Now you tell us !!!
It's worth £7 just to see the indicator lights on the unit go out so you know it's done...
A good day out at the Historic Specials Day at Cotswold Wildlife Park today organised by the Fairthorpe Owners Club. Where else could you see three Lotus 6s together, or five Rochdale Olympics along with Turners, Bucklers and Tornadoes?
Yes- this one was a bit "special"...
A Little Electrical Problem
Needed to move the Z300S to get the Jago out this morning.
Got suspicious when the driver's door unlocked on the key without any other central unlocking noises.
Key in ignition- absolutely dead, no lights at all.
Pushed it out of the way, connected the battery charger and used Jago as planned.
A few hours later, went out to try and start it- still absolutely dead.
Disconnected the battery charger, disconnected the earth battery terminal and touched it back on terminal. There was a visible spark which suggested a higher parasitic drain than just the radio. Connecting a meter between showed 10A !!!
Disconnected the alternator as I've had those fail before- (you usually get a light show from the instruments when they do) but same problem.
Took the top off the fuse box and started to read the circuits trying to see what could use that much juice.
Honestly, I extracted fuse #19 first- driver's seat and... no more drain and car started OK.
Herself had driven it to the Historic Specials Show and adjusted the seat forwards. I'd adjusted it back afterwards- obviously too much for the old motor. Or is there a relay?
Only buggeration was that I broke the plastic radiator return pipe where it joins the rubber pipe whilst removing the air filter. It has a brass ferrule inside at that point so although I've remade the join and it doesn't seem to leak- I'll have to replace it.
So- see you at Weymouth Bike & Car Show tomorrow evening- Thursday 25 August.
Weymouth Esplanade 25 August 2016
No apologies for this now being a "living with it and enjoying it" thread but well worth the 230 mile round trip to be at the seaside yesterday. Hood down all the way and when it rained a bit, I just wound the windows up so my elbow didn't get wet.
Early in the evening:
and later on:
An Appropriate Number Plate
I'd been wondering about how best to get away from the age-specific plate.
Just a question of an appropriate one becoming available.
The road plate is 100% legal whereas I have taken a liberty with the show plate.
Now MOTed for another year and still saving up to get it painted.
Only 1240 miles in the last 12 months but that included some good trips down to Weymouth for the "last Thursday" car shows on The Esplanade. Have also done the commuting run a few times.
Some wheely bad news and some wheely good news
As circumstances contrive, when you have a few cars, to make some unavailable at the same time I had to ferry herself to work on 3 days this week in the Z300S.
The wist-wist-wist from the NSR that I was hoping was a dragging disc pad got louder. I had a close look at the wire wheel and it was obvious that the inner row of spokes was not happy with rust streaks emanating from the holes in the hub.
So I looked on eBay yesterday morning- there was a single wheel, super condition, as-new tyre of the right size and correct speed rating finishing in 4 hours. My snipe won it and I collected it last evening.
Cleaned the dust off it this morning, a quick coat of wheel silver paint- job done.
The existing wheel was a b@st@rd to get off. I would have said that I'd coated the surfaces with copper grease before fitting- obviously not enough as the splines were dry- where the Plus-Gas hadn't reached anyway. Be warned...
To you- £35.
Oh yes, the exhaust baffle made a bid for freedom during our commuting so I made a new bracket for that as well.
I'd suggest Plus-Gas and a 5lb lump hammer.
Either that or remove and re-grease every 6 months or so.
There's currently a lot of discussion on other threads about why Tribute kits are so popular and what could be done to improve them.
Rather than hijack those threads- why did I buy a Tribute kit?
1. The shape- I'd always wanted an open Maserati. All but 1950 Fezzas leave me cold.
2. WCA's enthusiasm at the Stoneleigh Show.
3. Open the bonnet- it's full of engine and has Z3 performance.
4. Realistic price- donor, kit and build matched my budget.
5. Availability of a Tribute build- it was mine and driveable within weeks which matched my (non)availability to spend time building it.
6. Then being able to complete it whilst having it available to drive- wheels, bodywork, interior, etc.
7. I'd known Chris for a few years through shows seeing the MX250 so I knew he would deliver.
8. Improvements? They are kits so expectations vary- you pay your money... If you want a kit to fit perfectly- the only way you'll get that is if someone builds the car for you and then dismantles it for you to build again. This is not mass-production to close tolerances- that costs both time and money which small companies can't match. However- the end result is individual- it's the details that make my car unique.
Weymouth Esplanade 25 May 2017
Went down to Weymouth on a glorious "last Thursday" for the show on the Esplanade. About 60 bikes and 6 cars.
and
Joined later by a Ford Capri Mk2.
Insurance time- I knocked my business and social mileage down to 2k miles of each and saved £100. A-Plan.
New Rear Shocks
The NSR shock was looking a bit damp so I picked up a pair of Sachs standard rear shocks 556214009 and some HD mounts 3003359102 and fitted them today.
Straightforward job- there's a good YouTube video. What he didn't say- no need to take the wheels off although it's easier if you remove the spare wheel. And when replacing the rear shelf liner- start at the ends and finish in the middle.
I couldn't resist adding a touch of copper grease to all of the threads (why did Ed China never do that?) as an "Ian Woz 'ere" touch even though they were all dry when I took them apart.
I did remove the wheels and give the splines another smear of copper grease whilst it was up in the air.
Then a nice test drive just before it rained- deffo firmer ride and hopefully a happy MOT man in a few months.
Z3 Wiring Diagram
Just doing a little trouble-shooting before the MOT and found these:
http://www.wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm
Circuit of Wales
Looks like it was
killed off back in July.
But now the Welsh Government says that it is
open minded about it after all. I hope that nobody is holding their breath...
Now MOTed for another year and still saving up to get it painted.
Slight increase up to 1745 miles in the last 12 months.
Had to replace the driver's seat fuse to make it adjustable again for the test. Apparently there is a draft MOT "additions" document around showing that from May the test could include brake fluid appearance and reversing light checks.
Found
the document here
1330 Kg
Just been out for a spin down to a local weighbridge and the Z300S with a quarter tank of fuel weighs 1330 Kg.
It still has the front & rear alloy "bumpers" under the bodywork and carries a space-save spare wheel.
Out for a spin in the Z300S earlier this week and upon checking (as you do) found that the brake lights weren't working.
Wiring connections in the well of darkness (the boot) looked OK and the fuse wasn't blown.
Having the engine running and idly pumping the brake pedal listening for the switch to click- they started working again.
The switch was just tired I guess...
If only all gremlins would dissipate as easily.
Getting close to paint time
Getting close to paint time as I've found someone fairly local who will do a standard paint only job (no lacquer) with a pro-finish vinyl striping overlay.
A few more consultations needed but he's recommended
Indasa Autofill for any filling, pre-primer that it may need. Anyone else used this stuff?
Sounds like an easy-sand paste with glass and kevlar reinforcement. I have to say that the Isopon P40 with glass strands is not the easiest to sand.
