Building a supercharged Exocet

sovietspybob said:
Very interesting i'd quite like to do something like this. Looks like this retains the OEM suspension though, won't that be all wrong for a car of half the weight afterwards?
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Yeah that was one of my concerns, especially as I'm running coilovers.

Worst comes to the worst, I get some new springs, the coilovers are something daft like 42 way adjustable on damping so should be able to find a decent setting.

Still, plenty of people run standard suspension and the reviews are pretty comprehensively positive so it can't be all that bad.
 
I wouldn't want to rejig an OEM harness for the MS, Just make a new harness from scratch, surely much simpler that way? I'm only running a MS2 v3.0 with wasted spark and batch fired injection though and my donor car didn't have a harness :D
 
Will you need to swap the rack to a non-powered one or can you just de-power the one you have? I remember people going through a big process to de-power a powered rack. Does the same go for the ABS?

Interested to see how the conversion goes. The skate would be simple to strip down to seen a few in that state, I guess the main headache will be the wiring. I'd be tempted to build a scratch loom but then if this was me I'd be stripping, cleaning, painting and refreshing everything along the way and would never get it done :D
 
Ryan-3 said:
Looking forward to seeing what the finished product is here. :cool:
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You might see and hear it in the flesh, Northumberland is where I'll be spending a lot of time in it!

NoNameNoNumber said:
I wouldn't want to rejig an OEM harness for the MS, Just make a new harness from scratch, surely much simpler that way? I'm only running a MS2 v3.0 with wasted spark and batch fired injection though and my donor car didn't have a harness :D
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Everything is already hooked up to the MS3 so I just want to get it fired up first and then think about stripping the loom back, possibly.

Dup said:
Will you need to swap the rack to a non-powered one or can you just de-power the one you have? I remember people going through a big process to de-power a powered rack. Does the same go for the ABS?

Interested to see how the conversion goes. The skate would be simple to strip down to seen a few in that state, I guess the main headache will be the wiring. I'd be tempted to build a scratch loom but then if this was me I'd be stripping, cleaning, painting and refreshing everything along the way and would never get it done :D
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Yeah you convert the rack, not sure about the ABS yet, need to do some research on that front.

The other thing I need to consider is the supercharger runs off the same belt as the PAS so I need to work out whether it's just a case of removing the PAS pulley and using a shorter belt to drive the charger.

With regard to stripping the skate, I'm torn between doing it as I build the chassis up and getting the bits sent off for sand blasting and powder coating while I run brake lines etc or waiting.

Realistically it's going to be off the road for a few months each year, the MX5 was surprisingly usable all year round but this not so much, so I'll have time to do a refresh then. I am very impatient and want to get it IVA tested asap!
 
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wesimmo said:
You might see and hear it in the flesh, Norhumberland is where I'll be spending a lot of time in it!
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Excellent news! :D

Have seen quite a variety of different kit cars, as well as Caterhams and Lotuses making use of the twisty roads over the years. Makes me miss the Mini for a summer blast.
 
I bought an NB a few years ago with a friend with track days in mind, with the plan being that if we bin it it'll become a Zero or Exocet kit... Subbed :D
 
Managed to get another few hours on it today.

Engine loom is now tucked away out the rain under the bonnet having been disconnected under the dash.

Rear loom, roll bar, boot and petrol cap release mechanisms removed.

Main loom removed, dash removed, doors removed.

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Though the garage i had spent weeks clearing out is starting to get full of MX5 again....

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HoneyBadger said:
Interesting build! Good luck with it.

I bet you’re learning a lot, fast?
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Thanks, and yeah it's a steep curve alright!

But it is just like building a PC to be honest. I learn more easily from just breaking things down and understanding how they work rather than reading or watching. I built my first PC from scratch without much reference material by taking my old one apart.

Of course time will tell whether this turns out ok, there's a lot more bits to plug in!
 
So I ordered some new toys for the next stage, getting underneath and removing the sub frame from the body so I can lift the body free.

I've got a 400nm impact wrench and angle grinder on the way with a big battery and charger. The tools and charger arrive tomorrow, the battery on Friday. Looks like I'm stuck doing a few little jobs until the weekend unless a 138k mile MX5 that's lived near the North East coast actually comes apart easily....
 
wesimmo said:
So I ordered some new toys for the next stage, getting underneath and removing the sub frame from the body so I can lift the body free.

I've got a 400nm impact wrench and angle grinder on the way with a big battery and charger. The tools and charger arrive tomorrow, the battery on Friday. Looks like I'm stuck doing a few little jobs until the weekend unless a 138k mile MX5 that's lived near the North East coast actually comes apart easily....
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Ryobi by any chance? I found mine to struggle on my 115k mile MX5 NB... subsequently bought a Dewalt 1650nm impact for the more seized nuts and it's not struggled with anything yet and was only ~£50 more than the ryobi with battery/charger included
 
Yep, it's the Ryobi.....

TBH I did wonder whether 400nm would be enough. I'm only hoping that the fact I've had coilovers put on, the clutch changed twice and alignment done several times since I had the supercharger put on means that the bolts aren't as bad as they might be.

If they're that bad that I can't get them out with the Ryobi I'd probably want to replace them with shiny ones anyway, it's not like they're hidden under any bodywork on this build so I kinda want to keep it smart looking...
 
wesimmo said:
Yep, it's the Ryobi.....

TBH I did wonder whether 400nm would be enough. I'm only hoping that the fact I've had coilovers put on, the clutch changed twice and alignment done several times since I had the supercharger put on means that the bolts aren't as bad as they might be.

If they're that bad that I can't get them out with the Ryobi I'd probably want to replace them with shiny ones anyway, it's not like they're hidden under any bodywork on this build so I kinda want to keep it smart looking...
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You shouldn't have too much issue, the worst bolt I've ever had to try and undo was the rear PPF bolt that has the bushing in the bottom side.

18v DeWalt impact gun wouldn't touch it. Ended up with a 24" impact bar with about 8 foot of bar on the end to crack that one loose
 
Frozennova said:
You shouldn't have too much issue, the worst bolt I've ever had to try and undo was the rear PPF bolt that has the bushing in the bottom side.

18v DeWalt impact gun wouldn't touch it. Ended up with a 24" impact bar with about 8 foot of bar on the end to crack that one loose
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I've got a mate helping who works on hydraulics for plant machinery and did 10 years as a mechanic so he's got a pretty good selection of tools on his van, hopefully we'll get it apart somehow.

As I say though, even if I have to angle grind some bits off, I haven't got the chassis yet so I will probably end up dismantling the skate and get all the bits blasted, coated and rebushed so buying a few bolts here and there, even if they're half decent second hand ones to refurb won't kill me.
 
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