Then set about putting the rear suspension back together with new shocks and springs and it went back much easier than taking it apart!
Everything was copper greased and waxoyled.
I’m starting to suspect this isn’t your first project… 
I have always wanted to have a car project but with not having a garage and also having a sloping drive, I never thought I could. However, with the lockdown and my father in law giving me the car I have gone at it and I have to say am really enjoying it. Apart from the rusted bolts, they are surprisingly easy to work on. The only thing left will be the engine if that decides to give up on me, but I believe they are reliable.
It would probably have been a 2-3yr project if i hadn’t been stuck at home furloughed, but whilst it’s all in bits I may as well get it done ready to enjoy it.
It’s certainly looking really good, I am impressed with the effort and speed of your work and the results speak for themselves. I am sure there are not many cars around that look this good. Excellent job!!
I received the rear caliper seal kit and duly fitted it to the nearside caliper and then gave it the final coat of paint Unfortunately the offside one had a badly corroded piston and the bore was damaged. I searched for a new one and MX5 Heaven were the cheapest for a decent one, so I spoke to Tony, who has been the most helpful person so far. I duly ordered a new nearside caliper and he made sure it was posted the same day. I hear you say " why another nearside caliper when it was the offside one which needed replacing?" Well, I realised my mistake and this morning ordered another.
Painted and fitted the caliper and bled using one way valve tube which was only £4.50 from Halfords. Really easy once you read the instructions and push the plastic clip over the tube to make an airtight seal.
Dropped the new sills and rear arch repair panels off at MX5 City yesterday, which is a 2hr round trip. Had to go again today as I realised I failed to remove the bracket which the handbrake cable attaches to from the old caliper, which is now in the tip! They were good enough to give me a replacement which was duly cleaned of rust and painted. All was well and the offside handbrake worked well. Onto the nearside and no difference at all. The wheel spun freely. Luckily the caliper I ordered incorrectly was still packaged ready for returning, so I duly opened it and fitted it. It worked perfectly but will need painting at a later date.
The car is now on all 4 wheels and moves backwards and forwards and stops.
The rear fog light was in a sorry state and the nuts had almost corroded away. I was faced with replacing it with a genuine one at £57 or an aftermarket one at £10 from MX5 Heaven.
After removing the old rusty one from the bumper I drilled out the screws which hold the light unit to the surround.
As the new lamp looked out of place and the bumper reinforcer could be seen I removed the back from the new light after sawing off the plastic tube from the top which the bracket usually attaches with a bolt and attached it inside the original surround, having first removed the triangular plastic at the bottom. I secured it with the self tapping screws from the bulb holder in the original.
Due to the wire entering at the top left hand side I drilled a hole in the reinforced and passed the original wire through and connected it to the new light with spade connectors.
I think I it looks good and saved £47.
It has now been transported away to MX5 City this afternoon for the welding work and suspension alignment. Hopefully I will get it back in a week or so for the body shop to paint it so that I can put it back together.
The whole exercise is a credit to you.
Another Ltd Mk1 that won’t be a freezer or tea-spoons anytime soon.
Well done Sir.
Well, it took a bit longer to repair, as the driver’s side was worse than the passenger. It’s now been completed and is being collected this afternoon and being delivered to the bodyshop for painting and then re-assembling.
I’ve also managed to find a set of original wheels and now have a road trip to Bournemouth to pick them up. That’s a 10hr drive and £70 in diesel, but at least I will have the proper wheels.