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gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - unlowering the green machine


gm

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yesterdays task was to pair up this lot into something more useful

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the trick here is to pop them in hot water to soften them up a bit, I had this little pan bubbling away on the cooker all afternoon while each bush had a nice hot bath, they need to be too hot to hold in your hand, around 15 mins

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a bit of threaded bar and nuts were obtained and we're ready for action

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apply grease - when you think theres enough grease on, add some more, then a bit more for luck

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and get them spanners twirling

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then its time for the centre tube - note this goes in after the bush has been fitted - this vital bit of info was not made clear in the instructions :( 

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try to fit tube and bush at the same time takes a bit* more effort

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it seemed to be taking rather a long time so power tools were deployed 

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success ! 

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22 of these little bastards took all afternoon, everything is covered in grease and I don't think my hands will ever be clean again :( 

surely this must be the last of the messy jobs now ? 

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while i was covered in shit, it seemed sensible to replace the rubber boots on the upper ball joints

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another job that required the use of a hammer and chisel, theres been a few of these recently 

a 30mm socket and a g-clamp pushed the new (£9.90 each) rubber boot snugly into place

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note : I had to touch up the omgsupertough chassis paint that I've chipped already :( 

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3 minutes ago, paulplom said:

Top fettling. Had the paint fully cured. It doesn't bode well if it has.

not too sure, it's had three coats, the most recent being a few days ago, so I expected better than that :( not much I can do now other than hope for the best.

if I ever do this again, the whole lot will be shipped off for sand blasting and powder coating, unfortunately the budget wouldn't stretch to it this time. I was offered a ready finished set of subframes, fully bushed, I wish I'd taken him up on that offer now.

never mind, perhaps I can start assembling something now :) 

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More misuse of kitchen appliances today 

Probably an old wives tale but I'm sure I'd read somewhere something about hot oil being used as a form of corrosion prevention - heating up nuts n bolts then quenching them in oil or bathing them in a hot oil bath ? 

I'm a bit bored so let's give it a go 

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yes, those are empty tin cans

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fully synthetic ! 

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15 minutes at 200oC

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oh bolloocks ! 

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fizzing away, must be something happening

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mebbes a bit shinier ? 

I've stuck the droplink and alignment bolts in for a good soak now

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9 hours ago, gm said:

yesterdays task was to pair up this lot into something more useful

IMG_2576.thumb.JPG.d76e92fbf2709a4fd28467c5f7588aee.JPG

IMG_2581.thumb.JPG.31ae6249a7bed62686dd2c47addea63b.JPG

the trick here is to pop them in hot water to soften them up a bit, I had this little pan bubbling away on the cooker all afternoon while each bush had a nice hot bath, they need to be too hot to hold in your hand, around 15 mins

IMG_2593.thumb.JPG.f3e1f7bf9e4a31c05de03b882ca4aa5a.JPG

a bit of threaded bar and nuts were obtained and we're ready for action

IMG_2597.thumb.JPG.319addbcf5d1b4a7ff3aa5af0a544449.JPG

apply grease - when you think theres enough grease on, add some more, then a bit more for luck

IMG_2598.thumb.JPG.c0d10bb88528f872444d0198c484d231.JPG

and get them spanners twirling

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then its time for the centre tube - note this goes in after the bush has been fitted - this vital bit of info was not made clear in the instructions :( 

IMG_2600.thumb.JPG.6c8ce8e0f07d4fc28df21af214e1d509.JPG

try to fit tube and bush at the same time takes a bit* more effort

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it seemed to be taking rather a long time so power tools were deployed 

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success ! 

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22 of these little bastards took all afternoon, everything is covered in grease and I don't think my hands will ever be clean again :( 

surely this must be the last of the messy jobs now ? 

What sort of grease are you using?

I thought that rubber bushes should be fitted with a lubricant that drys out so that the rubber flexes without moving in the housing?

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46 minutes ago, GBJ said:

What sort of grease are you using?

I thought that rubber bushes should be fitted with a lubricant that drys out so that the rubber flexes without moving in the housing?

Moly grease, recommended by the bush supplier. Horrible, messy stuff but it seems to work. 

 

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1 hour ago, CreepingJesus said:

You're better heating them up directly, then quenching them in cold oil. Been doing the same myself with my camping stove, and the oil in a soup tin. Quicker, and much less smoky! Plus, I'm not doing it in the kitchen...

Sounds like a good idea, I'll try that next time instead. 

Good news is that the oven doesn't stink of burned engine oil, just as well as it's pizza for tea tonight :) 

 

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So I rearranged the garage and set up a low 'workbench' for this evenings activities

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and only a few hours later, we have 

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yes, folks, reassembly has commenced !

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that is one complete* rear subframe, all built and torqued up

lets see it from another angle

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and because I'm pretty pleased with myself, one more

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(not really complete at all, the arb's need to go on, not to mention brakes and shock absorbers but I haven't even ordered them yet so that'll have to do for now)

 

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Another hour or two in garage gm this evening resulted in 

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front subframe coming together - it's so nice to be working on something that isn't all rusty and minging

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but, lets have a closer look

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stupid modern castle nut is too wee :( that's not even tightened and the split pin is doing feck all. I still have the old ones so it's into the vinegar they go and we shall continue this in a day or two. 

I also nipped out and picked up a set of steelies, I'm thinking a dark gunmetal grey sort of colour and proper fancy track tyres should look pretty smart

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yes, that's a great idea, spend a wad of cash on tyres to roll around the garage getting filthy for months on end :) 

 

 

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I do indeed, that’s what was on the mazda when you drove it at knockers in the rain. On a dry track, they are stonking good tyres. So much grip and stopping power I destroyed a brand new set of brake pads in not much over an hour :) 
 

 

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3 minutes ago, gm said:

I do indeed, that’s what was on the mazda when you drove it at knockers in the rain. On a dry track, they are stonking good tyres. So much grip and stopping power I destroyed a brand new set of brake pads in not much over an hour :) 
 

 

Ah right - was controllable even for a fool like me:)

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today started with a bit of painting

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then I turned my attention to the front subframe - the old castle nuts had been relaxing overnight in the Sarsons, a quick wire wheel and oil quench and they were ready to fit.

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then it was time for the steering rack 

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no need to be tripping over that in the kitchen anymore

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hubs were temporarily bolted on

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and I had a go at the tracking

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a bit pointless, but it will be interesting to see how far out it is when I'm finished.

I'm starting to run out of space now

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so we have a front assembly

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a rear assembly

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and an engine

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all ready to put back together.

and I start back at work tomorrow :( 

 

I'm fairly satisfied with where I am with the project - I didn't want to be in a position where the kit is ready for collection and I've got parts all over the place - there's still a few smaller jobs to sort out, such as the brakes and maybe a look at the wiring but whenever i get the call, proper construction can commence !

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

so after a week back at work and not even going into the garage, I was keen to get going this morning. todays plan was to re-unite the front subframe and engine, perhaps even get the wheels on.

job one - a quick coat of sooper dooper chassis paint on the engine mount carriers

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but wait a minute, let's have a closer look at the engine mounts themselves

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Arsebiscuits ! I could have had them ordered last week and delivered by now. The other side is not quite as bad but no point in just changing one.

not much else to do today, might as well go for a hoon in the non fucked mx5 :) 

 

 

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I've come to a decision regarding the current mx5 - I'm going to spend tomorrow returning it to standard then drop the price accordingly. There's plenty of good parts which will sell easily and I can transfer the suspension onto the kit which will save a few quids until I can splurge on fancy coilovers. I had originally planned to fit budget coilies but apparently they are crap :( 

 

parts coming off :

 

noisey exhaust

decat

roll bar

bucket seats

shocks and springs

front splitter

strut brace

custom air intake

crystal headlights

320mm steering wheel

wheels and tyres (if I can find a cheap set locally)

 

it's going to ruin the car :( 

 

(edit) and that Torsen diff if I can finding something to replace it 

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