mx5cartalk.com

after many years of regret that I sold my Bling bar.
I got 1 back. its only taken 10 years

The same actual bar, or just a similar one?

Got the new boy registered, and took it for the first drive. Slow, rattle-y fun!

Excellent. See too few Montego blue 5s. And mate, I just discovered the paint code is M8...

bruce wrote:The same actual bar, or just a similar one?

Its the same type of bar, Its not the same actual bar I sold 10 years ago. This one is suitable for both Plastic & Glass windows. My previous one was suitable for plastic only.
but the were both the polished alloy & this one doesn't rub on the hard top either. like some have in the past.

brake servo / booster delete time:thumbs:
gone for a twin-circuit / bias adjustable setup that took some though with design

nearly done now

Rich.

Zed, I like your wiring harness wrap, any idea what it is or where it can be sourced?

xxx

ManiacLachy wrote:Got the new boy registered, and took it for the first drive. Slow, rattle-y fun!

Needs some shots with the black hard-top on it!

If you call it "Blue", you'll always be able to say:



When you sell it, or if it gets totalled (preferably not with the black hard-top on it), we can re-create this scene!

The hardtop is on now, I'll get you a shot in the next few days. I've been chipping away at jobs, currently in the middle of the shifter rebuild.

beavis wrote:Zed, I like your wiring harness wrap, any idea what it is or where it can be sourced?

the braid?

was somewhere on ebay a few years ago bought a few metres of a few sizes but it's all used on other jobs now - will be looking for more when I re-wire this car

although nylon braid is fragile & suffers with heat or snaggs

Rich.

today I bought a bolt......


as explination, the standard Mazda crank / pulley bolt is m14 / 1.5 pitch, the head has a washer as part of it & this is too large to fit inside the bore of the drysump drive pulley I have (leftover from a Vauxhall 20XE drysump kit from ~15 years ago)






too big, suppose I could machine the diameter but I am wary of altering bolts as can alter their strengths / properties...

new allen head bolts are cheap and available in several tensile strengths...

I bought 1 bolt (£6.38 posted - ebay laziness) M14 / 1.5 pitch, 50mm long and 12.9 Grade. I will machine a suitable washer for this or maybe look at Schnoor or Nordlock as locking washers


the drive fits as shown, interestingly it has a similar (although un-measured) spiggot diameter that is an interfearance fit in the Mazda outer pulley, also a cuttout that accepts the crankshaft's key - some luck there


I'm still using the 'test' lump of aluminium to position the pump, also the pump lives in a ziplock bag to combat moisture while I'm fiddlin.....


another consideration is to have a smaller crankshaft pulley for the waterpump / alternator belt, as this is a budget build & I'm a cheepskate hoarder a little diggin found an alloy pulley from a Ford 'Pinto' waterpump 'polly-vee' drive kit so this may get altered to fit the Mazda engine - benefits include no rubber bonded 'damper' in the pulley that can fail & cause imballance and also reduced waterpump & alternator rotational speeds (especially good as overspeed water pump impellors can cavitate and loose efficentcy)


more lack-of progress to follow, one day


Rich.

Today I replaced the worn out SE shift knob with a new one made by AJWoodcraft out of Northern Territory Ironwood. Photos just don’t do this thing justice, it is a work of art.




It weighs about the same as the stock one, perhaps a shade heavier.





The interior is slowly moving to where I want it. Next steps: find or make an Ironwood handbrake handle, find an airbag detonator to suit the Nardi airbag that came with the wood rim wheel, MiataRoadster SSK, fill the remaining gauge holes and work out a permanent stereo solution.

It's been a while since I've put anything here - around 18 months, so this is my highs and lows and a warning to those considering going down the same path as I:

I'm sure you'll agree, the NB seats aren't much good. Comfortable but hardly supportive and quite unattractive visually so I went looking for replacements. Everything was so expensive! I found a seller (no names) on EBay with replica Bride Stradia II at roughy 1/3 the price of genuine. Put down the money. They looked alright, were genuine carbon fibre, came with "universal rails". Didn't want to chop the factory rails to adapt (smart move) so purchased genuine bride rails to suit. Suit they didn't, mounting holes on the seats were in wrong positions, the driver's side was off centre by a couple of inches. Made modifications to the rails to fit. Passenger seat went in ok but felt cramped and the drivers just wouldn't go in at all.

I bit the bullet, saved money and bought a genuine Zeta 3 Super Amarid and rail to suit. Installed no problems but the door is hard up against the side and leaves a small dent where contact is made. The material feels softer that the rep and the cushioning is firmer.
Anyone considering saving money and getting replicas my advice is just don't.

I've also fitted a Brown Davis alloy roll bar and a carbon fibre shift knob from a JDM Mazdaspeed Demio.

You would saved money by not doing any of it. NB seats were fine in my view and the trouble with Recaros and the like is that getting in and out of cars can be difficult.