Mondo

I've always secretly quite pleased that my little Shortie is unique around where I live :) So you can imagine my surprise when I came across another SWB T-top TT this afternoon! :ohmy: So much surprise, in fact, that I had to go back and get a couple of snaps of the two of them together: No owner popped out to see what I was up to and I didn't want to start knocking on doors (like a crazy person!), but wow! Not as unique as I first thought in these parts...

I have one of these (unbuilt) upstairs. It had a cracked windscreen when it turned up, which is why I've never put the thing together :(

Bleed nipples to the top!! Regarding splitting them, it shouldn't be a bad thing as long as you have new rubber O-rings for where the fluid galleries join between the two halves. If you don't have those, I'd keep them together. That said, I think I'll be keeping mine together anyway when I get around to refurbing them :thumbup1:

Not a bad catch for him there!!

All good points :) As I said, I already have a SWB which has been (in my opinion) tastefully modified in such a way as to improve the driving experience and the visuals, so a 100% standard Zed would, for me, be purely a show car and perhaps a latent investment. If I want a more powerful, better riding, more visually appealling experience, I'll take me Shortie out for a spin. As you say though, I don't think I've ever been to a show where a Z32 has been completely original so, for me, that offers an opportunity :) It's doubtful I'd ever proceed with this hare-brained idea though, due to not having anywhere to really store such a car... but it's an appealling thought nonetheless :thumbup1:

Keep up at the back.... ;)

In all honesty, your last few sentences are pretty much in synch with my mindset: it's a nice idea but I'm certainly not prepared to part with my Shortie just so I can restore another Zed. I like the idea. I like it inasmuch that even Si wouldn't be able to suggest adding 99 Spec rears to improve it! :lol: But it wouldn't be cheap and it wouldn't be quick and, like yourself, I don't currently have anywhere to store it... All that said, I'll keep throwing the premise around in my mind and see if any viable possibilities present themselves... :)

I've been giving this some thought recently and I might be on the look-out for a project car next year... My idea runs something like this: find a UK-spec TT and restore it to it's original glory. :) And by that, I mean stock everything: No HIDs, early spec rear lights, standard suspension and exhaust... even down to keeping the original airbox! A 100% stock Zed. I think the only concession I'd have to make would be (unsurprisingly) the interior; there simply aren't any mint original leather seats, so I'd have to recreate those. I think it'd make a change to see a completely original-looking Zed in mint condition at the shows :biggrin: Crazy idea? Or just hugely expensive and time-consuming...? :lol:

I only met Martin for the first time at LakeZ this year and I was hoping I'd get to meet him more often than that... this is the man who enabled me to meet my childhood crush (Toyah) in the flesh...!! RIP, Martin... such a sad, sad loss... :(

I hope you weren't the driver...!

My old black Zed had (and likely still has) a blue windscreen with bronze glass everywhere else - looked a little odd. Especially noticeable when everything was iced up!

Thanks for posting that, Andrew. Having read it, it seems to me that the suggestion is that 3" pipework from the turbo to the H-pipe with a 2.5" system after that is the best compromise between noise and performance. Not something I'd previously considered. Are they on Scotswood Road, Al? If it's where I'm thinking of, they did some work on my old Celica SS-III and I couldn't fault them :)

I'm thinking about having a bespoke system made for the Zed in the not too distant future, from the turbos back. :) What's the popular opinion (and pros and cons) regarding a full 2.5" system, or a full 3" system...?

I can't see any reason why a dark grey wheel wouldn't work nicely against gold paintwork. I think they'd be a nice contrast. :) Black wheels are, for me, a complete "no" - I can't think of one single occasion, other than a completely black car, where they look even passable! Just my opinion, but I hate 'em!

See, this is what worries me about chasing the power - I don't want to end up with a car that's a nightmare to drive and to live with! Some nice sensible mods and upgrades would suit me and I'd be more than happy to settle at around 450bhp :)

Standard Essex night out...! :lol:

It's weird seeing a Zed next to an MR2 as I always used to think of Zeds as being fairly large cars - next to the MR2s though, the size difference is negligible! :ohmy:

I was insured with Flux for a year back when I had my old Celica SS-III... it took a while to get them to insure it as the correct model as they were convinced it was just a GT. Then they refused to insure me on my first Zed as I apparently had no experience of driving a high-powered car! :thumbdown: That, as they say, was that....

I used to love that advert! My dad always used to take the mick out of me when I first started tinkering with cars, asking when I was fitting the Carlos Fandango Extra Wide Wheels! :thumbup1:

I wish!! :lol:

On it's way now, mate :)

Give me your email address and I'll send you the invoice for your retrim, Lee. Don't think I gave you a physical copy when you collected!

Bad to worse... :(

Some loophole, that!

Touche. Although all I actually stated is that yours and Ted's front plates have similar spacing (meaning no 2 separate groups of characters)... I didn't comment on the legality of them. Cue your own klaxon there...? :thumbup1: However, I'd have been almost certain that your plate should be divided into 2 groups of characters (presumably J30 LYP) which should surely mean that you're missing a separation space between 0 and L...? Unless, of course, your actual registration is J30LYP in which case I'll take a double helping of humble pie :biggrin: EDIT: Nope, a check on DVLA shows your reg as J30 LYP so I'm genuinely baffled as to how your front plate is strictly legal.