White NB track car

[deviant]

Log book it sooner rather than later. You never know when the regulations are going to change...I.E. Roll cage regs have changed 2012 but if your car was log booked in 2010 it will always be checked for compliance against 2010 regs. If the owner had not bothered with a log book they would possibly be left with a car that cannot be complianced as it does not meet 2012 roll cage regs.

[evil_weevil]

While yours is an NB, this thread will give you a look at 2F however it is for an NA.

basically this is how mine started with the previous owner, then I have the link in my sig for my updates since ownership

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=29879&p=379589&hilit=TCR#p379589

[david_syd_au]

Log book it sooner rather than later. You never know when the regulations are going to change...I.E. Roll cage regs have changed 2012 but if your car was log booked in 2010 it will always be checked for compliance against 2010 regs. If the owner had not bothered with a log book they would possibly be left with a car that cannot be complianced as it does not meet 2012 roll cage regs.

Thanks for explaining the risk. The plan is to log book the car during 2012, hopefully before the next set of rule changes.

While yours is an NB, this thread will give you a look at 2F however it is for an NA.
basically this is how mine started with the previous owner, then I have the link in my sig for my updates since ownership
http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... CR#p379589

Both threads are great reads. Thanks "evil_weevil".
If we get half as much fun out of our car, we will be happy!

[evil_weevil]

Log book it sooner rather than later. You never know when the regulations are going to change...I.E. Roll cage regs have changed 2012 but if your car was log booked in 2010 it will always be checked for compliance against 2010 regs. If the owner had not bothered with a log book they would possibly be left with a car that cannot be complianced as it does not meet 2012 roll cage regs.

Thanks for explaining the risk. The plan is to log book the car during 2012, hopefully before the next set of rule changes.

While yours is an NB, this thread will give you a look at 2F however it is for an NA.
basically this is how mine started with the previous owner, then I have the link in my sig for my updates since ownership
viewtopic.php?f=57&t=29879&p=379589&hilit=TCR#p379589

Both threads are great reads. Thanks "evil_weevil".
If we get half as much fun out of our car, we will be happy!

No worries,
And that is the main thing - having fun and being happy!

cheers,
Chris

[david_syd_au]

Section 4 - Conversion to a track/race car,

Part 1 - Newbies at work

I ended the last post in this story with the car arriving at the MX5 Racing workshop in Berkeley Vale, on the Central Coast.

The following Saturday, my son Andrew and I, hooked the trailer to the tow pig and head north from Sydney.

It was a big moment when we first saw the white NB at Chris's workshop. This car had been coming for about 3 months, and had so far cost about $7000, so my expectations were high, ... maybe too high.

First impressions were a little disappointing:
- It was very dirty on the outside. Shouldn't be a surprise I suppose.
- There was a big red scrape on the passenger side door, that hadn't been there in the pre-purchase photos. Obviously somewhere in it's travels someone had carelessly opened the door of a neighbouring red car. Sigh
- Worst was that the hardtop had not been secured with tape as requested, and so had bounced around a bit on the trip, breaking off some pieces around the edges. It still fitted and sealed ok. The damage was mostly cosmetic, and could be fixed fairly easily.

We had a look inside. Other than the bodgy install of a replacement stereo, it was mostly original and in good condition. This was good news as I was relying on selling bits to raise some funds.

Turned the key and it fired up easily. The Maxspeed muffler sounded a little louder than my NC, without being obtrusive. Hmm, it was going to be a race car. We would need to find a way to get a bit more noise later.

Chris spent about 30 minutes going through the car with us and talking about the work we would have to do to get it track ready, and the bits we could sell.

I took it for a quick run down the car park and back, discovering that the brakes didn't work too well, most likely from the build up of surface rust on the discs over the last 3 months the car had been idle.

Andrew and I then took about half an hour to get it loaded and secured on the trailer, the first time we had loaded a car on the trailer. Hopefully we would get faster with more experience.

Here is the white NB loaded and attached to the tow pig, ready to head for home.



White track car, white tow car, ....... guess we'll have to paint the trailer white too!

The trip home was uneventful, but a learning experience, towing around 1600 kgs, which was probably about 1000 kg heavier than the small 6x4 box trailer which all I had towed previously.

Once we got home, I took a few photos.

Someone liked drawing on windscreens :-)



some off the damage to the hardtop (sorry for poor focus)



The plan was to
- strip interior, keeping only the trim needed to meet CAMS regs
- get a roll cage if budget allowed, other wise a roll bar
- service engine and replace all fluids, front to back
- remove and sell aircon
- fit a race seat for driver, some sort of a passenger seat, maybe the original if it didn't sell, and racing harnesses for both
- suitable steering wheel, to replace the original that was intended to go on sale with the airbags
then give it a run at either an MX5 club track day, or more likely some sort of practice day at Wakefield or Eastern Creek.
No point going silly straight off with sticky tyres, top shelf brake pads, changing suspension etc, just run the thing as is and check that everything works, and see if anything breaks. As a non-registerable track car, there are less opportunities to test how it goes, as you can't just take it for a spin around the block ...... legally.

Over the next 2 weekends we spent about 1 and half days stripping the interior. Out came
seats
door trims
rear shelf mat
soft top
sundry trip pieces, and
the whole dashboard.

Most of it was not too hard for us wrenching newbies, although the dashboard had us stumped for a while until I decided to undo a few more bolts holding the steering column so it dropped out of the way, and, whoosh, out she came!
The dashboard had to come out so we could remove the carpet in one piece, get a roll cage installed, and eventually remove the aircon evaporator.
We worked with reference to a US workshop manual for a similar vintage LHD US MX5, so most things were similar for our RHD japanese car, just sort of reversed.
The Momo gearknob that came with the car was still fitted, as we hadn't been able to get the bastard off. That would have to wait on a bit more research, rather than going ballistic at it and breaking something!

The airbag controller was also difficult to remove. It is a little silver box, just below the windscreen, above the air/demister box. I had to borrow a ratchet extension with a universal joint to get at the 2 otherwise inaccessible 10mm bolts holding that bugger.

Looking more functional now



Note the racing seat (Sparco Sprint V $475 from MX5 Mania) carefully positioned to look ready for action. It wasn't even bolted in yet, but at least looked the part.

It is amazing how in the past the area below and behind a dashboard has always seems so mysterious and complex to me, but once the dashboard is out, there really isn't much there!

We took the car to my mate Tim's workshop, where he kindly let us use one of his hoists, and directed us in changing the engine gearbox & diff oils, and brake and clutch fluids.

Next, selling off some bits and getting some roll over protection

[deviant]

Lovely update there

You will get used to the trailer thing...just dont do what I did and drive on to the trailer and off the end and on to the draw bar with my drive wheels in mid-air. That was not at all embarrassing going to find half a dozen burly blokes to physically lift my car back on to the trailer

Loading the car and remembering a last minute widget you want to take to the track always seems to take longer than you think, just something to keep in mind for when you need to be at the track at silly am.

Dont get to precious about the paint work, it is annoying but the thing will be covered in rubber and chips before you know it with track work. Make up some snazzy graphics with vinyl, it doesn't chip and can be peeled off and replaced if it gets damaged.

The drivers seat is easy. If you offer up the stock rail to the bottom of the seat you will see one hole on each side lines up perfectly so all you need to do is drill two more holes and bolt the seat to the rails and you are done! Personally I like a bit of recline so you might need to lift the front of the seat slightly with a few washers or you can raise is under where the rail bolts to the floor.

If you need some extra height as you are in a car that can not be road registered you can remove the humps the seat bolts to and mount aftermarket (sparco) sliders to the floor.

Whatever you do you need to use grade 8 or better bolts to mount it all.

Those aluminium covers on the parcel shelf can be removed but any holes you uncover need to be covered or plugged by something flame resistant (same goes for the engine bay firewall and tranny tunnel). This will be checked at log book time. Small holes can be filled with a pop rivet. Bigger holes can have a bit of ally rivetted over.

Anywho...This is all a bit serious for your first trackday in it. Go out and slide the thing around and make sure you come back with a big smile!!

[Muzdaman]

A lot of Momo knobs do not screw on and use grub screws to fix them in place.

from the look of the picture i think the bottom of the knob will have a collar that will screw off exposing the screws.

And don't use a harness over the factory seat, get 2 proper seats if you have harnesses both sides.

[david_syd_au]

Lovely update there

You will get used to the trailer thing...just dont do what I did and drive on to the trailer and off the end and on to the draw bar with my drive wheels in mid-air. That was not at all embarrassing going to find half a dozen burly blokes to physically lift my car back on to the trailer

Hmmm, .... very embarassing

Dont get to precious about the paint work, it is annoying but the thing will be covered in rubber and chips before you know it with track work. Make up some snazzy graphics with vinyl, it doesn't chip and can be peeled off and replaced if it gets damaged.

Will do

The drivers seat is easy. If you offer up the stock rail to the bottom of the seat you will see one hole on each side lines up perfectly so all you need to do is drill two more holes and bolt the seat to the rails and you are done! Personally I like a bit of recline so you might need to lift the front of the seat slightly with a few washers or you can raise is under where the rail bolts to the floor.

Both my son and I are 6'2" plus, so we will have to put the seat directly to the floor to fit. On the other hand, my daughter also wants to drive the car, so we will probably have a different setup with the racing seat on the standard rails for her, as you describe.

Whatever you do you need to use grade 8 or better bolts to mount it all.

Yup, got the high tensile bolts

Those aluminium covers on the parcel shelf can be removed but any holes you uncover need to be covered or plugged by something flame resistant (same goes for the engine bay firewall and tranny tunnel). This will be checked at log book time. Small holes can be filled with a pop rivet. Bigger holes can have a bit of ally rivetted over.

OK, thanks

Anywho...This is all a bit serious for your first trackday in it. Go out and slide the thing around and make sure you come back with a big smile!!

Yeh, .. yee hah!

[david_syd_au]

A lot of Momo knobs do not screw on and use grub screws to fix them in place.
from the look of the picture i think the bottom of the knob will have a collar that will screw off exposing the screws.

I tried unscrewing the collar, even used locking grips, without any success. I will hit it with some WD40 and try again

And don't use a harness over the factory seat, get 2 proper seats if you have harnesses both sides.

I wondered if a harness would work with the standard seat. If it won't, then we will have to get another racing seat, as you suggest

Thanks

[deviant]

It will work as far as keeping someone in place through the corners but not ideal in an accident as the shoulder belts can slip off sideways.

Go for 5 or 6 point harness. With the crotch strap adjusted correctly it will hold the lap portion low over your pelvis and then you can really crank the shoulder belts down tight without the lap section riding up.

Have fun getting the frank & beans comfortable

[Bizi]

David, thanks for showing me through the latest updates and the full cage last Saturday.

Have you had any luck with finding the parts to hook up your aircon delete / retention of the demister/heater?

There are three NA MX5s I know of Sydney whose owners are selling parts: Rhys and Emily here, some guy in Yagoona on Gumtree. Formaz at Smithfield is selling some NB8B parts on eBay. Not sure if that helps though.

Your race people should be able to help or maybe some others here who've done NB racecars and aircon deletes. There's one forum member I can think of, plus MX5 Mania of course. Worth checking all of the sources!

[Okibi]

Looking forward to reading more updates soon.

[geofiz]

David, thanks for showing me through the latest updates and the full cage last Saturday.

Have you had any luck with finding the parts to hook up your aircon delete / retention of the demister/heater?

There are three NA MX5s I know of Sydney whose owners are selling parts: Rhys and Emily here, some guy in Yagoona on Gumtree. Formaz at Smithfield is selling some NB8B parts on eBay. Not sure if that helps though.

Your race people should be able to help or maybe some others here who've done NB racecars and aircon deletes. There's one forum member I can think of, plus MX5 Mania of course. Worth checking all of the sources!

Let me know if you are still looking for the AC delete parts. The SE that I wrecked did not come with AC, so I still have all the under dash piping which includes the small section that goes where the A/C evap sat. I am happy to send you the bits if you can't find any on the east coast.

[david_syd_au]

Let me know if you are still looking for the AC delete parts. The SE that I wrecked did not come with AC, so I still have all the under dash piping which includes the small section that goes where the A/C evap sat. I am happy to send you the bits if you can't find any on the east coast.

Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately the original fan can't go back in as the roll cage is in the way.

However, I have found an interesting solution :-), and will include that in an update the build story soon.

[david_syd_au]

Section 4 - Conversion to a track/race car,

Part 2 - Caging the beast

The plan all along had been to get a full roll cage in this track car, to maximise the safety of myself and my children. The budget allowed about $2000 for a roll cage and any other associated work.

I had been recommended to contact Adam Gotch at AGI Precision Roll Cages (http://www.agi-precision.com.au/roll-cages/). Adam was very helpful and knowledgeable, and gave me a quote of $2700 for a painted six-point cage with side intrusion protection. It looked like a quality product, but would blow the budget. Removing the side intrusion protection. and not painting the cage brought it down to $2200, but the side intrusion protection was one of the main attractions of a roll cage over a well braced roll bar.

It looked like a roll cage was not going to be possible within my budget, so I started looking at roll bars with additional bracing. Some web searching turned up the MX5 Plus and Brown Davis roll bars, each of which could be had with additional bracing for around $1200.

During my web searching I found another cage builder, Phil of Street Neat Welding (http://www.streetneatwelding.com.au) in West Gosford. I made a phone call to Phil, and he could do a painted six-point cage with side intrusion bars for $1760. He would also make up brackets to mount the Sparco seat as low and far back as possible for another $150. It fitted the budget, and he had previously done cages for over 2 dozen MX5's, so obviously had lots of experience. Phil said the work would take one week, so we arranged a booking, and I arranged two Monday mornings off work to transport the car to and from his workshop.

With my daughter along to help, we delivered the car to Phil on the designated Monday morning. Phil's workshop is quite small, and he doesn't talk a lot, but it was obvious from looking at the work in progress that he was an expert at metal fabrication and welding. Our preparation of the car, with the interior stripped and the dash removed was all ok, except that the HVAC blower had to come out to make room for the front leg of the roll cage on the passenger side.

A call the following Friday confirmed that the car was done, so I turned up on Monday morning to bring it home again. I was very happy with the result, painted white, and particularly how the rear supports when through the rear shelf and connected to the main frame in the boot.



The pictures don't show the cross bar over the windscreen, and the two diagonal braces from there to the rear bars.

Phil had to remove the front hardtop latches, and had replaced them with bolts. He advised me to add some sort of attachment at the side latches.

Removing the HVAC blower presented a new problem. The plan had been to remove the air con, but keep the heater for windscreen de-misting, but the blower could no longer go back in it's original position, and it was big and heavy enough to make mounting it elsewhere difficult. So after, I visited MX5 Mania to buy an Autotechnica Monza harness plus 5 mounting plates (all up $245 from memory), and asked them for any suggestions. AJ had a couple of small "electric turbochargers" that they had imported to evaluate, but found them to be worse than useless, so for $20 one of them was mine.



I hope the scrutineers don't discover we have a turbo charger, and bump us up a class! :-)

Next we get aligned and harnessed.