Friday 3 May 2013

Made it - Zero safely at GBS

177 Miles more on the clock

Good run up to Nottingham; no windscreen and only goggles for protection - its a nice cruise around 60mph & sunny most of the way too. 

Couple of blips on the throttle through Dartford tunnel + out of the wind it was warm.

The M11/A1 route isn't bad for a small car - two lanes most of the way so I didn't feel too overwhelmed by larger traffic as on a motorway.

I did put my foot down here and there  - but without a screen or helmet the wind just gets painful! Close to GBS the last stretch of A roads is perfect for Zeros - sweeping roads & rolling hills with a couple of sharp corners. I love the engine intake sound when you put your foot down - you can hear it sucking in that 2 litres per rev of air capacity with a whistle as the power comes through.

I can understand why many drivers don't ever put windscreens on - while I understand, I will be putting one on my car eventually otherwise I don't think my wife will be passenger again.

Arrived & Zero left behind

The car is safely at GBS, I just need to persuade VOSA to move the paperwork up from Gillingham and with a bit of luck we'll get the car registered:

The only minor problem - I lost my Silencer bracket guard. I was just showing Richard around the car to mention any non standard assembly & all that was left of the bracket was the jubilee clip that held it on! The vibration on the trip up did for it. Shouldn't be a problem since its done its job now.
(Standing back from the car for the first time - that nearside front wheel arch isn't in a perfect position, its a little far from the tyre - but I can't really change it now)

The car looks pretty good, even when sitting alongside the factory builds, I'm really happy I got the build to this stage; This first real long drive with no problems really made the effort over the last 12 months worth while.

The little machine I built/assembled in my single garage took me half way across the UK on its third outing without issues - Its been fun & rewarding to build - I can completely recommend a kit car, and specifically a Zero, to anyone considering a project.

12 months on

Its virtually a year ago I was first at the GBS Factory being shown around - the GBS team were preparing for Detling then & I was a potential customer for their Kit.

Today, one year down the line, the kit has returned as a finished (save windscreen) Car & GBS are busy preparing for the National Kit Car Show - Stoneleigh so everything at their offices is on the move for the show stand:

A little time to wait before Keith could give me a lift to the station so I wrote some feedback on the process which GBS decided to publish on their testimonials page.

Just need to find a train back to Kent now!

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