Strapped on my Drift Cam and took some footage of my first day out playing.
Go here for Exciting Stuff
Few defects to sort out now though...
Rear diff leaking quite badly. Although in the end, this turned out to just be nipping up the drain plugs and other bolts holding the casing together - I took it apart to check the crownwheel during build, clearly needed a final nip on the bolts. Hopefully fixed now.
Cycle wings. Arrgh!! Must be about 5 times they've fallen off now. Think it's partially down to the fact that I've opted for 17" wheels, so they sit much further than all you other boys with 15" wheels and have more "leverage" on the bracket. They keep cracking on the welds. I've welded them up each time, but then the next weld along cracks.
I'm going to have to re-engineer them more substantially at some point, but for the moment I'm just patching them back together so I can have the car available for the best of the weather.
Awesome drive by the way - the power is phenomenal and it handles like a go kart - levels of grip are outstanding. Plus the extra power to weight means it's quite lively at the back end!!!
More updates soon...
Tuesday 15 July 2014
Wednesday 9 July 2014
Finally... All Finished and Legal!
I've been dying to write this post for about 2 and 1/2 years, but finally, here we are! All finished and road legal...
After a very frustrating battle with the DVLA I got out of them an age-related number plate, a V5, and a tax disc.
It was made doubly frustrating by their inefficiency and seeming lack of enthusiasm for the whole thing. Getting through to the right department is absolutely key.
First off, I filled in all the forms and provided all the evidence:
1. Covering letter
2. Cheque for £285.00
3. V55/4 application for first tax disc and registration of a new motor vehicle
4. V627/1 Built-up Vehicle report
5. Purchase receipt for donor vehicle N140 VUP (Hand-written)
6. V267 – Declaration that a vehicle is new (guidance was unclear as to whether this was required or not, instructed them if not appropriate to disregard)
7. V5C for N140 VUP, original document
8. SORN acknowledgement / correspondence from DVLA with ref. To N140 VUP
9. Certificate of Motor Insurance with Trinity Lane insurer (Adrian Flux broker letter attached for reference only)
10. VOSA Correspondence ref. Individual Vehicle Approval, e.g. test booking forms, payment, failure sheet, re-test dates etc.
11. Individual Vehicle Approval Certificate, original document
12. Photocopy of driving licence and counterpart licence (Guidance in INF26 informs that photocopies of these are acceptable)
13. Photographs (234 thumbnails) showing the dismantling of N140 VUP and construction of GKD LEGEND
14. Receipt from GKD Sports Cars for Chassis and components
15. Ad-hoc Receipts from other wear components purchased.
Some 150-odd pages. Then sent off recorded delivery. It was sent on the 7th June and tracked in on the 8th. Great so I KNOW it got there safely.
Phoned up around about the 15th. Nobody had seen or heard of it. unfortunately you go through to a call-handling desk which is just a team of people of varying abilities, who write down your details and pass it onto other people.
Same on around 20th. Stil no sign.
After 3 weeks had elapsed, they agreed to "look into it" and raise a case number.
Phoned back on the 25th, still nothing. On the 27th someone from the right department (Kits and rebuilds... formally MASET) phoned me back and said that they hadn't received anything, but would look into it. In the meantime I suggested that I could scan in my application (luckily I'd taken a photocopy) and they could at least start working on it. They agreed, and it was the first sensible thing they had done!
I phoned back on the 1st of July, straight back to the call handling desk. No record of anything. I asked to speak to the named individual in the MASET team and the call handler told me a) there was no person by that name, b) the department didn't exist; and c) any of the other departments weren't "customer facing" and so not allowed to speak to the customer.
I was very close to losing it completely by this point, so I threatened to complain. I also e-mailed the people I'd been speaking to prior, and they called me back.
One guy in particular was absolutely excellent, and in the end, agreed to just process the application for me, and that an age-related plate would be absolutely fine...
In the time of this phonecall, and him phoning me back to tell me the age-related plate had come through; (on about 2nd July) my original documentation had come through to his (correct) department. Unbelievable.
So with that, within 2 days, I had sent through by recorded delivery a V948 authorising use of the number plate, a tax disc for 12 months, and a V5 in a seperate non-recorded envelope.
Hallelujah!!
So the moral to this story? Make sure you send it to the CORRECT POSTCODE in the DVLA. I was originally advised, obviously incorrectly; to send it to the new registration team. DO NOT DO THIS!
Send it to the MASET / Kits and Rebuilds Team, D4, DVLA Swansea, SA99 1ZZ...
Oh and after everything I didn't get my IVA certificate back. I phoned up to complain, but they said it wasn't DVLA policy to send this back (even though they sent through my photographs back, which they really could have kept as grainy ink-jet thumbnails). Thought about complaining, but then I dont' really need it, I've got a photocopy, and I can always get one from VOSA if required...
Happy now, and watch this space for a video update!!
Cheers,
Steve
After a very frustrating battle with the DVLA I got out of them an age-related number plate, a V5, and a tax disc.
It was made doubly frustrating by their inefficiency and seeming lack of enthusiasm for the whole thing. Getting through to the right department is absolutely key.
First off, I filled in all the forms and provided all the evidence:
1. Covering letter
2. Cheque for £285.00
3. V55/4 application for first tax disc and registration of a new motor vehicle
4. V627/1 Built-up Vehicle report
5. Purchase receipt for donor vehicle N140 VUP (Hand-written)
6. V267 – Declaration that a vehicle is new (guidance was unclear as to whether this was required or not, instructed them if not appropriate to disregard)
7. V5C for N140 VUP, original document
8. SORN acknowledgement / correspondence from DVLA with ref. To N140 VUP
9. Certificate of Motor Insurance with Trinity Lane insurer (Adrian Flux broker letter attached for reference only)
10. VOSA Correspondence ref. Individual Vehicle Approval, e.g. test booking forms, payment, failure sheet, re-test dates etc.
11. Individual Vehicle Approval Certificate, original document
12. Photocopy of driving licence and counterpart licence (Guidance in INF26 informs that photocopies of these are acceptable)
13. Photographs (234 thumbnails) showing the dismantling of N140 VUP and construction of GKD LEGEND
14. Receipt from GKD Sports Cars for Chassis and components
15. Ad-hoc Receipts from other wear components purchased.
Some 150-odd pages. Then sent off recorded delivery. It was sent on the 7th June and tracked in on the 8th. Great so I KNOW it got there safely.
Phoned up around about the 15th. Nobody had seen or heard of it. unfortunately you go through to a call-handling desk which is just a team of people of varying abilities, who write down your details and pass it onto other people.
Same on around 20th. Stil no sign.
After 3 weeks had elapsed, they agreed to "look into it" and raise a case number.
Phoned back on the 25th, still nothing. On the 27th someone from the right department (Kits and rebuilds... formally MASET) phoned me back and said that they hadn't received anything, but would look into it. In the meantime I suggested that I could scan in my application (luckily I'd taken a photocopy) and they could at least start working on it. They agreed, and it was the first sensible thing they had done!
I phoned back on the 1st of July, straight back to the call handling desk. No record of anything. I asked to speak to the named individual in the MASET team and the call handler told me a) there was no person by that name, b) the department didn't exist; and c) any of the other departments weren't "customer facing" and so not allowed to speak to the customer.
I was very close to losing it completely by this point, so I threatened to complain. I also e-mailed the people I'd been speaking to prior, and they called me back.
One guy in particular was absolutely excellent, and in the end, agreed to just process the application for me, and that an age-related plate would be absolutely fine...
In the time of this phonecall, and him phoning me back to tell me the age-related plate had come through; (on about 2nd July) my original documentation had come through to his (correct) department. Unbelievable.
So with that, within 2 days, I had sent through by recorded delivery a V948 authorising use of the number plate, a tax disc for 12 months, and a V5 in a seperate non-recorded envelope.
Hallelujah!!
So the moral to this story? Make sure you send it to the CORRECT POSTCODE in the DVLA. I was originally advised, obviously incorrectly; to send it to the new registration team. DO NOT DO THIS!
Send it to the MASET / Kits and Rebuilds Team, D4, DVLA Swansea, SA99 1ZZ...
Oh and after everything I didn't get my IVA certificate back. I phoned up to complain, but they said it wasn't DVLA policy to send this back (even though they sent through my photographs back, which they really could have kept as grainy ink-jet thumbnails). Thought about complaining, but then I dont' really need it, I've got a photocopy, and I can always get one from VOSA if required...
Happy now, and watch this space for a video update!!
Cheers,
Steve
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