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vindi49
05-24-2012, 03:41 AM
Been signed up on here for a while, so thought its about time I introduced my cars and what I've done to them so far... I'll start at the beginning, which was a Motorbike crash in 2009 and try to do everything in order... may take a while!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 04:05 AM
I'll start with the reason I got it... used to commute to work by bike, had a VFR800 first and then managed to pick up this beauty, a BMW Boxer Cup

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Sprint010.jpg

I was was knocked off in January 2009 and smashed my wrist etc...decided 4 wheels was safer, especially with 2 young kids!

The car when I got it in March 09, £950 off ebay... sight unseen apart from the usual few dodgy photos! Jumped on a train to South wales with a fistful of notes and my fingers crossed. Luckily the guy I got it from was really nice, took time to show me round the car and explain how everything worked, any quirks, his top ten things I ought to do to get it perfect (he had written them all down), etc... rear brakes were the only thing that really needed sorting, so I did ok I think.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/mx5pic.jpg

Wheels were made by Rays which was a nice bonus too! See, even my son loves it ("Its better than the noisy orange one")
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Sprint017.jpg

First mod was a strut brace and a front lower brace bar, followed by ditching the style bar and replacing it with this
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/RollBar3.jpg

Old exhaust was rusting through and rattling, so fitted a Racing Beat one I managed to pick up 2nd hand. Was bored one evening so made this:
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Mazdavent3.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/CarPics091-1.jpg

but wrecked the carpet while doing it... bit of overspray... note to self, put down paper next time
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/CarPics093.jpg

Got a friend to powdercoat the rocker cover... and must have fitted the M's air filter at some point too
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/rockercover003.jpg

I have a habit of getting a bit excited taking bits off the car... this is me changing the brake pads...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/aug09021.jpg
well you can't deny it makes access easier...

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 04:38 AM
I did a few more bits and pieces on it - changed the shocks to Cusco ones and was contemplating uprating the brakes, fitting better suspension (the Cusco were rubbish!) and changing the interior, but eventually decided it made sense to buy a car that was in nicer condition and with most of the upgrades already done...

So here's MX5 number two
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/ebay25nov089.jpg

At this stage I'd already changed the wheels and added a hard top, but the basic spec was good already:

1991 V limited, 1.6 Long Nose Crank engine
HKS filter, uprated plugs and leads
Borla exhaust, 4-1 stainless manifold and decat pipe
Performance 5 Puredrive shocks
Carbing front and rear, upper and lower braces
Hard Dog M1 Double Diagonal Roll Bar
Uprated ARBs and fully polybushed
Uprated to 1.8 brakes

It had been owned by Phil at Performance 5 so had been a test bed / demo vehicle for their shocks and had been really looked after

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 04:42 AM
The first few months with the car were just swapping over a few bits from the silver one and getting used to it... managed to get a Ratsback Carbon Fibre front lip and some Ratsback Carbon Fibre sill plates off a guy locally for a good price. Swapped over the exhaust as well, much preferred the Racing Beat one!

Initial findings were the car was really good, just needed a few bits to be tidied up. The bonnet had peeling lacquer everywhere and had bonnet pins which I didn't really want. The rear bumper had a few too many stickers, and I wanted a spoiler... more on that later!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 04:55 AM
Autumn 2009 - Its at this point that I started to think about messing with the bodywork a bit. Having made a few kit cars I was familiar with Fibreglass, so started thinking about making arches, spoilers, all sorts really!
Managed to pick up some carbon fibre arches and spats second hand to see what the style was like and how they would work with the wheels... held on here with sellotape to see if it "worked"

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/ebay25nov077.jpg

Decided against them in the end as I wanted something bigger, but more subtle.

I then made a ducktail spoiler shape out of cardboard to see how it would look... I wanted a ducktail, but more subtle than the ones I'd seen advertised. It came out ok and the lines really complimented the shape of the rear, so I made it permanent with some fibreglass and got a mould made off it...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Spoiler/spoiler001.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Spoiler/spoiler002.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Spoiler/spoiler004.jpg

It came out better than I expected and the finish is good so I just bonded it straight on to the boot, and it didn't even need polishing!

Oh yes, looks like I added a Runabout Fuel lid and some tow hooks at some point as well!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 05:12 AM
Spring 2010 - Its at this point that I got a bit carried away, and I genuinely can't remember which cars I bought in which order... something like this...

Black Mk1 (my 3rd) - Bought this jointly with a friend at work. It was mildly modified and slightly crash damaged, so I sold off the mods (Tein suspension, Safety 21 Roll Bar, lots of tacky chrome inside) and put it back to standard spec (S-Special) while replacing the front wing and bumper. He still has it and 100% loves it!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/mx5black004.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/mx5black005.jpg


Blue Mk1 (my 4th) - A daft project car... this had a Mk2 1.8 engine, a nice ducktail and was £450!! I was going to put a mini supercharger onto it... I gathered all the parts as well as the SSR Mesh wheels you see here, a set of wide arches and a load of other bits...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/march2010027.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/march2010019-1.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/march2010018-1.jpg

Then I woke up and realised I couldn't really see much difference between my plans for the green car and this, apart from the green one being a lot more solid... so this one got sold on

Blue Mk1 Rs Limited (my 5th)
Bought this because it was an RS Limited and was really cheap... sold it because the rear arches, sills and a decent chunk of the chassis needed replacing!! I had tracked down some cheap arch repair panels, some of the Recaros and some BBS wheels but it would have put the cost of the car to about £4000 and you can buy a decent one for £3000!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/mx5ebay101.jpg


Decided to sell on my kit car as well...Vindicator Sprint with a Focus ST170 engine on Jenvey TBs etc, bit too focused for me (no roof, doors or windscreen, 575kg and 200bhp.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/SprintSale1.jpg

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 05:17 AM
Back to the green one... managed at last to track down a replacement bonnet, even better he was only a couple of hours from me, was willing to part ex mine, and the route was all down nice country roads... time for a mini road trip!!
Anyway, bonnet pics!! I have to say I really love this!! Fairly subtle, so unless you know MX5s you may well think it was standard, fit and quality are superb, but then you'd expect that of Garage Vary.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/mx5ebay018.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/mx5ebay019.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/mx5ebay021.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/mx5ebay020.jpg

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 05:25 AM
Managed to get a set of twin, lo pro lights cheaply in a sale at Moss... really pleased as it means they don't open so high when they're on... and they are a load brighter than the standard ones as well!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/MX56UL016.jpg

Next up was the biggest purchase I've made for the car...the wheels were bad enough, but the tyre prices were stupid!!
Wheels on - first trial fit

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/MX56UL025.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/MX56UL027.jpg
949 Racing 6ULs in Matt Bronze, 15 x 9 ET36. Tyres are Toyo R888 in 225/45/15

Also managed to get this Bride Seat from a friend in Japan
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/BRG018.jpg

Really is a nice place to be!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 05:32 AM
I decided at this point I really ought to see if all the changes I'd made actually made the car any faster... so off I headed to Rockingham Circuit for a day with Mazda on Track...

I got all the disasters out the way before hitting the track, first I got lost twice on the way there and then when I got there, I'd missed the first briefing. Nick and the guys kindly sorted me out quickly so I could join the sighting lap.
I then went to switch on my camera to record my first session, and found that when I was attaching it at 5.45am I must have switched it on... so the battery was already flat!

So disasters out of the way, Nick D (from Mazda on Track, and a member of my local MX5 club) offered to give me some tuition, so I did a bunch of laps and he showed me the lines...amazing how quickly it makes sense when you're sat next to someone who knows their stuff!
Its this way!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Track%20Days/IMG_6925.jpg

At this point its worth mentioning that the track at Rockingham is sooooooooo wide, so spot on for a first track day. I found I wasn't worried about the other cars too much, its a long track so there's lots of space and you can pass people fairly easily if you want to.

I then bumped into Malcolm off MX5Nutz (who is building a very serious race car), and then promptly ran off (sorry!!) as Nick D had offered me a ride in his (at last all sorted) Supercharged Mk2.5 Sport... really useful seeing the lines done as they should be. Especially fun when someone dared overtake, everything went a bit blurry for a bit and the limits were well and truly explored!!

Had a chat with Malcolm about wheels/ tyres, and the build he is doing.. Had a sneek preview of the tubular wishbones... want some!! I then took Malcolm out for a spin (not literally, I don't think its posible with 116bhp and these tyres!) so he could get something of a feel for what 15 x 9 6ULs and 225/45/15 R888s are like. I have to say that I am certain I got nowhere near what there tyres can do, but they just seem to grip forever. The tyre size is perfect for the wheels so the only problem is the cost of tyres in this size. My conclusion after today is that I honestly don't care! I am certain that it is these tyres giving me so much confidence in the car, enabling me to corner a lot faster, get on the power earlier and overtake cars that were faster than me!

Break for lunch was well timed, let the car cool down and put some faces to names etc.

Went out again after lunch, got a bit quicker, break for a bit to cool off, went out again, another break.. you get the idea. I felt like I was getting faster throughout the day, I think I only looked at the speedo a couple of times (mainly at the end of the straight), but the revs at certain points were definately higher and I was getting into 4th a bit more, I even found the limiter a few times

Enough talk, a few pics!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Track%20Days/DSC_9292.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Track%20Days/IMG_7543.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Track%20Days/DSC_9299.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Track%20Days/IMG_7624.jpg

I think my conclusions from today are as follows:

Why on earth hadn't I done this before? I mean seriously, I had been talking about this for almost 11 years

Tyres are the cheapest thing you can buy to make your car go faster. Forget Superchargers or Turbos, get some sticky trackday rubber and go embarass something expensive!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 05:39 AM
November 2010 - Nothing major, but I at last fitted the Mk2.5 Sport front brakes. It showed up that the rear calipers are totally shot, so I got some new (well off a 1999 Mk2 RS anyway) rear brakes that went on a week later.

Also at last got my first one piece bootlid / spoiler made, along with my carbon doorcards... getting addicted to carbon is not cheap!! Managed to save about 8kg with the bootlid, and 5kg withthe door cards...it all adds up!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 05:43 AM
A friend locally took on the distribution for Ultra Racing kit in the UK, so I decided a change was in order... I got the front upper strut brace, and the front and middle lower ones...

Front upper fitted
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/nov10002.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/nov10003-1.jpg

And the front lower one fitted... not easy to take pics as there isn't much space!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/nov10042.jpg

and yes, I do know my engine has an oil leak!!

First pic of the carbon doorcard I made...lovely glass like finish, really expensive though, so I'll probably just make myself a second one and leave it at that!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/nov10008.jpg

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 05:45 AM
December 2010 - Another few jobs sorted... managed to sort out my knackered handbrake... not perfect, but it'll do! Also managed to fit a new dash (mine only went to 100mph, and was in KM/h).

More importantly, fitted my new toy... a Pit Crew Racing Carbon Dash Cowl!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/nov10034.jpg

I think this comes in 3rd place in my favourite car bits... 2nd is the Zoom Engineering Carbon interior mirror, first has to be the 6ULs for the way they totally transform the car!!

Russell.

WASABI
05-24-2012, 05:45 AM
Russell, thank you for sharing your build. I have admired your car, and your duck tail spoiler for some time now. I think your car is amazing. Well done!

-Cheers,

Jim

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:16 AM
Spring 2011 - Next up was an engine swap... the car did well on the track day, but I really wanted a load more power... something anyone reading this will relate to!! The 1.6 was doing ok, but 184,000 miles on it so I didn't really want to spend any money on it... after hunting round I decided on a Mk2.5 Sport engine - the VVT one.

Probably spent a week trying to create enough space in the garage for the car... its a double garage with bench space at the back!! So the car fits inside, space around the front to work and the bonnet is removed
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/stagea032.jpg

Got the induction off, and the heat shield... marinade all the bolts in oil and wait for a few hours!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/stagea033.jpg

Thanks to Raydar27 (Steve), Valentinik (Mike) and Jibberingloon (Mark) for helping out throughout the build... and my dad for helping out at various stages too!! What was intended to be a couple of weekends work is hopefully going to finish tonight, over a year later... here's a few pics from along the way!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/stagea034.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/stagea035.jpg

Cleaned up the clutch (Spec II) and flywheel (lightened), and mounted them on the new engine.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/stagea039.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/stagea040.jpg

Started stripping the inlet manifold off the engine
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/stagea048.jpg

Test fitting the strut brace
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/stagea050.jpg

Got the engine back in
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/stagea049.jpg

Lots of friends over to help, as usual!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/yellowcar009.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/yellowcar011.jpg

So with the engine sat in place, I messed about a bit and got it all wired up... got it fired up at some point last summer, so nearly done right? Nope, change of plans was just round the corner!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:19 AM
Slight aside to the engine swap... this arrived in the post sometime in March 2011:

Excited does not even start to cover this... been waiting for 4 months for these to be made!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/garage502mirrors001.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/garage502mirrors002.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/garage502mirrors003.jpg

So any guesses yet...the clever ones should have already worked it out! I paused here for a bit to try to work out what flavour the kit kat is... mint or something?

Anyway, inside the box is...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/garage502mirrors004.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/garage502mirrors005.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/garage502mirrors006.jpg

Garage 502 Carbon Fibre mirrors.... yum!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:23 AM
Russell, thank you for sharing your build. I have admired your car, and your duck tail spoiler for some time now. I think your car is amazing. Well done!

-Cheers,

Jim

Cheers Jim, Its certainly been an interesting journey. I'm going to try to get it all put up today... problem is there are 4 or 5 separate build threads across a few forums, so I'll keep editing it all in until I think its in the right order!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:25 AM
Oh yes, while I was working on the car a while back I heard a tapping sound under the bonnet... look what I found!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/bike006.jpg

Well, its one way of checking the clearance between bonnet and engine I suppose ... cheers Steve!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:29 AM
Winter 2010 / Spring 2011 - The Wataru...

So I bought a crash damaged Wataru-01 on ebay. Its kind of similar to a Pitcrew, if anything the nose is a bit lower... not that you can tell that from mine!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/6.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/2.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/1.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/4.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/8.jpg

So it may need a bit of cosmetic work!

I can't believe the delivery guy made it, after dark and in the snow sliding his way up the road in his clapped out truck (front wheel drive rubbish!!)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/wataru004.jpg

I had spent the hour before this clearing all the snow off my drive and up to the garage otherwise it wouldn't have got close.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/wataru008.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/wataru010.jpg

In the end the guy parked his truck at the end of the street, and I drove it up the street and straight into my garage!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/wataru012.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/wataru011.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/wataru005.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/wataru013.jpg

Managed to take a step forward on this project... by buying a new car!!

Mk1 S Special type 2 (my 6th) It didn't come with any wheels, but I had already bought the Watanabes for this project so its gone onto them... looks really good I think!

So the Wataru was going to be transplanted onto this car... until I found out the chassis was twisted... not the best basis for a complete rebody!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/sltd001.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/sltd002.jpg

So with the aid of a little helper, I pulled it apart
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/12092011064.jpg

That was enough for a while, so I decided to put the bodywork into storage for a bit... started by moving the front end over onto the Mazdaspeed car
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/27022012watarudismantling002.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/27022012watarudismantling004.jpg

Quite a few of the mounting points were damaged in the crash, and I need to make a couple of small alterations to the chassis / engine bay to get it all to fit, but that should only be a few weekends work.

I also removed the doors from the Wataru as they have nice mirrors, and the swage lines have been removed - something I want to retain. The bootlid came off at the same time - its all fibreglass, and really light!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/27022012watarudismantling011.jpg

Almost everything else I wanted has already been removed from the damaged chassis, so it was loaded up and taken off to a friends unit for the back end to be cut off.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/27022012watarudismantling014.jpg

Spot the difference a day later...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/27022012watarudismantling015.jpg

Long term plan is to fix up the bodywork, and then transplant it onto a different car... that would probably not be any more work, and would also mean losing the CAT C status this car has.

The aim will be Retro Race, so ally panels, either black or red leather interior, fairly stripped out and with a custom roll bar based on the diagonal that is in there...but properly tied in to the chassis.

I'd expect this to be 2 to 3 years away really, I'll need to spend a lot of time sorting the nose and rebuilding it, then taking a mould off my construction and making a new one... so don't hold your breath!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:31 AM
Decided as it was going to end up being a more powerful engine, I ought to replace the original rad...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/14042011009.jpg

Not a difficult one to guess, this!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/14042011006.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/14042011007.jpg

And did a quick test fit, all goes straight in... and it even comes with tnew, shiny side plates, so I can ditch the old ones. Its nice to get such high quality parts like this, every weld looks neat and everything lines up perfectly. Pretty cheap too as I got it via Ebay with a cheeky low offer from someone who was closing down!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/14042011008.jpg

At this point I was undecided as the route I would take to more power... was speaking to a guy with a complete MP62 setup in Finland, and also to Absurdflow about Turbo setups...

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:34 AM
Summer 2011 - Mazdaspeed!

Realizing that it was taking a while to get the engine sorted, I had put the word out that I wanted a daily drive... still an MX5 though. Mark (Jibberingloon) came up with this ... a Mazdaspeed Spec B supercharged car. Needed work, but was cheap and had an MOT, so what could go wrong?

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:37 AM
Spent a while clearing things out of the way, and started stripping bits out of the car... started at the back as the boot is easy, so it now has no carpet, liners, plastics, spare wheel, etc, etc... I also fitted the Axis rear panel i got ages ago...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/27062011017.jpg

Which will probably save at least 25 grammes!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:43 AM
Fitted the new exhaust.... doesn't sound that exciting, and it doesn't look half as nice as the last one...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/03102011.jpg

On the upside, it has saved 16.5 kgs as compared to the last one because its Titanium!!! It is a lot better flowing so should help release a few ponies too!! I'd managed to pick up a Fujitsubo manifold quite cheaply as well, so on it went.

At this point, a load of other bits were being swapped over as well... out with the old Viscous diff, and in with Cusco adjustable diff, and the halfshafts etc, gearbox was swapped over for a lower mileage one, lower braces were swapped over for ally ones as well.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:47 AM
Autumn 2011 - I fitted one of the things I made a while back... makes me smile anyway!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/24102011009.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/24102011007.jpg

Ok, I know it's just a clock, but I like it!!

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:56 AM
I'd been on the lookout for a set of wheels for this car. I already have the 6ULs for track days, but I really don't want to be using them all the time. I had the bronze SSR copies that I really liked, but they were 16s and I really wanted 15s... for the cheap tyres!! I have always liked Watanabes, Compomotive MLs etc and have owned a few sets, but they really look right in 14", 15 doesn't seem to work. I also know that it is a retro look, and this car is a more modern take on the Roadster so I kept looking...

Last week these came onto my radar.. a top brand, lightweight wheels in a decent width (7") and offset (no idea actually, but the pics on the car looked great). Being on Ebay its always frustrating, hanging on hoping you're in with a shout... especially when you know they are worth more than double what you currently have to spend!

Anyway, I got lucky and all I had to do was drive to Cambridge and get them... hold on, what? I'm sure I was only searching for wheels within 50 miles... :roll: So 2 1/2 hours later I'm just outside Cambridge talking to Steves Dad... Steve owns the wheels but is on nights, so his Dad is here to hand over the money. Good thing too, as Steves Dad (never did find out his name!) is into MX5s as well, thinks his son is an idiot for selling the wheels so cheap, and is currently spaceframing an MG Midget and putting MX5 running gear in it... do I want to have a look? Ha ha, lead me on!!!

So an hour later (its now 11pm on sunday night) I've had 2 cups of coffee, been given the guided tour, learnt this guys "car history", given him a load of links to retro parts and some pointers on making the MX5 speedo a bit more retro looking. Home just after 1 and I never did check the condition of the tyres.... hey ho, save that for the morning!!

Monday morning, post Reuben off to school and put Lawrence in his messy clothes... and this is what we found:

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/BRGcar020.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/BRGcar021.jpg

So they are Work RSB, lovely condition and a set of Yokohama S Drive tyres in 195/45/15 with about 4mm of tread all round.

Put them on the car and this is how they look:

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/BRGcar022.jpg
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/BRGcar027.jpg

Didn't take long so I did a bit more stripping of the interior
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/BRGcar024.jpg

I was going to save the main carpet, but it was full of *** burns (not mine!) and worn bare in quite a few places, so I just cut it out.

Oh, and then I found out I'd got another car... was bidding on this on ebay at the same time as I was after the wheels...was bidding on this mainly for the wheels... shouldn't bid on two things at the same time!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/whitecar015.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/whitecar005.jpg




Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 07:04 AM
Another big change... decided to send the car in for some surgery! 3 days later i get the call, she is out of surgery and in the recovery room...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/BRGcar032.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/BRGcar033.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/BRGcar034.jpg

Spot the difference... not the hardest one this!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/BRGcar060.jpg


Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 07:07 AM
Spring 2012 - What happened to the time? Been a year since I started the engine swap, ooooops!! To make myself feel better, I did one of those jobs that the car doesn't really need, but you just need to do!!

Getting everything ready

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/030312brg007.jpg

Surgery underway

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/030312brg008.jpg

All in, and ready to go!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/030312brg009.jpg

They are in the car now, and all connected up... I just need to connect up a battery and make sure all the backlights work as I think a couple were out when I took the car off the road.

Just to make sure I did something useful,, I then tackled the boot, and did some stripping out. I've lost the carpets, sound deadening, the metal plate that covers over the fuel pipes, and I've removed the aerial and all the associated wiring...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/030312brg005.jpg

... and then I moved onto the interior. I managed to take out the rest of the carpet, and remove some of the plastics that I don't need and start taking out the roll bar. Nearly out of time, so I just did a test fit of the carbon fibre bootlid skin... glad I did too!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Spoiler/030312brg003.jpg

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 07:16 AM
Bit more progress, managed to source a head so that should open up a load more options for Cams etc, and also stop the VVT thing cluting the underside of my bonnet! Also managed to get a day off today, so headed over to Bridgenorth and picked up some bits. Not sure what to open first, the boxes or the McD

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/1403brg002.jpg

McDs won... well it did for a bit, I was sat there looking at the box while i was eating and the box kind of accidentally opened.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/1403brg003.jpg

I have to say they've developed these a lot since the last set I had. They are significantly lighter, and the linkage seems a bit less Heath Robinson too.

At this point, I had sold the Mazdaspeed and everything else apart from the Wataru... so as my track day was looming, I bought a standard Mk2 1.8iS to use as a daily driver / track day stand in!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/2103mk2003.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/2103mk2001.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/2103mk2002.jpg

It seems really nice, and the engine goes well... suspension seems to wallow round a lot, but I guess its just because its standard? Need to go round it carefully before the track day though if its going to get used.

Managed to get an evening in the garage, got tthe old head off without too many issues, then just lay the new head in place to check the fit of the Jenveys...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/2103brg003.jpg

Well, they fit... but thanks to my Brake valve there is even less clearance than usual

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/2103brg006.jpg

Its about 30mm, so I'll either have to use Socks or move the valve. I might even do both! The valve won't help airflow round there and ideally I'd want to fit an airbox to clean up the airflow into the TBs.

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 07:21 AM
April 2012 - Worked out that the green car wasn't going to be running in time for the track day, so I decided to bring forward another project of mine to help improve the Mk2... the retro rollbar

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/3003mk2003.jpg

The rear leg isn't ideally placed because of having to clear the glass screen, but it looks pretty cool!!

here's a photoshop someone did for me...

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k237/Cerberus74/3003mk2003-1.png
which looks pretty cool too and is a bit more wife friendly!! After the track day, I'll look into these a bit more.

So the track day came around, and what a mad few days it was!! I had the thursday off, to fit my bucket seat and harness, paint and refit the rollbar, change the wheels and fit some different discs and track day brake pads as well as doing a general check round the car. The intention was to have a lazy friday, leaving from my house with 3 other MX5s about lunch time and cruising down through Wales via all the windiest roads we could find, and then stay overnight near to the track. It must have been about 2 in the morning friday that I was changing the rear pads and found out that I had a snapped spring. Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrggghhh!!!!

Thanks to Steve (Raydar27) I found a replacement shock local to me, and picked it up friday morning. In between doing the family shopping and other more mundane things, I changed the shock over and just about got it done by the time Simon (Simon TCV MX5), Mike (Valentinik) and Ian (not on here yet but we're working on it!) got over to me.

We headed off from mine at about 5.00, and about 180 miles, 3 stops and 3 hours later, via some of the best roads Wales has to offer, got to the Travel lodge at Bridgend. Not sure how to describe the drive down apart for OMG and FFS!! I narrowly managed to avoid getting a motorbike shaped bonnet ornament and I guess by the time we got there the brakes were well and truly bedded in... the car was a revelation, I'll go on about this for years probably, but didn't i say the car felt a bit wallowy? Well it still wallows a bit, but it feels right now, it rolls a lot but its controlled and progressive.
Once at the Travelodge we met up with about 15 other people also going to the track day, made for quite a cool car park!!

Got up fairly early and headed over to the track... signed in etc, decided to go in with the slower of the intermediate groups which turned out to be a good decision as Ian and Simon were in the same group. Ian is a better driver but with a slower car, so with luck I could try to follow him? No such luck as I was about 3 places behind him in the queue, but I was up to speed fairly quickly and passed a couple of cars in the first session.
Started the second session at the front, and got a bit excited... span on the second corner. Note to self, cold tyres don't grip! Gathered myself up (once I'd managed to persuade the car to start!) and started off again. I went slow to clear the tyres of any mud / earth, and suddenly I was at the front again... or is that the back? Whatever, it was a blast and I could really feel the car as the tyres were getting close to letting go so was gaining in confidence. And then my mat got stuck under my brake pedal. Hey ho, in to the pit, ditched it into the boot and then out again for the last 5 minutes which was really good, passed 2 cars and was reeling in an S2000 when we ended the session.

Went to open pit for the last half hour until lunch, but it was mostly the faster cars that went out, so we decided to break for lunch (and to get petrol) early.

The afternoon sessions just got better and better for me, it was permanent open pit, and I did 3 runs of about 20 - 30 minutes each. I was getting faster and faster, thanks in quite a large part to a 10 minute passenger ride with Ian. His car was almost definitely the slowest there on paper (standard 1991 1.6, no modifications at all apart from a set of 17 inch wheels) but no one had told Ian that! Nice consistent lines, using all of the track (and some bits off the track where there was extra tarmac), throttle buried in the carpet just about all the time and somehow overtaking cars that really should have been going away from him.

My last session was great, started with a frustrating time being passed by 3 cars (a Honda Civic that was just ridiculous, the aerial atom and a supercharged Mk1) but then got into the flow and passed 5 or 6 cars, the last one of which was the S2000 I was reeling in before lunch. I then got stuck behind a red Mk1, for some reason he didn't want to indicate to allow me to pass and I wasn't lots faster in the straight so I stuck behind him (about 10 feet) and waited... he eventually made a mistake and span in the Bus Stop so I went past (without collecting him, result!) I then went off, only to get a black flag 2 laps later...

Pulled into the pits wondering what I'd done (had I been too close to the red Mk1?) and as I slowed down to the frantically waving marshall, realised there was rather a lot of smoke following me... Stop, engine off, pop the bonnet, GET OUT THE CAR!! The marshall had a fire extinguisher ready, but didn't use it and it became apparent the car wasn't on fire, it was steam... so I've blown the head? Chuffing great end to the day!

Its about here that Valentinik (Mike) took over and dived under the bonnet (careful, its hot!!) working out what had happened. He managed to trace it fairly quickly back to a split coolant hose, and then proceeded to cut it down, refit it and then once the rad was filled up with water again, pronounced it healthy!! Can't thank Mike enough for sorting this, everyone should have a Mike with them at all times (or a Steve...)

It was getting on, so we decided to call it a day and headed home, rather slower than the way we'd driven down. Stopped at a KFC, which by some weird twist of fate, was the KFC I stopped at on the way home from picking up my first ever MX5.

All in all, what a few days this has been. Its really brought me on as a driver, made me rethink what I'm doing with the green car (how much more power do I really need?) and given me a huge appreciation for what Mazda have designed. My car is a totally standard 1999 1.8S and it has done 154000 miles. I've driven it hard round a track and its taken it all (almost) in its stride, and then driven me home again in comfort, with the biggest grin on my face.

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 07:25 AM
So thats it up to last night...

Almost there... hopefully tonight we can get the rest of the bits fitted and maybe even start the car! There does appear to be quite a lot to fit though, and quite a few parts will need to be drilled / tapped, soldered etc...

So we just need to chuck this little lot in the engine bay?
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/lastpush015.jpg

Could be a long night!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 06:58 PM
Mike (Valentinik) and Simon (Simon TCV MX5s) came round tonight to see how much farther we could get with the car... Mike was concentrating on the wiring, and Simon and I were on mechanicals... started by putting some oil in the engine and gearbox (always useful) and then moved on to the inlet manifold. Demon Tweeks eventually came up with the goods I ordered, so I had 10 vacuum nipples to attach. 6 were easy, replacing the plastic ones in the vacuum manifold

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/lastpush028.jpg

and the other 4 needed to be attached to the inlet manifold, so out came the drill and tap

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/lastpush021.jpg

Slightly nervous doing it, but it seemed to come out ok. Meanwhile, Mike was doing stuff with wires...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/lastpush022.jpg

I think the conclusion was the AEM digital gauges are sooooooo much easier to wire in than the analogue ones... sorry mike, but all will become clear once the car is finished!!

We then carried on and attached the Jenveys.... and then spent a while trying to work out where the vacuum block would get mounted, how to fit the fuel pipe round the clutch reservoir and how I can fit the air filters!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/lastpush027.jpg

Mike finished fitting the AEM gauge and tested it (yay, it lights up and apparently the engine is really lean at the moment... which makes sense I guess!), attached in the MAP sensor and did some other wiring bits on the ECU and sensors... to be honest there is so much I just don't understand about the wiring etc I'm so glad to have friends who have have pitched in and helped throughout the build!!

We had Pizza as usual, and the most enormous bug ever decided he wanted in on the action... I caught it in a glass and put it over the fence at the bottom of the garden... 5 minutes later, it was back again!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/lastpush025.jpg
Garlic Sauce pot added for scale... think its a Mayfly?

So not as far on as I'd hoped, but loads done and the pile of parts still to fit has gone down considerably!! In theory there's not that much more to do, but each step we take needs thought as I don't want to just chuck it all on. I want it to be set up as well as it can be, and I want the wiring and pipework to look as neat as possible. So we'll keep plugging away at it and at some point I'll have a running car again!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-24-2012, 07:03 PM
Just for me really, but I think this is whats left to do...

Attach Vacuum block / all vacuum pipes
Move clutch reservoir and fit fuel pipes
Sort Air filter/s
Complete wiring on engine
Refit gauge pod
Make cover for ECU
Fit battery box / battery
Put oil in diff
Decide on / fit passenger seat
Make / fit roll bar

Fire it up
Do celebratory dance
Rolling Road
MOT
Drive it until the wheels fall off

Russell.

vindi49
05-25-2012, 08:37 AM
Just been swapping texts with Mike (Valentinik) and following a quick test, we (that is, he) has solved one of the problems we had last night... so all I really need to do is connect up the fuel and vacuum pipes and we should be ok to try starting the engine!!

Just need to check with the boss, but fingers crossed we can try it at the weekend!!

Also hoping to finish off welding up the new roll bar, so things are on the move again!!!

Russell.

vindi49
05-26-2012, 07:57 PM
Managed to spend a few hours on it tonight, its all connected up now but needs tidying... I just wanted to see if it would fire!! Sadly the answer was no, turns over happily but no spark so we messed about with the laptop and changed some settings... we're 99% certain its the CAS that needs adjusting but that'll have to keep for another day.

Managed to work out how to fit the fuel pipe properly without having to move the clutch reservoir, and also worked out a better way to route the pipes. Also managed to remove one of the wings... its pretty standard with me, whenever I'm close to finishing I'l invent 3 more jobs to do!!

Just ordered all the bits I need anyway ( 2 more -6 90 degree fuel rail fittings and a set of spark plugs) ... and while trying to find the thread on the end of the Jenvey fuel rail, spotted that someones hacked the Jenvey website!!

Anyway, just a few pics from tonight...

All connected up... I need to buy some more of the same colour vacuum hose and get the hose tidied up. Also need to route the fuel hose properly, but there's no point until we know its working properly and leak free! The vacuum block is mounted in the right place though, need to find a home for the fuel pressure regulator.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/lastpush2008.jpg

Mike looking at the map and ECU settings, gradually working out what was wrong... as it turned out, the ECU thought it was looking at a Mk2 engine... which it kind of is, but the sensors I'm using are those off a Mk1 so it was a bit confused!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/lastpush2011.jpg

Anyway, we know the next steps so fingers crossed for the next attempt!!

Russell.

vindi49
06-01-2012, 04:12 AM
Last night we had another go at starting the car... you can tell its getting closer because the pile of parts I had to fit was a lot smaller than before!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/lastbits001.jpg

Some good progress was made, but it still didn't start! The main progress was to get some weak coughing noises that meant it was at least trying to start. Mike was trawling endlessly through the Adaptronic software and Map, and eventually downloaded another Map from their website... that gave us the first coughs and a bit of a backfire, and he then managed to work out that although the injectors on 1 and 4 were showing a voltage, the ones on 2 and 3 were not. Strangely, even though they weren't showing a voltage they did seem to be doing something as the plugs werewet when we looked at them...

So Mike has fired an email off to Adaptronic to see if they have any suggestions... timing isn't great as I'm about to go off on holiday for a week, and in a lot of ways I'd rather stay at home and tinker with the car!!

Russell.

shane
06-01-2012, 10:47 AM
WoW pretty much sums up everything here.

Miata Junkyard much? Looking forward to updates, very cool stuff here.

vindi49
06-09-2012, 06:55 PM
Been on holiday for a week so not much progress (apart from the usual Ebay purchases when bored!) New bits will make their way onto the car over the next week or two, and will save about another 4kgs.. every little helps, and the old bits will sell for similar money so its worth trawling ebay wheneer possible! Got some responses back from Adaptronic, so a few things to try... starting with putting the Fuel Pressure regulator in the right place!

Started stripping the front wings off as I've got a set of fibreglass front wings waiting to go on... and a friend has crashed his car so could use my standard wings!

Russell.

Bryan805
06-10-2012, 12:59 AM
Man, I wish my driveway had as many roadsters as you have lol

vindi49
06-10-2012, 04:44 PM
Man, I wish my driveway had as many roadsters as you have lol

It varies a lot, I'm down to 2 MX5s at the moment which is pretty bad for me but good for the neighbours I guess. I'm on a real low for cars at the moment, down to 2 daily drivers and 3 project cars ... but I am in discussions with a local guy to buy what is potentially one of the nicest MX5s in the UK... well beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess, its a bit marmite but I've been after one for a couple of years... If I say its a retro styled car and its similar to the Wataru most of you will know what I'm talking about?

Russell.

CarbonMiata
06-11-2012, 01:09 AM
PIT CREW!!!!!!

I take it you are vindi from Mx5Nutz and it's always a pleasure to read your build threads! :)

Marc

vindi49
06-11-2012, 04:23 AM
PIT CREW!!!!!!

I take it you are vindi from Mx5Nutz and it's always a pleasure to read your build threads! :)

Marc

Ha ha, spot on... and yes thats me. I really ought to update my username here to match. Well fingers crossed it will all come together, its only about a third of a car, but thats fine as i doubt I could have afforded all the goodies that were on it.

Russell.

kung fu jesus
06-11-2012, 08:27 AM
Russell, fantastic read! I remember you from the Wataru pictures on another forum.

Great work, keep it up!

Two thoughts: your wife must be a saint and you Brits seem to eat a LOT of American junk food! :p

samulis
06-11-2012, 01:14 PM
Great read :D Fun to go through all of it in such short story instead of crawling through nutz's project topic's ten's of pages.
About the green envy's lowered floor, I know it helps (and it's meant to help) with broom stick test, but did it give you more leg room? Im in hope it helps so there would be no need to drive knees in ears (6'2" and long legs).

Pitcrew? I'll hate you with force of three sun's. :teehee:
It will be Great cos it looks so much better than the Wataru and I asume that the front of it isnt in million pieces. Who's old, what color? White or blue?

Cheers
Samuli

vindi49
06-12-2012, 04:25 PM
Russell, fantastic read! I remember you from the Wataru pictures on another forum.

Great work, keep it up!

Two thoughts: your wife must be a saint and you Brits seem to eat a LOT of American junk food! :p

Thanks for the comments... yes, my wife absolutely is a saint... and I've had to ban myself from junk food. Saw a picture of me in shorts / t-shirt on holiday last week, and I'm back on a fitness drive again... that Bride seat isn't getting any smaller so it must be me getting bigger!! Saying that, I wonder if so may people would come round to help in the evenings if Dominoes Pizza wasn't on speed dial?!!! Might try a chinese on thursday for a change as we're all set to give it another go.


Great read :D Fun to go through all of it in such short story instead of crawling through nutz's project topic's ten's of pages.
About the green envy's lowered floor, I know it helps (and it's meant to help) with broom stick test, but did it give you more leg room? Im in hope it helps so there would be no need to drive knees in ears (6'2" and long legs).

Pitcrew? I'll hate you with force of three sun's. :teehee:
It will be Great cos it looks so much better than the Wataru and I asume that the front of it isnt in million pieces. Who's old, what color? White or blue?

Cheers
Samuli

It has helped but I'm not sure how much... there certainly is a lot more clearance between my legs and the steering wheel which is nice, and I'd guess I've had to move the seat forwards about 3 inches?

I'll keep quiet about the Pitcrew for the moment, its far from a done deal as a lot of other things have to fall into place first, for me and for the seller... I'll spill it on here first though, and yes its in a lot better condition than the Wataru although not perfect unfortunately.

Russell.

vindi49
06-12-2012, 04:37 PM
Just thought... I'm bidding on another car on Ebay at the moment and my wife is talking about ditching her car for a Mk3.5... if everything comes off we'll be totally bankrupt, but we'd potentially have:

1991 V limited
1990 Wataru
1995 Pitcrew
2001 Mk2.5 Sport with Mazdaspeed bits
2012 Mk3.5

I could have MX5 meets all on my own!!

Russell.

vindi49
06-17-2012, 07:27 PM
Not much gone on for a bit, but I managed to get a few minutes in the garage and do a bit more tidying inside the car. It'll have to come out again before the car is running but I wanted to see how it looked / felt

Overall look
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/wheel032.jpg

So steering wheel is in (horn button still to be added), I've made up a blanking plate for where the stereo / cubby was, and I've properly fitted the Air / Fuel ratio gauge

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/wheel035.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/wheel034.jpg

Decided to make the gauge pod out of Carbon Fibre as well just to see how it came out. Terrible as it happens so I'll have to paint it!

Russell.

samulis
06-19-2012, 05:24 AM
I lost the track somewhere. What happened to the idea of VVT engine with ITB's?

vindi49
06-23-2012, 09:53 AM
I lost the track somewhere. What happened to the idea of VVT engine with ITB's?

Its in and we're gradually setting it up, not running yet but shouldn't be more than a few weeks. I'll probably sell the Adaptronic and fit a megasquirt as a few friends know them inside out and it will be easier with the number of future changes I want to make to tune it ourselves than trek 2 hours away to the nearest decent Adaptronic rolling road.

Got the roll bar sitting in place... not all bolted down yet, but just wanted to see how it looked and check clearance etc.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/rollbar006.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/rollbar004-1.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/rollbar005-1.jpg

So at least I have a roll bar and harness bar back in place now... we'll take a jig off this one so more can be made, I might do a group buy or something if there is enough interest locally.

Russell.

vindi49
07-09-2012, 04:47 AM
Not much happening with the green Mk1 at the moment, but my Mk2 is now sold... the guy has paid in full but hasn't got the time to pick it up yet so its still my daily driver... A chance for a last bit of fun with the Mk2 came up recently...

OK, so let me set the scene...

Cerberus (the forum admin guy / moderator on our local forum) has been gradually getting together this big carbon fibre wing to go on his car. In his usual way being a complete perfectionist and making sure that everything is exactly how he wants it, he decides to design the struts himself. Not just any old struts, but with a Hello Kitty cut into them! Obviously there is a certain amount of banter on our local forum and people are taking sides, while waiting to see how it turns out. On the one side we have the "Brothers of the BGW", extolling the virtues of having a large tea tray hanging precariously off the back of your slow hairdressers car. On the other side, we have the "Flat Boot Society", quoting all sorts of scientific evidence to confirm the BGW won't allow you to drive upside down at 20mph because of the phenomenal amounts of downforce it provides, in fact at best you may slightly dent your bootlid.

At this point in time, I find myself in the "Flat Boot Society" and do indeed quote some random facts I read once on a forum (which therefore are undeniable facts and must absolutely be true... maybe...). The debate moves on, and form over function is discussed, as well as some genuine research into the ideal height of the wing (13 inches IIRC according to 949 Racings website) and the angle the wing should be at, whether there is any value having it unless you fit a Hardtop, etc, etc.

So the time approaches when the BGW will officially be unveiled and the crowds gather, nervous anticipation is building. Cerbs pulls into the car park and all is quiet while everyone takes it in. People are changing sides as they suddenly realise that bootlids are don't have to be flat or actually, isn't that a MGW really and not a proper BGW?

Unbeknown to the crowds (apart from 3 anonymous spies who have been sent a text), half a mile down the road a second BGW is taking shape. A bemused onlooker in a lone Focus RS shakes his head slowly as a leviathon is taking shape in a quiet corner of The Oak, Hockley Heath.

Ha ha, it is no less than a double agent, an insider spreading mis-information to the members of the "Flat Boot Society". After literally an hour and a quarter of careful planning the previous night (and a bit of nifty jigsaw work, let me tell you) the time is nigh when the double agent will risk it all, and unmask himself for the ultimate triumph and glory of the "Brothers of the BGW"

Ladies and Gentleman, tremble and quake as you stand in awe of the ultimate creation. Bow down and worship, lower your head in sheer adoration (although I'll settle for complete bemusement if thats all you've got) at my BGW...


http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z436/Fred_Gassit/Phoenix%205%20Meet%20Aug/P7040003.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z436/Fred_Gassit/Phoenix%205%20Meet%20Aug/P7040002.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k237/Cerberus74/c8e894e6.jpg

Disclaimer:
No MX5s were hurt during the taking of these pictures, any damage done to the worldwide reputation of MX5 owners was unintentional and purely coincidental...

Russell.

vindi49
07-22-2012, 06:14 PM
Had another go at the car today, I wanted to set everything up before we got going this morning... first thing was to clear as much space as possible, and the next was to set up the monitor for Mike to do his tuning...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/anhelo025.jpg
Ahem, don't want him to strain his eyes now do we!!

Got the Megasquirt all wired up, and got the IAT sensor mounted on a little bracket I made. Did some tidying in the engine bay as well, and worked out the best place to put the Fuel Pressure Regulator. The ECU seemed to be struggling a bit, kept closing itself down and we were a bit puzzled, then the battery went completely flat. Suddenly it all came clear (well to Mike anyway!), the battery (a Varley Red Top 25) is just too small to power the megasquirt. It sucks a lot of juice, and although the adaptronic had been happy the MS needed more power. I still have my standard MX5 battery so we swapped that in and the MS was happy... but still no fuel pump priming. We (that'd be Mike really...)kept going and calibrated all the sensors, ran tests on everything but eventually we decided to stop. The thinking is that its wiring related so Mike will check the wiring diagrams against the adaptor harness we've made up and fingers crossed a wire will be loose / in the wrong place or something.

While Mke was doing his diagnostics, I was cleaning up the Works Anhelo bumpers ready for sale... and kind of changed my mind about selling them. I think I'm going to fit them to the BRG car, along with the full wide bodykit I'm fixing. I fitted the bumper and one of the wings to see how it would look, and my wheels suddenly look tiny!! It has the look / feel of the Tuckin99 kit, but blended in. I need to fit the 6ULs and some spacers and we'll see how it is then, but I think it'll need some more go to match its looks. All thoughts welcome as its going to be a lot of work to tidy the arches up and fix the bumper before spraying them all

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/anhelo029.jpg

These wheels are 15 x 7 ET30, I have my 6ULs which are 15 x 9 ET36, but I also have some 25mm spacers... so thats a test fit for tomorrow

Russell.

vindi49
09-03-2012, 05:37 PM
After slightly more than a year and several changes of engine / head / ecu etc, I finally started the car tonight... and it was goooooood!! Bit loud (haven't got any filters for the TBs yet), but thanks to the continued efforts of Mike (Valentinik) it now starts, idles well and the timing is spot on as well. Just need to do a bit of mapping and check round the car and I can put it in for an MOT!

Russell.

vindi49
09-24-2012, 08:41 AM
Moving on nicely now, the wings are all but on (been a bit of a saga that I won't go into here!!) and I'm just fixing down the AFPR and setting the final routing for the fuel and vacuum pipes.

The brakes have been swapped over now... I have an in between set on (standard Mk2) while we experiment with custom pedal boxes and reservoirs etc. The overall plan is to put a custom set in using some AP Racing calipers I've got sat in the garage. That should allow me to lose the Servo and make the space I need to have a proper intake plenum.
The main bit of news though, is that the car will go in for its MOT on thursday... I'm kind of expecting it to fail on something as the car has been off the road for 18 months. Either way it should let me know what needs to be done to get me back behind the wheel again!!

Russell.

I<3flippyheadlights
09-24-2012, 10:00 AM
Why haven't I seen this!? I want pictures!

vindi49
09-26-2012, 04:13 PM
No pics for a bit, she's looking pretty ratty while I get it through the MOT (not been washed for 18 months for a start). I've been having a mess about with the fitment of the wings... which being fibreglass are white. Bootlid is a blue one as I sold my last fibreglass one, interior is stripped but not cleaned yet, and engine bay has the right bits bolted down but the pipes / wires are all over the place as I'm thinking hard about the best way to route them to get it all neat and tidy. Once its a bit tidier again... and on the road properly, I'll take her out for a bit of a photo session.

Anyway, been working on her here and there and now the list of jobs still to do for the MOT looks like this:

Get MOT.

Yep, all finished... so hopefully the MOT tester agrees with my list and as of the end of tomorrow she will have an MOT, tax and insurance... and I can take her out for a proper drive!! In some ways as she's been off the road for 18 months I'm expecting a fail on something or other but at least I'll know for sure exactly whats needed!

Russell.

vindi49
09-28-2012, 05:07 AM
Car is coming back to me today, for some reason it wouldn't idle properly so the MOT was cancelled. So I'll go through it and start list making again... off the top of my head the list will be something like:

Sort wings properly (not 100% happy with them so far!)
Re route fuel pipes and p clip all vacuum pipes
Full map of ECU (we only did the start and idle fully so far, all that was needed for the MOT)
Finalise dash and shorty console

... and then back in for an MOT...

Wings look like this on the car...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/27912036.jpg
they look really subtle considering they are 40mm wider than standard

Russell.

vindi49
10-04-2012, 05:20 PM
Newsflash... tonight I went for a drive in my car!!

Mike came round and did his magic with the ECU... not 100% sure what had happened to it prior to its aborted MOT, but it wouldn't start or idle properly, and was chuffing big flames out the throttle bodies! Half an hour of messing later and it would start... so we headed round the estate a few times to let TunerStudio start to do its stuff. At one point there was a couple jogging down the pavement and as I came round the corner behind them, the car backfired... honestly the lady nearly jumped the hedge, and then burst out laughing when she realised what it was! So we continued popping, farting and pogoing down the road, the running improving slowly.
A few circuits later we stopped for a break, and it was getting really hot. Looks like the coolant hadn't been bled properly, so that'd be one of the jobs I did then... :oops:

Once that was sorted we headed out again, starting to up the revs a bit and again Tuner Studio was doing its thing, at a few points you could really feel the engine beginning to pull quite strongly.

I need to work on the fuel pipes some more and mount the AFPR and the ECU properly... I can't really finalise much in the engine bay though as there is the bigger issue of how to sort the intake plenum, brake servo / pipes and the clutch reservoir but that can wait until after the MOT.

So thats it... she starts, idles, drives and stops... and I can feel the love really beginning to come back!!

Russell.

vindi49
10-04-2012, 05:45 PM
Bit of film of tonight, courtesy of Mike. Not the best quality, but proof that it happened :8):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/kirkzorlac/th_VID_20121004_215134.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/kirkzorlac/VID_20121004_215134.mp4)

Russell.

samulis
10-10-2012, 02:01 AM
Please, Russell, dont change the front bumper :gonk:

vindi49
10-14-2012, 02:58 PM
Please, Russell, dont change the front bumper :gonk:

Not a fan of the Anhelo then? I've decided against it... its kind of nice but its not what this car is about. Probably going back to standard front wings as well, just not convinced by the fibreglass ones.

Russell.

vindi49
10-14-2012, 03:21 PM
Made some good progress today. Hopefully its all ready now, which is good because the MOT is tomorrow!! The main difference today was that I felt I was driving a car, no hesitation or kangarooing out of junctions, just driving. Still work to do (which will probably include selling the Cusco Diff as its maybe a bit severe for me?) but its about there. So far all the mapping has been done via Tuner Studio, and that is probably about 2 hours driving in total... even so, it already feels quicker than with the old engine... this is going to be good!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/141012005.jpg

So there it is, ready for the off tomorrow!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/141012006.jpg

Well ok maybe I'll get a number plate first!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/kirkzorlac/th_VID_20121014_155128.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/kirkzorlac/VID_20121014_155128.mp4)

Russell.

smac
10-14-2012, 04:01 PM
Bloody hell Vindi, thats quite a bit of work!
Always ment to read your thread(s) but always ended up getting lost, great to see it all condensed down here, must keep track of it now!

vindi49
10-15-2012, 07:48 AM
Bloody hell Vindi, thats quite a bit of work!
Always ment to read your thread(s) but always ended up getting lost, great to see it all condensed down here, must keep track of it now!

Cheers and what a coincidence, just worked my way through your thread over on Nutz last night... I love what you've done with your front bumper!!!

Russell.

vindi49
10-15-2012, 07:52 AM
I kept thinking of random things I ought to do before the MOT at 11, so got up early to do a few things before taking Reuben to school...

- Fixed the wings onto the bumper properly, had to bend the bumper out about 1.5 inches to get it to meet up as the wings are wider... at this point the wings are growing on me...
- Charged the battery just in case
- Fitted the inner wheel arches
- Attached the coil pack properly in place
- Fitted the child seat!

Got Reuben off to school and on the way back we got a new rear numberplate... wrong size but its all they have and I can get the smaller one later!! Back home and once Lawrence was happy playing, went out and worked my way round the car again... just checking bolts etc!
Started the car... well eventually I did anyway! Took a lot of coaxing to cough into life, but once warm it idles nicely. Left it running for quite a while, then got Lawrence ready... drink, books, cars etc!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/151012002.jpg

So I guess thats us ready to go?

Russell.

vindi49
10-15-2012, 08:22 AM
So the drive to the MOT station... well even considering I had Lawrence with me so was taking it slowly, it was the first proper drive I've had out on the open roads... so I took the long route! First stop was the petrol station, but then I took a 10 mile route round country lanes to the MOT place, timed so I got there about 11.25 and the engine would be as warm as it could be to help it idle! It behaved really well, the Diff is really harsh (acts how I guess a welded diff must) but it goes well... really well!! I need to find a few rattles and squeaks, but the Geo is obviously still fine... damn I've missed driving this car!!

Got to the MOT place and managed to find the guy as he was taking my car in, explained about the diff so he said he'd road test the brakes rather putting it on the rollers. He looked at my car then back at me and said "I may be some time..." He wasn't taking it slow as he went up the road either ha ha!!

So then I sat in the waiting room with Lawrence, playing with cars etc and gradually getting more and more wound up...COME ON I NEED TO KNOW!!!!

Russell.

WASABI
10-15-2012, 08:30 AM
Good luck!

vindi49
10-15-2012, 08:37 AM
So after a very long road test (He'd noticed I had Yellowstuff pads and "wanted to warm them up" for me, honest!!) he came back, and then carried on with the test... nervous? Me?

Eventually he came out and its a fail, I'm not hugely surprised considering its been off the road for 18 months and had:

New engine
New Diff
New ECU
Jenvey Throttle bodies
Different Brakes
Different wings
Interior stripped
etc etc...

What did surprise me is the fail list...

1 - Handbrake. He said straight away it would pass easy enough if I just get the surface rust off the disc, it just hasn't been used for too long and won't grip quite well enough.
2 - Side Repeaters. As in it doesn't have any and it should have... so standard wings or cut these ones? Easy to solve either way
3 - Headlight alignment. I had changed one of the lights and forgot I never lined it up.

Errrrrmmmm, and thats it! Just got to book a retest for friday and I'm rolling!!!

Russell.

vindi49
10-20-2012, 07:32 PM
So back to me in my garage then... job one, take off the white arches and put some standard ones back on... ones with side repeaters! I could have drilled the fibreglass ones easily, but I wasn't 100% happy with them anyway. Made a start tonight and ones back on anyway:
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/191012001.jpg

Stupid thing is, it looks so much better just being the same colour! I've taken the wide one off the other side, just need to grab the donor wing off the new arrival on the drive... talking of which:

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/191012002.jpg

Yep, I seem to have bought another MX5...Looks nice... and it is! Really solid too, so although we are pulling most bits off it to make into a TR3 Replica build (its a long story!), there's a plan forming to get this one back on the road at some point... although in a very different guise!!

So I've got another wing to swap over tomorrow, and I'll probably nab the boot off this one as well (can't remember where mine went!). After that, I need to rub the rear discs down a bit and thats it... drop the car back to Chemix on Monday morning and they'll adjust the headlights and do the retest about lunchtime.

Russell.

vindi49
10-22-2012, 11:30 AM
Well after spending about 6 hours swapping the passenger side wing over last night, I dropped the car off at 8.30 this morning. The idea was they would fit the retest in around other jobs when they had the time, but I got a call an hour later to say it had passed... and could I collect it around lunchtime and take the MOT tester out for a spin in it!!

Pleased does not even begin to cover it, this has been 18 months of hard work and its finished just in time for the big meet in the Peak District. My only concern is that there is Snow forecast from thursday onwards in high areas... so that'll be the Peak District then!!

Anyway, back out to the garage now... I have some serious mapping to do before the weekend... and I think I need to refit the undertray and sort out some kind of air filter!!

Russell.

WASABI
10-22-2012, 12:24 PM
Congratulations on passing the MOT! It can be a real pain trying to chase down issues, when you've done so many different tweaks to a car.

vindi49
10-22-2012, 04:12 PM
Congratulations on passing the MOT! It can be a real pain trying to chase down issues, when you've done so many different tweaks to a car.

Cheers, its been a long 18 months and my plan keeps changing all the time but it all seems to have come together... well most of it! Big drive on Sunday so I need to get all the little jobs sorted before then!!

Russell.

revlimiter
10-22-2012, 09:46 PM
Congratulations! Nothing like having that weight off your shoulders. I'm gonna take Sharka in for testing tomorrow...

vindi49
10-28-2012, 06:21 PM
Congratulations! Nothing like having that weight off your shoulders. I'm gonna take Sharka in for testing tomorrow...

Good luck!! They are hardy little cars though, I couldn't believe how little needed doing to mine condsidering its 21 years old and hasn't moved under its own steam for 18 months!!

Russell.

vindi49
10-28-2012, 06:27 PM
Here's how I got on last night... through a mixture of things (ill kids and late nights at work) I didn't manage to get anything done off my list... then we went to Oxford for a few days, didn't get back until about 7.30, then had to get the kids settled and have tea... so it was probably about 9 before I even started on the car!

First things first, fit the undertray, wheel arches and wheel arch liners. Jacked the car up and started into the undertray, easy enough so i contimued with the inner wheel arches. Completed one and then realised I was out of the plastic screws you need to attach them... oh well, any puddles will just have to be on the right or in the middle, not on the left.

Decided it was about time to fit the strut brace, I've had it for ages and thanks to Steve (Raydar27) I managed to borrow a reinforcing brace for it and get some made up.... so on it went, along with some new Nyloc nuts for the suspension

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/281012001.jpg

Yep, a bit more purposeful

Next to the inside, I cut out a piece of carbon to blank off where the stereo and cubby was... a job I've been meaning to do for at least 6 months!
Then on to my latest toy, the crash pad. Didn't take much tweaking and it was fitted, the speedo surround, vents and radio console wedge it into place nicely so it doesn't actually need any fixings to hold it on!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/281012003.jpg

As I've only got a single gauge I decided to make up some blanking plates:

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/281012004.jpg

Useful to have a load of carbon lying around from another project!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/281012005.jpg
One in...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/281012006.jpg
and the other one... held in place by Blu Tack but hey, no one will ever know!!

Getting late by this point, so decided to do one last job on a similar theme, so here's another piece of carbon I had lying around...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/281012008.jpg

OK this ones not exactly lying around!! This was a real pain to fit, as the holes to get to the back of the bolts are way too small and in the wrong place. I ended up supergluing the washers to the nuts, and then using Blu Tack (again!) to hold the nut / washer on to the spanner while I tried to manipulate the bolt through the hinge and bootlid.. and all the while holding the boot at the right angle with my forehead... it worked though!!

I had wanted to fit the roll bar as well, but that would have to wait for another day... finished off by loading a bunch of tools into the passenger footwell just in case. Bit of an insurance policy really, pack them and you usually don't need them!

Russell.

vindi49
10-29-2012, 12:22 PM
Had a day at home with Reuben today, and now that the car is back on the road he's been asking to go for a drive in it... seemed like the ideal chance to take a few pics with a backdrop that wasn't my garage!!

The route was chosen by Reuben, he wanted to go to a forest... so out with the map and he pointed out where he wanted to go. Managed to find a quiet end of the car park and Reuben wanted to sit in the car and show off his new Angry Birds hat:

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/291012002.jpg

He then decided I ought to be in a picture... his pic came out ok, considering he's only 7 and hadn't used the camera before!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/291012012.jpg

Got it home and thought I may as well continue, seeing as its "finished"

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/291012015.jpg

Think it needs a wash though...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/291012013.jpg

And the interior, which is where a lot of the work has been done recently:

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/291012020.jpg

It was really nice to be going for a drive with no particular aim (apart from finding a forest), and no timescales to follow... Reuben made a funny comment when we got back as well, I asked him if he'd enjoyed the drive and he said yes, then pulled one of his "I'm thinking" faces and said "It sounds like the orange one did, but a bit nicer". The orange one (a 7 style kit car) was sold about 3 years ago, and he only once went for a drive in it, but it had Jenvey TBs on and did indeed sound similar!!

Russell.

Vegard
10-29-2012, 05:31 PM
Love the comment from your kid! I bet it does sound nice! Good work, and the works (?) are nice! The ducktail looks massive :O In a good kind of way.

vindi49
10-30-2012, 04:42 PM
Love the comment from your kid! I bet it does sound nice! Good work, and the works (?) are nice! The ducktail looks massive :O In a good kind of way.

Cheers, he's a smart kid... and obviously has good taste!! The wheels are Works RB, good spot! I think its mostly the angle of the pic for the ducktail, but I am making a bigger one as my next project.

Russell.

Phatmiata
10-30-2012, 05:24 PM
loving the Nielex door panels you have, so nice!

vindi49
10-31-2012, 05:20 PM
loving the Nielex door panels you have, so nice!

Cheers, I have some I made out of carbon but these are just sooo much nicer! Next thing is to fit the roll bar, see if the tweak I've made is enough to get it fitting how I want. Having invested loads of time & money in the retro roll bar project I don't think I'll have one myself... I keep coming back to the bars Moti makes... and the fact that it'd probably be the only one of his in the Uk would be cool too!!

Russell.

vindi49
11-12-2012, 05:03 AM
Thought as the car has reached a point where its working and there is nothing that desperately needs doing, I'd try to list whats been done...

1991 V Limited

Exterior:
Ratsback Carbon front lip
Garage Vary bonnet
Garage 502 carbon mirrors
Vented perspex quarterlight windows
949 Racing 6UL wheels 9" with R888s (track)
or Work RSB with Yokohama S drives (road)
Tow hooks F & R
Project M / Vindi Carbon ducktail Bootlid
Runabout Fuel lid
Axis Power Racing carbon rear panel

Engine / Mechanical:
2003 1.8 block / 1999 1.8 head
Mazdaspeed engine mounts
Jenvey Throttle bodies / inlet manifold
AEM AFPR
Reverant MS2
RS Aizawa 3 point strut brace
Fujitsubo 4-2-1 Manifold
Custom decat
ARC(?) Titanium exhaust
Performance 5 Puredrive suspension w/Mk2 topmounts
Polybushed
Englund ARBs
1.8 brakes / EBC Yellowstuff pads
Spec 2 Clutch / Lightened flywheel
Cusco 1.5 way adjustable LSD

Interior
OMP Superleggero steering wheel
Revlimiter custom gauges
Project M / Vindi Crash Pad with gauge pods
AEM AFR gauge
Zoom carbon interior mirror
Nielex door cards
Ratsback carbon sill covers
Barchetta shorty console
Dropped floor / partially stripped interior
Bride drivers seat / VX220 passenger seat with Sector 111 harness grommets
Schroth Harnesses
Project M / Vindi Retro Offset Roll Bar
Cusco Ally rear lower brace


Think thats it... although I'm sure I'll have missed something!

Russell.

samulis
11-12-2012, 07:12 AM
That is perfect, I think. Is the diff from 1.6 or 1.8?

vindi49
11-12-2012, 03:09 PM
That is perfect, I think. Is the diff from 1.6 or 1.8?

Its cusco internals but in a 1.8 case. Means I get the stronger 1.8 halfshafts but its still the early 1.6 hubs as they are lighter. I'll probably sell it and change to an ATB style diff as its a bit severe... although once you're motoring its amazing, so I won't make any decisions until I've taken it out on track at least once!!

Russell.

vindi49
11-15-2012, 06:27 PM
OK so this was always on the cards. I'd managed to sell all the other MX5s apart from the BRG one, meaning there was just way too much space on the drive! I've just agreed to buy another MX5 tonight... and its pretty similar to the BRG one!

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6229/6309472711_54902322cd.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladsculture/6309472711/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladsculture/6309472711/) by Padster_82 (http://www.flickr.com/people/ladsculture/), on Flickr



Its another 1991 V-limited in BRG with a tan interior, although this one still has the 1.6 engine. Its got a TR Lane roll bar, Stainless manifold / decat pipe / twin exit exhaust, Rays Vesta wheels, an OEM front spoiler and thats about it... oh, its coming with a pair of bucket seats as well, and its £600! Most likely I'll sell the roll bar and then have a bit of a play with the bodywork... kind of a working test bed for ideas I want to mess about with!!

Russell.

samulis
11-19-2012, 04:52 AM
It is when I see these I wonder why dont I live in UK.

vindi49
11-20-2012, 04:45 PM
It is when I see these I wonder why dont I live in UK.

Ah, but every time I see the amazing countryside in your pictures I wish I lived in Finland!!

Russell.

samulis
11-21-2012, 03:02 AM
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8065/8204465757_80ccb1e011_b.jpg
Like this?

vindi49
11-22-2012, 06:11 PM
Yep, reason to emigrate I'd say! Saying that, we have similar amounts of water pouring down our main street at the moment... still doesn't look quite as scenic though!!

Russell.

Madaboutmx5s
11-23-2012, 03:06 AM
I should have always kept those nielex door cards :(:(

vindi49
11-23-2012, 12:36 PM
Had a chance to look round the car a bit today, and apart from the one bit of welding it needs on the passenger side sill, it seems quite solid. Some nice toys on it as well, so I shouldn't have to change much around... just need to lose some of the more modern touches to keep it as retro as possible!

Made it onto my drive...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/231112009.jpg

Nice wheels... although ideally I'll swap them for something a bit more retro... probably not Watanabes as they go for too much money these days, but I have a couple of ideas.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/231112010.jpg

Twin exit stainless exhaust can definitely stay... although the whole of the back end bodywork will be cut off (!!!) as soon as I can get the car an MOT, so we can weld the Wataru back end on
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/231112011.jpg

Roll Bar looks ok, it will probably make way for one of my single sided ones eventually though!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/231112012.jpg

Engine bay looks ok, couple of oil leaks from the engine but thats easy enough to sort.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/231112013.jpg

Nice addition is the 4-2-1 manifold

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/231112014.jpg

And its got one of these!!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/231112016.jpg

Russell.

vindi49
12-21-2012, 09:40 AM
Top down, at night... is there anything that can beat it?

Oh. What. A. Brilliant. Noise.

d4we9LlN2Nc

It really begins to come alive above about 5000rpm ... but I really need to get it rolling roaded soon, its not as quick as it should be!

In other news, I've bought another car! Its a really cool project that was being broken up, so I've bought as much as I could afford... the main bit being the rolling shell!! Pics will follow...

Russell.

vindi49
02-24-2013, 05:47 PM
Thought that in between dreaming up daft things I might do in the future, changing my mind on how I'm going to do things that are underway / already finished and buying more parts from Ebay to sit in the garage, I ought to actually do some work and head towards getting the car back on the road...

So today I started into making a backing plate for the air filter I bought... I can buy one ready cut to bolt on, but for a sheet of 2mm ally they want £45 (plus VAT) for the blank plate, and then £50 (plus VAT) for the machining to get it to fit my setup...no chance!!

First stage, strip off the trumpets
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/230213012_zps19d35cb9.jpg


Next, see if the filter I've bought (yep, off ebay and it has indeed been sat in my garage for about 5 months) will fit
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/230213013_zps040a5fd9.jpg
Thats going to be tight... with the backing plate in place it will be sat forwards from there, so will need to squash one corner a fair bit to clear the brake proportioning valve. Only temporary though as there will be some big brakes on the way soon and the servo will go..... not getting them from ebay though... :wink:


Next, make a blank from card to fit the air filter, then one tb at a time, cut out the hole for the intake and the two bolt holes
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/230213014_zps882186b2.jpg


Took about 2 hours to get to this stage, with the holes exact and the filter set so it clears all the pipes as they are
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/230213016_zpsd0610732.jpg
alas its only the card version! Luckily I still have ally plate in the garage from when I panelled the kit car, so tomorrow I'll start with the dremel and see how far I get with the real thing.

Once thats done, I really need to sort a proper routing for the fuel pipes and try to tidy the rest of the wiring a bit... followed by trying to start the car again!

Russell.

vindi49
03-06-2013, 02:52 AM
Well my new Roll Bar is mostly in. Took a while, but thats partly because I had to try it several ways to see which is easiest and write up a set of fitting instructions. This will do me until I can save up enough to either make a really nice bar / cage of my own, or buy one of Motis.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Roll%20Bar/060313004_zpsf780db90.jpg

Decent clearance above the seat, not as far back as I wanted really but still better than the Hard Dog I had before.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Roll%20Bar/060313005_zps98f837e5.jpg

And here's where most of the other bars seem to fail. On mine the seat belt is not obstructed so can move freely.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Roll%20Bar/060313006_zps8c42607b.jpg

The nicest thing was the fact that it all just slotted into place, no need to put any force on the bar anywhere or enlarge any holes, it all just fits.

So the next thing is to get the air filter fully on, and get the car running again!

Russell.

vindi49
03-15-2013, 09:10 AM
Just done a bit more... managed to get the car started again, turns out all it needed was for me to stop being lazy and charge the battery!! I bought this seat a while back, but hadn't got round to making up a bracket for it so cracked into it yesterday. Once I got into it, it was pretty simple ... I'm glad I did it myself instead of paying £100 odd for one that someone else made, I did it with bits of plate steel I had in the garage so it didn't cost me a penny!

Old seat
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/140313008_zps737ff41e.jpg

New seat - the top of the new seat is about 1.5 inches lower than the old one, but the seat is more like 3 inches lower.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/140313009_zpsda31d458.jpg

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/140313010_zpsbc18b3c3.jpg

Colour match is pretty good as well... its out of a VX220, the Elise version is too light a colour.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/140313011_zpsd053e7df.jpg

Russell.

maharaj
03-15-2013, 10:12 AM
I see a Bride in the passenger side. Are you getting rid of those for the Elise seats? Just wondered because it doesn't look like the elise seats have as much side support as the bride's do.

wannafbody
03-15-2013, 11:25 AM
Hows that ducktail spoiler coming along?

vindi49
03-15-2013, 05:25 PM
I see a Bride in the passenger side. Are you getting rid of those for the Elise seats? Just wondered because it doesn't look like the elise seats have as much side support as the bride's do.

Don't forget we're RHD over here so that Bride is actually on the driver side! No plans to changer my seat at the moment, I just wanted something a bit lower for the passengers, since I dropped my floor the passenger seat was about 6" higher and it looked more than a little bit odd!

Russell.

vindi49
03-15-2013, 05:29 PM
Hows that ducktail spoiler coming along?

Slow going... can't get the shape right for the size I want (i.e. huge). I might have to scale down a bit as it just looks too much with my current shape. I'll try again for about 6 inches and see if thats better, it can be a long process but I'm in no huge rush.

Russell.

vindi49
05-03-2013, 06:52 PM
Japfest is a week away now, and thanks to some tuning work by Mike (Valentinik) a few nights back its running well... so time to relax a bit and wait for Japfest? Nah, time to rip it all to pieces again!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/030513008_zpsea32cb1d.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/030513008_zpsea32cb1d.jpg.html)

Decided it was time to swap over a few bits I'd been keeping off to one side... front driver side wing at last being swapped for a better one, and same with the front bumper. The timing isn't ideal but I wanted to fit my splitter and it seemed silly to mount it to the old bumper.

While the front end was off I also swapped in some shiny new corner mounts
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/030513011_zps2b75430d.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/030513011_zps2b75430d.jpg.html)

And then on to the splitter. I managed to get the front lip spoiler off the old bumper, and laid it over the splitter to check where to drill...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/030513009_zpsfe26b71b.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/030513009_zpsfe26b71b.jpg.html)

So ummm the more observant of you will see the profile of the splitter is different to the Ratsback spoiler, so it won't fit! In all honesty I could get it to fit and it would be ok, but its an expensive item and it seems daft to cut a corner. The splitter is designed for a type R OEM spoiler, and I had thought my Ratsback spoiler was very similar, but having looked more closely mine is a lot more aggressive.

So back to what was my original plan, and out with the jigsaw to make one myself!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/030513012_zpsfc230551.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/030513012_zpsfc230551.jpg.html)

Russell.

vindi49
11-04-2013, 06:07 AM
Thought I ought to catch up over here ... so whats happened in the last few months?

Removed the Jenvey TBs and sold them, gone back to standard for the moment but I have one of the Honda Edelbrock manifolds that I'll work on over the winter.

Bought and then sold a Pitcrew, its one I'd been chasing for ages but in the end it was one project too many so it went to James aka Madabout MX5s for him to work his magic on!

Decided the only way to get my main car right is to take it off the road (again!). Wasn't particularly in the market for another MX5 (I already have 3) but as one came up cheap and locally, I snapped it up...
Ok these might have had something to do with it...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/T2eC16hHJGkFFmk7BvBSUE7wfctQ60_58_zps49bfc453.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/T2eC16hHJGkFFmk7BvBSUE7wfctQ60_58_zps49bfc453.jpg. html)

It also works ... which makes it the only MX5 I own that does! Its been raining pretty solidly since I got it, but here's a pic taken on the way home ... really like the hood as well...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20131020_185115_zps1c7680e6.jpeg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20131020_185115_zps1c7680e6.jpeg.html)

The only problem (if you can call it that) is that its an auto ... I have the parts to change it to manual, but not sure if it'll be worth it ... who am I kidding, I'll change it over at some point!

Russell.

vindi49
11-04-2013, 06:14 AM
After driving it for a few days, there are a few issues here and there, the paintwork is in a bit of a state but its mainly where the door and front wing have been badly sprayed, so I'll just look out for a replacement BRG panel or two and swap them over when they come up. There is a bit of an oil leak coming from the head, so thats a good excuse to paint the rocker cover then! The tyres are brand new, but a real set of ditchfinders ... 205/55/15 so quite big, and they are a random make I've not come across before. I did a google search and they are awful in the wet by all accounts, so they need to go pretty soon. There are a few rattles from here and there, and the exhaust blows as well ... so lots to keep me busy then.

Managed to get some free time yesterday so I got stuck in...

and fitted a new seat!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/NARracing_zps36927ad2.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/NARracing_zps36927ad2.jpg.html)
Never was great at working out the priorities...

Russell.

atank
11-04-2013, 07:30 AM
Very Good Progress Russell!!!!!!!!!!

WASABI
11-04-2013, 08:09 AM
Love following you Russell! Great work and the stories to go with it. Beautiful seat, and wheels!

vindi49
11-04-2013, 11:41 AM
Thanks for the comments ... I'll try to keep a bit more up to date, quite a few projects planned over the winter!

I forgot to mention I bought a cheap supercharger kit. Its one of the kits based on the hard work of a local guy, Barry Spiers. He bought a new shape Mini supercharger, and loosely following what someone else had done, fabricated a set of mounts to fit it to the MX5. He then went a step further and produced a CAD file and published it, so anyone else could make the mounts up and have a cheap MP45 supercharger. Obviously that caused a run on Mini Superchargers, and they are gradually getting more and more rare as the Mini is now using a turbo...

Anyway, it was the right money... its all the mounts and the supercharger itself, so it just needs the throttle body sorting out (2 or 1?), a set of injectors, an intercooler and its happy days. I'm not sure which car I'll put it on but I couldn't resist it!!

Russell.

johnfett
11-04-2013, 02:38 PM
wow good stuff!! Love the BRG Miatas

vindi49
11-04-2013, 04:15 PM
wow good stuff!! Love the BRG Miatas

Me too, I have 3 of them ... 2 Mk1s and a Mk2!!

Russell.

I<3flippyheadlights
11-04-2013, 06:19 PM
Anyway, it was the right money... its all the mounts and the supercharger itself, so it just needs the throttle body sorting out (2 or 1?), a set of injectors, an intercooler and its happy days. I'm not sure which car I'll put it on but I couldn't resist it!!

Russell.

Go big, 2 TBs, intercooler, MS. You won't be mad at the 150~ WHP

vindi49
11-04-2013, 06:49 PM
You're probably right ... Mike (Valentinik on here I think) will be helping me with this, and he had 206 from his MP45 with a weeny nose pulley.... you're really not helping me with my "sensible, cheap car"...:D

Russell.

I<3flippyheadlights
11-04-2013, 07:49 PM
How in the balls did he put down 206? I WANT INFO!?

What kind of supercharger? Pulley combo? Size engine? I WANT INFO!

vindi49
11-05-2013, 05:34 PM
Pulley was a 17% reduction, not sure about the rest of the details but I'll get a link to his new build thread which is much more interesting ... Mike got bored pretty quickly so he's now almost finished his forged 1.6 build with an MP90 ... going to be a lot more than 206!!

Russell.

vindi49
11-05-2013, 05:40 PM
Not sure if Mike is on here already (if he is he'll be on as Valentinik), but if not then welcome to his world ... here's a few links to his build threads on our local forum.

This is his original build thread ... if you read through a bit you'll get used to the way he does things ... i.e. all of it himself if at all possible, and done the right way not the quick way. So here's the thread for his car including his MP45 charger build.
http://www.phoenixfives.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4342

and here's what he got into when he was bored with that, an MP90 buld that is soooo close to being finished!
http://www.phoenixfives.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5828

Lots of reading but well worth the time spent. Page 16 of the 1st link is about where it gets mapped.

Russell.

vindi49
11-09-2013, 03:44 PM
This cheap auto is going to bankrupt me one way or another ... Following a friend of mine letting me know he has a 1.8 he's breaking I'm now going to have a bit of a long day at his unit ... The plan is to drive there in the morning, pull out my engine & gearbox and drop in the 1.8 and manual box ... Obviously this means also changing the exhaust manifold, intake side, PPF, ECU, wiring loom and dash as well as adding a clutch pedal and a few more bits. Then I'll drive it home that evening. What could possibly go wrong?

Russell.

vindi49
12-07-2013, 06:54 PM
Decided the cheap auto although cheap was also ... an auto ... never really going to work was it! Had a look into doing a swap to manual, but them a cheap manual came up ... so off I drove to do an exchange!

So now I am the proud owner of a 1994(?) 1.8 manual, in PZ black. Ok it had no hood (I aleready had a tatty spare one), no wheels (had a set of Work RSB sat in the garage and no seats (just bought back my NAR racing drivers seat) but changing from 1.6 auto to 1.8 manual seemed worth it for £150 and a 2 hour round trip.

I had been looking into the hillclimb regulations, and there is an MX5 series, but although you can swap the engines rounsd a bit, it has to be from the same series ... so my Mk1 green car with a Mk2.5 block can't enter ... but this car can! So with this thought in the back of my mind, I came across an ebay ad for a Mazdaspeed ECU and cams for a 1.8 engine. So I'm now broke just before christmas and trying to work out how to tell my wife that the sensible 1.6 auto that I bought because it was cheap and green, has now become black and I'm going to blow lots of money racing it ...

Russell.

Madaboutmx5s
12-10-2013, 03:49 PM
I'm now broke just before christmas and trying to work out how to tell my wife that the sensible 1.6 auto that I bought because it was cheap and green, has now become black and I'm going to blow lots of money racing it ...

Russell.

Lol. I feel your pain! I've bought and sold 3x mx5s since I saw you a month or so back and numerous parts. Right now going through some nice parts to fund the pitcrew and pay for Christmas!

vindi49
01-17-2014, 08:57 PM
So its all change again, the black 1.8 is being sold / broken, I had a brief stab towards going turbo but wasn't completely convinced by it ... and then something else came up ... so right now I have this pile of bits sat in my garage, just need to work out where to put it all!


http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/MP62kit_zpsdca4f4c2.jpeg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/MP62kit_zpsdca4f4c2.jpeg.html)

Russell.

vindi49
01-18-2014, 03:55 PM
Just ordered a crank overlay from Tom at FFS so that should in theory get me to about 240bhp ... well it will once I've fitted the intercooler, bigger injectors, fuel pump etc. Well I probably ought to fit a diff at some point, and I seem to have accidentally sold the bootlid. Think I might need to write a list of what needs doing!!

In other news I bought a Kanspo hardtop, they aren't everyones taste but I wanted to try something different. I don't particularly like the back, but the subtle double bubble is nice. I'm wondering whether its worth getting sprayed ... I can't really see what it will be like 100% without it being colour matched but don't really want the expense. Matt black is a bit crap in a lot of ways, but this might be one of the occasions when £5 on a can might be worthwhile.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/kickedout_zps9b58e167.jpeg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/kickedout_zps9b58e167.jpeg.html)

Russell.

BlitzWing
01-18-2014, 04:30 PM
thought I'd do a quick photoshop of the roof in green

http://i43.tinypic.com/2saiecn.jpg

Vegard
01-18-2014, 05:13 PM
The thing I like about the "helmut" is the bubble as you say and that you can get a custom made rollbar fitted further back, if you combine that with a project g bikini top, it would be pretty cool!

vindi49
01-21-2014, 03:40 PM
BlitzWing - Thank you, I was busy trying to think what it might be like but thats perfect!! I think a friend may be able to wrap it in BRG... I haven't asked him about it yet, so if he reads this before I speak to him, Hi Mike!!! :whistle:



The thing I like about the "helmut" is the bubble as you say and that you can get a custom made rollbar fitted further back, if you combine that with a project g bikini top, it would be pretty cool!

Exactly my thoughts, its light enough to earn a place on the car and will fit easily with my Twin roll bar, but for summer days I am making a lightweight top. My thinking is to make my own attachment bar at the front (the OEM one is just sooo heavy and over the top!) and have it tie into the rear hardtop bolt holes properly rather than just hooking over them. I made my own soft top and frame for my kit car and the whole thing (top, frame, attachment points and side windows) was under 1.5kg.

Russell.

BlitzWing
01-22-2014, 04:30 AM
no prob I was thinking that roof, a trunk rack, S800 mirrors and some classic style wheels and it would be a perfect retro roadster.

vindi49
01-22-2014, 04:47 PM
I've actually got a complete retro rear end that was on the Wataru, but that is destined for another car not this one ... I really like this top, but mine is a bit more race than retro so would probably suit a Fastback better?

Russell.

vindi49
06-30-2014, 05:41 AM
Wow, so I haven't been here in a while ... so where to start with everything that's changed? I'll try to do it one car at a time ...

The Black 1.8 I bought was pulled apart and headed off to the scrapyard. Shame in a way, but it turned out to be a pretty normal 1.8 with a few add ons, rather than a special edition. The torsen turned out to be a viscous LSD that had been retro fitted from a 1.6, etc, etc. So with that out of the way I could concentrate on fitting the MP62 charger to the BRG car, right? ...

Russell.

vindi49
06-30-2014, 06:08 AM
So the green car ... well I started working on it again, did some thinking and decided to plough on with fitting the MP62 charger in a basic way to see how it looked.

Anyway, this is a first test fit but it looks at home I think!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140318_225127_zps5a0b4760.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140318_225127_zps5a0b4760.jpg.html)

Did some tidying of the intake manifold (off a Mk2 I think) and added the FM adaptor for my Mk1 1.6 tb.


http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140324_215843_zps5dcf6ee9.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140324_215843_zps5dcf6ee9.jpg.html)

Not a great job, but only temporary as I had a bigger plan for an intake manifold.

About this time I realised if I wanted to do the car properly, it would take some funds to get it tuned, and I had this Kanspo top I didn't really need ... so I contacted a friend and the top ended up here...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/sussexbreakiemeetmay2014_zpscd7754cb.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/sussexbreakiemeetmay2014_zpscd7754cb.jpg.html)
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/sussexbreakiemeetmay20142_zps35158b44.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/sussexbreakiemeetmay20142_zps35158b44.jpg.html)
Couldn't think of a better home for it!

I then had to do some work underneath, refitting the diff and putting back the exhaust, decat etc. It was while I was doing this that I had a poke around at an area I'd spotted before that didn't quite look right. All looked ok on the surface but it wasn't symmetrical to the other side, so I decided to take the plunge and scrape off the underseal to check.

Nightmare time, at some point in the past the car has been hit from underneath, there are 2 main areas and at the worst point there were pieces of wood fillered into place to give the illusion of the right shape. At one point the filler was nearly 4 inches deep ... to say the least this was an all time low for me, I very nearly stripped and scrapped the car!

After some really big thinking time, I decided to go a bit back to basics with this car, it's all very well having lots of nice bits on the car but if I don't drive it because I'm paranoid about damaging it or it getting stolen then it's all a bit pointless ... so I drew up a hit list and worked out what I didn't really need, and started selling stuff. Raised enough cash to get the car sent off to the fabricators so they could drop the passenger floor. Most of the damage was at the front of the passenger footwell and along the chassis rail on that side, I had previously dropped the floor on the drivers side, but my passenger was still standard. Chopping out the floor to drop it removed about 70% of the damaged area, leaving the front that has been hammered out for now, and we'll come back to it later once I can source a replacement panel from another car.

So off it went for a few weeks
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140519_110621_zps79590b05.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140519_110621_zps79590b05.jpg.html)
leaving me with an empty garage ... dangerous ...

Russell.

atank
06-30-2014, 06:16 AM
Russell, go fill up that empty garage!!!!!!!!!!!:twisted:

vindi49
06-30-2014, 06:17 AM
So empty garage ... time for a bit of a tidy up?
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140519_111716_zps7a574d51.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140519_111716_zps7a574d51.jpg.html)

Well no car also means more free time, so I seemed to accidentally buy myself this ...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20492304_4X_zps6d0cab20.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20492304_4X_zps6d0cab20.jpg.html)
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20492304_8X_zpsb5b0d2dd.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20492304_8X_zpsb5b0d2dd.jpg.html)

Which was soon collected and back at my house
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140607_173813_zpsea4bc041.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140607_173813_zpsea4bc041.jpg.html)

It's a Mk2 RS, so 6 speed box, Torsen, lots of nice additions as well including a Maxim Works manifold, Auto Exe springs, the Enkei wheels (not my thing personally, but well made and light) etc ...

It's an insurance right off, but all because of a few minor things, the wing is damaged as is the windscreen. The bonnet and door have some marks, but nothing that matters to me ... and that's it. It also happens to be a 60,000 mile car and the condition reflects this.

So the screen was replaced
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140614_101647_zps5f3debf8.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140614_101647_zps5f3debf8.jpg.html)
A wing was found in the right colour, and I booked it in for an MOT ... which meant going for a drive to the MOT station...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140619_101652_zps77d41a3e.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140619_101652_zps77d41a3e.jpg.html)

I'm not 100% sure as my sense of direction isn't great, but I may have found a route that wasn't the most direct one ... nice drive though, and it confirmed that the engine revved cleanly, pulled really well, stopped in a straight line etc etc. It failed the MOT on a few small things, but nothing that I hadn't expected, so all was good.

Then I got a good offer on the car and sold it, ooops!

Russell.

vindi49
06-30-2014, 06:22 AM
Never mind, I'd found another one by then anyway ... a cheap Mk1...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140614_144344_zps79e65842.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140614_144344_zps79e65842.jpg.html)
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140614_144533_zpsd52d3c70.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140614_144533_zpsd52d3c70.jpg.html)
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140614_144303_zpsbcd3f8af.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140614_144303_zpsbcd3f8af.jpg.html)
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140614_144404_zpse7e1c004.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140614_144404_zpse7e1c004.jpg.html)

So this one is a black S Special, with Mazdaspeed skirts, SSR Mesh wheels, Autoblaze mirrors, interesting style bar, Racing Beat exhaust and so on ... and it doesn't work ... honestly how I'm still married I have no idea!

Russell.

atank
06-30-2014, 06:28 AM
Just stay away from the pubs and wild women!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

vindi49
06-30-2014, 06:34 AM
So anyway, back to the BRG one ... that's my "main car" if you remember (I don't half the time ...), the one that hasn't worked for ages ...

It was delivered back from the fabricators, a quick look inside confirmed the work was up to their usual brilliant standards, really happy again!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140609_155630_zps2b94b963.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140609_155630_zps2b94b963.jpg.html)
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140609_155652_zps521d2968.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140609_155652_zps521d2968.jpg.html)

So the floor is now about 4 inches lower than it used to be, and the seat has been custom mounted nice and low as well ... so plenty of space for a full cage or whatever I plan next, while staying miles away from anyone's head!

Then was another mini disaster, the idiot delivering it forgot to secure the ramps onto the trailer properly, so as he rolled my car down the ramp it fell off the trailer and ended up with the front of the car smashing down onto the edge of the trailer ... don't worry, it's only a carbon Kevlar Ratsback lip!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140609_164454_zpscf695c1f.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140609_164454_zpscf695c1f.jpg.html)

Not impressed at all ... this car is really fighting me at the moment! On reflection, I am amazed with the strength of the lip, it was dropped onto a vertical lip on the edge of the trailer, and supported the weight of the car while I quickly got a jack under the front and lifted the car up again. Meanwhile the delivery guy is just stood there muttering something about Yeah, that's why I usually put some pieces of wood under the end of the ramps, that happened a couple of times before ... very useful ...

Once I got the car off, the damage doesn't look too bad, the bumper and undertray is smashed but I have spares of those anyway. The lip has sprung back into place, a great piece of design and very, very well made ... what's happened to Ratsback these days anyway?

Russell.

vindi49
06-30-2014, 06:40 AM
Little other bits and pieces that has been going on in the background ... made some Door bars. I had never really liked the idea of bars that attached in to the floor, it's a weak area and doesn't add half the strength it could do as the big gap where the door is has not been closed properly.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140120_134845_zpscbf55ed0.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140120_134845_zpscbf55ed0.jpg.html)
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140120_134730_zps4373a368.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140120_134730_zps4373a368.jpg.html)
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140120_134750_zpsdabd7ab3.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140120_134750_zpsdabd7ab3.jpg.html)

That's the first go, I've managed to work out how to make it a complete bolt in item so much simpler than getting the welder out. Obviously you could weld it in (as I will), but for a lot of people that changes the car too much. My idea is to put another piece in bracing back down to the lower seatbelt mount.

Russell.

vindi49
06-30-2014, 06:50 AM
So I think that's me mostly up to date ... well there is a new addition to the fleet on the way hopefully, but that's not a sealed deal and is a long way off so I can't say much, ha ha!!

So what's the plans for the next few months? I'm hoping to get the black one back on the road and sold on ... or just sold on if I get a decent offer, it was destined for the scrappy which is a crime so I want to make sure it lives to fight another day. There is a piece of rust under the car, but the arches are all sound and it's quite a cool looking car so should do well for someone.

The green car is actually quite close to being a working car. I need to fabricate some kind of intake piping and add a filter, charge the battery and see if it will start! It won't get any attention for a bit though, I have sold the charger kit off it, and a few other items as well so I can pay for development work on the door bars, a new design of Roll Bar and a shorty console. At least I'm not bored!!

Russell.

vindi49
07-07-2014, 07:30 AM
Me, a day off and Yahoo.jp auctions is a bad mix ... I'm now about £350 poorer and hoping like mad that when "this item may be prohibited for shipping abroad" popped up on the screen, they were mistaken ... fingers crossed ...

Russell.

vindi49
07-07-2014, 08:05 AM
Bit more messing with the door bars, added a kink in the bar to see how much extra clearance it would give ... answer, a lot! Need to move the kink a bit further along to just onto the door, but otherwise it seems pretty good I think

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140704_110509_zps6111df1e.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140704_110509_zps6111df1e.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140704_110354_zpse8bc7c5e.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140704_110354_zpse8bc7c5e.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140704_110429_zps8fb03d0c.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140704_110429_zps8fb03d0c.jpg.html)

Russell.

vindi49
10-04-2014, 05:01 PM
The roller coaster continues, managed to scale things down a bit recently, so at the moment I have managed to reclaim most of my drive ...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20141004_160228_zps90ca2162.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20141004_160228_zps90ca2162.jpg.html)

So all I have at the moment is my BRG car in the garage, the Pitcrew on the drive (they will swap places soon!) and the Wataru in storage. I think I could fit about 6 more cars on the drive, so I'd better hit Ebay!!

Russell.

vindi49
10-14-2014, 06:50 PM
Been working on my green car for a few days to try to get it back on the road ... not been too much fun as I've mostly been trying to get the diff sorted and cleaning up the underside of the car. Glad I did in a way though as I've found a big problem with my suspension. It's difficult to describe but the bottom of the shock, which is made from ally, has heavy corrosion and looks like it is literally crumbling away. From looking into it, a few others have had the same issues with this shock and the shock is no longer in production. Thing is, I really like the shocks so I'm left with either trying to find a replacement unit (possible as others have the same problem, so I may be able to buy a single shock off them) or maybe getting some parts machined.

The fast option to get the car on the road is to put the A'Pexi N1 Pro shocks off the pitcrew onto the green car. It probably makes more sense anyway as the green car will get more hard use, and the Pitcrew could be sat on almost anything as it's unlikely to get a serious workout .. well not straight away ...

Russell.

vindi49
11-19-2014, 07:22 PM
Had a bit of a gathering at my house a week back, didn't get anything done on any of my cars but we did a suspension swap, a foamectomy, a rain rail replacement and a few other bits and pieces on other peoples cars ...

I didn't manage to take many pics, but here's a couple showing some of the cars that made it

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20141102_122939_zps94d3f35b.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20141102_122939_zps94d3f35b.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20141102_123009_zps0c7e3efd.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20141102_123009_zps0c7e3efd.jpg.html)

It did manage to motivate me a bit, so I ordered some parts that won't help get my car on the road any faster ...and this arrived today ...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20141119_174229_zpsfec1ee9a.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20141119_174229_zpsfec1ee9a.jpg.html)

Russell.

wannafbody
11-19-2014, 07:28 PM
Looks nice

vindi49
11-20-2014, 05:30 PM
Forgot to say about some progress in the wheels department ... I had quite a few sets of wheels and somehow managed to sell them. They were all good sets, but were bought with specific use in mind, I had a daily set, a show set and a track set ... and a cheap set for just in case. With my new theme of slimming everything down to what I can get away with, I'd been looking at something 15 x 7, suitable for a 195 profile tyre (cheap and lots of options). I wanted it to be light but strong, nice looking but not in your face, not too expensive etc etc. I'd been looking at Flow Formed wheels as it just makes sense to me, cast is ok but not really that strong, and not really that light. Forged is nice, but silly money ... Enkei RPF1 are great, but at £1000 for a set you can't really take them on track. Well not if you want to push it anyway, which is kind of the point of going on track to me.

So I'd got it down to 2 options ... one I'd just sold (6ULs), and the other didn't seem to be readily available in the UK. Obviously if they are rare I want them even more, so I got a set of Traklite Gear in Matt Bronze.

Trying to keep it sensible / useable with the Kumho tyres
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140928_194258_zpsa065f5a4.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140928_194258_zpsa065f5a4.jpg.html)

First try on the car ... colour is perfect on the BRG!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140928_194649_zpsafbaa40f.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140928_194649_zpsafbaa40f.jpg.html)

Added a 25mm hubcentric spacer to see how they clear the new brakes ... loads of space, should be able to go down to a 15 / 20mm spacer.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20140928_194705_zpsc250eaee.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20140928_194705_zpsc250eaee.jpg.html)

Overall I couldn't be happier, I have one of the first sets in the country (ooooohhh, rare!!), they didn't cost me the earth, they are sub 5kgs for a 15 x 7 and the colour is so nice I'm going to get my Roll bar sprayed to match them!!

Russell.

vindi49
12-15-2014, 03:26 PM
Got a turbo ordered today, nothing expensive to start with but enough to make me feel better about selling the MP62! It's a Garrett T28r off an S15, so will be capable enough to blow the engine apart ... best start looking for injectors, intercooler and some rods then!

Russell.

vindi49
01-31-2015, 08:26 PM
Bit of progress of sorts ... I sold a couple of other projects off so I can concentrate on this car. Was having a bit of a look around on Ebay and at last a Bride TTM-C has popped up, so I grabbed it. It's the same as my drivers seat but in nicer condition, so I'll have a matching pair now. Also been gradually ordering bits for the turbo build ... downpipe, intercooler, injectors are all here or on the way so I can start mocking it up and working on where the IC pipes will go etc.

I also just bought an old Civic EF to mess about in so at least I have something to drive while this project takes shape. Problem is I've already bought a load of go faster bits for it and am pricing up a B series engine swap ... so much for a cheap run around!

Russell.

vindi49
03-02-2015, 04:42 PM
Right, got a turbo elbow and downpipe, got some bigger injectors (650cc EV14s), Megasquirt already fitted, got a boost solenoid through the post yesterday. I ordered some Inconel bits from Trackspeed at the weekend, and just won a Trust intercooler on ebay last night. My wallet is bleeding but surely I must be close!!!


Russell.

vindi49
03-03-2015, 08:05 AM
Oh and a friend of mine is building a removeable fastback top ... Version 1 should be at a local meet tomorrow night so if I'm allowed I'll post some pics. It's only a prototype and I've given some feedback on where it needs to be improved, but fingers crossed I'll have a customised version that will be less practical but more aerodynamic.

Russell.

vindi49
05-02-2015, 03:13 PM
My green car has been put slightly on the backburner ... still haven't managed to find any nice suspension to replace my broken stuff, and I decided I was chucking too much money at the turbo build so sold it all off .. gutting in some ways, but the spare cash enabled me to buy this ...

Bit too low, you can see where it's caught the wing so I'll raise it up to a more sensible height
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150322_165935_zpspdan65ap.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150322_165935_zpspdan65ap.jpg.html)

Wheels are quite nice, steel and 14"
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150322_165851_zpsgohyhtmy.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150322_165851_zpsgohyhtmy.jpg.html)

Interesting rear bumper, had thought it was a standard one someone had customised, but looks like it's aftermarket and came as a kit with the smoothed rear panel.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150322_170001_zpsoggdspuk.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150322_170001_zpsoggdspuk.jpg.html)

Nice enough door cards
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150322_165759_zpszypfurcn.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150322_165759_zpszypfurcn.jpg.html)

Bit of wiring to tidy ...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150322_165817_zpsmembifsd.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150322_165817_zpsmembifsd.jpg.html)

bit of paint to tidy too ...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150322_165842_zpspbcwl0u5.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150322_165842_zpspbcwl0u5.jpg.html)

Rust coming through, to be investigated but should scrape through an MOT as is.
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150322_165911_zpspammyh1e.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150322_165911_zpspammyh1e.jpg.html)
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150322_165902_zpsrgcnnybs.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150322_165902_zpsrgcnnybs.jpg.html)

All in all it's not bad, few things to sort but I can do it while I'm waiting for the last of the parts for the green car to arrive.

To do ...
Raise suspension height
Fit new petrol tank (current one has a hole)
Fix proper rear number plate lights
Fit seats
Put in for MOT

Russell.

vindi49
05-02-2015, 03:14 PM
So I got stuck straight in ... started by jacking the car up and spraying every bolt in sight with some oil ... not sure what I will need to undo or when so want to give myself a fighting chance!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150402_103129_zpsdeicnyhp.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150402_103129_zpsdeicnyhp.jpg.html)

The nice thing is, the view from underneath is fine. There's surface rust on the wishbones and various other places, but for a 25 year old car it looks really good!!

Got the exhaust removed and started working my way through the list ready to drop the subframe out

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150402_120738_zpsdwbivl62.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150402_120738_zpsdwbivl62.jpg.html)

As it stands, the wiring and brake pipes are now dangling free of the car, all of the bolts have been undone and the PPF bolts have been removed at the front. The pipes and wires have all been taken off the tank, so tomorrow or Saturday I just need to put a jack under the diff and loosen the subframe bolts the rest of the way and lower the whole assembly out of the car.

According to the internet, there will then be enough space to take the petrol tank out and put the new one in ... the internet has been known to be wrong though, so we'll see!

Russell.

vindi49
05-02-2015, 03:17 PM
this wasn't for the sun!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150403_172435_zpsrhbktvul.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150403_172435_zpsrhbktvul.jpg.html)

everything undone, ready to lower away ... nervous, me?
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150403_172459_zpseb0ubyyf.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150403_172459_zpseb0ubyyf.jpg.html)

see, no problem!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150403_173932_zpszjasfqm2.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150403_173932_zpszjasfqm2.jpg.html)

just had to get the trolley jack out of the way and there was just enough space to get the old petrol tank out.

So here they are ... one with a hole, and one without ... kindly donated by Firebucket (rob)
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150403_175919_zpsbfxm34jc.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150403_175919_zpsbfxm34jc.jpg.html)

and up again ...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150403_184925_zpsvirrarxy.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150403_184925_zpsvirrarxy.jpg.html)

and all attached ...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150403_192207_zpsdama5jgv.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150403_192207_zpsdama5jgv.jpg.html)

Only one of the PPF bolts wouldn't attach ... I put most of the rest of it back together again and put a plea out on Facebook and on here ... from what I could tell the nuts on top of the PPF were attached together on a plate that was somehow attached to the PPF. It had got bent somehow (me being ham fisted probably) and only one PPF bolt would go back in. The problem was that I couldn't actually see the plate or get any tools to it, so I was doing everything by feel

I was hoping for someone to say, "Yes that's easy to sort, just do X, Y, Z ..." but no responses came back ... mainly because there wasn't a short cut. I managed to find a picture of the plate on top, and it was indeed riveted on to the PPF, so no way to remove it apart from removing the PPF.

The offending plate ...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/FB_IMG_1428428335247_zpsr8uiobxn.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/FB_IMG_1428428335247_zpsr8uiobxn.jpg.html)

ooops, a bit bent! I clamped it down and took out some of yesterdays frustration on it with a big hammer.

That's a bit better ... test fit of the PPF bolts, tick
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/FB_IMG_1428428625347_zpseaxobaxv.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/FB_IMG_1428428625347_zpseaxobaxv.jpg.html)

So then it was back on with the PPF, back in with the speedo drive, wiring clipped back in place, all of the PPF bolts attached on (big tick!!) ... and then snag number two ... just need to work out how to retrieve these ... sigh ...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150407_193049_zpsqj4ohc7o.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150407_193049_zpsqj4ohc7o.jpg.html)

Russell

vindi49
05-02-2015, 03:19 PM
Accidentally bought another set of wheels ... so once I've had a think one of the sets will be up for sale!

These are the ones I picked up on Saturday
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150426_101048_zpspuowqjpp.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150426_101048_zpspuowqjpp.jpg.html)

SSR Type C, 16 x 6.5 with Federal RS-R tyres ... nice and light but will probably sell them as one of the other sets I've just bought are 15s, so as this car is more about daily use and cheapness, the ability to fit 195/50/15 tyres are an advantage!

And another parcel arrived ... can you tell what it is yet?
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150427_111027_zpsluy0z1oj.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150427_111027_zpsluy0z1oj.jpg.html)

Ut oh ... hope it isn't too loud!!
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150427_111421_zpshiefrigc.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150427_111421_zpshiefrigc.jpg.html)

Car failed the MOT test, but all it needs is a brake caliper and a steering rack boot. Really pleased as that means the engine and chassis are ok. So a bit of work to do but nothing too bad ... shame I don't have any time to do it!

New wheels (set 3 for the car ...) should arrive on Friday and I've found a nicer steering wheel so the car is improving all the time. The short drive didn't reveal much apart from how loud the exhaust is, and a bit of a squeak from the power steering.

Russell

vindi49
05-02-2015, 03:27 PM
Feeling frustrated!! I'm trying my best to get this car sorted and road legal ready for the meet on wednesday, but it doesn't quite seem to be coming together!

The nearside rear brake caliper seems to be seized ... no big deal, new calipers are easy enough to find so I found one via ebay ... managed to find an MX5 breakers where I could actually phone up and do the deal direct, so at least I know that a) they actually have the item, and b) they are aware of my timescales and were happy to post it out straight away.

All seemed to be going well, I had spoken to them last night and they said they'd put an ad up on ebay for me straight away with the option for 24 hour delivery. They texted me the ebay ad number, and it was correct so I hit buy it now. Even got a message off them this morning to confirm they had posted the caliper out.

So about 2 hours ago I got another text saying sorry, they had posted a front caliper by accident ... and because they are racing this weekend they can't post the rear one until Tuesday ... which is too late for me. To be fair they've been really good about it, apologising and refunding me all the money, and saying I can keep the front caliper as a freebie by way of apology.

So on the one hand their communication has been great and it's just an honest mistake that anyone could make ... but on the other hand, AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!

So I started to try to recondition the caliper that's on there myself ... it's pot luck, sometimes they can be freed off and you can just polish the sliders a bit, regrease them and reassemble them. And other times it's like mine. The first slider came out ok (they usually do, they have been removed whenever the brake pads are being changed). The second slider is frozen in place, you can hinge it up and down a bit but no way is it sliding off the caliper. I resorted to clamping the carrier in a vice and smacking the caliper with a large hammer, but all I've managed to do is rip the vice off the bench.

So now I still don't have a working caliper, and I need a new bench. And I've just remembered that I still need a new steering rack gaiter which I forgot to order last night. Sigh.

Luckily on Friday morning a delivery arrived that made me smile
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150501_115705_zpscxyaefzo.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150501_115705_zpscxyaefzo.jpg.html)

Set 3 which I think I'll keep ... so just got to sell the steels and the SSRs. So at this point I'm hoping a trip over to Junkyard Dog (local MX5 breakers yard) tomorrow morning will get me all the parts I need ... the only problem left is me having no time to fit them as I'm back at work from Monday and I want to go to the local MX5 meet on Wednesday night!!

Russell.

vindi49
06-03-2015, 06:32 PM
Just spotted that I hadn't updated this for a bit ... so here goes.

The grey car did make it through the MOT in the end, and I've already covered about 3500 miles in the last month. 2200 miles of that was a bit of a road trip with some old friends ... starting in the Midlands where I live, driving down to Devon to meet up with everyone else, then on down to Lands End .... then the big one, all the way up to John O Groats without going on any motorways ... which was about 1400 miles the route we took, managing to take in all the best mountain passes in the Brecons, Snowdonia and the Lake District. Spent the night in the car somewhere on a Scottish mountain, then back home to the Midlands.

Amazingly the car didn't miss a beat, not bad for a £300 car ... I think it's earned a service!

The green car struggles on ... I have now got it in the garage, up high on axle stands to really sort it out properly. The front suspension is shot, but I have a new set ready to go on. The wishbones are a mess of surface rust and peeling powder coat as well, and the subframes don't look good either, so I think I'm looking at a full strip down, clean up and rebuild. While I'm there I might as well fit the 6 speed box I bought a while back, and I've got a new LSD from Ashcroft Transmissions to replace the open diff that's been temporarily sat there. I may as well properly fit the new front brakes I've got and I managed to get a Maruha manifold recently, so that can go on at the same time ... that's not a small list unfortunately!!

Russell.

vindi49
06-05-2015, 06:23 PM
Parts are beginning to come in from my spending spree on Yahoo.jp ...

Can you tell what it is yet?
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150605_121353_zpsm4jyqmss.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150605_121353_zpsm4jyqmss.jpg.html)

I had bought these in the hope they were Tein as they had been painted blue and the ad didn't say what they were, apart from "adjustable"
Turned out ok though
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150605_122045_zps7bbcf6w0.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150605_122045_zps7bbcf6w0.jpg.html)

The rose bushed top mounts weren't mentioned in the ad!

A few days after buying them for the Green car, I spotted these ...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150604_160115_zpsyip31bqj.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150604_160115_zpsyip31bqj.jpg.html)

Maruha!! Not wanting to pass up the opportunity I grabbed them (there is 4, not just the 2 pictured and they are absolutely mint), then found out the same guy was selling this ...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150604_163215_zpsmq89sxpt.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150604_163215_zpsmq89sxpt.jpg.html)

Also Maruha, and also absolutely mint!! I doubt it will offer me anything over the Fujitsubo I have fitted at the moment, but if anything will I guess it'd be this one.

Also got this
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150605_122624_zpsi96tzvhm.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150605_122624_zpsi96tzvhm.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150605_122555_zpsb4lxeoc5.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150605_122555_zpsb4lxeoc5.jpg.html)

I already have one in the green car, but when I spotted it I couldn't let it go so it'll go in the grey car once I've fitted a hood that doesn't have holes in!

So I have a busy few weeks ahead of me, which will include stripping all the running gear off the car and regreasing the polybushes, repainting the wishbones and replacing the front subframe for Mk2

I also have to work out what to do with the Tein shocks ... I ought to sell them, but I'm tempted to put them on the grey car and sell the Vmaxx

Russell.

vindi49
06-05-2015, 06:37 PM
Forgot to catch up with the grey car as well ... Managed to pick up a front lip spoiler cheap, so chucked it on ... balances the car nicely
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150507_082356_zpsb4iarxkk.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150507_082356_zpsb4iarxkk.jpg.html)

I then made it to Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb for a breakfast Club. It's the oldest running Motorsport venue in the world, and has a really good, varied turnout every month. Few pics I took

Few guys from my local club, I'm the 3rd car in?
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150510_105840_zpsxrt0xukq.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150510_105840_zpsxrt0xukq.jpg.html)

My son wanted to run all the way to the top ... I caught up with him eventually
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150510_100342_zpsimzbbbd0.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150510_100342_zpsimzbbbd0.jpg.html)

Few cars we spotted ...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150510_102058_zpsfx0k42cc.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150510_102058_zpsfx0k42cc.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150510_110901_zpsefdwvcib.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150510_110901_zpsefdwvcib.jpg.html)

Reubens favourite, still in regular use
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150510_110944_zpswmvcma5c.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150510_110944_zpswmvcma5c.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150510_110815_zpsrcrlaiai.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150510_110815_zpsrcrlaiai.jpg.html)


I also managed to get some tyres for the Enkei Compe, so here it is with the new boots on

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150509_134937_zpsgkjcfqkn.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150509_134937_zpsgkjcfqkn.jpg.html)

Which is how it will stay for a bit I think, need to stop buying stuff!

Russell.

vindi49
09-12-2015, 09:13 AM
Bit of a sad post, but I'm getting rid of the MX5. A few reasons but I've just lost all enthusiasm in it. I've got another project in mind but it won't be an MX5 ... saying that I'm sure I'll be back at some point!

Russell

Grip Driver
09-12-2015, 10:11 PM
That's too bad :( Make sure to post the new project here too, I always like to see what else folks are working on.

vindi49
09-13-2015, 06:58 PM
That's too bad :( Make sure to post the new project here too, I always like to see what else folks are working on.

Cheers, I'm keeping quiet for the moment as it's a huge project ... there's a decent chance it won't come off at all so I don't want to jump the gun. If it works I'll start updating on here again ... it's too cool to keep quiet for long!!

I've sold the grey MX5 and my Mk2, and the green MX5 is now being stripped ... sad to do it but it's worth about triple in parts what I'd get for it as a complete car. The garage is being cleared as well so for the first time since about 2008 I'll have nothing MX5 related at all!

I've got an MG Midget I'll use as a fun car for a bit, and if I've done my sums right (unlikely!) I'll be buying a base car in about 2 years time.

Russell.

Madaboutmx5s
09-14-2015, 01:06 AM
Shame mate. As mentioned already I think you should at least keep the green one as a runner so you have a mx5 to enjoy. From my experience I've sold some of my roadsters along the way and been lucky to buy one back (corns) and thanks to you been able to build another (pitcrew). Hindsight is a wonderful thing but unless you really have to that's why I'd keep then green one.

WASABI
09-16-2015, 05:31 AM
Russell, I'm sad to hear that you are leaving the MX5 world. You were one of a handful of Miata owners/builders that I looked to for inspiration and motivation. Good luck in your next automotive adventure, and please keep in touch.

-Best regards,

Jim

vindi49
10-15-2015, 05:46 PM
Thanks guys, it's been a long time coming but I just have too much money in the car and I don't feel like I'm getting enough out of it. At the moment it's about 2/3 stripped, sold quite a lot of the parts apart from some of the smaller items, and some of the rarer carbon bits that I guess there is only a small market for. Have tried to place a couple of ads on here but I can't seem to get them to show ... they show on Panjo in the Mazda Roadster section, but not on this forum which is weird!

Anyway, an interesting side effect I hadn't thought about was the response I'd get from my kids ... apart from the "if you've sold lots of stuff can I have a PS4" sort of comments, I started to get some comments about how much they missed going out in the 5 ... and when my wife agreed it was a shame not to have one, I did the decent thing I bought a cheap (ish) 5 ... purely for the sake of my children, you understand ... that didn't take long ...

Russell.

vindi49
10-15-2015, 05:53 PM
Oh yes, wanted something to blow the cobwebs away so I bought this too ... it came up cheap and should sell for more than I paid in the Spring.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20150930_130440_zps0htbrdcr.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20150930_130440_zps0htbrdcr.jpg.html)

Shiny isn't it!!

Russell.

vindi49
10-15-2015, 05:58 PM
And the 5 ... I spotted it on Facebook and had to jump on a train quick to get it as a few traders were sniffing around, but as I sold the guy a spoiler last year he liked the idea of me buying it off him!


http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151010_133029_zpsrcnjiuxt.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151010_133029_zpsrcnjiuxt.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151009_165938_zpsakhiv5ob.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151009_165938_zpsakhiv5ob.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151009_165920_zpsvzsafd97.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151009_165920_zpsvzsafd97.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/FB_IMG_1444323708292_zpsejqoh2gt.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/FB_IMG_1444323708292_zpsejqoh2gt.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151012_163413_zpssx1dm48v.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151012_163413_zpssx1dm48v.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/FB_IMG_1444323696941_zps1wldiw3b.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/FB_IMG_1444323696941_zps1wldiw3b.jpg.html)

Decent spec list ...

1999 Mk2 1.8 with 120,000 miles
12 months MOT
Project M spoiler (yay!!), wide arches and oem front spoiler
16 x 9 Keskin alloys ... T1R tyres which will have to be ceremonially burned at the stake at the first opportunity
Bilstein shocks w / Koni springs and an exceptional geo setup by Mike Gardiner racing
Fully polybushed
Mazdaspeed Style / Roll Bar (to be sold I guess)
Mk2.5 seats
Replacement hood 3 months ago
Recent brake overhaul (recon calipers, new discs and pads all round)

It drives really nicely, doesn't overheat in horrendous traffic jams, has a working stereo, and I found some free sweets in the door pocket about half way home, bonus!!

Already had several drives out, including to Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb for the last breakfast meet of the year. Jen has threatened me with instant death if I start modifying it, but I'd already made a couple of subtle changes and a new steering wheel was already on order so I'm hoping they don't count ...

The only downside is some rust ... it needs both sills doing and the arches are pretty flakey under the wide ones ... so that'll get done at some point over the winter

Russell.

wannafbody
10-20-2015, 06:30 PM
That's a nice looking NB

wannafbody
10-20-2015, 06:36 PM
That's a nice looking NB. I'm glad you're back. You and Madabout are 2 of the most epic British Miata owners out there.

Demon I Am
10-21-2015, 09:26 AM
Looks like the beginnings of another awesome project.

vindi49
10-27-2015, 03:31 PM
Thanks guys, James had sent me a couple of messages about "leaving MX5s" as he's tried to escape a few times and kept coming back. I was all set on calling it quite for a bit, but fate stepped in!

In a strange twist of fate, the sale of my shell has fallen through so as at the moment I still own my green Mk1. Pretty well stripped back but the basics is still there. If I get a good offer, it'll still go but you never know ... I might build it back up again as a track car.

Russell.

Phatmiata
10-27-2015, 08:17 PM
Wow nice find, all clean looking mods too

vindi49
11-06-2015, 04:11 PM
So continuing the theme of keeping this car cheap I've bought new wheels, made a new Roll Bar, bought a turbo manifold, Megasquirt, injectors, AFR gauge and wideband and a few other bits ... oh well ...

I guess one possibility is that if my green shell doesn't sell I can always transfer the running gear across and have the green one running with a turbo ...

Russell.

vindi49
11-10-2015, 07:02 AM
This just gets weirder and weirder ... I've just been offered the first mx5 I ever owned. It was a cool enough car, a 1990 1.6 in silver. The guy I sold it to added a full cage and was prepping a fully forged engine to take it on track. The project stalled and the parts got sold off, but the shell made it's way to a friend who runs a local motorsport company. He specialises in Rally prep andcwas looking at fitting an evo engine, but he's decided he doesn't have the time so he's offered it to me.

Unsurprisingly I said yes, so fingers crossed I'll collect it next week. I'll most likely sell the Mk2 and put a car together slowly out of parts left over from previous projects.

Russell

vindi49
11-10-2015, 06:38 PM
Just been thinking about this ... and even though it's going completely against what I'd wanted to do I'm going to look into removing the cage from the silver car and putting it into the green car and keeping it.

The big thing about the green car is the dropped floor. It was done mainly because having a cage in an MX5 is not really that safe because of the upper side bar being so close to your head. Dropping the floor puts you about 4 inches lower, so a lot further away from the bar. Part of the reason I didn't mind selling the shell was because I'd never got the money together to put a decent cage in ... so as of Friday I'll have a really nice cage (£1600 when it was done) but in the wrong car. The car will be going straight to my fabricator for a check over, and as long as he's comfortable he can do it easily we'll take it out and put it into my Green car.

So it's at this point I start to regret selling some of the standard bits off my green car ... I need to make up a list, but off the top of my head I need to find ...

Gearbox
ECU
Wheels
Suspension
Passenger side wing
Brakes
Roof
Door cards
Mirrors

sigh ...

Russell

Vegard
11-10-2015, 06:46 PM
I love how you "tried" to leave Russell, but "failed" miserably!

Whatever you end up doing, it sounds like it's going to be rather cool. Good luck, I will be following!

Slipstreem
11-10-2015, 07:29 PM
I love how you "tried" to leave Russell, but "failed" miserably!

Whatever you end up doing, it sounds like it's going to be rather cool. Good luck, I will be following!

"You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave."

vindi49
11-11-2015, 05:14 PM
Cheers guys, I'm pretty happy with my failure ... had a look round the Mk1 today and it looks like it's been stored outside for a bit, so there is a bit of surface rust appearing. No big deal, there will be a lot of work going on so sorting that out will be a quick job. Got a few pics of it ...

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151110_152205_zpsqwdwf1wk.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151110_152205_zpsqwdwf1wk.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151110_152215_zpsntc2ligm.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151110_152215_zpsntc2ligm.jpg.html)

I'll go round it with my fabricator and we'll make a plan on how to do it ... might look at some better door bars, although the way they have been done will mean I can retain the windows etc.

Russell.

wannafbody
11-11-2015, 06:20 PM
Maybe you can buy one of those half motorcycle helmets for driving with a cage.

vindi49
11-14-2015, 09:56 AM
Busy weekend ... managed to sell the Mk2 this morning, the guy is coming back tomorrow with a wodge of cash and I get to keep the Roll Bar I made for it. It's not a surprise that it went quickly as it's a nice piece of kit even though it needs the sills doing. Then I sold the motorbike just before lunch, the guy is coming back with his van early next week as it's pouring with rain at the moment and he decided he'd prefer to keep it (or himself) dry.

So that gives me a nice space in the garage to start work on the green car ... again ... I'll keep it simple this time, I'll have to replace a few items I've sold but a lot I'll just keep standard for the moment. Time will tell if I keep to that!!

Russell.

WASABI
11-14-2015, 06:01 PM
Great news Russell! I'll be watching your build/part-out/sell/buy-back/ignore/build back up thread!

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/58144544.jpg

Madaboutmx5s
11-15-2015, 02:39 AM
Nice one Russell. I am glad you have kept the green car and not disappeared off the mx5 scene. My only advice is keep it simple to start off with which seems to be your plan so you get the car up and running as cost efficiently as possible.

vindi49
11-15-2015, 06:46 PM
What's the phrase ... it never rains but it pours ... honestly I've done more on various cars / bikes in the last couple of weeks than in the preceding year!!

So, the sale on the Mk2 fell through ... mentioned that on Facebook and a friend mentioned he might know someone that might want it. So the car might be going abroad, I've sent off a load of pics and we'll see. Because that will go via a dealer south of where I'm based, that opens up a possibility for me to buy an RS Limited off another friend of mine ... so I'm really hoping the deal goes through so I can tie it all together ... and dreading it going through because I'll have to somehow tell my wife I've sold a car but apart from an 8 hour interlude while I'm driving / collecting, there will be no less cars on the drive when I get back.

The Mk1 with the cage is being collected on Monday, going straight to my fabricator and he'll check it over and report on how easy it will be to remove the screen and the cage. If all goes well I'll take the green car over on about Wednesday and by the end of the week I'll have exactly what I originally planned ... a full cage in the green car. I'm paying for this with the money from the Mk2 that I sold ... ooops ...

At least I'll never get bored

Russell.

WASABI
11-16-2015, 06:19 AM
This is great news Russell. I hope all goes as planned with the green car. And, let's see some pictures of the progress.

vindi49
11-18-2015, 10:45 AM
Don't worry I'll keep this thread going ... no idea where it will lead to be honest but it's useful for me to write down my thoughts etc.

So the Silver Mk2 is still here, got a couple of people interested but not at decent money so I'd rather keep it. Looking like I might keep using it for a bit, and then strip it and use some of the running gear to put my green car back on the road. The rest I can sell, and as there are quite a few nice parts I should still break even on the car!

My old Silver Mk1 has been bought, taken to a friends unit and the screen was removed followed by some surgery to get the cage out of the shell. The component parts (shell, windscreen and cage) are now all sat in my garage, waiting for me to work out what will go where. I was originally thinking I'd sell the screen on, but have worked out that I'll need to remove the screen from my green car in order to put the cage in. If I have to do that, I don't want to put a 25 year old screen with a couple of small chips back in to it ... so may as well fit the heated screen instead?

I won't load any pics ... it's not pretty at the moment, but hoping to have the cage sorted and in my car fairly quickly.

Russell.

vindi49
11-27-2015, 03:41 PM
Well this seems to go from extreme to extreme ... over the last 2 or 3 days I've spent waaaay too much money on yahoo.jp, mostly buying American parts strangely. Then today I picked up something very special for the car. I'll add some pics later, but this should be a game changer. Many thanks to James aka MadaboutMX5s for finding it for me ... I just hope I can do it justice!!

Russell

vindi49
11-28-2015, 06:14 PM
Well it's raining, dull and miserable here so I just about managed to catch a 2 minute break in the clouds to get a few pics of what I've just bought. The pics are a bit rubbish, but first a bit of background on what I'm up to ...

To me, there are a few MX5s out there that really, really stand out.
The Pitcrew is one of them, which I know is a marmite car but I think is great. There are a few great examples out there, and I'm proud to be able to say I know the owners of 3 of them personally, James aka Madabout with his black one, Painter Dave with his amazingly clean car and Delboy who is in the process of restoring his silver one.
Another is the Flyin Miata Martini liveried car, I remember watching their targa plans and feeling so pleased when they did well ... partly because I'd donated some money towards getting them there, and Keith was obviously so overwhelmed by the support he'd received from the community.
Another is Malcolms Yella Terra race car. Probably not that well known outside the UK, but it's a meticulously built endurance race car which I've both helped out with and drawn inspiration from quite a bit. It's yet to really hit it's stride, but the race pace so far is just amazing when it's working!
Probably the most iconic cars to me are the race cars, right from when I first got interested in MX5s, I've always been in awe of some of the wide bodied beasts from Japan and Europe ... the Autobacs car with it's Gulf inspired livery, the Watanabe JPS liveried car, the wide bodied German MX5cup Mk2s and of course the Garage Hundred One car.

Some of the cars are cool partly because of what they have achieved, but if you've ever seen any of them, they have a real presence when you're stood next to them. I love the idea that some cars give you goosebumps even when they are just sat there ... and I've always hoped I'd have a car like that at some point. I've kind of come close, having owned a couple of Pit Crews and the Wataru, but none of them have really got further than sitting on my drive.

A few years back, I managed to buy a kit, well most of it anyway. Based on a Works Anhelo front and rear bumper, and with home made arch extensions it looked really cool ... but it was damaged, one of the rear wheel arches was missing and the other was snapped in half ... and the front wings, although they looked superb with the aggressive arches fully smoothed in, needed ripping apart as the arches were not central. I sold it on, knowing it was going to a safe set of hands and knowing that I'd never get around to sorting it out. In all honestly I've regretted selling it ever since ... until yesterday.

A chance conversation with James aka madabout was the usual affair between him and me, discussing the latest random bits we've bought ... when he dropped a bombshell, that he knew of something for sale that he wasn't sure he would buy ... as per usual I first said "well if you don't want it, I'll have it" before asking for any more details. Not that I cared to be honest, some things you just grab when the chance comes along, and having missed the same item once before I wasn't going to mess this up.

So yesterday, I dropped my kids off to school as usual and then started driving northwards ... followed my Sat Nav for about 3 hours to a random garage in a random housing estate ... picked up said item/s (ha ha, giving nothing away yet ...), handed over more cash than I really can afford at the moment, and then started heading south again hoping like crazy I'd get home in time to pick the kids up!!

The crazy thing is, I barely looked at it as I didn't have time ... once the kids were back home the usual routine kicks in making tea and keeping them entertained I'd put a couple of ads on facebook so had to answer a bunch of messages from people etc etc ... then this morning I had to take the kids swimming and so it goes on ... it wasn't until a couple of hours ago that I managed to get a few minutes to look at what I'd bought. I just hope I can actually get it fitted and looking nice and actually see this project through, because if I can do it well my car really will have some presence at last!

Pic 1 ... can you tell what it is yet?

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151127_140037_zpsulcfohw4.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151127_140037_zpsulcfohw4.jpg.html)

Wide Arches ... not the best condition, but I've offered them up against the car and the fit looks good. I'll need to do some work to repair the cracks, and remove some previous repairs so I know it's all done properly.

This should be easier to identify ...
http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151128_111442_zpsjrsx9d8u.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151128_111442_zpsjrsx9d8u.jpg.html)

Front bumper ... pretty wide and the shape should be recognisable enough. I've checked it carefully and it's genuine and the whole kit is there ... wow, I appear to own a real piece of history!!

I think this has me more excited than owning the Pitcrew or Wataru did, although they were amazing pieces of kit and looked very cool, they lent themselves more towards making perfect and looking after, whereas this kit lends itself to being repaired, fixed onto a car and then just used. Don't get me wrong I'll do it properly and will look after it, but it will be a track car, with a track car look and if it gets a few scrapes that's fine.

I'll add a bit of history of the kit and some examples of it in a bit, but right now I need to go stand in the garage for a bit and drool ...

Russell.

vindi49
11-28-2015, 06:27 PM
Oh and in other news, my friend Andrew popped by with the Fastback he's made ... the rear quarter windows will probably be changed for something that follows the lines of the car better but it's not bad at all!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/Screen%20Shot%202015-11-23%20at%2019.26.00_zpsu8lqxetx.png (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/Screen%20Shot%202015-11-23%20at%2019.26.00_zpsu8lqxetx.png.html)

Russell.

Vegard
11-28-2015, 07:27 PM
I feel we need some NoPro inspiration in here now! Great find! I've spent my fair share of hours drooling at this machine.

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5151b481e4b01fd1f7075ea1/53bfc631e4b081056264378f/53bfc632e4b0bee6fd06ed5f/1405077042856/gt_a6.jpg

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5151b481e4b01fd1f7075ea1/53bfc631e4b081056264378f/53bfc632e4b088c37bb905ae/1405077043256/gt_a2.jpg

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5151b481e4b01fd1f7075ea1/t/53bfc5c9e4b0abab5474d491/1405076979125/kageisen-racing-mazda-roadster.jpg?format=1000w

Madaboutmx5s
11-29-2015, 02:30 AM
Liking the look of the fastback. It will be interesting to see if it becomes available for supply here in the UK.

No worries on passing you the details for he norpo kit. When I phoned to tell you about as not a project I could justify I figured you would be keen. Make sure you do it or I making a trip north to have it from you!

vindi49
11-29-2015, 04:07 AM
Thanks guys, and yes, it's a Nogami Project / Nopro kit ... as far as I know it's one of 2 or 3 in the UK so pretty rare! There is a white one out there that has been modified badly following some damage to the bumper, then there is either one or two Mariner blue ones.

I'd love to have some inspiration for this, so any pics you can find of Nopro kitted NAs are very welcome ... as are any links to Nopro stuff

http://www.nopro.jp/?mode=pc

http://www.banovsky.com/archive/kageisen-racing-nogami-project-mazda-roadster

http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread.php?1733-Nogami-Project-NoPro

Russell

WASABI
11-29-2015, 09:20 AM
This is great news Russell. Well done mate!

Phatmiata
11-29-2015, 05:14 PM
Excellent find :bow:

The NoPro front fender flares are exclusive to the Kit, so you will have to cut those T99 and blend them to work with the bumper if that is your plan? Cannot tell in the photos what flares there are but just guessing? One or more looks cut so maybe they are in fact the matching flares? I do recalled a Mariner Blue GT-L in the UK, but never saw but a few pics of it? Could this be the same one?

I have the same GT-L kit here, but dont have the HP to back up the extreme look, so Im saving it for a V8 Roadsters Build

Have these lights that sorta fit, but most likely im going to find some PIAA instead with better light output.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7639/16862958347_84ff047072_c.jpg

also Bill at MiataRoadster has the similar widebody GHO bumper. (pics from the MiataRoadster Facebook page)

http://i.imgur.com/6YTH2HV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TkKWkQa.jpg

rumor has it someone else in the USA has this full kit but it has yet to surface yet?

vindi49
11-29-2015, 05:23 PM
The arches are the correct ones for the kit, not Tuckin ones so they will all just bolt on. I'm trying to track down some of the history of the car, but I'll load some pics of how it looked when it was all fitted.

I have some PIAA lights that were from a Rally car I had a few years back, they would fit in theory but I'll leave the holes for induction rather than hanging a load of weight off them, they seem to crack a bit too easily with the lights fitted from what I've seen.

Russell.

Phatmiata
11-29-2015, 05:25 PM
The arches are the correct ones for the kit, not Tuckin ones so they will all just bolt on. I'm trying to track down some of the history of the car, but I'll load some pics of how it looked when it was all fitted

Russell.


Was it this Car in Mariner Blue? I think I have at least 2 photos of it saved on my hard drive at work hahhaha it was a well put together car.


http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5508/10721654873_79fe75fdf4_b.jpg

vindi49
11-29-2015, 05:32 PM
That's what I'm trying to trace, I think it's a different car and it's just a coincidence that 2 of the 3 Nopro cars that have come up for sale in the past 5 or 6 years in the UK are Mariner Blue! I just need to find the number plate of the cars and see if they match. The black bumper on mine is a bad DIY job, Mariner Blue underneath.

Russell.

Vegard
11-29-2015, 05:35 PM
I think the blue one above was in a crash, as I remember seeing it for sale looking rather shabby, with some fiberglass damage.

vindi49
11-29-2015, 05:47 PM
There was a white one up for sale recently, really sad looking car. The owner had managed to damage the lower portion of the bumper by catching a speed bump, and instead of repairing it he had cut the bottom of the bumper off. Not just a small bit of it, he had cut across at the centre point of the round holes! A real shame, I asked if he had any of the damaged parts but he'd thrown it all away so I thought it was too much work to try to remake it, especially at the strong money he was asking.

Russell.

Delboy
11-29-2015, 06:13 PM
Lots of pics of the Blue UK one here http://www.driftworks.com/forum/drift-cars-sale-private-sales/67334-super-wide-hks-turbo-mx-5-roadster-eunos.html

Delboy
11-29-2015, 06:18 PM
Apparently one of the Blue cars was used as a drift school. http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=31045
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm120/California_schism/Photo0285.jpg (http://s294.photobucket.com/user/California_schism/media/Photo0285.jpg.html)

Vegard
11-29-2015, 06:23 PM
Same one as the link, see the sticker on the headlight lid. Thought I'd seen it with some damage... :(

roadsternut
11-29-2015, 06:31 PM
Miataland has a mint NoPro, over in Italy.

http://imga.automoto.it/static/upload/mia/miataland--3-.jpg
http://www.miataland.com/uploads/1/1/5/4/11540812/3552622.jpg
http://www.miataland.com/uploads/1/1/5/4/11540812/3428727.jpg

Interesting car; I don't recall seeing many non-PW NA8s out of Japan, so I guess it's a genuine converted car.

Vegard
11-29-2015, 07:00 PM
non pw roadsternut? what's PW.

I don't like the changes they've done at the bottom of the front. Perhaps this bumper/car is the one you talked of Russell, with the lower damage? The wheels are however to die for, <3

Phatmiata
11-29-2015, 07:13 PM
Lots of pics of the Blue UK one here http://www.driftworks.com/forum/drift-cars-sale-private-sales/67334-super-wide-hks-turbo-mx-5-roadster-eunos.html


Thanks for the link Delboy, I just updated our NoPro thread with all those great photos , and specs on the car.. :bow:

roadsternut
11-29-2015, 08:10 PM
non pw roadsternut? what's PW.

I don't like the changes they've done at the bottom of the front. Perhaps this bumper/car is the one you talked of Russell, with the lower damage? The wheels are however to die for, <3

Power window. Base spec NA8 Roadsters are very rare. In Japan, such cars are almost invariably related to track usage. Base spec NA6s are a bit more common.

vindi49
11-30-2015, 04:26 AM
Managed to confirm the blue one pictured above is definitely a different one to mine

Russell

vindi49
11-30-2015, 07:44 PM
Got a couple of pics of my kit fitted, earlier this year I think

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/received_10154392952278242_zpskqqjupkf.jpeg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/received_10154392952278242_zpskqqjupkf.jpeg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/received_10154392952083242_zpswlggrabw.jpeg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/received_10154392952083242_zpswlggrabw.jpeg.html)

Will try to do a mini test fit this weekend if I can, not that I'll be able to do much work on my car until early next year, but I kind of want to see how it looks in the flesh

Russell.

Phatmiata
11-30-2015, 08:28 PM
droooooool

makes me want to install mine now hahahaa but I has no monies :fp:

vindi49
12-03-2015, 06:02 PM
Sold the Mk2 tonight, so can start looking at getting the Mk1 back on track ... first step is get the Roll Cage in. Hopefully get that sorted before Christmas so I can start fitting parts and getting it back together

Russrll

vindi49
12-05-2015, 03:59 AM
Well the Mk2 went on Thursday night, in the most horrendous weather!! So with the cash burning a hole in my pocket a quick phone call Friday morning had the green Mk1 on a truck heading to the fabricators by lunch time. They are mocking up the cage today so hopefully it will go in next week once I've approved the changes I've asked for.

Russell

vindi49
12-05-2015, 04:15 AM
Sooo ... engines. Looking at how I'll power this track day beastie and there are a few options I guess

Currently has a Mk2.5 block with a Mk2 head. The Mk1 wiring loom and sensors are in place so it will run on a standatd ecu. That should be good for getting it road legal and at about 135-140bhp.

So then I'll want more .. which is where it gets messy. Basically this will be a track car. I need to keep the costs sensible but don't want to be the slowest car on the straights.

so I could turbo or supercharge it ... not an exciting option but would work. Worried about stressing the engine too much though, to get them really sorted for track use doesn't stay cheap.

Next option is engine swaps ...
Staying 4 pot I could go S2000 (sump / steering rack issues?) or I've been offered a 2.0 Beams engine, box & ecu which is 200bhp standard

V6 ... the 2.5 KL is interesting, keeps it light and again it's going to be around 200bhp once tbs have been added.

V8 ... the Lexus 4.0 is relatively light and cheap, 260bhp as standard. The Audi 4.2 lumps are interesting as well, again relatively light and cheap ... decisions!!

Russell

Vegard
12-05-2015, 04:45 AM
Go ECU and some headwork on what you have and make ~170whp. And get a 4.7 rear end.

vindi49
12-05-2015, 04:09 PM
Go ECU and some headwork on what you have and make ~170whp. And get a 4.7 rear end.

I can't see me getting 170 at the wheels with that. I know some in the US have got that, but they usually get it by using E85 (not available in the UK apart from for stupid money) and measure bhp differently to the rest of the world, so get more power. Unless by headwork you mean heavy skim, aggressive cams, very extensive porting, polishing, reprofiled valves etc etc ... at which point an engine swap is cheaper.

I'll double check one of the 949 racing threads as I know Emilio has done some cool work with NA engines, I can compare his suggested spec to some cars in the UK (a few cars have followed his recipe) and see what I'd get to the wheels. From what I can recall, getting 170 at the wheels as measured in the UK would cost in the region of £1500, not including the ecu.

Russell.

Vegard
12-05-2015, 05:46 PM
http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/59-irtb-individual-runner-throttle-bodies/81194-my-172whp-n-engine-stock-bottom-end-no-porting.html

This is what I had in mind, tuned on 93 octane. Dyno differences aside with a 4.7 rear end it will probably be a nice hassle free track setup and pretty quick.

vindi49
12-05-2015, 06:14 PM
http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/59-irtb-individual-runner-throttle-bodies/81194-my-172whp-n-engine-stock-bottom-end-no-porting.html

This is what I had in mind, tuned on 93 octane. Dyno differences aside with a 4.7 rear end it will probably be a nice hassle free track setup and pretty quick.

Ha ha, I know the build and that's about £5k of parts he lists in the first post!! Maruha cams, Maruha headers ... that's £2000 before you start into titanium this and whatever else. I could buy a drive in, drive out 300bhp V8 conversion for less money.

Edit - I know it could be done for a lot less money than he spent, but to get it as bombproof as an OEM build at the revs needed to get that power and running on track all day would cost a lot more than I want to spend

Russell.

vindi49
12-06-2015, 08:06 PM
Mini road trip to visit the legend that is Junk Yard Dog tonight. Junk yard used to work at an MX5 breakers yard, he's left now to drive trucks but has turned his back garden into a final resting place for rusty MX5s which he breaks / fixes in his spare time ... no idea how he got that past his wife!! He currently has 5 or 6 MX5s, along with a couple of old Triumphs, an Exocet (MX5 kit car), a Land Rover, a Rickman Ranger with MX5 running gear (nearly bought it ...) and a few old Bikes ... Brough, Harley and something else I didn't recognise. Good taste, anyway!

He had called me trying to ID a diff he had, and I decided to go have a closer look ... still none the wiser as to exactly what brand it is, but it's definitely a plated diff and looks like a 2 way. So I bought it, along with a set of wishbones / subframes, a gearbox, a radiator and a few other bits I needed. Fingers crossed I now have all the parts I need to get the car back on the road ... just the minor job of fixing / fitting them, all once it's back from getting the cage fitted!!

Russell.

WASABI
12-06-2015, 11:28 PM
I love your enthusiasm Russell! Post some pictures!!!

vindi49
12-08-2015, 06:10 PM
One of these days I'll learn to say no, but not today apparently ... needed an exhaust, needed to keep the costs down ... well I managed to achieve one of them.

Russell.

vindi49
12-12-2015, 03:49 AM
More parts on the way from Japan ... my wheels arrived at the shippers, along with a Nopro vented quarter window. Probably paid well over the odds for a little vent in a piece of plastic, especially as I already have one, but this one says Nopro so somehow it seems justified.
More goodies on the way from the US as well ... it's like Christmas ... oh, wait ...

I'll post some pics of the diff as well, no idea what it is so maybe someone will recognise it!

Russell

vindi49
12-12-2015, 07:23 PM
Right, here's a bunch of pics of my diff ... I'll be honest, I have no idea what I'm looking at or what I should be looking for. I know if you take out the drive shafts and can see a straight hole through then it's an LSD whereas the open diffs have a bar you can see ... beyond that I don't have a clue.

I've been told this is a plated diff of some kind, likely 2 way, but how do I work out what it is? The strange bit is, from looking at various plated diffs on google, I was expecting to see a machined casing, where this one appears to use the original casing, which is cast I think ... if anyone knows what they are looking at, or which bit I need to take a pic of to help then let me know!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151212_214208_zpshnugunwu.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151212_214208_zpshnugunwu.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151212_214127_zpsrcpapaej.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151212_214127_zpsrcpapaej.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151212_214116_zpsdtdxifqb.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151212_214116_zpsdtdxifqb.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151212_214104_zpspt8ayej7.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151212_214104_zpspt8ayej7.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151212_214053_zpssz33nav5.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151212_214053_zpssz33nav5.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151212_214034_zps1lzfybnf.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151212_214034_zps1lzfybnf.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151212_213754_zps5wgtyztu.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151212_213754_zps5wgtyztu.jpg.html)

Any clues would be great!! Oh, and here's a pic of the casing ... Junkyard who found me the diff gave me a nice painted carrier to put it in!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151212_214319_zpsarq3xajv.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151212_214319_zpsarq3xajv.jpg.html)

In separate news, I started stripping the dash out, getting everything out of the way for the cage. Only just realised that as the cage has a proper cross bar, I'll need to ditch most of the dash and somehow sort a way of either re using it minus the main bar that goes through it, or more likely, rip the dash to pieces and use the wiring I need and the speedo console in some sort of custom dash. Might make a mould and make my own top piece so I can keep it looking sensible ... more work!!

Russell.

HarryB
12-13-2015, 06:00 AM
It is definitely a clutch-type LSD; you can see the discs and ramps on the 2nd photo. No clue on what LSD it is though.

wannafbody
12-14-2015, 10:53 PM
It might be a RX7 lsd

vindi49
12-16-2015, 05:52 PM
It might be a RX7 lsd

That's a possibility, not that I know anything about them ... I'll have to do some digging unless anyone has some info on how I can check

Had a delivery last night, the Fed Ex guy had lobbed a box into the neighbours garden, then left me a note to say he'd left it "behind the gate". I've ordered a bunch of stuff over the last couple of weeks, so wasn't sure what it was. It was raining heavily (had been all day), so I went for a look as I didn't want to leave it to get any wetter. Nothing behind our gate but I could see it next door. Unfortunately the next door neighbours are away at the moment, so I had to get out a step ladder to climb over into their garden to retrieve it. Managed to retrieve the soggy mass of cardboard and get it back into my garden without destroying it, and the label said some bloke called Emilio had sent it ... suddenly my day was a lot more interesting! I only ordered it about 3 or 4 days ago so wasn't expecting it to get here so fast, but I now have a shiny new exhaust, courtesy of Fujitsubo via 949 Racing

Russell.

vindi49
12-18-2015, 05:44 PM
Not had time to get the exhaust out yet, the car is away having the cage put in anyway so I've just had a bit of a peek ... wow, this is so beautifully made! It's more than I was going to spend but my main focus is always losing weight wherever I can so this fits really well with the rest of the car. It's made from fairly thin wall stainless, all the hangers are hollow tube rather than rod, the flanges are pressed with a return edge rather than just cut from thick plate. Really well thought out.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151215_173442_zpsk0ihzdfm.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151215_173442_zpsk0ihzdfm.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151215_233028_zpsvbrwjsi1.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151215_233028_zpsvbrwjsi1.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151215_233104_zps5zc8ymya.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151215_233104_zps5zc8ymya.jpg.html)

Also managed to get hold of a set of flush lights, which arrived from the Netherlands yesterday. No motors or linkages equals a load more weight saved. I'm not sure how good they are as the seller told me they look a bit low and some of the light is lost... most likely I'll cut them about a bit and see if I can raise the lights up and forward to make the most of the small light units output.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151218_114650_zpsc5vztnxu.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151218_114650_zpsc5vztnxu.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151218_114620_zps2ujjj8yv.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151218_114620_zps2ujjj8yv.jpg.html)

Fingers crossed the car will be back before Christmas, with a cage!!

Russell

vindi49
12-19-2015, 05:10 PM
Got the flush headlights fitted for a first look .. they don't look bad for a DIY job but I'll have a mess to get them a bit better. The inside light on both sides is too close to the edge, and both lights are too low down meaning you can't see them very well and a decent amount of the light is wasted / deflected because they are too close to the bottom / side. I'm not sure if they are road legal, but I doubt it, and I'd want them to work better than that in any case so I'll cut them about to get them higher and moved over a bit. Will mean reshaping most of the centre piece, but I'd hate to be bored at Christmas!!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151219_165034_zpsw7vwzdl3.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151219_165034_zpsw7vwzdl3.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151219_165048_zpspouu1xa3.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151219_165048_zpspouu1xa3.jpg.html)

Also had a visit from a friend of mine who has been making a Fastback for himself ... he's had it sprayed at last so it's a bit easier to look at the shape and see where it might need improving.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151219_143217_zpsgxxoljge.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151219_143217_zpsgxxoljge.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20151219_143252_zpswq6hfztx.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20151219_143252_zpswq6hfztx.jpg.html)

I love the overall shape, but think I'd personally prefer the sides to be straight and would just live without the filler cap (can be relocated to the boot) and the aerial (don't have a radio). Andrew has added the scallops to allow it to be lifted on and off without having to change or move anything ... so fitting it takes the same time as a normal hard top.
I would also prefer the side quarter windows to follow the lines of the car more. They are a quirky bubble window that's a shape the fabricator already had but I'm not sure they work for me.

Any thoughts / opinions welcome, it's not finished yet so would be good to get some feedback on it

Russell.

bogaut
12-19-2015, 05:32 PM
i agree with your thoughts on it. window looks out of place and the curve around the antenna is awkward

Paul B
12-19-2015, 11:34 PM
Needs better shaped window and definitely tell him to do away with the antenna!

vindi49
12-20-2015, 03:49 AM
Cheers guys, kind of what I thought. Might get a load more pics including close ups and start a separate thread for it, get a bunch more opinions before I give some feedback.

Russell.

vindi49
12-27-2015, 06:06 PM
Well this "budget build" gets more and more amusing ... just been offered a set of Xida shocks. Can't really say no as they rarely come up over in the UK. So if anyone goes past me on the corners it's pretty much down to my lack of skill!!

Russell.

vindi49
01-07-2016, 06:44 PM
More progress ... got a Nopro quarter window from Japan that arrived a few days back, so fingers crossed will fit that when the car gets back. I also got a customs bill which means my wheels are arriving very soon. Need to find some tyres, although I might have found an option with the Dmack track day tyres .... they come in both 225/45/15 and 265/40/15 so they look like they might work on my 9" / 10" wheels. I'm tempted to get a pair of the 225s first and test fit one on a 10" wheel as if they fit ok I'll stay with 225 all round.

I keep thinking about the engine and I may well go back to a Mk1 1.6 or 1.8. My thinking is that if I want to start into competition, the easiest stuff to find in the UK is sprints and hillclimbs. The regulations state that you can mess with the engine about as much as you want, but the block has to be from the same Mark ... so my Mk2.5 / 2 engine would put me in the modified category, up against all sorts of stupid fast cars. That said, my wide bodywork may put me in that category anyway, so it might not matter!!

Russell.

Vegard
01-07-2016, 06:53 PM
Don't do the 265. Go 225 all around, they are barely stretched on a 9" so a 10" will be fine. If you do 225/45 r888 all around and don't like them on the rear you can go up to 235/50 in the rear. Marlon runs the 235s, check his thread for photos.

vindi49
01-07-2016, 07:06 PM
Don't do the 265. Go 225 all around, they are barely stretched on a 9" so a 10" will be fine. If you do 225/45 r888 all around and don't like them on the rear you can go up to 235/50 in the rear. Marlon runs the 235s, check his thread for photos.
Very interesting, thank you!! I've not come across the 235 before, they are not available in the UK but if they can be bought somewhere that's good enough for me!!

Russell.

Vegard
01-07-2016, 07:11 PM
Camskill has them listed: http://www.camskill.co.uk/brands/toyo-proxes-r888-trackday-track-day-tyres.php

I ordered a set of 225/45s from them, good prices (at the time) and quick shipping (to Norway)

vindi49
01-08-2016, 07:06 AM
Camskill has them listed: http://www.camskill.co.uk/brands/toyo-proxes-r888-trackday-track-day-tyres.php

I ordered a set of 225/45s from them, good prices (at the time) and quick shipping (to Norway)

Strange, I hadn't spotted them before ... thanks for the info anyway, at least I can be confident they will be 100% road legal. Might go for 225/50 at the front to keep it better balanced?

The wheels arrived today so I'll order some 225s, put one on a 10 and see how it goes. I also managed to correct a mistake today, bought back my custom Revlimiter dials. I'm holding off with pics until there is a bit more progress with the car ... hopefully a couple of weeks and the cage will be in. At that point I have to make a decision with the engine, and then just get busy in the garage ... in theory a few weeks hard work should see it back together.

Russell.

Vegard
01-08-2016, 11:55 AM
Strange, I hadn't spotted them before ... thanks for the info anyway, at least I can be confident they will be 100% road legal. Might go for 225/50 at the front to keep it better balanced?

The wheels arrived today so I'll order some 225s, put one on a 10 and see how it goes. I also managed to correct a mistake today, bought back my custom Revlimiter dials. I'm holding off with pics until there is a bit more progress with the car ... hopefully a couple of weeks and the cage will be in. At that point I have to make a decision with the engine, and then just get busy in the garage ... in theory a few weeks hard work should see it back together.

Russell.

The 225/50 will be to tall for the front. Don't do it. Go with 225/45 all around, you won't need to change to the 235/50, but at least you'll have the opportunity, and in the rear you'll be sort of fine with the tall tire, but not front.

Vegard
01-08-2016, 11:57 AM
What are the wheel specs? And perhaps a picture?

vindi49
01-08-2016, 05:39 PM
What are the wheel specs? And perhaps a picture?

I'll load up some pics tomorrow but they are 6ULs in Nickel. Strange to find them in Japan but I guess they aren't so well known over there so I got them cheaper than they should have been. Fronts are 15 x 9 et36 and rears are 15 x 10 et25. They will need spacers at the front but the rears will be ok I think

Russell

vindi49
01-15-2016, 05:46 PM
Spent the day at the Autosport show today, good to see things in the flesh and get some inspiration for the project ...

Spoke to a guy from Maxxis, and he confirmed they have access to all the tyres available in the states. He also confirmed the new tyre (VR-1?) will be coming across in the same sizes and will be emarked. So if the 225s don't work for me I'll be able to get the 245/40 when it comes out

Spoke to a few people about suspension ... Ohlins was a possibility but they aren't quite right from the factory, and if I spend £1500 I don't want to have to spend more getting them re valved or whatever. I've found an alternative but I'll keep quiet until the deal is done.

Had a chance conversation with a guy I know who races a MEV (MX5 based kit car), he currently has a Rotrex charger fitted that he doesn't need any more so that could be an option ... it's a Kraftwerks kit and is currently at about 230bhp. There aren't many kits in the UK which is part of the appeal if I'm honest!

Also spoke to the guy fitting my cage, I'll go and see it tomorrow but it's not made much progress. Another week ... which is what they said last week ...

Russell

vindi49
01-28-2016, 08:24 PM
Cage is progressing gradually, in some ways it would have been a lot simpler to just make a cage from scratch, but lack of funds means this is the route I have to follow. The cage is loosely in, I need to take them a spare soft top and hard top tomorrow so they can check the fit

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20160116_155602_zpskba8e8yd.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20160116_155602_zpskba8e8yd.jpg.html)

I'll post some more pics when I get the car back, my garage currently looks like a disaster area but hopefully that's because I have all the parts I need to build it all back up.

On the "engine decisions" front I'm really tempted by a Rotrex setup I've been offered ... different enough to interest me, and track worthy?

Russell.

vindi49
02-14-2016, 04:05 PM
Interesting developments as ever, went over to meet up with a few friends from the UK scene ... Steve and James Cribb, and Dave Burkinshaw (Painter Dave). The Cribbs are in the process of resurrecting (way more in depth than just a renovation!) a Hayashi Roadster ... they have been hoarding parts for years, and are now in the process of putting it together. Anyway, I was just meeting up to swap an exhaust I had for a steering wheel they had, and also hand my Nopro kit to Painter Dave for him to repair the cracks. We met up at Daves, while he was prepping his Pitcrew Roadster for a photo shoot the following day. It wasn't until I was on the way home that I thought what a cool moment it was ... Pitcrew, Hayashi and Nopro within a few feet ... might have to arrange another photoshoot when they are all together!

As usual when a bunch of guys get together, we swapped ideas about our builds, stories about finds (think Dave is winning that one at the moment!) etc. We talked over the Nopro quite a bit, and although I was moving away from the idea of fitting it all to my green car, I think it does make sense. The Nopro kit is very much a track based kit, and my green car is all about the track. So it looks like there will be a BRG Nopro on the road later this year ... still got to decide on the engine though, the guys weren't helping and think Quad Rotary is the way to go ... my wallet disagrees!

To mess with my head even more, I bought another MX5 today. It's a bit of an oddity, having had a Ford Zetec conversion done on it. Odd choice in some ways, but I guess they are a lot more tunable than the MX5 engines ... a set of throttle bodies takes you straight to 170bhp, cams get you to 220 and 250 isn't hard to get without resorting to FI.
My wife was unsure what to get me for Valentines Day, so she's now getting me a Zetec engine ... if I can find one, an ST170.

The same guy was clearing out his spares, so I picked up a set of GSXR1000 throttle bodies on a really nice Ally manifold, made by the Bogg Brothers. No idea what I'll do with it yet, but I couldn't say no!!

Russell.

vindi49
03-14-2016, 02:52 AM
Got the car back on Friday, so was able to have a proper look around the cage. A few tweaks are needed but essentially I just need to bolt all the bits stacked at the side of the car on in the right places and I'll be done. Gutting that I'm so busy at the moment it's not likely to happen for some time!

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20160312_190923_zps6wpbztzc.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20160312_190923_zps6wpbztzc.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20160312_223025_zpsojgxnkxu.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20160312_223025_zpsojgxnkxu.jpg.html)

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20160312_222644_zpsreiqslda.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20160312_222644_zpsreiqslda.jpg.html)

Also got the tyres fitted to my new wheels ... bit too much stretch I think, so I may well have to go bigger.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20160305_115415_zpspds2wwpy.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20160305_115415_zpspds2wwpy.jpg.html)

Russell.

etikoner
03-15-2016, 05:05 AM
What wheels are those tyres on? Looks nice and meaty from that angle..

vindi49
03-15-2016, 02:43 PM
What wheels are those tyres on? Looks nice and meaty from that angle..

10" 6ULs. They are ok, but I can't help thinking it's not quite there. Seeing as my arches are pretty big the last thing I need is stretch, so I'll think about it for a bit and go bigger if it makes sense

Russell

WASABI
03-15-2016, 10:15 PM
Nice work on the BRG Russell! That cage looks amazing! I can only imagine how tight she will be. Keep up the good work.

vindi49
03-16-2016, 05:25 PM
Nice work on the BRG Russell! That cage looks amazing! I can only imagine how tight she will be. Keep up the good work.

Thanks, there are a few bits that will get changed ... the A pillar gussets were apparently welded by the trainee as they are pretty messy and were meant to be a lot longer but generally I'm happy. It's a huge step forward for me and at last I'm feeling like I'm back in control of the build

Russell

wannafbody
03-16-2016, 08:13 PM
No crossbrace from the top of the hoop to the floorpan?

vindi49
03-18-2016, 05:40 PM
No crossbrace from the top of the hoop to the floorpan?

No, the cage is exceptionally well made but relatively basic as it's been lifted out of another car that was not going to be raced. First thing was to get the basic cage in, second thing is to compare it to the current race cages (this was a street / race hybrid design) and maybe add a few bits. I have noticed the race cages used in the US are a lot more complex than the UK ones.
Door bars might get revisited as well, but I want to fit my seats and get the car driving a bit on the street to get a feel for how it works and what's needed next.

Russell.

kung fu jesus
03-18-2016, 05:52 PM
The cage looks incomplete, a few triangulated pieces missing for a w2w cage, but I understand the intention. Do the forward points go through the dashboard or down the face of it?

vindi49
03-19-2016, 06:48 PM
The forward points go through the dash. I'm interested in what you'd add to improve the cage, and why. Pics to show what you mean would be cool too.

Having looked round the cage really closely today it's going back for some more work. Turns out two different guys did bits of the work and I can tell who did which bits ... one set of welds are lovely and even, another are not

Russell

vindi49
03-22-2016, 04:42 AM
The car has gone back to the fabricators for a few bits to be tidied up ... so with an empty garage I obviously turn to the internet and start buying stuff! Managed to buy a few bits and pieces for the build, most importantly some suspension to replace my bust Performance 5 stuff. I managed to track down some Ohlins + K One shocks, which look to be custom valved by a race prep company in Japan. The spring rates are unknown but they are Swift springs so fingers crossed they will be ok.

I found two Bride TTM - C seats as well, to replace mine that went missing last year. They are on the way now, hopefully they arrive about the same time the car gets back.

Russell

roadsternut
03-28-2016, 07:21 PM
I briefly flirted with some Corn's (Racing Gear) shocks with Swift springs. Ignored everyone's advice, thinking it was not possible for the springs to be so stiff. The car was rendered virtually undriveable

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n109/saz9961/S-Spec%20II/racinggear049.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n109/saz9961/S-Spec%20II/racinggear041.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n109/saz9961/S-Spec%20II/racinggear037.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n109/saz9961/S-Spec%20II/023.jpg

Did look nice though for the 3 hours they were on.

vindi49
03-29-2016, 06:50 PM
I briefly flirted with some Corn's (Racing Gear) shocks with Swift springs.

Do you know what the spring rates were?

Russell

roadsternut
03-30-2016, 05:21 PM
Do you know what the spring rates were?

Russell

The fronts remained a mystery, the rears were 18kg springs. Strange thing is the shocks were taken off a sedate looking and otherwise standard looking black 'n tan VSpec import, not from a gaffer taped track heap like some imports are before some of the specialists put them back to standard for sale.

vindi49
04-04-2016, 12:24 PM
The fronts remained a mystery, the rears were 18kg springs. Strange thing is the shocks were taken off a sedate looking and otherwise standard looking black 'n tan VSpec import, not from a gaffer taped track heap like some imports are before some of the specialists put them back to standard for sale.
Ouch!! I believe mine are 10kg rear and possibly 8 front although that is a guess for the fronts. I have some Swift springs from previous shocks so I can swap them around if needed. Think I have some 9kg rears and some 6 and 7kg fronts.

Russell

wannafbody
04-04-2016, 04:38 PM
Front spring rates should be higher. Maybe someone installed the springs on the wrong shocks.

kung fu jesus
04-04-2016, 05:13 PM
Holy crap. 18kg springs is about 1000#. That is crazy firm. The highest streetable coilovers I heard of were 9kg in the rear, 12kg in the front.

vindi49
04-10-2016, 07:08 PM
Front spring rates should be higher. Maybe someone installed the springs on the wrong shocks.
Sorry I just got the front and rear rates backwards, been a long few days!!

Russell

vindi49
04-10-2016, 07:14 PM
Mini update, while the car is back for some more work on the cage so I've been left collecting parts for the rebuild whenever that happens. Managed to get hold of a set of the Toyota AE111 TBs, so I've got another TTT (Techno Toys Tuning) manifold to match it. These already have trumpets and some basic filters as well as the fuel rail, injectors etc with them.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20160403_090659_zps8a7ixmnc.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20160403_090659_zps8a7ixmnc.jpg.html)

I'll have a go at mocking them up when the car gets back. Also managed to get hold of a few more bits including the Bride seats I had before, so at least they can just get chucked back in and I know they fit perfectly and work well.

Also stumbled upon a new car ... not exactly planned, and it takes my MX5 count back up to 4 but this one works and was the right price so at least I've got something to trundle around in for a bit.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss345/vindi49/20160408_135853_zpsolzgd8rh.jpg (http://s590.photobucket.com/user/vindi49/media/20160408_135853_zpsolzgd8rh.jpg.html)

Nothing exciting, just a fairly standard 1990 V Limited but it has 11 months MOT and from a blast around the lanes tonight the engine pulls really well and everything does what it's supposed to. As it's on the road already I can spend a bit of time tidying it as I go, and give it some use while the other one is being worked on.

Russell.

vindi49
04-17-2016, 03:01 PM
So I accidentally bought 2 more MX5s today ... it's all changed around so quick I'm losing track myself, but currently ...

1 - 1991 1.8 V limited in British Racing Green. My main car, now caged and some throttle bodies are being fitted to it.

2 - 1990 1.6 V limited in British Racing Green. Cheap but mostly solid, road legal and everything!

3 - 1991 2.0 Eunos in Silver. Zetec conversion, awaiting a new home.

4 - 1990 1.6 Eunos in Silver. Imported in 2008 then taken off the road ( for a change of brake pads) in 2009. Garaged since so very solid but in need of recommissioning.

5 - 1997 1.8 Harvard in Silver. Very tatty but complete ... one of only 400 made I think. This one comes with TV, DVD and 17" alloys no less!

Soooo .... not sure exactly where this is leading, but there are cars coming up cheap once in a while and there are a few people doing the rounds on the forums and facebook, buying them all and breaking them which seems a shame especially if they are solid cars.
I'm hoping to sort these cars out properly and put them back on the road so they can live another 20 odd years. And maybe I'll sort mine at some point but I'm quite enjoying messing about with the others as well so no rush I guess!

Russell

HarryB
04-17-2016, 04:10 PM
Haha, that's quite a collection. Mind you, I am after a V-spec Nardi (or a MOMO Indy), worn out would be perfect as I want to re-do the wood in a darker hue to match my OEM set, so if you want to let one go for cheap, let me know!

vindi49
04-17-2016, 05:01 PM
Haha, that's quite a collection. Mind you, I am after a V-spec Nardi (or a MOMO Indy), worn out would be perfect as I want to re-do the wood in a darker hue to match my OEM set, so if you want to let one go for cheap, let me know!

I'm keeping mine but might know where there is another one ... will check

Russell

vindi49
06-01-2016, 07:26 AM
Latest updates ... got the car back from having the cage fixed (wasn't happy with it first time around) and now they have managed to crack the screen! Gutted particularly as it's a heated front screen so will be hard to replace.

Decided to sell the TBs (I know, again!!) mainly because a really nice supercharger setup will be heading my way shortly. Not sure if he had a build thread on here but a very good friend of mine built a kit for a Rousch MP90. He built if for his 1.6 but remade the mounts for a 1.8, so that kit will be headed onto my car! It gave 260bhp at low pressure on a 1.8, so I'll stick with that to start with, but with the right engine mods it should be good for over 300

Russell

vindi49
06-01-2016, 07:50 AM
Link for reference

http://www.phoenixfives.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5828&hilit=Mp90

Russell