Well, I've spent the last month or so researching various bits and bobs for the new car, which is due.....
...TOMORROW! :) Yup, it's here already and I'm struggling to get everything ready! Rather than giving bits and pieces of updates about stuff I've bought over the last month (of which there are many!), I thought I'd save them for the build itself. Once again, I must stress that the objective of this build (as opposed to the GTR) is to build the most refined Can-Am possible. Something that you can use everyday. With this in mind, some of my budget is dedicated to the creature comforts in the car. A CAT1 alarm immobiliser, central locking, ICE, plush interior trim etc. But more of that later. Whilst the overall build will be similar to the GTR, these elements will mark the Can-Am out as something a bit 'different' and all the better for it.
Talking of something a bit different, December the 1st also marks the date when the '05 registrations are offered for sale by the DVLA. Whilst these can only be applied to a vehicle in March 2005, you can purchase a plate beforehand before all the good ones get snapped up! I did ummm and ahhh an bit about getting a 'vanity' plate, but MY03GTR was pretty recognisable and I decided that the Can-Am deserved some recognition too!
Having an '05 in the middle of the plate doesn't offer a great deal of flexibility with regard to anything particularly meaningful. However, a few options came to mind. TO05LOW (TOO SLOW) was a definite candidate, but at an eye watering £2300 quid, it would be a big lump on the budget for a 'nice to have'. BO05TED was also available, but again, for £2k!! Not only that, but I had no plans for the Can-Am to be Turbocharged, so that would have meant that it had been stolen ;) Other options were considered, MY05CAN (£799) didn't really appeal, nor did MY05CNM - they just don't work like 'GTR'. But, there was a plate available, for a very reasonable £499!!
If you've ever tried to contact the DVLA on the first sales day for new registrations, be prepared to get a blistered finger from hitting redial! From 08:55am until 09:35 I must have dialed every 3 seconds, to be welcomed by no more than an engaged tone! :( This meant one thing, that all the 'decent' plates were gone. I almost gave up at this point, but literally, on a last dial attempt I connected and was put through to a sales person.
Unsurprisingly, TO05LOW and BO05TED were gone, along with a few others, but, my luck was in and my third choice was still available at the surprisingly low (most plates are 800 quid now) £499, so in a pique of exhuberance, I bought it :)
So I suppose you want to know what it is? Well, the Can-Am will sport this little number ;)
So keep reading, as the Can-Am build story unfolds....
Woes! Went out for a bit of a celebratory curry last night and woke up feeling dreadful. Not sure whether I've got food poisoning or gastric flu (there's a lot of it about), but stomach cramps and frequent trips to the loo didn't bode well for a hard days building
8:00AM sharp the van was already at the workshop by the time I arrived. It almost seemed surreal, unloading my second Ultima chassis. It's been a bit strange, how I've not felt as enthused this time around during the ordering phase, but now that the gorgeous Can-Am chassis was sat there in front of me, all that changed and the build bug bit hard! Actually, I think it was the flu bug doing the biting at the time ;)
I only had the first six stages of the build delivered at this stage, which helps from a storage perspective. Ironically, our new workshop is about three times the size of the old one so I'm not sure why I thought this beneficial ;) Still, it helps the old cashflow. So it was but a handful of boxes that got unloaded, along with the lovingly wrapped ally panelling. The chassis was put on trestles (you can't panel the underside on a dolly because of the roll bar), but as I was feeling so dreadful, I just locked up and went home. Not the most auspicious start to the build :( Still, I got a few traditional delivery 'snaps' in, so have a look if you like. I'll try to go over the chassis in more detail to see ther differences between it and the GTR later in the build.
Just writing the update for the 2nd. Only just feeling semi-human after a week of gastric flu/food poisoning. I've never felt so ill!! Still, I'm on the mend so hopefully I can make some progress on the car soon.
