Chris's 1994 NA8 Clubman

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:09 am

Q: Why is it a good idea to always check the car doors are closed before lowering the hoist?

A:

I can't begin to express how pissed off with myself I am. It is more embarrassment than anything.

I am estimating around $2k to repair properly... The door hinges are also bent so it will take some fixing.

Those of you on the upcoming brekky run and track day will get to see it. It goes back into the shop after the track day for repairs, as my wife and I are heading o/s for Xmas.

Bizi · Postby **Bizi** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:24 pm

Ouch. Your heart must have sunk the microsecond you realised something was wrong.
Can the door skin be brought back and the paint matched or do you suspect you would use a new skin?

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:05 pm

Bizi wrote:Ouch. Your heart must have sunk the microsecond you realised something was wrong.
Can the door skin be brought back and the paint matched or do you suspect you would use a new skin?

I honestly don't know. I think I have a spare left door lying around somewhere, but it is a red one so colour matching may be an issue. If we can repair this door, we may be able to fade the new paint in the rippled area at the bottom of the door making it tougher to pick.

The good news (if there is any) is that it was painted so recently, and the same guy who painted it will do this repair - so the paint type and brand will be the same, the method of application will be the same, and the chance of fade-based colour difference in the future will be fairly low.

As long as they can match the colour...

Postby **NitroDann** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:50 pm

2000 bucks? A door is only 200 odd.

Dann

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:56 pm

Removing/gutting the existing door, gutting the replacement door, prepping the replacement door, matching the paint, painting the door (1-2 coats of primer, 4-5 coats of paint), repairing the hinge points on the body, reinstalling the hardware in the replacement door, mounting the door, matching the panel gaps, and then repairing the surrounding paint damage to the lower windscreen frame and the back of the mudguard (bent the door right out of place).

You could get someone to do a crap job for $1000. I won't settle for a crap job. Maybe it won't cost $2,000 (especially given it's my cuz doing the job), but that's what I'm budgeting...

If it turns out that the existing door can be fixed, it might be a bit less.

Postby **NitroDann** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:59 pm

I worked at an MTA award winning smash repairs, and a big part of my job was quoting, id be amazed if it cost near 2k.

Dann

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:04 pm

NitroDann wrote:I worked at an MTA award winning smash repairs, and a big part of my job was quoting, id be amazed if it cost near 2k.

Dann

I hope you're right!

Postby **NitroDann** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:09 pm

Door is 200, probably 1.5h labour stripping and refitting hardware.

1 hour repairing second hand door, and 2 hours to paint.

They will bend the hinges straight using the existing stuffed door, shouldnt be much more than an hour or 2. Then an hour of blending id say.

Dann

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 9:04 pm

Pics of the "good" side

Still some wiring to finish...

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:23 pm

1:12.97 seconds at Wakefield Park on KU36 rubber, and that on my first ever try on the track! Hopefully some pics will follow.

Still running 10psi and a fairly conservative timing map, but it ate almost everything else for breakfast on the straights and up the hill. To the gentleman in the black NC who I snuck past before turn 3, sorry for surprising you like that ;)

I removed the rear sway bar after the first run and found HUGE improvement in rear grip. Obviously there was a price to be paid, that being some understeer on corner exit (which wasn't a big deal except when I stuffed up my lines).

One thing I did struggle with was brake bias. I am still running the stock NA8 prop valve and with the NB8B brakes, I have too much rear bias. This was particularly evident braking into the fish hook, where the car is already in a nose-down attitude on the downhill run. I lost count how many times I locked the rears - a hairy proposition when three of the four hardest braking areas at the track are immediately preceeded by nasty kinks. Some scary moments for sure...

Another small snag was an unfolded lip on my front right guard. I had given them a decent roll when I was running 195s, but with the new 205s and the heavy braking and steering inputs at WP on the weekend, I have caught the lip with the outside tread of the tyre and unfolded it. One more thing to be fixed by my cousin over Christmas... I am taking it up to the shop tomorrow and will pick it up in January.

Wivvix · Postby **Wivvix** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:55 pm

$2k for a new door is insane...

The car is white. It's one of the easiest colours to match and imo the damage isn't even that bad. Replace the hinges and the door will close fine. They're just a simple bolt-on assembly.
You've folded the lip; i'd be surprised if you couldn't beat that back out and then touch-up or partial respray.

If you're intent on replacing the door, i'd be looking for one through your mx5 club. Someone ought to be wrecking an NA.
Failing that call Richard at mx5 plus. I'm pretty sure he'll send you a door with glass and hinges for under $500.
Probably has a few white ones too. Might not match perfectly, but you can always get it resprayed if you want.

Swapping over the doors, side-mirror, speaker and hinges takes less than an hour, and all you need is a socket set, screw drivers and your mx5 workshop manual.

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:38 pm

Wivvix wrote:$2k for a new door is insane...

The car is white. It's one of the easiest colours to match and imo the damage isn't even that bad. Replace the hinges and the door will close fine. They're just a simple bolt-on assembly.
You've folded the lip; i'd be surprised if you couldn't beat that back out and then touch-up or partial respray.

If you're intent on replacing the door, i'd be looking for one through your mx5 club. Someone ought to be wrecking an NA.
Failing that call Richard at mx5 plus. I'm pretty sure he'll send you a door with glass and hinges for under $500.
Probably has a few white ones too. Might not match perfectly, but you can always get it resprayed if you want.

Swapping over the doors, side-mirror, speaker and hinges takes less than an hour, and all you need is a socket set, screw drivers and your mx5 workshop manual.

TBH I am not interested in revisiting this issue again as I am pissed off enough at myself. I know these cars, and I know THIS car.

I'd like to see you swap wiring, glass, rails, speaker, door lock and trimming from one door to another in one hour. It can't be done mate. I know cause I've done it several times.

As for the $2k estimate, as I said before I hope you're right. I will pay what it's worth to get it perfect. If you haven't seen the car in the flesh you don't know what that looks like.

What's more, you have completely ignored the worst of the damage, which is the bent hinge mount. Much as i'd like to believe Dann might be right, it is going to take more than bashing/bending the current door on its mounts to fix it. I have already done that (nearly busted the existing hinges in the process), and the bottom front lip of the door sticks out 10mm at the bottom and is recessed nearly 5mm at the top when the door is shut. Try opening your door and jacking the end of it up to 150cms, and tell me if you still think $2k for a showroom repair is impossible.

Jace · Postby **Jace** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:25 pm

Stuff doors, just convert it to a Moke for weight saving.

Wivvix · Postby **Wivvix** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:29 pm

zossy1 wrote:I'd like to see you swap wiring, glass, rails, speaker, door lock and trimming from one door to another in one hour. It can't be done mate. I know cause I've done it several times.

Wasn't talking about swapping glass or rails. That's another hour or two right there.

zossy1 wrote:What's more, you have completely ignored the worst of the damage, which is the bent hinge mount. Much as i'd like to believe Dann might be right, it is going to take more than bashing/bending the current door on its mounts to fix it. I have already done that (nearly busted the existing hinges in the process), and the bottom front lip of the door sticks out 10mm at the bottom and is recessed nearly 5mm at the top when the door is shut. Try opening your door and jacking the end of it up to 150cms, and tell me if you still think $2k for a showroom repair is impossible.

Sorry, my reading of the situation was that you'd bent the hinges themselves, not the mounting points on the body.

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Tue Dec 06, 2011 1:52 pm

Jace wrote:Stuff doors, just convert it to a Moke for weight saving.

lol

Thanks for the laugh Jace - I was actually considering one of those poxy scissor door conversion kits. SO sexy...

NOT.

Anyways, dropped the car off today at Network for the second time this year. Flying out to the states for a few weeks on Friday, hopefully it will be back in action when we get back in early January...