Chris's new build of an MX5 based car

[Johno]

Hi Chris,
Yeah sorry about my photo's, paint schemes a bit loud to say the least...
No reason why people shouldn't like your build as you've got some really good ideas there.

In hindsight I wish I spent a bit more time up front sorting stuff out instead of just ploughing in like I have...
It really pays to look at what others have done and have a choice of what you can do with the build.

Regarding the Westfield builds and their problem with the mechanical drive for the speedo I've found this...

Those of you who used a NA (Mk1) donor, will have found that the speedo cable makes a very sharp bend at the transmission. Every single car that I know of ended up with a broken cable because of this. The only solution is to make a hole in the body to feed the cable through or use the NB (Mk2) cluster with its electrical drive gear (it’s a direct swap against the mechanical drive gear).

However, there is a much easier solution. The mazda gearbox has a metric M22-1.5 thread as do old 80′s and 90′s Toyota’s. Most (all?) RWD Toyota’s used a 90° angled drive to prevent this problem. The part is a straight fit for the Mazda transmission!

The original Toyota P/N is 83770-30070 and it is meanwhile superceeded by P/N 83770-22100.






Simon phoned up Toyota today and you can still get this part for £73. I know it's expensive but it's a lot cheaper than replacing the cable every 25 miles...LOL

Hope this helps..... Johno