gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - look who’s back

[hairnet]

bzing bzing

 

[DVee8]

@gm, an interesting afternoon we had.

As MrsV8 had gone to Ikea and on her return was going to do her tax return, myself and N02 son ran for the hills or should I say hid down at @gm's , but I massaged my/our mate Andy to say pop down as he hadn't seen the exo finished.

The 3 of us descended on Mark just as he was making new headlight brackets, as Mark noticed that Andy was with us, that was the end of the bracket manufacture, the covers were pulled of the exo and shite was chatted.

Then @gm, came up with a brilliant plan, let's take the exo and the mighty mazda out for a blast. Andy would jump into the exo with mark and adam would come with me, except Adam was going to see his GF. Just at the time Ben turned up in the Abarth. We headed up to my house so I could get a hat and my glasses, Mrs V8 said we were having a midlife crisis, maybe but a quick one.

 

A 51 mile round trip of our cracking country roads, only spoilt by around 6 miles behind a RR and horse box. Then as we were heading to Stanhope 2 police 4x4's tucked away in a parking area cracking on, luckily I was slowed by 2 cars in front, as a police kuga joined  behind the abarth,  again luckily I was slowed by 2 horses moving through Stanhope. The police stopped at Stanhope police station.

 

 

Thanks @gm for a great afternoon getting to hooooon the mighty mazda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gm]

the day started off with me rolling the bini up on the big ramps to see what was rattling underneath - turns out it’s the centre section of the exhaust  

i can’t hear it from inside the car so that can go on the long term to-do list 

has many leaky joins when cold.

while i had the ramps out, and with an mot looming in march, i thought i’d stick the mazda up in the air and check out the underside

passenger side sill - not too bad

drivers side sill - oh bollocks !

because i know how much @scaryoldcortina enjoys welding up scabby old mx5s, i shall let him have the pleasure.

hence my getting stuck into the headlight brackets instead when @DVee8 arrived.

then hooning occurred  

much fun on some excellent roads - it did get bloody cold up in the hills, i hope poor Andy has warmed up by now 

[motorpunk]

MX-5s rust like nothing else on the planet.

[gm]

headlights - a recap

the set sold as part of the kit

had a rubbish beam pattern and failed the iva

so for the retest, I fitted the donor mx5 7" H4 set in cheap eBay bowls

which were fugly

but had the correct beam pattern and passed the test

but they were fugly, so I bought a set of minions off ebay

but the beam pattern was pish

and made driving at night a terrifying prospect

so I went back to the original set

in the meantime, I fitted a set of 7" leds to the mx5, which performed very well

so thought about fitting them in the 7" bowls I had used for iva

but they were fugly so I went on eBay and bought the same type in smaller 5.25" format

designed as bike headlights, the brackets were all wrong

so I did some engineering*

got busy with the rattle cans

got silly with the rattle cans

spent way too long on the wiring

removed the bonnet

exposed the rats nest of a wiring tray

brackets turned out well

way more time spent on wiring

all done (and still a bit fugly)

they do sidelights

headlights (both dip and beam)

indicatorz

 

[gm]

but what of the beam pattern, I hear you ask ?

I presume jellyfish are mot compliant ?

out for a road test - much better

I gave them a wee tweak and set out for a proper road test

taking in the Spire Bridge at Sunderland (@DVee8 will recognise this)

stopped for a spot of leisure at leisureworld in seaburn (@jmsguzzi will recognise this)

and arrived home two hours later - the verdict : very success ! good visibility and (presumably) not too dazzling to oncoming drivers as I didn't get flashed at once

car needs a damn good clean though

 

[DVee8]

That is obviously dirty from last night, not last weekend's hooooon. 

[gm]

all that dirt from being stuck behind a slow-coach in a mazda ? 

[DVee8]

Just now, gm said:

all that dirt from being stuck behind a slow-coach in a mazda ? 

Oooooh, I didn't see you get past me.

[DVee8]

That sounds like another weekend challenge.  

[gm]

a rematch this weekend ?

 

[gm]

last day of freedom before back to work tomorrow so i thought i’d take the mx5 out for a run up the hills

some stunning roads which i had pretty much to myself 

stopped at the Bowes Museum for a quick pic

what a magnificent building, i shall need to come back and visit properly sometime.

got home at 7pm having set off at 2, cobwebs well and truly blown away  

[loserone]

You still need to come for a coffee up here! 

[gm]

i’ll give you a shout next time i have the Exo out 

[gm]

new wheels for the exo

the reason for choosing these is that they are one of the lightest wheels available for the mx5, something ridiculous like 11kg including the tyre - i’ll need to dig out the bathroom scales and check

when i went to collect them, the sellers son was so pleased another mx5 had come to visit, he got his car out to take photos of the two of them together  

so how do they look on Exo ? 

the skinny 185 tyres look lost in the arches

compared to the previous 195 tyres

only 1cm difference but the more square edge definitely fills the arch better

i wasn’t sure about black wheels but they look pretty good on the car

only one thing left to do - time for a hoon !

maybe it was the cold weather, or maybe the cheap tyres, but some serious wheel spinning went on  there’s a road from lanchester up the hill to burnhope which is more like a hillclimb course - i got a clear run at it today and had to fight to keep the back end in shape, tremendous fun !

 

 

[gm]

the cheap and crappy rear view mirror eventually broke - annoying as it wasn’t cheap to buy 

no matter, the sun is shining, let’s hit the road 

a quick stop for a hot dog

something something self assembly 

then a hoon over the hills to corbridge and hexham

and a stop off at beamish on the way home

 

 

[gm]

hmm, not ideal. i renewed with the same provider as last year, i shall call them in the morning  

[Back_For_More]

So plod would be shown the same? 

Would that mean a roadside impounding and recovery at your cost? Even if its their screwup? 

[Noel Tidybeard]

there can be a delay in that pos database- not ideal really

[gm]

i popped in to visit me mam earlier, she asked what i had planned for later on - i said i might take the Exo out for a blast, her face lit up and she asked if she could come ?

an hour later :

let moderate hooning commence !

she absolutely loved it, i chose a scenic route along the coast and she was thrilled with all the attention we were getting - loads of waves from kids, grown ups, motorists and a lot of bikers all out enjoying the afternoon sun. i did get told off for revving the tits off it whilst going under the motorway bridge, but she was grinning just as much as i was  

we stopped at the Angel of the North for an ice cream but the van had gone home, so i got us a takeaway from the local pancake and waffle house. 

an excellent way to spend a sunday afternoon, and the roads were quiet too as there was football on or something 

[gm]

a couple of pics from last nights North East Restoration Club monthly meet

a surprisingly good turnout considering the weather, @DVee8jnr brought his Abarth along so mild hooning occurred on the way there  

meets are held on the first wednesday of the month and are a bunch of friendly folks with a wide variety of cars in attendance , location Washington, Tyne & Wear 

[hairnet]

hooligan

you too

is mam gonna get a go in the correct seat? 

[gm]

i had a go at fixing that cheapo rear view mirror

i extended the thread on the end and drilled a wee hole through the ball, a dab of superglue and we’re back in business.

my shaft is now too tight in the hole (!) to allow much adjustment so i raised the front with a stack of washers and my rear view is now perfect

i wonder how long it will last this time ? 

 

[gm]

hmm, something’s not right here

cheap rubbish ebay headlight bracket has snapped  

i know i have a spare somewhere but gave up looking after wasting the best part of an hour - time to break out the tools

seems solid enough, less vibratey than it’s predecessor - i’d better nip out for a test drive 

success  

i’ll give it a lick of paint and maybe think about making a matching one for the other side 

[hairnet]

You hooned and pothole said nom?

[gm]

took it out for a blast this afternoon and got caught in a downpour up by Derwent reservoir - got properly soaked  still tremendous fun though 

needs a bit of a wash now

 

[gm]

 

[gm]

and as the roads were particularly quiet (footboll or something) i took the mighty mazda out for a run - the raspy exhaust singing along to some classic old metallica - i had considered letting the mx5 go this year but i think it just earned a reprieve 

 

[DVee8]

It was the 1st Wednesday of the month classic car show tonight. As the sun had made an appearance there was a great turn out.

@gm took the exo with my N02 son as a passenger, a few donuts/laps of almost ever roundabout gave Adam a whole new hairstyle and an artic driver a puzzle expression.

I took the mighty Mazda, God it's so much fun and driving the long way home never gets boring.

 

 

 

[loserone]

I honestly don't know how you haven't bought an MX5 yet @DVee8