Hi.
Well having had the zed about a year and a half and managing to resist the urge to change it much in that time i think i've finally given up trying to stop the inevitable, so let the changes commence
This is how she started off when i picked her up from LeonK from the forum back in Oct 2012
Stunning condition car with the extras that i wanted:
19" LMGT4 wheels
Red Brembo calipers
Uprated discs and pads
Clear side reflectors
and an aftermarket exhaust.
1st mod i made was the addition of some bonnet dampers
Really simple mod and a lot nicer than having to use the bonnet stay all the time.
Left it a while then but back in Oct 2013 (1 year after getting her) it was P3 service time plus there were some good deals going on Berk HFC's and Uprev's with Abbey.
So bit of a trek down to the south east to have these fitted:
Plus the service, UpRev, Braided brake lines and also a Wasso Gold Plenum spacer (yum )
These are the Berks fitted up on the car at Abbey
All in all really happy with the outcomes from the trip. Gained a bit of BHP and torque but mainly just a nicer drive. Plus of course that great noise from the hfc's.
Since then been trying to resist doing anything else but seem to have had a rather large relapse
I thought well maybe i'll just tidy up the engine bay a bit, nothing huge. But then thanks to others and their almost pornographic engine bay shots i've not had a choice but to go a bit more all out.
Initial changes were to add a nice polished Berk intake tube which i picked up from Atkin666 (cheers again mate) and also a JWT Pop charger (think the pop charger was done earlier but cannot remember lol)
That didn't last very long before i had other ideas:
So then got the plenum polished as well as the strut brace. Did think about doing it myself but with time ticking on wanted these pieces done quickly. Would have taken me way longer lol
Got the work done at Caerphilly Metal polishers. Quite happy with it
I did have to do some work though since the plenum was minging on the inside
So too was the throttle body, so bit of scrubbing later with some engine degreaser on the plenum and careful work on the throttle body with carb cleaner:
Take my word for it the inside of the throttle body was black as night when i first took it off (plenum side) and pretty dirty on the intake side as well.
With the throttle body off and having discovered a hydro dipping place just up the road from me decided to make some colour changes.
Sprayed up the throttle body
Was quite worried about this part since i'd heard of issues when working with the throttle body. But careful masking and all was fine
Then changed over the existing silicone hose intake connectors for a set of white samco ones plus picked up some really nice white samco coolant hoses from CS on the forum.
Soooooo then the fun bit putting it all on!
Was quite straight forward really. Discovered due to the thicker hoses had to get jubilee clips to replace the existing hose clips. To be fair look better since they're nice and shiny.
Then topped the coolant back up since i'd had to drain the system to get these changed over. All in put about 5-6 litres back into the car. My only suggestion is to make sure you follow the procedure from the service manual when bleeding the coolant and take time to get it right. So far so good and no air locks
I've also got some bits dipped to go back into the engine bay i.e.
Looks better in the flesh but this is the best pic i could get.
I'm waiting on getting the strut brace and engine cover back from the same guy before i can put them back on. The strut brace is having white feet, the engine cover...... lol well its a little more out there but if it works then personally i'll love it
Here's the overall engine shot pre cleaning (gotta spray other brackets, cover surrounds and slam panel plus fit new coolant, power steering and oil catch cans)
Pre engine clean
I spent a few hours today cleaning the engine bay.
I've tried loads of products and none of them have touched the tar and grease thats all over the bay. Then i tried another suggestion, carb cleaner on a rag. Bam sorted strips through the tar and grease a lot easier!
so here's some before and after pics of the bay so you can get an idea of how bad it was and how well the carb cleaner works
Before:
and after:
Complete bay shot as its stands. Shortened the coolant overflow pipe a bit since its a bit thick for the clips along the radiator housing so cutting it shorter means that it should stay in place without them.
It's the first time i've really tried to clean an engine bay properly like this before. Much happier with the way its progressing now. Going to have to keep stocks of carb cleaner from now on lol
There are some rust patches across the bay, mainly by the strut brace mounts. So far just Krusted them and will then prime and colour coat them just to keep them clean.
Nearly forgot!!
Also got the inside door switch panels dipped since they were pretty scratched up
And then the largest purchase for me yet lol
(thats not my dolls house either! lol its at my mums)
Totally love this Arc exhaust system and cannot wait to get it fitted!!
Thanks to Tarmac for sorting the exhaust and also the incoming alloy tanks for the engine bay.
Phewwwwww big thread!
Hope its not been too boring to read through.
Getting the exhaust fitted this week. Was going to do it myself but not really enough time at the mo.
Then i'll be doing the other bits to the engine bay, probably doing a bumper tuck and then...... could be anything at this rate, bloody zeditus
Apologies if i've forgot to mention anyone thats helped me source parts. If so drop me a message and i'll get this updated.
Hopefully will be updating this a bit over the coming months with new changes and the like. Really excited to get this engine cover back, just gotta cross my fingers and hope that the dip works well.
Cheers
