mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,542
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Feb 28, 2021 20:59:36 GMT
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Yeah chalk another one up for the central placement. It's annoying it doesn't fit neatly on the bumper, but it seems neater than all the other options so far. It tends to look a little better if the top of the plate is a little below the bumper (sort of flush with the flat part, so you can see the curved bit above), and sticking out a little more below. So the level you have the square plate on in the picture further up, but on a central mounted plate. This is definitely one of those all down to preference things. I don't really want to cover the front mount if I can avoid it. Since it kinda defeats the object of it. I may end up with a stick on at this rate. Either in the middle or off to one side. Cheers |
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Feb 28, 2021 21:10:15 GMT
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Feb 28, 2021 21:15:51 GMT
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Let me tell you about that front number plate...Oh, I forget I already did! 😀
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Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,542
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Feb 28, 2021 22:23:44 GMT
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Love this thread, but never commented as its all over my head, but the results are amazing. I like the way you've managed to convert it to v8, and turbo it, and yet the biggest problem is number plate placement  Comment away. It's all over my head and it's my car I'm getting there slowly tho! And the plate thing has kinda escalated. I promise from this point forward I won't faf about where I'm putting it.... Maybe 🤣 Cheers |
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mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,542
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Feb 28, 2021 22:24:04 GMT
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Let me tell you about that front number plate...Oh, I forget I already did! 😀 Shhhh... I just said I wasn't going to mention it again haha |
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Feb 28, 2021 22:57:36 GMT
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i think this actually looks the best. is the plate 12x6(usa size) or 13x6.5(japan)? there seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding japanese and american sized plates on tha webz, and thats just from folk selling them! |
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@ CRX_IN_SCOTLAND
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Adey
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,443
Club RR Member Number: 171
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looks huge, isn't the legal minimum requirement 11mm of border from the lettering all round?
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mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,542
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Helloooooo!! Just checking in to say I'm still alive. All is still good and I even drove the lexus for all of ten minute yesterday haha. To be completely honest. Not a lot has happened with it. I say not a lot. The sum total of zero has until today. I've been working in Birmingham 3 days out of 4 this week. And then trying to get the house back into a livable state. Good news is all my building work is now done, new kitchen, stairs, utility and hall. Bad news is I'm now on decorating duties and I hate that more than.... Well pretty much anything else you can think of  Anyways. Let's talk about cars... like i say I managed to take it for a quick spin yesterday.. went on sarnie run at work and stuck a splash of juice in it for good measure.. now I know everytime I've driven it up to now I've done some degree of hooning.. you can't help it. It just makes you do it. You drive it and your suddenly an asbo, a hooligan, Or drift king, or a master criminal on the run haha.. Except yesterday. Yesterday I drove it like a normal civilised adult. Tbf it was dinner time in a built up area and I'd got size 12 rigger boots on (there not exactly ideal for heal toeing or precise clutch actions  ) So what's the point of all this waffle. Well other than the noise, it's not actually that different to a normal is200. Yeah the rides a smidge firmer and the brakes are mega. But it just behaves like a normal car. I had radio on, cruising along and other than the burble the odd pssshht noise and the limitless torque. I'm just driving an is200.. when you consider just how much I've changed id call that a result.. yeah if I want to drive like my hairs on fire it's game. But if I just want to fetch a bacon sarnie. It will do that too! Success! Today managed to get back from Birmingham at a reasonable time so managed to grab an hour while waiting for a wagon.. now when I altered the exhaust to fit the btcc rear bumper, it ended up too short and finished virtually flush with bumper. Not ideal as I had visions of it setting it on fire. My plan was to extend it using a vband so the width of the flanges would extend the exhaust by same amount. As you can see. Not ideal.  So car on ramps, few pit boards out. And cut off the back section of exhaust  Vband tacked in place (don't worry I cleaned the curse word out the exhaust)  Then fully welded (bit wierd welding mild to stainless but be more than strong enough)  All back together and it's worked out spot on. Now it clears the back bumper by an acceptable amount, plus I can remove the back box and make a proper asbo pipe if I'm fealing childish    Now the exhaust has been altered more times now than I care to think. Tbh it's not ideal.. a lot of it was done laid on my back outside. Then altered in the dark on drive. And, well it's just not nice.. I've a few more expensive jobs I need to sort. But when funds/time permits I think it deserves a nice stainless system making for it. But that's all in the future.. For now I'm just going to use it (until the urge to turn the boost up gets too much and it goes back for more mapping) Assuming nothing goes wrong with work tomorrow. I may even bring it home for the weekend and leave the van in the unit. So wel see (I've promised my eldest il take her for a ride in "daddy's Choo Choo car") if I bring it home. And we don't want an upset 2 n half year old haha.. more soon hopefully Cheers |
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duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member
Out of retro ownership
Posts: 1,320
Club RR Member Number: 70
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I saw this on the Retro facebook page this morning as well. It just looks awesome.
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mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,542
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I saw this on the Retro facebook page this morning as well. It just looks awesome. Haha cheers. Seen a few slightly newer things on there and thought it was worth a share. Seems to be well received. Tbh I've not had anyone tell me they hate it yet (I won't care if they do tbh 🤣) |
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mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,542
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I mean id sell you this one... But it would be expensive 🤣🤣 |
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mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,542
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Well we've had success today. And cars home! Only til Monday but it should be a bit of a different commute in the hooligan mobile compared to a 130bhp transit van. No Sunday night beers for me Started day with actual work then snuck an hour in on the car.. now you may remember way back in the distant past when I thought running an unsilenced 4 inch pipe out the bumper would be a good idea (it wasn't) I had to make the super silencer 40000 so I could start it on the drive. Now the observant amongst you may have noticed it on the floor in the pics yesterday. The cars a lot better than it was before but make no mistake it's still not silent (not by a long stretch). And to start it at 7 when I leave for work Monday may result in divorce if I wake the kids up (were not married but that's only a technicality) Came up with a cunning plan to make a slip in silencer/bung from it just so I can get it away from the house then whip it out and throw it in boot. But obviously it's 2 ft too long at minute. So out with the grinder and the metal glue gun.   It's not pretty. And the welding is fairly terrible. The steel has gone that thin from being ground to fit in the old exhaust it was like welding tinfoil. But it doesn't matter it doesn't even have to be air tight (it's not for me to "drive" with just to not wake my small humans up) Thought I best have some way of securing it so welded in one of the special weld in captive nut things I used on the rear bumper (there's already an 8mm hole in the tailpipe). Just so I can finger tight spin a bolt in..  And there we have it. Fitted. Now it's not exactly a Prius but it's properly killed the noise. I know it's likely to have killed the performance too but I'm only concerned with getting it away from the house and off the street without waking the world up.. long term I'm going to stick another box in the exhaust.. but still this will do for now (happy wife happy life or summat like that haha)  So with that done. Few tools taken out my van. All the levels checked tyre pressures checked. I'd ran out of excuses. Looks like I'm taking it home. Set off on what would be longest journey I've done in it since it's had a lot changed and had a couple errands to run on way home.. nervous was an understatement.. Had to call down to my dad's garage to drop him something off. But since it had behaved, nothing had fallen off or caught fire. Grabbed a quick pic with a few more retro things as company...  From there onto supermarket on way home. And again many successes! Does this make it a grocery getter now  Then home on what proved to be another uneventful journey. Radio works heating works it starts stops and steers as it should. And you stab the throttle at any speed and it goes into hyper drive.. but since I was rather nervous to say the least I behaved for the "most" part of the journey. Having done roughly 25/30 mile (I know not much) it's longest it's done since it's had major major surgery and I'm pleased to report all Is happy and all is well in the world. Diff is much better. The gear ratios are world's better. The ride is fine, just planted, seats are comfy, and the brakes stop you like you have dropped anchor. And the clutch although a smidge heavier than a "normal" car, it's not a normal car haha. Yeah it's a bit rowdy. But it's meant to be a bit rowdy! I'm on daddy day care duties all weekend but as soon as my eldest saw it when she came home from nursery. She instantly said "I want to go in daddy Choo Choo car".. so il take her out at some point over the weekend. Fingers crossed I might get a bit more done next week. Or I might just drive it I know I know. Mental haha. Cheers |
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Would an exhaust bypass valve before the last add on box be an answer to your noise dilema ??
Closed for quiet driving and open for performance?
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mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,542
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Would an exhaust bypass valve before the last add on box be an answer to your noise dilema ?? Closed for quiet driving and open for performance? The biggest problem is there just isn't enough silencing. It goes 4 inch downpipe into 3 inch system into that one stubby J style back box with a 4 inch outlet.. don't get me wrong I'm not planning on making it rolls Royce levels of quiet. Just a bit less shouty at low rpm. It's not helped by the fact I'm running without an idle air control valve and until the temp has raised a few degrees it doesn't idle. So you have to deliberately hold the revs up slightly.. I think one more box in the system should be enough (something with a 3 inch bore, straight through style maybe 18 inch long) and there readily available from jettex etc.. it's just another one of them jobs that's on my "list" (I was discussing my list with a mate last night and I've actually got about 5 lists haha) Cheers |
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mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,542
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Whose a silly boy then  ... So yesterday. Full of smugness that it had made it home. Not spontaneously combusted or broken down. And looked really good while doing it... Got kids to bed last night and came up with a plan for my adultin duties today. Mrs at work. All is well.. except.... Just sat pondering and thought to myself "wonder what day mot is due on the Mazda daily" I was fairly sure it was the 22nd of this month... Did a quick check on the gov. Site, I was half right it was due on the 2nd! Oh cock! Not to worry, I've come home in the lexus... Looks like I'm going to have to use it as a car after all .. now I'm not saying it's exactly a suv, but who said it wasn't practical  Got kids ready this morning, Mrs went to bed after her Nightshift and a few choice words about sorting car being my job haha, and off we went in the race car to run some errands, collect some supplies for the house, and get the shopping done.. now all this is normally the mundane boring stuff I hate on a weekend, but in the lexarse it's fun. It just makes you smile even driving at normal speed with normal people. Sat in there bland boxes basically waiting for retirement or death the big grin on my face made me remember why we do what we do! So what do the kids think to it. Well my eldest has been in it before but the laughing and giggling she was doing made it sound like she was at the fairground. She still thinks the pppsshhhhhhtt stut stu stu stu noises are brilliant and continually shouts again! Even at 25mph it sounds like it's doin 125mph! Driving along pressing and releasing the throttle every hundred yards to make her laugh hasn't done my fuel consumption any favours at all, but do I care.. do I chuff! And after all that it can't be that loud, as my youngest fell asleep in it on the way home. She obviously finds the v8T sound soothing! Offspring aside it's behaved all day. Been out to a few shops, been stopped and started several times, done a couple of stints in traffic and a few longer runs. And other than the steering being a bit heavy to get into parking spaces, it's been absolutely perfect! Didn't appear to smoke, all gauges happy (except the fuel gauge that was going down rather quickly) Will give all the levels a check tomorrow once it's been parked over night. Oh and don't worry. The Mazda is booked for mot Monday morning so fingers crossed that's all hunky dory!! Remember people, check your mot's haha Cheers |
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Some might think that you "planned" to have to use it as your daily ...
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Brilliant, looks superb in the carpark photo with the wheels/arches/brakes.
Only thing I would change is the offset numberplate, but that's just me.
I want one!
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Would an exhaust bypass valve before the last add on box be an answer to your noise dilema ?? Closed for quiet driving and open for performance? The biggest problem is there just isn't enough silencing. Have you got space anywhere for a midbox? From what I gather they help out a lot with some of the drone you can get from exhausts, but still leave the end note quite fruity. |
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mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,542
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Some might think that you "planned" to have to use it as your daily ... If I didn't have kids I'd definitely accidentally on purpose have done it haha. As it is I've been threatening to bring it home for weeks but keep making excuses and taking bits back off it haha. don't worry theyl be back in the Mazda by Monday dinner haha |
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)
... So yesterday. Full of smugness that it had made it home. Not spontaneously combusted or broken down. And looked really good while doing it... Got kids to bed last night and came up with a plan for my adultin duties today. Mrs at work. All is well.. except.... Just sat pondering and thought to myself "wonder what day mot is due on the Mazda daily" I was fairly sure it was the 22nd of this month... Did a quick check on the gov. Site, I was half right it was due on the 2nd! Oh cock!