Yesterday saw me head down to Kent to pick up my new Shortie! :D I got on the motorway to come back home about 4pm.

 

At 9pm, I was safely tucked away... on the hard shoulder of the A1(M) near York with a grand total of 1 wheelnut holding my rear passenger wheel on!!! The other 4 studs decided to shear off while I was in the outside lane - there was an almighty bang, the back-end of the car went completely loose so I had no choice but to dive for the shoulder! :(

 

The recovery truck arrived at 11pm and I slowly edged my new tripod onto the flatbed, before we headed off back to mine.

 

Spoke to Mr F this morning and he's ordered me 10 new rear studs, so my new car is currently undrivable. Seems it had cheap slot-on spacers on the back, no spigot rings and the end result was 4 wheelstuds missing.

 

Gotta love Zeds, eh...?!

Edited December 4, 201411 yr by Mondo

I fear your freshly-painted beauty will put mine to shame, Gaz....

 

Still needs bits done mate and there is no Z out there that could put your Z to shame.

Still needs bits done mate and there is no Z out there that could put your Z to shame.

 

I think there's going to be quite a number on Sunday that are capable of doing that! :lol:

Hot night here in The Village last night... couldn't sleep, so I sat up in the wee small hours drafting out some designs for the revamped interior. :) I think I've settled on a design now, which won't be too far removed from how it is now... it'll just be better!

 

I've decided, once and for all, that I'm not going to trim the dashboard and surrounding plastics - that's just taking it too far away from the "improved standard cabin" that I want. So it'll never be modded enough to win any shows, but it'll be just how I want it and that'll do for me. :)

 

I was only thinking before Coventry that I wished I hadn't rushed last year's trim so it looked a little better than it currently does. But it seems enough people who were there liked it anyway and I ended up winning an award despite writing the above! :lol:

 

I'm genuinely very proud to win it and a huge thank you to all who voted for me. It's really nice to know that my vision for my Zed resonates with other people as well. :thumbup: :biggrin:

Monday morning will see me heading down to Jimmer's at daft o'clock and leaving the car with him for a week or so.

 

The rear crank seal needs to be replaced as it's leaking and, seeing as nobody wanted to buy them, my 3" expansion downpipes and brand new O2 sensors will be getting fitted at the same time. There's also a brand new Nismo transmission mount going on and a set of subframe collars. One of Jimmer's trusted contacts will be sorting a small amount of welding whilst it's there - I've seen his work firsthand and it's exemplary!

 

After that, the Zed's getting trailered across to Infinity Exhausts so they can modify the 3" system to mate up to the new downpipes and, most likely, I'll be changing the tailpipes at the same time. I just haven't got used to my initial choice in tailpipe so I think I'll be opting for something a little smaller and probably slashcut.

 

Once all of that's done and the car's back home again, she'll be going in for her MOT which I expect to be a pass with flying colours. She'll then be a completely solid, well maintained and serviced TT manual Shortie (with an award-winning interior ;) ) that looks, goes, handles and stops just as well as you'd expect a well-sorted roadgoing Zed to do, and have 13 months of MOT to boot.

 

So, at that point.... do I sell her......??

Monday morning will see me heading down to Jimmer's at daft o'clock and leaving the car with him for a week or so.

 

The rear crank seal needs to be replaced as it's leaking and, seeing as nobody wanted to buy them, my 3" expansion downpipes and brand new O2 sensors will be getting fitted at the same time. There's also a brand new Nismo transmission mount going on and a set of subframe collars. One of Jimmer's trusted contacts will be sorting a small amount of welding whilst it's there - I've seen his work firsthand and it's exemplary!

 

After that, the Zed's getting trailered across to Infinity Exhausts so they can modify the 3" system to mate up to the new downpipes and, most likely, I'll be changing the tailpipes at the same time. I just haven't got used to my initial choice in tailpipe so I think I'll be opting for something a little smaller and probably slashcut.

 

Once all of that's done and the car's back home again, she'll be going in for her MOT which I expect to be a pass with flying colours. She'll then be a completely solid, well maintained and serviced TT manual Shortie (with an award-winning interior ;) ) that looks, goes, handles and stops just as well as you'd expect a well-sorted roadgoing Zed to do, and have 13 months of MOT to boot.

 

So, at that point.... do I sell her......??

You better not sell her........... or I will have to come and give you a slap!!!!!!!!!

Sell her... Don't be daft!

No, you enjoy her Si. To be honest I have been thinking about selling mine for a new project but can't do it. Will just have to save more to buy something else as well.

Ah Si, why would you sell her?? What would you get instead?? You'll probably regret it, like a lot of former Zedders that have since come back looking to buy back or find their old cars. Keep it, enjoy it and if not, store it. If it's like mine, it owes very little for what it is and the performance it has (or will have:wink:) I've often looked at V8's and V6 Sl Mercs, Porsche, Yank Tanks etc and when I see how much they'll cost I just think if I put half that amount into the Z, I'd have a monster of a car.

Don't sell it, You WILL regret it mate:thumbup1:

I think a celica would suit you better anyways :pinch: :lol:

Let me know what you think of the Nismo transmission mount. I bought one on sale but haven't decided if I'll use it.

 

And don't sell.

Here's my thinking: there's a lot of money tied up in her and, whilst she's not at the same standard as Joel's or Si's cars (for example), she's a good looking, completely solid and well sorted example of a factory manual SWB TT.

 

I know I wouldn't get back everything I've paid in but I may well need to free up a sizeable amount of money in the not-too-distant future and the Zed sadly fits that bill rather well!

 

Nothing's set in stone and I know for a fact that it'd crucify me to see someone drive away in her, but that choice may be taken out of my hands. And no, I'd flatly refuse to break her for parts or de-mod her... she'd go as she is now (or as she will be at that point, more accurately)!

Update time:

 

Everything I took down to Powerzed has now been fitted :) So the 3" downpipes and new O2 sensors are finally on, as is the Nismo transmission mount and the rear subframe collars. The rear crank oil seal has been renewed and the sump resealed, so no more oil leaks. And Jimmer was even good enough to swap out the injector on Cylinder 6 as it'd gone high resistance and was causing a lumpy idle.

 

The two small holes in the front floorpans have been thoroughly cut out (and I do mean thoroughly!) and new sections welded in. The nearside rear sill has been investigated and renewed. So she's now completely solid again!

 

As always with good news, there comes some bad too... my clutch and flywheel have seen far better days! The clutch is worn and contaminated from the leaking crank seal, and the ring gear on the XTD flywheel is somewhat chewed up. :( Oh, and I need a couple of tyres as well!

 

Timeframes and money have meant that these items have had to be refitted, rather than replaced. I fly back down to Bristol tomorrow night and the recovery truck is booked for Wednesday morning to take her over to Infinity so they can mod their exhaust system to meet the new downpipes and put different tailpipes on. So I'd have need to source a new clutch and flywheel and have it delivered to Jimmer between Saturday gone and tomorrow.

 

My budget simply won't currently stretch at the moment to buying those parts from UK stock and ordering from XTD would probably not have arrived in time, so the only viable option was to refit the original parts and then have them changed out in the near future. Not ideal by any means.

 

I've decided that the spending has to stop for a little while, once those parts have been replaced. I've gone a little crazy since I bought her nearly two years ago and the transformation since then has been pretty staggering, but I need to take a step back and rein the money in! Once the drivetrain parts and the tyres have been replaced, there's one final part I'm buying before she goes for her MOT and then I think I might just enjoy her for a change!

 

Mrs Mondo has seemingly banned me from selling, which came as a bit of a surprise. But I was always in two minds about moving on and the last thing I want to do is make some snap decision that I'll live to regret so, for the time being at least, the Zed stays here with me. :biggrin:

Update time:

 

Everything I took down to Powerzed has now been fitted :) So the 3" downpipes and new O2 sensors are finally on, as is the Nismo transmission mount and the rear subframe collars. The rear crank oil seal has been renewed and the sump resealed, so no more oil leaks. And Jimmer was even good enough to swap out the injector on Cylinder 6 as it'd gone high resistance and was causing a lumpy idle.

 

The two small holes in the front floorpans have been thoroughly cut out (and I do mean thoroughly!) and new sections welded in. The nearside rear sill has been investigated and renewed. So she's now completely solid again!

 

As always with good news, there comes some bad too... my clutch and flywheel have seen far better days! The clutch is worn and contaminated from the leaking crank seal, and the ring gear on the XTD flywheel is somewhat chewed up. :( Oh, and I need a couple of tyres as well!

 

Timeframes and money have meant that these items have had to be refitted, rather than replaced. I fly back down to Bristol tomorrow night and the recovery truck is booked for Wednesday morning to take her over to Infinity so they can mod their exhaust system to meet the new downpipes and put different tailpipes on. So I'd have need to source a new clutch and flywheel and have it delivered to Jimmer between Saturday gone and tomorrow.

 

My budget simply won't currently stretch at the moment to buying those parts from UK stock and ordering from XTD would probably not have arrived in time, so the only viable option was to refit the original parts and then have them changed out in the near future. Not ideal by any means.

 

I've decided that the spending has to stop for a little while, once those parts have been replaced. I've gone a little crazy since I bought her nearly two years ago and the transformation since then has been pretty staggering, but I need to take a step back and rein the money in! Once the drivetrain parts and the tyres have been replaced, there's one final part I'm buying before she goes for her MOT and then I think I might just enjoy her for a change!

 

Mrs Mondo has seemingly banned me from selling, which came as a bit of a surprise. But I was always in two minds about moving on and the last thing I want to do is make some snap decision that I'll live to regret so, for the time being at least, the Zed stays here with me. :biggrin:

 

Well FAIR PLAY to Mrs Mondo, she obviously knows (like some of us here) that you really would have regretted it. Just enjoy it for a while mate, I wasn't implying in my last post (06/08) that the car didn't have money spent on it, I was saying that the car owes little by way of monthly payments unlike modern performance cars, ie. the car doesn't have 3 years finance @ £400 per month etc. My Z is fully paid up also, I buy parts when funds allow, if I don't have the dosh, I don't buy anything. Your car is driving, you've got it to a nice standard and anything else you want to do to it is performance enhancing from here on, that can be done over time when you've some spare cash built up:thumbup:

Glad to hear you're keeping it mate:clap:

Time for a grand tour Simon.

Well FAIR PLAY to Mrs Mondo, she obviously knows (like some of us here) that you really would have regretted it. Just enjoy it for a while mate, I wasn't implying in my last post (06/08) that the car didn't have money spent on it, I was saying that the car owes little by way of monthly payments unlike modern performance cars, ie. the car doesn't have 3 years finance @ £400 per month etc. My Z is fully paid up also, I buy parts when funds allow, if I don't have the dosh, I don't buy anything. Your car is driving, you've got it to a nice standard and anything else you want to do to it is performance enhancing from here on, that can be done over time when you've some spare cash built up:thumbup:

Glad to hear you're keeping it mate:clap:

 

I know what you mean, Richie. It just feels a bit crazy that I seem to be spending around £1k every couple of months... as a self-employed person, that's some huge expenditure!

 

Time for a grand tour Simon.

 

Will a jaunt around Bristol and Somerset suffice...? :)

I know what you mean, Richie. It just feels a bit crazy that I seem to be spending around £1k every couple of months... as a self-employed person, that's some huge expenditure!

 

Yeah, but you're almost finished spending large amounts on it now:thumbup: All you have to spend soon, will be maintenance / servicing etc, everything else is done:biggrin:

Yeah, but you're almost finished spending large amounts on it now:thumbup: All you have to spend soon, will be maintenance / servicing etc, everything else is done:biggrin:

 

I've been saying that for over 10 years!!

Will a jaunt around Bristol and Somerset suffice...? :)

 

Make it a bit more adventurous!

Make it a bit more adventurous!

 

With the bill I've got to pay on Wednesday? Not likely! :lol:

See you tomorrow night Si.

See you tomorrow night Si.

 

Another top hospitality job from His Funkiness beckons: not only is he collecting me from Bristol Airport tomorrow night, but he's also running me across to Cribbs Causeway on Wednesday morning and he's bought some sugar so I can have a cuppa beforehand!!

 

Greatly appreciated, Mr P. Thank you very much :thumbup1:

Special treatment - I don't keep refined sugar in the house - 'orrible stuff!

Great, I didn't get any sugar.

So, I'm home now. I'm absolutely flat broke as well!

 

Firstly, huge thanks to FunkySi for collecting me from Bristol Airport on Tuesday, letting me crash on his couch and dropping me off on Wednesday morning - massively appreciated, mate.

 

More massive thanks to Jimmer and James for their hard work on my Zed. All the welding has been done and to a superb standard! My sump and rear crank seal no longer leak, all my injectors work again, my Nismo transmission mount and subframe collars have been fitted, as have my 3" downpipes and new O2 sensors. So big thanks to both of them for their hard work! Thanks, guys!

 

My exhaust has been successfully modified by Infinity Exhausts to meet the new downpipes, but there's a bit of a sting in that tale, sadly... firstly, they didn't have any 3" three-bolt flanges. Even though they knew (or should have had a good idea) that they needed them. So they've had to modify the AMS flange and then weld a two-bolt to each downpipe (as they had plenty of those in stock). Then, even though they quoted me a maximum of £100 for the modification work, they charged me £250 on the day. Which is exactly a third of the cost of the entire system 2 months ago!

 

Whilst Infinity's work is superb, that left a hell of an aftertaste in my mouth... but at least it's all done now, which I guess is the important thing.

 

So, jobs left to do; a new clutch and flywheel. Even though both performed faultlessly over the last couple of days, I know they need changing so that's a priority. After that... I really have to stop spending such vast amounts on this car for a little while....

RPS Max Street (silver casing) with an RPS Flywheel [emoji106]