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Sorry for the lack of updates. The car has left my shop and gone to live in my friend's shop where it is getting a lot of work done. The chassis is a roller and the engine has been rebuilt. Even though it is only a couple of blocks from my house, I have not been to visit for a while. Being the Ford nutjob that he is,he sent me this picture. Note the MGB front crossmember rather than the originally planned Honda front suspension In the meantime, I have moved on to finishing detail-stuff on the Molvo that I have been putting off for years, and the new Fiberglass 31? Hot Rod that I am assembling for a long-time friend. Old-school rod with a nutbar 427 Chevy big-block. AND there is a Healey 3000 on the way for some rust remediation, so it will be a busy year.
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Just when I thought you had packed it in for some reason. Giterdone!
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Well, the good news is that I got that far down the list. The other good news is that this little piece of Tupperware found its way into the shop and hence further progress on the Molvo will slow down a bit. Good thing it is essentially ready for the warm weather when it arrives. Might need wider tires!
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Thanks for the link to the AC stuff, shall have a look.
Edit: They do seem to have what I need, now just a case of making a list.
Pete
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Last Edit: Jan 30, 2022 2:17:55 GMT by bjornagn
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Jan 29, 2022 13:53:40 GMT
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What a fantastic project! Thanks for sharing. I have had an enjoyable few evenings reading through the whole thing. I look forward to the next installment. Thank you for the kind words. It has been a fun challenge all along. As for updates, the car has been "done" for a couple of years. But that just means that there is a developing laundry list of task that need to be attended to. Some of those items are because I was lazy, broke, eager to drive or just did not know how to deal with them at the time. A good example of the "lazy and eager to drive " is the door-limit straps. Finicky things so will do it later. Then I found out that the door needs to come off to install and it took a lot of time to get door aligned. "Lets put it off till later" So it is now "later" and I am determined to chew through a 48 item list of stuff like that. ( 27 items done) An example of "not sure how to do it "is the AC. Lucky for me, the Miata wiring harness that I used includes wiring for the AC. What I learned is that the button does not turn on the AC relay, it sends a message to the computer to turn on the AC if all conditions are met. Well, this car does not have the Miata computer ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ All that the switch does is turn on a light to tell you the AC is on. Solution turned out to be simple once I saw it. While I still need to sort a lot of the mechanical install of the AC I did not want to rip the dash apart again to sort the controls, so the question of how to turn on the compressor got sorted yesterday and now I just need to learn how to make a Mustang compressor work with Miata AC components and build hoses. How hard can that be? Below is the full laundry list of stuff to be done. While it is quite long, it is pretty typical of a big project car where a lot of learning has been done along the way and stuff gets swept under the carpet in the rush to drive the car. If you follow build threads, this is a phase of the project that seldom gets documented either because it is not that interesting or because in hindsight, it make the builder look like he did not know what he was doing in the first place ( often guilty of the former) but it is all stuff that needs to be done if the project is to match expectations. In my case the car was built for the wife-unit and she expects it to perform like a factory build. PS outside mirror DONE Sun Visor Install DONE Finish plastic trim at C post inside with funky pieces on hand DONE attach B post plastic trim DONE oil pan gasket DONE battery cable under car inspect DONE Finish windshield post trim paint black DONE Mudguards at rear DONE Reverse lights DONE(ish) Rebuild and install transmission DONE exhaust rebuild on PS DONE Exhaust realign on DS DONE Install new O2 sensor DONE Source closing panel for under steering column DONE Interior dome light of some sort DONE door rattle passenger side DONE new carb of some sort or Fitech back on DONE(ish) Do a firewall test in dark to check for voids DONE air filter DONE missing trim blanks around console DONE door panel DS is loose DONE Missing chrome trim around rear windows DONE clutch pedal cotter pin DONE Wipers re-engineer DONE door open lever DS DONE windshield squirters DONE(ish) Radio /tunes DONE AC controls and install DONE Door stays Overflow from Radiator Hood latch of some sort re-design fuel gauge to sender mismatch need 0-100 ohm trim pieces at sill/carpet square holes in front valance Front windshield chrome big brake option toe-trim at bottom of A- post filler piece for front of dash to cover wiper boxes under hood mount for hood prop Loom wires as needed color match dash Trim piece to tie in cabin bulkhead carpet to deck carpe
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Last Edit: Jan 29, 2022 13:58:37 GMT by bjornagn
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Jan 28, 2022 18:43:11 GMT
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The wiper motor is a universal hot rod kit. The wiring is not hard to figure out, just that it does not play well with the Miata wiring that is in the car.
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I imagine it will be, but compared to not having any wipers at all, this is a step forward. Now I wont have to think twice about the weather before I take the car out.
They are supposed to have park function, but as wired they do not seem to work. It took a bit of effort to make the wiper motor speeds work with the Miata wiring because the motor wants positive signals from the colums stalk. The Miata sends ground signals. I used relays to get two of the speeds to work. No intermitent function so that also sucks.
It would not be terribly difficult to use the Miata wiper motor as the basis for replicating the cable drive; just some flat steel plates and a plastic guide. Then it would be plug and play.Next year, moved on to AC and that should keep me busy for some time and budget.
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Jan 27, 2022 14:27:42 GMT
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As mentioned, I am going down a checklist of things that need to be done on the car to make it a more refined project; little stuff that does not seem to matter as much when you are wanting to just drive the car at the first "end" of the project. Today's task was the wipers. I bought a system that works much the same as a lot of British cars: a flexible cable that drives a pinion at the wiper post position. It is a universal system that works in principle. The general principle is a crank-wheel that drives a push-rod that pulls and pushes on the cable so it mores inside of a rigid guide tube that is anchored at both ends by tube flairs in a slot. Simple enough. Where it falls apart is that the black lid is also holding the connecting rod and the end of the rigid tube's flair. The problem is that it clamped down on the connecting rod and did not clamp down on the tube flair. So if adjusted so that the connecting rod can move, the flared end of the tube would come out of the slot. This was fixed by cutting a hole in the lid in the shape of the drive mechanism to make overhead clearance and adding a 1/8" strip of flat bar to the inside of the lid over the flair locating slot so it is trapped when the lid is tight Fortunately the required overhead clearance was just under the thickness of the lid so a piece of tin welded over the hole does a good job of holding the push-rod. In hindsight, I might have been ahead to try and adapt one of the MGB systems that I had laying around, The one thing this offered was an adjustable sweep angle so it can be tailored to different applications. What is does not have is a park function.
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Last Edit: Jan 27, 2022 14:32:06 GMT by bjornagn
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Jan 17, 2022 15:27:14 GMT
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Thanks for the update, I loved this build. Not to worry, these things are never-ending so as a project there will always be something to do. Thing is that a lot of what is left is details like rattle and squeek chasing and other stuff that is more in the name of comfort. Does not make for very interesting post. The next "Big adventure" will be getting the AC working. I think I have all the big parts but have never fabricobulated a system myself. I imagine the end result will be nice cause I will do it twice! Wishing a better driving season to all of those who have followed this so far! Pete
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Been a while since I gave an update on this project. The car has been on the road all the time. Use has been curtailed like all things due to the Covid thing going on so not as many shows or treavel opportunities as I had anticipated. Chassis-wise the car has been a home run. Looks like an old car but drives like a modern car. The drive-train has been a bit of an on-going project as it has never lived up to its potential or my expectations. The latest shop effort over the winter has been to sort the gearbox and an oil leak at the rear of the engine. A new T5-Z gearbox with a 2.95 first gear and a speedy sleeve at the rear of the engine were installed. Ordinary, I would wait until winter was over to drive the car, but since it was nice warm -3C and sunny with dry roads, I could not resist a test drive. I can confirm that the T5 Z is a home-run improvement over the last 3 boxes that I had. The oil leak is gone, making this the first dripless classic I have ever owned, Yay-speedy sleeves. Another recent addition was a wide-band AFR gauge. I got used to this data point with the aborted Fitech, and it is a godsend when trying to dial in any carburetor. Hopefully this year will settle down and I can extend the range of my roaming with the Molvo.
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Last Edit: Jan 17, 2022 0:35:40 GMT by bjornagn
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It is still moving along. The frame is under the body to make sure that it will fit the envelope. It does, just. I got sidetracked by the Riley that needed some rust remediation (posted here) plus the Molvo ( if any recall that adventure) got a new cam, intake manifold and carburater. My partner in crime is just getting his sub $2000 MGB V8 on the road. Hi is racing winter to get first drive. Then once the weather is too cold to work in his shop, we move into my nice warm shop for the winter and work on this. The piece on the top right is going to be the upper strut mount, It had to fit inside the body with the strut straight up. It will. Still need to determine the exact height so it can be welded in place.
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I don't dislike that solution, but from a "Clean lines" look I think that modern cars got it right with the flush gas filler door.
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Oct 24, 2021 23:39:31 GMT
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in real live iam process engineer, working for automotive customers like Porsche , BMW and so on. Working on interior solutions, what designers create i have to realise and to make sure it could be produced without problems. So don't design anything but work with design from others. So biggest fun i had on my project was that no one is able to tell me how it should look, thats complete the opposite from my normal work That explains your calm competency and also reassures me that you are already a step ahead of my next question which would be "Is this manufacturable and will the result be something that a home builder can execute" I have no doubt that you can pull a mold and some parts off the buck, but there is a lot more to getting it attached to a MX5. Do carry on as I am enjoying this.
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Oct 24, 2021 11:42:21 GMT
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Question:
What do you do as your day job if I may ask? I have to guess that this eye for design gets used for something else?
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And there she is, all ready to go home! Pushed the car out to wash the shop dust off. Mother nature helped with a bit of water donation, but still nice weather for October. Since all 4 wheels were off at some point during the work, I am leaving the hub caps off until I look up the torque spec for the lug nuts! Time to go find something else interesting to play with. Thanks for following along.
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Oct 18, 2021 13:54:20 GMT
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Getting closer to done on this job. Hopefully another full day and it should be finished. The RH wing put of a good fight. It had a poor fit when it arrived and was no better when offered up to the new sill. There was also damage to the wheelarch hegind the tire that might have been contributing. In the end, I am not as happy on this side as I was on the DS. I think the issue is more to do with the door but since the hinges are welded on to the car, there is not much I can do about it without opening up a long and expensive can of worms. I console myself in the fact that it is a lot better than it was,
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With the rear door installed I am calling the DS done. The doors line up perfectly at the painted body line and close better than when it arrived. Happy with the result. The passenger side sill is now welded in and the door hung. Bit of work will be needed to get the front wing to door gap just right
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Rather than finish weld the new sill on the RH side, I decided to assemble the wing and door on the LH side. Glad I did. When the car arrived, the gap between the wing and the door was enough to get a finger in between, This was actually the case on both sides and since it was not a Triumph, I thought is a bit strange. When I first offered up the front wing to the new sill, the same large gap was apparent. Not only that but it tapered from top to bottom. The solution was to cut a 1/4" piece off the front of the new sill so that the leading edge of the sill lined up with the leading edge of the door. Not sure why this was required with a factory panel? That and it always makes me nervous when I have to slice and dice a unicorn horn to make ti fit. Tp those that wonder about the bubbles and blemishes in the paint, keep in mind this is original finish and the goal here is preservation, not restoration.
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Last Edit: Oct 16, 2021 1:24:40 GMT by bjornagn
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I dare say this is over the hump now, The right hand sill is in place and the door fit was confirmed wiht the middle membrane welded in place. Closes just fine. Something yo meed to consider when doing this kind of work. The left had door is on to stay. Good thing cause I was getting tired of offering it up to check fit.
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Last Edit: Oct 11, 2021 1:50:29 GMT by bjornagn
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Got the a-post repair bit done today. Bit of fun because of the remains I had to work with for a pattern.
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