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Post by rustywheels on Nov 17, 2016 21:50:00 GMT
As I am spending more of my time here these days, I feel that I should subject you to my build (really a tinker) thread. I'm afraid its not one of those threads with wheels at 30 deg camber, slammed, screaming exhausts or forced induction. Just a simple, straight, V Spec that I purchased new into the county last year via a well known importer in the NE - just before the pound nosedived against the dollar/yen. I do have some plans for something a little more interesting, but for now you'll have to make do with this and my inane ramblings on the odd tweak or two that I manage to do when the kids aren't pestering me for lifts etc. Firstly, I should point out that this car is a daily driver. Yes, even in the Winter. I'm not into museum pieces (however, if Jay Leno gave me the keys to his place, I wouldnt say 'no'), so everything I do has to fit into the slots when I am either not at work or its not being used, and any changes have to function on the road. So maintenance and rust prevention sits above all else. OK, so the story so far. Having purchased the car, this is the list of things I have purchased/completed in the past 12 months: Replaced radio Front lower chassis brace fitted Speakers H4 bulb upgrades flash to pass diode Dash cam fitted Rear lower chassis brace fitted Silent coat doors Replace broken dipstick Door closure adjustment Delrin window runner guide Adjust bonnet Rain rail replace ment Rebuild gearbox turret /bushes Cabin brace Delrin door bushings Ford fan washer jets Replace tyres to Sportrac 5s all round Four wheel tracking Front ARB drop links replaced Front ARB SuperPro bushes (twice as some idiot ordered the wrong size) Engine, gearbox, diff oil change Rear ARB SuperPro bushes fitted Service kit (filters, plugs, belts) Brake discs + pads all round - standard set up with EBC Ultimax Bonnet stay clip replaced Paint windscreen wiper arms Replace gear knob Lubricate windscreen wipers Paint steering wheel centre Dinitrol to cavities Brake stopper (Jass) Service kit (filters, plugs, timing belt, water pump, oil seals) Oil for service MeisterR CRD - arrived yesterday! This has culminated in the grand total of just under £2k spent on tinkering (gulp!) in 12 months. And that excludes the tools I have also acquired in the process. Meister's I probably didn't need, but the suspension was at the end of its life, so by the time I had worked out cost of replacing everything, I thought, what the heck, and they look so lovely. So that brings me up to date. Meisters are due to go on tomorrow - if I can get away from work. Oh, and Josh at Moss has given me a great price on a Cobalt exhaust. I dont really need it, but......    |
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dave
New Here
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Post by dave on Nov 18, 2016 21:41:27 GMT
That is damn clean underneath sir. I would recommend undersealing it ASAP however...
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Post by rustywheels on Nov 20, 2016 20:58:49 GMT
Thanks Dave. That was the sole purpose of buying a new import, and yes, agree, under seal is already underway.
Unfortunately weather this weekend didn't work out so couldn't fit the Meisters. Regrettably this has meant another dent in the credit card with the purchase of Cobalt exhaust and Goodridge brake lines as I was confined inside.
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Post by minty on Nov 20, 2016 22:14:47 GMT
The wife loves your car! Her favourite model and my second favourite, so clean!
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Post by rustywheels on Nov 21, 2016 20:39:35 GMT
Cheers Minty. I love it too, and beginning to think I shouldn't use it as a daily, but then I'd risk not driving it!
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Post by rustywheels on Nov 23, 2016 17:44:00 GMT
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Post by rustywheels on Nov 25, 2016 17:41:24 GMT
Last couple of days have been quiet for me (I work for a US company, so everyone is off on holiday  ), so had a few hours to myself. So, decided to crack the Meisters out of their box. I decided on the approach of separating the front suspension via the top ball joint rather then the usual approach of the long bolt. Hardest part was actually removing the split pin! Otherwise it went pretty smoothly. As I didn't have a helper I used the scissor jack to raise up the suspension when reinstalling the unit, and this worked well. All in, took me 3 hours. First one was an hour as I got used to the process, then about 30 mins per corner.  Old v new ready to go in...  In place waiting to be tightened up  Height out of the box seems to be 320mm front and 330mm rear. First problem this presented was grounding coming out of my driveway, so for now, I've raised the front to 330mm. I'll let it settle now, and revisit in a couple of weeks, before heading off for an alignment. For preload, I am FF 8 clicks and RR 6 clicks, as Jerrick suggested keeping them soft for now while they bed in. As that was so easy, I thought I'd tackle the exhaust today. Only two bolts.... Well, one was easy, the other is stuck fast. Left it sitting in penetrating oil, but if no joy, its down to the garage to apply some heat to the problem  . Funny how just one small thing causes such a PITA. |
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chef
Chats A Bit
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Post by chef on Nov 25, 2016 22:03:19 GMT
Love the car! Great to have a tinker project and awesome to see it all being done properly. Can tell it's fresh by the lack of cursing used in the work you've done so far |
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Post by rustywheels on Nov 30, 2016 21:10:56 GMT
Well, you recall that stubburn 14mm bolt? I refused to be beaten by it, so having left it with penetrating oil for a few days, it was still not showing any sign of moving. Out came the Dremel with a cutting disk. Cut through the side of the nut and then ‘eased’ it with a screwdriver and hammer. On with the breaker bar and socket, and at last it came off - such a nice feeling. I may ask Santa for an impact gun. Rest of the procedure was simple, and the Cobalt exhaust fitted extremely well, so from that point of view, its a great product (and at a great price from Moss!) and looks stunning.    I have now driven it a couple of times, once with roof up and once with roof down, and sounds nice at tick over, with a slightly deeper note. Note seems to be getting richer today with the roof down, and had a huge grin on my face  . The irritating rattle at 3,000 rpm especially on a trailing throttle has now gone and everything is so much smoother. That's about the end for 'upgrades'. Sorry, keeping her reasonably stock, apart from maybe some Rota RBs (but will refurb the Daisy's first) or I may go for a Jackson Racing CAI sometime next year. At the moment, I am really happy with how she is, and feels so much more alive and sorted on the road. Just can't wait to get out and drive her again! I’ve now run out of excuses to replace the weeping front crank seal, and next up is a service, timing belt, water pump and the seal itself. Fingers crossed there is no wear on the crank keyway, but Loctite 660 on order just in case. These will be my Christmas break jobs, and if I have time left over, will replace those brake lines... |
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rikk
New Here
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Post by rikk on Dec 1, 2016 21:26:08 GMT
This is one nice looking motor - very clean indeed.
Your 'build' looks very much like mine will be for the first couple of years. Funnily enough I'm off to a certain NE importer tomorrow to look at a BRG 5...
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Post by rustywheels on Dec 7, 2016 20:26:11 GMT
I've been searching everywhere to find some replacement centre cap badges for my daisy's that I plan to refurb in the coming months. Stupidly, I hadn't checked out Jass's website, and low and behold, there they were! Ordered a set, and a couple of days later they have arrived.  Looking forward to cleaning up the wheels, as this will make a big difference. I'm still torn between putting on some Rota RBs or staying standard, but I will start with the refurb first and see how that looks. This has the advantage that I can put some cash to a few other areas for now. Good news for Christmas - the family have 'agreed' I can have the 27th off to have a 'car day', so will be delving into the timing belt etc then . |
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Post by rustywheels on Dec 12, 2016 19:08:25 GMT
As it was just coming up to 3,000 miles since last oil change, I changed oil, filters and plugs this weekend. It was a bit of a rush as only had an hour max.
Sometimes oil changes go well, sometimes they don't. This one was a 'dont'! Managed to spill oil everywhere. Then spent another 30 mins clearing everything up. That will teach me to rush!
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Post by rustywheels on Dec 27, 2016 20:07:11 GMT
Had a day to change timing belt, crank oil seal and the water pump. Took out the radiator first, to provide more room. No need to remove the fans as some guides suggest, simply undo two bolts at top, release the hoses etc and it lifts straight out. The drain plug had been previously massacred by someone else, so drained it down via the bottom hose. I reckon I'll add to the list a new set of hoses in the near future. I locked off the cams using the tool I purchased from Jass, and this works a treat:  The bit I was dreading was the state of the woodruff key way, being a SNC engine. Fortunately, no damage, which was a huge relief:  Having checked the cam seals and the water pump, after some deliberation and a cup of tea, I decided to leave the water pump in place as looked reasonably new and had no play or noises coming from the drive. I may well regret this later! After replacing the crank oil seal, I then created my masterpiece of a crank locking tool to enable me to torque up the crank bolt correctly. Not my greatest piece of metal work but it did the trick:   All fitted back together without any drama, including fitting the belt correctly, and started first time. Just need to top up the coolant now, but no visible leaks so far. Big relief that the key way wasn't worn and the oil seal now replaced, so hopefully that's sorted the weeping oil. She's now booked into MX5 Restorer to carry out a full underseal. I had purchased the Dinitrol to do it myself, but I just cant face grovelling under the car and getting covered in gloop! |
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Post by rustywheels on Dec 29, 2016 21:15:00 GMT
For Christmas, the family gave me (or was it Santa??) a bench grinder, fitted with a wire wheel. This is totally addictive, and I am spending far too long cleaning up nuts, bolts, brackets etc. I just cant stop myself. I even cleaned up an old pair of pliers and have sharpened all my drills. I must stop...!  I had ordered a small amplifier with the TPA3116 chipset and this arrived today from Hong Kong (£19 all in!!), at the same time as some up-rated speakers, which I'll fit this weekend. Mid range Alpine's at half price . I was tempted with an underseat subwoofer, but I'll try this setup for now, and see if this gives a bit more of the oomph I am looking for. I just really want a bit more depth to the sound I am currently getting.  |
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Dewi
Chats A Bit
Posts: 103
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Post by Dewi on Dec 30, 2016 14:46:47 GMT
Had a day to change timing belt, crank oil seal and the water pump. Took out the radiator first, to provide more room. No need to remove the fans as some guides suggest, simply undo two bolts at top, release the hoses etc and it lifts straight out. The drain plug had been previously massacred by someone else, so drained it down via the bottom hose. I reckon I'll add to the list a new set of hoses in the near future. I locked off the cams using the tool I purchased from Jass, and this works a treat: The bit I was dreading was the state of the woodruff key way, being a SNC engine. Fortunately, no damage, which was a huge relief: Having checked the cam seals and the water pump, after some deliberation and a cup of tea, I decided to leave the water pump in place as looked reasonably new and had no play or noises coming from the drive. I may well regret this later! After replacing the crank oil seal, I then created my masterpiece of a crank locking tool to enable me to torque up the crank bolt correctly. Not my greatest piece of metal work but it did the trick: All fitted back together without any drama, including fitting the belt correctly, and started first time. Just need to top up the coolant now, but no visible leaks so far. Big relief that the key way wasn't worn and the oil seal now replaced, so hopefully that's sorted the weeping oil. She's now booked into MX5 Restorer to carry out a full underseal. I had purchased the Dinitrol to do it myself, but I just cant face grovelling under the car and getting covered in gloop! Great minds I made a similar crank locking tool from two old sash clamps when I did my cambelt. Never liked those ones that lock against the water pump housing  |
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. Funny how just one small thing causes such a PITA.
. The irritating rattle at 3,000 rpm especially on a trailing throttle has now gone and everything is so much smoother. 
le sigh