Tuesday 29 September 2015

Ugly Duckling Lake

To explain the title of this post; a swan looks very serene but underneath,  it's paddling like mad. I seem to be doing the paddling but not making anything like the same progress :-(.  Like an ugly duckling,  in fact. OK,  tenuous....

Like I mentioned before,  I'm running out of parts so I've been trying to get stuff. First of,  I want to fit the petrol tank but I need the fuel sender,  assuming it will be easier to install with the tank off. But fuel senders tend to be specific to the fuel gauge you plan to use and I want a fuel gauge as part of a set. GBS do a reasonable set for £400 or so but I'm not overly keen on them and everyone will have them. However,  everything else is just too expensive. I have found a nice set from VDO but they're only available in the US (VDO are now American-owned). I've mailed a couple of places asking how much for delivery here (they offer international delivery according to their website) but no response - so much for American service!  My brother lives in the US so I may ask him to get them for me - hopefully,  he can package them so I don't have to pay import duty,  as well.

After many days of research I have managed to order wheels and tyres. Again,  I wasn't overly keen on what GBS offer (also very common on Zero's) so I've found some others which I prefer and work out almost £200 cheaper. Not a huge choice because of the 15mm offset needed but enough.  Should arrive in a week or so - I'll put a pic up then,  so be patient!

All I've actually built since last time is the mounting plate for the swirl pot. I didn't get the GBS pot or their plate,  so I had to make my own,  which took longer than expected but it's done now:


I wish I'd got a smaller swirl pot now (this is 1.5 litres) as I'd have more space to play with - to make sure the top pipe doesn't touch the steering column,  I've had to leave the pot sticking about 5mm over the far chassis rail - I really hope I don't live to regret that when the engine and gearbox have to go in.

I've got the fuel pipes to complete the LP circuit but (JNIT again) I need some Jubilee clips to attach them and I can't do final attachment until the tank is on,  which needs the fuel sender,  gauges etc,  etc. It's a logistical nightmare - I really wish I had more space to have bought the entire kit in one go.

I'm also close to the point when I have to break out the infamous black gunk and fix some panels and the tank - scary stuff.

2 comments:

  1. If you have the same "current model" GBS fuel tank as I have you can fit sender in the tank after the tank has been installed. Unlike the earlier version the tank now has a ring with pre-tapped mounting holes for the sender welded in place so there's no need for the drilling documented on some of the blogs we all rely on to guide us! Just make sure you swill the tank out first with clean petrol and cover all the holes to avoid contaminants getting inside.

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    Replies
    1. Ah thanks Nick... I thought I could see holes but wasn't sure if they would be right for a non-GBS sender.

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