Progress reports

[Davidbolam]

Is anyone doing any building or upgrading at the moment. Doesn't seem to be many posts at the moment?

[dubzter]

aye seems quite quiet, I'm going to be starting my build sometime in the new year once I get my chassis and bits from Phil

[NeilW]

Likewise, expecting delivery of chassis kit in the next few days.
Donor still not found, garage not tidied out, table not prepped and new job based in Russia (3 weeks away, 1 week home for the build).
Going to be busy in the new year but still raring to go...

[metal matt]

It has been quiet but i'v been managing to spend a couple of hour here and there on my build over the Christmas brake (when she doesn't get to moody) and i'v managed to get one on my sides on and going to try and get the other side on before I go back to work on the 5th I'll then add some new pics:D


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

[Tatey]

I'm building at the moment. Installed my alternator + belt the other week and just planning out the finally pieces I need to finish the car off! I will be buying my digital dash a week on Saturday and then booking my IVA test for the 1st of April once I get back from skiing at the end of Jan.

[dubzter]

Likewise, expecting delivery of chassis kit in the next few days.
Donor still not found, garage not tidied out, table not prepped.......

I'm the same, still need to get my lighting sorted in the garage, get one side cleared out for the chassis and find a donor. Been scouring ebay for weeks watching mx5s, some seem to go for crazy money.

[tkpm]

I've been cleaning up welds on my roll bar which is off to powder coating on Monday.

Happy new year to all

Terry

[NeilW]

Been scouring ebay for weeks watching mx5s, some seem to go for crazy money.

Probably bidding against me lol

[voucht]

- 19°C on Sunday. I haven't put a toe in the garage for 2 weeks, and I think I will not until spring comes. Will have some toe in/out, ride height, steering adjustments to do, but I'll need to be able to drive the car, and there is no way I do that now :eek:

So, rendez-vous in April/May

Happy new year to all of you !

[dubzter]

Probably bidding against me lol

haha, haven't bid yet, just waiting for the right one for me, considering where I live it's probably going to be a long trip to collect.

[Davidbolam]

Probably bidding against me lol

Give AK automotive a call. They get loads in to scrap and have contacts all over looking out for them. Should be cheaper than eBay

[jps]

I'm in the middle of major house renovation so car has taken a back burner. Ironically I am now living with my-in-laws, where my car is actually kept, but have not had the chance to touch it in the 2 months i've been here!

Fabricating my engine mounts are a big sticking point at the moment. I want to get them sorted before I get the side panels on (and the rest of the body work) and the floor. But I am finding it hard to position the engine. I'm hoping to ship the chassis, gearbox/engine and diff off to Phil Eagle (Talon) in the New Year so he can sort it out!! Hopefully things will move a bit more after that...

[Stot]

I have been out every chance I can to let autotune work on my new turbo setup.

Bloody freezing out there today but worth the 20 mins. :D Happy New Year!

Cheers
Stot

[TheArf]

Well i have striped the car back to bare chassis, its on the trailer in the garage ready to go to grit blasting.
i'm waiting for the weather to change a bit so that as soon as its done and comes back i can paint it the same day, so watch this space.
i was going to get some body work trimmed to fit but have been in bed for the last few days with the dreaded lurgy.
i had also brought some of the cobra panels home from work to work on but they are still there waiting.
Back to work on Monday and then i am being SENT to Autosport international on Thursday, its a swine of a task but someone has to do it.

have a good new year everyone

Arfon

[davidimurray]

I'm in the middle of my engine swap. All the details here - http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=192871

[JasonL]

Likewise, expecting delivery of chassis kit in the next few days.

Me too. Donor stripped, donor carcass/chassis scrapped and waiting for my Christmas present from Phil!!

Happy New Year everyone!:D

[skov]

Got loads I want to do on the car, but can't be ar5ed at the moment :rolleyes:
I've been getting back into bikes recently, and all my enthusiasm's been directed to two wheels.

[PorkChop]

For those struggling for a donor; from what I've seen of the current market, I would strongly consider just getting parts piecemeal if I was doing it again.

Over the last couple of years, the market has been flooded with NA MX5 parts and prices have fallen sharply (there might be one or two possible exceptions).

[dubzter]

For those struggling for a donor; from what I've seen of the current market, I would strongly consider just getting parts piecemeal if I was doing it again.

Over the last couple of years, the market has been flooded with NA MX5 parts and prices have fallen sharply (there might be one or two possible exceptions).

I'm not so sure, been thinking about that as well but these are the sort of prices I've seen on ebay.

Engine £100-£300
Gearbox£50-£80
Diff £50+ (£150+ for LSD)
Hubs £??
Driveshafts £??
Prop £10-£20
Wiring Loom £??
ECU £??
Wheels £??

By the time you take all of that into account and if you can get a half decent donor for £500-£750 you could probably do better out of the donor car route if you are willing to go to the effort of selling the unused parts.

[PorkChop]

I've been involved in MX5s since 2011 (because of my Roadster), I now have a NC as a daily driver, and I still have bits left over from my donor, so I generally pay attention to market trends etc. There are a number of bits where there is absolutely no call for spares (fuel tanks being one example I can think of).

EBay is not the only place to look, although saying that there's a 1.8 prop on there for £10 BIN.

If you're paying £300 for a mark 1 MX5 engine, then look elsewhere. I've seen an engine/box combo being offered for £150 from a reputable source in the last week. I sold my spare engine/box for a similar amount.

AK Automotive were selling mark 1 gearboxes for £30. I saw a GWO one being sold privately for £15 (if that was local I would have bought it as a spare!).

Hubs are £20-25 with good used bearings from breakers (what I paid)

A OEM ECU is £10-20

You can get an open diff for less than £50 quite easily (if you're lucky, then you might luck onto 2 for that amount of money). In the not too distant past, Torsen LSDs used to command £300 all day long (the 3.6:1 ratio usually went for a little more). Now a 4.1:1 Torsen will struggle to go past £200.

Driveshafts are anywhere between £15 and £50 (I've paid both amounts, in fact don't get me started on my car and driveshafts!)

Brake calipers start from £15 each. £10-15 will do the seals per caliper.

The majority of builders seem to buy aftermarket wheels or wheels from a different car. The ones on my donor were heavy aftermarket ones, needless to say they aren't going on the Roadster!

The only real advantages I can see of getting a donor car is if you have geography against you, being able to see where everything is on the loom and having all the little nuts and bolts spare (so long as you don't lose them!). Just because you have a full donor does not mean you don't need to fork out on replacing parts (in my case, driveshafts and calipers).

I should also point out I don't understand the fascination with needing to have age related plates (unless it's something like a Cobra rep). I know it does to some people, but I'm not one of them!

If you've never broken a car, take it from my experience that it takes up a LOT of space (I thought I'd made enough space, then quickly realised I hadn't). It actually stopped me from actually building the car on much more than one occasion because I had absolutely no room to move.

In short, I think people might just be getting a little too hung up on not being able to get a donor. So why should that stop you from building?

[dubzter]

I've been involved in MX5s since 2011 (because of my Roadster), I now have a NC as a daily driver, and I still have bits left over from my donor, so I generally pay attention to market trends etc. There are a number of bits where there is absolutely no call for spares (fuel tanks being one example I can think of).

EBay is not the only place to look, although saying that there's a 1.8 prop on there for £10 BIN.

If you're paying £300 for a mark 1 MX5 engine, then look elsewhere. I've seen an engine/box combo being offered for £150 from a reputable source in the last week. I sold my spare engine/box for a similar amount.

AK Automotive were selling mark 1 gearboxes for £30. I saw a GWO one being sold privately for £15 (if that was local I would have bought it as a spare!).

Hubs are £20-25 with good used bearings from breakers (what I paid)

A OEM ECU is £10-20

You can get an open diff for less than £50 quite easily (if you're lucky, then you might luck onto 2 for that amount of money). In the not too distant past, Torsen LSDs used to command £300 all day long (the 3.6:1 ratio usually went for a little more). Now a 4.1:1 Torsen will struggle to go past £200.

Driveshafts are anywhere between £15 and £50 (I've paid both amounts, in fact don't get me started on my car and driveshafts!)

Brake calipers start from £15 each. £10-15 will do the seals per caliper.

The majority of builders seem to buy aftermarket wheels or wheels from a different car. The ones on my donor were heavy aftermarket ones, needless to say they aren't going on the Roadster!

The only real advantages I can see of getting a donor car is if you have geography against you, being able to see where everything is on the loom and having all the little nuts and bolts spare (so long as you don't lose them!). Just because you have a full donor does not mean you don't need to fork out on replacing parts (in my case, driveshafts and calipers).

I should also point out I don't understand the fascination with needing to have age related plates (unless it's something like a Cobra rep). I know it does to some people, but I'm not one of them!

If you've never broken a car, take it from my experience that it takes up a LOT of space (I thought I'd made enough space, then quickly realised I hadn't). It actually stopped me from actually building the car on much more than one occasion because I had absolutely no room to move.

In short, I think people might just be getting a little too hung up on not being able to get a donor. So why should that stop you from building?

Fair points, I think the main reason for me going for a donor is that living in the far north of Scotland it would be easier for me to go buy a car and drive it home rather than touring round the country picking up parts here and there. I've got an 8mx6m garage so space isn't a major issue. If I could find all the parts relatively close to home and for decent prices then I'd be tempted to go that route but so far my search hasn't found anything.

[jps]

Hurrah! My tame family welder (wifes, cousins, boyfriend) popped round today and helped me (I say 'helped me' - he did most of it - although my previous efforts had been fairly close...) get the engine mounts sorted. I now had a Roadster chassis with a Pinto & gearbox securely mounted in it! Next job is to get the floor on - then some bodywork. Great start to 2015!!!

Couple of pics here: http://meandthekitcar.wordpress.com/

[garyt]

haha 2 weeks off and went south for Christmas to Hampshire now back to work , reality..... time to work off the good living...
and get back to the wiring loom, having fun with this one...

[robo]

Massive clear up of yard space and started on an extension to the mancave. There are a few projects on the go at the moment so they need to go on trolleys in the dry so I can just wheel them in to work on them.

Bob

[garyt]

hi DUBZTER try gumtree theres a couple on there mx5 inverness threw up a couple just now or try mx5 scotland
good luck Gary

[NeilW]

Well now that i have received my chassis steel the missus has agreed i am allowed 1 day per week hassle free to tinker on so progress may be slow, however my build will start tomorrow.
I dont have a donor yet but hopefully i find something in the next few weeks.
Task for tomorrow: tidy garage, build table, start chassis

Woohoo it feels like xmas once again.....

[NeilW]

Anyone local to me got a weld gas bottle i can have the lend of, or can anyone recommend where i can get one?

[dubzter]

hi DUBZTER try gumtree theres a couple on there mx5 inverness threw up a couple just now or try mx5 scotland
good luck Gary

Hey Gary, been without electric/landline/mobile for over 30 hours, just back on yesterday and catching up with things, hope it wasn't too bad down your way. Cheers will have a look at Gumtree now.

[TalonMotorFabrication]

Anyone local to me got a weld gas bottle i can have the lend of, or can anyone recommend where i can get one?

Google 'hobbyweld' they supply Co2 and argon mix in useful size bottles they have stockists everywhere. Including one here NE5 1LX.