Hi David,
Thanks for offer, but I've already ordered a new one.

What really peeves me off is that I've already replaced both rear calipers and driveshafts and thought I'd fixed the oil leak!

Arrghhh! I've got a coolant leak too!!!

I've stripped everything off the front of the engine and it looks like it was leaking where the water pump seals against the block.
It was a new waterpump and gasket, but the gasket was a very thin metal one and the sealing face on the block is slightly corroded.
I bolted it back on again with a load of sealant this time so hopefully should be ok now!

Also looks like my oil leak is coming from leaky cam seals. I'd already replaced both of the seals... but it looks like the cams have a groove worn in them from the original seals, so not sure they've ever going to seal properly again :(
I had a spare pair of seals and have replaced them again, but I'm not very confident...

You're supposed to polish the groove out when changing seals, otherwise they're not going to last long.

Doh! :rolleyes:

One step forwards, two steps back...



I've lost count of how many times I've had that bl00dy cam belt off now!

Managed to find my CV gaitor leak, took me a while as it's only a tiny split. It was virtually invisible before I squeezed it in the right place and the grease came out:



Really not looking forward to changing that...

I normally just tap the seal in so it's slightly recessed and no longer sits within the groove.

I had a dig through my spares and found I had another two pairs of cam seals. No idea how or why I ended up with so many!
Anyway, one of the pairs appears to be a slightly different design to the ones that were leaking and seals further along the shaft, so I stuck those on. They were a tighter fit too, so fingers crossed!

Hi John,
You don't seem to be having too much luck lately...:( :(
Chin up matey your doing a cracking job and all will become good in the end.;)

Right, that's the cam seals and CV boot replaced, water pump (hopefully!) sealed, engine back together, bonnet vaugely the same colour as the rest of the body work, front suspension components trimmed, and a few other bits and bobs completed.
Might have to send the IVA application off soon!

The car is looking great there!

Did you find what was causing the engine to run unsmoothly?

Noticed your YouTube vid earlier.

Are you going to put some stripes on???

Thanks David. I'm pretty sure it's going to get a red stripe down the middle at somepoint :D

I still don't know why the idle is a bit crap, but I'm sure I'll get to the bottom of it!

Ah ha, I think I may have fixed the idle surge problem (or at least covered it up!)

There's a hidden adjustment screw on the air flow meter (you have to drill out a metal plug to get to it).
Wound it all the way in (about a turn and a half), then out 4 turns and the surging has gone :D

The air flow meter is a crappy ancient vane flow type and I think the screw adjusts the amount of air that's allowed to bypass it when the vane/flap is closed.
My suspicion is that is wasn't allowing quite enough air through at idle and the surging was something to do with the vane opening and closing. I guess it could be a bit sticky at it's closed point, or possibly upset by me not putting it in the correct orientation.
Whatever the case my bodge will do for now :)

I've gone and blooming done it - just sent off my IVA application :eek:

Need to pull my finger out and get it finished now!!!

Well done John......hope I am not far behind you:o

Well done John! Hopefully I'll be ready for the IVA this time next year!:)

Just looking through your photos John, are use using those lock stops now?

clicky

Good find!

Sadly they weren't quite a good a find as I'd hoped :rolleyes:
The passenger side works well, but it restricts the steering a bit too much on the drivers side...

Oh, bummer. :(

VOSA just phoned to relieve me of my bank balance!
They recon it'll take two weeks to process the application and get back to me with a test date.

Not much to report, but here's a few pics I took of her out in the daylight this morning:

Build is looking good. Lets hope you fly through the IVA and we'll have another on the road.

Thanks Deezee, hopefully won't be too long now!

I phoned VOSA today because the receipt for my IVA payment said N1 (light goods vehicle!) instead of M1 (passenger vehicle).
I think I got that sorted, but whilst on the phone asked if they had a date for me yet...
They said they've got a 3 week back log of applications and it's going to be at least two weeks before they look at mine and probably July before I get a test.
Got a little while to wait yet then :rolleyes:

You'll have to start another while you wait! You could have the chassis done by then end of July! :D

Looks really good John! :cool:

Thanks Chris :)
To be fair the camera's quite flattering and it doesn't look half as good in the flesh!
Particularly since I decided to polish the bonnet and managed to go through to the primer... :o

There's no way I'm going to build another bl00dy one!!
It's been fun, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it again. I'm starting to look forward to having some spare time and cash again.
Plus I recon my wife would pack her bags if I started another one!

lol lol lol:D

HAHAHAHA!!!

Hi John,

I notice in your photos the rear wheel seems to be quite a way in from the edge of the wheel arch, are they standard MX5 wheels?
I believe the standard offset for a MK1 is 45mm so are the ones you have on different.
As I don't have my rear arches yet I'm intrigued to know what offset to get to suit the car.
What size rims and tyres are fitted just out of curiosity..

Mind the gap... :rolleyes:
No idea what the offset is, but they're standard Eunos wheels with 185/60-14 tyres.
I recon they need to come out another 40 or so mm to look 'right'.

Come on VOSA pull your finger out and give me a test date, the cars ready and I'm sat twiddling my thumbs now!

Phoned VOSA today. Apparently they processed my form and sent it to the test centre (Leighton Buzzard) two days ago.
They checked with the test centre and they got it this morning, and should be phoning me shortly with a test date :D

OOoooo exciting!!:D

Even more exciting - the test centre just phoned and booked me in for the 25th June!
Less than 2 weeks to go :eek:

Don't waste those two weeks John.... go read iva manual then read it again, then go over your car with a fine toothed comb or magnifying glass, then go over it again ...read iva manual then go over the car again ...oh and once more for good measure ....there you go your two weeks are filled.:D :D

I'm already sick of reading that bl00dy manual!
I recon I'll be able to recite it word for word by the end of next week :D

Well it's good you got your test date at last...:)
So what stress level would you compare it to when the time comes do you think?:eek:

Getting married.
Having children.
Moving house.
Anyways good luck and I guess you will be the first MX5 roadster on the road with any luck.:cool:

I think his wife had better hide all blades and just say were using plastic ones for two weeks:p :p

Great news, plenty of summer sun to enjoy the car. :D Have you made enquires about insurance? Any quotes yet?

The quotes so far have been surprisingly reasonable:

Adrian Flux - £186
2gether - £185 for parts only, £202 including labour
Graham Sykes - £220
Frank Pickles quoted £108 for parts only, but sadly don't insure on the chassis number any more.

I'm pretty happy with that considering the renewal for my tin top just came through at £480! (although after a brief discussion they managed to knock it down to £280 :D ).

Just sorted my insurance out ready for IVA.
Cost me £156 from Adrian Flux (their original quote included 30 quids worth of optional bollox :rolleyes:)