press studs around the boot cover and then on the rear panel, sorry no detailed photos, trying to get it done before I got too wet !

So just a photo of the finished article.

So last job to finish is the "nut covers", got to find some glue, as they keep falling off ! so that's tomorrows job, then off to GBS for the IVA test... Stress levels are rising ?

Time for this blog... 10 hours

Extra time for nut covers and a final check to before leaving for GBS... 2 hours

Total build time 265 hours





Reverse light switch for MT75 gearbox

Issue with the reverse light switch for MT75 gearbox, as I wrote in an earlier blog, it doesn't work ! Been to a couple of Ford main dealer garages and they couldn't find one in the UK, then another garage did a Europe wide search... None left in stock, and now discontinued !!!

Simon at GBS says for the IVA that the switch has to be an automatic type to switch the light on, so may have to rig up some type of micro switch in the transmission tunnel when the reverse gear is selected via the gear shift ?... these last issues are giving me a headache !

WHAT A SPOT OF LUCK !

A local, yes LOCAL ! scrap yard has an MT75 gearbox in and he thinks it still has a switch connected to it ?

GOOD NEWS... after a short trip to the scrap yard I have a replacement switch, its fitted and IT WORKS !!! (did cost me a tenner)

Sorry no photo, my mate Simon and I where too busy getting it fitted and working we forgot to take any photos.

Time trying to find a switch 20 hours
Time fitting the switch 1 hour

Total time on build now...253 hours

Front cycle wings, Brake reservoir, and ECU

Well the problems last week gave me a headache, a proper headache ! which lasted from Friday night till Monday afternoon, so no work done on the car over the weekend. This gave me some time to re-set my thinking on the next few jobs. The front cycle wings needed to be bonded on, and noticed I was low on bond, so took a ride over to GBS for some. At this point I would like to thank all the team at GBS for their help in the last few weeks, I have had several issues and they have managed to get them sorted for me. The biggest is the Brake reservoir, they have got one for me, just needed a bracket making which was done over the weekend. Many thanks.

DILEMMA.....

While trying to get the car finished and ready for IVA sometime in August the Brake reservoir situation was getting rather tight, So while GBS where trying to get one sorted I was also searching for one on the Internet, and found one on EBay, placed a bid, and forgot about it ? BUT I WON IT !.
So now I have 2 brake reservoirs ? which one shall I use ?

Think I shall debate this with my mate Simon ?

Back to the cycle wings, measured, marked and positioned the wings. also slightly bent the carriers over the wheels so that they lined up with the wings better, and made for a better bond. A good bead of bond over the carriers, carefully positioned the wing, then ratchet strap to keep in position.

Alex is now on his Summer Holiday from school, so I'm making the most of him, getting him to vacuum the carpets !

After a cuppa, Simon and myself made a decision on the brake reservoir. We will use the one from EBay, as this requires less drilling and fitting, sorry GBS although you have done a fantastic job, we opted for the easy route.

Cleaned up the reservoir with plenty of brake cleaner, and fitted it onto the master cylinder, so far so good. Filled with DOT 5.1 fluid and proceeded to bleed the brakes, the proper old fashioned way with Alex sat in the car pumping the brake pedal.

Found one small leak from the front pipe connecting to the flexible braided pipe, half a turn and it stopped, all other connections seem to be fine. Wired up the "low brake fluid" warning float, and put on the warning label. Brake lights now working as well, phew ! All set to go I think.

GBS to the rescue again...

Time for connecting up the Laptop to the ECU. My cheap serial to USB lead arrived next day from the Internet and worked ! the laptop recognising the ECU straight away. Richard @ GBS emailed me the "map" a few weeks ago, but getting it to load into the ECU software was proving difficult ? One call to Richard and a few minutes later the "map" was installed. We now have an emissions map installed ready for the IVA.

So a few extra photo's of the Zero coming together.

A better day today, headache nearly gone ! Just got the car away when a bolt of lightning and a crack of thunder sounded in the fields near by. This then continued all night, the smell of plasma strong in the air, then the rain !

One issue still remaining today... the replacement indicator stalk switch is still not working properly, however it is better than the first on, the headlamp full beam/flash now works, the left hand indicator now works, but now the right hand indicator has an intermittent fault ? May have to see Will @ GBS for another ?

Today's build time 10 hours

Total build time to date... 232 hours

Heatwave and more work on the rear end ! Problems after problems

Its now 3 weeks into the British Summer Heatwave, the warmest its been for 7 years according to the news, only 4 months ago it was below zero with snow on the ground, then it was too cold to work on the car, and now its too hot ! ?.

Since starting the car last week I have had a big smile on my face, such a good feeling that box's of bits have all come together to make a beautiful sound, I even came down in the middle of the night just to make sure I was not dreaming ? The weekend came and Spent the time with the family so didn't touch the Zero until Tuesday.... then nothing seemed to go right.

The Rear Arches...

Time for them to go on, once again bit of head scratching, measuring, marking, standing back and looking. Drilled a couple of holes through the arch at the front and rear, marked the bodywork, drilled and popped a couple of rivnuts in.
Problem 1 of the day... broke the rivnut setting tool ! this is the second time I've done this, the tool only lasted 6 rivnuts ! (you get what you pay for). So Left my mate Simon to it, while I went out to find a new setting tool. Halfords... didn't have a clue what the tool was or what rivnuts are ? Useless.
Machine mart... the same as Halfords... Useless ! Then 4 different motor factors, NEVER SEEN THESE TOOLS BEFORE !!, 2 hours later... Cromwell Tools, a nationwide tool distributor, got 5 blokes looking at my broken tool, and not one knew what it was or did, however they did find one in their catalogue... £349 !
Finally found a little tool store that had one in ! it was one that fitted onto a cordless drill, but they had one in stock ! and the very nice lady behind the counter knew more about them than all the other men put together. The name of the company is "The tool academy", Sutton In Ashfield.

http://www.thetoolacademy.com

So arrived back home and Simon had trimmed the carpet ready for fitting in the boot. Back to the rear aches, more drilling, marking, and rivnutting, and the drivers side is on. Now onto the passenger side, and a copy of the other arch, then problem 2... Broke the new rivnut setting tool !!!  AAAARRRR!!!

Will have to return that in the morning.

(I did return it, and they are getting me a new one for tomorrow under the warranty )

Next job... Load up the ECU with a map ready for the emissions test on the IVA, while Simon was doing that, I was getting the rear indicator/brake light clusters ready for the arches, these needed to had a 4 way connector block fitting with spades crimped instead of the bullet type which came with the units, and then mark out the arches for drilling.

ANOTHER PROBLEM !!... Number 3... The Com's lead supplied with the ECU is the old serial type and my laptop is USB only ... AAARRRRGGGG!!! Now I need a conversion lead.
PC world, don't do serial connections anymore, useless.
Maplin's do a lead but its £29.99... way too expensive !
So back onto EBay, next day delivery £1.79... that's better !

Looked up the spec on the positioning of the rear lights, and basically the min height for the lights is 350mm from the floor, there are some other measurements in relation to positioning to other lights but a photo will be more useful. So I set the lights at 400mm so that's plenty of room for adjustment of the ride height.

Sorry for it saying "Westfield" on the back, but its one of the better photo's I could find on the Internet for British IVA.

So Light clusters fitted and connected... PROBLEM NUMBER 4 ...
Left hand indicators working, right hand NOT ?  Today is a real test ! big scream, sweating with the heat, and now a proper headache coming on !
Too cut a long story short spent the next 90 minutes testing and following the wiring back to find the fault, and ended up at the indicator storks on the steering column. Looks like the switch is not working very well. Taken off and these will be returned to GBS tomorrow.

(I did take the switch assembly back to GBS, Simon in the workshop tested them for me and found that there was a fault with the switch, so now waiting for them to get more back in stock... this is another set back to the finishing date, while there enquired about the brake res and cap as I have been waiting now for 9 months for this item, they have it in stock, but need to manufacture a bracket for it, hopefully it will be done for next week... UPDATE - YES ! WELL DONE TO KIETH AT GBS, MANY THANKS FOR COMPLETING THE BRACKET :-) )

Alex arrived back from school, and gave his time to help, mainly bending down to pick up things because both Simon's and my back was starting to hurt, been up and down on my knee's all day so they where shot, time to call it a day I think ?

The build will continue later this week, I need a day off to get issue's sorted !

DAY OFF THE BUILD...

Spent the day sorting out the previous day's issues, then having a lazy afternoon in the sun, unfortunately the afternoon planning went pear-shaped when my boys returned home from sports day with a pile of washing to be done !

DAY TWO...

Started on a positive note, Simon got "stuck in" to the boot carpet... seriously sticky stuff, same glue as the cockpit carpet but at least the car is outside so won't get that "high" ?
I started on the nose cone, chrome surround with a black honeycomb mesh as the grill. Measured out the cycle wings for the repeater indicators and drilled.

All going rather smoothly until...

Reverse light ! When we did a brief test on the gearbox last week when we started her up for the first time the reverse light failed to come on. Tracing the fault back from the light it looked like the switch on the gearbox was at fault. Sorry for the language bit this was a bast**d to get too ! Simon spend a good 40 minutes getting the 2 bolts out. Once out we tested it with the multimeter, yep - not working.

Internet search, and the first company we call has one in stock ! Other side of town we quickly sped, only to find its the wrong kind of switch. (unhappy face).
Off to another parts emporium... puzzled faces of bewilderment greeted us from the other side of the counter ?
Lastly the "Ford" dealership in town, this was not looking good, none on the "system", the parts manager phoned the local warehouse, none in stock, the went on the "nationwide" database, no new parts available in the UK !!

4 hours of searching and nothing ? This is going to be a headache !

Now reached breaking point, I am just a few days work away from completion and now hitting the smallest, but biggest issues of the build.

At the moment I have just 3 major issues....

1. Brake reservoir and cap, still waiting from GBS - SORTED

2. Faulty switch on indicator stalk, waiting for new stock from GBS

3. Reverse light switch for MT75 gearbox, is there a second hand one in the UK ?

So I've put her away in the garage for a few days, need time to think this over, So close yet so far away ?

Build time for this week ... 25 hours ( mostly spent on the phone, on the internet, driving to tool shops, or scratching heads and looking for tools we put down somewhere ? )

Total build time now... 222 hours

IT STARTS ! A New Milestone. Blog includes videos !

Since the last blog done several small jobs over the past 2 weeks,and now that the weather has changed to summer its a joy to wheel the Zero out of the garage and work around it with more space under the car-port. This however has attracted everyman and his dog to stop and chat about the build and the "good old days" when cars were cars and not a collection of plastic bits ?

Changing the headlamps...
Unfortunately GBS were out of stock of a few bits, one of which was the headlamp sub loom. However a fairly simple procedure of making one up, just took a couple of hours (mainly due to dog walkers stopping for a chat ! ). But this did save quite a bit of money.

Wiring up the Smiths Oil pressure sensor, this has to be wired into the loom along with the Ford sensor as well. Managed to get a Ford plug for the sensor so a single wire just needed a spade connector for the loom. (again GBS did not have one of these in stock :-(  )

Soon making our way through the loom connectors, connecting everything up we came across a 5 way grey connector with no label on it ?? anyway its for the wiper motor, a job after the IVA test.

Another label "flasher".... mmmm... think we need a flasher relay ! IN STOCK AT GBS !!  :-)
Quick fit.

With a helping hand today, left Simon to pop on the Transmission tunnel tops and other connections around the scuttle area.

I glued the "tadpole" trim to the rear arches. Then re-wired the ignition wiring as this was too short, slight confusion as the wiring schismatic said 2 x yellow wires ? and I had only 1 ?... we shall see later if this is important ?

Next small job, change the end connectors from "eye" style to "spade" on the fuel sender, re-crimped and connected.

Simon finished his job, and now for the dash to go in, a dry fit and we found out a little trimming was required around the steering column. A drum sander made short work of this.

My son, Ben, has now finished his GCSE exams and school for the summer, so today asked if he could help ? got him to help Simon with the dash and the instrument storks instillation.

However think he was missing something ?

Purchased a quick release steering wheel system, unfortunately a "cheap" one, we have fitted it but its useless ! going back on the Internet tonight to find a better one, not a cheap Chinese copy ! Sooner spend a few pounds more for quality. A warning to all.

Filled the cooling system with a 50/50 mixture of water and coolant, took 4 litres after lots of bubbling noises and squeezing of the hoses, see if it needs more once the engine has been run.

Besides a few issues today, which were mainly silly things it all went very well, So much so in the last hour decided to connect up the battery and test a few things.

So we turned on the ignition....it worked as shown in the video below.

Ooh... Sexy start up !


Horn works, rear fog light including the switch light, side lights, dipped beam, but no full beam ?? will have to look at that later. No indicators as these are not fitted yet.

Shall we turn the key 1 more turn ??.... Why not, will she start ?

Big grins and smiles all round.. she's alive !

However oil pressure warning light remained on and gauge said "No pressure" ?... Check the dipstick !

After a bit more oil in the engine we got a good oil pressure reading, water temperature rising, Volts rising and when the engine is rev'ed it rises and falls, Rev counter working, but only 5 litres of fuel in the tank so gauge not indicating much. So all gauges seem to be working.

The exhaust was changing colour very nicely, a golden purple colour, sweet ! The fan started at 50 degrees on the gauge so that's another item working.

As we still have no brakes, still waiting for the brake reservoir and cap from GBS ? we wanted to test the clutch, so very carefully we selected all gears, and engaged the clutch slightly, feeling the car pulling in each gear against the handbrake was a big wait of our minds that we fitted the clutch, clutch arm, bearing and pin correctly all those months ago !

Long day and now feeling completely drained, another couple of hours clearing and putting stuff away and the day is over.

Many thanks again to my mate Simon for his help today, greatly appreciated.


Total build time for the past 2 weeks.... 25 hours

Total build time to date...197 Hours

4 wheels on my wagon ! plus fuse box and ECU.

More work today on the electrics and other things on the list to finish off under the car. Had a visit over to the factory at GBS earlier this week, and got a few extra bits... finally got the pressure cap for the cooling system, a return spring for the accelerator, new style headlamps with "cool" looking LED side lights. Also was going to order the windscreen kit, but they had them in stock so purchased that as well ! wasn't going to spend that much but if I'd waited till after the IVA test with my luck it would out of stock ?. also ordered the rear diffuser and fixing kit... this has a waiting time of 6 to 8 weeks so should be ready after the IVA test ?

Spoke at length to Richard and Simon at the factory about the next few steps... So back on EBay to order some more bits, not too expensive this time, just items I hadn't got, One of which is a new Rivnut tool as I broke the last one setting a riv nut... A rather loud BANG as I snapped the metal tooling !!

So while waiting for these items to arrive... on with today's items.

The Fuse box has been hanging around in the passenger compartment and needs to be fitted onto the firewall along with the ECU, simple job, just bolted through some holes...

Space left to the side for the wiper motor which will be fitted after the IVA test.

Next... Ignition barrel and storks. Ignition barrel has a small locking button which can only be operated buy the key, this has to be turned to position 1 on the key, then slotted into the housing on the steering column, turn the key back to 0 and its in. The storks require 4 x 5mm bolts and attach to either side of the column.

Underneath the car while it's still on the tressels, trimmed down the seat bolts with the grinder, and plugged it the reversing wires to the reversing switch on the gearbox.

Before the wheels go on and while we have access to all the bolts on the front of the car we did a final check on the tightness of the bolts, then marked them with a paint pen as checked and finished.

More Wiring... the cooling fan needed connecting up, and the high pressure fuel pump. After talking to Richard found out that the 2 different coloured wires to the fuel pump, Brown and grey, that Brown was the earth and grey the feed, as there are 2 fuel pumps on the car this got a bit confusing as only one pump (the rear) was listed on the chassis wring diagram ? Hope it all works when we try to start the car ?

Front brake pipes fitting, flexible braided pipes from the calipers to the side panel, then connected to the brake line on the inside. A bit of bending and a couple of "P" clips needed. IVA states that a maximum of 300mm is needed between the clips, and also that a cut down nut cover is needed over the nut of the brake pipe which enters the brake caliper.

Next.. Wiring the lower dash loom, Interesting and a bit of a head scratcher ! think GBS need a more clearer diagram on this part ? however after about 20 minutes and a multimeter we think we sorted it ? time will tell when we connect it up later on in the build ?

While tightening up the bolts we noticed that the steering rack gaiter was just touching the trim while going through the body work, slight adjustment of about 5mm soon sorted the problem.

Wiring of the headlamps will have to wait a few more days... waiting for extra parts in the post.

ON WITH THE WHEELS !!!!!

or just 1 at the moment... while in conversation with my mate Simon we were discussing the length of the exhaust and that I may have positioned the rear bracket too far back and that the exhaust may touch the rear wheel guard ? So we fitted the rear passenger side wheel and tyre and offered up the wheel guard. Unfortunately there is no photo of this as there was not enough room. But the conclusion was that it needed to be moved as the end of the exhaust was too close to the plastic of the guard and could be a "melting" issue ?
So off with the silencer, and approx. 7cm cut off the end of the manifold pipe...

All back on at looks a much better fit !

OK... now for the rest of the wheels.

Time to get the car off the tressels and onto the floor. Richard at GBS showed me the centre of gravity on the car for lifting, So got some slings and the engine lift in place.

My son Alex helping to get the legs of the lift under the car as the hoist had to be disassembled some what to get it in position.

Got a few extra hands for this job... Keith the hoist operator, Alex the tressel remover, Simon at the front of the car, and myself at the rear.

For reasons no photos of the lift down onto the floor, but as soon as it was Alex jumped in...

Then Simon....

Then me...

Big grins on everyone's face !

Many thanks today to Simon, Keith, and Alex for all there help.


Today's build time... 12 hours

Total build time so far...172 hours