TAG

I was rained out last Monday but finally got my inspection today and got my title and tag. Been driving all morning. I need to get the front wheels balanced; it shakes badly at 50 MPH.

FINALLY. A TITLE?

I finally got the Fl. DMV to accept my paperwork. They will register it as a "motorcycle built from parts". I now have to get the inspection done and get the title. It's been a 6 month ordeal but it's now Game ON.

COCKPIT MOLDING

I started the cockpit molding today. This starts with a piece of 1/2" clear tubing slit and slipped over the edge of the fiberglass. Next is some foam pipe insulation (the smallest they had). I remove about 1/3 of the foam lengthwise so it wraps around better and is not so bulky.

The leather stitching left a little pocket at the outer edge and I shoved a 3/32" brass rod into the pocket. I think that finished it off nicely. Lastly I got a spool on 2.5mm round rawhide and drilled holes and punched the leather and laced it all up. It was quite difficult coming around the corner.
the piece for the other side will butt up in the center and a short rawhide piece will tie it together. The outer end will be finished off by trimming and folding the leather over and glueing a round patch on the end.

Down the body side I bent an alum. angle from flat sheet and bent the angle into a curve. That will be easy to cover.

REGISTRATION-TITLE

Now I can take all my documents to the DMV and see if I can get a title. This process has been a real pain. Florida and most states, I believe, are requiring the same documentation so that all states use the same universal system. They want a "Manufacturers Certificate of Origin" or an original invoice from the manufacturer. JZR does not issue an MCO and I didn't have an invoice.

I wrote Zeimba and asked for a copy of the invoice which he sent but DMV refused to accept it because it was a photocopy. I wrote Zeimba again and sent him a blank MCO form to fill in and sign which he graciously did. That covered that part. Then since the kit had been sold twice before coming to me plus the US dealer I had to have a bill of sale from each sale. I was finally to get all of those so I'm ready to go. I'll post results soon, I hope.

Update. The DMV refused to accept the MCO document that they told me would be OK. I don't know what to do now.

INTERIOR

I finally got the seats covered. I ordered a hide and took it, the foam and plywood bottoms to the trim shop. He did it in 2 days. Leather is sooo nice to sit on. It's cool in summer and warm in winter. Rain is my only issue. I still need to make the carpet and cover the sides of the tunnel and body sides.

EXHAUST BRACKETS

Awhile back I had made wraparound brackets to hold the exhaust and thought these will be great. Then someone suggested that the pipe has to move as it heats up and so it does. I modified the brackets so that the pipe can move and it looks like it moves about 1/8". The bracket is 48" back from the bend.

PROGRESS REPORT

I now have a "certificate of Origin" signed by Zeimba, bills of sale from the 2 previous owners and an invoice from Todd to the first owner. The Fl. DMV has given me verbal OK for my paperwork!!!!

I'm now working on the interior. I picked up the seat foam today and it feels really comfy. I've ordered some samples of leather hides and they should be here soon. I've lined up a Trim shop to do the roll and pleat seat covers so now it's just a matter of time for this build to all come together. Here is the seat foam. I'll do a bit of trimming for the final fit.

NIGHT DRIVE

The wife and I went for our first night drive. Headlights were great; fun experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw69ic5yf4g&list=UU8tZ0SiUMaImDmtUxQOvtAA&index=1

PAINT FINISHED finally

I call it a 5 foot paint job. Get any closer than 5 feet and you will see the sanding scratches and other little flaws. I'll accept it as OK for my first paint job. Sometime down the road I'll probably repaint it.

Now the fun part starts: instal all the shinny bits and crank it up again!!!

CYLINDER HEAD TEMPERATURE

I wanted one of these but the price was always so high until I found this one.
http://www.trailtech.net/digital-gauges/tto/temperature/722-et3

One problem was that the sensor was supposed to be 14mm but what I got was .532" so I filed it out by taking most of the metal off near the wire. This gave me more room in the tight access area for the plug. I put the wire at about two o-clock where there was a bit more room. If you get one of these also get the 12" extension wire otherwise it won't reach to the dashboard.

I haven't cranked it up yet as I'm still fussing with the paint but I expect it to work just great.

UPDATE:
The CHT works great. In driving around my neighborhood (40 MPH) the temp. stays around 285F.

SLOW PROGRESS

The second attempt is making progress. I buffed and polished the upper panel and it looks good. The lower panel has been buffed but not polished yet. I'm fixing the fish eyes by mixing up a bit of paint with no reducer an using a tiny brush I put a drop in the fish eyes. I'll come back and sand and buff and polish and it should be done.

2ND ATTEMPT

I had much better luck this time. I got the gun adjusted much better but still got a bit of orange peal and some dust on the upper panels. I believe I can wet sand and buff that. If not I'll sand and re-shoot them. The lower part looks great.

RED PAINT

I shot the red paint today and it's pretty bad. Lots of orange peal and some drips. I put on 4 coats so I hope there is enough paint to sand down. My first paint job turned out great right out of the gun; beginners dumb luck. Hopefully I can post some pix showing a nice job later; better than these. I'm learning.

PRIMER

Shot the primer today. I wish I knew what I was doing. This is the second paint job I've done. It's a bit on the dusty side if that means anything; probably moved the gun too fast. Now I have a lot of sanding to do.

FINALLY IT'S PAINT TIME

Winter is just about over and I've been able to work on paint prep. I think I'm finished and ready for primer this week. YEA! Like my fancy paint booth? If all goes well I'll shoot the color next week then I'll trailer it to the local British car show April 29.

Interior is next then inspection time!!!! Getting close.

OH MY GOD handle

Too cold to do too much but yesterday and today I made my wife a grab-n-screem handle.