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

[gm]

last weeks trackday was a whole load of fun - for some reason I don't have any pics of my car but here are some of the lads from kitkarklub

this one kept going on fire due to oil blowing out of the dipstick tube onto the turbo manifold - no major damage but certainly gave the owner a bit of a fright 

this one shredded its alternator belt

running an old pinto engine, the owner was not expecting anyone to have a belt just lying around on a shelf but a few phone calls tracked one down which was delivered to the circuit for a bargainous £6

the mx5 performed well, only letting itself down when I ran out of brake pads an hour before the end - left just enough for the drive home

 

[gm]

then today it was the exo's turn to let itself down

I was driving on the new section of the A1 that has no hard shoulder, fortunately there was a handy exit slip when the engine started to stutter - I rolled to a halt, jumped out and pushed it onto the verge and thought about what the fuck to do now !

a quick look under the bonnet gave no obvious clues, so I tried again - it spluttered a bit but didn't run. 

almost as if there was no fuel in the tank

it turns out this little feller is a lying wee toad  

a quick look on waze showed the nearest petrol station a mere 0.3 miles away, dare I risk leaving the Exo unattended by the roadside ? 

I didn't really have much choice

£7.95 for a jerry can + £9.36 to fill the bugger, a quick jog back to the car and I was back in business, it fired up straight away.

the white dial faces are not original for a mk1 mx5, I presume whoever fitted them has put the needle on wonky - I'll need to run the tank empty, adjust the needle then refill from another jerry can.

but, in the meantime, I brimmed the tank and went for a nice drive along the coast 

   

 

[gm]

the mx5 has a decent set of road tyres on it

and the Exo has semi slick track tyres

which are pretty twitchy at this time of year

so i stole the mx5 wheels and gave them a quick clean up

and bunged them on the exo

hmm, not sure about that - maybe if i bring it outside 

nope, they really don’t suit 

i suspect that they might be too clean and stand out too much 

i’ll just need to take it hooning and get them caked in dust again  

the pressures need tweaked too, at 26psi it was very sketchy in the rain 

 

[gm]

while the tools were out, i got rid of the bucket seat in the mx5 as it’s frankly embarrassing trying to climb in and out of it with any kind of dignity  

[gm]

@paulplom came round to have a look at  go on the exo, i think he likes it  

 

[gm]

i took a drive up to Lumley Castle for some wintery pics 

then found an empty and icy car park at the cricket ground and did some donuts  

on the way home, i happened across @DVee8 junior in his 500 Abarth so we had a hoon along the bypass - great fun and only a little* bit chilly 

[gm]

still not sure about those wheels - they look all kinds of weird angles in the photos 

[DVee8]

28 minutes ago, gm said:

i took a drive up to Lumley Castle for some wintery pics 

then found an empty and icy car park at the cricket ground and did some donuts  

on the way home, i happened across @DVee8 junior in his 500 Abarth so we had a hoon along the bypass - great fun and only a little* bit chilly 

Yeah, he did mention a little fun along the bypass but no speed limits were broken.

[hairnet]

39 minutes ago, DVee8 said:

Yeah, he did mention a little fun along the bypass but only the fiat might have broken.

*forgot @gm

yeah right more like you heard it crying in the garage

[DVee8]

A driveway interloper, a driveway left unoccupied and someone had to park on it.

I was down at @gm's drinking coffee and chatting shite when the silence was interrupted by V8 junior.

[hairnet]

disapoint no scaffolding

gis a go - give ya a go on the bike.......

 

[DVee8]

30 minutes ago, hairnet said:

disapoint no scaffolding

gis a go - give ya a go on the bike.......

 

The Exo was going to come out, but we were to busy chatting shite, @gm managed to get cold and wet washing the Bini Cooper yeS. and then V8 junior blocked the garage.

[gm]

the bini had been cruelly vandalised (i suspect by sister gm on christmas day when it was parked at me mams)

so needed a jolly good wash.

the coolant bottle also got replaced

and while i was in there i found a k&n filter  

unfortunately in doing so, i knackered the intake hose  

which i expertly repaired

good as new !

 

i suggested that dvee8jr might like to leave the Abarth on the drive and take the mazda home ? i think he was almost tempted - maybe i should have said take the Exo  

[DVee8]

He may have jumped at the exo, but parking it at spoons till god knows what time in the morning may not be one of  life's best decisions. 

I can always ask.

[gm]

that’s no good - it’s not insured for commuting  besides, all he would come back to would be a dribble of oil on the pavement 

[gm]

first dry day for a while so i took the Exo out for a quick blast round durham and stopped outside my old school for a pic

it might be dry but it’s still bloody cold out there !

[gm]

being as i forgot to sorn it again…commence hoonage  

 

[DVee8]

We had a visitor this afternoon, as normal we heard him before seeing him. @gm.

[gm]

2 minutes ago, DVee8 said:

headlamps look wonky as fuck - no wonder i can’t see anything !

[DVee8]

[gm]

i meant the cars - not mine  !

[gm]

been down the coast again - cold but nice to be out in the fresh air

roker pier

South Shields

[gm]

so the plan over winter was to store the Exo in the garage round at my mam's house and get the mx5 indoors for a bit of much needed attention

ah, the best laid plans of mice, eh ?

hmm, I see shonky lifting and co. have been back in town

off with the exhaust and prop shaft

off with the transmission tunnel cover

gearstick removed - shouldn't there be a load of nice gloopy gear oil in there ? has it escaped or did some numpty forget to fill it ? I still don't know

never mind that for now, time to break out the winch'O'matic2000, grommit !

because this fellow is coming out

 

[gm]

many winching later on, the gearbox is finally out

and on the bench

still pretty clean in here

[gm]

[Jim Bell]

2 minutes ago, gm said:

GM transmission 

[gm]

clutch and flywheel removed for inspection

3000km of not mincing about and it's still good as new

but that flywheel is a bit of a chunky lad

what we need here is a newer, slenderer model

which has been lurking in my kitchen cupboard for over a year now - time to get these swapped over

lots of cleaning, and a good splash of @DVee8's loctite (many thanks) and it's looking good

clutch refitted using @primeradoner's clutch alignment tool (also many thanks)

(when I first removed the pressure plate, the pilot bearing fell out - obviously I hadn't boshed it in far enough last time - done properly this time)

[gm]

5 minutes ago, Jim Bell said:

GM transmission 

I was going to do that joke but thought it even too shite for here  

 

[gm]

refitting the gearbox was a bit fiddly a colossal pain in the arse 

but careful winching and a jack under the engine eventually got the two joined - note the carefully placed foam to protect my bulkhead

load of bollocks that turned out to be  

never mind, rewiring the reverse and neutral switches which I had to cut

and locating the electric speedo drive for when I eventually get round to fitting the digidash (the mechanical drive is still in place for now)

[gm]

got the rest of it back in one piece and went for a test hoon

stopped in the middle of nowhere for a quick vid

that spins up much quicker, well worth three days of crawling around on the garage floor !

I had to take it easy as the track tyres were particularly wheel spinney tonight, wonder why ? it's 2oC in the garage, must be a nad below zero outside

still, the bonnet is nice and cosy in front of the tv