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

[gm]

the flimsy rear view mirror finally got fitted

seems to work  

[gm]

I took it outside to run up to temp and check for coolant leaks - no such leaks were evident so I took some pretty pics

I'm still not sure on that tyre pen - will probably not bother on the good tyres

that grille mesh looks great though, I'm really pleased with that

no hooning today as too many neighbours out in their gardens  

 

[gm]

One thing to watch out for on the Exo is those bloody sharp edges on the bonnet - having bashed my dome repeatedly for several days, it was time to do something about it

not only are bonnet catches the work of the devil, it would appear that bonnet trim is too ! My hands actually ache after forcing this cursed stuff into place.

still, no more of this - feel free to add your own sound effects !

[gm]

I've never bothered my arse with private number plates but think I may make an exception for the Exo, looking on dvlc, there are plenty of suitable plates available 

this one caught my eye 

but could I bring myself to be one of those folk who skilfully* amend their plate with extra fixing screws ?

 

[gm]

the steering wheel on the mx5 is staring to fall apart, shame as I really like it

I imagine its going to be all kinds of tricky to glue this together without looking a mess

a few beers were sufficient to relax my bidding finger last week  

sorted ! pretty good quality for an eBay special (the only genuine momo bit is the horn button)

[gm]

a cheap hardtop appeared on facebook marketplace, it was local and I had a few quid saved up in the car fund so went for a look and bought it straight away

wrong colour but having a different coloured roof is fashionable these days  

random sticker "Zero Eight" had to come off

much better

 

 

[gm]

 I also bought this Camber and Castor Alignment Gauge

which will be very handy for setting up the Exo, once I've figured out how to use it  

looks complicated, but I'll have a go and see how I get on

taken from 

https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/files/transfer/technical/doc/adacambergaugeinst.pdf

so with a bit of luck, this will all eventually make sense

from 

https://www.miata.net/garage/alignment/

 

[hairnet]

zzzzzzzzzz

iva booked or wha?

 

[gm]

Oops, spent the money on a hardtop ! 

[gm]

Wheel alignment today 

just getting the thing up in the air took an hour of fannying about with jacks

 

string was purchased and set up parallel 

paperwork studied and tools assembled

each corner has two adjustment cams

 

measuring the rear toe in

measuring the rear camber

the near side was close to spec, the offside took a bit of adjustment but is now bang on (assuming I’m doing this right)

the front is a bit more complex, mark up lines with tape parallel to the template then align the wheel with each line, take the difference to measure the castor

then tweak the toe with the track rod ends

 

I’ll get it properly set up once it’s on the road but I’m fairly happy that it should be quite driveable for now 

 

[gm]

I went to a trackday last night down at Teeside Autodrome, it was rather damp at first but dried up and was plenty o' fun

being damp, I kept the road tyres on - might need a new set of those soon (brakes took an absolute hammering too)

but the little mazda, as always, took it all in its stride  

 

[gm]

On 9/1/2021 at 7:46 PM, gm said:

brakes took an absolute hammering too

new pads on, back to Teeside for more laps

not very exciting in car footage

 

pitfall footage

 

 

 

[gm]

the silenced de-cat was just that little bit too low and was getting in a right state coming on and off the drive

so got replaced with a straight through decat for extra neighbour annoyance

my road wheels which had been abused on track needed a bit of a tidy up

mmm, shiney

[gm]

never mind the stupid mazda, what about the Exo ?

well, not much, I'm afraid - I've been pretty busy with work recently  

but, as the sun was shining, I fired it up and brought it out for a naughty drive up and down the street and some photos

since my heath robinson wheel alignment, it drives much better, steering is lighter and self centres more.

 

 

 and I've still not booked the test, I'm waiting for the v5 for the donor to be returned as it needed correcting  

[gm]

it would appear to have been a month since the last pitiful update, and I'm afraid this one isn't going to be much better as work, ill health, some turd nicking the catalyst off the crv and my buying a Bini have all got in the way  

so, what has been happening ?

the mx5 needed some new tyres but a set of used wheels with decent tyres turned up locally at a reasonable price, it seemed rude not to

I don't much like them but the tyres are all in good nick, albeit rather squeally (nankang ns2) 

the old set of wheels and tyres got refitted and abused round the track for @DVee8junior's birthday, we all had a go and agreed that it was indeed a fuck of a lot of fun !

at the start of the day, I joked that "whoever is the first to spin has to buy lunch" 

thankfully this happened (2:38) after mrs Dvee8 has already provided lunch  

 

 

in the land of the Exo, even less has been happening

one of the members of the Exo fb group has been messing around with a 3D printer and produced these rather neat looking gear shift surrounds

I quite like the orange but decided to go for a matt black finish, after the first coat, I stuck my work light behind it 

that's pretty neat but the letters all got filled in with a few more coats

it is a rather nice finishing touch, just needs screwed in place.

 

and I finally got a response from the DVLA about the donor car V5 error - three months after I wrote them a nice letter pointing out the typing error on the VIN and the "unknown" engine number, I got a call from a nice lady who essentially said "don't worry, the IVA man will sort it" great news but frustrating it took so long.

so, I really should get that test booked soon

 

[hairnet]

Gear lever needs to be Warwick davis

[paulplom]

I still have those Mx-5 wheels in my garage for you. 16" matching bridgestones too iirc.

[hairnet]

didnt seem you were going too bok - was there some shit on the track

 

[gm]

They had just cleaned up an oil spill, you can see the cement? dust as I ran over it - there wasn’t much I could do. Thankfully no damage or injuries, just a big slice of humble pie for dessert   

[DVee8]

No humble pie at all just fits of laughter.

[gm]

essentially I just made an arse of it  

[Longbridge Apologist]

On 5/15/2020 at 1:33 PM, gm said:

more engine crane shenanigans today

bye bye rusty shell

Feel really quite sad seeing this, but I guess its helped keep others alive!

[Longbridge Apologist]

On 5/9/2021 at 7:32 PM, gm said:

when I got home last night, I plipped the fob to lock the mk1 and heard a not good noise from somewhere inside the door

a tentative pull on the handle revealed something was indeed buggered - no matter how many times I plipped the button or tried the key, the drivers door would not unlock   

going in from the passenger side didn't help either - only one thing for it - things need to come to bits 

dropping the window allowed me to see what is going on - right in the middle of the pic, you might just make out "that bloody spring"

a common problem with mk1 mx5s, albeit one I've been lucky to avoid so far. 

a bit of poking around with a wire coat hanger I keep for such emergencies got the door open, it was then a case of taking out the window glass and runner to retrieve this little bugger

and where exactly am I supposed to get one of these late on a Sunday afternoon ? 

and also, where is it supposed to go back ?

I bent the end into a new hook, had a poke around and the job's a good 'un !

a quick test and it's working perfectly. result.

I managed to get the glass and (freshly greased) runners in and the door back together just before it started thoroughly pissing it down  

And I saved £4.08 (didn't need to remove the lock either) 

 

 

 

 

Mk1 MX-5's had remote locking?! Wow. I had no idea. This is what comes from growing up only on a diet of BLARG...

[gm]

the only bit I couldn't save was the windscreen, everything else was sold on or re-used, probably a whole lot more than if it went to a scrappies.

and it was proper rusty underneath - this was by no means the worst bit

 

[gm]

1 minute ago, Longbridge Apologist said:

Mk1 MX-5's had remote locking?! Wow. I had no idea

an aftermarket kit I wired into the alarm, was less than a tenner on eBay I think

[gm]

3 hours ago, paulplom said:

I still have those Mx-5 wheels in my garage for you. 16" matching bridgestones too iirc.

damn, i'd forgotten about those - I definitely prefer them to the ones I just fitted, can you hang on to them until I'm a bit more mobile and i'll come to collect ? I'm currently housebound with a knackered back  

[gm]

despite being housebound, I still managed to pick up some fancy parts for the Exo today

I spotted this lightened flywheel on fb marketplace which will be perfect when thrashing it round the track

the same seller had a rather tasty looking powder coated cam cover too so I made an offer for both

we did a deal then he offered me his spare gearbox at a price that was difficult to refuse - I explained that I couldn't collect but it turned out he was passing in his way home from work and dropped the lot off this afternoon 

the gearbox might well come in handy as I currently have a bit of a stiff nob (yuk, yuk) if I'm swapping the flywheel, I might as well swap the box over too  

we got chatting and #smollworld he was at the trackday last week in his own mx5 powered kit car, I'll be sure to blag a passenger ride with him next time

 

[paulplom]

If I get time over the weekend, I'll drop them off for you.

Nowt worse than a bad back btw. Deepest sympathy.

[gm]

2 hours ago, paulplom said:

If I get time over the weekend, I'll drop them off for you.

Nowt worse than a bad back btw. Deepest sympathy.

Don’t be making a special trip but do drop in for a cuppa if you are over this way - exo is looking quite different to the last time you saw it 

[gm]

Gram strategy !

Amortisation of marginal gains !

Adding lightness !

Every little helps !

or just Taking the Piss ?

 

look at these ugly sods - something must be done

I have spares of both so let's have a go at some weight saving

Oh yes, much faster now

a wee dab of touch up paint

yes, very smart

i bet I lose the buggers now !