MX-5 Lanes car

[svensktoppen]

At least you know your way around the car

 

[carmad.]

i have any amount off unf brake fittings if your stuck

 

[FM155]

Mega catch up post as I've been lazily posting pics in various threads as I went along in the last 9 months. The plan with this is to tidy up the car to make it a bit more presentable and keep competing whilst doing that.

Since the last event I'd done in June last year (on this thread) I had fitted the lightweight hardtop for the international autotest in October. Took frigging ages to get all the brackets lined up and seals fitted but the biggest pain in the hole was trimming the perspex rear screen to fit. Had wanted to paint it but didn't get time as work was mental at that time so did a couple of events with the hardtop still in gelcoat and with no prep on the mould edges. It looked as rough as frig and matched the rear passenger quarter that I'd stoved in on a gatepost on a multi venue autotest back before covid.

Started by getting it MOT'd which needed a front wing as the old one was rotten at the bottom, a pair of good secondhand headlamps and a new battery which I found out at the Ards test centre and had to push it out of the centre and down the hill to get it bumped after I'd failed on headlamp alignment.

After seeing some photos of the car at the Enniskillen Targa in March, I got my finger out and prepped the hardtop and got it painted. Not perfect by any means but a reasonable match and had a chance to fettle the window seals for better weatherproofing.

Next up was the quarter panel and I'd decided not to replace it and try to push it out as much as possible and fill the *ahem* imperfections. I reckoned that if I ballsed it up, I could always cut it out and replace it, just a bigger job. In the end it looks ok from 10ft which is fair enough for a budget competition car in my book. This is where I started, over about an inch in on the main dent and around the same on the rear end of the sill. Cut out a bit of rust on the wheelarch and used it as access to push it out with mostly tyre levers as pdr tools wouldn't touch it.

Bit of slide hammer action on the sill and a bit more tidying..

Pretty much up to date...

 

[FM155]

Next job is to fit a fibreglass bootlid and to do that, I need to find a place for the jack, wheel gun and brace as they normally live in the middle of the upper spare wheel. With the fibreglass lid, I won't be able to slam the boot down as I currently have to, so started to sort places for the wheel change kit. The wheel gun was easy, just fitted a rivnut in the floor to pin down the plastic side pocket with a hook that I had from an old rawlbolt and used a short socket so it could fit under a small bungee.

The jack was a different job, only accessible place was on the boot floor on the drivers side but I needed a bracket to hold it in place that weighed as little as possible. Dug out a scrap piece of 3mm alloy sheet and started cardboarding.

Have to get the corners tigged up and need another rivnut tool as I can't fit mine in but I'm happy enough with that. Got some spring clips on order for the wheelbrace and that'll be my 'boot build' sorted. Next job will be to make alloy hinges and get some high density foam for the rear section of the bootlid to make a seal land.