The Zender Z40 Build

[isaidthephil]

Talking of paint, guessing your sticking with the standard colour? brilliant black?

It's going back to black yeah but it's not currently standard black, it's a later VW Metallic which it will be again...... unless i have a mad one before it goes into the bodyshop and decide on a colour change .... doubtful though unless it was mint green or candy red.

if i were buiding it i wouldnt do it black, maybe a satin black but not a shiny black. mint green would look ace. personally i think big kitted wild cars need a stand out colour.

You're not helping me here but I have a couple of months to think about it. The issue I will have will be tying it all in with my interior ideas. It's going to be a bit different inside hopefully so a bright colour on the outside might clash slightly.... we shall see.

[isaidthephil]

Afternoon all, so it's been some time hasn't it :s apologies. I actually haven't done much with the Zender build over the past 6 months or so but I do intend to have it in the bodyshop at some point this year to hopefully build up and finish next year :)

So what have I been doing I hear you ask? well I have still been collecting pieces for the build and more specifically the engine, running gear and brakes. As some of you may know I bought James Bell's Blue r32 Rocco which I have now aptly names 'The Mule' as I am going to get this car running and braking as I want it before I strip all the engine etc out to fit to my Zender when it's back from paint.

The car arrived last April but I haven't really driven it much due to two reasons, 1. it kept shitting out it's coolant and 2. The Brakes were next to non existent (no servo) which I believe is kind of always going to be the case but I am aiming to improve them a little.

So this is what i have done with the car so far.

Purchased and fitted some Ronal Aero's



Switched the narrowed rear beam to a standard one.... please excuse the Mokka-E it was a short lived moment of madness. I am now driving a VAG daily again now.



It sat on the drive for a while and then I brought it in for winter to keep Frank company but also so I could tinker on it at night;



So first thing to tackle was the cooling issue. As you can see in the picture the car had quite a small alloy rad with a single fan. It also had an alloy expansion tank, however the the coolant wasn't in a closed curcuit like the R32 should be and like how the normal 1.8 Rocco engine is setup allowing pressure to build, instead it had an overflow pipe that ran from the top of the bottle to the ground so as soon as the water got hot it just spat the coolant all over the floor.... I have to admit it all looks lovely and tidy but it just wasn't doing what it needed to.





I spent far too many pennies and purchased the below;

• Dual Fans and Alloy Rad from S&P

• Silicone Coolant hoses specifically for the use with a VR6 in a MK1 Golf or MK2 Scirocco using the standard expansion tank from S&P

• Cast thermostat housing from S&P replacing the standard plastic one

• Stainless Crack Pipe from Fleecebay replacing the standard plastic on which are known for failing.

Ignore the new moder expansion tank, I decided not to use it but i might in my final build.



After a couple of hour fettling I had everything removed and the new items in place. I treated myself to a rivnut gun which made fitting the new rad nice and secure really easy.





Upon first start I had a small leak from the thermostat housing but I just hadn't quite tightened it enough which was a relief. I got it up to temp and everything was ticking along nicely with the water circulating nice and the fan kicking in at temp :) I just need to test it on the road now which I will aim to do in the next week or two after I have completed my next task..... the brakes.

So from a brake perspective the car is pretty well equipped but it's just not cutting it. As it stands this is what it has;

• Full hydro adjustable pedal box with hydro clutch with Wilwood integral master cylinders.

• Front brakes 4pot ap racing calipers 280mm discs.

• Rear brakes are still standard drums.

The issue I have is that there is ALOT of travel before the brakes even engage and when they do they're not great. I have spoken to s few people though who have said that you will always have to press really hard with this setup, however there probably should be loads of play.

The other issue I have is that the master cylinders are integral and under the dash making them an absolute nightmare to try and get a decent bleed.... SO I have purchased a few things as below;

• New Wilwood Master Cylinder with remote reservoirs which should mean I can do a pressure bleed.

• All new rear drum internals / pads as I think one of the pistons has failed and has released fluid in one

• A Wilwood Residual Pressure Valve which I am told should stop the drums for forcing too much fluid back to the reservoir which in turn should mean less travel on the pedal...... only time will tell.

I haven't started this job yet but aim to either this weekend or next where I should hopefully be able to come back to you happy that the car is better to drive :)

[james butler]

excellent work dude and seriously impressive squeezing such a large motor under that bonnet!
that brake issue is a bit weird though?
sounds like your master cylinder is too small hence the amount of travel to push enough fluid to do anything.
would definately be worth consulting willwood or ap for advice on which master cylinder to go for but definitely bigger is the way to go!
the only down side is you will need to press harder so would be advisable to utilise a servo!
ive never heard of properly functioning drums pushing fluid back to the reservior causing this issue though? thats what your self adjusters for.
keep up the good work though and lots of pics!

[isaidthephil]

Morning all, it's been a while and this is because I am very lazy :)

Anyhoo, the good news is..... the car is now booked into the bodyshop at the end of April

The bad news is, I have a lot to do / have had a lot to do so heres a brief update on what's been happening and where I am up to.

To start with towards the end of last year I started to remove pieces of the kit to start fixing any damage. I have only done two pieces so far but these are the worst one. Given I have never used fibreglass before It has come out ok and i quite enjoyed doing it. I still need to go round all the others but after doing these it should be easy enough. FYI - I am just doing the main repairs, the bodyshop will then properly finish everything.



Before;










After;







Whilst the drivers arch was off it was also time to cut the front arch. This felt bad as they are mint but i had already drilled holes through them plus I like chopping things so I soon forgot about it.





I have also ordered my suspension. I have become a bit of a scene kid it seems as I have decided to go all out with air ride.... because of this though it has meant i needed to fit the rear beam and wishbones etc so I can work out if i need to cut some chassis notches etc. I also picked up a set of 17" Compomotive TH's. These probably won't be my show wheel but I do like them alot :)

I am still waiting on the air ride so I fitted the coilovers back on for now so everything wasn't hanging down, plus so I could see the wheels on;



Next up was stripping the R32 Rocco so I could get it out of the way. This is now all done and hopefully the last time i ever have to strip a MK2 Scirocco.





On a side note, if any of you are doing a build, 100% buy yourself a label maker. It's a game changer, no more writing on masking tape which get covered in oil and is usually in some kind of doctors writing I can't read the next time i look at it.





That's it at the moment but you will get more updates over the coming months as things progress quickly. Things to do are;

Finish repairing all the fibreglass panels
Fit rear spoiler when my new brackets arrive
Fit air ride and plumb lines internally
Cut/weld chassis notches (I have never welded but am going to give it a go...... I think)
Mock up and trial run wiring loom in arches
Mock up and trial run brake lines internally
Buy and trial fit CAE Short Shifter
Degrease engine bay
Maybe weld up all the holes in the bay no longer needed.... I might leave this to the bodyshop though
Remove battery tray + other brackets not needed in bay
Remove glass
Buy lots of new shiny things (basically all nuts and bolts underneath)
Restore lots of things (rear beam, steering rack etc)
Clean up and restore engine/gearbox
Plus many other things.......
CHOOSE A COLOUR FOR PAINT!!

Stay tuned folks :)