Wednesday 25 October 2017

Alive and kicking

Just in case my hundreds (?) of fans are missing me,  a brief update.

Zedster is still going well although  my oil leak is back and I think it's from the sump/block join. I'm guessing I should have used more instant gasket. The leak is very small and only occurs after a high-revving run - my daily commute doesn't seem to bring it on. I'll keep an eye on it and I guess I may have to take the sump off and redo the seal,  although I'm not looking forward to that (not a difficult job but awkward without a ramp to get the car up in the air).

After 9 weeks,  I finally got the roof delivered from Softbits BUT it doesn't seem to be the right size to me. The rear straps should line up with the rollbar supports but don't:


... and the front just doesn't look long enough - I'm sure it should go an inch or so further down the frame:


Now,  obviously, it's not under tension yet but it is not stretchy fabric so I can't see it fitting.  However,  Softbits reckon it will fit,  so I'll give it a go, hopefully this weekend.

I took a friend for a test drive and his reaction was hilarious. He is not a car person but he was quite enjoying it,  saying how fast it felt. At that point,  I finally got to a clear bit of road and caned it - the poor guy almost wet himself! Over 5500 revs,  Zedster has a real banshee wail which is really quite freaky and a bit scary,  even to me.

So,  quick then.  Oh yeah,  and I can spin the rear wheels - in SECOND gear! OK,  not a Top Gear style tyre shredder,  just a squeak but I've never had a car with anything like that ability. Awesome....!

Also,  I've found an app for my phone which can record 0-60 times - that's my weekend sorted :-)

2 comments:

  1. Hi Neil
    If your oil leak, drip is from the rear of the engine (zetec right?) FWIW, I get the same - I think its the rear shaft seals got old while these engines were crated for 20 years. If its anything like mine it won't lose much - perhaps a cup full of oil a year if that, but let me know if you find a perm solution other than replacing the rear seal.
    Happy motoring!

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    1. I'm not sure exactly where it's from but there seems to be oil on the sump/block join on the O/S from around the oil filter back. But maybe it is from the shaft seal and just runs forward? The actual drip does come down off my sump guard under the flywheel. But the sump guard blocks my view, which is why I'm not sure where the leaks from.

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