MX-5 Project log thread

mk1_salami · 7 Apr 2011 at 14:50

Howard, man up and do either:

1) 1.8 Conversion and Rotrex
2) 1.8 Conversion an MP62
3) 1.8 Conversion and slap a huge turbo on there.

Firestar_3x · 7 Apr 2011 at 14:56

When i move upsize and get a double garage i will be buying a cheap Mk2.5 VT Sport and sticking a Rotary engine in, i've been wanting to do it for years now and it shouldn't cost the earth to do.

mk1_salami · 7 Apr 2011 at 15:01

You might as well just get an RX7?

Firestar_3x · 7 Apr 2011 at 15:14

Nah no fun in that, I really want to get into fabricating and welding custom parts so one day i can build something totally mad, a project along those lines would seem like a good stepping stone to building up my knowledge base.

But it's a long way off yet need to move house and get a big garage first, my dad doesn't want me cluttering up his and i don't think the tenants in my parents second house would like it very much if I turned up with a project car asking for garage access, i could try i suppose

Howard · 7 Apr 2011 at 15:38

mk1_salami said:
Howard, man up and do either:

1) 1.8 Conversion and Rotrex
2) 1.8 Conversion an MP62
3) 1.8 Conversion and slap a huge turbo on there.

Cba

Batf1nk · 7 Apr 2011 at 15:48

Howard said:
Cba

At least fit an intercooler!!

Howard · 9 Apr 2011 at 15:24

Well like I said before I've felt motivated to do a few more bits and pieces, and today's weather was ideal for the next job..

You'll have to excuse the state of the arches, I hadn't cleaned Salisbury Plain off them at this point.

Crazy elevation technique

Mmm shiny new bits

Front offside, old hose

Was a bit of a pain to get the hose undone from the mounting bracket and solid pipe at this point, there's a spring clip that you have to remove once you slacken the union nut (mole-grips were required for this due to the fact they probably haven't been removed in 21 years) and then the rust holds the flexi-hose into the bracket

It came out though..

Shiny new hose fitted.. Looks pro :cool:

Same deal on the nearside rear, but you have to remove some of the arch liner in order to get to it effectively

Slightly different on the offside rear, this is where the distribution block for the rear brakes is.. It's easier in fact than the other corners.

Soaked in WD40 prior to removal

New hose and block fitted

Old manky hoses

I then bled the hell out of it until nary a tiny bubble could be seen, and took it for a test run. The brakes are now ferocious, the pedal is rock hard and there's none of the spongy feel, and it seriously dumps speed quickly with no fading unlike with the god-knows-how-many-years-old fluid

Howard · 9 Apr 2011 at 21:50

Just been out for a good blast.. These brakes are relentless

No fade, absolutely brutal. Awesome stuff

Peter Diffey · 9 Apr 2011 at 22:10

Nice, do you reckon the braided lines or the new fluid made the real improvement though?

I've been looking at doing this myself - should have done it at the same time I changed the solid brake pipes

Howard · 9 Apr 2011 at 22:12

Both I reckon!

The solid pipes are in really good condition it seems

mk1_salami · 10 Apr 2011 at 20:59

I may have missed it, but what pads and fluid are you using?

Howard · 10 Apr 2011 at 21:03

EBC Yellowstuff, Mobil1 DOT4 stuff

Clarkey · 10 Apr 2011 at 21:20

wheres the locking ring on that coilover?

Howard · 10 Apr 2011 at 21:25

They don't have them, they have grub screws that go into the spring perch bit instead

Howard · 21 Apr 2011 at 11:47

I've had some time off work this week and my replacement cam cover arrived so I've been working on cleaning it up, prepping it and painting it, and swapping it over, I'm very pleased with the result! Read on..

Take one dirty old cam cover..

Pressure wash the hell out of it to remove loose oil, deposits and crap...

Degrease and sand the hell out of it in order to make it nice and smooth (it doesn't look as clean in this picture as it was)..

A few thin coats of primer..

A few thin coats of red paint... Oh yeah :cool:

All finished, new gasket applied, ready to bolt on!

This is the engine bay after fitting all the black hoses to replace the blue ones, and cleaning up the inlet manifold and supercharger..

Nice clean oily bits

Original cam cover was clean and had only deposits of nice clean oil.. I <3 my engine

Cam Angle Sensor marked up, removed and new O'ring gasket fitted

... And Voila! The orange patch is sunlight, I'm gonna take some better photos later

I'm really pleased with the finish, it looks fantastic and matches the bodywork nicely. Looks a lot more 'factory' wtih that + the black hoses now I think!

DRZ · 21 Apr 2011 at 12:04

Looks very nice - I would have been tempted to try and brush in the lettering with white paint though, that would really set it off!

Howard · 21 Apr 2011 at 12:05

I decided I liked the subtle approach of keeping the inset lettering the same colour

Firestar_3x · 21 Apr 2011 at 12:11

DRZ said:
Looks very nice - I would have been tempted to try and brush in the lettering with white paint though, that would really set it off!

Use a small syringe and fill the letters with a tiny amount of paint, gives a much better finish.

Howard · 21 Apr 2011 at 12:12

Firestar_3x said:
Use a small syringe and fill the letters with a tiny amount of paint, gives a much better finish.

I'd never have thought of that! Interesting idea...

Shimmy · 21 Apr 2011 at 12:16

DRZ said:
Looks very nice - I would have been tempted to try and brush in the lettering with white paint though, that would really set it off!

Very easy to do, wouldn't use a brush though.

When I had my 5 I used the bottom of a match stick dipped into touch up paint, the paint would then spread quite evenly by capillary action.