gm

Exo has been rescued from hibernation - took a little more effort to push out of the garage for some reason

i’d suspected this might happen so had the compressor with me, a quick check of the fluids and the engine fired first time  

a brief hoon was had but on the damp roads, the crappy chinese tyres really showed their true colours - they’ll be getting replaced asap

in the meantime i’ve refitted the steelies with semi slicks, they drive so much better than these ditchfinders 

the new owner of greenie sent me this pic, he’s been out with the cleaning kit

his wife has now had a drive and loves it too  

not what you would expect to see parked up on a street corner in byker ! (a not too great part of newcastle)

On 09/04/2024 at 19:03, gm said:

which left an empty garage…

hmm, time to go shopping ? 

i should have bought one of these years ago - what a cracking piece of kit ! and excellent value thanks to @DVee8’s trade card.

the lad in the shop had a chuckle when he saw i’d come to collect it in the mx5 but it fitted perfectly in the boot

weighed a fucking ton when i tried to lift it out ! 

also i took a short cut to avoid traffic and got the mazda a little bit dirty

good news is that it’s had its rear sill repaired and passed its mot   

(with the usual advisory for the exhaust !)

i popped in to see my mam on the way to work on monday, the stupid bini refused to start when i left so i had to borrow her astra  

it was pouring down yesterday so i only had a brief look, i tried the second key - nothing, i hooked up jump leads - nothing, i gave it a stern look - nothing. so i gave up  and borrowed the astra again.

then it occurred to me that i may have breakdown cover on my insurance ?

nice one - even if it’s fucked, i can get it towed home to work on.

i rang the number which sent me a text with a weblink to a form to report my breakdown. sounds rather convoluted but it worked well.

expecting a bit of a wait, i put the kettle on and was pleased to see a message forecasting attendance in approx two hours. so i cancelled the coffee and headed down to me mams house to wait there instead. 5 mins later the phone is ringing and the rac guy will be with me in 10 mins. 

rightly enough, he turned up promptly, stuck his mega jump leads on and pronounced the starter motor dead. he moved his van then gave me a shove down the street and i bump started it in reverse  

you can’t fault service like that - well done, the rac !

i nervously drove it up to scaryoldcortinas place, desperately trying not to stall. as he had just finished doing the mot on the mx5 we swapped over and he will sort the bini in the morning.

11 minutes ago, Minimad5 said:

Do excuse the potentially stupid question, but why would the firing order be different between both MX5s ?

now you mention it, it doesn’t make much sense - maybe just the way the coils are wired up ? 

3 1 2 4 on the 1.6

4 1 2 3 on the 1.8

the green monster has departed to a new life with Chris in manchester

i’m sad to see it go but he was so excited when he came to collect it that i know it will be in good hands. 

which left an empty garage…

hmm, time to go shopping ? 

new plugs and leads on the mighty mx5, just in time to be dropped off at scaryoldcortina’s for an mot

updated the ‘service record’ and got the date right this time !

6 minutes ago, Blake's Den said:

I've wanted to build by own kit car for years, it was Ron Champion's Build Your Own Sports Car for £250 which got me interested.

i’ve been watching this project with interest, some good engineering and quite entertaining too

still nowhere near the road but there do seem to be plenty of other projects going on at the same time, we’ll worth a watch 

1 minute ago, Blake's Den said:

I need to find a rusty MX5 now

there’s plenty of those around ! 

if you happen to be in the area, feel free to stop by and have a look at / go on the Exo, it’s currently in storage but will be back on the road as soon as the green mx5 is sold.

which should be next week  

i usually buy an Autoshite calendar but this year had a go at making my own

mother gm was thrilled to feature on the cover !

you will have seen most of these pics already but i think i chose a good selection 

more to follow on the 1st each month 

the standard steering wheel on an mx5 is about 350mm but i fitted a smaller 320mm sports! wheel. this is great but the indicators are obscured and i’ve had a couple of occasions recently when they haven’t self cancelled and i’ve not noticed  

some ingenuity was required 

no chance of not noticing these little buggers !

yes, they really are retina meltingly bright ! 

this is more of a prototype of something i’ve got planned for the Exo but might need to rethink it slightly  

the green one was slightly hesitant at cold idle, a likely cause being the ht leads of unknown age (i’d replaced them from my stash of spares when the car first arrived)

i’ll just borrow the good ones off the black car

(note the firing order is different between the two engines)

gave them a quick rub with wd40 to clean them up

and the green one now runs perfectly 

yet the black one runs just fine too (edit) like a bag of shite now  

i’ve ordered up a new set anyway - can’t go wrong at these prices

i’ve actually got someone coming to view the green one at the weekend - might have the Exo back on the road soon  

despite being marked DOT SAE my led headlights are not likely to pass an mot which is due next week

they’re nice and bright but the beam pattern is no good

so it’s back to old fashioned H4 lenses and bulbs

if that is all i had to worry about for the mot, i’d be a happy camper but there’s a patch of welding needed on the rear inner sill and a brake line needing replaced. hopefully scaryoldcortina can fit me in next week

when i’m working late shift, i usually park in town and pay for the last hour of metered parking using an app.

it’s quite simple, you just type in a code marked on the sign, confirm your reg and pay your ££.

this is a summary of my recent activity

it would appear that i have been paying to park the mazda several times this month when i know i’ve been driving the bini !

note to self : check the correct reg number next time  

i guess the wardens must knock off early round here 

i had a go at cleaning up the manky coilovers that came off the green machine

warm water and fairy liquid did precisely bugger all so i popped out and purchased a few litres of “special organic solvent”

worked a treat  

the downside being that what the previous owner had told me were HSD coilovers turned out to be maxpeedingrods  the cheapest of ebay kit (i had been a little sceptical at the time)

no surprise the ride was a bit harsh.

undeterred, i stuck come photos up on fb marketplace at approx half the price of a new set and sold them within three hours ! 

a prius being booted round Knockhill by the stig

a small auto, you say ? 

could you pretend that you bought it for her ? 

bizzarely cheap insurance (might be a bit* more for a learner )

On 04/03/2024 at 19:12, gm said:

right, enough spending on this thing

ok then, just once more 

i spotted an ad on marketplace for a set of mk2 standard suspension and being as i was passing on my way to edinburgh at the weekend, it seemed rude not to.

the current suspension is just that little bit harsh

so has been replaced with

i got a fright when i dropped it down off the jacks

front arch gap - blimey 😦 

rear arch gap - holy fuck 😦 

hoping it will settle down, i took it for a quick drive

last week on the old ebay coil overs

and now as mazda intended it to look 

thankfully it has settled down nicely, and the ride comfort is so much better - suits the autobox perfectly

two very different cars - but which one would you choose ?

sadly i can’t keep them both 

as i was in Edinburgh last night, it seemed rude not to make a quick detour  

i popped round to see me mam yesterday and checked on the Exo - the battery was showing 11.9v despite sitting idle for six weeks - so i gave it a try and it fired up first time  

sounded so angry echoing off the garage door - can’t wait to get it back on the road next month 

meanwhile the green monster sits tucked up patiently awaiting a new owner

28 minutes ago, Rustybullethole said:

Race van

This performance mod has added 43 1/2 bhp and improved the handling by 40%.

In my tiny little mind. 

looks great, it’s a really nice size but good and chunky at the same time. it’s that a home made hub ? looks like wood grain from here  

@Saabnut while you’re passing edinburgh  

https://www.facebook.com/share/WAWGbwR6RPFuBwff/?mibextid=79PoIi

i also replaced the connector for the fan switch that i’d smashed ages ago

right, enough spending on this thing - it’s time for it to go !

that wooden handbrake grip was looking a tad sorry for itself 

a trip to the breakers and £20 later !

much smarter 

ideally i would have refinished the wooden one but i’m not confident of not making a mess of it