Private plate change after over 4 week wait for DVLA to send V5 
. And waxing sills internally .
Back on 4 wheels… Please disregard any missing parts, this is now a completely functional project car, honest. Ride height needs a little work!
Rain disrupted plans but we got the brakes ready to go, just didn’t quite get them fitted. Decided to drop it down just so my mate could see the result of all teh work. Fannied around with the Ultra Racing strut brace and replaced the firewall panel with a non-brace one. Clocks and some interior back in, threw in the rear ARB as well.
Then got the fuel system all plumbed back in and some petrol in the tank, also got the injectors and map in the car, which threw a random failure- it pissed fuel out of injector #4 where the tophat joins the injector. We swapped them over to troubleshoot, and it still leaked past the same injector, even though there were no parts the same. Eventually figured out that the engine cover has warped and sticks out enough to hit the injector plug, so when it was torque down the whole thing was sideloaded. Rotated the plugs 45 degrees and now all good, had it running on the new injectors and map for the first time though since it’s only got half an exhaust that was a little hectic!
I don’t like the cheap tophats much, they leaked with hardly any provocation, not a great sign so I might change those but having it run is another good step forward. Next few days will be lots of finicky detail and finishing up but it’s pretty close to being MOT’able, just there’s a few painty things in the way of getting the bodywork back on.
<EDIT- thanks to facebook I’ve found out that I have the wrong injectors, so problem solved, replacements on the way that are direct replacement without needing tophats>
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More like ‘what have I tried to do today’.
The car lives outside (NC PRHT 2008). Since purchase last September, today was the first time weather and opportunity meshed for me to have a look at the cowl grommets.
I was aware from the history that came with the car that both sides had been attended to by the local Mazda dealer when the car was about 4 years old. I followed the pictorial download from the technical section but could only loosen, not remove, the scuttle. As far as I could see I had released all the lugs, etc, but it would not come off. The fear of breaking it caused me to have a root around the area I could see. I saw mastic had been applied around the grommets but did not have enough room to clean up and add any more so decided to draw stumps on it. Does anyone have a video showing how to remove the scuttle?
Before replacing the windscreen wiper arms, I took the opportunity to tidy them up and repaint as they were looking a bit scabby - so at least something achieved.
Does this video help you at all on removing the cowl?
I’ve edited this slightly to save some confusion 
You have to remove the rubber trim by compressing the little white tabs underneath the metal lip below.
Pull off the rubber caps on the wiper arms and remove the nuts x2. Note the position of the wipers for refitting. Lift the wiper arms up and push the short section at the end with the nut down and away from the nut and remove from the stalks.
Now trace down and disconnect the single washer jet hose from its union inside the drivers inner wing next to the brake master cylinder
Close the bonnet on its catch and remove the small plastic covers at both ends of the scuttle with a thin trim tool or flathead screwdriver to access the 10mm screws, being careful not to scratch the actual scuttle.
Once these are out you can raise the bonnet back up and pull the scuttle panel forward and it will fold slightly in the middle and lift off. You will probably need a new set of screw covers and grommets which mx5 parts sell for less than 10 pounds. Refitting is the reverse of removal .
When it comes to removing the grommets I find lifting one of the short edges up and using some pliers to tug on it until it pops out. This may slightly deform the metal around the hole as its very pliable. You’ll need to flatten this back down as best you can before fitting the new grommets, I did mine as per this pic and then used waterproof tape over the top tucked in under the lip of the windscreen.
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Thank you for this. Much appreciated.
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Many thanks. Much appreciated. Weather permitting, will revisit tomorrow.
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To maximize your chances of getting the screw covers out unbroken
It helps if they’re warm. When you prise them out do so from the smaller rounded end whilst using your fingers to push the longer sides down and towards each other. ( Making it convex ?)
The retaining barbs are on the long sides, which is why they mostly break if you pry there.
I used a plastic toothpick to raise the edge enough to get a small flathead in, then levered against a piece of protection.
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Nice beading 
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Tried to clean the roof drains on mk3 mx5 
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It didn’t go well ?
Once I had prised them off, I found they were both held in place with a hideous lump of mastic. Could see the side lug had broken off on one side - so someone had just glued them back.
Not dissimilar to what I found on mine. Previous owner was very diligent with the car, but sticking and sealing the caps, not the grommets themselves is utterly useless.
Enjoyed the geekish pleasures of exploring the new Kenwood CarPlay DABS radio unit I had fitted at the end of last week. The simple pleasures of having one single device that both plays music and works as a SatNav, eh? Oh, and being able to safely take a phone call whilst in the car. Very impressed with it all.
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ND2
When I checked the levels in my battery a few months ago, one cell was showing low on fluid, so I topped up with distilled water.
However, the battery was probably now damaged as Stop/Start stopped working even after charging. Today, I got fed up with the non-performance so I splashed out on a new Yuasa 053 Stop/Start battery with a 4 year warranty for a pricey £141 from GSFcarparts.com which was 10% off for bank holiday. Usually £157
However, the great sod’s law raised its head - I bombed up the M11/A14 to get to the shop before it closed at 3pm only for the stop/start to work for the first time in 3 months as I stopped at the roundabout near the shop. I expect people wondered why I was screaming obscenities at the car.
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Maybe the battery just needed a good charge on a run. Don’t stop start systems know when the battery is low and turn off to save draining it further?
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It’s had lots of runs, many over 60 miles at a time since January on M way and A roads whilst I was patiently waiting for Stop/Start to start again. Estimate I had done about 1,000 miles. I even reset it (big reset) and then (simple) reset - removing -ve terminal and voltage sensor - neither corrected the situation.
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