Sounds good Andrew. Well rest assured, Iām sure I wonāt be the only one eager to read about any further updates and progress! 
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Hi Everyone, sorry for the radio silence, thanks for your patience!
So, the important news is that the engine is back together and running. It took a lot longer than iād hoped it would but we got there in the end.
Through the process as well as the seal failing, one of the cam bolts fractured in the head and the Jag bolts seem to be almost unobtainable. Luckily Andy at Basset Down (who has been super helpful) sent me a whole load of them.
So now that has been sorted, iāve been working on all the other things I didnāt need to do but have got so far through, I need to finish them! Namely:
- Wrapping the car in 3M 2080 Vampire Red
- Re-upholstering Mk2.5 seats in brand new leather
- Designing and building my own Raspberry Pi powered ICE and dashboard set up
- Doing some 3D printing.
Wrapping
The wrapping is coming along fairly well, but as iām a complete novice iāve obviously had to redo some bits and iām not entirely happy with all of the finish. But anyway, here is where I am up to.
If any of you fancy giving it a go yourself at any point, feel free to drop me a message and iāll run you through the things I have learnt. I am by no means an expert but with practice I have managed to get decent results.
The key to getting a good finish is the same as using any other medium really - making sure the body panel is prepped well; sanding to an even and smooth finish, cleaning thoroughly, using isopropl alcohol and lastly using an airline to make sure there is no dust.
Seats
As you may be aware of by now, I frequently change my mind on just about everything. This is now about my 5th pair of seats. Iāve decided to use seats from an NB2 which I am currently through the process of retrimming using the ākitā from mx5parts:
https://www.mx5parts.co.uk/leather-seat-cover-mk25-p-3417.html
I say kit. No instructions and I.L Motorsports themselves told me that the covers were not meant for home install, instead I should send them to a saddler! Anyway, I thought iād crack on and they arenāt looking bad.
Again, if anyone else fancies a go, let me know - iāve discovered some workarounds to make it easier if you are blessed with Cumberland Sausage fingers like me.
Anyway, the seats started out looking like this:
And currently look like this:
A little bt of fettling is needed but iām probably be overly harsh on myself - I guess overall they are looking good!
Raspberry Pi
I work in the electronics industry running the ECAD division for Siemens Software (we basically create symbols, schematics, PCB footprints and 3D models for engineers and companies worldwide). Surprisingly I donāt actually have to work with the hardware at all, so I thought a) it would be good to actually get some hands on experience with and oh who am I kidding - just an excuse to fiddle with stuff and make something cool!
basically, I want to hook a Raspberry Pi up to GPS, CANBus and OBDII to run some cool looking instrumentation in the car.
I have literally only started to learn Python code this week which iāll need to be able to run the hardware and the software. If anyone is interested in the specifics let me know and iāll add more detail. If youād rather watch paint dry whilst studying the layout of the Manchester Sewer network, I wonāt be offended!
3D Printing
Linked to the above, iāve decided to get a gauge face made for prototyping purposes with the Raspberry Pi and screens. The internet as they say, is your friend. I donāt know who they is, but theyāre mostly wrong and itās full of anker 
But Thingiverse and this forum at least, seem to be frequented by mostly sane people! Someone has gone to the trouble of designing a KG Works style gauge face here:
which I then uploaded to a website called Sculteo:
And for about Ā£30 they will print it in a 3D resin which is smoothed and coloured.
As well as that, I custom made a Rocketeer badge. Many people would argue (quire rightly) that I should be spending more time finishing my car and less time pissing around on the internet. But as I do spend too much time pissing around on the internet, here we go (I took the photo on my phone which is why it looks weird!):
I used the Mazda font and then sent it to a designer on Fiverr. If you are in to this kind of thing, Fiverrr is a brilliant resource for all kinds of things. For Ā£9 a guy created it in a 3D format for me which can also be printed out by the guys on Sculpteo.
Anyway I think that ridiculously long update makes up for the radio silenceā¦!
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Hi all, I hope youāre well.
Just a little update - my 3D printed badges arrived and despite some warnings from Sculpteo about the smaller ones having the potential to fail, they all turned out really well.
Has anyone got any experience of painting these kinds of surfaces?
Iām unsure on the colour - they were printed in white and black. before I ordered them I thought I would go with black but the lettering kind of gets lost in the darkness of the black and white looks a bit tacky. Gold?
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The trouble with having not got the wrapping done yet is that the temperatures are starting to get a bit chilly! Fortunately, itās garaged and iāve got a space heater, so hopefully that will be enough to get me over the line.
Whilst iāve been waiting for the new wrapping materials to arrive, I have been slowly getting the interior back together.
I also fitted new Genuine Mazda window seals. A note about these learnt the hard wayā¦install the new clips on the seals first rather than fit the clips in to the recesses and then try to fit the seals on to them. With my sausage hands, it took far too long to get those clips back off again!
I also found this cool badge I thought youād like!
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Not sure how long I have just spent reading this but I have to say thanks for sharing all this info and congratulations for taking it on and persevering through thick and thin. I was tempted to go Rocketeer with my NBFL but would not have attempted to try and do the work myself. In the end I came to the conclusion that a Rocketeer would be a project for another car as I quite like my NBFL as is and am having that restored over the winter instead. I take my hat off to you sir, I am sure it will be a very satisfying blast once completed.
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Thanks Art
I will keep going!
I am hoping for an MOT this yearā¦havingsaid that I think I said the same thing a year ago
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Having similar time issues just getting my Madge to the garage just to get some work done, best laid plans and all that 
What needs doing with Madge? And iām assuming we are talking about your car
Complete suspension overhall and respray, booked in for January, accumulated most of the OEM bits
Hi all,
Not much of an update this week, but I decided to re-wrap the top half of my front bumper as I wasnāt happy with the finish around the sidelight area.
These kind of recesses are tricky as the depth you need to wrap to is probably slightly too deep just to use heat to stretch the film. However, getting a good finish with an inlay is also not easy! Last time I did inlays, this time I just used heat and it certainly looks better.
Not sure why the headlight lid on the drivers side looks a different colout - must be the lighting!
Anyway, it is looking quite good I think for an amateur job.
Next job is the lower front bumper, then I can fit the number plates and front badges which is going to be a BIG moment!!
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Greetings from India. Or as they say in this part of Ahmedabad, Namaste.
I am out here for work, currently in Ahmedabad, having also spent some time in Mumbai and Surat. If you havenāt been to the country, iād highly recommend it although it takes some time to adjust - itās (and I hate this phrase!) mind blowing in every kind of way.
Anyway, thought iād do a little update on where iām at with the car.
I got myself a Dremel with the flexible attachment which is a handy thing for getting in to the nooks and crannies of the rear number plate surround. I used it to try and get the panel as flat as possible which was quite a bit of work as it had had some dodgy paint done in the past.
Because of the number of shapes and coves in the back panel, I am having to wrap it using multiple pieces, which is a lot of work and hard to get a good finish. Like with the rest of the car iād score it as quite good which I am having to convince myself is good enough as I have been pi**ing about with this for long enough!
I also wrapped the piece ahead of the bootlid, so now the back of the car is coming together.
I get back to England on Saturday and iām off next week. So whilst I will undoubtedly need to give me body, mind and bowels time to recover from this trip, iām hoping to get the rest of the wrapping finished. Once thats done, itās MOT time! I was going to search for the thread to see how many times iād said āMOTā but I decided it would be too depressing!
Hope you are all well,
Andrew
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SO much for my week of tinkering!
After a 25 hour journey home from Ahmedabad via Mumbai, we caught Covid right at the end of the week and this week have been suffering! Thatās the 4th time iāve had Covid now, unfortunately my immune system is a bit poo because of having a form of Multiple Sclerosis. Iāve just bulk ordered bubble wrap!
Anyway I did manage to get to the garage yesterday.
I also made a list as I found I was just getting to the garage and standing there for about 30 minutes not knowing where to start! Lists help! Who knew?
So aside from writing a list, I managed to complete some of the things from the list and the interior is now starting to look quite nice. It needs a clean and a hoover but the seat bases are upholstered and in and itās all looking quite matchy matchy. Pleased that the MOMO steering wheel trim (which was a 40th present from my brother) alsmot exactly matches the stitching on my leather seat covers I got from ILM, it looks like I planned it that way, Result!
I re-wrapped the front passenger side wing, which is probably the best panel I have done yet.
Youāll also be pleased to hear that iām still hitting the criteria for my self imposed title of āFor quite an intelligent man, iām a bit of a moron!ā. As a friend once said, āblame the MS!ā - well, iām going to blame the MS and the Covid. Ok, iām stalling:
Believe it or not, I had to do a two year oil change on my Rocketeer even though it has never been on the road. All was going well, removed the old oil, changed the filter, put the new oil inā¦iād failed to put the drain plug in. Classic. Waste of money. Oil all over the in-law-to-beās garage floor. Pride (which there was still some evidence of) vanished. So, weāll try that again todayā¦!
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Oooh and in other BIG news, I have a factory visit booked in for ULTIMA on 21st December.
Now, I know what you are thinking:
āHe canāt even change the oil on his mx5ā
āHe hasnāt finished the Rocketeer yet!ā
āHe looks a bit like that guy from the Goonies!ā
Ultimaās are a whole different ball game for better and for worse. Yes it will be āharderā, but the whole thing is designed from the ground up to be built as one, so in some ways that will make it much more enjoyable.
The main reason that the Rocketeer has been a pain in the ā ā ā ā is that I hadnāt realised before I began how ā ā ā ā I would be about so much of it. Trying to convert a 30 year old car in to a modern rocketship isnāt done very often for good reason, You are still fundamentally working with a 30 year old car. So, I had never planned on touching the paint work - I had basically finished the mechanicals a year ago, but because the car looked a bit shi*, I couldnāt bring myself to put it on the road.
Iāll have none of those problems with the Ultima as they pre paint the body in gel coat so you are ready to go.
The other thing that has accelerated my plans (I have always wanted to build an Ultima) is the impending electric revolution. Now, I donāt like Electric Cars as drivers cars. And yes I have owned one. I was one of the first people in the country to own one! It was great as a consumer device. I have subsequently been in the highest of high end Teslas (my boss has the ludicrous Model X) and the same thing rings true. Yes, they are FAST. Ridiculously fast. There is no theatre, no gutteral noises and sensations. Just doesnāt do it for me.
I accept it will for others and some of you will love them and I am very happy for people that are happy.
However, with all of that happening, iām worried less about when the Government bans petrol cars (if they ever do, who knows) and more about the morals or perceived morals of owning and driving one. Will it become socially unacceptable? Maybe. Do I care? Maybe.
Also, the environment and health of future generations IS a concern, even if it isnāt a feeling I can easily access. I canāt predict the future and I donāt know how I will feel in 30 years, but I do know that things have to change. Fortunately from a pertolheads perspective, various Manufacturers and enterprising start ups are developing bio-fuels, which will hopefully mean that we can continue to drive gutteral and sensational ICE cars without contributing to the environmental crisis.
ANYWAY. Sorry. I was going to delete all that, but it took me 20 minutes to write so you have to read it.
Ultima (uniquely) have a very cool way of handling the process of ordering. I wonāt give exact figures because they arenāt published publicly but The MD of Ultima is extremely helpful, so if you are interested, drop them an e-mail.
There are two kits, Pack A and Pack B.
To be given a chassis number and build number (and tyo get on the waiting list fo pack A) you just pay a 25% deposit on pack A. 9 months later another 25% and then the remaining 50% after another 9 months. Then pack A gets delivered and you can make a start. At any point after that you can order pack B (which is a similar cost) and your engine.
Having looked through the costs and the options list along with the āBase Specā crate LS3 with 500Bhp, the total cost will be not a lot more than a well speccād Golf R. Yes yes, I know - you canāt compare an Ultima to a Golf R. My point was more that its an incredbile amount of car for the money.
Anyway, I know itās not Mx5 related, but if anyone is interested I may do a build thread on that on here if there is an appropriate forum to put it on.
Iāll stop talking now.
Have a good weekend
4 Likes
Sigh.
My fuel pump isnāt priming anymore.
The behaviour in the video suggests a grounding issue no? The dash lights are coming on until the relay clicks.
The only thing Ive changed since it last worked was removing the Zoom starter button. However, Iām fairly sure that the wiring wasnāt modified for that to be installed.
When I say the wiring wasnāt modified obviously the button was plugged in to the existing loom but that was just via the connectors that were already there.
Happy New Year everyone.
I hope Christmas and the New Year was as great or the least ā ā ā ā it could have been!
I havenāt really done anything with my car, having gone back to that place of just wanting to set fire to it.
However, I got the label printer out, purchased a secondhand dashboard loom from eBay and set about labelling as much of it as possible to assist with working out where my electrical issue is.
Unfortunately, the loom I purchased has been hacked about a bit so I canāt simply swap that one in, but hopefully it will help!
If anyone wants detailed photos of the loom (with labels) to assist with their own projects, let me know and iāll send them over! It will save hours staring mindlessly at schematics!
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Hello all, hope January is treating you well. The sun is out at last!
So iāve changed fuses and fiddled about with the wiring and still not getting a song from the fuel pump. Honestly, the weirdest things seem to have happened to my electrical system during this build! Luckily, iām a patient man
I have spent a lot of time with my genuine wiring diagram (a great find on eBay!) and after removing the plug from the fuel tank, tested the blue and red wire with the engine cranking to see whether any power was reaching the fuel pump.
My hope was that it was! Whilst buying and fitting a fuel pump is a pain, itās much less of a pain than trying to trace wiring issues!
Well it turns out it was neither! The ghost of the ground. This grounding point has been unattached for months and months and has run perfectly fine without it.
Anyway, after checking that there was voltage to the fuel pump (and what with the fact that it just randomly stopped working one day) I gave it a go.
Hey presto! Sheās running!
Another annoyingly obvious and easy fix to something I was approaching in an overly complicated manner!
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Hello, Iām Andrew and iām a clumsy idiot.
For those of a certain age - I did a Brian Harvey, well almost.
Instead of running myself over with my car, I managed to run my car overā¦ with my car. Long story - but the basics are that my door is ruined and I needed a new one.
After a non too succesful eBay purchase (apparently iām pathetic for noticing dents and gouges on a car door that werenāt in the listing), I purchased a brand new one. However the bare door will need all the stuff from the old door.
For anyone that is likely to want to take their door apart or change the glass heed my warnings - a) itās a bit of a pain and b) donāt take your door off until you have got the window down halfway, I learnt that the hard way! You need to do that to be able to properly get to these screws:
When removing the quarterlight, there are two screws at the top, one is fairly obvious whilst the other is not - you have to look under the rubber flap on the corner. Mine was infilled with 30 years of detritus, so I wouldnāt have found it if I didnāt know it was there.
When you get to actually removing the door, the hinges are very easy and obvious but this little check strap can be a fiddle - the best thing to do is use a punch and a hammer.
So, as ever my progress seems to be going backwards instead of forwards, but in the words of a make-believe group of sadists, itās for the greater good!
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Hey all,
Has anyone had any recent issues with deliveries from MX5Parts?
I decided to order a brand new door and it arrived damaged:
I also decided that whilst everything was apart in the interior, I might as well buy and fit the roll bar now rather than have to go through the rigmarole at a later date. But that arrived damaged too:
Iām going through the process of getting them returned but these kind of things really halt progress.
Iāve used MX5Parts for 20 years, but have certainly noticed in the last year or so the service isnāt what it was.
Does anyone have a spare door in good condition? I have to move my car out of its current storage this week and its going to be outside which is less than ideal. Iāve now tried ebay and MX5Parts - would be great if someone had one I could buy and then pick it up!
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