gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - EXO FOR SALE !! (don't panic, not mine )

[kevins]

  On 24/02/2024 at 14:41, gm said:

it’s a lovely sunny day here in county durham so i took greenie out for a quick spin, stopped for fuel and this lovely old Honda pulled up next to me

maybe summer is coming early this year ?

a replacement carpet has been ordered, i’ve gone for black as tan was surprisingly hard to get hold of and way more expensive - considering how little of it is on show, i think it will look just fine

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we have a black mk2 carpet in our tan mk1, I think it looks better, the original tan had gone threadbare in patches and fairly orange though. I also fitted black kick panels and speaker covers.

[gm]

the “new” carpet arrived today

yuk ! 

laundry liquid and jet wash to the rescue

hung it on the wall to rinse

aaargh !

and into the garage to dry overnight 

the intended recipient is away up at andy’s garage for its mot - fingers and toes crossed 🤞 

in the meantime i thought i’d have a tidy up but couldn’t be arsed so sat in the middle and played metallica’s ride the lightning very loudly and caught up on AS  

[gm]

great news ! 

both chassis rails are a bit bashed but still solid and a small hole needing patched on the inner sill. i’ll take that as a result. the exhaust mounting is because i chopped one of the hangers off when it was fitted to the exo ! 

so time to get the new carpet fitted, underseal the hell out of it and get a for sale ad up.

shame, as it drives very nicely - but the exo needs its insurance policy back at the end of march  

[gm]

also, as it’s tested on 29th feb, does that mean i don’t need another MOT for four years ? 

 

[DVee8]

As it's an automatic it could be right up @LightBulbFun's London street.

@gm you could put the strip lights that you saved for  LBF in the passenger side. 2 birds in one hand.

[LightBulbFun]

  On 29/02/2024 at 18:59, DVee8 said:

As it's an automatic it could be right up @LightBulbFun's London street.

@gm you could put the strip lights that you saved for  LBF in the passenger side. 2 birds in one hand.

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if it went to Roffle I'd have a ticket, as is tradition for me and GM Roffles,  if I win, someone else can have the car as long as they can get the lightbulbs to me  

 

but not an outright purchase im afraid,

Automatic=good

low-slung-sports-car=bad (for my back)

 

dont get me wrong, I have got nothing against MX5's in-fact I would quite like to get a drive of one, especially given the legendary reputation they have, but I dont think me trying to live with one would end well LOL

[loserone]

I found the seats in a V special to be about the most comfortable seating position I've ever experienced 

[gm]

i’d agree - it’s a lovely place to sit  i reckon it wouldn’t be too difficult to fit heating elements to the seats then it would be perfect 

[gm]

@LightBulbFun next weekend  

[LightBulbFun]

  On 29/02/2024 at 19:14, loserone said:

I found the seats in a V special to be about the most comfortable seating position I've ever experienced 

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  On 29/02/2024 at 19:27, gm said:

i’d agree - it’s a lovely place to sit  i reckon it wouldn’t be too difficult to fit heating elements to the seats then it would be perfect 

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its not so much the sitting I am worried about, its the getting in and, especially the getting out of part that worries me LOL

 

its bad enough me trying to get out of the bath! (sorry for that mental picture LOL)

[kevins]

We've got heating element sin our V special seats, I took it t work tuesday, roof down heated seats and heater on a great place to be. you do need to remove te seat covers to fit them properly but that's not too major an issue on these, I'll be doing it again later this year when I fit new covers.

I'm 6'3 and 57 years old and don't find it a problem to get in and out of, (much better than my elan)  only issue is if you park it next to a high kerb.

[gm]

a couple of smoll jobs today

first up the mildly melted doorcard

scrubbing with various potions and products got rid of most of the soot but the vinyl had blistered with the heat - i peeled it back and slapped a bit of glue in, a strip of tape over the burn and it turned out surprisingly well we might just get away with it

in the meantime, i ripped out the old knackered carpet 

and hung the new one out to dry

unfortunately it snowed  ffs

enough fannying around, it’s coming in the house to dry properly 

it’s all progress  

[gm]

  On 01/03/2024 at 10:43, kevins said:

We've got heating element sin our V special seats, I took it t work tuesday, roof down heated seats and heater on a great place to be. 

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where did you get the heating elements from ? i’m definitely tempted to try them 

[kevins]

they were a kit from ebay.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164082891403?itmmeta=01HQY1JB42QD8QM5SRZSJ1QWRC&hash=item26341a3a8b:g:uCsAAOSw0vdeR73A&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4I4HpDkM60HNrdd252qRRJ3ILEdmd2KZkJBgBSDiqRiEomVWJPGtrio9hFAcwo1lKqwkaHNnCOdCDbpibksXuV9Gk%2Bd5cPBiipOS7afilMSKzmu7MlrFQvClJSO3vI%2FSWuH5Qv2pZps4KFZIC0nf7ZHD%2F8OjzKibWgXvZALL0irtPCpIeqjnNzQuLo9y1e5BVWYfkDsCqKndvYxvrca8vJE1b5LNZuDbn4pQ0LnLiZKLZZ4oTLNxbHJoOEjVFl9jY2pMH3UeblriL0gTxZbZrQA1ru%2FT9L1ZDdBHevRduCc9|tkp%3ABFBMjLLJwb9j

[gm]

that looks pretty good - could have come out of the factory like this

 

[gm]

boot carpet and tools refitted

[gm]

and it’s for sale

 

 

 

[loserone]

At that price it's a bloody good job it's not a manual.

[gm]

  On 02/03/2024 at 19:20, loserone said:

At that price it's a bloody good job it's not a manual.

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i have a spare manual gearbox and flywheel which could be included  

 

[gm]

for an auto to manual conversion, you will need :

manual gearbox

flywheel

clutch kit

propshaft

power plant frame

master & slave cylinders and a hydraulic line

pedal set (all three need to be changed)

gear lever and gaitor

 

realistically it’s not much more work than changing a clutch

 

although the autobox is surprisingly good to drive @loserone i suggest you come and have a go 

 

 

[gm]

i got a message this morning from @DVee8 saying he had the car cleaning kit out - i wolfed down my krispies and hot footed it round to his place where he worked his magic with the polisher - how nice does this look now ? 

many thanks for doing an excellent job, the beers are on me next week 🍻 

 

fancy phots taken at Lumley Castle, two posh ladies gave me a wave as i drove past them at the entrance  

look at the shine on that !

 

[gm]

the other one was feeling a bit left out so i took it for trip to the shops two hour hoon  

it might be the scruffy sibling but it still goes like the clappers and puts a grin on my face every time 

[DVee8]

@gm, the wheels came up so well.

 

many thanks for doing an excellent job, the beers are on me next week 🍻  Also you are travelling a long way for a beer considering where I'm going next weekend and you are going to see the Stranglers.

[gm]

clean wheels and tyre shine ! 

[Matty]

  On 02/03/2024 at 19:33, gm said:

for an auto to manual conversion, you will need :

manual gearbox

flywheel

clutch kit

propshaft

power plant frame

master & slave cylinders and a hydraulic line

pedal set (all three need to be changed)

gear lever and gaitor

 

realistically it’s not much more work than changing a clutch

 

although the autobox is surprisingly good to drive @loserone i suggest you come and have a go 

 

 

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How much more work to put that at the back of a longitudinal a series??

[gm]

  On 03/03/2024 at 19:29, Matty said:

How much more work to put that at the back of a longitudinal a series??

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i’m afraid i wouldn’t have the foggiest - all i know is these modern* mazda engines  

but mx5 running gear is generally cheap and readily available, loads get used for kit car builds or transplants into cars as diverse as morris minors, model T hot rods, @grizz’s jeep etc

 

[grizz]

@gm weirdly I cleared out the last of the Mk2.5  MX5 donor today. 
 

Have left a message for a local guy with a Mk1 in case he wants any or all the bits FOC before I list it for pennies, just to prevent it getting weighed in. 

[Matty]

  On 03/03/2024 at 19:41, gm said:

i’m afraid i wouldn’t have the foggiest - all i know is these modern* mazda engines  

but mx5 running gear is generally cheap and readily available, loads get used for kit car builds or transplants into cars as diverse as morris minors, model T hot rods, @grizz’s jeep etc

 

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I've been doing a bit of internetting in the meantime. It has been done.

  On 03/03/2024 at 19:29, Matty said:

How much more work to put that at the back of a longitudinal a series??

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The answer is..... an absolute shit load 🤣 

 

 

[gm]

  On 03/03/2024 at 20:30, Matty said:

The answer is..... an absolute shit load 🤣

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save yourself the hassle and just fit the whole lot

 

[Matty]

  On 03/03/2024 at 20:39, gm said:

save yourself the hassle and just fit the whole lot

 

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Wash your mouth out. Tuned a series is still king here 😄