MadaboutKitcars

A-Plan now have my business as of next Monday.

Amanda Price - we love you

Amanda Price is now on my Christmas card list...



Received today.

And it's now correct on the DVLA Enquiry database:



using

Vehicle Registration Mark
"T210YHO"
Vehicle Make
If the make does not appear in this list, select 'Other' and complete the text box below.
"Other"
...or other make(only if you selected 'Other' above)
"Z300S BARCHETTA"

Wow, so no inspection any more then, just fill in a form?

Yes- just sent in the V5, V627/1, the receipt for the work from Chris and 4 pictures of it (from front with hood up, from front with hood down, from rear with hood down and an under-bonnet shot clearly showing the retained front protection "bumper" and the BMW name on the engine).

TBH, I think the detailed receipt from Chris swung it with wording like "Supply ... kit to fit BMW Z3" and "To fit the above to customer supplied BMW Z3 Reg. No. T210 YHO..."

That made it quite clear that it was only body panels that were involved without modification to chassis, drive train or suspension. My pics were taken with the wire wheels fitted.

Getting mine re-registered again!!!

As it stands, mine is a replica.

Probably of yours Ian :-)

Just remember that Amanda is your friend here.

She will be asked for by name.

Cheers !!!

So when I saw that someone on eBay was custom engraving Tribute beer glasses- how could I resist???

I like that. Can anyone buy them? Please post the details.
Does it make the beer taste like scotch lol

Search for "PERSONALISED ENGRAVED TRIBUTE BEER PINT GLASS - BIRTHDAY, BEST MAN, 40TH" on eBay or go to [url]www.quality-engraving.co.uk[/url]

I bought one on eBay and it came with a 10% off next order coupon.

On the Additional notes or comments section of the V627/1 I wrote:

"Tribute Automotive is a supplier of replacement bodywork parts to fit BMW Z3 Roadster cars. They call this bodywork swapped car a Z300S Barchetta. It is not a kit car - only the external body panels are changed. It is not a replica of any existing car - it is meant to resemble a 1950's Italian sports car."

Some pics from Donington 2014 August 30/31

A good day on Saturday but a great day on Sunday.

Can you believe that some guy asked Chris if my Barchetta was one of his because it had Italian number plates so someone must have driven it to Donington from Italy!!! Result !!!

Drain your boot for £7.24

So- the big question I had for Chris at the weekend was... how to drain the boot lid channel and keep the boot dry? I've not sealed round the boot aperture channel yet and periodically have to dry out the battery tray area. then apply some WD40 until the next time.

Well here's the answer:



The £7.24 in the title refers to the price of 10of 15mm Tube Supports and 2m matching pipe from B&Q in the plumbing section.

How to: locate the widest area of the channel in the rear corner of the aperture- you can check this out from underneath against the light. The old rear light panel obscures most of the channel but in the corners there is room to drill large enough holes.

Before:



Once the hole is drilled and made large enough for the support, countersink it carefully to get the lip as deep as possible into the hole without it falling through. Then cut a length of pipe to suit. I angle-cut the lower end to maximise the exit area- it sits on the inside of the rear apron just below the rear lights. Feed the pipe through the vacant rear light hole in the rear panel keeping a loop of wire on it so that you can manoeuvre it easily to be under the hole you've made. Then push the tube support into it.
That gives you the dry fit.

And it looks like this:



Remove it all, apply the sealant of choice to the hole in the channel and to the end of the pipe and re-assemble.

My sealant of choice is Sikaflex (or Tiger Seal) but I use so little at a time, I end up wasting half a tube because it goes off. Any tips for stopping it doing that please?

Wire wheels & spinners

Chaps, can someone please let me know what the law is on spinners, i read in the iva manual that the spinner cannot protude more than 30 mm out from the bodywork, is this correct, i have 6 " cobra style centre laced wheels, with three eared spinners, so the spinners only just stick out from the wheel but i need to know how far out the wheel base i can go relative to the wheel arch lip, to get the correct look on my car

Thanks

My sealant of choice is Sikaflex (or Tiger Seal) but I use so little at a time, I end up wasting half a tube because it goes off. Any tips for stopping it doing that please?[/QUOTE]

These polyurethane adhesives are cured by atmospheric moisture. I seal the part used tube around the end of the nozzle and at the bottom with clingfilm and masking tape then store it in an airtight container with a tub of the orange self indicating silica gel beads which dry the air inside the container.
I still need to cut a small amount of length off the nozzle if I need to use it a few weeks later.
If not using it for a few months then I replace the nozzle with a new one.
Hope this helps.

Enjoyed the Donnington show, particularly on the Sunday, nice to see your car and the 250 SWB on Saturday night.

These polyurethane adhesives are cured by atmospheric moisture. I seal the part used tube around the end of the nozzle and at the bottom with clingfilm and masking tape then store it in an airtight container with a tub of the orange self indicating silica gel beads which dry the air inside the container.
I still need to cut a small amount of length off the nozzle if I need to use it a few weeks later.
If not using it for a few months then I replace the nozzle with a new one.
Hope this helps.

Enjoyed the Donnington show, particularly on the Sunday, nice to see your car and the 250 SWB on Saturday night.

Thanks for the explanation. I was already using cling film but obviously need to do more to keep moisture at bay.

I enjoyed Donington as well. The Jago club won the Best Club Stand award.
I can't see the show continuing unless they can keep subsidising it by having racing on the same days. Attendances were down and the exhibition hall was only full due to the models displays and the sweet stands.

Draining



Would the poly sealants successfully hold and seal the plastic though? Some of the plastics really don't want to stick. Another possibility would be to either get some GRP tube from ECF or other supplier of the correct size for the plumbing tube, and bond the GRP tube in place with resin or specialist bonder for GRP, or ......... Make a female mould of the support 'sleeve', then make your own tube using the female mould. A suitable sized bolt could be incorporated when the final 'tube' is made, or a solid 'peg' made, and then a drainage hole drilled in it (but coat with resin after so no bare GRP fibres to get damaged by water. The main aim being to get a GRP item which will (no question) bond successfully to the GRP, and accept the plumbing tube!

Nothing like putting a positive spin on it eh?
What makes you think attendance numbers were down? I think they were up - Am I correct?
Making statements like these (both mine and yours) is meaningless. Let the organisers say if they wish, but saying 'I can't see the show continuing' is pointless in the least, and destructive at worst. If you have a genuine passion for the Kit Car movement then PLEASE try to encourage it. Rant over.

Ever used Tiger Seal ???
These are only drain holes- no pressure.
For plastic-plastic sealing, Osma provide an adhesive.

I encourage it by attending shows and spending money with the organisers and the trade stands who attend and have done so for the last 12 years and intend to continue to do so. I own three kit cars.

I also encourage it by telling people outside the movement why I drive these cars and how good a social life attending shows brings.

Malvern, Detling, Stafford, Exeter, Newark, Castle Combe, now Malvern again - I listen to the traders telling me how the price of stands is increasing and how much their on-line sales are increasing as a proportion of their business. They're the people who need encouragement- not the "I want free entry in my kitcar because without us you don't have a show" types.

Economics comes into play as well, organiser costs are rising, people don't have the leisure money to spend on trips, or the spare time to enjoy them. Maybe when the economy really picks up, we'll see a change.

And if it were the fact that the existing shows were expanding to compensate for the defunct ones, there would be more cause for optimism but to take Stoneleigh as a case in point, it is a shadow of its former years.

Perhaps body kits like Tribute's will turn the tide against this as they don't require the expensive IVA procedure- I hope so.

As for my (conditional on racing) "can't see it continuing" statement- that's an opinion of mine- I couldn't be happier than to be proved wrong.

I've not used Tigerseal, but I have used other polyurethanes, such as Sikaflex and the very reasonably priced Stixall. I'm not sure they will stick to the plastic of the insert - If I have any 'live' stixall I'll try it, as I have some of the inserts.
The osma adhesive is for 'solvent weld' pipe and fittings and works by being VERY volatile and melting the plastics (smells awful) - I'm 99% certain it wouldn't melt the GRP, and therefore wouldn't create a bond with the insert.

I wasn't looking for the ultimate seal with the plastic, very few things do that, but Tiger Seal will support it sufficiently. I'll check out Stixall- interesting name. Yes, Osma is a solvent and wouldn't work on GRP. I might try moulding some GRP pipe myself. It will make it worthwhile mixing up enough resin for that along with other small jobs that need it.