lowender's BRG mk1

I’ve done lots of work on the car these past few weeks. After failing MOT on emissions (collapsed MAP vacuum line - fixed and passed on retest, no advisories) I decided to go back to basics and get reacquainted with Tunerstudio after a few years. I recalibrated all the sensors, replaced 02 sensor, and spent a few days auto tuning. The car now runs better than it ever has. However, there was substantial oil leakage at the front, so I tore it all apart to have a look. Last May I had replaced the timing belt, cam seals and crank seal, all of which were now leaking again. In a moment of madness I had gone for a cheap kit from MX5parts (I know….). The seals were crap, and the belt appeared to be made of pre-stretched cheese. So I ordered new genuine Mazda seals from Bofi, and a Gates blue racing belt (bargain at £35 from an online factor). All fitted now, and no oil leaks, although there is a bit of a weep from the crescent gasket in the sump. One thing that bothered me while autotuning was the intake air temps - reading 40-50 degrees C in ambient temps of 10 degrees, when on the move. So a lot of heat soak, both in the inlet tract and the GM sensor. Solution was to replace brass-bodied GM sensor with an aluminium EightNine one from Bofi, and re position it out of the airflow from the radiator (It's a Jackson Racing intake) to 6” from the throttle body, along with lagging the airbox with double thickness Zircotek which I had lying around in the shed. Result was a significant drop to 8 degrees above ambient on the move, and 10-15 degrees in traffic. Temps drop quickly when on the move now.
I also had the alignment done, this time at Bristol Wheel Alignment, which is run by a chap who competes with a mk1. He managed to find 5.3’ caster both sides, which has made a huge difference to the way the car turns in.