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

[gm]

and employed some very dubious methods to drain the tank

fuel pump powered up from the 12v supply for my garage radio

car battery disconnected for 'safety'

managed to squeeze about 25 litros out of it which i dumped into the mx5, now i can crack on with sorting the fuel filler that the iva man didn’t like (it's that flexible pipe in the second pic that is the problem, sold as iva compatible but apparently I have a picky tester  )

[gm]

a rather smoll kit car appeared on the Exo fb group 

 

 

which was modelled on this beauty

[gm]

time to take on a job I'd been dreading :

the T piece that links the rear brakes to the central line needs to have a locknut or loctite applied - sounds easy enough but it's sandwiched between the fuel tank and the differential - this is not going to be easy  

 

[gm]

this is the little sod

and this is what i had to do to access it

THIS DOES NOT FEEL LIKE PROGRESS  

 

I applied loctite AND used a Nyloc nut - best to be sure  

[gm]

and for a nice easy job to make up for it, i gave the seats a wash

that’s better

[gm]

my original set up of the fuel tank had several issues that needed to be dealt with

first off, i needed to make it level so the sender gave a true reading - the rear was already raised, i just did the same with the front

the tester wasn’t happy with my bare metal P clips on the fuel hose (even though it has a tough plastic wrap)

and i wasn’t happy with the bracket everything was fitted to - a suitable replacement was made 

the fuel filter was held in place with a (fairly hefty) cable tie which wasn’t up to scratch, a rather large P clip was sourced and bolted in place

all of which should hopefully satisfy the man from delmonte 

[gm]

but the big problem i have is this

the fuel filler and vent hose need to make a tight 90degree bend to reach the filler neck

the flexi i had used was too flexible and ended up kinked, the original rubber pipe from the mx5 isn’t flexible enough 

so what i need is something like this

which is the best part of thirty quid and not guaranteed to fit ! 

time to take a wander round the scrappies and see what i can find 

(the internal diameter is 49mm if anyone has any suggestions ?)

[gm]

1 hour ago, gm said:

but the big problem i have is this

the fuel filler and vent hose need to make a tight 90degree bend to reach the filler neck

the flexi i had used was too flexible and ended up kinked, the original rubber pipe from the mx5 isn’t flexible enough 

so what i need is something like this

which is the best part of thirty quid and not guaranteed to fit ! 

time to take a wander round the scrappies and see what i can find 

(the internal diameter is 49mm if anyone has any suggestions ?)

hell, it's only money - I've ordered one of the above, hope it bloody fits !

[MorrisItalSLX]

I’d weld on a tubular bend to that filler neck to negate the need for such a long rubber section.

Loving the progress, these little trivial jobs that need doing but also really don’t need doing are a real pain.

[gm]

another productive afternoon

the reflectors supplied as part of the kit were deemed “too wee”

ebay to the rescue - they look shit but might accidentally fall off after the test

the harness bolts needed to be loctited

amd while the seats were out i gave the floor a wash

still pretty manky- i think i’ll order up some checker plate rubber.

next up - this brake flexi is perilously close to the tyre on full lock

an easy enough fix

 

[gm]

so the to-do list currently looks like this

just that fuel inlet pipe and we’re done  

[gm]

i rather liked the look of the bare aluminium floor but it got trashed by snow/slush/grit/whatever on the way to the test centre 

and was slippy as a bastard when wet

i gave it a good clean up but it still looked shit

time for some “wallpaper aided design”

which took way longer than i expected

i ordered a big sheet of checker plate rubber 

didn’t leave much room for error  - measure twice etc

what an improvement! looks so much better

but as that took about four hours, they can get stuck down tomorrow 

[gm]

i also fitted some wanky headlights to the mx5

they’re bloody bright

even if they do look a bit wanky

 

i bought them off a really nice chap who had bought them for his Scimitar. then decided they looked too wanky !

he was probably right but the rest of the car was an absolute beauty. 

but that wasn’t the most impressive thing in his garage - he also has a Scammel Scarab !

not this one but it was in lovely condition, sounded awesome when he fired it up 

i love it when you go to buy parts and meet like minded folk, i was probably there for an hour talking shite about cars  

 

[Crackers]

I like those headlights on NAs to be honest. Happy car is happy 😛

[gm]

pop up headlights are the best thing in the world - i’ll never tire of seeing the reaction when kids see them for the first time, it’s hilarious  

 

i spent ages wiring up the sidelight / indicator ring-piece then decided it just looked too naff so pulled the plug on the indicator bit

 

[LightBulbFun]

I just want to say that Like is for the Scarab and Pop up head lamps in general

and to make sure that no one accuses me of liking LED tat LOL

(as an aside, aside from being LED's (and yall know my thought on those are LOL) I find atheistically these particular style of 7 inch LED head lamp always look quite naff, black soulless almost, looks like your staring into dead eyes if that makes sense)

but my usual grumblings about LEDs aside its also very awesome to see progress with the Exo is happening! hopefully not long until the next visit to the Ministry man?  

[gm]

surely this is the perfect setting - no one needs to see the ugly sods during the day until they pop up at night  

i have a spare set of pop ups that came from the Exo donor car, when i eventually get round to doing my garden /patio, they will be strategically employed as comedy security lights !

[gm]

the seats are back in - what a difference that new flooring makes

 

[gm]

time to get that fuel filler sorted

the pipe on the left was too flexible, the one on the right not flexible enough

so I splashed out on a pre bent one

the only problem being that it is too wide

but a slice off the old pipe makes for a perfect shim

sorted  

except my clamps didn't fit - a few days later, eBay came up with the goods

but no matter how I adjusted things, the neck would not sit flush at the cover  

the fibreglass was threatening to crack if I screwed it tight to straighten it out so I got busy with the hole saws

and we have success !

except nothing is ever that straightforward - zoom back on that image

bugger !

not ideal but it got the job done

mr iva can see the new inlet without even taking the cover off now !

I'll fix this properly* somehow but this'll do for now

stick an old Eunos badge on ? no one will ever know  

so that's the fuel filler sorted, best tick it off the list

no, no, no, this needs a bigger tick !

I'll give it a quick test drive and see about booking the re-test

   

[Tickman]

Excellent progress

[scooobydont]

Well done. I keep getting ideas to do something like this but thankfully I read threads like these and go...nah

[gm]

as the sun was shining, it seemed a good time to whip off the dust sheet and let the exo see what daylight looks like

garage gm’s new apprentice (   @DVee8 junior) was employed to bring it safely onto the drive

everything was ticking over nicely so he took it for a quick run up and down the street - i think he approves  

 

 

[loserone]

Is he on here yet, or would that cramp his dad's style?

[DVee8]

3 minutes ago, loserone said:

Is he on here yet, or would that cramp his dad's style?

Hahahaha, I have told him, and he is well aware of AS. But at the moment he aint that bothered, he doesn't  do that much social media.

[gm]

I called the IVA office on monday to arrange for the retest, expecting to wait a few weeks. 

well, err, you know the drill.....

had a dream I had slept in for something important

aaaghh !

quick, check the weather

no snow today  

strong coffee, piss weak orange drink

tools packed just in case

let's hit the fucking road !

need fuel

need artsy photo

need coffee

need cup holders !

and it's nemesis time again !

 

[gm]

blah blah blah test... blah blah blah forms... blah blah blah here's your certificate...

what ? wait, what ?

yes, you heard it right 

two years of blood, sweat and tears and I am proud to announce that I have PASSED THE BLOODY IVA !!!11!!!11!!111 

THIS THING IS ROAD LEGAL !

and it's fooking terrifying on the motorway !

vidos to follow later 

 

[DVee8]

Around 9.30 this morning I got a visitor @gm, We heard him before we saw him.

Umm this bloke looks happy.

[DVee8]

A super practical car

A man climbs into a car.

 

[LightBulbFun]

2 hours ago, gm said:

blah blah blah test... blah blah blah forms... blah blah blah here's your certificate...

what ? wait, what ?

yes, you heard it right 

two years of blood, sweat and tears and I am proud to announce that I have PASSED THE BLOODY IVA !!!11!!!11!!111 

THIS THING IS ROAD LEGAL !

and it's fooking terrifying on the motorway !

vidos to follow later 

 

fucking awesome! really pleased to see you have got it through an IVA at long last!

 

it will be interesting to see how it ends up recorded on the DVLA as  

(and what special notes if any end up on the V5c)

[DVee8]

And then he left.

 

 

With a do you mind?

Yeah go on then.

As he left 11's along the road. @gm.