Fog light and boot cover

Well BIG thanks to my mate Frampy we have finally got a Fog lamp that will work in accordance with the IVA rules. I still cant believe that this issue is one oif the most asked about things on all the forums. Its a friggin' nightmare!

I mentioned before how I'd fabricated a 3 piece rear boot cover panel

and was planning on fitting the GBS vinyl boot cover but at over £100 and whilst doing the sums for IVA/registration I came up with this............

Black leatherette £5 on ebay, contact adhesive £8......

Black rivets ebay £3......

Admiring your own work and saving big money......Priceless!!

Well big thanks to Simon and or Will but the manifold did arrive today so I got it all fitted. The fitting kit is good and the bracket fits to the chassis with 2 X 10mil rivnuts

Now I need to sort the running out as the CAT and silencer glow RED HOT on idle, which means either its running lean or the timing is out. Still it was very cool blasting it through the village today! My GOD its QUICK!! ;-)

Exhaust continued....

After waiting 2 weeks for my exhaust it doesnt fit! I spoke to them and they explained they had changed the design and now have two different fittings. Shame they dont tell you that at the time or ask any questions before they take your order. Anyway hopefully they will be true to their word and a new manifold will be here tomorrow.

 Ive now had to strip the water rail and manifold to account for this so we're probably looking at a 3 week delay all in all.

Tracking and exhaust

So I have a list of minor jobs (mmm) to do whilst prepping for IVA. I did the tracking today, I used some ribbon and a stapler to align the front wheels with the rears. Its quite simple, take a piece of ribbon or string and run it through the centre line of the rear wheels. Then staple it in to a proper piece of tread on the tyre, then run the ribbon to the front wheel and make sure there is no deviation on the line. Important to note befor you do this make sure you have the same left/right movement on the steering wheel. Once its all done adjust the steering whell mounting position.

The exhaust came back from GBS today with the CAT welded so I set about fitting that. 1 hours work I reckoned but not so. The GBS manifold really doesnt seem too keen on accepting the rest of the system so I walked away and will revisit it tomorrow.!

Front indicators

I received the threaded tube which I got from Bygone Lighting as this is going to be the solution to mount the horrible front indicators and extensions required for IVA. Its M10 but has a fine pitch thread (1mm) 

So I cut 2 x 35mm lengths and added a nylock at one end 

This then fits onto the GBS extension bracket

Then using the Peugeot 205 steering gaiters which I shortened a bit I covered all this making it IVA compatible.

Ugly I know but they will be replaced after the test for sure!

Not much but a bit more...

With it so nearly finished now the updates will be be having less and less techy content and just basic progress. I've fitted the Lambda (loosely) and am going to need to think of a heat proof shroud to get this through the IVA radius test...

Having made various threaded solutions for my old gear knob I fitted this Sparco unit with a threaded insert that came with it and it looks cool and keeps the black/ali theme through the car.....

My last post spoke about the minging 'streetlamps' with extensions required for IVA as front indicators and the pic below shows the cool ones which will replace them the day after I pass IVA.......

Which would you prefer????

Boot cover and a bit more trimming

A while ago I made a wooden pattern of the rear boot cover and then I designed a 3 piece solution and then fabricated 3 ali panels. The left and right will be rivetted and the centre panel will be riv-nutted to allow access to all the mechanicals in the back, after that a vinyl hood type cover will be placed on top .....

Ive shown before my idea/solution for my gear gaiter and today I bonded it whilst finishing a couple of other bonding jobs. The sealant doesnt last once you've opened it so it pays to line up a few jobs as its expensive stuff.

One of my least favourite of the standard Zero parts are the front indicators. They're minging! AND you need to fit extensions to make sure they pass IVA......

THEN to add to the minging factor they need shrouding to make them compliant with the IVA radius test (sharp edges) so Im using peugeot 205 steering gaiters.

Trust me this whole set up will 'fall off' the night after IVA and be replaced with some nice Gucci superbike ones.

More fettling

I got the VIN plate from GBS which is nice and no longer carries the RH logo and its in my colour scheme! Very thoughtful.

Front wings now fitted with IVA trim which I got from cbsonline, its much nicer and tidier than others Ive seen. It takes some time and patience but its well worth it...

Another go at bonding the bonnet scoop and I think its worked out well this time....

Brakes, bits and first drive!!!!!

So I eventually received the right amount of edge trim  and finished the sill covers...

I also went about re-bonding the scoop to the bonnet but this didnt work out right so its a job for tomorrow or when I can get back over.....

Thanks to the guys on rhocar I sorted the problem with the brakes which turned out to be a case of taking the rear calipers off and inverting them whilst bleeding them. All that said the BEST part of today was driving the car!

So OK it was only out of the garage and turning it round but still very exciting if you've built the thing yourself. Seriously happy and excited!!! Now to fit the exhaust, I dont think the neighbours want to hear it every time its started....