gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - squeezing in a few last drives before Exo goes into hibernation

[DVee8]

19 minutes ago, gm said:

A quiet day today in terms of progress, just a little bit of painting - heater bypass pipe and the anti-roll bar brackets. I’m quite pleased with that wilkos gloss black paint, brackets look good as new.
 

 

also had a visit from @DVee8 and son, I think they were impressed to see it ‘in the flesh’ - great to see you both again, we’ll have that engine running next time you visit, promise  

Absolutely outstanding, Bens leaving words were" I WANT ONE" 

[gm]

would make a perfect Father & Son project - I was hoping my nephew would be interested in mine but the lure of the xbox is too strong  

when it is finished, I’ll take you both out for a spin, if he’s passed his test by then, he might even get a go in the drivers seat ! 

[djoptix]

@gm, how does the registering work with these? I've been looking at the guidance and I can't understand how it doesn't end up on a Q plate. 

[djoptix]

Ah, never mind, worked it out. I thought MEV were suggesting you get to keep the donor reg but I assume it's a different reg from the relevant year that you get. 

[Sir Snipes]

On 8/22/2020 at 10:10 PM, gm said:

a couple of odds and sods

paulplom made me a 'steampunk' coolant bypass, neat but I might need to paint that one 

and as I'll be doing a fair bit of wiring in the near future, I picked up a crimp set at aldi's, looks alright for £8

That looks like one of those fancy pants PVC-sheathed cable strippers with a manual crimper built into the handle. A proper ratchet crimper would be much nicer to use. 

[gm]

5 hours ago, djoptix said:

Ah, never mind, worked it out. I thought MEV were suggesting you get to keep the donor reg but I assume it's a different reg from the relevant year that you get. 

As far as I can tell, I submit proof of the donor (the vin plate and v5 that I kept) and they issue a plate from the year of the donor. It is possible to stick a private plate straight on as long as it complies with the normal rules so I may splurge a few bob and stick a K...EXO plate on. If there's any money left, which there quite likely won't be  

[gm]

3 hours ago, Sir Snipes said:

That looks like one of those fancy pants PVC-sheathed cable strippers with a manual crimper built into the handle. A proper ratchet crimper would be much nicer to use. 

I prefer to solder but it might come in handy, certainly better than the crappy crimper I've currently got.

[gm]

Trackday tonight and the weather is looking good  

 

 

[djoptix]

No offence dude but there's no way you'll get it finished by tonight. 

[gm]

oh bollocks !

 

[loserone]

Blown the radiator apart with a cold jetwash?

[dome]

Shit! 

Knowing GM though he'll nip home, get a spare radiator out of the kitchen cupboard and be back on track before the session is over. 

Hopefully...

[paulplom]

He's away to Darlington to buy a new one. I've seen nowt like it.

 

[gm]

On the case ! Session finishes at 8pm, more laps will be done 

[paulplom]

I just went over to strip it down for you. Opened my box, loads of sockets, mole grips etc. Forgot my ratchet ffs.

[gm]

 Bugger ! all the tools are in the boot of michael’s car 

[gm]

Fixed ! 

[dome]

Excellent! Hope you got some laps in?

[paulplom]

He did but he seemed a lot slower ?.

He couldn't shake me.

[big_al_granvia]

3 hours ago, paulplom said:

He's away to Darlington to buy a new one. I've seen nowt like it.

 

i have heard of things bein fucking fucked but that adds new depth to the phrase

[paulplom]

7 minutes ago, big_al_granvia said:

i have heard of things bein fucking fucked but that adds new depth to the phrase

Yes, usually you might get a hairline crack in the radiator or a small split in a header tank that's hard to find when you're losing a bit coolant. This time it was quite obvious where the water had escaped from.

[Jim Bell]

That coolant REALLY left in a huff. Talk about storming out. 

[gm]

It went with one hell of a bang ! Glad the bonnet was closed or it could have been pretty nasty  

top marks tonight to Andy? at mazdadudes who stayed late so I could leg it down to Darlington in co-driver michael's car - a new rad was obtained and we fitted it in record time, bled it up, did a lap of the car park and pronounced all to be well and got back on track. Still managed to squeeze in an hour of laps and the little mazda just kept on going   

So all in all, another successful tracknight, @paulplom looked to be having a blast, I'm pretty sure paulplom junior was enjoying himself and counting the days until he's old enough to have a go, my codriver was on track for the first time and had a lot of fun, I suspect he'll be taking his own next time now the bug has bitten.

i'll have a rake through the GoPro and see what I can find, sadly the rad explosion wasn't on film, shame it was some sight ! funny how folk react in different ways - @paulplom came running with an extinguisher, I stood back and took a photo !

[gm]

59 minutes ago, paulplom said:

He did but he seemed a lot slower ?.

He couldn't shake me.

I think you were getting quicker ! Hard to believe it's only your second time out  

[gm]

Tonight's vidos are rubbish - a wonky camera angle and dreadful sound (when the radiator popped, I stuffed the microphone away in the glovebox and forgot to take it out again) I'll upload tomorrow evening but with this quality of image, it's hardly worth the bother 

[rob88h]

I had this happen on a Rover 100 on the crest of the Dartford Bridge. I guess a ropey K-series in motorway traffic is a use as strenuous as a track day for a normal car, haha. 
Do you think there’s anything underlying with this car or that it’s just a bad part? I guess a bad part because if the system pressure was way up you’d be venting at the cap then maybe  only blowing a hose off as the weakest link, not exploding the rad! Header tanks are normally glass reinforced to stop them splitting like this, was it OEM?

[paulplom]

The rads are renowned for doing it on these. When the plastic changes to a brownish colour you're best off changing it sharpish. I need to do mine sooner rather than later.

[paulplom]

10 hours ago, gm said:

 funny how folk react in different ways - @paulplom came running with an extinguisher, I stood back and took a photo !

I saw the smoke/steam and smelt burning. Turns out the burning was the new clutch in the bini cooper s next to me. He'd only just fitted it and he said he was bedding it in? Never heard of bedding a clutch in before.

 

[rob88h]

4 minutes ago, paulplom said:

When the plastic changes to a brownish colour you're best off changing it sharpish.

I shall have to remember this for if my MX-5 ever turns a wheel again! Thanks!

[gm]

3 hours ago, paulplom said:

I saw the smoke/steam and smelt burning. Turns out the burning was the new clutch in the bini cooper s next to me. He'd only just fitted it and he said he was bedding it in? Never heard of bedding a clutch in before.

 

I’m glad you did, I’d have thought the organisers might have taken more of an interest in a smoking engine bay