Category: MX5

Had a few moments this afternoon to pull the heater box out to put a new core into it. It wasnt leaking, but im bloody surprised it wasnt making my feet wet:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/24/20180424232528-a50ae79e-xl.jpg[/img]

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/24/20180424232606-42923554-xl.jpg[/img]

Has leaked and corroded so badly that the corrosion (cupric chloride and efflorescence) has actually sealed it up again. When i put the garden hose on it after coming out of the heater box it was leakier than an incontinent geriatric.

Thankfully i had already started lining up an NB unit which will drop in and make future core changes much easier.

I also added some lightness by gutting the aircon box:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/24/20180424232657-541126d8-xl.jpg[/img]

The heat exchanger is easily the heaviest part there, and just gutting it will make for a good weight saving.

Had a couple of hours tonight, so got the biggest thing out of the garage and into the car, the cage.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2018/04/22/20180422055042-8807c09d-xl.jpg[/img]

Pretty simple install once i got the bloody soft top out, which had a nice little tear down low under the rain rail on the driver’s side, so pretty sure its going to end up being binned.

Mostly fitted the carpet back in too, which will make it a bit nicer place to be in.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2018/04/22/20180422055014-e8e9505f-xl.jpg[/img]

Found that the heater box has leaked at some point, so im definitely going to change the core and hopefully getting an NB alloy unit to make it easier to work on.

Did a bunch of wiring tidying too, but who needs to see that…

Completely brain dead this afternoon, so i headed home early and did some work on the car. Pulled the old cracked dash out:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/19/20180419234827-7aa6aa33-xl.jpg[/img]

Massive pain in the arse, as you take the entire dash, reinforcement etc out as one piece. Sure makes for far fewer bolts, but its a pain. Will let me pull the carpet out and actually clean 25 years of crud off it. Just a pity that none of the aftermarket carpet people make one for the MX5, as having nice fresh carpet would be nice.

Also found that the shifter boot is pretty perished, so that will need to be replaced

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/19/20180419234853-497a6755-xl.jpg[/img]

Now to tidy up some wiring and stuff, and finish off the half arsed AC delete. Might replace the heater core too while I have the entire dash out, cant hurt.

Had a bit of time between the rain on Saturday arvo, so i fitted up the wheels (mainly to get them out of the garage)

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/15/20180415020815-d7b222be-xl.jpg[/img]

Need to let them settle a bit.

Then i started doing some general automotive archaeology:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/15/20180415020943-d08bfc38-xl.jpg[/img]

Spare chips and change under the seat.

Half a central locking system

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/15/20180415020905-35db270f-xl.jpg[/img]

Someone who actually cared about their car audio install:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/15/20180415020837-27430546-xl.jpg[/img]

And someone who didnt care about the concept of gaskets:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/15/20180415020708-d9e1bce4-xl.jpg[/img]

Finally the reason i bought Hella Supertones

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/14/20180414041823-d0fc0e89-xl.jpg[/img]

Air compressed truck horn thing that takes about 2-3s to charge before it makes any noise. Sure, its loud, but that soccermum in the people mover has already run over the bonnet by the time it makes any noise.

Then it started pouring again, so i shifted to cleaning the garage instead to bring it inside.

But got distracted, and mocked up this one:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/15/20180415020742-13447938-xl.jpg[/img]

Today i finished cleaning the garage up, so i could bring the car in, and then finished off a basic bracket for the mirror:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/15/20180415020618-08cac08d-xl.jpg[/img]

3mm Alu is a bit overkill for it though, so i might make it again out of something thinner. Also not sure on how i want to finish it, whether it is brushed or painted black, or even covered in carbon vinyl. Whichever option, it is already a damn sight better than the stock mirrors that drooped over every bump (drivers side), or folded up at 80km/h (passenger). Plus you can already see more out of them as they sit at a much better location.

Finally i pulled the rear garnish off to see if i can fix up the number plate bracket, and perhaps fix the cracked bit.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/04/15/20180415020645-289b8a78-xl.jpg[/img]

Now it is in the garage i will be able to do the cage and other bits without having to put the soft top up and down every 30s when the showers come over. Plus I figure I may as well just pull the dash out to fix that at the same time as rewiring a few bits and fixing the central locking. Its certainly a damn sight easier to do that than being contorted around to get up under the dash.

So this is what happens when you have a couple of months to accumulate parts before being able to start work on the car, pretty much 90% of the parts for the initial build have arrived.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2018/04/11/20180411041004-e2d85b9d-xx.jpg[/img]

Just waiting on time to be able to get stuck into it. Knocking off a few other little jobs to clear out stuff before getting into it, and hopefully can bottle up the 140L of barrel aged beers that is currently taking up floor space between kegs and the empty bottles that need to be filled.

But hopefully can get into it this weekend.

Until then, anyone able to pick the problem with this sucker?

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2018/04/11/20180411040853-86f4641b-la.jpg[/img]

Today was the first chance i have had to turn a spanner on the car since buying it, and i had to pull the stock suspension out to return it, and popped the Teins in

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2018/03/18/20180318012424-cc313366-la.jpg[/img]

Of course found that the other rear LCA also had a spinning captive nut and a cross threaded bolt:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2018/03/18/20180318012439-d67ceec4-la.jpg[/img]

Whoever had put the old coilovers in had rattle gunned in some M12x1.75 coarse thread bolts, that were the wrong length to boot. They really didnt like life. Had to pull the entire LCA out with the strut in it, and eventually get the MIG onto the nut to hold it in place while the uggadugga pulled the bolt out.

Now to go get another LCA and put that in too.

Still, i had to get it back down on its wheels, so i popped in some spare M10 bolts to hold it off the ground, and it looks like this lowered:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2018/03/18/20180318012348-d75ac255-la.jpg[/img]

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2018/03/18/20180318012356-087240e2-la.jpg[/img]

Parts for it are slowly trickling in, and by the time that the AE86 goes in early April there should be enough to get some movement on the car done.

As some probably noticed i was looking around for an old NA MX5 to put on club reg as a mixed occasional drive and a track car now that the AE86 is about to go to a new home. Well last weekend i went and looked at this one, and today i picked it up, and put it through RWC with spare bits from the seller. As it sits it has NB stock struts, hence the rally car look 😉

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2018/03/03/20180303001145-db22ade8-xl.jpg[/img]

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2018/03/03/20180303001159-a471186b-xl.jpg[/img]

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2018/03/03/20180303001230-8dfd1b21-xl.jpg[/img]

Pretty stock for now, at least to get it through RWC. Reasonable condition, little bit tatty in places, but seems quite mechanically solid. Also picked up a set of Tein coilovers for it, and the hard top at the same time. Have some Avanti Storm’s winging their way over from the US for it (sorry Brendan, had already ordered them), and probably pick up a roll cage for it from Brown Davis eventually. Has an NB soft top under the hardtop too, so need one of the NB roll cages. Kind of wanted a black hard top, but at the price that this one was offered for it was a good deal.

Other than that the main things that need to be done are just maintenance. Water pump/timing belt, full fluids change etc etc. Should all be pretty easy to do, especially as its all so open and easy to get at everything.

First things first though, time to get club reg on it.