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


gm

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And you were so graceful getting in and out when you had a wee seat in it :) 

 

no videos today as i as I definitely didn't drive it up and down the street again :) 

how about some 'before and after' pics instead ?

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i can just get it off the drive without scraping if I go at an angle 

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I gave the engine an oil flush and it has quietened down a bit, I'll change it again as soon as I'm on the road properly. The old oil looked fairly clean on the dipstick but came out black as ink after the flush .

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Not much to report today - wired up the 12v and usb sockets

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didn't realise there was a handy voltmeter in the usb one :) 

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finished off fitting the handbrake

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there's a matching 'leather' cover for the gearstick, both came off the donner car

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then test fitted my ebay cheapo number plate lights

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in the dark - not sure if they will pass the iva, maybe I'll mount them above the plate facing down instead of at the ends

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yuk yuk

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  • gm changed the title to gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - slow progress on EXO this week

time for a bit of an update - not much has been happening in EXO land as that stupid BINI was getting all the attention last week

I did manage to tick off a few tiddly little jobs, first off being the coolant expansion tank

this is the one that came off the donor car (after it has been through the dishwasher) you can see why I might not want to use it

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so I nipped along to the retail park to source an alternative

some quality parking going on here

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decathlon sports turned up a decent looking water bottle for £not much

which got a couple of holes drilled in the lid and suitable pipes attached

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I might splash out on a cycling bottle cage for it but a couple of cable ties seem to do the trick for now

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the piss weak coolant is just there for the pics, I'll put proper stuff in when I'm sure I don't need to take the radiator out again.

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the fuel tank on the mx5 is sealed to the shell with this wonky square shaped gasket and bracket

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I was looking to solve a different problem and happened across the bracket in my scrap pile

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yes, that might just come in handy - let's grab the grinder a wee minute

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stop..........hammer time :) 

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needs holes drilled but has potential

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nuts and bolts 

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an offcut piece of plastic (from a window blind, the rod that weighs it down so it hangs straight)

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sorted :) 

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I'll swap the plastic for something stronger but I'm pretty pleased with that

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the hood doesn't quite sit straight but it's not a kick in the arse off it

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obviously I had to have a sit in to admire my handiwork

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brum brum noises :) 

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I'll be sorting out the wiring on the back of the car this weekend so had to turn it round so the rear is nearer the heater - that's my excuse, anyway :) 

 

gearbox is notchy as fuck, another job to go on the list

 

sounds a lot better since the engine flush :) 

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  • gm changed the title to gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - cheeky wee test drive
  • 3 weeks later...

not much has been happening for a couple of weeks, been busy with family stuff and too much festive eating and drinking :) 

I did have a go at fitting the centre tunnel

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needed a bit* of persuasion

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then I had to take it out again, the foot panels need to go in first :( 

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being as it's so bloody cold in the garage, I needed to find something I could do in the house

the rear cover that fits over the fuel tank needed a bit of work

I'll have to fit a standard plate for the IVA but would prefer to use an import style one later - I'm using those little led bolts for illumination so can have them pointing down on a long plate or sideways on a square one

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also fitting the reverse and fog lights to the corners of this panel

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all fitted in place - the square* plate will definitely look better here, especially if I do buy a K123EXO registration

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wiring complete

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wait a minute - whats that little label on the left of the pic ?

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oh, you cock !

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lucky the cable is long enough to stretch across to meet the harness which runs along the passenger side of the car

a quick test

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lights out in the kitchen

I'd say that plate is well enough lit

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reverse light is blinding, fog isn't looking quite so clever :( 

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hopefully it's because I was using an iPod charger for power, I'll be royally pissed off if the wiring is wonky

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I'll do the same for the lights on the rear mud guards tomorrow.

little steps :) 

 

 

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  • gm changed the title to gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - yay, more wiring on the EXO !

test fitting the rear cover was a bit of a bugger, I had to "adjust" the lip on the edge of the tank with my biggest hammer but it fits now :) 

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the fuel filler needs to go in that angled section near the roll bar diagonal, roughly where I've marked on the masking tape

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take the lid off

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just there will do

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I cut down the original filler neck and have ordered some extra flexible tube to link it to the tank. I'm not cutting the hole until I'm sure its in the right place.

 

 

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IVA regs require the fitting of a tray under the tank to keep any fuel leaks away from the hot exhaust. 

lack of metalworking tools means it's time to get creative

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bash, bash, bend, bash etc

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rivets on the corners and a dab of gasket sealant and we can call that job done :) 

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I'll drill a drain hole once I decide which exhaust I'll be using

 

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  • gm changed the title to gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - faffing with the fuel tank (and more wiring)
5 minutes ago, hairnet said:

ALREET!!!!

would you have any drivers side seat belts in your stash?

or recommend someoe to buy new ones from

thanks

 

I do but I'll need to check if they are mk1 or mk2 as they differ. the mk1 donner car had mk2 seats (belt receiver is fixed to the seat instead of the floor) so you may be in luck.

I've not long locked up for the night so will dig them out tomorrow and let you know.

there's definitely a pair of lovely* beige coloured ones from the v-spec from when I swapped the interior

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that fuel tray I made yesterday needed to be fixed in place

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brackits

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rivits (and goop)

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fits neatly onto the subframe mounts, no chance of them coming loose :) 

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tank refitted (you can see how I carefully* modified the edge to fit under the cover)

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and a wee drain hole (right hand edge, half way along) leading away from the 'zorst

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alarmingly, that represents three hours work ! still, little steps :) 

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It's currently minus 3 outside and the latch on my gate is frozen shut - nipping in to the garage to fetch some wd, I noticed it is only 1oC in there - time for a bit of preventative maintenance

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i suspect that a gallon of my piss would have better antifreezing properties than this lot

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it can get refilled once I'm happy the rad doesn't need to come off (again)i

good news is that my omg£££ fuel hose has arrived so can get fitted tomorrow

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and they sent me a big book of temptations too :) 

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On 1/5/2021 at 8:15 PM, hairnet said:

ALREET!!!!

would you have any drivers side seat belts in your stash?

or recommend someoe to buy new ones from

thanks

 

 

On 1/5/2021 at 8:23 PM, gm said:

I do but I'll need to check if they are mk1 or mk2 as they differ. the mk1 donner car had mk2 seats (belt receiver is fixed to the seat instead of the floor) so you may be in luck.

I've not long locked up for the night so will dig them out tomorrow and let you know.

there's definitely a pair of lovely* beige coloured ones from the v-spec from when I swapped the interior

 

On 1/5/2021 at 8:26 PM, hairnet said:

will have to check about where they fit (didnt know that)

and i cant check as i cant get the seat out at the mo

 

@hairnet

I dug those seat belts out of the garage, they are definitely mk1 type so I'm not sure if they will fit your mx5 or not ? check the size of the buckle on yours against my very technical drawing :)

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there are two of them, let me know if they will be any good 

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more wiring has been occurring - seemed to take way longer than it should but I guess it's worth doing right first time (label maker ftw!)

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that all needed sorting out as it's almost time to fit the rear cover

but first, the fuel filler needs doing

that awkward sod

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needs to go in there

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so a bit of careful* measuring later we have

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(a Bini wheel centre was just the right size to keep the dust out of the tank)

then we need a cable clip to hold that wiring loom, just a quick wee hole here will do..

oh you fucking helmet !

yes, that is petrol

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thankfully, chemical metal is a wonderful thing (I put more on once that had hardened)

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and back to the original job - which turned out surprisingly neat

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shame about that fugly cap but I'll replace it with something fancy when (if ever) funds allow

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I just hope there's space to squeeze the nozzle past the roll bar (careful measuring, my arse)

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that's the tank cover all fitted and another job ticked off the list :) 

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  • gm changed the title to gm's unhealthy obsession with mx5s - some fanny drilled a hole in my petrol tank :(
On 10/11/2020 at 11:25, gm said:

a bit of a conundrum on the rear fog light - its currently wired so that it will only come on if dipped beam is on (used to work on the sidelight circuit but apparently that is wrong for the Iva) but, as I discovered last night, switching to full beam knocks the dipped beam and therefore the fog light off :( some sort of diode required ?

that should be ok- if you ask Mr Wobbler he will demonstrate his GSA doing exactly this

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Time for some metal bending

pedals removed to make space

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drivers kick panel trimmed and bolted in place

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the passenger side is a bit of a nightmare so the wiring tray needed to come out :( 

oh lordy !

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but there's not a chance I could have got that in with the wiring in the way

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a wee bit more tidying up to do and it's time for fun with wiring again :)

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centre tunnel tomorrow

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Fantastic. I wonder if there's a market for doing customer builds for the kits. 

Just think what you could have earned if you'd been on an hourly rate. 

*Completion times may vary, due to weather conditions, operator mood and other unforseen issues or life events. GM industries take no responsibility for your disapointment or death. 

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I can't imagine so - I had the opportunity to buy one ready built for less than this has cost me (although I haven't added up the pile of receipts yet, I'm saving that treat* until i'm finished)

completed builds do crop up for sale on eBay etc from time to time but there doesn't appear to be much money in them - a ready built turbo one recently went for under £9k, looked to have been very well put together too.

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