gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - must be summer - the toys are back :)

[Matty]

9 minutes ago, loserone said:

That looks flipping great.  If this is going manual I would probably buy it from you...

Almost as an echo. Lovely colour and agree that the half and half approach to the interior really works. And I like a tan interior too. Can't get on with autos anyway so can't quite see a non manual mx5. But it may work for you so great. Top work @gm!!

[loserone]

I'm enjoying the auto on this e220, but with an MX5 I can't help but think 90% of the pleasure is the shift

[gm]

the contrast between the two is great fun - the black one is noisy, angry and shakes the fillings from your teeth as it relishes being thrashed, the green one is so civilised, it feels like i should be wearing string back driving gloves  

maybe not that extreme but it has a very relaxed feeling about it, still sounds good and the auto kicks down and puts a smile on your face 

 

[gm]

looks like a trip to peterlee may be on the cards 

i wonder if it will all fit in the bini ? 

[loserone]

Just now, gm said:

looks like a trip to peterlee may be on the cards 

i wonder if it will all fit in the bini ? 

Need to borrow the express?

[gm]

seems unusually cheap, i’ll message and see if it’s genuine. i already have a gearbox but you know me and spare parts  

 

[primeradoner]

10 minutes ago, loserone said:

Need to borrow the express?

Youre welcome to borrow the RAV if you want. Its on your route to Peterlee

[DVee8]

33 minutes ago, gm said:

@DVee8 drive it up and down the street this afternoon and pronounced it a lovely thing 

It is indeed a lovely thing.

[gm]

18 minutes ago, primeradoner said:

Youre welcome to borrow the RAV if you want. Its on your route to Peterlee

 

30 minutes ago, loserone said:

Need to borrow the express?

generous offers, many thanks - will see what the seller says and take it from there. 

@primeradoner i’ve still got your clutch alignment tool which i must get back to you, i’ll come through in the exo sometime and take you out for a run 

[Matty]

52 minutes ago, gm said:

looks like a trip to peterlee may be on the cards 

i wonder if it will all fit in the bini ? 

Nah, too much engineering involved.

Oh, you mean in the boot like 🤣

[gm]

the Exo has been hibernating since the end of november so i thought it might be a good idea to check on the state of the battery

still showing 11.8v after 8 weeks tucked away in the garage round at me mams house - i’d better hook it up to the trickle charger  

but, just in case, maybe i should see if it will start ? 

damn thing fired up first turn of the key ! bloody impressive that  

shame it’s not going anywhere for a while yet  

i stuck it on charge anyway, won’t do any harm 

[gm]

in the meantime, the green monster has been getting a bit of attention 

first off ditch that rattly old heat shield

then there’s this to attend to

new work light proving very effective 

chop chop 

weetabix template made

find a suitable sheet of tin and get cutting

time to test out my christmas present body hammers

ha ! not a chance ! break out the big guns 

bish bash bosh

now the easy* bit

oh fuck, that’s terrible !

turns out i can’t weld for shit  

…to be continued…

[gm]

you know how get to carnegie hall, don't ya ? 

practice ! 

maybe if i use finer wire ? 

yes, that’s more like it

[gm]

chop, bend, etc

spot welds to hold in place

and slightly less shit pidgin shit round the edges

i’ll grind that back in a bit, but first there’s something else i need to look at…

[gm]

the front wing, whilst being in good condition, didn’t seem to be very secure.

perhaps that is because there’s not much there to secure it to  

oh you dirty bastard 

this is not what i signed up for. 

(remember this is the car with a £2grand bill for sill restoration in november 2021) 

i went inside and opened a beer  

[Crackers]

Balls. 😔

[Tickman]

13 hours ago, gm said:

(remember this is the car with a £2grand bill for sill restoration in november 2021) 

Expanding foam is obviously expensive!

[kevins]

I unbolt the bottom of the wing and clean / treat that area every service on ours, it's a terrible rust trap with all the leaves etc from scuttle being washed down there.

Looks terrible but it's only welding, doesen't need to be pretty down there , take it one bit at a time and you'l get there.

We've also done the same with the trim (and the better quality black mk2 carpets too), couldn't live with all the orange!

[gm]

only one problem 

17 hours ago, gm said:

turns out i can’t weld for shit

i’ll have a good poke around the rest of the car before committing myself, unfortunately i’m into this for a good few quid so need it mot’d and on the road to have a chance of breaking even  

 

[kevins]

it takes practice, unfortunately it looks like you've got plenty to practice on. 

Seriously though get a few bits of metal and practice on a bench, you'll soon find out which settings work for you.  Welding upside down is probably the most difficult one to do try to master downwards first.

For thin metal its best to use a series of overlapping spots letting it cool for a second or so between each spot. 

Also don't be scared to cut a lot out, cutting back to solid metal makes a quicker and easier repair.

If the outer sill is new and made of steel not foam it may be easier to work from the inside, cutting  away the inner sill and floor edge and working from the outer sill inwards.

 

[Tickman]

Try welding fresh metal to the edges of the bit you have cut from the car, then you know if you need to cut further or not.

[gm]

so i swept up the remains of my sill

removed the outer wing for better access

and had another poke around

not great  

potentially fixable but not straight forward by any means.

i’ll have a go at the other side, if that is ok, i’ll make an effort at this one, if not, well, best not to think about that just yet. 

the mot expires at the end of feb, the black one is due at the end of march - and that needs welding too. 

bloody mazdas  

 

[loserone]

It's all good practice*

 

*Or an indication you should go french.  I haven't looked back!

[gm]

16 minutes ago, loserone said:

you should go french

some kind of euphemism ? 

this year will mark 20 years of mx5 ownership for me - can’t see me changing sides now  

[rainagain]

If it makes you feel any better the sills in my 307 where made of fibre glass and blue towel. 

This handily stopped water draining so the inner sills rotted out as well.

I was able to patch them back up and it provided faithful service for the next four years. Take your time and cut right back to good metal. Then just think of it as a big jigsaw puzzle where you have to make the pieces as you go along. 

[gm]

i arrived home from work to find a surprise delivery on my doorstep 

should come in very handy, many thanks @DVee8

 

[Matty]

On 26/01/2024 at 21:32, gm said:

so i swept up the remains of my sill

removed the outer wing for better access

and had another poke around

not great  

potentially fixable but not straight forward by any means.

i’ll have a go at the other side, if that is ok, i’ll make an effort at this one, if not, well, best not to think about that just yet. 

the mot expires at the end of feb, the black one is due at the end of march - and that needs welding too. 

bloody mazdas  

 

Cool little fuckers though. Weldings no where near as hard as fabrication and you seem to have that down. Bon chance man.

[Ronkey]

Looks like you have the same welder as me. I'm having success with 0.6mm wire on setting 1 max with wire feed around 5.5 for thin stuff and 2 max with around 6.5 for thicker stuff. Using CO2. Need a reasonable gap between the two pieces (say thickness of metal) and I can't generate enough heat for a decent run so I join the dots using the heat of the previous weld. Method no good for visible bodywork though!

Sorry if Granny and eggs but hope it helps 👍🏻

[gm]

 i’m pretty much playing it by ear with the welder settings so will give it a go - it’s frustrating getting it just right on nice clean metal on the bench then it going hopelessly wrong when doing it for real  

i’ve got a few days off work and the forecast is shite for this week so i’ll get stuck in and report back 

[dome]

On 26/01/2024 at 21:48, loserone said:

 

*Or an indication you should go french.  I haven't looked back!

That's because you don't want to see what's fell off