Grandad

Hi nizmOzed I think New Years Day is totally appropriate to fire the engine given the magnitude of the project and it just happens to be my birthday. I had been thinking that a vid of the start up would be appropriate but as I don't want to get banned I guess it's a must do. Only three more sleeps. Cheers Dad

Hi All Got a little bit more done today but more importantly arranged with Whittie that New Years Day is it for firing the engine....Can't wait. I picked the best two of the front fender indicators and attacked them with my wire brush. I then gave them a coat of heat proof silver. I picked the best two lenses but they are a bit sad looking. I decided to try and brighten them up and also remove the lettering but needed to secured to something for polishing so I mounted them to a piece of timber which worked well. Here they are with the lettering gone. Now for the polishing. One down one to go. With the polishing done, I gave them and the mounting blocks good scrub and re-painted the metal trims, they have been powder coated previously but were showing signs of age. The mounting blocks had the mandatory session with the KIWI. The wiring was pretty ordinary but out of four I was able to make two good ones. So here they are good to go, not a big job but it's amazing just how time consuming it is. Here's another sign that the end is near. I did that so I could test that the fuel gauge is working then finally tidy up the rear under car wiring and refit the rear wheel, which I have. Only three more sleeps. Cheers Dad

Hi peter Thanks for the offer, changing the gear knob has increased clearance and I've decided to invert the switch so that little issue is solved also because we continually broke stock Zed boxes we are now running a much stronger Sylvia one so not sure a Zed shifter will fit. Cheers Dad

Hi All Did a bit more today to try and keep the momentum going which can be more than a little difficult at this time of year so it was pretty simple brain dead stuff like replacing the exploded hand brake warning light globe and the reversing light globe. I wasn't entirely happy with the cutout switch location yesterday because when operating the gear lever in 1st, 3rd & 5th, my hand would come into contact with it. Fix no one, replace the gear knob. The way I currently have the switch mounted the toggle contacted the heater control console in its sweep from the disconnect to the connect position so I decided to trim it which in hind sight I'm not happy about, I set it in this position so that if we fit the externally operated pull handle the internal cable will be on the passenger side of the console but I'm not comfortable that there is enough material left on the toggle to ensure a breakage won't occur if the handle is operated under extreme conditions so rather than make a new filler panel I will invert the switch and get a new toggle. Following Rikki's reaction to seeing the tail lights I thought I might give the front fender lights the same treatment so retrieved them from Whitties light box and interestingly found four of them in varying states of disrepair so turned my attention to those that came off the Zed and when I took the first one apart, this is what I found. No prizes for guessing that won't be re-fitted, I have identified two sets of suitable light bodies, lenses and mounting blocks so all will be good. TBC. Cheers Dad

Hi All This re-build seems to have been going on forever so I just went back over the thread and found some interesting dates, the car came home from Will 23/6/12, Whittie started work on it 24/6/12 and put in a couple of solid days then went missing in action so I started on 5/7/12 and have been going at it at my own pace since which has been nice because once we missed the NDSOC meet I had time to consider and solve the little challenges that always present themselves in a re-build of this magnitude and also keep a close eye on detail so 17 months later I'm almost done. Those of you that have done re-builds know the satisfaction that comes with doing a job to the best of your ability and achieving a good result, with the pressures in his life currently Whittie has not been available so assist physically in the re-build but has been the one with the ideas and inspiration that have transformed the Zed from what it was into what it is now, the sparkie was expecting to fire the engine up today and was disappointed to see fuel lines missing, everything is more or less ready to go but I've decided that the engine will only be fired up when Whittie turns the key because not withstanding my input, this is his project. There was a bit of action today it started with me spraying the blanking plate with vinyl paint, that was a disaster as it pealed straight off when it dried, I then painted it with lo sheen black which didn't match with the console at all so off it came, I then called in the KIWI, what a slow learner I am, that worked perfectly. I now needed to fit the cut out switch so did a test drill hole in the donor bin, as I don't have a hole bit the right size and won't buy one for one hole, I used the largest bit I have and the a rats tail file to enlarge it. I tidied the edges of the blanking panel up a bit with a file then drilled a guide hole followed by the main drill hole which I then filed to size. With that done I mounted the switch, not perfect but certainly good enough. Next job was to mount the backing plate to the console. Rikki the sparkie went through everything today and found a few little issues that were soon solved, any under bonnet wiring that is redundant had been removed and the loom re-taped, all the old original fuses were replaced simply because of there age, the HID lights have been connected and are working, when testing the tail lights Rikki asked if they were new because they were so bright, the test report was one blown reversing light globe and one dash globe. While Rikki was doing his thing I concentrated on fitting the console but first up I had to fit the gear lever which posed a problem until I turned the box it was in upside down and found the retaining clip, from there on it was relatively simple. Given that the console is designed to sit on top of carpet and sound proofing under felt it fits well. Cheers Dad

Hi All Had another visit from that mischievous Leprechaun today, with the battery connected I turned the lights on and wouldn't you know it, on came the hi-beam light, that combined with the fact I couldn't get my fat little fingers behind the dash to reconnect the cigarette lighter which was removed in case we wanted to mount the brake bias adjuster there, the dash had to come out again, quite amazing how quickly that happens once you've done it a few times in rapid succession, turns out when I had the speedo apart I put globes back where they looked like they should go without checking the Workshop Manual. I did a little bit of electrical work in preparation for Rikki's visit tomorrow then turned my hand to the centre console blanking panel, I figured that given my track record I wouldn't get it right first up so decided to attack an end panel of the box so I would have plenty of material left for further attempts, I drilled four holes large enough that I could get my gig saw in and let rip. I used the jig saw to cut it more or less to size then tried trimming it with my old hand held wood plane which didn't work so I decided to try my electric plane which worked a treat, just had to make sure I kept my fat little fingers out of the way. Here's my first attempt, the material is easy to work with much the same as the mud flaps, the lines you can see are from the jig saw, I should have cut it from behind, I'll set the black KIWI loose on it tomorrow and if that doesn't work I'll give it a coat of vinyl paint, if either of those work and I manage to mount the cutout switch accurately then that's it, interestingly the thickness of this material is almost exactly the same as the recess it has to fill. Cheers Dad

Don't worry mate, when you're behind the wheel looking to set the car up for the next corner, you won't even notice it. Cheers Dad

Hi All I had hoped that the car would be finished by today so I could put the keys in Whitties Christmas Stocking but sadly I've missed that target but the end is surely not far off now and we have a track day mid January so I won't be backing off any time soon. Got a bit more done today, I decided to fit the dash so firstly made sure everything that needed to be fitted or connected prior, such as door light switches and ventilation hoses were in place. Here it is ready to accept the dash. Here it is in place, not having a windscreen fitted sure makes fitting easier. I saw Tuss today and told him I'm not far off firing it up so he gave me some running in instructions along with some running in oil and two bottles of hi zinc run in additive, just like lead in fuel zink has been removed from engine oil but it is extremely beneficial when running in new engines. Merry Christmas all, I hope Santa brings you whatever it is you have wished for and Rudolf, I hope the weather is kind to you on your rounds tonight. Cheers Dad

Hi All I've had a few interruptions in the last few days but they were not unpleasant and after all it is that time of year. I did manage to collect the door cards from the trimmer on Friday but being under pressure he only had time for a rush job which isn't up to scratch but it was a freebie so I'm not complaining as it will be a simple fix and he did give me "motor trimmers trade secret 401". There are a few seams in the Alkantara that I suspect will require some attention over time and was thinking contact adhesive would be the product to use but am concerned that it can easily create a mess so I asked Paul what I should use, his answer was Loctite 401 he said it's the motor trimmers best friend and they'd be lost without it. Loctite have a wide range of product each with specific application and it appears this is the one that best suites ours. For anyone who's interested, here's a link to Loctite 401. http://www.loctite.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/SID-677E0B54-A2F9ED57/henkel_aue/hs.xsl/3423_AUS_HTML.htm?countryCode=aue&BU=industrial&parentredDotUID=productfinder&redDotUID=000001G2ZX I spent my time today preparing to fit the dash, that meant checking all the wiring was correct and as I haven't had my head seriously under the dash for well over three years it took a while to remember what everything is for and where it should go, Whitties pics came in very handy. I repositioned the battery cables leading to the isolation switch that will replace the radio on the centre console, while I was at it I connected power again and checked the tail lights which look to be working as they should, I'm seriously pleased I took the time to pull them apart and clean them when I did as they're brighter than I've ever seen them, the others will be tested later when we have ignition. This is a repeat of a previous pic but shows where we want to locate the isolation switch. I had initially considered that I would fashion some sheet aluminium as a cover plate on which to mount the isolation switch then have it powder coated black or anodized but as neither of those ideas are particularly cost effective or will blend well with the console I've not felt totally comfortable with them so have not acted just in case I had a light turn on with a better idea, I think that might have just happened today. I had considered that any backing plate must be robust enough to withstand the forces applied in operating the isolation switch (particularly in emergency situations) however since the introduction of our new friend 401 I've decided that plastic material soundly secured will do the job so all that's left to do is find appropriate black plastic material. My first thought was that I shouldn't have been so hasty in throwing out the old console but a quick look at the new one revealed that it wouldn't have been suitable for this purpose any way so I started thinking about where I might find similar suitable black plastic, my first stop was the local Bunnings garden section and while there was lots of suitable product, none of it was in black so I aimlessly wandered through the store and eventually found myself in the storage section staring at black storage bins that I thought might just do the job so I escorted one home, via the check out of course, it's not exactly the same but it's going to be closer than powder coat or anodising. Next job is to make a cardboard template. Tomorrows job is to cut it out in plastic, I'm thinking a bonded aluminium sandwich using the same ali I used to blank off the air vents will ad strength but that's one for tomorrow. Cheers Dad

H All I suffered a brain fade attack today but I'm going to blame what happened on "Murphy". I went out this morning to collect the door cards from the trimmer and get some hose clamps plus a few assorted clips, plugs and bolts, the door cards that were due to be ready for collection yesterday haven't been looked at yet but I was assured they will be done before close of business for the Christmas break which starts at 11.30 tomorrow...Time will tell I guess. With that out of the way I decided that a good project for today would be to fit the Webers, I figured that should only take about half an hour or so (Irish intervention excluded), how could it possibly take any longer, I already have the carbies with filters attached mounted on the manifold, I lined them up and secured them in place with a couple of the top bolts but sadly I quickly realized I couldn't get to the bottom studs so decided to remove the carbies from the manifold which gave me access to everything and soon all was secured and yes for those with eagle eyes, it's Murphy's fault, he made me overlook fitting the fuel lines. Ok fuel lines and carbies are now in place and connected all I have to do now is fit the heat shied. Damn, that Murphy character made me forget it can't be fitted with the carbies in place ok off they come again. I have two stainless hose clamps holding the ali foil in place, it serves well as a heat shield but possibly more importantly shields the hot exhaust from any fuel that leaks from the carbies. All I need to do now is fit the carbies which should be pretty simple with the recent practice I've had, yep all looking good and yes the fuel hoses did have a brush with the KIWI. Cheers Dad

Hi Gareth, thanks for your comments it's good to see you're enjoying watching Whittie's car evolve, with regard to the rear quarter window trim if you scroll up a few posts you'll see them one piece covered in cat fur has the speaker holes the other is beside the roof panel. We've been out of the competition loop for almost three years now so I don't know the answer to that one I've simply reused the foam tube that was on the car previously but if it turns out we need to up-grade to the new spec material we will. Cheers Dad

I just checked the photobucket links on the pics, they're the same as I've used previously so I don't think the problem is this end. Cheers Dad

I can see them ok is anyone else having difficulty seeing them? Cheers Dad

Hi All Got a little more done today, when the car was on the hoist after the engine and gearbox were fitted I noticed how crappy and out of place the gear box mount looked so I fixed that today now the only jobs that require the car to remain up on jack stands are fitments of the speedo cable, reverse light switch and bleed of the clutch but I will leave it up because it is a comfortable working height for my tired aging back. I spent most of my time today inside the car cursing the roll cage but managed to get all the rear trim fitted. For those few of you who didn't twig that the dome light is on...We have POWER. Cheers Dad

Hi All In preparation for re-fitting the trim I recently retrieved the door cards from storage in Whitties former wardrobe (where his cat couldn't go) and delivered them to Paul the trimmer so he can re acquaint the vinyl that over time has let go of the backing so it will look good as new when I fit it to Whittie's car. I got to fit a few trim pieces today and have to say that it feels really good to know that in a re-build of this magnitude by the time you get to be doing this type of work, the end is not far off but first things first, clean up after Whitties cat. What a surprise, more detailing. Here's how the wiring protruding from the sill looked pre trimming. And here's how it looks now with trim in place. Because of the cage we had to cut the rear quarter window trim in half, fortunately we've been able to do it so that it's almost undetectable, I like the look of the flock sprayed panels but sadly I don't think they are going to wear all that well. Rear hatch trim fitted. I know it's not finished yet but I'm liking the look. Cheers Dad

Hey Rudolf Great to see you're chilling on the Zed forum just over a week out from your big night. :) I'd never heard of Ashdown Ingram before today but I'll keep them on my radar from now on, they don't actually have the distribution blocks, that came from the US via ebay but they do have the fuses. It's really interesting how much difference a sales attendant can make, early in the re-build we had an issue with extending the length of the steering rods and finding suitable tie rod ends we went to a Pedders store and were told they couldn't help so we went to their local head office and by chance were served by the state manager who couldn't have been more helpful, he sent our requirements to they're R&D section in Melbourne and a week later we had the parts we needed, pitty you can't tell when you walk into a store just who the helpful staff are. Enjoy your big night Rudolf. (Like I bet no one has ever said that before) Cheers Dad

Hi All Didn't get to the trim today but decided to pick up some fuses instead which turned out to be a lot harder than it really needed to, I decided to drop into Jaycar and not really knowing what I needed I asked for distribution block fuses thinking that the Jaycar experts would know exactly what I needed so I left with some 60amp fuses that I didn't think were the right ones and they were a bit lower amp than I really wanted but they were the highest they had. When I got home and tried to fit them it was obvious they were never going to fit so I decided the best thing to do is remove the block and take it with me. Here's what I got from Jaycar clearly completely wrong and never going to fit. Because the distribution block is designed for car audio application I did the ring around of car audio stores and auto parts shops with no luck, no one had a clue what I was after, I found what I wanted on the net but don't want to wait so kept searching locally, eventually I found what I thought would do on the Jaycar web site so back I went armed with the part number, finally I'm getting somewhere or so I thought, when I got there they couldn't find it even though the computer said they were in stock, eventually they did find them but they were maxi fuses and what I need are the mini variety so they gave me a refund and sent me on my way referred to an electrical wholesaler. I thought I recognized the name of the wholesaler and it turned out I have bought some 240volt stuff from them previously but they don't carry much 12 volt stuff anyway the guy who served me started asking where it came from and what it was for, when I told him what I'm using it for he opened right up, turns out he has a 76 Toyota Crown and is right into old Jap cars and said he found some hard to get parts from Ashdown Ingram which fortunately was in the same suburb so off I went. I found them tucked away out of sight in an industrial complex they have a rather large warehouse so I'm guessing their business in primarily wholesale, anyway when I showed the sales guy the distribution box and asked for fuses he knew exactly what I was after and presented them to me immediately, he asked what I want to do with them and when I explained that they were replacing some fuse-able links he said "that's just as well because you can't buy fuse-able links any more they went out of production five years ago so existing stock is all that's left" I don't have an issue with fuse-able links going out of production but I did think that for those Zed owners who want to keep their cars in factory spec it might be worth trying to find some just in case there ever needed. This is more like it. And here it's been re fitted, another little job done. In case any one is interested here's a link to the Ashdown Ingram web site, looks like they have branches all over the country. http://www.ashdown-ingram.com.au/ Cheers Dad

Hi All Well my interstate guest has gone so I can now concentrate on the Zed again but the time I lost while he was here means the car won't be going by Xmas but it will by new year and will be out on the track for a shake down mid January. Rikki the sparkie called in for a couple of hours on Saturday and got a bit more done but without the dash in and fuses in the distribution box we couldn't power it up but he will be back just after Xmas and I'll be ready for him so we should be able to both power and fire it up then. With the limited time I had available Sunday I decided to do a relatively simple job and fit seat belts what I didn't realize was that Murphy had a different plan. With a bit of for-thought and planning all the parts we want to re-fit could have been cleaned and detailed while the car was with Will but needless to say that didn't happen so now I have to detail things before fitting them, I'd be so lost without my shoe polish and aerosol spray paint. With the detailing done I mounted the belt stalks using eye hooks for the racing harness, the passenger foot rest has been secured and the pedal rubbers had a brush with a black KIWI. I recon this interior is looking tuff I can't wait to see it completed. We use retractable belts for convenience, they are a simple fit sitting on mounting blocks on the rear strut towers, I mounted them then realized that with them in place I couldn't fit the trim panels so off they came. Whittie decided some time ago that having the plastic trim panels flock sprayed in black would create a nice contrast to the Alcantara so had them done then stored them for a few years under his bed which just happens to be one of his cats favorite hiding places resulting in more detailing for Dad. They do clean up well. That's where I had to stop but today I'll get some foam strips and double sided tape so I can finish the job. Cheers Dad

Hi All Not much Zed action while my cousin is in town just red wine, reminiscing and tall story telling, I'm going to keep it that way because as much as he wants to help the reality is most of what's left to be done is one person work and as he doesn't really know what he's doing he will just distract me and slow me down. On Saturday I did get him to help me on a job I couldn't do alone so he can genuinely lay claim to helping with the re-build. The electric fuel pump and filter are mounted to the underside of the spare wheel well and have studs protruding into the well. Before sending the car to the trimmer I gave this issue a bit of thought and decided that studs with nuts on was not acceptable then remembered that the new MSD mounts I used have a stud one end and a screw the other I figured reversing the fitting should be fairly easy so removed both before the trim was fitted. The vibro mount reversal was pretty simple, while my cousin turned the screws inside the car I lined things up underneath and in a flash it was done, I'm thinking he's a bit disappointed that it all went so smoothly and quickly so I made sure he knew his assistance was essential as there's no way I could have done it alone. Whittie has gone cold on the idea of entering Motorvation next year which is a bit sad because much of the detail work I've been doing had that event in mind but I've gone too far to stop now so I will have the car looking the best I possibly can when it's finished. The time line for completion hasn't really changed because I received notification a couple of days ago from the car club were in that they're holding an afternoon/evening test and tune at Wanneroo mid January on a date TBA so that's what I'm aiming at and we also have the PI NDSOC accommodation booking we didn't get to use at Easter this year moved to the PI historics in March next year, so the car needs to be well and truly finished, tested and tuned by then, just in case we make it there. Cheers Dad

Hi All I currently have a cousin from Melbourne staying with me who has previously joined Whittie and I at both PI and Bathurst and has a keen interest in the Zed but while there's currently lots of Zed talk there's no Zed action, tonight he said that while he's here he really would like to do some work on the car so I'm thinking that tomorrow I'll find a little job that genuinely requires two people and get him to help so that he can legitimately lay claim to having played a part in the re-build. The car's back from the trimmer and while the job is good, it's not as good as it could have been. You may remember I mentioned in an earlier post that the trimmer (conscious of the material cost) was a bit economical with the it and cut one section short, well it turns out that there was not enough material left to replace that section so a bit had to be added, while that's not acceptable for a show car I have to remind myself that this is a competition car and for that purpose it is perfectively fine. The section I refer to is the top of the transmission tunnel but by the time the dash and seats are in I don't think it will be an issue. As Gareth noted, the foot rest is the wrong way round but when finally fixed in place it will be correct and at least the mat is easibly removable. I do like this look. Even the spare wheel cover's been done. Paul did it for us here. Cheers Dad

Hi All I hadn't heard of Alcantara before Whittie announced that he was going to use it but I must say that I'm seriously impressed with it. I found this on Wikipedia today. Alcantara is a tradename given to a composite material used to cover surfaces and forms in a variety of applications. It can be described as an artificial substitute for suede leather. The material was developed in the early 1970s by Miyoshi Okamoto, a scientist working for the Japanese chemical company Toray Industries, and was based on the same technology of their other product Ultrasuede, produced around the same time. Around 1972, a joint venture between Italian chemical company ENI and Toray formed Alcantara SpA in order to manufacture and distribute the material. The company is now owned by Toray and Mitsui. Alcantara is composed of about 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane giving increased durability and stain resistance. The appearance and tactile feel of the material is similar to that of suede, and it may be incorrectly identified as such. Some versions are designated as flame retardant in order to meet certain fire standards for both furnishings and automobile applications. Alcantara has applications including furniture, clothing, jewelry, helmets and automotive (such as in seating, dash trimming and headliners in many high-end OEM automotive suppliers). Alcantara is being used currently as a flame retardant driver seat covering material for Formula One race cars, including the Williams Formula One 2011 FW33 car. It is also used in the ear pads material for the high-end, audiophile headphones Sennheiser HD800 Alcantara is created via the combination of an advanced spinning process (producing very low denier bi-component "islands in the sea" fibre) and chemical and textile production processes (needle punching, buffing, impregnation, extraction, finishing, dyeing, etc.) which interact with each other. Wow now I'm even more impressed, I found this amongst the Alcantara promo material. And for anyone who may be interested this is their web address. http://www.alcantara.com/#/en/home Cheers Dad

Thanks for your interest in our build and that was well spotted Gareth. When I got to the trimmer this afternoon he had already made the passenger side mat but was not aware of the foot rest so I went home and got it so he could modify the mat, here it's just sitting in place so he can work around it, in the next shot of this foot well you'll see how he's modified the mat to fit. Cheers Dad

It's designed to adhere directly onto solid panels hence the name "pannel cover soft" so should be good but given the amount of it we've used I won't be surprised if we do encounter some minor maintenance issues in high wear areas. Cheers Dad

Hi All The trimmer got a fairly clear run on the Zed today and is confident it will be finished by close of play so will be ready to pick up Monday. It's starting to look really good. Cheers Dad

Don't worry Whittie he's not wasting it he's actually been a bit too economical with it but after doing a check fit of the console this afternoon I can report that all will be good. Whittie posted tis earlier in this thread. The Alcantara sample card my Aunty sourced for me showed up today. This stuff is AWESOME!! Our trimmer had never heard of Alcantara before we presented it to him, interestingly, yesterday he had a customer ask if he knew about it and to his customers delight, not only did he know about it he was able to show him his current Alcantara project. I took our Alcantara marketing info to him this afternoon to give him some light reading material for tomorrows lunch but like me he couldn't wait wait for tomorrow, after reading the list of manufacturers using it he said, I think I had this in my Monaro, he then took me to his current Commodore and opened the door... no prizes for guessing what we found small patches of. Cheers Dad