The Red Green Machine

[Okibi]

Looking forward to seeing it all come together.

[bruce]

She blinded me with science!

[greenMachine]

The Fraud being butcher's hook with the PS problem described elsewhere, the RGM did the run down the south coast, via Nowra to pick up the GF, overnighting at Bermagui. Pity that the tour of Montague Island was cancelled due to wind, I suspect that the biggest problem was the Narooma bar, but the wind was fierce, the coastal air thick with sea spray. Had a pleasant afternoon coffee with Chris, he of the rotrexed 40AE who some of the old hands here will remember - yes he still has it, and it gets regular exercise! Had a great fish-and-chips dinner from the wharf at Bermagui, and then a nice brekkie in the sun at Honorbread a short walk from the motel. Came home via Tilba, where we encountered the other MXers doing the same tourist stuff!

Left Nowra late afternoon for the run up to the southern highlands, it started to rain as I left Moss Vale, got heavier on the Hume, and then it just got torrential from Paddys River, I pulled off with the hazards on in case someone drove into the back of me, but the traffic just ploughed on hoping for the best, driving on the taillights in front of them. Strangely when I resumed there was no sign of any accidents ...

Reason for this being in my build thread, there was no instrument lighting as it got dark in the rain, or later as dusk fell. Hopefully just a fuse ...

[greenMachine]

Reason for this being in my build thread, there was no instrument lighting as it got dark in the rain, or later as dusk fell. Hopefully just a fuse ...

No, it isn't a fuse - that would be too easy wouldn't it

Apart from a multimeter/circuit tester, any ideas?

[ManiacLachy]

I had to re-read you previous post a couple of times

Is it just the instrument lighting? Does the dome light work? Centre console backing lights (eg the AC dials)? Anything other than the instruments playing up?

[greenMachine]

Thanks Lachy, I have a couple more fuses to check, though the room one is ok as that 'door open with key in' alarm is working still.

It may be the rheostat has carked it, I have a spare of everything else but I don't think I have one of those. Otherwise it is just going to be chasing the hot wires with a multimeter.

[ManiacLachy]

Sounds like a similar thing going on with a user in the big forum, you might be able to gleam something from his experiences?
https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?p=11065884

[greenMachine]

Thanks Lachy, it turned out to be (embarrassingly) simple.

After checking the relevant fuses, which all proved healthy enough, I looked at the dimmer, pulled it out - and hey, that doesn't look like it was plugged in . I think that when I put the dash back in after doing the heater, that one never was plugged in. Says a lot about how often the car has been dríven at night ...

Just as well, I have spares for just about all the bits and pieces, but no dimmer!

In other news, the Fraud is pretty much back together with a new PS pump and a new pressure switch. Just waiting on the neighbor to come over tomorrow and we will do a flush, then install a filter on the return line to catch anything that remains in the system. One thing I learnt was that I need a 17mm pipe spanner, my open end was making hard work of it, and threatening to round off the flats on the HP pipe connection to the pump outlet.

[ManiacLachy]

Glad you discovered it wasn't plugged in properly before going overboard with diagnosis and fixes!

[greenMachine]

That is my usual MO Lachy, start at the most complicated, esoteric end of the specrum of possibilities, and work my way through them to end at something simple and relatively easily diagnosed .

After a drive to town a couple of days ago, I got the stuff out of the boot, and when shutting it looked at the state of the rear deck - not good. The dreaded clearcoat rot is not healing itself , worse it is spreading! Who knew?! Thought that I really needed to stop procrastinating, bite the bullet, and speak to the spraypainter and accept his quote. The next day the phone rings and it is he, checking in as his wait list is getting down, and I am getting near the top. So now he has me pencilled in for lateish January.

That almost certainly shuts down any thoughts of the Neat 6-speed upgrade they are developing, in my mind there was a choice between the two - the Neat being $7.5k (estimated, plus installation).

It now raises an interesting question, which bonnet gets the new vents? I have a pristine (IIRC) spare on the wall of my workshop under a dust sheet, it maybe could go on the car for the respray (and maybe become the colour reference if it doesn't need painting), and the original, which is in reasonable shape, if not good (no sign of clearcoat failure) be the 'racer' bonnet with vents... And, do I get him to do a quickie on my spare bootlid, which will carry the uprights for the 9LR wing?

[greenMachine]

OK, time to get serious about those NY resolutions, at least the ones about the RGM.

The list starts with a door-shut respray.

• Install bonnet vents, add heat shielding inside engine bay, re-do radiator ducting;
• Re-install the remote oil filter setup, with cooler behind the big rad;
• Install new temp and pressure sensors in the coolant;
• Wire in oil and coolant sensors to ECU;
• Complete installation of Powertech dash, configured as supplementary sensor display;
• Complete installation of 9LR wing on spare bootlid;
• Build new splitter, hopefully utilising a spare nosecone;
• Fix problem with passenger remote door locking;

Hmm, written down that looks a bit daunting , I'd better get on with it or the year will be gone before I know it ...

[greenMachine]

Rocked over to the neighbor's place the other day, he with the Moggy under restoration.

He proudly flaunted his new bonnet, complete with row of old-style louvres on the side (top?). All his own work, and a work of art it is! Showed me how he did the louvres ... whereupon I had a brain explosion - WANT!

So, I now change direction - again. I will use one of the two sets on hand as the template, and on some fresh aluminium stock I will cut out the appropriate shape, draw up the outline of the louvres on the panel, and he has agreed to fire up his big machine and form them up for me.

I have a set of the Singular louvres, and previously had put them to one side in favour of the smaller versions that sit inside the bracing. But I think these old-style ones will look better as a longer row, rather than separate sets. Even if it does mean cutting the bracing.

[ManiacLachy]

Pics of these louvers and machine?

I'm torn, I know I'll need some sort of venting if I want serious track time, but I don't really want to cut up my bonnet. I like the idea of the GV vented bonnet, but it's exy to import and Lokiel won't sell me his.

[Nevyn72]

I like the idea of the GV vented bonnet, but it's exy to import and Lokiel won't sell me his.

Why not? He's not using it...

[greenMachine]

No pics atm, think E-type bonnet.

The machine weighs about half a tonne (guessing), a big horizontal horseshoe shape with a small piston to do the work via dies of various shapes. Metal is manually inserted and moved to get the final shape. You can insert a BIG sheet if needed, but that might take a couple or three people to manage, bear in mind it is a totally manual process entirely dependent on the skill of the user.

Neighbor was here this morning showing me pics of the primed bodywork, prior to going off for painting. He is hissed off, the engine has to go back to the bloke who built it, he didn't do the necessary machining for the new non-standard rear main bearing oil seal - could have been worse, the reason he rang was another engine he built using the same seal has just ruined a brand new, imported crank, for want of a little machining . To add insult to injury, one of the rams on his 2 post hoist is leaking

It never rains, it pours