Mazda MX5 Mk2.5

Gaz86

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I mentioned earlier in the thread about wanting to relocate the washer bottle and had intended on buying one of the DaveFab washer bottles, however I thought I’d have a bash at designing my own and getting it locally fabricated. A few CAD drawings and a chat with @PeteMoore at Brookfab later and here it is, along with my own custom power steering reservoir designed to fit between the webbing of the suspension tower. Needless to say the welding is perfection as is the finish 👌

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Test fitting
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Once I was happy they fitted ok I dropped them off with Chris at Powdertek in Duncrue to be finished in wrinkle black. And here they are....
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warren

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Oh yeah that looks well. I very much enjoy some well crafted bits of metal :laughing:
 

Cookies

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Now that's one gorgeous mx5. I had a drive in one a few weeks back, and while I always liked them, I never really appreciated how much of a hoot they are to drive. Only issue now is convincing my Mrs that I need another car lol...

Anyhoo, that's genuinely gorgeous. I'd be really chuffed to own something like that.

Cheers

Cooks
 

Gaz86

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Thanks guys :grinning:

Now that I've replaced the washer bottle and power steering reservoir the coolant expansion bottle looked a bit out of place. I opted not to go custom made on this one as I don't really have the time to take the old one off and model it up to do a CAD drawing and Pete is up to his eyes at the moment so I went for one of DaveFabs coolant bottles. I'll most likely get it re-coated to match the other bottles. I hope to have it in by next week.

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It also appears the starter has packed in so I sourced another one and hope to get the car up and running again some time next week. Cutting it fine with MOT dates before I'm due to head to Scotland in July 🤞
 

FM155

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See that's the problem. As soon as you put something nice in it snowballs very quickly, as everything else that was perfectly fine before suddenly looks **** 😇 😂
Since this thread started with "I've got an old MX5 that needs some welding" passed right through to a re-shell, proceeded to re-spray, suspension overhaul, new wheels and an upcoming turbo build. I think it's safe to say, we are way past snowball and a couple of new tanks is like adding sparkly sh1t to an avalanche.... ;)

Looking great Gaz (y)
 
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Coog

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😂

Was supposed to be something to beat round the track. Now it's going to show and shines lol
 

Gaz86

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Yeah I got a bit carried away didn’t I lol once I start into something that’s me lol it’ll still get it’s turn on track though

Managed to get the windscreen washer bottle wired up and working and the power steering reservoir installed this evening as well as run some more wiring for the front fog lights (y)

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Massive thanks to Pete @ Brookfab :grinning:
 

Gaz86

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Got around to fitting my DaveFab coolant tank today, both fitment and quality is excellent. Just need to get a new hose to run to the radiator.

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In other news.... still haven’t figured out why it’s not starting (n) I’ve replaced the battery, checked the power to the starter, checked the earth in the boot, another earth under the drivers side headlight, fuses all ok, checked the ignition barrel... honestly not sure what it could be.
 
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Gaz86

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Johnny 5 is ALIIIIIVE!!!!
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Much much much elation today!! 😁😁😁

This no start issue has caused me so much stress lately. I was convinced it was an electrical issue. I’d replaced the battery, changed relays, fuses... the lot! A friend came over and checked all sorts of electrical connections and even tried smacking the starter but to no avail!

This morning I woke up determined to put this issue to bed. Access to the Mx5 starter from the engine bay is pretty poor in fairness so it’s no real surprise he didn’t succeed when hitting it. I discovered I could see it when lying on the ground looking through the rear of the subframe and had a pretty good view of it. After smashing the hell out of it with a breaker bar then trying to turn it over I got a very loud click from the starter solenoid (I’d never heard it so loud before), I got my neighbour to come round and try starting whilst I repeatedly smacked the starter and after a few moments it fired into life!! Seems to start every time again now (y) I have a spare starter now which I will most likely fit in the coming months BUT for now I’m going to concentrate on doing the final few bits n bobs before test! It might well make it to Scotland in July yet! 😎
 
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Gaz86

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It’s starting first time every time now (y) I’ll keep a breaker bar in the boot anyway just in case.

Got the new power steering reservoir with braided lines plumbed in today. Will get some photos of that up soon.

Also got my hydrodipped cam cover fitted... almost. It’s a work in progress. Need to paint the VVT solenoid housing and clean up th pipes. I’ll hopefully get that finished this evening. I have new red anodised hardware to replace these old bolts.

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Gaz86

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Just as we went to fit the VVT module onto the cam cover last night we discovered a bit of a problem. As you can see, the guy who hydrodipped the cover had flatted the area under the VVT module back to the etch primer, apparently so there would be a perfectly flat surface to mount it to. However it's now obvious he didn't have a VVT module handy and just guessed where it would go 🤦‍♂️ the result being an uneven white margin the whole way around the module.Not happy with this at all!
I'm too much of a perfectionist to just let it go on like that... watch this space...


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