redwine300

Another little up date.

A little more done, managed to get the outer section made up. Just need to get it welded in to place.

Not much in the way of progress today. Only managed to trim the edge and get some paint on. Still, every bit counts I suppose.

That is one stunning zed mate!!

As a bit of an up-date. (thought people might like see my progress) I managed to weld in a repair piece today. Just got to trim the bottom edge before I prime. After that I can then add the outer skin. There are a couple of areas still to attend to before I can say that the thing is rust free mind.

I have to agree, I do like the standard spoiler Car.Mad produces. They do look nice. Does anyone know if he makes them with integral rear brake light? Sort of set my heart on one. Decided to bite the bullet and made a start on cutting the tin worm out tonight. Mind you, cutting the metal out is the easy bit. Now I have to put some good stuff back in!!!

Hi Ossian, I must admit, I had heard that it was a bit of a daunting job, so I kept putting it off. In reality, it was quite straight forward. Once I had understood where all the fixing were, it took me less than half an hour to get the thing off. If there is anything I can pass on from my experience, I would be happy to share.

Where did you purchase it from? Being realistic, I shall probably go the standard route also. By the way, can you remember how much it cost you?

Well, thinking of cutting out the tin worm and making good. Toyed with making up my own spoiler, something like the original sierra cosworth whale fin type. Along the lines of the escort cosworth. But in reality, I will probably go for a standard replacement.

Finally decided to remove my rear spoiler today, not as bad a job as first thought. Corrosion was not that bad either. Bit of repair work to do with the old mig welder but all in all, not that bad. Can a mod alter the title please? should read, "Rear spoiler is off." doh

Nice one!!:lol::lol::lol:

Top tip znut, it's just that I tend to have a habbit of putting things somewhere safe and then forgetting where I put them.:lol:

Cheers Flegal. I will be shopping for some 10w 40 at the weekend. May drain the oil and leave it for a week or so to try and get every last drop out. Just hope I do not loose the blo*dy sump plug. lol

A bit of an update, I had a chat with the previous owner yesterday, and he confirmed that he replaced the complete engine complete with turbos, not just the bottom end as I first thought. This means it has covered only 22,000 miles, hopefully this would suggest that the little ends are good? With that in mind I am clinging to the fact that a thicker oil may be the resolve. Puzzled as to why though given the mileage. Maybe the use of the lifter treatment is still playing it's part. Looks like an oil change is the next step. As earlier, any advice as to which oil I should consider?

Very nice mate!

Thanks guys for the valued input, I can only hope that it is something less serious than the little ends. Albeit on the face of it, it does appear so. Still, a few things to try as suggested with regards to perhaps running a thicker oil. In addition to changing the oil, I will see if I can get the initial start up revs to be lower by way of cleaning the related valve as suggested. One thing that might be worth a mention is, last year before I changed the oil, I ran Wynne's lifter treatment for a few miles with the hope that it would quieten down a light tappety noise. It did seem to be better but did not disappear entirely. Would this have had an affect on the new oil I then added? With regards to starting from cold Jeff, she does fire up very quickly, almost instantaneously! so you have given me hope with regards to it being more oil related than mechanical, as you say, considering the age and mileage. I will take your advice along with everyone else's and do a bit more investigating so as to try and determine just where the noise is coming from when I next start from cold Picking up on the cold start RPM, Once a couple of minutes have passed, she does settle at a rock solid 750rpm and only rises slightly when I engage the air-con. Would there be a way off adjusting the initial cold start RPM? or is it a matter of cleaning or replacing? In the meantime I need to choose a thicker oil, would Mobil 1 be worth tyring? or would anyone suggest something different? Again guys, Thanks for the support thus far, particularly the more in depth replies. I appreciate the time you have taken to advise me. ps Is there a particular trick as to draining the oil so as to make sure I get every drop out? I am looking at leaving the sump plug out for a week or so.

Could no believe it,:ohmy: you just pipped me to posting. I only noticed your reply as I posted. must type quicker. Good point though. :)

I do not drive my Zed on a daily basis, sometimes it may be several weeks before I give her a run out. If she has sat for a couple of weeks and I start from cold, (garaged) the revs hit 1350rpm and there is a very audible machine gun type rattle for a couple of seconds. I am running 5w-40w fully synthetic top of the range oil, and although the bottom end has only done 25,000 mile, the top end has done in excess of 133,000 miles. Am I running a risk of doing damage? What might the cause be? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Mine had a similar problem with regards to the gauge being erratic, turned out to be the spade connector on the sensor itself had become loose. I soldered the rivet type fixing and it has been OK since. I did not have the rough running though so may not be the same issue but may be worth a look?

Either one will do, So long as you have got 1 meg ohm resistance you will be fine. I think the .6w and 2w respectively is showing the level of wattage they can handle.

Glad you got it sorted mate. Enjoy.

Hi Evoluzion3 I had the same problem not so long back, below is a copy of my exploits. At last the little bu**er (fuse box) is out of the way. The piggy back connectors all come off in a forward direction, The trick is to use a thin narrow bladed screwdriver (no more than 3mm wide) to prise the barb on the back of the connector away from the raised step on the fuse box side. This is done by inserting the screwdriver in from the front, (blade level to the base of the connector) and making sure you are under the barb. Then it is a matter of applying pressure as if you are trying to separate the connector from the box whilst at the same time pulling the connector forward. It took me a few attempts but once I had done one, the others were easy. Now all I have to do is get at the pipe work by way of removing the soundproofing etc' and re connect the pipe.

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. I wish I could help. The only thing I would suggest is, it may be worth disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes so as to re set the ECU. Maybe worth holding out for some of the more knowledgable members to come along though.

They are pretty robust things, but you never know. Easiest thing to do would be to replace them, that way you will know for sure. Try posting in the wanted section, I am sure someone will have some replacements going cheap. Vodkashots had some very good points, worth following them up along with a thorough check and clean of the remaining connectors etc' Let us know how you get on when you get chance. If you get stuck I am sure someone will be more than happy to help. ps... great news about the MOT by the way. Mine was off the road for a similar period and was a nightmare to get an MOT.

Cheers Dazvert and Hellraiser, Appreciate your help. Had some bad news today though, discovered that the pub is under new management. I did not think I would be closed for long. Still, on a more positive side. With all of the advice from you guy's, I did make some headway with regards to understanding a little more about what I am letting myself in for. I know that there are plenty more fish in the sea, so to speak, but had really set my mind on this particular public house. So, not to give up all hope, I am going to do some homework along with course work so as to get a real feel and understanding of what is involved. You never know, it may not work out for them and I want to be ready to step in. Not a bad thing really, as from following up all your advice along with contacting the Federation of licenced victuallers association I soon realised that I had a lot to learn before jumping in. Again, thanks all.