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

[hairnet]

41 minutes ago, gm said:

 

 

 for the mx5 can now be spunked on the exo)

when it passes iva youll be doing that - dont take any photos ffs :P :D

[gm]

You are a disgusting person and you should be ashamed of yourself !  

[gm]

As the cracked number plate had been flagged up on the mot, I thought I would do something about it.

I replaced it with an illegal stick on plate    

looked a bit crap on the 'nose'

 

looks better on the front

but definitely too wee - I'll probably order a full size sticker, this one is taking the piss for sure ! 

(how empty does that drive look  )

[hairnet]

least you can read it

not like its in the window like a fkin audi :)

you might get a tug but i doubt it

cos import techincally the back isnt correct either :D :P

 

[gm]

for far too long, the wing mirrors have been held on with cable ties - the reason being that I really don't want to be drilling into the (structural) side tubes to bolt them on

so a bit of ebaying occurred and I now have the same type of mirrors but with a threaded fitting plus brackets to clamp to the frame.

much better

I am clearly pleased with my new mirrors (although it may look like I am straining for a dump in a bucket)

 

took it outside for photies

that one in the middle really is pish though

 

[hairnet]

IS IT FUGGIN LEEGLE M12?

[gm]

14 minutes ago, hairnet said:

IS IT FUGGIN LEEGLE M12?

not a kick in the arse off it, I'm back to work soon so really need to get my finger oot !

( I sat down to read the IVA application form last week and fell asleep at my desk  doesn't bode well ! )

[hairnet]

meh the kits have been type approved

as long as the shit bolted to it isnt loose and it dont leak

nothing a mot man would blink at

taxed worse etc :D

 

[New POD]

57 minutes ago, gm said:

As the cracked number plate had been flagged up on the mot, I thought I would do something about it.

I replaced it with an illegal stick on plate    

looked a bit crap on the 'nose'

 

looks better on the front

but definitely too wee - I'll probably order a full size sticker, this one is taking the piss for sure ! 

(how empty does that drive look  )

Where would one buy a legal correct sized sticky number plate? 

[loserone]

4 minutes ago, New POD said:

Where would one buy a legal correct sized sticky number plate? 

Stick on is only legal for pre 1972 iirc

[gm]

The leaky shock reported on the mx5 was found to be rather leaky indeed.

I swapped both sides over just in case.

then turned my attention to something that had been bugging me for a long time - the passenger side headlight had a bit of a wobble, no matter how tight I fastened the bolts.

A little investigation found the issue - one of the brackets had sheared right through so the whole headlight assembly was only fixed in two places.

fortunately, when I stripped the donor car, the headlights did not sell.

so it was a fairly easy job to whip the old one out

and bung a new one in.

I made a half arsed attempt at aligning the beam by marking the old one on the garage door before removing it, would probably have been easier if I’d parked further away.

All sorted, only been broken for about four years ! 

[gm]

then the postie delivered my Chinese bumprints :

which add a luxurious feel to the whole exo experience  

they do tend to slide around a bit so will need a dab of glue but initial tests are promising - everyone likes a comfy bum   

[gm]

minor mx5 fettling

I wasn't happy with the smoll numberplate

so a full size one was purchased - I asked the nice man at the shop if he could 'forget' to put the address etc on the bottom line  

then whipped out the sidelights and bunged them in the oven

which softened the gluey stuff enough to prise them apart

ping out the orange lens

reheat and stick back together

silver (orange) bulbs fitted - looks pretty smart

shame that new number plate is wonky !

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

1 minute ago, gm said:

minor mx5 fettling

I wasn't happy with the smoll numberplate

so a full size one was purchased - I asked the nice man at the shop if he could 'forget' to put the address etc on the bottom line  

then whipped out the sidelights and bunged them in the oven

which softened the gluey stuff enough to prise them apart

ping out the orange lens

reheat and stick back together

silver (orange) bulbs fitted - looks pretty smart

shame that new number plate is wonky !

 

I know it's been done to death, but have you considered side mounting a square front plate? I ran one on my last mk1 Eunos turbo and personal opinion is it looks much nicer than a standard front plate. Not sure it would work on my MR2 Roadster though....

[gm]

I'm happy enough with a traditional oblong plate, or at least I will be once I've managed to fit it straight  

 

[gm]

remember last week when I swapped over this leaky shock absorber on the mx5 ?

now guess what I swapped it for ?

yep, a different, even more leaky, shock absorber 

ha ! won't make that mistake again  

garage GM was popular today with visits from @DVee8 and mrs DVee8 who brought gifts for the Exo in the form of Kayak foam padding - should come in handy as those hard plastic seats will be unforgiving on the potholed streets of county durham. many thanks from me and my aching bones  

not sure whichaway up they should go ?

just as I was packing up the tools, there was a knock on the garage door and @primeradoner arrived in his daughters mk3 mx5 for a surprise visit - very nice to meet you, sorry I forgot my manners and didn't put the kettle on -  I'll break out the custard creams next time, promise  

all that was left was to take the mx5 for a quick test drive hoon and it's driving much better.

indeed much, much better than this poor sod who I passed between Ouston and Lamesley - there was no one about so I presume the driver had long since absconded with his tail between his legs  

 

still no progress on the exo, but I did buy a book (better late than never  )

and a neighbour dropped me off a hat he had picked up at work (apparently there is a company called Exocet who make fuel additives ?)

I'll do some proper work tomorrow  

[gm]

I worked out the mpg on the Mazda 

way too high, more hooning required !

(not sure what has happened to the pic but it's 32.2mpg)

[DVee8]

@gm, always good to chat shite and watch you/ distract you from the job in hand. Shame we missed @primeradoner, another thats good to chat shite with.

 

Oh and MrsV8 has took an unhealthy liking to the Exo..

[gm]

22 minutes ago, DVee8 said:

MrsV8 has took an unhealthy liking to the Exo..

surely that can only be a good thing ! 

did you dare show her the green / white one for sale ? It's only just down the road for a wee trip out tomorrow for you   

(edit) you like it, she likes it, Dvee8 jnr likes it - what are you waiting for ?

 

[hairnet]

You need one of these

Real airhawk can be hundreds

Knock off one from wish 14 delivered can fill with water (reewww) or blow it up

Comes with strap so you could put holes in seat and strap it down

 

 

[gm]

1 hour ago, gm said:

foam padding -  

it occurred to me where I'd seen this before - at a go kart track in San Antonio, Ibiza (I was young once, honest) where they provided such protection for the drivers, presumably as they were all pissed / hungover / off their box on disco biscuits ! (I was pissed / hungover before you ask)

there was a bar at the track and no one seemed to care if you had a few beers between karting sessions  

[primeradoner]

Great to finally meet up with Mark today and see the Exocet in the flesh.  To  be honest the pictures and build story on here do not do justice to the job that Mark has done on this car. The build quality and attention to detail is second to none. The cut down wiring loom (usually a mess on kit cars) is a work of art. Hope to see this out and about soon. 

[Wack]

I'm really impressed with the work you've done 

My 97 MK2 MX5 has sat in the garage not touched since September , battery flat 

Put the ctec on it , left it overnight and yesterday morning it fired on the first turn of the key , a bit lumpy and clattery for a couple of seconds while the oil pressure increased then, right where are we going then 

Amazing little cars 

 

 

[gm]

way back in February, I pondered what to do about covering the rather exposed ignition wiring ?

a solution was found  

but was deemed to be a bit too much of a bodge

then I saw what another exo builder had done

that looks just the job - I'll have a go at making the same

cardboard was fettled

transferred to 1mm aluminium

cut out with me granda's old jigsaw

and bending commenced

at which point, I discovered I should have paid more attention at Bending School

as I quickly realised that I was bending in the wrong direction  

the shape is almost symmetrical so I just chopped a bit off the other side and carried on

glad I was only using thin aluminium

test fit

not bad, just needs a bit* of a trim

(I'll spare you the hours of trimming and refitting, not to mention the increasingly bad language - I had to switch from Pink Floyd to Metallica to drown out my frustration)

the bolts it will fit to will also hold the speedo cluster so longer bolts or thinner nuts were needed - a tickle with the grinder had that sorted

then the plastic shroud needed chopping to fit

again, took a while but turned out ok

time to cover up the rough finish with my favourite neoprene foam sheet

that actually looks pretty smart now  

still a small gap at the join but the instrument pod will cover that no problem

another job ticked off the list - everything seems to take so long at this stage

 

 

[gm]

todays job is to extend the instrument cluster cable which I cut too short  

in preparation, I ordered up a metre of fancy cable

hellfire - that's going to be fun to work on ! 13 cores  

 

[gm]

10 hours ago, gm said:

todays job is to extend the instrument cluster cable

sod that ! I'm not some sort of electrical masochist - it can wait 

instead, I nipped out to the local diy place (maxwells in Birtley, not been there before but will go back, much better than b&q etc) and grabbed a few bits

 

remember those bolts sticking up from the column shroud ?

well, we're going to need something to bolt onto them

chop, drill, grind etc

I don't think much of my "milling drill bits" that I got from lidls, definitely not* operator error to blame for those wonky slots

quick test fit

and the clocks are way too close to the bonnet  

time for a rethink

.

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.

.

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a spare bit of angle iron aluminium caught my eye

how about instead of bolting directly to the cluster, I bolt to the cover instead  ?

more chopping, shaping and drilling (I had no spare M5 nuts so rivets will do temporarily)

test fit - aye, that might work

rivets and bolts replaced by proper rivets (using all my fancy tools today)

what's on the other side ? yep, another rivnut ( I like these now, hated them at first but they are handy)

so the hood will bolt on here and be easily removable if needed

I'm pretty pleased with that - fits well and I didn't break anything  

how does it look on the car ?

works for me  

more drilling and rivnutting and the two brackets fit nicely together

it will need something at the front to minimise wobble

 

let's bung the dials in and see how it looks

needs a tweak of adjustment, they're pointing a bit higher than I'd like

but that will be easily fixed with an offcut to extend the bracket underneath

that was a job I'd been dreading and I'm rather satisfied with tonights progress - time for a celebratory beer  cheers ! 

 

[juular]

Amazing work 👍

[gm]

3 minutes ago, juular said:

Amazing work 👍

cheers, I'd lost motivation for a couple of weeks but am now getting right back into it - the "end" is almost in sight  

(of course, I'm back at work now after five months on furlough, should have really got my arse in gear and had this finished)

[gm]

I'm going to be sticking the wheels in for a refurb in the next few weeks - sticking with the steelies but it's time to start thinking about colour ?

I'm thinking that all black might be too much, maybe a dark gunmetal silver or bronze might look good ? (similar to the alloys on that orange thing parked next door)

the red harness is temporary, I'm planning to go for a matching pair of bright yellow ones - would matching yellow wheels be too much ?

also, a yellow headlight film once the iva is dealt with

I've got four sets of steelies to play with so could have a sensible road set and a mad looking track day set ? 

 

[cort1977]

I don't think you can go too over the top with this thing, it doesn't exactly blend in. Bright coloured accents will look great.

If you just paint the wheels initially it would be cheaper to change if it doesn't work.