Reoccurring theme this, drove NC out of garage to cut, sand and paint some wood in there. Backed car into the garage quickly just before it hammered down with rain again.
Forecast said no rain in our area today.
Whilst out the garage managed to check the tyres, oil and washer fluid in the hope I’ll get a New Year’s day drive out tomorrow, forecast is 
Happy New Year to all if you manage a drive out, or even if you don’t🎉
Hi mick
There is a meet at a newly refurbished pub
( it’s been closed ( 3-4 years) not too far away, I’m hoping to get to my first meeting in the 25AE 
…. So hoping for a dry day
HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL 5’ers 
I wanted to get out Friday Geoff in the NC, flooded roads around us, took the other car for safety.
New grommits in place – and siliconed in for good measure.
Letting the sealant set now before reassembling the car!
Determined to get out in the sun today I popped out the long way round for some petrol. Passing the sprawl of the RR facilities on route.
Yesterday and this morning had the front wheels off the car to clean and have a look under the arches.
Noticed the shock absorber rubbers have seen better days is this an mot fail, it’s due soon?
Also today cleaning up the back box whilst still on the car, noticed the metal shield could do with fettling/ protection is it a big job getting the exhaust off to do it?
The split rubber boots shouldn’t be a failure, probably not even an advisory👍
Easy enough to take the back box off, just awkward if those two bolts are seized holding it to the mid-pipe. Plenty of plus gas applied pre removal will help there.
I took my heat shield off for derusting and painting, it’s riveted on. Just drilled the rivets out, had some rivets and a gun to reattach in the garage. It can be done in situ but only the one side. You can also check on the state of the boot floor when removed and treat that if needed.
Spray silicone on the exhaust hanger posts for ease of removing them and back box.
Thanks Mick, the exhaust shield will have to be done on a couple of dry days as I’ve no garage. Been thinking about changing the suspension, see how the mot goes but good to hear its not a failure point.
The exhaust shield is only about 25 quid from mx5 parts brand new genuine so by the time you’ve tidied it up I’d be considering a new one 
Thank you Dean for the heads up, just had a look and yes it makes sense to get a new one
Swapped out the main instrument cluster bulbs for LED equivalents. Maybe not to everyone’s taste, but (for me) has improved the clarity of the instruments massively. Pictures below are at full brightness but the instrument panel dimmer still works fine.
Only swapped out the four main dial T10 bulbs, plus the 2x indicator and 1x main beam T5 bulbs. I tried swapping out everything but ran into problems with some of the warning lights. The airbag and handbrake warning lights would be bright when they were meant to be on but only dim instead of being off. May revisit that later.
Before:
Halfway:
Final result:
Hope God’s Country has good DAB+ reception…
Cambridgeshire doesn’t and we get drop outs with the stubby.
I think that I have said it before, but I am sure that the aerial that Mazda fits would have been designed to maximise signal reception for both FM and DAB, in all conditions. Changes to the aerial could possible compromise the reception for one or the other.
I much prefer the sound quality obtained from FM, both in my car and provided by my 1970s stereo HiFi tuner at home (which is superb). Our Skoda has a stubby aerial and the reception both in FM and DAB is poor compared to the Mazda.
Ordered air filter bolt (went missing after having aircon fitted), exhaust manifold heat shield bolt (rounded) and PPF rear bracket bolt from Autolink, excellent service from Andrew.
Used the rest of the underseal, then fitted all the bolts and rear exhaust heat shield after treating for rust.
