Chrisbasildon

:xxx:

Like crude oil :laugh: I'm just jealous of your shiny pipes.

Why the need to get down and dirty? My suggestion wasn't trying to convince anyone it was just that......a suggestion And there's absolutely no reason whatsoever this couldn't be made from rectangular box section, look at the stock piece, forget all the flanges and spot welds. As you know they just sheet steel strength once assembled, it is essentially rectangular, rad mounts can easily be fabricated and welded in the necessary place, any tapped holes for pipes etc can be made, tension rod mounts can tapped etc. it's really not a difficult job for a FABRICATOR as my post stated to begin with. no raw nerves were touched I can assure you mate, but please don't expect me to say nothing about someone saying my idea shouldn't be carried out just because they are involved in Motorsport and their opinion is worth more than mine. the op didn't have to undertake my suggestion did he? And fwiw lets consider how much of a Motorsport car is fabricated by individuals in a workshop, most of it? Why? Because if properly done it's stronger than stock....simples.

And if it was correctly fabricated and fitted it would be far less likely to fail than any of the utter rubbish Chinese made crap bolted to a high percentage of Zeds (and most other cars) :scared:

Means nothing regarding this thread, it goes without saying that any fabricated part to do this job would need to be well engineered and fitted, just like any fabricated part on a car, I was offering the op an alternative solution to his problem that he may not have thought of. If anyone approached it in a "bob the builder" fashion and fitted some poorly engineered rubbish then frankly we know what the result would be, I'm pretty sure that detail didn't need to be highlighted?

Then go for a new replacement part mate, don't even consider a second hand part it's not worth the trouble, let the drilling commence (after a beer of course) :pint:

Just a little FYI, when it's tested make sure you don't allow the third brake light to show as a brake light then as a fog light after ok, this could potentially lead to a fail. Also if you are using the third brake light as a fog light and it doesn't illuminate when the brakes are applied be careful your tester doesn't fail it for stop light not working ok, centre brake lights aren't a requirement but the presenter must inform the tester the lamp isn't wired for a brake light then the tester cannot fail it ok :thumbup1:

It wouldn't be much of a job for a decent metal/fab specialist to make a piece to fit in place of stock crossmember from some rectangular box section, few measurements and some know how, weld on some rad supports and Roberts ya mothers brother :thumbup1: Work out the drop of the support measured from bottom edge of chassis rails to top of crossmember and note it down, measure locations of rad support lugs etc, once the old metal work is removed you could make 2 nice gussets welded to the inside of the chassis rails as per the original piece, then drop down with some rectangular box and across to the other side and repeat. With some patience you could make a lovely PERMANENT STRONG repair here, cavity wax inside and paint outside. This makes me want to go get the chop saw and welder out.......:hammer:

The motorways in Europe are so empty and in good shape because all the feckin Artics with their 2000ltr diesel storage tanks are in the uk speeding in lane 2 of our motorways! they should be made to stop at the docks and drop trailers or unload, or at least buy some of our diesel and contribute to the uk economy, I struggle almost on a daily basis to see what's good about the uk anymore.......

Have you got your new crossmember yet?

Possibly an annual event to attend if they keep it going....

Good news russ, Shame the zed won't be there though.

Do it mate, all the belts and pulleys and water pump :thumbup1:

What's your timing belt history? Would be a good opportunity after the crossmember is replaced mate. If I was doing this I think I would weld in a temporary stiffener before you cut the crossmember to eliminate the risk of the ends of the chassis spreading, the subframe will of course help to some degree but it's surprising how much a chassis can move when you start cutting out main sections.

Looking good mate :thumbup1:

Just for future reference, it's not a good idea using tiger seal or any polyurethane adhesive that sets because removing the lights in the future will be near impossible without breaking or damaging the lights or the body. I used a non setting sealant from 3M which is very close to the original sealant used and comes in a tube.

Chris Evans May over time find his feet with this show, but for me matt Leblanc and Sabine Schmidt just doesn't work. I think the bbc should have wiped the slate clean and started with a whole new approach.

I treated the zed today to some new JL Audio C2 525 components for the front bose speaker enclosures I am fitting, some C3 650 for the rear... And a oem 99 spec shift knob from Seattle. :biggrin:

This

Sounds interesting

Looking forward to this, praying for a nice warm day :clover:

My boss has a 2002 sl500, and honestly it goes wrong every other month and the parts are always £500 and upwards, the SBC control unit is actually programmed to record every application of the brake pedal and once it reaches a pre determined figure it actually logs a DTC lights up the dash like a xmas tree and it means the unit must be replaced, the unit alone was £1200! Suspension legs have been replaced at a cost of £875 each on the rear, central locking control unit in the boot packed up, another £600. Just some info on my only experience of these cars.