It's getting heavy...

Almost did my back in picking up the box of my doorstep with this lot in it:

(Obviously, there's another pair as well). Rear disks and calipers, in case you're as bad at this as I am :-)

Almost £100 cheaper than the same items from GBS - result. They are proper engineering - the sort of thing I imagined you'd need when building a car. Luverly!!

Not quite sure if the calipers need to be painted (question for my forum). I'd like too but need to work out how - special paint? Primer?

Also ordered my diff from a recommended specialist not too far from me in Kent - Road and Race Transmissions. They're so small, they don't even have a website, which is rare these days. Another £140 cheaper than GBS...

Garage clearance going better than i expected - i found enough spare wood to build a small worktop (for a vice) and maybe enough for all the shelves i wanted to put up. Couple of trips to the dump needed....

Onwards.

Shed-a-licious

One shed, done:

Not really big enough but i can't afford to lose any more space in my garden. Can finally start the scary task of clearing the garage - not looking forward to it. I've got so many bits and pieces stashed away in there....

Also had a couple of other deliveries; trolley jack and these:

More investigation of where to get stuff cheaper than from GBS. A lot of their stuff is actually reasonably competitive but some are, weirdly, way off. For example, Cosworth brake calipers are £240 from them but £150 elsewhere; swirl pot £100 but £30 from several eBay sellers.

The biggest shock so far is the engine itself. GBS proudly quote a Zetec 2L engine for £750. Not bad, you might think BUT that doesn't include VAT, so now £900. Then, you need a decent ECU (£700 for an Emerald, which everyone seems to use), shortened sump (£400 - can't find a reasonable alternative yet), throttle bodies (£700 or £200 for the GBS plenum - guess which i'm going for :-) ) plus other bits.

I know I have a budget and it should allow for these parts but it's shocking to see it broken down like that.

I also know i could save £1000s by buying knackered old bits and refurbing them etc but i don't think this is a good idea long-term. On various forums, I keep reading about problems people are having and a large proportion of the time it is related to old bits that were used or some bodge which saved cash at the time but is coming back to haunt them. Not for me, although i'm also going to try use cheaper (but new) alternatives where possible.

Apology due

It seems GBS have been having email problems and they had replied to me but it just hadn't  sent properly. True or not, they have now got me the cost to get to rolling chassis stage.

A note about money - most of the blogs i read before starting out never mentioned money and costs. I'm not sure why but i used to find it quite frustrating so i intend to scare myself by quoting costs as i go along - hope it doesn't put anyone off.

So, it looks like getting to a rolling chassis stage will end up costing about £7.5k - sounds like a lot, I know. Now, this includes all reconditioned parts, so i could lower the cost if i did some refurbing myself and i might try. Depends on how knackered i am after getting my garage ready...

Shed to be delievered Wednesday so will hopefully put it up next weekend.

Brain throb

No particular update but lots of time spent determing the best place to get the 3 major items; engine, gearbox and diff. These 3 items alone are going to cost in the region of £2k.

GBS are actually pretty competitive on price but I've found a couple of places to get them slightly cheaper. It will save me maybe £300 in total which isn't huge in the great scheme of things but worth the effort.

Although i wasn't planning on doing any refurb of parts myself, the drive shafts and steering column seem very simple to do and will save me another couple of hundred again, so i might go for that.

Still another week to go before the shed arrives and i can start prepping the garage - a tad worried that the shed won't be big enough (but i can't fit a bigger one in my small garden).

Hmm, no response from GBS about the cost to get to a rolling chassis stage...not confidence-inspiring.

First milestone....ish

Ok, it's not that major but first items I've spent money on have arrived:

Rivet gun and cleco set - not quite sure how to use them but how exciting is this?!

Riveting stuff

More spending - a rivet gun and a set of Clecos and pliers.

I had no idea of how to use them but YouTube proved very helpful (is there anything in the world someone hasn't video'd and put on YouTube?).

Regarding spending, I have started a spreadsheet to record everything i buy. This may stop if i get too depressed about what I'm spending but interesting so far.

Also started thinking about build order - which bits to put on when. With the help of the 2 other blogs (links on the right- thanks Richard and David), I think this will roughly be it:

Diff
Rear panel
Tunnel panels
Pedals
Master cylinder
Rear wishbones
Rear suspension?
Handbrake
Rear brake lines

Should keep me going for a while :-)

I've decided that on my chassis collection day, to try also get all the bits needed to get to a rolling chassis stage (except maybe the wheels). This will save on postage costs and means i won't be sitting round waiting. I've emailed GBS to ask for an itemised list and price - good test to see their response time.

Sheddy exciting

Ordered a shed.

Hey, i didn't say this was going to be an interesting blog ;-)

Day of D

Finally...the Stoneleigh kit car show.

The omens were good - on Friday, i got confirmation of my new job start so i won't be frittering away too much of the kid's inheritance. The show was good fun and the sun even made an appearance.

I saw the MNR first and it looked good but still not excited about a 100k mile 1.6 litre MX5 engine.

GKD Legend was nice - good size cockpit and a beemer engine with the inherent quality and power - but still 100k miles.

Then a bit of a shocker - the Tiger Avon was too small for me! Seemed ok in the factory. ...disaster!

So, to the GBS Zero stand - lovely car, largest cockpit and footwell (with the GT chassis) and, most importantly,  that new Zetec engine. Not as well specced as the Tiger and I'm a little concerned about the final cost but the trigger was pulled and paid my deposit for the starter kit!!

I'm officially a car manufacturer, just with a very small volume :-)

So, 8 weeks to delivery and time to start on garage clearout in earnest....this is roughly what I'm aiming for: