Another MX5 Project / daily

[Hexa-dB]

I got into drifting when I saw a DW demo at Japfest years ago. I never in a million years considered attempting it.
Then I started seeing friends doing it, DWYB pictures etc and decided to give it a go.
I bought an MX5, went to two drift days where I failed to even manage a proper donut in the playpens, got disillusioned and sold it (I also slid on ice into another car and started to hate it). It wasn't a very nice colour either:

Then Drift Inc started running the regular Pembrey sessions on my doorstep, I realised I never used the back seats in my Corolla so I decided to get another MX5.

Found this going cheap on Pistonheads:

Probably shouldn't have bought it as it had oil leaking, it lost a tiny bit of coolant on the way home and it had no history other than "It got a service with each MOT". Previous owner was a muppet - he'd spent literally hundreds on chrome trim/grilles but hadn't replaced the relevant seals and only did the water pump/cam belt when the garage pointed out it was noisy. Maybe I'm the muppet for buying it.

First job was to stop it leaking. It went to Gordon/G-Tec for:
- New cam belt
- Water pump
- Crank seal, cam seals, rocker gasket
- Full set of silicone hoses
- HT leads & plugs
- Filters.

I was a bit paranoid so Gordon also did a compression test and a sniffer test - all came back fine.

Then I fitted some Rokkor coilovers from eBay.de which seem pretty good to me, especially for £150. I also did some minor stuff like painting the shiny grill black, getting rid of the chunky numberplate holder and fitting a tow strap.

It wa still SORNed at this point because I wanted to get my Corolla sold.

I also ended up buying a stainles backbox in a group buy as they were reduced from £170 to £102 and I can't resist a bargain.

Excuse the rubbish iPod camera photo:

 

[Hexa-dB]

Important mods - a drift-related sticker:

(Falken edition touge.co.uk turbozilla)

I also bought a hard-top because one came up the right colour and I think they look a million times better with one fitted. Ended up being a nightmare as Paisley Freight no longer carry them and I couldn't find a cheap courier. Ended up paying a nice bloke with a van to bring it down. Cost a lot more than I anticipated but it arrived safely and still came to less than some of the ones that sell on ebay.

ANYWAY after all that I went off to my first drift day in it. A last minute decision to go to Dakota Drift & Drag at Smeatharpe. I was determined to get out of the playpens and attempt a track.

Parked up in the pits with the skankiest rear wheels ever (I literally had to brush off slugs, rotting wood and cobwebs before putting them in the car):

In my rush to get my scissor jack out from under the boot floor, I failed to bolt the floor back down tightly. Shouldn't have been too much of a problem except the same bolt holds the battery clamp...

I went off to the playpen, spun around a bit, then asked Joe to give me some tips. As he started driving, it cut out and then smoke started coming in from the boot. A marshall burned his finger trying to rip the negative cable off (and nearly ripped the terminal off the battery!) but it got sorted and patched up.
The battery still worked and I could drive 150 miles home but I didn't really want to risk any more drifting in case I made the battery worse and couldn't get home. It got me home and there was no real damage done.

Gutted.

 

[ScottHarrison]

You could get one of these to solve the battery issues
BATTERY TRAY, LIGHTWEIGHT ALLOY BATTERY BOX, CLAMP, RACE, RALLY, KIT CAR, LOCOST | eBay

 

[dacky20]

You could get one of these to solve the battery issues
BATTERY TRAY, LIGHTWEIGHT ALLOY BATTERY BOX, CLAMP, RACE, RALLY, KIT CAR, LOCOST | eBay

i used this one they are spot on and weigh nothing

 

[Awful Hero]

There is really something fun & sketchy about driving to
the track to drift. Haha my friend and I drove 11 hours
to drift, loaded down with tools, wheels, coffee, candy, and
ridiculously bad camber in two old nissans.

I honestly didn't know if we were going to make it home. Hahah
Hexa there is a good balance between how fast you'll
learn to drift and how much you like your car.
I have always felt like if was drifting a missile car,
I would have took more risk, dedicated more throttle
and tossed around more scandanavian flicks. Haha
:-)

 

[Hexa-dB]

i used this one they are spot on and weigh nothing

Hmm I may look at that. The standard clamp/tray arrangement seems pretty crap.

There is really something fun & sketchy about driving to
the track to drift. Haha my friend and I drove 11 hours
to drift, loaded down with tools, wheels, coffee, candy, and
ridiculously bad camber in two old nissans.

I honestly didn't know if we were going to make it home. Hahah
Hexa there is a good balance between how fast you'll
learn to drift and how much you like your car.
I have always felt like if was drifting a missile car,
I would have took more risk, dedicated more throttle
and tossed around more scandanavian flicks. Haha
:-)

Heh I'm starting to doubt whether it's really possible to have a daily & drifter in one. It's not easy to go full-on when you know you'll br driving it to work the next day!


Anyway... some more updates...

Fitted a TR Lane Roll Bar (properly, with all 14 bolts )

I have a harness bar to put in too but haven't got around to it. Not sure I'll ever bother putting a bucket/harness in it though.

I just managed to get the roll bar fitted before a Drift Inc day at Pembrey. Some pics thanks to Blacktop Photography (Wipeout1978 on here I think):

Can't fit a trolley jack under it so it was scissor jack all the way:

And off we go...

On my first run with a tutor I hit a frozen puddle and crapped myself as ice flew up everywhere - I thought I'd somehow shattered a window. It was icy and really slippy.

Oops, spun in front of Rhys

Oops again, accidental off roading

I think those might be bits of Stavros' diff casing

Car behaved all day and the only casualty was a jammed scissor jack.

My attempts at drifting were pretty lame but by lunchtime I felt like I was beginning to get the basic idea into my thick head. After lunch the rain started and it was a bit mental - no grip at all. Also, they decided to mix things up by running the track in reverse which messed with my head. I was knackered after a few sleepless nights with an ill toddler so after a few wet/reverse-track runs I decided to quit while I was ahead. Great day though and I learned a lot more than I did clutch-kicking in a playpen.

 

[Hexa-dB]

After Pembrey I used the car as my daily. Less than a week after my Corolla sold this happened:

That's a pipe that should be moulded into my water pump inlet. It snapped off, spraying all of my coolant out and over the engine bay. Nice.
Really hope I managed to stop before it got too hot.

Taken home on a recovery truck:

I replaced the part (had to buy the whole inlet casting - £95 )and refilled with coolant but the car wouldn't start. It started & ran to drive onto the truck, and off at the other end so I knew it couldn't be anything too serious. Tried a different battery & jump starting with no luck. Eventually got it going today after turning it over and giving the throttle a few stabs.

It now runs and drives fine once going but stalls when I come off the throttle (ie, at every junction). If I rev and release the throttle the revs drop to about 400rpm, the car shudders, hunts for a sec and then settles at 750rpm. I'm hoping this could be something fairly simple like an airlock or something that's still damp.

Starting to miss my comfy reliable Corolla T-sport.

 

[Supra Gaz]

Good effort mate, I keep eyeing up the mx5s on ebay and pistonheads to skid and keep my supra tidy. The misses might even go for it! Sounds like airlock with your engine too mate

 

[Hexa-dB]

Yep it was an airlock causing the idle thing.

Sorted the airlock and took it for a drive. Seemed to drive well, no problems when running.
Got home, switched off the engine & tried to restart and it took a while to start again.
Tried starting from a cold a bit later - it barely started and when it did, it ran like an absolute dog.

Decided to do a compression test to rule out head gasket problems and also check the state of the plugs while I was at it. Unfortunately one of the HT leads got stuck. Gave it more of a pull and this happened:

Tried to get it out with pliers and the plastic just snapped. Weirdly I can turn the remaining shaft of the lead but not get it off the spark plug. I don't think it's the plug turning because it didn't seem to unscrew.

Slammed the bonnet closed in disgust and considered torching it or pushing it off a cliff.

Bit concerned that something has happened in that cylinder to cause the lead to get that stuck.

 

[kevinLee]

The lead isn't the problem. It's turning because of the way it clamps the top of the plug. Just try and rip as much out as possible and then remove the whole plug. Replace your plugs and leads.

my ex gfs mx5 had a missfire issue, and I tried all the things that are common on mx5s to cause the missfire.

1st plugs and leads
2nd I did comp test
3rd I did the coolant temp sensor, llambda sensor and the coil pack at same time, this didn't cure it.

last thing I tried was a different ecu. They are mounted in the passenger foot well under the carpet! I THINK that it was then cured, she left before I had chance to find out

anyways try the things on the list.

your ecu could be water logged! The footwells fill with water

 

[kevinLee]

The lead isn't the problem. It's turning because of the way it clamps the top of the plug. Just try and rip as much out as possible and then remove the whole plug. Replace your plugs and leads.

my ex gfs mx5 had a missfire issue, and I tried all the things that are common on mx5s to cause the missfire.

1st plugs and leads
2nd I did comp test
3rd I did the coolant temp sensor, llambda sensor and the coil pack at same time, this didn't cure it.

last thing I tried was a different ecu. They are mounted in the passenger foot well under the carpet! I THINK that it was then cured, she left before I had chance to find out

anyways try the things on the list.

your ecu could be water logged! The footwells fill with water

 

[BillyBoy722]

Oh bollocks not looking good there dude, hope your luck changes!!

 

[Hexa-dB]

Aaaaan it's dead.

Got the HT lead out, compression test showed less than 100psi on all cylinders (varying between 55 and 95). A few months ago it read 190psi on every cylinder.

Considering either putting a Mk2.5 engine in or (more likely) selling the most expensive bits and scrapping the rest.

 

[kevinLee]

Pm me a price for the whole car as is and also any parts you might wanna sell

 

[Hexa-dB]

Pm me a price for the whole car as is and also any parts you might wanna sell

PM Sent yesterday - Interested in your thoughts, even if you think I'm dreaming

 

[Hexa-dB]

Decided to keep it and listen to Mint's advice...

(excuse the crappy iPod quality pic)

52,000 mile VVT engine to go in.

 

[Blackett]

Nice one.

 

[Hexa-dB]

I finally found some time to make a start.

Got it raised up. Slightly over the top with 4 axle stands and a couple of spare wheel propped under.

This is where I'm at. So much rust in the engine bay!

Intake piping off, coil pack off, water pump inlet off, washer bottle out of the way, radiator out, power steering pump off, intake manifold support brace removed. Exhaust manifold nuts are all loose, just holding the manifold in place for now.

New engine..

And intake manifold removed from the new engine. I suspect the one in the car will be a bit more tricky to remove...

I was going to clean up the block and maybe paint it but I'm not sure whether to bother. I may just clean it up a bit and maybe spray the rocker cover.

 

[Hexa-dB]

So difficult to find time for this between working, being on call and having two small kids.

Made some progress at last:

New engine is coming along. I've cleaned up and painted the block. Last night I fitted the gearbox to the new engine and also fitted the starter motor, thermostat/housing, water pump inlet, fuel rail & wiring and some hoses last night. Hoping to get the intake manifold on tonight.

 

[Hexa-dB]

Pictures...

Got the old engine out:

Which left an ugly hole...

After a drill-wire-brushing I painted as much rust as I could with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80:

I also did a very brief clean & applied some Hydrate 80 around the arches/suspension bits:

Painted the chassis rails & various bits of the bay with Zinc primer

I also resprayed the piece across the front of the bay as it had some bits of rust & marks

Then back to the wheel arch where I applied some Bilt Hamber Dynax UB

Then back in the bay to spray some Twilight blue & lacquer. I also painted the subframe with some random satin black paint
And I injected the chassis rails with Bilt Hamber Dynax S50.

I can't rival Cook's amazing intake manifold but I gave mine a quick polish:

And the exhaust heat-shield:

Got the new engine ready:

Engine and my bible

Engine in!