Newbie from Essex

[Woody1000]

Good morning All

Finally treated myself to a little Zed after years of wanting a summer toy ! I looked at all the other soft tops but just fell in love with this Zed when I went to view it ! What is it with these cars! I can't believe just how much I smile while driving it just can't wait for the hot weather

I have bought a set of 19" wheels off eBay which really set the car off in my opinion and I have changed the water pump and thermostat and done the usual oil and filter change so I'm wondering is there anything else I should look for ?

Love this car and loving the forum.

Tony

[BonBon]

A small touch that will make a big difference is to spray the expanded mesh in your gills silver.
They'll stand out nicely matching your door handles and the rims in your wheels.
2 hour job - start to finish. Try not to break the plastic nibs when you remove the gills.
Where's the pic? Epping Forest?

[Captain]

Welcome Tony, good looking Zed you got yourself, like the colour and the wheels

Sent from my HTC Desire

[PCSAM]

nice alloys ...... they do make the car ,. tell us more about your car . what's the power plant in and so on you have done all the proper jobs on the car. just look after it with some TLC and it will reward you well..

[Mint]

Welcome from Staffs. I'm lovin the colour and your wheels - great combination Looks in great nick.

[Woody1000]

It's a 1999 2.0 litre model that I picked up on eBay, just over 90k on the clock with full service history, I think it Topaz blue and I have polished it more times than I have driven it !! The 19" wheels I bought again off eBay last week they are only two months old with tyres and I managed to get them for £450 which I considered a bargain !! I can honestly say that out of all the cars I have Owen and there has been a few none give me more joy than this one. I love the styling of the Z3's and its great to drive.

[Boysie]

Welcome Woody to the forum
Nice looking car

Any reason for the name of car "Bertie"

maybe you lived in worcester once

[Woody1000]

My daughter named him Bertie the BMW !! He sits next to Rena the Renault traffic and Peggy the Picasso !!

[Boysie]

My daughter named him Bertie the BMW !! He sits next to Rena the Renault traffic and Peggy the Picasso !!

"Love it"

[Woody1000]

Couldn't resist getting the roof down yesterday but its still way too cold ! Think I might need to move to a hotter climate !

[Boysie]

Be very very careful before lowering the roof when cold
Warm up interior for a short time
As the rear screen have a tendency to crack when folding down

[Boysie]

Get a Tonneau cover
if you havent already got one with the car
It finishes the look of the car

Car looks great

[Woody1000]

I got a new tonneau cover with the car but the sun didn't shine long enough for me to put the bloody thing on !! The only thing I can find with the car is both wing mirror bases have started to rust is this a common problem ?

[Gazza]

Welcome to the Forum.

[miller1098]

Welcom,tonneau Ive never used it ,wind deflector its great ,makes top down driving in the cold tolerable

[bessieblue]

welcome Woody from another essex owner, is that hainault where the photos taken ? like the car & the wheels, blue is by far the best colour for these cars .

[Mint]

blue is by far the best colour for these cars .

Agreed

[Boysie]

blue is by far the best colour for these cars .

Agreed

With every Zed there is always a silver lining

[Woody1000]

Hi, no not Hainaut they were taken in Chelmsford.

[amancuso]

Hi, and welcome.

[Mike Fishwick]

Yes - silver gill meshes lok far better than blck, particularly on a dark car.

[Woody1000]

Your right they do look much better ! Another job added to my list !!

[Woody1000]

Mike did you replace the mesh in the gills or just spray them ? Spent 3 hrs cleaning the car today and didn't notice if the gills were mesh or plastic inside

[BonBon]

Expanded metal mesh.
Easy to do - just remove gill, remove mesh, clean with alcohol & spray from can.
Doddle and voila.

[RichP]

The only thing I can find with the car is both wing mirror bases have started to rust is this a common problem ?

It is indeed a common problem. I need to do mine when i get around to it. Theres a how to guide in the knowledge base on this forum:

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=16269

[micklaw]

hi and welcome from another blue zed owner

[Southernboy]

Hi Tony...welcome to the "Z"oo....I love your car colour, and the 19"'s look very good. Your door mirrors should be top of your list!! If they're showing signs of coorosion, don't wait...they'll simply collapse eventually...I'd get them off, stripped thoroughly cleaned and coated asap. These mirrors aren't cheap, and also becoming more scarce. You guys in the UK have the weather and salt to disolve door mirrors if not entire cars...I note someone else is struggling with the issue on the forum right now...might be worth having a look at the extent of the damage that will eventually affect your mirrors.

[Woody1000]

Thanks for the advice, info and comments on the car, looks like I might have a go at the wing mirrors and gills next weekend ! Actually looking forward to it...

[RichP]

inspired by this thread i bought some tins of paint and have now dismantled the wing mirror to get to the base. It was quite a simple job thanks to the guides on here:

*carefully* prise mirror glass away, get a screwdriver in to lever the 4 clips out.
unscrew 4 x head screws revealed and remove the motor assembly
turn mirror 90 degrees and unscrew allen bolts
pull out the 4 wires
pull the mirror away from the cable
unscrew star screws to remove mirror casing.

why did they make one part with x head, star, and allen bolts?! why not pick one and stick with it

took about 10 mins.

i've now sanded and primed using paint-on hammerite aluminium primer, brush strokes not too bad as its very liquid. and it beats buying a massive tin of (apparently rather nasty) aerosol acid primer for the sake of one spray. couple more primes/rub downs and then paint, then laquer.

paint - £6.50
Laquer - £6.50
Sandpaper assorted grades - £6
Hammerite special metals primer - £7

total = £25, but wit a lot of spare product.

[Woody1000]

Rich

I will drop my car off in the morning and pick it up in he afternoon £25 well spent !!!

Looks like an easy task and great you never had to remove the door cards like mentioned in other threads

Doing mine next weekend

[Boysie]

inspired by this thread i bought some tins of paint and have now dismantled the wing mirror to get to the base. It was quite a simple job thanks to the guides on here:

*carefully* prise mirror glass away, get a screwdriver in to lever the 4 clips out.
unscrew 4 x head screws revealed and remove the motor assembly
turn mirror 90 degrees and unscrew allen bolts
pull out the 4 wires
pull the mirror away from the cable
unscrew star screws to remove mirror casing.

why did they make one part with x head, star, and allen bolts?! why not pick one and stick with it

took about 10 mins.

i've now sanded and primed using paint-on hammerite aluminium primer, brush strokes not too bad as its very liquid. and it beats buying a massive tin of (apparently rather nasty) aerosol acid primer for the sake of one spray. couple more primes/rub downs and then paint, then laquer.

paint - £6.50
Laquer - £6.50
Sandpaper assorted grades - £6
Hammerite special metals primer - £7

total = £25, but wit a lot of spare product.

Once removed, can you take it apart, just leaving the base
thats the part that goes rusty ?

[RichP]

Once removed, can you take it apart, just leaving the base
thats the part that goes rusty ?

I took the plastic body couloured panels off it, which leaves the base attached to the metal inner structure of the mirror. These are attached to each other pretty permanently from what i can see, and there is no need to remove the base from the structure as the base is fully accessible without doing so.

If the corrosion is very serious i suppose it may be underneath the mirror structure, in which case the job will be much trickier!