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Gerry40

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Everything posted by Gerry40

  1. Had mine nearly 5 years now, nearly 32K on the clock and been a gem, tend to hold onto my cars as well, still got my TR4 & A35 Van which I've had for 31 & 22 years respectively. Cleaned and re-painted the underneath a couple of times and basic servicing over that time is all it's needed.
  2. 2004 GT which I've had for just over 4 years has 31K.
  3. 2004 GT Length of ownership: 3 years Price paid: £7950 Spent during ownership: Very little other than a couple of oil & filter changes, gearbox oil change, blox magnetic sump plug, air filter, painted underneath inc W brace, all done myself and a lifetime battery, so about £350. Vehicle Mileage: 30,600 ( I've covered 4,000 ) Rating 10/10: Worst/Favourite Features: Absolutely love it and definitely a keeper.
  4. Nice one, I tend to buy and keep when it comes to certain cars.
  5. I use Fuchs Race Pro S 5w / 40 from Opie Oils, although this year I had to get it elsewhere because they were out of stock. https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-68897-fuchs-titan-race-pro-s-5w-40-ester-fully-synthetic-engine-oil.aspx?gclid=CjwKCAjw8O7bBRB0EiwAfbrTh5NFYJv5VeNY4e6OGZiU0SWL3JOgxXzEQRcDThbQXWtDF6aUU9NdWRoCJ0cQAvD_BwE
  6. I have used these guy's for several years on all mine and family vehicles, first job was a respray on my 1961 TR4 back in 1981. If you do call ask for Richard or Clive and tell them Gerry has put you in touch. C J Tallis Body and Paint Centre Unit Industrial Site, Nutts Lane Industrial Estate, Nutts Ln, Hinckley LE10 3EJ Phone: 01455 890500
  7. I cleaned under my Zeds arches a couple of years ago and then applied Bilt Hamber's Hydrate 80 which neutralises any rust ready to apply a top coat of which I used two good coats of black smoothrite making sure I treated all around the lip of the rear arches. Here's the link for the Hydrate 80, they do numerous products in addition to this which may be of some interest, I also bought some zinc spray as well which I used on top of the Hydrate 80 when I did my W brace which only had surface rust before then applying the smoothrite. https://www.bilthamber.com/corrosion-protection-and-rust-treatments/hydrate-80 My car leads a fairly easy life and I cover less than 3K miles a year, I would probably apply some form of wax treatment on top if I was doing heavy mileage for added protection. I literally like the idea of just being able to clean and re-apply any topcoat every 3 years or so, I use the same treatment on all my classics and have owned my 1961 TR4 for nearly 30 years which underneath the arches is as good as the day I applied the first few coats of smoothrite. I know some people find it can chip but I have never experienced any major issues with this and it's so easy to clean and re-apply when required.
  8. My name shortened ( used by family & friends ) and went self employed in 2012 so near enough.
  9. My battery gave up the ghost three weeks ago, turned out to be the original one fitted ( 2004 ). Anyway I went for the Yuasa Lifetime Guarantee 075 Black ( 60Ah & 600A ) which came in at £157 ( £141 now ) and thanks to my lads mate's discount cost me £125, the length and width was pretty much the same as the original but not quite as high so I just had to use a small length of belting under the top bracket for the front mainly to secure firmly. Also decided to fit a CTEK comfort charger with led's to show current charge state as the car can sometimes only be used once or twice a week, this enables me to connect my CTEK charger without using the crock clips.
  10. I bought my 2004 Zed in October 2015 with 26k on the clock and love it to pieces, I still haven't reached 30K ... I'm self employed but work from home and do very few business miles so it has a very easy life to be fair. Can't see me ever buying another car as my daily driver and it's definitely for keeps, it joins a TR4 & A35 van which are used a lot less. If the weather's really bad in the winter I cancel any meetings or travel plans, there again I'm 54 now and my running round trying to please other people are over these days, work independently and rely on no-one else. I paid just under 8K and it's a beaut even though I say it myself.
  11. The best rust treatment I have found is Hydrate 80 from Bilt Hamber... http://www.bilthamber.com/hydrate-80 I purchased a 2004 350Z two years ago come this October, admittedly it was immaculate low mileage ( 26K ) and to be fair there wasn't really any rust so to speak of other than surface on the W brace. I removed and wire brushed the brace and then applied 2 coats of the Hydrate 80 which converts the rust to a black protective barrier which I then painted with Smoothrite black, I also removed all the wheels and painted Hydrate 80 under the arches before again painting, I know some people don't like Smoothrite as a top coat but I do very few miles and never have any issues with it chipping, in fact I tend to clean and re-apply the top coat every 3 years or so on my classics ( TR4 & A35 Van ) and they are well protected. Admittedly if I was doing high mileage and all weathers I might be tempted to apply a more flexible top coat for added protection and again would look at Bilt Hamber for that as well.
  12. Nice one Pete! Well done. I've only had my Zed for 15 months but love it, I've had my 1961 TR4 for over half of my life though ( 28yrs ), and I'm nearly 54.
  13. Removed mine last year and cleaned as much of the surface rust off as possible, gave it 2 coats of Bilt Hambers Hydrate 80 which I must say is fantastic stuff and then 2 coats of smoothrite on top. Refitted using copper grease on all the bolts, also while doing an engine & gearbox oil change gave all the bolts holding any covers underneath the same treatment. Just a note on the Hydrate 80, I gave a rusty old antique wheel that I had from my old farmer mate a couple of coats of it at the same time, it stands out in all weathers and the surface rust that it had changed to black looks like I painted it yesterday, didn't put any top coat paint on that by the way.
  14. Had mine just over a year and covered 2K, the computer says 25.3 mpg over that period doing mainly shortish journey's but try and keep the least to a 10 mile run.
  15. Use my Zed as my daily hack but working from home means I keep the mileage down, sometimes use my A35 van if I need a bit extra load space or moving anything that might mess my interior, also got my TR4 if I fancy a bit of topless driving.
  16. Was a year of ownership for me as well on the 26th Oct, excellent forum!
  17. Did my gear oil change at the same time as the engine oil and found the easiest way using the litre bottles of motul was rather than try to squeeze the bottle once in position ( a tad tight to get the bottle upside down just above the filler hole ) was to just let the contents glug out of it's own accord letting gravity do the job. Did take a little while but I was in no rush and also added molyslip at the same time, my car is a 2004 with 28K on the clock and while I couldn't say the gear change was bad in any way it has seemed to make things a tad smoother.
  18. Gerry40

    New w brace

    Got to say I've never had a problem with Hammerite smooth which I've used on all my classics over the years, I think the problem as mentioned is the preparation and if you paint it over rust which I know is what it's designed for but not ideal. I restored a 1961 TR4 over 26 years ago and everything, including the separate chassis and body was sandblasted to bare metal, treated with 3 coats of Hammerite primer and then 5 coats of Smoothrite ( thinned and sprayed on ). Admittedly the car has had an easy life but the underneath is as good as the day it was done with the odd clean and re-paint under the wheel arches, nothing flaking off and the finish is rock hard. I've done the underneath of my Zed with Smoothrite but treating any surface rust with Bilt Hambers Hydrate 80 which is the ideal preparation if you cannot remove all the rust. removed my W brace and applied the treatment, primer and smoothrite. Obviously the one on here was a lost cause and replacement was the only option.
  19. When I purchased my 2004 Zed just over 12 months ago only 1 key fob worked out of the two that came with the car, I didn't know how long the battery had been flat for and removed it prior to ordering 2 replacement batteries. Reading other threads pertaining to changing batteries and having to replace them within a certain time I'd resigned myself to the fact I would have to re-programme both remotes and read the procedure over and over again in preparation. Much to my delight after changing the dead remote battery it worked straight away, maybe I was just lucky but the battery had been dead for some time I guess and completely removed for a couple of days. I also changed the other battery remote as well.
  20. Had the Zed a year yesterday and apart from the general cleaning and detailing here and there, changing the engine and gearbox oil, including fitting a K&F oil filter and Blox magnetic sump plug, nothing else has been done. It has performed faultlessly and brings a smile to my face every time I get in it, admittedly it has a pretty easy life but it's an experience to savour and enjoy, being able to drive it how the mood takes and it feels happy any way is brilliant. The closest thing to perfection in a modern car I've ever had and suits me down to the ground, can't see me ever selling it...definitely for keeps.
  21. I bought a Stormforce outdoor cover for my TVR Cerbera although it was only used in the garage it seemed well made and was about £160 4 years ago. My lad uses it now, again inside on his 25yr old Polo coupe as it wont fit the Zed very well, they are custom fit so excellent obviously on the right car.
  22. I removed, cleaned, painted and re-fitted mine this summer and there are some plastic covers either end of the brace you have to remove first which have small bolts fitted. Luckily all my bolts came out and I was able to clean and coat with copper grease before re-fitting the brace and covers, I did it just using a jack and axle stands on my drive but just needed a hand offering the brace back up so I could get a couple of bolts in. Think you will be alright with what you have as long as the ones holding the plastic covers on come out ok, a liberal spray with wd40 should help.
  23. I removed all 4 wheels and removed all the dirt, I didn't remove the front wheel arch liners and the rear arches are pretty exposed with no liner as such. I then coated with Hydrate 80 from Bilt Hamber before applying a couple of coats of Smoothrite black, using a combination of brush and spray. I know it's not everyones cup of tea to use Smoothrite but I use it on all my cars and re-coat every 3 years or so, that said although the Z is my daily runner being self employed I don't do a massive mileage because I generally work from home so the car will not be subjected to heavy winter use anyway. I removed the W brace and cleaned / re-painted using the same Hydrate 80 and smoothrite, I then cleaned and re-painted the underside as far as possible up to the sill edges with any bolts removed ( inc underneath covers ) being treated with copper grease before replacing. I could have used a local company to clean and waxoyl the underneath but I'm not a massive fan of that stuff being applied underneath to be honest, but I did a wheel arch a day and I suppose including coating all exposed bolts it took me a couple of weeks to complete. For me doing a bit at a time means the job doesn't become a chore and spending 4 to 5 hours at a time is enough. Also started to clean under the bonnet and starting to look better.
  24. Hi Terry, I'm in Sapcote so pretty much next door really, had mine for nearly a year now and love it. There's the usual car show in Hinckley town centre this Sunday which usually gets fairly busy, I'll be taking my TR4 and possibly the A35 van unless the weather looks dicey in which case I'll take the Z.
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