Gel Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Excellent upgrade Dave now could also be the ideal time to lubricate the callipers.....could well be the reason for the noisy brakes ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 On 3/6/2019 at 10:14 AM, Gel said: Excellent upgrade Dave now could also be the ideal time to lubricate the callipers.....could well be the reason for the noisy brakes ? Yeah, will give the calipers and slide pins a good look over. She had just had new rear calipers fitted before i bought her so these should hopefully be ok. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 So..........I have been busy! I know I'm not supposed to be working on cars or doing anything strenuous at the moment due to the heart attack, but I've been bored rigid and finally thought to hell with it, I'm doing this! So I've replaced Mindys brake discs and pads! Took a lot lot longer than it normally would (usually about an hour, took me 6 hours all in as had to keep stopping to get my breath back/have a wee break. The old discs weren't actually too bad, but better to replace them anyways. Pads weren't worn as much as expected, but the material felt weird, like it had maybe been cooked by heavy breaking or they had been contaminated, deffo felt odd. Plus they were el' cheapo pads! Old brakes below. Oh, and don't worry, that surface rust has now been checked, buffed and treated with rust treatment, and painted over for now to protect it until i redo all the underseal/dinitrol it. On with the new! Can also see the new springs, dampers and bump stops. Pass side completed below. so fronts now done, just got the rears to do now, although felt really tired today for some reason so will see how I feel tomorrow. Hopefully will be able to do them! Took her for a nice run on Monday seeing as Gayle was on a day off, brakes nicely bedded in now. Gave her a bit more stick, and by god does she handle a lot better than when we bought her. Even as a passenger, Gayle said Mindy felt really solid now, and planted through the twisties. I had her out for another blast today, and went even quicker than I have ever went with her before and can report she actually encourages you to go even quicker through the bends. Took her into town, and so much comfier than she ever was before, more relaxed to drive. Still a bit to be gained by loosening/redoing those bolts and of course the geo set up. But at least now she feels like an MX5 should, and how I remembered those mk1's feeling that i drove years ago. All is good in Mindy's world! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 Oh, meant to add, was really surprised how easy everything came apart, no siezed bolts or discs that won't come off, even the caliper pistons pushed back nice and easy. Really enjoyed working on her, and if I get told off by cardio nurse I'll just say "but hey, its therapeutic!" Gayle was fine as she knew where i was and what i was doing, was under orders to take it easy. Think she got that i needed to do this, needed to feel like.......well, like me again! Said on the day i had the heart attack that i would not let it redefine who i am or what i can do. So this really did make me feel good again, even if it did take way longer than it should and drained me of energy. Was worth it! Ps: you guys will back me up if i get Tokyo from the cardio nurse, eh chaps!? Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_broon Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Good stuff Dave, just gan canny though eh? You don't want to do yourself a mischief. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 Will do Simon. Got Tokyo from the cardio nurse, been instructed to spend no more than an hour max working on the car (and still taking it easy) per day, with a day's break in between. If I carry on the way I did above, it will take my recovery even longer so me is doing as me is told! lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 Been working away in the garage again! We had bought really rough tombstone seats a while back. They were filthy, had rips in the vinyl and looked awful, but we were going to get them retrimmed so didn't matter. Problem is, the seat bases need swapped over as the UK spec mx5 has the seat belts bolted to the seat base (so to9mbstone seats have nowhere for the seat belt to bolt on to). We decided to strip the seats down and also take the covers off to see if they would maybe clean up a bit in the washing machine. If we could get the bases swapped over, we could use the seats until we were ready for them going to the trimmers to be covered in leather. So, started removing seats.. Then stripped the covers off the seats. Hats off to Gayle, who removed all the little metal clips holding covers on (bloody hundreds of the pesky buggers!) while I held the seat firm/held cover out of the way. Cover off The seat base covers were horrible, all stained (including oil stains) and smelt of cat pee! They has been stored in a barn so anyones guess what the actual smell was! Back rest hanging up in conservatory to dry after a long time in the washing machine!! Came out really nice! Now the refitting of the covers could begin. Rather than use the clips (which were mostly corroded and busted anyways) we chose to use cable ties. Cable ties all put in place first before offering up cover. And then fitting the cover. Horrible job, and fingers are still sore! Before fitting the tombstone base cusion to the uk spec metal seat base, I rust treated them then primered followed by spraying them in satin black. Know you won't see this once fitted, but I like wee details like this done properly. Seat finally built. Note the split that I also repaired by using vinyl repair section cut from the old seats. Fitted to car........splits now repaired on both seats. This spending money has to stop! Another box arrived addressed to Mindy.......what has the wee minx been buying now?? Something very nice, that's what!! I've always loved the Nardi wooden steering wheels, but being 360mm they were too big if you were tall like me. Problem being that in order to drive the mx5, my left leg had to be at a very uncomfortable angle to work the clutch, as it couldn't fit under the steering wheel. So the wheel I bought is only 330mm. Took me ages to hunt down a wheel that has the same styling as the Nardi (spokes etc all look similar) but smaller. This one came all the way from Germany and wasn't cheap! Still, love the way it looks. Also got a Nardi horn push badge coming which will finish it off nicely. Had her out for a wee test drive, and felt weird at first with the wheel being smaller (and wood) but also because my leg wasnt trapped against the wheel anymore. There is another mod to remove a wee spacer from the column to gain another wee bit room so will be doing that too. New seats feel so much better! More supportive due to the side bolsters, but seem to have more padding too. Plus as Gayle pointed out, no more cold draft on your neck due to the space between the old seat and the headrest! Next job will be to get new speakers for the seats as the originals have disintegrated, then get it all wired up. Well happy, and again, find it theraputic to be working on Mindy again, albeit at a much slower pace. Oh, old seats and bases etc, which will be on their way to the tip tomorrow! Manky! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_broon Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Good work chief, looks like they came up really good 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 They did Simon, well chuffed. Not perfect, but then theyll be getting redone in leather anyways so least they're ready to go to the trimmers. Deffo look nicer than the previous ones! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burbleboy Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Nice project there Dave! Good to see you still tinkering away! Good project for Gail too i may add! Like those cars, never driven one, never mind driven one in anger so imagine would be a blast agree with Tom tho...needs more power! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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