hi and progress so far

[garyt]

So after building a locost and then losing it when I got divorced here we go with round 2 !! with encouragement from my new missus who is dead keen on the whole idea I decided to go down the mx5 route.
incidentally not that my missus is a petrolhead but she had a mustang when we met stateside where I managed to get my first speeding fine , red mustang doing 90 on the interstate and £180 for the pleasure, enjoy the usa sir !!
anyway now we are back in sunny lossiemouth, Scotland and have got my chassis onto 4 wheels and am waiting for the engine to arrive from way down south
here is a pic of progress so far

http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1744&stc=1&d=1403897747

[Davidbolam]

Welcome to the forum. Nice to see yet another mx5 builder. If you have any questions please ask.

I'm guessing your in the raf with your location

David

[garyt]

hi David many thanks , no im not RAF I am a cooper and I make whisky barrels for a living :) for my sins. Had many bikes over the years, an mgb, tvr 3000m, xr4x4 then had to be sensible and didn't like it so here we are doing what we enjoy .
thanks again for the welcome gary

[Enoch]

Looking good, what engine are you going for? The Mazda one or something a bit more exotic / ridiculous?

[garyt]

yes just the plain old mazda this time, not even close to finishing, and already the missus has said what SHE wants in hers :)
So let her pick the colour and I'll teach her how to drive it on the proper side of the road and then..... :D

[K4KEV]

Welcome Gary the cooper....was'nt he a film star:p looking forward to watching another haynes take shape.

[jason 82]

Welcome to the forum Gary, Rally Design do some really good deals, just bought a set of Gaz coilovers for £380 including springs & shipping. Very impressed ! Phil of Talon Motorsport on this forum does loads of fabricating work, the mx5 engine mount brackets are a must, makes the job a lot easier, then we have K4kev , he is the fuel tank guru. There are some really clever people on here, handy to know. Don't ask me anything, I am learning as I go ! Lol:eek: :D

[alga]

Word or warning: your headlight stalks seem to be on the long side. Mine are shorter and I'm thinking of shortening them still, because the lights impact the cycle wings on full lock and suspension compression. The nose cone does not project outside the top chassis rails, so you you can judge the gap there by offering a cardboard cutout of your chosen headlight size or just measuring the distance between the headlight mounting hole and the top chassis rails. As for the 400 mm maximum dimension between the side of the car and the edge of the headlight, just remember that the widest point of the car is at the rear arches and it is 169-170 cm depending on your tub and wings. You can work out the minimum distance between the light mounting holes based on that width and the size of your lights.

Update: that said, I positioned the bulge of the cycle wings right beside the headlight, so you might be fine:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5R1ckL940Gs/USpC2exIOYI/AAAAAAAAEXE/IE0A20bKemE/s640/2012-12-01%252023.44.31.jpg

[garyt]

hi many thanks for that I will do some measuring and adjust as needed, I'd rather cut them now if I need to !:D

[garyt]

hi been busy at work but took home the heavy mob today and trina fed them in exchange for putting my engine and box in ! seriously picked it up and said where do you want it?
end of box was still full of oil though so while I swept up they had coffee. at least now I can get engine mounts made up and crack on again.
Gary :D

http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1746&stc=1&d=1406143126

[dubzter]

So after building a locost and then losing it when I got divorced here we go with round 2 !! with encouragement from my new missus who is dead keen on the whole idea I decided to go down the mx5 route.
incidentally not that my missus is a petrolhead but she had a mustang when we met stateside where I managed to get my first speeding fine , red mustang doing 90 on the interstate and £180 for the pleasure, enjoy the usa sir !!
anyway now we are back in sunny lossiemouth, Scotland and have got my chassis onto 4 wheels and am waiting for the engine to arrive from way down south
here is a pic of progress so far

http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1744&stc=1&d=1403897747

Great to see soemone "almost" local to me building. I'm based up in the far north, I haven't started yet but have read The Book many times. Got a massive list of house realated jobs to do before the missus will sign my work permit haha.

Looking forward to watching this one progress.

[garyt]

thanks, how far up north are you ? Keep the faith good things come to those who wait, just make sure a nice heated workshop is on your house jobs to do list, "makes it easier to service your car dear" seems like a reasonable ploy :)

[dubzter]

thanks, how far up north are you ? Keep the faith good things come to those who wait, just make sure a nice heated workshop is on your house jobs to do list, "makes it easier to service your car dear" seems like a reasonable ploy :)

Gary, I'm up in Caithness so local(ish) haha, the workshop is already covered so I'm all good there, just need to get past the windows/doors/decorating/etc then I'm good to go. Maybe get a start this winter, then again she will probably find something else for me to do :mad:

[garyt]

well started to do the fuel/ brake lines this weekend got up this morning to have the police knocking at the door some t##t hit my volvo last night and ripped the n/s wheel half off moving the car 3 ft back into a bollard.... :(
bonus was an off duty officer witnessed the whole thing at 3am, so instead of getting on, spent the day dealing with police and insurance waiting for them all to get their act together despite its the weekend sir.
sorry for the rant :(

[garyt]

BIG parcel arrived tonight, body panels :) :)
could not resist sticking them on the chassis, oh dear, its in danger of looking like a car :)
still a lot of work to get them fitting right but a big step.
Only down side engine will need to go over a tadge (Scottish unit of flexible measurement) as intake side is just catching edge of bulge.
Guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow :)

[MikeB]

Exciting, who's bodywork did you get? piccy needed

[garyt]

Hi Mike I got my bodywork from Gillham , he was advertising some seconds so I jumped at the offer as I will be painting anyway and I used to mess about with f/g when we had minis years ago.... so sorting out a few bits and pieces isnae a problem having said that they are still very good

[garyt]

also got pedals done and m/c's in.
only problem now is I will have to redo the engine mounts so that the engine intake clears the bonnet a combination of a little over and a little down should do it :)

[garyt]

as an aside for anyone interested I see he has an ad for nose/bonnet on ebay at moment

[TheArf]

looking good there Gary and in a short period of time


Arfon

[garyt]

cheers its easy with plenty of motivation now, its when you start the small fiddly bits when you don't see a change outwardly that you think all day and whats been done.
thankfully swmbo is keen to see it on the road , so that IS my biggest motivation :)

[garyt]

aghhhhh... enforced pause whilst we get sorted with replacement daily car, Volvo written off she sheared the wishbone , twisted the subframe and floor , took a chunk out off and split the gearbox among all the obvious visable damage . Oh well don't ya just love drink drivers, not vengefull but hope she gets what she deserves when it hits the court.


ANYWAY , on a lighter note IF you are thinking of building, or are building, remember when all the partners, family and friends call you crazy just reply;
I'M NOT CRAZY JUST CREATIVELY INSANE :) :)
works for me.....
gary

[garyt]

ha ha still alive !!!! was out side welding the steering column and some small brackets when woosh the heavens opened with torrential rain and hailstones.... its only September.... moved supprisingly quickly to turn everything off , covered everything and ran for coffee 10 mins later the suns beeming and the grounds steaming ??????????
oh well at least a wee bit more done, side panels next not sure weather to make them or buy f/g ones as they will be painted eventually
gary

[garyt]

if anyone has a pair of f/g side panels they didn't use let me know :)
gary

[PorkChop]

if anyone has a pair of f/g side panels they didn't use let me know :)
gary

I got a pair of panels going spare, getting them all the way up to you may be interesting...

[garyt]

yeah I'm used to that trying to get bits sent up here, how much would you want for them? if I can get carrier sorted would you wrap them? also where abouts are you?
cheers gary

[garyt]

Hi all, sorry for lack of progress reports but had to get another daily car which left the piggybank depleted but I did treat myself to one interesting "upgrade" more will be revealed as I get on. Anyway BIG news today postie came with my vin number, this is getting serious now :)
I've been pottering away doing some small jobs and will add some more photos soon :)
really like the FAQ thread it helps a lot
Gary

[garyt]

a few pictures of progress have to do the sides next and put the right springs on the front got the rack extensions on and been doing some other jobs
gary

[IMG]http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1756&stc=1&d=1412526152
[IMG]http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1757&stc=1&d=1412526152
[IMG]http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1758&stc=1&d=1412526152[IMG]http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1759&stc=1&d=1412526152

[garyt]

well here we are some pics of more progress been a busy weekend , brought home a sheet of 1.2mm steel , fri lunchtime really late supper and apolagised to the neighbours .. early start sat and a late finish , then a few hours today saw the sides made, primered and fitted and one trannie side done, did the drivers side one but ARGH measured twice and still cut it wrong :( so will redo next weekend.
mounted the charger a bit of fiddling around , its a bit tight in there :)

[garyt]

next must fit some bonnet catches , attach rear tub, make drivers tran tunnel side (again) and keep attacking the charger pipework, once that's sorted then an exhaust manifold, cat and silencer.
nights are getting shorter and colder up here so need to sort out some lighting , can handle the cold but obviously don't eat enuff carrots :)
gary

[garyt]

well been outside its cold and damp but moving forward with the sc install got the sc mounted (1 upper brace to make) got the inlet side sorted out and in, remade the exhaust manifold aka the mx Miata turbo one and the downpipes sorted.
so next up mount the intercooler and pipes and a belt tensioner (a bit of headscratching with this one) then onto the wiring oh hum :) got boxes of multi-coloured spaghetti sitting here.
Gary

[garyt]

got a bit more one this weekend fuel filter and lines sorted, s/c tensioner made and in place, intercooler mounted and plumbed, boost sensor mounted and a wee drop of paint on the s/c outlet. made a start stripping back the engine loom to relocate a couple of things. working back towards the scuttle ... mmm... fun ...
Gary

[twinturbo]

Is there going to be some sort of scoop to push air into the IC?

TT

[garyt]

Hi , was really trying to avoid that if at all possible, mounting the s/c lower should reduce some of the heat transfer issues the mx5 conversion has, the airflow from the rad /fan will create some negative air pressure behind the I/c and I will fill the edges, so will see how that goes and if IF and only if, I will look at some sort of scoop duct directly for the I/c but at the moment don't really want to go the scoop route.
Cheers Gary

[garyt]

got a wee bit done cos the sun came out and wife is away visiting family for a bit so been collecting making bits so hopefully can get a bit of a push on :)

[K4KEV]

Not half foggy in your garage lol :D .....nice colour scheme ..its different.

[garyt]

Yeah sorry about the quality or not of the pics

[dubzter]

looking good Gary

[garyt]

well absolutely frozen but happy messed about finishing the manifold and got some alterations to the wiring (but nae finished that one yet...) firewall made battery in a tempory earth , connected the instruments turned the key and ............ nothing. :(
went over and over it, had coffee and more coffee. so went and rechecked it all and found 1 connecter off the back of the main fuse block, took it off to put through the firewall. reconnected it and the battery ..... BINGO lights on the dash and engine turns over. so T time. with a big smile :)
so hopefully tomorrow will run some tempory wiring to the pump and add a couple gallons of petrol and see if we can get fuel pressure and if so we will go for a start up :D

[garyt]

ok so after working out ive fuel engine cranking but nothing else panicking that its an ammobiliser fault , I found 2 wires that should be connected so joined them and away she went a splutter and died an adjustment on the throttle cable to the 2nd tb and she is running. :)
absolutely awesome to hear it now I need to finish the cooling system and tidy all the tempory wiring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZkL9IioRExQ
if this link disnae work go to you tube and enter "its alive Haynes first start up "
very very happy

[wylliezx9r]

Nice one, milestone reached.

[CTWV50]

Engine start, best feeling ever. Well done!:D

[dubzter]

sounds awesome

[garyt]

well spent the day doing some jobs on the front end and sorting out the wiring for headlights etc , seem to have been busy but not a lot to see, oh well just to figure out mazdas' headlight wiring now . day off tomorrow so gonna try and get headlights working and rear lights wired in and hopefully working. hopefully alloys will arrive this week and I can start on cycle wings / stays
Gary
I swear the list is getting longer not shorter ....lol

[SeriesLandy]

well spent the day doing some jobs on the front end and sorting out the wiring for headlights etc , seem to have been busy but not a lot to see, oh well just to figure out mazdas' headlight wiring now . day off tomorrow so gonna try and get headlights working and rear lights wired in and hopefully working. hopefully alloys will arrive this week and I can start on cycle wings / stays
Gary
I swear the list is getting longer not shorter ....lol

The list never gets shorter. Mines finished and there are still jobs to be done.

[garyt]

Thanks for that Steve , just the encouragement required :)
I know from past experiances that in my mind every job done is a step closer to using her not finishing her and truthfully the list isn't getting longer just as I do one job I see another I hadn't thought about lol . so having coffee n toast, its a buetiful day so will see how I get on today
Gary

[SeriesLandy]

That's ok for the encouragement. When I was building I kept on making lists of the jobs needed doing and I got there in the end. It was a great achievement when I finished.

[CTWV50]

Thanks for that Steve , just the encouragement required :)
I know from past experiances that in my mind every job done is a step closer to using her not finishing her and truthfully the list isn't getting longer just as I do one job I see another I hadn't thought about lol . so having coffee n toast, its a buetiful day so will see how I get on today
Gary

It's not getting longer, it's getting more detailed. It means you're getting somewhere with the build. I still have 8 things on my list and I'm post IVA. And when they're done. I'll make another list, one of those things on the list will be "drive it". :D

[garyt]

HA HA lights working thought I was going crazy , I mean how hard can 4 wires be.................. eventually discovered I had stalks that were wired differently :) oh the joy :) and that mx5 stalk changes the earth not the feed any way got side dip main n flash now so happy.. and result got a pair of westy leather seats n runners for a bargin £, so these should be here end of the week :) so onto the indicators next...... wonder what lies ahead there lol
got the calipers and discs on today so probably need to source flexis next

[garyt]

just been looking back and next weekend is a year since I started her, how time flies when your having fun :D

[garyt]

carried on with the wiring... it is not theraphutic.... so doing a wee bit at a time interspersed with other more interesting jobs !!!
was cutting out wires and found I had no dash lights... argh, I had cut the power feed from the fuse, easy find .. phew. found the brake warning wire so now labelled and the rear fog wiring so should be able to run the permanent wiring to the back now. Just the indicator wiring to sort out cos the 03 harness and 03 switch don't match ummmm the joy..
Trina is home today so will be a short break in progress .
Gary

[garyt]

had a good day today got the roll bar all done bar painting , seats bolted in.. its looking like a car ,,, :)

[garyt]

more pictures

[CTWV50]

Very good! How did you get it to stick to the ceiling?;)

Like that colour.

[fangorn]

:D All us that live in the southern hemisphere can do this trick of hanging upside down, comes from a life down under!!!:D :D :D

[garyt]

well despite the weather, sun, rain, hailstones, sun.... got my wing stays made today :) fixed wings on with tiger seal and will glass over once its set then prime and paint them.

[garyt]

well been working away on the wiring and I think im about there, gave up trying to use the mx5 switches and bought some new rdx ones, chopped out the relavant wiring and rewired as I needed as per the new switches,
got the wiring down the tunnel and in the tub finished wrapped and clipped down, used a rdx relay for the hazards as it sees normal and led bulbs so have 4x ballast resistors if anyone needs them, waiting for some bits so went out and lined the passenger side, trimmed it with some maroon leather cloth and fitted some rubber matting , looks pretty good and a shame to dump stuff in there now, it looks like a car not a toolbox :) so tomorrow going to do the drivers side and rear panel behind the seats. waiting for harnesses to come then I can get the seats back in :)
Gary

[garyt]

Hi , made these "arm rests" to finish off the top edge of the sides aluminium U section, cut a length of pipe lagging in half and tuck it to the ali, trimmed it to fit and then covered it in the same leathercloth that I used elsewhere, seats are out and in the living room :) as I got my harness but the wrong bolts (my fault) so waiting for bolts to arrive

[garyt]

well sun is shining and its warm so more switch wiring all switches working symbols light up when lights turned on but no instrument lights, after much messing around find that you have to have the instrument dimmer switch wired in, don't know why, but its in now and all instrument / switch lights working:)
Trina decided that as it was nice she would come and help....... her idea was to see how it felt and sit looking pretty...... still she is happy and doesn't mind when I disappear for hours :)

[Badger]

That's looking pretty damn sweet mate :)

[twinturbo]

Yup looking Great :)

TT

[dubzter]

looking good there Gary

[Ianr]

Very impressive :-)

[garyt]

just a wee update (see the thread windscreen)
windscreen fitted not permanent yet but couldn't wait and some silver trs harnesses to complement, happy bunny tonight :)

[garyt]

so waiting for some more bits to come so thought I would get the dash done so I can finish its wiring, trimmed in the same leathercloth as the interior

[garyt]

so temporay fitted the dash today couldn't resist it :) and made good the paintwork around the scuttle will have to raise the screen to fit the rubber seal when it comes and a wee bit of wiring to finish behind the dash, quite happy with how its looking so need to sort out the steering cover, waiting on a steering wheel and boss arriving.

[garyt]

well I guess we all have a bad day sometime............... today grrr1 my £20 angle grinder gave up , it died in a ball of smoke , how dare it its done from the start of my build to now been abused cutting chassis tubes, sheet and all manner of things, but really why now????
ok so I'll get the brakes all bled :) so enlisted swmbo to pump the pedal... nothing. popped round to my mate who has a vac bleeder . swmbo disappeared inside. so undid the m/c pipes dry as a bone, so after twisting down into the footwell m/c out pressure on 1 but not 2 of the outlets..... grr #2.
so sat in the car to contemplate the world and thought throttle pedal feels kinda vague so as I can see the t/b pushed it a few times and YES the nipple parted company with the cable grr#3 so it is now removed aswell.... if I wanted to hang upside down I would have been a bat !!!!
still its better to find these things now
so today I broke things, gave up and came inside, tomorrow is another day :)

[Coozer]

Your lucky, I painted my chassis 2 years ago left it to dry and havent been back in there since!

[CTWV50]

Sometimes it's better to walk away! 2 years is a bit long though! Get back in there. I think I abandoned mine for about 5 months after painting though!

[flyerncle]

Get your finger out Steve !:p

[garyt]

well finally made some head way with the brakes... I NOW HAVE BRAKES :)
after a lot of frustration with the braking system I took Silvains' advice (some one elses thread ) and mounted a remote reservoir on the bulkhead with a couple of pipes to some steel reducers at the mx5 m/c with the brake pedal back in place a few pumps had fluid through each corner, bled them all, checked pipework for leaks = none and a solid pedal too . Just need to redo the fluid level wiring and its done
measured the prop so its off on Monday to be shortened .
Hopefully I can get a bit done tomorrow as well
Gary

[garyt]

so today its b###### y freezing up here, even the sand on the beach has frost on it all day !!! oh well on with the wooly hat :)
so having the brakes sorted out it was the clutch next I wasn't happy as it was stiff and the original geometry meant the pedal instead of pushing the m/c all the way , it was going "over the top" thus losing some travel and feel. So took it out and redrilled a hole immediately under the original to improve feel, extended the rod bringing the pedal closer to me thus improving the geometry of the pedal and pushrod now it feels a lot better and pushes all the way :)
next it was the new throttle cable and throttle pedal stop straight forward with no problems . so with the light starting to go and a need for some internal heating ( coffee ) it was time to tidy up and head inside :)

[garyt]

so I nipped up to the local engineers and turns out his son is building a seven as well so hope fully will catch up with him over the hols. and see what he's up to :)

today sorted out rear camber / toe settings went for -1 on camber we'll see how that goes and 0 toe in, had to do the nearside twice as first time round did +1 deg duhh , put on new hub nuts and spacers to fill out the arches. looks a lot better :) finished off the heater screen ducting not a great amount of air but enough to show demisting
Hopefully I'll get my prop back Tuesday then I can get that in and the g/box , turret oils in and checked.
The handbrake is doing my head in at the moment but I'll get there.
ordered some rack stops and gland covers for the steering arms and top drag links, prop catchers (just in case ) and a wideband o2 kit
still need a connector plug for a focus brake reservoir with some wire on ,if anyone has one.....
so after a brain dead exercise I have 2 pairs of LARGE rear hub nuts (mx5) if anyone needs them , (yes I did it twice for some reason unknown to mankind ) think these are the mk1 size nuts.
so a list of jobs to do at work... ahem.... bend handbrake brackets, shorten front hand brake actuater and cut out boot lid, I made the template and marked the ali out today, that should keep me busy for a few days over the hols.
also started to sort out invoices and paperwork as hoping to be ready to apply for my iva before long

[garyt]

well got a few hours outside today, cold yes but took coffee and a wooly hat :)
I got my propshaft back and after a scare about it being very tight going into the gearbox, I gave the tail a real good clean (as in scale and polish) oiled and in it went :) started getting the handbrake back together. I must say I'm really not happy with the big curves over the diff , to me it looks untidy , still there in .
My list of jobs IS getting smaller :) I will have to do Christmas and then I'll get back to it, next job is to do the rear tub cover so I will give that some thought while eating turkey, then fit the wideband , and set the frontend up with rack stops and gland covers.

merry Christmas everyone

[garyt]

well its cold but nae wooly hat cold so.... out I went fastened down the rear handbrake cables so they don't touch anything .
Then made the boot lid a bit of a faff about but I'm happy with it and it looks a lot better than a gaping hole, at some point I will make an inner box for a few odds and ends.

[garyt]

and a few more pictures

[garyt]

gale force winds and rain so didn't go out till lunchtime stripped front n/s and rebuilt with lock stop in the steering rack ( will remove after iva as it really has restricted the lock but nothing is stressed or touching) and gland covers over the track rod nuts and drag link nuts. Doesn't sound much but took a couple of hours, so other side tomorrow :)

[garyt]

well it was dry and not windy but very cold, snow forcast for the hills tonight :) any way got the other front side done lock stop in gaiters and gland covers on and all put back together, put the battery back in and it aint starting not even turning over so I will have to trace that next,
one step forward and one back.... lol.....
anyway happy new year to everyone and hope you all have a good one

[garyt]

well spent ages with checking all the fuses, fuel pump priming, everything else working lights, blower indicators etc, could here the relay clicking but no turnover .... so check battery volts = good, check + at starter = good, grabbed a passing young lad and asked him to hit the key while I checked the solenoid + = good ...., so after sqeezing a torch and mirror underneath the heavy wire from the solenoid to the starter is corroded so pulled it out and just bought a 2nd hand one so hopefully once its here we will be sorted.
after that malarkey I trimmed the wishbone/ rack openings in the side panels, that's it for today :)

[metal matt]

I'm thinking of either putting a turbo or a charger on mine after IVA but not sure yet but where has your charger came from?

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

[garyt]

hi its an eaton m45 , basically its a mini supercharger, went with mounting it low down so I didn't have a big hole in the bonnet, once I had that mounted I made up an idler pulley and ran the belt from the front pulley (ps pump) round the idler to the s/c pulley, then working backwards I made an inlet and piped it over the engine mount up the passenger bulkhead to pick up an adaptor for the bypass and the second throttle body (no electrics just the butterfly) from here I piped round the rear of the engine to the airflow meter and air filter.
from the s/c outlet I made an exit with a small dia pipe pointing rearward towards the bypass outlet , fitting the bypass valve inbetween . going forward a large dia pipe going S shaped upwards to a VW Passat intercooler , the I/c outlet joined to the original throttle body. the air temp sensor is relocated in the I/c outlet. This gives the ecu the most accurate air temp before the plenum chamber , the airflow meter right at the start has to give the ecu the most accurate airflow reading as its the only way in for the air.
sorry to be so longwinded . there is a good write up on mx5nutz about a s/c install loads of pictures and photos of inlets outlets if you go back through my build photos you can see how I did mine.
Oh I also rotated my front water outlet by 180 deg , gives a tidier run to the polo rad and clearance for the i/c also modded the block inlet as the s/c is in the way so instead of the return pipe coming from the passenger side it now comes under the s/c and up to the inlet.
if I can be of any help , questions or pics just shout :)

[garyt]

well catching up with all the wee jobs , so filled the gearbox and turret with oil, wrapped the exhaust manifold and cat, trimmed the handbrake and gear lever, put clips on the bottom side of trans tunnel top to catch on chassis rails and put gear knob on. hopefully starter motor will be here tomorrow and I can get that in... then back to work on wednesday :( so it will be back to weekends on the car

[garyt]

well the thread title says "progress at last" well very little today , welded in my vin number plate PLEASE NOTE IT IS A PIG TO DO NOW so a word to the wise apply early on in your build and do it before you get to far on.
A wee something to smile about though, after being not very happy with the quality of the chrome headlights I bought and weeping at the price of stainless ones I found an ad for stainless 7" headlight bowls in the states , said they were happy to ship and it cost me under £100 the pair shipped and with priority customs clearance. so the postie delivered them today and I fitted them very happy with them and the service, we will see how the quality bares up with british weather but it cant be any worse than the others.
on a down side I still have a starting problem and its causing me some grief.......... I need to sort this out before I can do anything else,
symptoms are;
it was starting fine but while doing other jobs it hadn't been started for a few months,
fresh charged battery, power at the hot solenoid terminal and power when key is at start at the wee solenoid wire, good earth but no cranking not even a click from the solenoid, tried bridging the solenoid terminals and the starter spins but doesn't engage the flywheel to turn the engine. So ordered another starter (used) and exactly the same issues.
Any ideas ????

[garyt]

haha sorted, IT'S STARTING, some idiot (me) had made a mistake when I wired in the switches which meant I was dropping voltage on start, so a wee bit of rewiring and its starting on the key :) :)
so with her starting again , drained and refilled with anti freeze in the cooling system, ran it so all could come up to temp and surprise surprise my red exhaust wrap isn't red no more ... oh well such is life .
Soooo with all ok I tried moving her under her own power for the first time in the courtyard , just forwards and back and round a bit , what a moment stupidest grin you've ever seen ... lol , I think I need to cut the lock stops down as they really have limited the steering lock so I will pull that apart again and adjust

[SteveH1]

Brilliant fair play

[garyt]

thanks , its really good when you have good days and things go right :)

[metal matt]

Glad you found the problem and fixed it. And I know what you mean about the stupid grin when you move it for the first time on its own.

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

[garyt]

day off work today :) so pulled the steering rack ends apart and chopped my lock stops in half. its a lot better but I could have taken a bit more off.. maybe later.
it's snowing now and the beach is 50 yards away !!!
made up and painted my battery strap, and picked up my vin plate from the trophy shop , masked the details so that they are in little boxes as per iva manual and sprayed the remainder black. so once dry that will go onto the bulkhead. Incidentally I opted to leave off the max permissible weights, as in the notes it says these are optional, so one less thing to be pulled up on.... I hope.
my list is getting shorter :)
Im trying to come up with a neater idea for the steering column / stalk covers as I'm not 100% happy with what i've done but if the push comes to the shove it will do for now

[garyt]

redid my column/switch covers and I'm a lot happier with them, changed some non std fuel pipes for pipes with the required std on them tidied and secured the headlight / repeater wiring and fitted the wideband sensor / controller (and its still starting and running ) :)

[garyt]

well not much done today, finished the boot lid catch and sealed the bulk head I have about half a page of jobs and then it will be time to iva apply... gulp

[garyt]

just in and managed to get some wee jobs taken care of and crossed of the list, quite chuffed as attached the bulkhead vin plate, doesn't sound like a big step but it makes it feel official , also scary as it means its getting close to iva application time :o
spoke to a very nice lady at vosa yesterday as their website didn't include Aberdeen test station and I thought that I would have to go to Edinburgh, lol , straight to the test and straight home officer, yes 500 miles round trip, after she finished laughing she did confirm that Aberdeen do the test. So it will only be 60 miles each way.
Any way I'm going over and over the car trying to be brutally honest with myself and be critical of everything, once I think I'm close I will try the local garage to do an emission test so I can see where I am on that.
Gary

[garyt]

a few up to date pics shows a wee bit of progress and also discovered a couple of issues to sort out , but getting there:)

[twinturbo]

Looks good :)

[garyt]

well got the headlights shining the right way today and went and saw a friend who is going to put the car on the headlamp aim at the garage and pushed my luck so he is going to do an emission run and brake test as well , next Saturday is mums birthday so it will be a fortnight after that at 7am :)
"If you don't mind being early just bring me a bottle of malt" was his comment so sorted at least till I see what happens .....
so I need to crack on with a few other jobs and have a bit of a push. I have in my head to aim for iva before easter if I can

[garyt]

well nothing done this weekend :(
mums birthday (you cannae miss your mums birthday) and its snowing n freezing today, so planning an attack next weekend :)

[garyt]

Oh NO what have I done now :) gulp.........

[metal matt]

Hi Gary
Nice to see your going for it. I must admit I started to fill mine in on Friday in work but haven't had the bottle to print if of and send it.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124541083@N02/
https://haynes.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=13262&page=12

[garyt]

Hi Matt, yeah I printed it out and kept looking at it and going over the car in the end I thought right.. you can keep looking and fiddling from now till doomsday... so went and got a big envelope printed off a selection of photos, the mx5 parts engine number / year of production info, copied and signed the receits / invoices for my NEW chassis steel and chassis plates, all my major '03 mx5 parts. Made sure I had filled signed and dated the iva app AND the amateur build declaration. Parceled it all up and went round to the post office. sorted that's that then, came home and went straight out to the car with a notepad, mmmmmm
Still I put that she would be available for test from Monday the 21 of march at Aberdeen, sooo, a deadline looms, nervous yes, excited yes may need to take a few days off if it looks tight, she is going to the local garage next Saturday so will get the headlights set the brakes checked and an emission run done, noise it makes some but will try and get a meter and see where it is at.
worst case is I get a fail but with a list of fixes, everything right to the nicky nacky noos crossed that a pass is in the offering :)

[garyt]

ok so ticked a few more wee jobs off today ...... made version 3 of the remote brake fluid reservoir, I used a focus reservoir, got a plug mmmm 3 wires, still its only a float switch, haha no matter what I did I could not perm the 3 wires to the mazda 2 wires and get the fluid level warning working ... So after much mucking about made an ally bracket to take the big round mx5 reservoir positioned it and reconnect pipes, handbrake off ... light on :) fill up with fluid ... light off:) handbrake on .... light on :) happy bunny so trimmed the requisite fluid sticker to size and put it on the reservoir cap. SORTED at last.
moral don't mix manufacturers !!!!! started hailstone and rain so came in . Next is to disconnect the neutral switch and sort out the twin T/Bs :)

[garyt]

so went out and started attacking the 2 throttle bodies no matter what I did It still wasn't right, searched about compressor surge causing problems, so checked the bypass was working... yes popping open n shut like a good un,
Then the old fella next door came out to see if I needed a hand... he couldn't and didn't want to attempt to slide into the drivers seat and asked if it was ok to work the throttle by twisting the linkage, and guess what no running on a steady idle, clean pick up and drop back, now whats the problem ????

a badly routed throttle cable from the pedal was causing enough friction that the linkage was dragging so iffy pick up and not returning cleanly.

so re did the cable checking the pedal was free and the cable was free and guess what its all behaving from the drivers seat and by twiddlingt linkage
MUPPET moment

still at least that's all done now

[garyt]

email from vosa confirming receipt of application and giving a reference #
:)

[metal matt]

Gary
I'm wondering if you could help me out as we have got the same engine. My wiring diagram is showing a second data connection under the dash OBD2. My question is Do you have an OBD2 connection under your dash as I cant find one on my loom but I'm thinking I'm missing a bit of the dash loom with this connection on. I've been reading up on this and Mazda started to fix the OBD 2 on the mk2.5.

cheers Matt

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124541083@N02/
https://haynes.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=13262&page=12

[garyt]

arghhh, I don't have 2 of them, I seem to remember chopping a heap of wiring out that had one attached, and the other one had a load of abs related stuff going into it and I am pretty sure there were only a couple of wires left by the time I was done.
Sorry I cant be much more help, my mil light was on and no matter what I did it still glowed grinning like at me, so, not good practice I know, but there is a spare bulb in my tool box now . some one will probably tell me I'm not allowed to do this ... but I have

[garyt]

just in from work to find an envelope with all my receipt copies, but no build photos returned, checked emails to find " your application has been accepted, please pay" so will get them paid first thing in the morning , I guess they open at 9am?
panic, relief , excitement :)

[garyt]

well a very nice lady relieved me of £450 today , so iva paid for , then got an email that it is now sent to TaSS (testing and support services) for processing :)

[garyt]

just back from the garage and it passed the emmissions BET test, headlights NOW correctly set and was reading 95Db at 3000 revs, but that needs to be checked at 4000 my fault as I trusted my memory (must be an age thing) so will do that again later on.
On another positive after sorting my sticky throttle cable it is so much easier to drive, 2.4 rack + supercharger power delivery certainly makes her a sprightly little beast :)
so a spring in my step today.....

[twinturbo]

Best of luck with the IVA :)

TT

[garyt]

thanks, I'm trying to go over as much as possible, edge trim, nut covers, things clipped down.... I think I'm getting paranoid.. lol
I guess the stress level will go up even more once I get a date confirmed :)

[garyt]

well put nut covers on today, trimmed a couple of edges that I found on the bottom of the headlight bracket, secured the heater/ header hoses onto the bulkhead sorted the radius on the trip button, was really worried about the viewing angles of my small front indicators so took them off and ordered a pair of '70's style chrome bulgy ones for the test so it should be ok on the 20 deg side view. ordered a new rad fan as mine looked untidy. and reset the rear brake adjusters now the handbrake holds like a good un.
So still to do; trim under dash in footwells, fit a new reverse switch as its playing up, pad steering wheel center, keep going over bits and pieces, found out I needed 2 odd size nut covers for the exhaust bracket so ordered them.
Does any one know the thread size of mx5 tre's as I have castellated nuts and would rather nylocs

[garyt]

more updates from vosa;
application released for inspection and successfully assessed.
then this one;
Your recent application has now been processed by DVSA Testing and Support Services (TaSS). If you have notified us of a preferred appointment time and date you will receive an appointment letter via email once the DVSA Testing Station has allocated your appointment. However, if you wish to speak to DVSA regarding the scheduling of your appointment please allow 3 days from the receipt of this email prior to ringing us on 0300 123 9000.

guess what I'm doing in 3 days time :)

[garyout]

Good luck Gary with IVA



Garf ☺

[garyt]

cheers, for that
missed a phone call from a private number because I was driving into Aberdeen, turns out it was the test center admin trying to arrange my date in Aberdeen, lol
got a really polite email explaining and asking me to call them to arrange, even gave me a direct call number, so will get that sorted tommorow :)

[garyt]

got a date today when I spoke to the lady at aberdeen, 24th March at 8am , she said it has to be full of petrol and bring a wee tool kit in case there is anything minor that can be sorted, she also said to allow around 5 hours for the test.
she is going to send a confirmation email with all the details


Really nervous now :O

[SteveH1]

Good luck im sure it will fly through

[garyt]

cheers Steve, I phoned footman james today to get a quote for insurance on the vin with change to official reg once dvla supply it, 5k miles pa... £168 for a Haynes with an mx5 1.8 and supercharger :) so this will be in effect the day before the test.
The lady there was really helpful and knolageble
So now to finish off those frustrating little bits n bobs and keep looking for anything I've missed

[garyt]

just mounted a new fan (peace of mind) on the radiator, and moved my front indicators forward as I was worried about the line of sight angles, a couple of other jobs, nut covers everywhere front and back, checking wiring is tidy , undersealed the floor underside, nylocs on the TRE's instead of castleated .
still to do pad center of steering wheel, new reverse light switch, trim footwell :) and keep checking stuff

[flyerncle]

Good luck.

[TheArf]

Keep up the attention to detail and you should sail through the test

Arfon

[garyt]

cheers guys I'm getting really anal about going over and over her, got some black suede offcut today and made a padded center cover for the steering wheel found the number plate light wires had no grommet so now they do :)

[SteveH1]

Keep going over and over it will be the little things that count in the end

[garyt]

mm getting very anal with looking for sharp edges and checking and rechecking, Replaced the reverse light switch, what a pig of a job absolutely no room to get big hands up the side of the gearbox, still its done and reverse light is working now, trimmed the bottom edge of the headlight feet as they had a sharp edge, so marked the pattern on a wheelie bin, trimmed them and reset them so should be ok, Bit of a grumph after getting the lights set last weekend at the garage, still they are trimmed now, harness bolts are m14 and you guessed it I had every nut cover except that so some m13 ones went for a swim in a cup of boiling water for a few mins , made them supple enough to go on :) ran out of split tubing so will get some this week to wrap the front indicator wires and secure them.
so to do apart from the front ind wires, trim footwells and keep checking

[SeriesLandy]

Good luck with iva. I was really worried about mine but it was fine.
I did put mirrors in that we're too small but the tester let me go and buy some and fit them. He then passed the car! Very helpful guy.

[garyt]

Thanks, yes its the worry of missing something or the tester finding something on the day that can't be easily fixed, still the lady said to bring tools and stuff so hopefully all will be ok (fingers crossed)

[garyt]

well it shows what a pair of fresh eyes does, the car sits on a slight slope side to side, my friend came round to see how things were going and he asked if I wouldn't be better with some neg camber so after we discussed and eventually moved her on to the flat yes she had pos camber no wonder she was twitchy anyway he nipped home and came back with a gauge so we put 2 deg NEG camber on her castor is as per the book by design so hopefully the self centering will be fine, also found a couple of bolts that needed torqueing up, and a couple more tie wraps put on, and we adjusted the float on the sender unit so quite a productive day, need to put an earth wire from the sender unit screw to the chassis but hadn't any ring fittings the right size so will get them on the way home tomorrow.
It shows that you need to keep going over and over and that a pair of fresh eyes will see something that you have grown accustomed to.
11 SLEEPS TO GO (10 really cos I wont sleep the night before lol )

[garyt]

well as far as I can see that's me ready ... :0
earth wire from sender to chassis a couple of nut covers on the rear tub bolt heads (stuck on ) replaced the grip tape on the clutch pedal.
she is full of petrol and gauge reading full, insurance all paid and in effect from Wednesday, toolbox packed with tools and bits and pieces.
All paperwork printed off (iva and insurance) and in the laptop bag with all the receipts, and "drive cam" charged ready for the drive home (have to read the setup destructions yet lol)
All I can do now is wait......

[SteveH1]

Goodluck bud

[garyout]

Good luck Gary fingers crossed 👍

[garyt]

thanks guys , I guess I'm not going to sleep much between now and Thursday :)

[garyt]

well its dark now , I have been out prowling around the car, everything else is packed and ready to go. tools, odds n sods, paperwork,
so 1 sleepless night to go :)
nervous is putting it mildly :)

[rpjg1975]

Good luck!!! For the test and trying to sleep!!!!

Russ

[twinturbo]

we are all rooting for you..

TT

[metal matt]

Good luck for tomorrow and enjoy the drive

Matt


https://haynes.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=13262&page=14

[garyt]

cheers guys, a sleepless night so up and woke the neighbours (they were warned), loaded her up and set off
so have just arrived in Aberdeen having breakfast at McDs mmmm.
weather is b#;'#]# cold and drizzily car ran fine driver was a bit sketchy on the first roundabout after home ... mmmm... still getting used to that quick rack
then a nice steady run in a wee bit of traffic I have to say the drive in was amazing the power of the s/c , exhaust note ..... miles with smiles for sure
more to come :)

[K4KEV]

Hope you have a gud un Gary.
Kev

[TheArf]

Good luck you should be fine

Arfon

[garyout]

Got it all crossed this morning mate good luck☺

Supercharger whine is very addictive I've stolen the wife's cooper s for that reason ha ha


Best of luck Garf

[CTWV50]

Good Luck:)

[garyt]

HAHA sorry to keep you all in suspense its a ......... PASS :)

Left early doors this morning, drizzle and cold, add in a quick rack and she was a wee bit twitchy, had a steady drive through to Aberdeen, topped up with petrol and then mcd's for some much needed coffee, ready to head over to the test center and met up with Campbell. we arrived at the center and went in against their one way system, oops....

went in to reception and was met by the tester who really wanted the car to pass and even helped a bit later on.

So we got called over to the test bay and emmissions first mx5 2003 1.8 supercharged, failed the BET test on rich idle so on to CAT1 test and passed, next noise, (he later found the wire wool packing amongst the tools and said worried were you? ) so as it was raining he opted to try inside first , fail, put the car outside and passed (scraped). then he did the lights, exterior / interior projections, all the time explaining, you could tell he was really interested , onto the brake tests fronts great, rears great, handbrake the cable pulled through so as I tried to refix he carried on with the other checks , One flexi was just touching and the headlights needed a wee adjust, Thanks Campbell for sorting these out with the handbrake cable back together there was an imbalance, we will come back to that, so speedo check and

its spot on, so don't rely on 10%, he then took it away to do the self centering, and came back and asked if there was any way we could sort the handbrake for an equal pull.

So while he went to do some paperwork we tried again Campbell said to remove the plastic cable covering so we could secure it without it slipping, so with it all together again, nerves meant a toilet break, when I came out he was back with some paperwork so we did the handbrake again and bingo she passed.

After collecting the paperwork and chatting I had a wonderful drive home in the sun and dry too

So a very big thank you to Campbell, and although he will not see this a very big thank you to the tester, now to deal with dvla for a reg number

a very very happy gary

[SeriesLandy]

Congratulations on the first time pass. It's a great feeling.
Good luck with the dvla. You will need to keep chasing them.

[metal matt]

Nice one Gary well done hope I get a first time pass next week

https://haynes.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=13262&page=14

[garyout]

Congratulations mate well done roll on the number plates and sunshine 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍


Garf

[garyt]

thanks guys it sure feels good nervous as h#'# last night and really made up tonight :)
Matt I'll be thinking of you good luck

[SteveH1]

Congratulations

[K4KEV]

congrats Gary....perfect timing for this summer.

[rpjg1975]

Another member of the first time pass club, well done :D

Russ

[Ianr]

Well done - I'm hoping to replicate your pass sometime soon!

[garyt]

thanks guys , tying to decipher form v5/55 argh and trying to make sense of the tax classes , tried phoning dvla today , its easter call back on Tuesday.....
don't they know I NEED a reg number lol
Ian , good luck , keep going over and over her nut covers everywhere and conduit anything exposed, I.m sure you will be fine

[metal matt]

Gary I'm sure I seen something on STOTS page or on the IVA section about filling the v55 in

[metal matt]

Stot has also got a pic of his v55 in his build pictures that night help

[CTWV50]

Well done, first time pass is something to be proud of! Now to tackle the DVLA! I hope you an easy ride. :)

[garyt]

hi Thanks, here are a couple of wee video on the way to the garage, I'm moving house aswell so because I cant multitask It will be about 2/3 weeks before I'm back on :(
so good luck to everyone while i'm awol


https://youtu.be/T6rwWjA5B20
https://youtu.be/BROP_Epd9S8
https://youtu.be/_pxiweDCr0w

[garyt]

haha I'm back !!!!
still got boxes everywhere but moved house and now got tinternet back on :) (was having withdrawal symptoms ... lol)
Still waiting for the lovely folks at dvla to give me a reg...... still its real wet up here so having to content myself with mundane jobs around the house...
and catching up with what you have all been doing......

[RichardH]

good luck with the new house, have you seen the new facebook page thats been started?

[garyout]

Oh the joys of moving house we have been here over a year now still boxes all over the place.


Good to see you on Richard how you feeling well on the mend???

Gary

[garyt]

hi Richard , if it is the one Phil started then yes I've seen that one, there are a few 7 type sites out there too on fb
Hope your mending well and We will see if we can arrange a wee trip down once I get a reg number, Its a wee while since I was in your neck of the woods normally blast past heading south... but maybe a nice run ending up anstruther way for some good fish n chips :)
Take care

[RichardH]

hi gary its a new site got a link from vmax page, phils one seems to have died a death

[garyt]

cheers will have a look see

[SeriesLandy]

This is the new Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/550753641753553/)

[garyt]

Thanks for that;
here's a seven group for anyone with some free time :)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1604902176413856/

[garyt]

ok so I have picked up a westy FW hood, (needs extending) made a new roll bar, to suit, and just picked it up from a local powder coater, its awesome and cant wait to pop it on, hopefully tomorrow. Then I can fix the hood rear and measure how much needs extending. Ordered some roof vinyl and there is a good sadller in the next village. Got to stay busy while I wait for my reg :)

[garyt]

Just off the phone from kits n rebuilds and I have a reg number :) :) letter is on its way as we speak, oh happy days :)

[garyt]

haha phoned local car shop and explained my position he said "bring the email and your driving licence", a quick call to work asking for an extended lunch, granted followed by a quick trip to get the plates :) home and put them on and then off to work, very little work done as foreman is a bit of a petrolhead himself, so just back from a wee afternoon run :)

[garyt]

yes a Q plate but really didn't expect anything else and it don't bother me just happy its on there now :)

[SteveH1]

Nice one. Enjoy

[vmax1974]

Wow must have dvla priority north of the border must be chuffed to bits well done

[garyt]

I have to say after reading some of the horror stories re dvla , and maybe its the time of year or just plain lucky, but credit where its due Both Donna Kennet and Amanda Price at kits and rebuilds have been very knolageable, friendly and efficient with regards to my application process.
It really felt good putting the plates on and driving her, now we just need to get rid of these silly wintry shower forecasts .... lol

Now the bad news....... just because she is ont road doesn't mean you get rid of me...... just instead of build posts it will be what we have been up to ....lol

I was looking back and it has taken just under 2 years, to now ( by a week)
Let there be sun and twisty roads ahead :)

One thing that has to be said is A GREAT BIG THANK YOU , to everyone on the forum for their help, encouragement and support through the build, it is a great hobby that really never ends and I am glad to be part of it and would recommend it to anyone
Gary

[RichardH]

the big question is what now? upgrade or start the next one?

[garyt]

haha, a wee touch of upgraditus and enjoy :)

[metal matt]

look forward to seeing some videos now of you tearing it up. I would like to see what it is like with that supercharger before I decide on what I'm going to do.

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

[garyt]

home fae work and sun is out a wee bit chilly so a quick shower and tea , and a nice blat to elgin (coffee shop is open late ) and then the scenic route home using the back roads. lots of admiring looks and questions at the coffee shop , so she is tucked up for the night now.
I have to say I love driving her Just need to campaign the local council to take some of the bumps out of these roads lol
sorry Matt forgot the camera tonight but if the weather holds I will post some up as I go :)
ordered a pair of stainless stone guards for the rear arches and need to underseal inside the rear arches to take the sting out of the stones pinging up.... who said it was finished ?????? lol

[garyt]

OH yeah just back from a 2+ hour blat headed up to Grantown on spey over the Dava moor to Forres (had fish n chips) over to Kinloss , back roads to Elgin and home :) managed about 125 miles and swear we were airborne at one point on the moor .........
Left work in lovely sunshine hit some rain at grantown then lovely sunshine over the moor and all the way home
phone died so no pics .... so guess we will have to do it again :) I have to say the dava moor road is one I really love and go back a long time with it can be awesome and it can be treacherous but always fun

[garyt]

ok so no snow today :) , sun is out but a wee bit fresh so washed her down and checked her over and replaced the std roll bar with a "westy FW style " one that I had made, added some stainless stone guards and had some lunch.
Now some of you may or may not know but when I was introduced into this world , it destroyed my dads dream of owning a 7, he had put a deposit down only for mum to inform him a new car would require 3 seats !!!!!. So anyway while I have been building her , it was kept from my dad (no mean feat) and as he now has all sorts of health problems the rush was on to get completed and him out in her.
So sun shining , car looking spik n span, full tank we had a little run down to the coast to surprise dad, mum had him out the back so pulled up in their drive and rang the bell, dad answered and was gobsmacked , so after a coffee and a million questions mum and me helped him into the car with dad duly buckled and wrapped up, we went for a wee blast, only about 10 miles or so. When we got back mum and me got him out and inside, well that was the start , he perked up a genuine smile on his face and an enthusiasm (not seen in a long time) for something. More coffee and tales from back in the day when mum and him were pre-gary and doing stage rallying, friends with healey 100/4 and 3000's or with 7's. and then all of a sudden a very timid question..... can we do it again?
answer ...... OF COURSE WE CAN

After dinner I drove home in in the evening sun in a world that seemed ok ... for a wee while, and boy did I enjoy today
Gary

vids to follow Matt

[SteveH1]

Brilliant fair play

[garyt]

first clip fae the run yesterday :) modded the camera case so the mic can actually work and mounted it on the scuttle behind the screen out of the turbulence..... more to come , it takes forever to upload
https://youtu.be/qYrLQcXiHlo

[metal matt]

Taking it a bit easy there Gary:D . Nice to see a video. One week down for me and I can't wait to get out in mine. The wife bought me a "go pro" for my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I can't wait to try it out as well.

[garyt]

I'll bet you cant wait,
yeah taking it easy :) they really are so much fun and we have some great roads around here, and the sound is great
Mine is a cheapo version similar to go pro but I think go pro has an external mike ??? I modded my case so not 5meters deep waterproof now... but given that I couldn't drive in puddles that deep........ lol
Remember and try phoning kits and rebuilds before the bank holiday weekend try Thursday afternoon and Friday, not sure if they will take Friday and Monday off

[garyt]

and the next bit ( and yeah still taking it easy) :)
https://youtu.be/I38os3hadAA

[SteveH1]

Thanks for the vid gave me a bit of motivation
got my first wishbone started :)

[garyt]

nae problem Steve, we all need a wee bit of motivation at times, normally to sort out a problem or when its cold n damp, but think of the fun once she's finished :)
now crack on my man........ lol

[garyout]

Love the vids Gary how addictive is the supercharger whine? I've come to a stop on mine juggling hours with work and home :rolleyes:

[garyt]

thanks Gary, yeah it really is addictive :) between that and the "free flowing" ahem, exhaust it certainly puts smiles on your face.... lol
we all have moments when family and work have to take priority but with some juggling I'm sure it wont be long till your back at it, all refreshed and raring to go :)

[garyt]

went over to the car show at Forres today took the back roads over the Oak hill, had a nice day out some very nice cars of all ages and styles, a couple of westies and a robin hood as well, had a couple of hours wandering and chatting and then a wee blast home :)
a wee clip of the oak hill, https://youtu.be/Lgm1eiLlnhI
roads were damp in places car was a mess by the time I got home Grrrrrr, but had fun :)
Gary

[garyt]

Today started with a bit of mist in the air but I had arranged to meet David at the lecht, so got there and took some photos and a few videos..... but the best bit over the brig o broon I messed up the camera, we then took the back roads and went up cairngorm.... again took pics aswell and it was only when I got home to find I had messed up the videos ... gutted because the roads were awesome. Coming off the top of the lecht ski center it felt like you were dropping of the edge of the world .. lol
Strange thing though at Cairngorm David said that the supercharger sounded great, I was behind him and he could hear it roaring and whining away as I hit the climbs hard :)
Anyway a brilliant day out

[garyt]

a few more pics :) a great day out with great company and great roads :)

[TheArf]

Looks like you two had a great time, and some brilliant roads by the looks of things.
Keep enjoying the roads whilst the weather allows I'm really jealous

Arfon ;)

[garyt]

ok so here are a few clips from yesterday :)
going up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZGgiIb4wCE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf4M_lE6BTM

and coming back down the Lecht
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EygI_mjIoZo

[metal matt]

Some cracking roads and views there Gary. I cant get out in mine until Thursday. The weather is a bit crap down here looks like my next spin will be Thursday into work and I cant wait. :D

https://haynes.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=13262&page=19
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124541083@N02/

[garyt]

cheers, this sunday we are meeting up with the Scottish westies at Glenshee so hoping to get the other side of the lecht and the brig o broon, I think there are about 10 or 12 at present should be a good run out :)
Its lovely here so taking her back to work this afternoon .... lol I know the feeling of waiting and weather watching, frustrating at times but it will soon be here.

[garyt]

haha had a wee bit of free time so came up with this, going to do a couple of stickers for the car aswell , ........ nae bad for a first go just wish I had trimmed the edge right back on the black one ... lol must get something to do...... ah ha my red injectors came today mmmmm they will have to wait a week or so as we are away on a run out this weekend

[garyt]

just in from a great run out; 24 cars, 20 x 7's and a mix of westies, Haynes, zero, fury, locost and caterhams. Lotus elise, lotus exige , porshe boxter and a noble.
Left at 10 this morning and met up with some guys on route down to Glenshee where we all met up had lunch and then an enthusiastic drive through Glenshee, Braemar, Lecht, Tomintoul where some of us stopped for a cuppa the southern guys heading for Aviemore and a drag home.
Met some great folk with some lovely cars and all a common interest ages from mid 20's to 60+, We had some rain coming over the lecht but in all the weather was kind, hopefully got some good video (will check later) but here are a couple of pics

[garyt]

here is the first bit from Glenshee to Braemar, great scenery as well as great driving roads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHZIqkYtl5o

[Richard Dryden]

So envious, looks great

[garyt]

Thanks yes it was great to be out with so many like minded folk having an "enthusiastic" drive with everything from home builds upto a brand new cater ham car, good craic and banter and a wee bit of serious driving and a whole lot of fun

[garyt]

ok so here we go leaving Braemar heading for the Lecht (25% gradient) :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM5GCDM9zeQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REzWI9K2Po0

[garyt]

haha look what the postie fetched me :)
a set of 360cc red injectors ( std light purple are 245cc) now just need a seal kit and some spare time.
One thing I did notice from sundays enthusiastic run and climbs was just how well the supercharger delivers its power loads of torque and always there when you need it :) another thing is when accelerating hard in 4/5 it pulls like a train and then its almost like an extra half gear kicking in as the vvt comes in :)
happy days.
BUT next a remote oil cooler, and a diffuser ( vmax pics please) and then after the summer I need to speak to mr vmax about some bodywork to tidy her up :rolleyes:

[garyt]

and the last clip from sunday , up and over the lecht, enjoy:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvqXG1CXFZo

[garyt]

argh , minor disaster last night my s/c belt snapped , whilst fending off the attentions of an alfa, still local garage had one so sorted but need to carry a spare, strangely enough she drove ok but a little slow from idle and boy oh boy did I miss that whine and torque / power delivery.
You should have seen the alfa drivers face after he said "I think your alternator belt came off" and I said no its the supercharger one !
anyway turns out he was a bit of a petrol head and we chatted away for a bit before heading home.
been into town today to pick up some camping stuff for killin and applecross and of course had to make sure all packed into the Haynes , nae problem :)

Oh happy days

[RichardH]

thats a bummer did you find the old belt to look at? maybe not running exactly true? or have ou just kicked its arse for the last couple of weeks:eek:

[garyt]

It deff runs true as I took extra care to ensure alignment,..... BUT..... I'm afraid it has suffered some terrible abuse in the last few weeks :) done a fair bit of enthusiastic driving and incline assaults :p :p lecht , brig o broon and cairngorm :D

[garyt]

well what a few days of high and lows...
Monday morning left in glorious sunshine to drive to aviemore , meet a friend who is touring in his westy and onto Killin for 4 days touring.
so met Geoffrey in aviemore and we headed south about half way it started raining, we pressed on as I am afraid to say its all part of sevening in Scotland, you ARE going to get wet at some point, we turned off onto the Trinafour road over towards Rannoch moor , the rain stopped and we enjoyed some absolutely stunning views, arriving in Killin around 6pm wash change and dinner, laughter and craic
Tuesday, we had arranged a fair old wander around the north east about 300 miles in all, so an early start with no breakie, we headed off to Dunnoter castle near Stonehaven where we met up with another couple of westy members . spent a couple of hours there and then Davids car wouldn't start, traced to a loose wire on the ignition switch so were off next stop Aboyne as there were some very thirsty cars.... and on to Cockbridge infamous off terry wogans radio show during the winter months.... we stopped at a café at 4.05pm to be told they stopped doing hot food at 4.00pm grrrrrrrr
here we said goodbye to Les and his stunning red v8 westy and onto the lecht summit, some brilliant roads to drive along here, did some cracking photos at the top, now onto Coylumbridge its raining now !!!!!!! so again some stunning views and great driving roads, by the time we reached Coylumbridge we were driving in thunderstorms, here we said goodbye to David and Geoffrey and me started our "submariner experience"
The Drive back down the A9 was actually the worst rain I have ever seen and everything was saturated there was rain coming in from the top spray from the front wheels hosing in off the rear arches on both sides, trorrential spray at face height from passing lorries buses etc and water coming up throught drain holes as there was so much standing water. 30 mph was actually as fast as you dare go as you could barely see through the spray and rain !!
Again we turned off on the Trinafour road where we could actually see the lightening ! not so much spray now but still raining and lots of standing water.. as we reached the top of the moor....... silence........ and I coasted to a stop
now you have to understand its getting late we are soaked beyond wet, hungry and now I have broken down in the middle of nowhere and we are stood absolutely p#'#'ing ourselves laughing :) :) so opened the bonnet and fuse box to find the main ignition fuse blown and more water in there mmmm
so I didn't have a fuse of that sort (its not a blade type) so jury rigged a bypass now some of the electrics were working and she turned over but no start, not wanting to abandon her on the moor we freewheeled down the hills to a house where we parked at a pull in and phoned the breakdown, we are very busy there are a lot of breakdowns , its raining was the reply, so we sat about waiting jokes , laughter singing and dancing in the rain, and then the rain stopped ....... and the midgies came out, the breakdown arrived at just after 9pm and he started trying to get her to fire up.
So its now 10pm we are still wet still hungry and being eaten by midgies when the local gamekeeper arrives and then leaves and returns with food and drink for all and would not accept anything for it just asked us to repay the favour if we find someone in need.
A true gentleman who will never know how much he was appreciated that night.
So recovery arranged and Geoffrey asked if I had to accompany the car home as he would take me home the next day...... he was heading south to Yorkshire not north to dufftown, so what happened next had everyone in stitches 2 blokes (not very slim) in a westy, the mechanic stuffed our belongings in around us and the game keeper gave us the rest of the food and drinks and off we set....so those of you of a certain age (the rest can look it up ) will remember a tv show called 2 fat ladies well here we are going along " the adventures of 2 fat blokes in a westy" we got to Killin at 12.30am
Wednesday, packed and picked up by Geoffrey we had a great day out visiting a distillery and going up the funicular railway on cairngorm, a phone call from the garage to say they had just dropped my car at the house and we got here at 6pm Geoffrey and I said our good byes and of he went.
Now yes I broke down but no one was hurt, the car will sort and dry out but I have to say a big thanks to the insurance company for dealing with everything, and to Geoffrey who without batting an eyelid made sure I got home safely. Despite everything we had a great time some great memories and are looking forward to our next adventure :) :)

[garyt]

ok so I got a replacement instrument cluster and that sorted that part out , so turned the key and just a click, so stuck the battery on charge and got washed and had tea, put the battery in and tried again .. click and a very hot battery + wire , so replaced the starter (luckily I had one) so ignition lights , no hot cable and starter spinning freely and cranking the motor quite happily but NO starty, so ordered a replacement ecu....... to be continued

now as to the question of why this trouble...... torrential rain shorted out the starter motor, which caused the power spike that blew the main 100 amp fuse so why the other problems , well I have found a "temporary" wire that I ran from the ignition switch to the solenoid when I had wiring issues before and it is not fused, I know , I know better but I remember at the time thinking great its going I will finish that later.... mmmm
So we can only surmise that when it blew the main fuse it had a flow through said wire hence fried electrics , so a couple of pounds fuse holder would have led to the car being sorted at the roadside and no expense now, there is a lesson there .
So a wee bit crestfallen and waiting for bits , its just a question of how much damage
AND as a real bummer I will miss this weekends run out to applecross :(

[garyt]

replacement ecu and bits arrived today, dealt with a bloke on the bay and he sorted out next day delivery , top bloke as it doesn't happen to often all the way up here, local saddler had modded my roof (a week to late:) ) but now I have it.... So a busy weekend ahead lets hope we get her to fire up now

[garyt]

da da daaa, the beast fired up tonight :) :)
so To summarise , I have had to replace the main 100 amp fuse !!, the starter and solenoid, the instrument cluster, ecu and the battery an expensive breakdown :(
so I am going to tidy up a bit of behind the dash wiring this weekend and get her all back together.
I really was pulling my hair out with this one as the battery was reading 13V at the battery and at the ignition switch until my dad asked "you have checked it under load " so back out and fastened the meter where I could see it and tried cranking.... straight down to 3 V and then fell to 0.8V release the key and back to 13V, so a quick trip to get a battery and whoopee she fired straight up.
there's more to this invisible elektrickery than meets the eye..... anyway moving forwards at last
Bring on the next adventure.........

[garyt]

oh and a wee bit late but got my westy FW hood back from the saddler so popped it on , just needs tensioning a wee bit, not to everyones taste I'm sure but it will allow us to still have our luggage ont back when we go touring and help keep SWMBO a little drier if it is inclement (mind you if its as bad as the last episode I'm parking and waiting for it to stop !!)

[vmax1974]

Glad you got it sorted at last re the hood it doesn't matter if it looks like a teepee if it does the job of keeping you dry

[garyt]

Thanks, now if only you had suggested a teepee sooner..........
lol

[vmax1974]

Lol teepee on a roadster is now my intellectual property will cost you 5p to use it cause that will make me rich lol

[garyt]

well postie has let me down no bits today :( bet they come on Monday....
So with everything kind of secured back where it should go at least temporarily , I couldn't resist a quick "test run", oops it was a wee bit sketchy under acceleration , all the thunderstorms we have been having and the roads were damp, at least the tail wagging put a smile on my face, You just cant imagine how much I have missed driving her !
so a busy couple of weeks ahead tidying and titivating as we are going to Grampian speed fest in august and planning a wee sortie south of the border to rendezvous with mates fae Yorkshire at Keider water , so a long weekend away (13/14/15 august) hooray.
I can report to that the hood flapped a wee bit (will put some more tension on it) but did cut down on some buffeting , so swmbo will be chuffed but flying solo it WILL be off :)
I was going to pop into elgin but the roads were flooded and muck of the fields so may pop in in the tintop in the morning, that way I can get started with tidying the electrics behind the dash.....
so much to do so little time and as soon as the spanners hit her I bet the sun will appear :)

[garyt]

I'm heading south to meet up with friends having a day up north to kielder water , weekend of 13/14/15 august, so that's me booked into the BAY HORSE INN , WEST WOODBURN for the saturday and sunday night so will study the route and meet up somewhere

any one want to join me ????? even to meet up for a cuppa and chat Saturday night ( although I will need food by then as well ) any of you ne7ers fancy a meet up?

travelling south on the Saturday (aiming to be at inn late afternoon), route variable, sunday meet up with Buttercup and friends, ( I put buttercup cos she has plenty of friends and Geoffrey .... well.... ) the rest of sunday explore a bit around hadrians wall, Monday (mid morning depart) ramble back northwards , home

will stick it in a separate thread too

Gary

[garyt]

so after our wee jaunt down to the Silverstone classic we returned home bearing the new wings :)
so here we are fettled wrapped and fitted, very pleased with the result :)

[garyt]

Well yesterday was a lovely sunny day but a new living room unit arriving am grrrr
swmbo is still away but awaiting arrival of said furniture and all ready to oversee installation via Skype
Haha what she can't see are the messages about a wee blast if all is done in time :)
So unit arrives gets installed and all is good now a quick phone call and I'm off..... mmmmm car needs filling up must have used more than I thought earlier in the week, still it's only petrol the fuel for fun so filled up and blasted the 30 or so miles to Forres met Oli and his mate with a bike(I'm bad with names but I will get there, sorry) and off we go over dava to grantown then over the brig o broon to Tomintoul and the lecht for coffee here we found quite a steady flow of petrol coming from the tank seam..... so that's where all the petrols going !
So rather than waste it dripping the only other possible solution is (thinking hard) burn it off with some spirited driving :) so a quick con flab of how far I can go a route change and we have a great blast around the hills and home
So around 150 miles of fun and im sat here thinking somethings missing my wscc calender is behind that unit on the wall, not any more it ain't :)
So today I will see if I can patch repair seal the tank... oh the joys

[garyt]

ok lads n lasses never knock your "old school" dad

it aint a permanent fix he says but after explaining its leaking from the seam not a hole he replies "have you got a bar of soap not tht new hand wash but a proper bar of soap ? "

well yes I said

"go out rub it hard all along the seam, it aint permanent but it will stop the leak, then go get something to patch over it, rub lightly to key it and apply"

so with a bar of soap in hand, I humour him and lo and behold it works !!!!! so now I'm off to see what I can get on a sunday to patch over.

So dad cant remember what he had for tea last night but old school get you home fix from "back in the day, when money was tight" right off the top of his head, wish I had called him yesterday now.

And folks that is why you have to take care of your dad :)

[garyt]

so sorted for now, rubbed down to key the surrounding surfaces and the covered with epoxy metal, just letting it cure, less painfull than expected and we will see how it goes :)
should maybe point out here the leak was from part of the seam where the tank had been welded almost like a minute split in the weld so we will see how it holds up

[garyt]

Ok so not my cleverest idea yet but was having withdrawal symptoms so it looked cold and damp but bright so there was a Soup n sweet in the next town over the hills only 15 miles each way so got rhubarb out and off we went climbed out the back of the town heading over the cashmal to be met with gales sleet n a wee dust of snow. Not feeling so clever now eh.
Never has some homemade soup tasted so good so suitably refreshed and the good folks laughing set of home in a shower of hail and roads of slush
Got home and put rhubarb away I was cold damp and very invigorated :)
Would I rather not of gone or taken the tintop no way Very gentle driving but boy it felt good oh happy days :)

[garyt]

ok so here are a few of the winter upgrades :)
a new dash ; not quite that easy, is it ever ... lol the mx5 mk2.5 ecu has to run through the instrument micro computer to run the engine, so on the basis that someone put it together I can take one apart..... so with a spare cluster I started and with some lateral thinking I rebuilt the mx5 electronics into some revamped mgb gauges. I kept the original cluster circuit board mounting it on the rear of the dash board then made some fly leads up to connect to the gauges being satisfied with that lot I then made a ply dash and veneered it with some burr walnut winished with weatherproof / uv resistant sealer
so what to do about the warning lights ....... good old dad said that back in the day triumph stags had a chrome ringed octagonal segmented warning light cluster, so after some research I got one changed the choke warning o fog and off we go. Next switches only one choice here really so toggles it was with some nice brass legends I then taking a lead from dad found a nice old clock from a a ford zephyr so got that it works on a coil discharge unit so it goes "click" then about 5 minutes later does it again mmmm it works fine and keeps good time (had it connected up to a m/c battery for a few days )
so waiting for an ammeter gauge to arrive
BUT
I couldn't resist a wee trial fit with my classic wood rim steering wheel :)

and the wire wheel conversion :)

[Ianr]

Brilliant - well done - mine is the Mk 2 MX5 so is very similar - I gave up and put the whole instrument in as it was in the MX5 and whilst it works fine it doesn't look as good as yours :-)

[garyt]

Thanks I had the same a big half moon in the dark so decided a change was in order :)

[garyout]

Gary



Looking good, what conversion you done to fit the wheels obviously changed the hubs but what are they from? I bet the gauges were a bit fiddly to do good old triumph I have fitted triumph 2000 seat runners in mine :D


Gary

[garyt]

Haha spoke to a specialist company who said they would do a custom set go over£200 each .... yeah ok not so after a wee bit of research I discovered that mg midget rear hubs are really like an adapter that bolts on to the drum and halfshaft so got a used one to mess with and discovered that when I opened the holes up to wheel stud clearance they fitted so ordered some new hubs at £45 each !!!!! And some steel clench nuts and popped them on got a set of new spinners and a deal on a used set of wheels and then put my khumos on
Yes the dials were a bit fiddly but again a wee bit of lateral thinking and the mx5 dials were a 1/16 to big so a wee trim and the rev counter fitted made some stand offs and fly leads and put it all together the speedo however had the added problem of the odometer, I then discovered that the LCD was a push fit in its holder.... so cut a slot in the dial black out all the warning lights and stuck the LCD in place then 16 wires later And 4 for the speedo ( make a wiring diagram) and I assembled the speedo
The minor gauges were fitted in much the same way
The mx5 circuit board I then fitted corresponding fly leads to the pick up points and fitted this on the back of the dash
Warning lights mmmmmmm good old dad can't tell you what he ate last night but said I needed an octagonal warning light cluster from a triumph stag and it compliments the other gauges
So yes fiddly but have a go if that's what you want

[garyt]

ok so a wee update here are some pics of her wearing her new clothes wheels and dash :)

[garyt]

and a few more