Wednesday 30 August 2017

Such fun

A 2 week family holiday has got in the way of driving my car but I've managed a few more runs and several commutes to work,  bringing the mileage up to 680 and so time for a first oil change.

Got oil pretty much everywhere, slightly damaged the drain plug (new one ordered) and discovered that my dipstick has snapped off at the max mark,  making it tricky to see how much oil is in my engine.

I've not heard back from Softbits yet about my roof and it's been 4 weeks - I'll chase them tomorrow. I've lowered the drivers seat in  preparation:


I might do the passenger seat but I'm not going to have a regular passenger and none of my family are tall enough to be a problem.

Other issues:

1. Wipers still not working.
2. Windscreen glass has moved a bit and come out of the frame by a few mm on one edge.  I need to get some more gunk and seal it back in.
3. Slight design flaw with my light switches; high beam rocker switch right next to the dipped beam so when driving at night on dark roads, I keep missing the high beam switch and turning off ALL my lights! So I spend a frantic few seconds in pitch black,  trying desperately to find my light switch again! Cars coming the other way must think I've gone into stealth mode :-)

Also added a bit more bling to the bonnet:



I've got runs planned for the next 4 Sundays in a row (weather permitting) - cashing in all my brownie points with the wife! New video camera on order so I'll try get some videos up...

Thursday 10 August 2017

Zedster has been skiing

I had a great drive out tonight - I met up with a few of the guys from the SKCC forum and Matt kindly brought his laser tracking kit,  to try help with the tyre squeal.

A few minutes work showed that I had a HUGE amount of toe-in,  despite it looking perfectly straight to the naked eye. Effectively,  Zedster has been snow-ploughing along,  hence the tyre squeal.

A few more minutes with a spanner and I had a slight amount of toe-out instead.  Ideally,  I want a bit of toe-in but I didn't want to delay the others with more adjusting - it's 300% better than it was.

And,  man is it good; no more tyre squeal,  much less kick-back when going through potholes and I've got self-centering of the steering! After all those other things I tried to get that!

As is always the danger of driving in groups,  I didn't want to slow the others,  so my good intentions of running the engine in went out the window a bit. But Zedster sounds awesome at higher revs and quick,  very quick!

Getting better every drive...

Sunday 6 August 2017

Fun for all the family

Took the wife and dog out today for a short test trip - went well although the sunshine helped (and the wife needs something to keep her hair under control).

In the afternoon,  it was my son's turn and after managing to drag him away from his xbox,  he really enjoyed it. His first time in a convertible and,  ominously,  he asked when he would be able to drive. Despite keeping below 4000 rpm,  the noise and theatre of the car is intoxicating... loving it.

A short, fairly rubbish video:



Saturday 5 August 2017

Evening light

Popped out for a short run yesterday evening:



Another first - used my headlights for the first time,  sort of (drove through a foresty bit which was very dark).

Ordered a small clock for the dash and an LED strip for a high level brake light,  which also can do indicators. However,  literally on a slow boat from China so it will take a month or so.

Friday 4 August 2017

The road ahead

Another first yesterday - first drive to work. Zedster looks tiny in a car park next to those huge Ford Fiestas...

Long-term, I am considering commuting to work in Zedster instead of my motorbike, partly because I know I won't get enough free time at weekends for drives out (the wife just won't be happy) and partly because I'm not sure I can justify owning the bike and car, paying 2 lots of insurance and tax etc.

I love my bike but as I get older, I'm getting more conscious of the dangers and the hassle of getting changed at work every day is beginning to get irksome. The advantage of Zedster is that at least my wife will be a passenger (unlike my bike) which may get her to come out with me. Having said that, the drive home from work was crap - trouble on the M25 meant all the local roads were clogged and it took me 40 minutes to get home instead of the 20 minutes it would have been on the bike.

So with a few drives under my belt, a few concerns to be checked/fixed:

1. Wipers - I had a spit of rain yesterday but they wouldn't move correctly. Need to try and sort this at some point.

2. Suspension setup - my tyres squeal like a 70s American cop show at any speed in a corner. I don't know if this is just because they are so new or that all cars do that and you don't normally hear it but I could do with a pro going over my setup. Comfort-wise, Zedster is great, much more so than I expected, except when going through potholes - then you feel it and the car gets knocked off-line (although not sure much can be done about that).

3. Tighten up the windscreen screws - they do look crud from the drivers seat - big gaps between frame and bracket.

And then there is the list of upgrades (in order of importance):

1. Roof (on order). Need to lower seats (maybe just the drivers side?) for this as well.

2. A clock - amazing how annoying it is not knowing the time.

3. Doors - I have a cunning plan/design in mind. Not sure if it's feasible but I'll keep you posted.

4. Decals, graphics, badges - ok, I've ruled out flames but I want some decals on the car, maybe a stripe down the bonnet? But I am artistically-challenged so it could easily come out a mess - I need to get expert advice (wife, probably). I have a vague design for a rear badge but I need to get to grips with 3D software.

5. High level rear brake light.

6. Glove box - storage is a problem and there is a large open space on the dashboard which could have a small, traditional glove box built into it.

That should keep me going for a while...

Tuesday 1 August 2017

Road trip!

Despite a bout of food poisoning that made me feel a bit yuck, the plates arrived this morning and nothing was going to stop that first legal road  trip.

I stuck the plates on - I was planning on bolting the front plate on but I just didn't feel up to the effort of getting holes drilled correctly. I just about managed to adjust the suspension a little as the car seemed to have settled on the N/S.

With that done,  it was time to hit the road:


Apologies but I couldn't work out a way to attach my camera to the car,  so no video - I'll try another time.

A short,  80 mile trip around some beautiful English roads in a 2 seater convertible with the sun shining - it doesn't get any better.

Zedster (for that is his newly-annointed name) performed flawlessly - temperature stayed below 100 degC the whole time, nothing fell off or leaked and despite trying to remember that it's a new engine and needs running in,  there were some enjoyable bursts of acceleration,  hinting at the fun to come.