Well its been slow progress but we are getting somewhere.
I’ve managed to remove the wipers, mechanism and scuttle panel which are all being given a spruce up. I’ve found an engine, front wing and gearknob which I’m picking up on Wednesday afternoon/evening. Upon inspection of the existing engine it would appear that there’s a new waterpump and a new cambelt kit fitted, which will be up-lifted and fitted to the new engine on Thursday for the swap on Friday. I’m toying with holding off the engine swap until MX5parts can get hold of all the crankshaft/camshaft seals etc so that I can put the engine in and not have to worry about removal anytime soon! I’m going to keep the clutch I’ve got atm tbh, it works fine and I’m not afraid of poping the gearbox off on a weekend should it show any signs of needing replacement.
Whilst the engine is out I’m going to treat the engine bay to a bloody good cleaning and repair any service rust with a little bit of wire brushing, kurust and some brilliant black base. If I have the engine out over the weekend I might treat it to a lick of black paint to the block and some nicer paint for the rocker cover, but more to come on that one ;)
Then the next step is getting the front wings off for the windscreen frame paint to be sorted, then I think after all that I can look at getting it an MOT! There is of course all the other little nit-picky bits that need sorting like the transmission boots and servicing the drivetrain but these are all realistically a lazy afternoons work during the week (hopefully it snows so I’ve got an excuse to stay at home and tinker!)
So I’ve got my shopping lists sorted, all the parts on order or in the process of sorting out quotes and my paint supplies are available within the hour from a local firm… then I can look at joining you lot in MX5/Eunos/Miata motoring well and truly!
Any advice for the engine swap would be greatly appriciated!
Well people, I picked up a new block on Wednesday from a nice chap down in lydd.
It’s a 1.8 with about 80,000 on it. I also got a new nearside wing and a gearknob, with enough change left over from £200 for a quick coffee on way home!
So the old engine has had all the airbox gubbins removed along with the exhaust loosened off, thankfully the garage who’d done the previous headwork had “forgot” to put in the header to gearbox bolt in! Which is a blessing to be honest as everyone says it’s a right ball ache! The new engine is being de-greased tomorrow during the day, I’m picking up the engine crane and also some brilliant black base for the engine bay.
Hopefully the snow stays around for a couple of days and I can get the engine in the car instead of going for work! I recon I can get the engine out, the bay cleaned up and painted in one day, allow it to dry and the the engine back in with all new seals/gaskets on day 2… so hopefully for the end of the week we’ll have an MOT friendly MX5!!
The windscreen guy wants £70 to remove/refit the screen, which I’ll probably get done over the next couple of weeks and we’ll get her MOT’d, taxed and insured for March!
I’ll photograph all the engine swap and do a write up for those who are interested, might be of some use to those who require the help.
The engine went in well, but me being me I spent some time cleaning up some bits and painting some others…
I’ve got the old inlet manifold away being blasted along with old rocker cover, hopefully get them back next week and get them all fitted up onto the new engine…
I’ve got myself some stonechip and some undershield, so the car is up on the big axle stands over the weekend having a blast off underneith followed up by a jolly good clean up! I’ve got a new shift boot to fit along with new transmission and gearbox oil, all finishing up with it’s MOT at the end of week. She looks in good enough condition underneith to pass with no rust showing, I am a little worried about the rust in the rear n/s wing though tbh, so I might take the grinder to it and see whats what.
All in all she’s getting there!
I’ve also planned the following little bits when shes on the road:
Roll bar inc door bars - made up by local fabricators in return for a few hours of my labour
Fix drivers electric window
Shorty centre console
New hood
Coilovers - probably GAZ
I’m not in a rush with any of it tbh, with it being the second car and all. I plan to get it all properly usable first so money will be spent on a new/secondhand hood or hardtop before anything else goes on.
I didn’t take any pictures, but I’ve still got all the undertray’s and heatshields off and a spare engine so I’m sure that I can put something together if you’d like?
I’m busy with work for the next couple of days but I’ll see what I can get in way of pictures etc together and do a little write up.
Plenty of bits and pieces to get done on it though, keep looking through threads on here and nutz and keep getting side tracked with ideas of what to do to mine… got to love it
well I’ve managed to fit some time in around work this week so how she’s currently sitting:
I’ve removed both front wings and the bumper as you can see, plenty of broken bolts unfortunately so I’ve got a rivnut set on the way over so I can quickly deal with those…
But whilst the wings are off I’ve wire brushed all the surface rust and kurust over the top, I ran out of time today to lay the stonechip over that but had a quick black on the n/s front edge… think it’ll look good. This stuff is from a local pain supplier called JCA Coatings, their own brand stuff and cheap enough. I’ve got some 3M cavity wax to get spraying with as well when I can get her up in the air.
Eitherway progress is going well! We’re expect sunny weather over the weekend, so I’ll probably tackle the windscreen frame and see if I can get the front end re-built for next weekend.
Can I just add, the way the car is supported with the wheels on is worth looking at for all you guys who need to have the wheels off for any sort of job.
Axle stands in
Trolley jack just taking the weight
Wheels placed under the sill so if anything does slip, they will take the wight of the car 8" off the ground…
I managed to remove the windscreen today, paint some parts and wash/prep my bumper and new wing for the weekends bodywork efforts… hazzar!
I was quite appauled tbh with the sealant layed around the windscreen, the n/s was stuck with huge amounts of excess all hidden behind trims etc but the top and the drivers side of the screen had sealant that didn’t fill the void between it and the frame and the drivers side sealant was barely stuck to the screen at all! Take a look at the pictures to see what you think… next is doors off and prep the screen frame!
O and I managed to de-tango my front lights as well!
well today I spent some more time on the car, removed the doors to gain better access to things and removed all the surface rust from around the screen with a wire brush followed by a flap wheel where there was a little bit more hardened progress. I then Kurust’d the areas and any bare metal before a quick blast with etch primer, a skim of putty and a wet sand back down to smooth with some 240 grit wet and dry. Then a wipe down the applicable IPA and a couple of coats of acid 8 etch primer to finish things off for this evening.
Whilst that was all drying I spent some time filling the holes in the front bumper including a guide coat and some wet sanding to see any lows/highs.
I also got a lick of paint on the spare rocker cover etc… more to come!
But then I went out today and found that the etch primer I’ve used has reacted with stopper I’ve got, which both came through a trusted local supplier. But I’ve sourced a solution and will have it all ship-shape in the week for a shot of colour and then some 2k clear! really getting excited now that it’s well underway!
Busy, busy man! You’re making a lot of progress there. Are you doing the paint jobs inside or outside? Mine will need some sorting pretty soon, but I don’t have much inside space to be painting etc.
Well alot has happened since the last update, but all things that aren’t really all that noticable…
I’ve collected a 6 point carbing cage, having the main hoop and supports painted in green atm to match my new rear tow hook and rocker cover.
The seats are out and the underlay out from under the carpet (it was SOAKED and stank to high heaven!) and just a general tidy up including removing of the alarms…
So here is how she stands at the end of today, after removing 2 alarms and an immobiliser (auto electrician by trade so kind of like a busman’s holiday today!)
the removed systems!
gotta love the tow hook!
and yesterday the windscreen finally got fitted… which means that the car is now a bit more water tight! I’ve got to get on with cleaning up the interior over the weekend and then it’s getting the front panels down the bodyshop for an MOT sometime in the coming week hopefully… we’re getting there people!!!
So let me see if I’ve got this straight - you found 50 quid in the boot of a convertible car which was fitted with two alarms and an immobiliser? And whose owner took it to the garage to get it fixed, took fright at the cost of the repairs and just dumped it at the garage?
I can’t work out if the previous owner was the most careful person in the world or the most careless…
Good work by the way, and a fascinating story to follow.
well this weekend was hectic, but it feels like I’ve managed to get a lot done!
so first off the painted cage went in - the paint isn’t perfect but it’s certainly good enough for me for now! I’ve still got the bolt the rear legs down properly but we’re getting there!
then I fitted up the scuttle panel trim and repainted wiper arms with some Bosch Aerowipers
then I changed the shift boots and the turret oil - I refilled and drained it again twice until all I got was clear oil
And in trying to remove the rear wheels to remove the arch liners to bolt down the rear legs of the Carbing bar I managed to break my snap-on breaker bar… those wheel nuts were tight!
And here she is at the end of the day…
Just got to bolt the rear legs down over the coming week and then she’s really on the home straight!
I also go over to M@rtin’s to collect a new boot with ducktail spoiler and a brilliant black n/s front wing, so I don’t have to worry about painting up the green one!
So all in all I’m chuffed to bits, the car is coming along nicely and I’m keen to get her MOT’d before the week is out!
Something I want to do when I have more time, seeing as retirement is beckoning.
All I managed to do this weekend was fit a new number plate plinth and number plate which subsequently fell off. Now refitted with stronger fixings, cheap tacky mx5parts fixings are binned.
it’s actually really quite soothing to get it done, when it looses momentum I’ve just got to look at the photo album to see how its come along.
The only thing I’d do different next time is to find one with a more solid body, as this one has had repairs to the sills already and after a little poking about I’ve found that the inner sills are rusted behind the patches so they will need a proper repair before the end of the year or the rust will spread. A proper repair will be circa £700 for both sills if I supply repair panels… which kind of makes the whole thing a bit more expensive.
The way I look at it though is that by the time I’ve finished the car will be better than any other MX5 I would have brought for the money, and I have the pleasure of driving something I’ve “built”. It’s nice having it as a second car atm, I’m going to change main car soon so it’ll be my daily for a few weeks in May/June which will be lovely but I’m kind of dreading not being able to take it apart in the evenings and leaving it that way.
