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

[Jim Bell]

It's got 4 wheels on the ground soooooo must be about 90% done?

[gm]

I shall be making brum brum noises later today  

[gm]

1 hour ago, gm said:

I shall be making brum brum noises later today  

Meaning I shall be making the noises, not the engine  

[gm]

Right then, what has been going on today ? 

Quite a big day, the plan was to unite some running gear

with the Exocet chassis

fortunately, I had a keen helper in the form of mr Paulplom

so we did a bit of rearranging in the garage and got ready for a bit of a battle

but, without so much as a single sweary word being used, 

BOOM ! There's your fupping kit car ! 

ok, maybe not quite so easy but it didn't take long to get it put together.

the rear subframe bolted up nice and easy

and we stood back to admire our handiwork

how about the front, I hear you ask ? 

shit, fuck, piss, wank and bollocks !

no matter what we did, the front subframe would not line up  

the geometry of the Exo has the front shocks at more of an angle than in the mx5, depending on what suspension you choose, drastic action may be called for

Paul had a rake about in his van and produced his angriest grinder !

fuck you, subframes ! 

There is a lip that sticks out and fouls the spring seat, a bit of choppy choppy chop chop and clearance has been made

the upper wishbones needed a similar approach and a slice was taken out

there are a pair of "banana brackets" supplied in the kit to replace the lost strength in the wishbones, I gave them a lick of paint ready to fit.

but still we couldn't get the front subframe to line up

a quick jaunt down to tescoos to grab a bite of lunch and a plan was hatched...

take the front shocks out, re-re-re-re-fit the chassis and put the shocks back later on.

ten minutes later...........

 

it only bloody worked !

how happy is this dude ?

ok, the front end is still held up with a couple of bits of wood where there should be shocks but that is a rolling chassis and I call that a RESULT !

MEGA-THANKS to @paulplom for his help today, there is no way I could have done this without you 

 

 

after a bit of a tidy up and a coffee, I had a look at those troublesome front shocks again - when changing front shocks on the mx5, the usual technique is to break the lower ball joint to give better access. I dug out the jacks and  started to lift the front end but noticed that the unsupported wishbones were sagging very low

so low, in fact, that you could just slip a shock absorber in there, as easy as that 

lower the front end to the ground again, bolt up the top mounts and the jobs a good 'un - so simple, how could we have missed that

same thing on the other side and voila !

piece of piss  

 

 

[dome]

Mega work chaps! Great stuff. 

When will it be making its own Brum Brum noises?

[stuboy]

vroom vroom

[gm]

2 minutes ago, dome said:

Mega work chaps! Great stuff. 

When will it be making its own Brum Brum noises?

In theory, not too far off, but I want to take my time and make sure it's all done properly. 

I just looked back and there are only 15 weeks between these two photos !

[Mr Laurence]

It blows my mind the speed this project is moving along at

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, gm said:

Zoom zoom, surely? 

[Ghosty]

This is class stuff. Makes me want another mx5... 

 

[paulplom]

We're on the track again at Teeside on Monday if you're local. For a Tenner you can be added as a passenger and have a go of mine.

[Jim Bell]

Well done lads. Perciveerence, ponderance and power tools win the day. 

[djoptix]

This is Good Stuff. Whenever I look at these I can't help but think how there should be one for the MGF/TF. 

How hard can it be....?

[paulplom]

I'm not really sure why. The hydrasag on the early ones shouldn't be an issue. Maybe it's because they weren't sold in the numbers the mx5 was.

[djoptix]

You're right @paulplom, I reckon a Hydragas one would actually be best but people would be more likely to buy one which worked for a TF (conventionally sprung) donor. The more I think about it the more it makes sense. Main issues I could see are [I mean, apart from the main issue that it would be a life's work and incredibly difficult];

• Difficulty getting the weight distribution right - they're already a bit nose-light
• LSDs are cheap as chips for MX5s whereas they're quite rare for F/TF, and therefore a PG1 box with an LSD in costs £400 or so used.

Obviously

• Gearchange will never be as good as that in an MX5
• Possible OMGHGF

But on the plus side

• The Exocet front end is fugly (no offence meant to @gm) - with a mid engined car you could do a much better, lower nose cone
• Huge availability of donors sub £500
• More powah

[paulplom]

The hgf is usually down to poor maintenance or operator error (running with little or no water). You can get a low level warning buzzer for the mgf.

[gm]

Last nights update was late because I had a go at fitting the steering column, which turned into a shambles  

the column needs to be shortened by a non specified amount and the instructions are delightfully vague. Predictably, I managed to make it too short and had to take the whole damn thing apart. A couple of frustrating hours later, I gave up and abandoned the mess of bits. 

With a fresh set of eyes, I got everything back together and, with a bit more fettling, got that column fitted  

but wait a minute, what's that ignition key doing there ?

for fucks sake, how the hell did that happen ?

only a minor setback but so bloody frustrating.

still, wheel is fitted and steering works, another box ticked  

[gm]

time for an easy job, I'll stick the proper wheels on and see how it looks, surely I can't fuck that up ?

looking good, how much clearance underneath ?

not much, it seems

front 

rear

speed bumps will be fun*

[big_al_granvia]

assume you will be using a motorsport switch panel with master switch and external electric cutoff, well cable. would be tempted to fit a pop off boss too so you can remove the steering wheel, bloody good anti theft device. mate who had a ginetta g40 (road legal) had to remove the wheel anyway to get in and out so she just took it with her

[gm]

another quick job, let's have a look at that exhaust and see if it will fit ?

might* struggle at the iva with that one

but would look mental with a bit of a polish 

i'll bung it on, at least during the build process, and see if I can borrow a proper one for the test. 

[gm]

a couple of odds and sods

paulplom made me a 'steampunk' coolant bypass, neat but I might need to paint that one 

and as I'll be doing a fair bit of wiring in the near future, I picked up a crimp set at aldi's, looks alright for £8

[gm]

6 minutes ago, big_al_granvia said:

assume you will be using a motorsport switch panel with master switch and external electric cutoff, well cable. would be tempted to fit a pop off boss too so you can remove the steering wheel, bloody good anti theft device. mate who had a ginetta g40 (road legal) had to remove the wheel anyway to get in and out so she just took it with her

A quick release steering hub is a good idea, I'll add one to my Christmas list  

I'll leave the cut off etc until it's through the iva, save butchering the harness any more than necessary, will have a go at making my own harness later on, maybe with fancy engine management and a drop of boooost !

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, gm said:

The column needs to be shortened by a non specified amount and the instructions are delightfully vague. Predictably, I managed to make it too short and had to take the whole damn thing apart. A couple of frustrating hours later, I gave up and abandoned the mess of bits. 

With a fresh set of eyes, I got everything back together and, with a bit more fettling, got that column fitted  

How do you lengthen something you've shortened too much?

Shame the instructions are vague, might be worth passing that info back to the supplier to help future builders. I'm going to guess there are probably forums either for these kits or kit cars in general where other people have come across the same problem(s) before too - I know even YouTube has saved my bacon in the past when I've got stuck doing a job. 

[gm]

With great difficulty ! The column is telescopic, as is the shaft - this pic is as much info as I had to go on - I managed to compress the shaft too much so had to strip it all apart and very carefully (with a vice and club hammer) pull it back to size.

 

[gm]

40 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I'm going to guess there are probably forums either for these kits or kit cars in general where other people have come across the same problem(s) before too - I know even YouTube has saved my bacon in the past when I've got stuck doing a job. 

There is a good forum and a couple of decent facebook groups, a sensible person would have probably asked for help but I couldn’t resist getting stuck in and made a balls of it - lesson learned the hard way. But at least now I know how the column is put together - sadly no pics as I was getting really fed up by then. 
 

It does occur to me how difficult it must be for those who make YouTube videos as they work, a lot of my time is spent puzzling things out or ballsing them up, wouldn’t make very good viewing, I think  

[paulplom]

Where does the bracket for the radio go?

[loserone]

And the A/C compressor?

[Mally]

I'll be interested in the IVA. I gave up when SVA came in.

All mine just had an MOT at my mates place.

Under a grand for a Dutton, body and chassis, £100 for a scrap mk1 Escort. Off you go sir, brand new X reg car

Sold it 2 years later for 2K and went on my first holiday abroad.

 

[gm]

It sounds like it’s going to be pretty strict but the iva manual is available to download so as long as I follow the procedure, hopefully won’t be too painful. It’s still quite a way off being ready to test - need to get it running first  

[gm]

A quiet day today in terms of progress, just a little bit of painting - heater bypass pipe and the anti-roll bar brackets. I’m quite pleased with that wilkos gloss black paint, brackets look good as new.
 

 

also had a visit from @DVee8 and son, I think they were impressed to see it ‘in the flesh’ - great to see you both again, we’ll have that engine running next time you visit, promise