To be able to get an age related number plate I believe you need the V5 of the donor vehicle.

All my donor parts came from one vehicle, but because it was an insurance write off the V5 had been surrendered.

I ended up with a Q plate, but like you say visual only emissions come MOT time.

Thank you for the assistance chaps.

I am going to go for an age related plate. I'm going to get the complete running mx5 engine from a local car being broken. I can have copies of the v5 and this is the same car I got my brakes and other bits from which should get me over the points threshold. If it fails then, I tried my best and will focus on the benefits of the Q plate. The duratec can wait as Mrs M pointed out I'm going to be a dad in a few months which won't mix with expensive and time consuming duratec installs!

Needs to be original V5.
If car is already registered as scrap, I think you will have problems.

It's registration hasn't changed but will in the future once it's been broken up.

[quote]The duratec can wait as Mrs M pointed out I'm going to be a dad in a few months which won't mix with expensive and time consuming duratec installs![/QUOTE

I built my chassis some 6 years ago maybe longer then it was getting in the way of starting a family. So I ended up stopping my build for a while until I could afford it again and that took until last year when I pulled my chassis back out a little over a year ago. But your build is getting on with a good start

Happy building

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124541083@N02/

I don't think my impatience could wait 6 years!

Could someone kindly confirm if this polo radiators so suitable for my build using a standard 1.6 mx5 motor please?

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=281632515387

I've got a polo rad on mine and iv got the 1.8 but I am very tempted on getting an alloy rad

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124541083@N02/

I know Polo radiators have been fitted on both Sierra and MX5 based Haynes Roadster with no problem.

Another popular alternative is the Mercedes 190 radiator. It is thick, compact, and perfectly fits vertically under the nose cone. That is the one I use, as wall as many other builders, and with my Sierra 2.0i DOHC, there is absolutely no overheating problems, it does the job perfectly. I definitely advise this radiator.

Good luck with your build :)

Ah the 190 rad sounds cool(!). I'll see about tracking one down and giving it a go. Thanks guys.

Matt, could I ask who made your petrol tank please? I'd like to use the mx5 sender unit like yours.

hi speak to k4kev on here he had a couple for sale recently he makes them, well tidy

Try and buy a quality 190 radiator if you go that way. I bought the cheapest I could find and its not up to the job on my car as its a round bar radiator and not a flat bar one. Flat bar are more efficient and I think that's what causing me to be up over 100 most of the time.

Mine is a MX5 with Turbo and inter cooler in front but still with a descent rad it should still be high 80s low 90s most of the time.

Cheers
Stot

Hi, that is the radiator I used on my build and I don't have any problems.

Kev makes the tanks for mx5 cars and they are perfect. And ver reasonable as well.

David

Std polo rad is 380mm core width, my 2lt zetec has never had any cooling issues and the fan only cuts in when stationary, there is a golf rad 50mm wider same height and thickness if you are concerned, advanced radiators sell them code VW334 @ £28.03 free delivery and very good quality. i don't see any point in paying for a 1 off expensive rad when you can get a std replacement off the shelf from parts warehouses with next day delivery at a fraction of the alloy one.

http://www.adrad.co.uk/prices/prices.php?search=VW334

I made my tank myself then I had a friend weld it up for my

Money is tight so I went for the new Polo rad. I don't see me achieving my dream engine for some time either so it'll do for a long time. Thank you for the input guys, very appreciated.

Ps, I pm'd Kev - thanks again for steering me in the correct direction :D

The polo rad is man enough for the job Gavin...I'm running a 1.8 turbo stage 2 tuned and my temp gauge sits quite happily in the normal no matter how I drive, maybe goes up a little when sitting in traffic but then the fan cuts in and back down it goes

That sounds ideal, very reassuring!

Is yours the roadster I've seen on YouTube giving Atoms some stick?

Nah... but it is bluddy damn quick as a few nerds (north east roadster dudes)on here can testify

Some more done today.





The rear is nearly done, just the fuel tank/rear panel support bar to go.

Tomorrows job.



I'm hoping it'll be on its wheels then. I want rid of the table and the chassis up on stands.

I did trial fit the rear arms today. The bushes are concerning me as they're very tight. I've verified the crush tubes are all 44mm length and the larger outer bush housing tubes are dimensionally correct as well. The suspension brackets are bang on to.

When's everything is all cranked up they become very stiff. I've lubed them with copper grease as per several web found suggestions.

Maybe my expectations are out of line with reality.

They are quite tight and stiff on my car if all else fails shave a few thow off the bush

Stiff arms seem like a bad idea to me, wouldn't you be essentially preloading the wishbones?

Mine rotate pretty freely between thumb and forefinger, they're dry assembled at the moment.

It would be worth checking whether the bushes are binding on the mounts, there's probably going to be witness marks if they are.

looking nice mate! seems like ages ago when i was at your stage, about 7 months ago and im nearly ready for powder coat!

I think the whole crush tube,bracket and polybush thing needs putting in to context some what here.
The polybushes rotate around the crush tubes and rub against the sides of the suspension brackets and every thing is new when you are assembling the wishbones or moving them by hand you only exert may be 30-40lbs of force, a fully built 550-600kg car and 250-300lbs springs will find it much easier to move. You need to take normal wear and tear in to account before you introduce fore and aft movement in to the wishbones by shaving bits before they have had a chance to bed in on the road. The polybushes on these cars are seen as consumable and they will bed in after a 150-200 mile shake down, after 2500-3000 miles they will need replacing.

Ah yes, I understand the weight of the car vs weight transfer, bumps etc will likely overcome the friction in the bush however, these bushes are bulging out of their intended home, something is less than ideal here I'm sure. At this rate I could probably run the shocks without any damping!

When I bend my suspension brackets they end up being wider at the bottom and lean inwards at the top, try flaring them out a little and refitting the wishbones. The other thing I would look at is the inner diameter of the bush tubes, inner edges of the bush tubes have they got a lead in chamfer to them and are you using a vice to assemble them?

I'm using a vice yes. The inner tube and brackets measure up perfectly. That chamfer is missing though and I can see they're not sitting right up against the housing tube. Out with the file then :(

I dry assembled mine initially and the stiction on the rear was terrible. After the IVA I disassembled the lot and reassembled with teflon grease. The rear is nice and smooth now. If your bushes are buldging then you might want to check your tolerances or maybe there's too much grease in there?

I've worked the outer tubes on one arm to ensure the bushes fit perfectly then measured the id of the bush. 18.5mm? The crush tubes are 19mm. Looks like I have an interference fit! The outer tubes are the correct I'd so they're not compressing the bush just gripping it.

Are my bushes no good?

Don't forget you don't have any weight acting on the bushes yet, the weight of the car acting on the wishbones and polybushes will soon compress the top quarter section of the bushes.

Good point, persevere with these?

Does the Saturn run a shorter shock than the standard book chassis?

Yes 12" rear, 13-14" front.

RELIEF!!!!! I thought I had made a colossal f@@k up then! I was sat there moving the hub up through its range of motion and thought it'd never take a 14" shock, thank you!

Haha! Depending on how much steering lock you want you can run a 13-14" shock at the front. I'd only tack the shock mounts on to the lower front wishbones so you can adjust the position to suit the droop/steering lock you want. Reason being is there is an issue with the steering rod ends touching the front of the lower wishbone on full lock and full droop with 14" dampers! People normally get around it by limiting the rack but I went for the hard option to keep a tight turning circle.

I'll look out for that, thanks for the heads up :cool:

Here's where I'm at.





The diff was a squeeze. I'll lose paint shoe horsing that in again.

I'll hopefully finish the front shock mounts tomorrow. I'll either then start on the engine mountings or the front diff mount.

The front shock mounts are now tacked on as is the rack mount.

There's no spacers between rack and mount here but, the rack is too close to the lower arms.

Yes I used some aluminium to raise the rack as the gaiters where rubbing on the wishbones which is an IVA fail.

I'll do that this week.

Next decision, ally or steel for the floor?

Ok so I thought I'd bugger my back today so what better way than moving an engine...







It's sump hangs roughly 40mm below the chassis and the bottom edge of the bell housing is about 5mm below the chassis.

Without the bonnet or scuttle to refer to it looks wrong? And is the gearbox not inline with the crank line?

Part of me wants to notch the pedal box area to move the engine back further which the clutch arm is preventing.