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

[gm]

Clamps and paste have been purchased

i folded a thin slice of aluminium round an axle stand to make a shim

not a bad fit

slathered with paste and clamped in place

centre section looks pretty good painted

 

[gm]

brum brum noises 

a very short demo for two reasons : firstly, there is no coolant in the engine and secondly, I was about to pass out with the fumes ! 

[gm]

The eagle eyed amongst you will haveno doubt noticed there's not much coming out of the left hand pipe of my fancy twin exhaust ?

hmm.....

right hand side looks like

left hand side looks like

bloody rip off ! 

[gm]

It's still gotthe decat fitted so is plenty noisey, I'll bung the cat back on and see what difference it makes, should tame it a tad 

[hairnet]

such a slert

iva is booked for when?

 

[gm]

Right, let's see what difference this makes ?

 

 

Not bad, actually  

I'll maybe get some coolant in it tomorrow and let it warm up outside, might soften up a little ?

[gm]

Just now, hairnet said:

such a slert

iva is booked for when?

 

Not booked yet, should really get me finger oot !

[gm]

Just when I was recording that last video clip, my neighbour shouted over the fence “that sounds bloody good, when are you going to finish it ?”  I think he might want a go 

[hairnet]

46 minutes ago, gm said:

Just when I was recording that last video clip, my neighbour shouted over the fence “that sounds bloody good, when are you going to finish it ?”  I think he might want a go 

+10

 

[gm]

One little job that needs doing is fitting the horn - I ordered a neat little compact unit off the ebay which turned up this morning

oh yes, that looks like top quality

Other options are : two tones, nicked off the mx5

or this monster which was on the donor car

you can probably see which direction this is going but in the interests of science and with scant regard to my neighbours peace and quiet, let's have a wee test

(for an authentic experience, please make sure your sound is turned up nice and loud)

 

An easy decision made there  

the ebay scooter horn is just too much like a yappy dog, 'mungous air horn it is then.

i might go and test them again,just to be sure  

[hairnet]

 

[gm]

My humblest apologies to you all, I fitted the crappy, yappy dog horn  

the big 'un was going to need all sorts of brackets sorting, I'll change it over once we're on the road 

[gm]

bored with electrics, I turned my attention to the exhaust

i swapped the clamp for one I'd got off ebay

then set about replacing the structural cable ties that were supporting the backbox

maybe a coat of paint required to lessen the bodge factor

solid as a rock (although still a bit wibbly)

[hairnet]

got the club mag

last months has one of the brit car front pastiches on it - it hasnt been opened

this months has a mk1 with a lexus v8 in it

WTF?!!?!?!?!!

2 litre something honda would be enough.......................

also they have a club tour thing one is austria - been there a long time ago on a bike i dont think id like it in a car - a grand for 9 days

the other one is the causeway coastal route - if you stick to that youre missing on an awful lot not that far away

they want 440 quid for 5 nights which doesnt sound too bad but apart from brekky theres a welcome and a last night dinner - thats good value as booking the boat only is 350 or 310 depending when you go

but the single supplement is 180 quid 😮

i dont think id get on with 50 of the same car tho

did you horn yet - google stebel or train horn

[hairnet]

Mibbe

But see earlier comment about single make

Might be in USA tho

[Supernaut]

14 minutes ago, hairnet said:

got the club mag

last months has one of the brit car front pastiches on it - it hasnt been opened

this months has a mk1 with a lexus v8 in it

WTF?!!?!?!?!!

There's a guy round here with a Mk1 MX5 with a Lexus V8 in it. The best part is that it looks totally standard from the outside... until you hear it start up!

The one in the magazine wasn't dark green with a tan interior, was it?

[hairnet]

black with red

madness

 

[gm]

headlight fettling today :

I sent back the polished aluminium brackets that I couldn't use

and ordered something more suitable (but just a little bit fugly)

I should really fit the bonnet first but wanted to see how sturdy the new brackets are

I needed to wrap a slice of neoprene rubber round the frame but they are nice and solid

they do look a bit awkward though - might be better once the bonnet is fitted (I hope)

lets have a look at the wiring then

that was easy enough but why the enormous hole in the grommet ?

I got hold of a couple of blind grommets and set to work

goo applied

while the goo is setting, i'll check the wiring

sidelights

dipped beam

full beam

 

another job ticked off the list  

(I nicked the night breaker bulbs out of the mx5, the supplied h4 bulbs were rather poor)

[gm]

I have been pondering over what to do with the steering column and ignition wiring - the shroud leaves a little too much exposed for my liking

so what I need is something roughly this shape that I can extend the shroud by 20cm or so

I fannied on with bits of cornflake packet but was getting nowhere   

just as I was packing up for the day, I tripped over a discarded screen wash bottle

hmm, I wonder ?

not exactly substantial but makes a handy template - I'll dig out the alu sheet tomorrow and get cracking  

[loserone]

It's lighter that alu sheet though.  Get it painted black!

[hairnet]

i think thou does disseth oneself too much about the brackets

nae bugga gunna notice - iva man wont care

the dis will be 'whys yer climbing frames got wheels m9'?

they look ok

[gm]

replacement grommet and cable conduit worked well

I'll need to buy a whole load of rubber stoppers to cover the exposed nuts and bolts, mr iva doesn't like to see your nuts on show ! 

[gm]

Remember that mess of a wiring loom that was working perfectly ? Until I wrapped the bugger up in tape ? And now it doesn’t  

My first electrical fault - oh joy ! 
 

seems to be a bad connection somewhere in the rad fan circuit which has magically fixed itself. I’ll keep an eye on that  

otherwise, seems to be running ok

 

[gm]

@Shirley Knott came round for a cuppa and a look at the Exo, it seemed rude not to fire it up and give it a quick run up and down the street  

 

I think he likes it  

 

[Shirley Knott]

Thanks for the coffee and the tour of the Exocet- Quite the machine and a credit to you and all the work you've put in.

I've literally spent the last few hours trying to come up with a way to justify starting a project like that, or at the very least getting into another MX5, and then reminding myself of all the reasons it wouldn't be practical!

Much envy.

 

 

[hairnet]

exo needs to think its the black mx5 for half an hour cough

proper run out :D

 

[gm]

a bizzarre iva reg is that the petrol cap must be tethered to the car, just in case you do something daft like drive off without it  

now, should I :

a) spend some money ?

or

b) channel my inner Baldrick and come up with a cunning plan ?

 

fortunately, there isn't a current mrs gm to ask awkward questions as to the whereabouts of the bath plug !

that was fiddly as fuck !

but we can call that job done !

except the filler needs to go on the inside of the tank cover and the cap on the outside  

well, maybe I should finish the rear cover properly while I am at it

holes were drilled

and bolts were inserted

which were a bugger to line up but I got there eventually

now back to that pesky fuel filler

the bolts were tricky to get to so I whipped out a ridiculous item

which actually worked !

"plug" refitted on the right side of the cover

it's still fugly but it will do for now

boom ! I am compliant  

and that is the rear end officially FINISHED !

 

[hairnet]

the tethered thing is a midern car thing i think now

 

[Zelandeth]

Thinking about the ridiculous fake exhaust, I get a feeling that might be an IVA thing.  I'd be surprised if there's not something in there about side exhausts needing to vent to the offside of the vehicle only, so you're not blowing exhaust fumes at pedestrians on footpaths.

Would have just made the thing with one pipe though if it had been me!  The fake one just seems ridiculous.  Or just have the dual pipes but pointing out the rear...

[hairnet]