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

[gm]

a bit of work on the seats today 

first off - what the hell is all this about ?

'tis the result of this nonsense

I needed to figure out where to cut the holes for the harnesses

an unbelievable amount of fannying on with spirit levels, rulers, bits of tape, more spirit levels, more bits of tape etc. was required.

got there eventually

I drove myself crackers trying to get both seats marked up the same, it turns out the passenger seat is 2cm wider than the drivers - very confusing  

time to drill some holes

then get the trusty jigsaw out

repeat as necessary

off with the tape and let's see

hmm, a bit rough

no matter, that's what edge trim is for  

back in the car and looking good 

 

 

 

[hairnet]

racecar like

[big_al_granvia]

not fitting 6 point harness, even for trackdays

[gm]

I haven’t decided yet, the harness in the pic is an old one I had from the mx5.

I’m planning to buy a new pair, won’t be skimping on safety kit  

[gm]

headlights !

I found a lovely pair of polished aluminium brackets on eBay to fit the headlights

39mm, should be a perfect fit

ordered Sunday, arrived nice and quick today

really good quality, got them bolted straight onto the headlights

all I need to do now is slip it over the end of the frame and tighten up those Allen screws

cock ! 

cock, cock, cockity cock !

that'll be the frame that is welded at both ends then. 

back to the drawing board, you fanny  

 

[hairnet]

https://www.wish.com/product/5f069612b08af20b19b09104?hide_login_modal=true&from_ad=goog_shopping&_display_country_code=GB&_force_currency_code=GBP&pid=googleadwords_int&c=%7BcampaignId%7D&ad_cid=5f069612b08af20b19b09104&ad_cc=GB&ad_curr=GBP&ad_price=15.00&campaign_id=6493229882&exclude_install=true}&guest=true&gclid=CjwKCAiAsOmABhAwEiwAEBR0ZhycUO7J78cc_QrMecEzILGrWbuk9e1YTDk9fmKfpaCWwWhoLEbZPxoCT6cQAvD_BwE&share=web

 

[Minimad5]

Can you not know know end off and get one of these .

[gm]

12 minutes ago, hairnet said:

https://www.wish.com/product/5f069612b08af20b19b09104?hide_login_modal=true&from_ad=goog_shopping&_display_country_code=GB&_force_currency_code=GBP&pid=googleadwords_int&c={campaignId}&ad_cid=5f069612b08af20b19b09104&ad_cc=GB&ad_curr=GBP&ad_price=15.00&campaign_id=6493229882&exclude_install=true}&guest=true&gclid=CjwKCAiAsOmABhAwEiwAEBR0ZhycUO7J78cc_QrMecEzILGrWbuk9e1YTDk9fmKfpaCWwWhoLEbZPxoCT6cQAvD_BwE&share=web

 

 

yep, that's exactly what I should have ordered but the shiney ones were much prettier !

I'll see if I can return the shineys and get the other ones ordered up, lucky I'm not in a hurry  

plenty of other jobs to be getting on with

 

 

[gm]

16 minutes ago, Minimad5 said:

Can you not know know end off and get one of these .

I could but that is one ugly bit of metal, I'll keep that as a backup plan  

[Minimad5]

Or ..

Cut off the red bit.

White = bolts through the frame (obviously counter sunk, so IVA man doesn't have a fit)

[hairnet]

on the same listing there were chrome ones but they were twice the dark ones cost 😮

 

[hairnet]

Just now, Minimad5 said:

Or ..

 

Cut off the red bit.

White = bolts through the frame (obviously counter sunk, so IVA man doesn't have a fit)

vibration would kill it possibly

 

[gm]

Good suggestion but ideally I'd prefer not to be drilling into that part of the frame if I can avoid it - it's a bit structural  

 these ones on eBay look ok

£27 from a uk supplier or £14 on a slow boat from china - like I say, I'm not in a hurry  

 

[gm]

the headlights are reputedly a bit shit anyway - if I ever plan to do any night driving, I would probably need to upgrade

[big_al_granvia]

osram nightingale bulbs do improve things. Used them on both Granvia and almera

[hairnet]

i saw some tiny round projector headlights

they looked good but i saw how much

i closed the page :D

you spend ££££ on things that live on the extremities

guaranteed they last a coupla days before they break or fall off or road debris smashu

 

[gm]

these wee fellows are pretty smart but at £250 they will have to wait - there's an exhaust, a set of tyres and an iva all way ahead of them in the queue  

[gm]

8 minutes ago, big_al_granvia said:

osram nightingale bulbs do improve things. Used them on both Granvia and almera

I shall be nicking the ones out of the mx5 asap  

[Mr Laurence]

Those black eBay ones look quite good - they’ll match the rest of the chassis too. How is it they’re normally mounted?

[gm]

some folk use these brackets but they tend to wobble about a bit

so need to be braced with something like this

I'm hoping I might get away without braces using sturdier (looking) brackets - I've ordered them up anyway so will report back in a few weeks time  

[gm]

with the headlights on hold, I set about wiring the back lights now that the mudguards are permanently fixed in place

\

hopefully will have some exhaust news in the next few days

[gm]

time for more of my favourite pastime - bloody wiring  

way back when, I bought a pair of fancy dan button switches for the fog light and hazards

which need to be mounted somewhere convenient on the dash (must be within reach when seated with harness fastened)

with a bit of extra careful drilling, they fit very neatly in the corners of the cowel

but of course, they need wiring up  

not too bad, but took way longer than expected

the fog light needs a 'tell tale' so I repurposed the heated rear screen indicator - won't be needing one of those  

full Christmas tree - I'm happy with that

and that steering column is still held up by bungee, a job for tomorrow, I promise !

[DVee8]

Love the line of 0's along the clocks.

[gm]

It will be more interesting when they start moving though

[Minimad5]

Fog switch needs to be on the side of the FOG indication lamp. OCD said so.

In all seriousness, you've smashed this out the bag, we'll done sir.

[LightBulbFun]

3 hours ago, gm said:

It will be more interesting when they start moving though

and all the more interesting/impressive when they roll back around to all 0's again

#exotaxi

[gm]

23 hours ago, Minimad5 said:

Fog switch needs to be on the side of the FOG indication lamp. OCD said so.

 

it was going to be but apparently I can't tell my left from my right  easy enough to swap them over but I simply can't be arsed !

I'll convince myself that the hazard button needs to be nearer the middle so the passenger can operate it when I've crashed into a hedge and knocked myself out 

[gm]

a few weeks back, I posted on the Exocet fb group that I was looking for an exhaust - the official back box is expensive and I don't really like the design so plan to get something fancy once the car is tested and on the road. The current set up is not likely to hasn't got a hope of passing the iva  shame, it sounds great and looks suitably mental

anyway, I did get a message from a chap called Adi who is going full custom on his build so has an unused Exo box sitting in his garage which he is happy to sell on.

slight snag, he lives in Switzerland  

but, even with OMG postage, there was still a good saving to be had over buying direct from Exo.

so on Monday last week, I sent off my €€€ and settled down for a wait

this morning I received this message

bloody hell, it can't be here already ?

bang on time, the man in the big red van arrived

economy service in less than a week, even with covid and omgsnokaos to contend with, and no extra taxes to pay

behold shiney goodness !

definitely a weight saving here

I'm reusing the centre section from a scabby old exhaust that @paulplom was going to chuck in a skip

the back box was utterly fecked but it was being chopped off anyway

the middle bit came up ok with a bit of a wire brush

might need a bit of a shim though

cut to the right length and test fitted

rubbed down and given a nice thick coat of engine paint

that looks pretty good, I might keep it after all.

of course the big question is : what does it sound like ?

well, you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that one - it was getting a bit late to try it tonight   

 

[gm]

also on the Exocet fb group, a fellow builder had a set of standard road springs available - he powder coated them then changed his mind and bought coilovers instead. 

my current set up is eibach lowering springs on kyb shocks :

which is rather low

4 inches low, in fact

so it seemed sensible to grab these keep in reserve

the powder coat has been really well done, they look as good as new

not sure on the colour though ! 

 

[gm]

That old back box was a bit rattley so i chopped it open to have a look

that's the lot - no wonder it sounded rough ! The wadding all blew out back in July while paulplom was hooning it round the track