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

[browno]

Good to see another exo builder (and another G- EXO plate!) - I am new to these parts and did wonder how mine would go down here! (I am another serial MX5-er but NA and NC - my build is on the MEV forum if anyone’s interested - Exocet build thread)

All I can say is yours looks great, and if you ever consider it,  then a turbo turns it into an animal - I boosted mine during lockdown (and am still nailing details!), but 220BHP makes it a completely mental little thing!
 

[gm]

Hi Browno, 

i remember reading your build thread way back before i started on mine, it was one of the reasons i chose to go ahead and build my own. i find it fascinating reading about how each builder has approached and solved the various problems that come up, there are a few things i would go back and do differently if i was starting again but i’m very happy to have it on the road.

one thing i wasn’t prepared for is the amount of attention it gets, but i don’t mind as i’m very proud of my little exo  

a turbo is definitely a long term plan, but for now, i’m happy with the 115hp from the 1.6 engine, it still goes like a rocket and puts a big grin on my face every time.

 

[gm]

it might not be immediately obvious from the photo but with the smaller steering wheel fitted, the speedometer is quite badly obscured  

not a major problem as i’ve been using a gps speedo in my phone but a better solution is needed.

hence, the big book of tempt has been open at this page for several weeks

bit those prices are a bit spicey having spunked this months budget on the numberplate. 

maybe ebay will come up with an answer ?

£20 + postage, untested, sold as spears and reapers - i’m up for a gamble  

obviously they are cheap chinese knock offs and come with no instructions at all but at that price, i couldn’t say no.

so, we’re doing this again 

a bit of googling had me the wiring for a genuine Koso unit, unfortunately, as this is as genuine as a £3 note, that didn’t help  

trial / error / educated guesswork got me a few clues but i was struggling. 

maybe there will be a model number somewhere inside ? 

ooh, we have a bingo !

this made me very happy

i hooked up the speed sensor and wiggled the magnet in its face and it responded (no pic as not enough hands)

then i remembered a spare fuel sender from when the fuel pump died

but the big question was how in the hell to program the thing ? 

nothing i could find on the web would work, i eventually stumbled upon this

some sort of pin code ? ok, this may take a while

except it didn’t, i started with 111, then 222, turns out that 888 is my lucky number  

that is 14volts btw 

so we’ve got speed and fuel sorted, let’s have a go for revs

the mk1 mx5 has a very handy ignition pulse in the diagnostic connector, i pinged (pung?) open the Exo’s wiring tray and got hooked up

ok, fire it up 

not sure about that very digital needle movement but for a tenner each (yes, the other one works too) i’m pretty pleased with that.

should make a big difference once fitted

then i can get the windscreens on

just call me the King of Speedos !

just not like this guy

 

[gm]

Exo also attended its first car meet at the North East Restoration Club, held in Washington, Tyne and Wear, first wednesday of the month.

this gives a good idea of the variety of cars there and a really friendly bunch of folks 

 

[gm]

the postie delivered me a red card of doom yesterday so i made a trip to the depot on my way to work today and collected more parts.

despite getting home at 22:30, i couldn’t resist a quick test 

first up an oil pressure switch (using the mil light as there isn’t an oil light) is certainly telling me there's no oil pressure right now  

next up is the speed drive - my mk1 gearbox has a mechanical drive but i’m told a mk2 electrical drive will swap right in

best test it first - fetch the drill (yes, that drill ) and give it a spin

more beans

maximum beans

excellent, it bloody works !

calibration might be a challenge but i figured out the sender gives 8 pulses per revolution, somehow i need to translate that into rotations of the wheels 

so i’ve got most dashboard functions accounted for, just temperature and volts to go and i can have a go at installing the damn thing  

[gm]

more tat essential components arrived this morning

it’s a neat little gauge but i wasn’t expecting the message printed on the top of the screen - i wonder what it says ?

no chance of confusion there then

let’s get it wired in and see how it looks

not too bad, it is pretty warm in the garage today 

coffee 53oC seems about right

freshly boiled water 87oC is maybe a tad low but in the right ballpark

fire up the heat gun and test the alarm

it starts flashing and beeping over 95oC although seeing as i can’t hear the exhaust for wind noise, the beeper might struggle  

only a few more bits needed and i can look at installation 

[hairnet]

madness

 

[dome]

Good work! I'd be tempted to wire the oil pressure light to a separate (red!) light elsewhere as, because you're used to Japanese vehicles, you'll be well used to the orange glow of an EML so may well miss the engine shitting itself assuming it's just because the lambda sensor woke up grumpy. Again. 

[paulplom]

Have you a link for that temperature guage? My van is minge spec and doesn't have one. I bought one from ebay which did inside and outside temperature but it was a total pile of shite and not fit for purpose.

[gm]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374199581999?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=JNSNfwAMQ4S&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=LKn5X0MqTxu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

there seem to be plenty of similar ones available, i messed up and ordered an M10 probe but should have gone for a 1/8npt, some bodgery may be required  

[Zelandeth]

Bit of an odd range on the temp gauge.  Looking at the two I can remember off the top of my head which show numbers, there's the one in the Caddy which reads 50-130C (about 1/2 a needle's width below 90C being normal running), and in the Xantia which read 50-110C, normal on that being around 70C l, though the cooling fans didn't kick in until around 90 in traffic.

Will still work obviously but could cause a little undue alarm given how close to the red bit you're always going to be.

[gm]

the mx5 gauges don’t have a scale, but tend to hover in the middle unless things are going particularly wrong

the only time i’ve seen this one move from its central position was moments before this happened

maybe a little more warning would have been handy  

i’ll see how this one works out, nothing is exactly permanent where the Exo is concerned so, if it’s a pain, i’ll find a plan B

[paulplom]

You did that to mine too iirc 🤣

[gm]

i swear it was an accident  

[gm]

a very pleasant bank holiday drive with @Mi30n and his brother - great fun

 

[gm]

the mx5 got its annual bath 

scrubs up pretty well

then me and @DVee8 convoyed to a local car meet

where they both attracted a good bit of attention

me and dvee8 jr got papped on the way in

the journey home involved a bit of a detour and some serious hooning - great fun  

[gm]

the exos odometer is showing 1751km so i’ve racked up just over 1000 miles in its first two months on the road - time for an oil change

access is certainly a lot easier  

service history updated 

and i gave the engine a quick clean - shines up a treat 

the two month old oil was pretty dark, glad i didn’t leave it any longer. i’ll maybe do it again before it comes off the road for winter.

[paulplom]

I'm trying to work out why you've circled the throttle body with a red marker.

[gm]

i really should sort out that little bodge - it’s just unused two vacuum ports that need capping off - a short length of tube is ideal  

[gm]

i’d booked the day off for a trackday but seeing as it was chucking it down, i spent the afternoon in the garage instead.

let’s have a go on these “windscreens” then

needed a corner chopping off for a good fit

holes drilled with laser precision ! and no injuries

passenger side fitted

same again for the drivers side but hit upon a minor problem

the bonnet won’t open anymore  

i knew this would happen but will be solved when i fit the digidash 

looks pretty good though

and the big question - do they make a sod of difference ? 

a quick test hoon was deemed necessary, and the verdict is a thumbs up 👍 there is a noticeable drop in wind noise and it’s not quite* as cold  

passengers should feel the most benefit, i shall locate a volunteer and report back in due course 

[gm]

it crossed my mind that i should check my tyre pressures on the exo - 24.5psi on the front and 24.0 on the rear were both a tad low (and probably contributed to my heavy steering feel) so knocked them up to 28 all round and went for a drive. the difference was immediately obvious, the steering felt much better but the back end was much looser than previous, i’ll probably drop them to 26 and see how it goes.

the sun was out so i headed for the coast and had a pleasant drive along the sea front from sunderland up south shields, through the tunnel then rejoined the coast from tynemouth through whitley bay and on to blyth 

had a chat with a bloke who had “always wanted to build a kit car”, the dirty looks his wife was giving him across the car park perhaps explained why he had not achieved his ambition !

stopped for a mcpiss in the way home  

I'm loving it !

[hairnet]

swap a go?

get some real wind into ya

 

[gm]

in theory, yes, but in practice, i haven’t a clue how to ride a bike - i suspect it might end in tears  

or in another toy being purchased !

[hairnet]

you have restraint right?

you could be taught

not as scary as it might sound  and youve more chance of being killed by a lawnmower

 

[gm]

1 minute ago, hairnet said:

 

you have restraint right?

 

err, i could try  

unfortunately, me mam says i can’t have a bike as they’re too dangerous !

[hairnet]

4 minutes ago, gm said:

err, i could try  

unfortunately, me mam says i can’t have a bike as they’re too dangerous !

fwhahahahahahahahaa

i had this when i was 19 - massive hypocrisy as the old man started on lambrettas and mum used a 70s pedal honda to get to work so obvs the no was ignored

26 years this year  and after 40 years the old man passed his test in 2005

i think he was jealous

 

[Zelandeth]

Just followed one of these through Buckingham.  Blue one on an 03 plate - with cardboard rear number plate and no brake lights.

Does look a massive amount of fun.  Photos really don't give a proper impression of how bloody low it is.

Though I still stand by my original thought that it needs a different exhaust now it's through the test as the factory one just to my eye looks really awkward.  

[gm]

i didn’t like the exhaust at first but it has grown on me, it can stay for now. at some point i’ll probably upgrade to a custom job which might just coincide with a turbo installation  

quite a few have fitted bike exhausts, some look better than others - but now the test is passed, i can pretty much do whatever i want, doesn’t need an mot until  june 2025 !

[gm]

As the sun was shining yesterday, me and @DVee8 took the Exo out for a blast 

the route was something like this, I'm not exactly sure as I was following dvee8s excellent directions, but involved some of the finest driving roads the region has to offer

we stopped for pics several times, much to the amusement of a couple in a campervan who we kept overtaking

Cumbria

County Durham

looking down into the valley near Brough

amazing clouds today

ace photographer at work

on the way back, we stopped in Barnard Castle for a coffee and an amazing meat pie - mince, gravy and minted mushy peas sounded a little odd but tasted great - the shop appropriately named "De-licious" 

we sat in a bench and had fun watching people's reaction to seeing the Exo parked up over the road, I think mum spotted us as dad and son were having a good nosey around the car  

coffees and pies finished, we headed back to the car and spotted this beauty coming round the corner - the driver gave me a big thumbs up when he saw me taking pics  

further hooning occurred on the return journey, the Exo notching up 180km in an afternoon and relishing every one of them.

thanks to @DVee8 for a smashing day out, some excellent roads and for great company. 

[hairnet]

On 9/16/2022 at 5:38 PM, gm said:

doesn’t need an mot until  june 2025 !

why dis m9?