mx5cartalk.com

So I've been "playing" cars for a few years now... I've come from a Nissan background (250kW '97 Midnight Purple 180SX TYPE X), but figured it's time for a sea change.



The MX-5 bug bit about a year and a half ago when I stumbled upon Danny's Engineering-porn 20B NC, and 'OmgPham.com' NA6 build. So finally the right project car came up for me and suited my budget. I have a few plans for the car so stay posted.

21/12/14
The new project - Aussie Delivered '90 Limited Edition BRG NA6



27/12/14
Having owned the car for a week now I'm beginning to see that raw power isn't needed to have fun when you have in essence a road-registered go-kart.
Shedding a few kg (planning to remove all A/C and heater core, coolant heater core bypass)



28/12/14
All gone:

Aaahhh my car. You weren't wrong when you said you were going to lighten it. Glad you made it home and are enjoying your new ride. Good luck with your project, I'll be watching with interest. Stephen.

Welcome!

Think twice about removing the heater core. It is required for road worthy, and handy for demister duties (on and off the track).

The American wrote:Welcome!

Think twice about removing the heater core. It is required for road worthy, and handy for demister duties (on and off the track).

Already done, luckily for me in Adelaide we don't have an annual 'road worthy,' it's only required to pass defect (as previous experience with my brother's S13 showed us), plus I'm intending on installing an electric heater/Demister setup or failing that a twin hair dryer setup

3/1/15
The hills are on fire! last night I was getting a emergency evacuation messages... Started packing a few bags ready to go just incase.
In the early hours of the morning (3.30AM) I decided I wasn't going to sleep anyways and started to make an attempt to get the mx5 running again ready to bug out, worst case scenario. Unfortunately I'll have to pull it apart again as I hadn't gotten around to doing the painting I wanted to...

3:30AM


5:30AM - Quickest dash "install" (unfixed), temporarily bolted/ cable tied in steering column, coolant flush and fill (tried to cut some corners doing the heater bypass and attempted to do it without dropping all of the coolant - lost about a litre and a half. Did this as I'd planned to change all the fluids after I'd finished stripping the car before driving her again), seats installed, reconnected the wiring harness.


Decided to go with the safer option and head to the parent's house... At this stage the fire is about a 5km away from home but thankfully the erratic winds have decided to head the other direction.

Also, my brother lathed me up a nice gear knob for my Chrissy present, unknowingly though he tapped an M10 x 1.50 thread into it... Will have to see if he can retap it to 1.25.

I'll be following this build for sure. I've got a soft spot for BRG NA's! Will be good to have another mx5 out at the hillclimbs with us. Usually only have 2 or 3 of us. If you ever need a hand, let me know!

if you're going full light weight and you've removed the heater, consider something like this

So I've been purchasing a few items lately, some of which had started turning up.
MX5 Plus offset bracket:


42 Draft Designs Ultimate Catch Can:


Benen Neochrome Front and Rear Tow hook set:
(Which I intend on drilling to replace the OEM tow hooks.


When the heat becomes a little more bearable (my garage is horrible at the moment) I'll get on installing/mounting these bits and pieces...

Some more progress.
Tow hooks installed - fixed the rear one in a way that it wouldn't stick out as it still my daily driver for the moment.



Restoring/ Paint rain rails and panels





Working on replacing my door cards - aluminium


Also found an mx5 (eunos) buddy today

Today I spent most of the day cleaning up the little mx. I wasn't all that impressed with how the doors were looking so I decided to attack the sikaflex type adhesive silicone with a razor blade and wax and grease remover.


Then I hit them with some leftover paint




Next up on the agenda was a decent service


Tomorrow morning I'm going to reconnect some of the lesser important components of the wiring harness and get the dash in properly, as me and the mx have a date we need to impress
Unfortunately when your other car is missing a few vital components (budget restraints) and your mx is in the process of having its interior somewhat restored/changed/removed, I don't really have any other options

The quickest way to remove the black goo is with a heat gun, get it hit enough and it wipes off. No damage to the paint below, however the hot black goo will burn your skin so wear decent gloves and have a good supply of rags.

Magpie wrote:The quickest way to remove the black goo is with a heat gun, get it hit enough and it wipes off. No damage to the paint below, however the hot black goo will burn your skin so wear decent gloves and have a good supply of rags.

Cheers, I'll keep that in mind... Unfortunately/fortunately I think that's the last of the tidying up I'm doing at this stage.
Next thing on the cards: I'm organising with one of my brother's best mates whose an auto electrician to install a "super-awesome" alarm and central locking kit.

Alarm +central locking kit is in. Stripped out about 1kg worth of existing wiring, and also tidied it up a little.

Also, finished up my door cards




Still waiting for a few goodies in the mail - hopefully they turn up this week.