vivaspeed

We're talking about the 12th.

Right so I’ve now got to be up north on the 5th due to family commitments so you guys can carry on without me, or we push it out to Sunday 12th instead?

Do Chamberlain still have a workshop? They make springs and used to do suspension work so can probably sort you out. I’ve had them make me custom springs for Vivas and Toyota stuff over the years.

Okay so let's make a plan here. First weekend in December (Sunday 5th December) might be the go. I've got commitments on the weekends either side. Not sure what kind of distances people want to cover, but I had thought about the route below - meet Dunedin say 10am, head off through Middlemarch towards Ranfurly and/or Naseby (cool little town I visited for the first time today) for a bite to eat - BBQ or pie or pub lunch or whatever then back out to Palmerston. Central Otago people can head off home from Ranfurly if they wanted. The other option might be to go in reverse direction and head up through Warrington, Karitane, etc but trying to avoid too much back tracking depending on where people are travelling from.

Yes I was thinking I should lock in something... took my car for a 150km run on the weekend and nothing British happened so I'm good for this. Weekend of 20/21 Nov or first weekend in Dec?

Where's the adventure in that? (says he with a British car)

Ha. I learned that lesson a long time ago. Bought a second hand MIG and hooked it up. Ran like shit for ages then realised it was reverse polarity for a gasless set up and I was running gas.

The other option is I see Ezi Swap do a baby B size Argo bottle. 1m3 rather than 2m3 in a D. Higher upfront cost but probably better in the long run.

Gas. So for various reasons I have two MIG welders at opposite ends of the country. My owner D size Argo bottle is with one of them and the other is set up gasless but it’s a bit shit. Don't do much with it, but was considering getting one of those mini bottles of CO2/Argon from Toolshed or wherever. Those ones that run a 10mm threaded connector and mini regulator. Anyone run those or have any feedback on them? Do they leak out or anything seeing how they don’t have a proper valve on them?

Cool, sounds like a bit of interest. I reckon we meet somewhere central and then find a few good driving roads and hoon about then end up somewhere for food/drink? Open to suggestions.

Isn't Zeb down in Dunedin as well?

So I've had an OS car down here for a year now and done very little with it. Summer is coming. Any Dunedin/Otago locals interested in a meet up, cruise, whatever? @danger @azzurro @a.craw4d @xsinclairx @kyteler @nzstato who else lives down this way?

@GuyWithAviators I know of an empty ute heading to Tauranga at Christmas time if you do get them/need freight.

#ripdoordent

@BlownCorona there should be plenty of castor adjustment in the standard Viva subframe set up. The lower arm is on a rubber bush so will happily move back and forth on adjustment (and if the bushes are flogged out it will move back and forth while driving too!) and the top arm is fixed by it's two mounting points. Just undo the big nuts on the castor arm and wind it out. Maybe also replace the bushes on the castor arm too. You can get a Nolathane part for it (Torana). Looking in some of my reference manuals they recommend 2.5 to 4 degrees. I'd wind heaps into it for sporty driving. The upside of using a Viva front end is the whole thing is self contained. The body/chassis mounting points don't make any difference to any of it, they only hold the body to the suspension. Of course would pay to make sure the subframe is mounted square to the chassis.