MX5 Fisher Fury build diary

On the Road

2008-12-12T12:14:00.000-08:00

Mr DVLA arrived at 3.30pm to inspect the car and by 4.45 I was in their Wimbledon office. VERY helpful staff issued registration number Q 155 TYF. Home via Halfords for number plates,a few minutes sticking the plates on, Alistair mounted one of his cameras on the roll bar and off he and I went for the first drive about 6.15pm. Along Coombe Lane, literally roared onto the A3, then Parkside, the Village, Ridgway and home. Truly wonderful fun.

And that's it for this blog. We'll upload the first drive video at some point but here we are after 2 1/2 years and many adventures, experience, and far more money than I expected. Thanks for reading.

She Passed!

2008-12-05T10:23:00.001-08:00

I have to admit that I was wavering between "How on earth can I have missed anything else?" and "They'll find X or Y and it'll be another fail". But it wasn't. Almost perfunctory. Fortunately all the major issues had passed last time and this was all really tidying up. The speedo was OK and the headlights too so Malcolm signed her off. So we loaded the BMW onto Nev's trailer and I drove her home as you are permitted if insured. Fantastic sensation, very responsive, rides well exhaust glorious. Footwell cosy on a very cold day due to heat soak. Lots of looks and comments out of other drivers windows. Back axle sounds noisy but that may be nothing. Very very happy. Now she's wrapped up on the drive and tomorrow I'll give her a thorough clean. When will Mr DVLA come?

2008-12-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

I spoke to Wimbledon DVLA - there was a change in the approach from them and they now plan to come to see the car at home. I await the call! Friday looming and the weather forecast is OK but cold!

2008-11-29T10:33:00.000-08:00

One more day at the car and Nev was there too, wonderfully with bread and bacon for hot sandwiches at lunch as it is bitterly cold just now. I started off by making a better anti-chafe edge on the bulkhead loom exit then re-attached and secured the cockpit side trim. Following the format Nev had started I edged the aluminium knee roll with leatherette wrapped around pipe insulation. While bits of this were curing etc I made sure all the bulkhead grommets were secure. Next was the missed bolt on the roll bar, bending the copper securing edges on the Nylocs at the top of the uprights, and adjusting the screw on the interior mirror to stop it wobbling. Sadly too much pressure from me and it came off again so we've tried to resecure the mirror base and we'll see if that works. Once more over the SVA fail list. Other than the mirror and headlight alignment that seemed to be it. First though with this cold weather I wanted to flush the engine and cooling system which was full of rust from when the engine was left outside in the rain when taken out of the original car all that time ago. I let the water drain from the bottom hose then flushed the system from the header tank. It took ages to clear and I then flushed the radiator from the bottom and top and up the upper hose into the engine - probably blocked by the thermostat, so I flushed it up the bottom hose and that was better. Eventually the water looked fairly clear so we put in some anti-freeze. The system takes ages to fill due to my home made pipe arrangement but eventually seemed OK and was left running for a 1/2 hour. Finally with Barry and Neville's "near enough" headlight alignment idea (a line on a board) those seemed better. The offside dip still seems low but the headlight "can" can be packed out a little with washers if we need to at the test on Friday.

So is that it? We'll know at 2.30pm or so next Friday. Nev is confident enough to suggest that I make an appointment at Wimbledon DVLA late on Friday afternoon..................................

2008-11-27T22:52:00.000-08:00

Letter arrives from VOSA. Re-test will be next Friday 5th at 2.00pm at Yeading.

2008-11-21T13:19:00.000-08:00

After nearly three weeks away on business I returned today to try to finish the few jobs remaining. Neville had refilled the hydraulics and bled brake and clutch as well as fitting the mirror and new high intensity rear light. I found some spare rubber tubing and cut a length then sliced it longitudinally to form a grommet for the bulkhead wiring, tidied up the wiring under the dash per the fail sheet, padded the wiper motor and covered the ECU. Doing this I found a puddle on the drivers footwell and found that the plate I had made to cover the unused heater cut out on the bulkhead had leaked when the header tank overflowed. It can wait until after the retest and I'll remove the header tank to get a Sikaflex nozzle into the space. All that remains (we think) from the fail sheet is the knee roll padding for the base of the dash and two things we want fixed - a missing nut on the roll bar and bending the copper plates on the Nylocs at the top of the front uprights. Nev's going to try to do part of it next week between working on the Ultima and I'll go back next Saturday or Sunday for I-dotting and T-crossing and tidy up. Perhaps re-test on 1st or 2nd of December?

Saturday 1st November

2008-11-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

Neville and I worked all day to deal with the faults found at SVA. There were actually a lot more items than I had thought. Some were easily dealt with, some less so and I was very grateful for the fully equipped workshop and hoist. Things like the rear wiring grommets, the brake pipes and so on would have been very difficult without the hoist or Neville' welding skills. We must have spent 8 solid hours on it all and I went back on Sunday to try to deal with the rear lights. Nev had found a number plate light which I fitted and an interior mirror about which I was rather cautious (he fitted it later). I made a bodge of the high intensity rear light and Nev had to get a new one - less agreeable to look at but when mounted on a plate will do for the re-test. Overall it was a lot of work, much of which makes sense, but was not obvious ahead of the test.

The SVA Test 31 October 2008

2008-11-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

Here we are, all calm and collected at Yeading test centre ready for the 9.00am start. The paper work all in order and I saw that the max power setting for the noise test had been reduced by VOSA to 5800 which was encouraging. Very welcoming inspector Malcolm who started by saying that their speedometer verification equipment was US so he would have to pass us on that if all else seemed OK. The centre is mainly for HGV driver and vehicle tests but one lane is set out for SVA inspections. Those are not just for kit cars but also personal imports etc etc. Nev had brought the car up on his trailer and I had taken as many bits and pieces as I could think of following David Ellistons experience. I was very surprised when Malcolm said that kit car submissions have fallen off a lot and that they only see one every 6 weeks or so nowadays. Doesn't bode well for the industry!

First test was emissions with a warm engine. With all the issues of last week and my being away we had not really run the car since the water temp pick up was installed and there must have been an airlock in the system because as she warmed up she blew clouds of steam via the header tank outlet onto the coil pack. But that was not a test issue and once warm she passed the emissions part easily. All credit to Mazda really because we have not touched the 17 years old scrapyard-find engine other than to remove all the emissions gubbins. Then the car is driven along to an extended length hydraulic lift with steering turntables, headlight aim checking etc etc. Now Malcolm started to clamber all over the car, very thoroughly, looking from tyre rotation to steering bolts, wiring routing and was really extremely proactive, pointing out issues as he went with chafe points and so on. So much so that when we needed more cable ties he suggested that there was a B&Q next door so while Neville was adding lock nuts here and there as they were pointed out I sprinted round and picked up a pack. But he seemed to be making a lot of notes about edges and wiring / fuel lines and even though I was able to add a bit of spiral wrap here and there one thing we could not do was add grommets to points where chafing could occur. Harnesses were a question at first but passed. I was asked to press hard on the brake pedal to enable him to check for leaks underneath and in my enthusiasm pressed the accelerator so hard that I forced the pip off the accelerator cable! Thankfully it landed on the bulkhead and Nev was able to slot it back on.

After this it I had to drive the car along to the weight check and brake test rollers. Weight came out almost spot on to estimate (guesstimate actually) at 603kg without the driver. We had not had time given the other issues recently to have the car MOT'd beforehand and the headlight aim was clearly wrong but I think we had used up our time in the rectifications we had done and Malcolm did not suggest we redid them. We had also hoped for the MOT to give us guidance on the brakes etc. Once the front wheels were in the rollers I was given a meter to strap to my shoe and asked to press it onto the brake pedal to show a number of loading pressures. This gave a series of readings on their brake test equipment with variance left to right and I was a bit concerned since I had re-built the calipers myself. However we passed all the brake tests with flying colours. Next Malcolm drove the car out into their road test area and ran some figure of eights to check the steering self centering (fine) then an emergency stop from a speed I forget - again fine. Then I was asked to drive round to the other side of the test centre where the car was parked in the middle of an open area and the noise test equipment set up. We passed that with 94.8 decibels. (It was the first time I had been able to drive the car for more than 30 yards on tarmac and it really felt great).

Then there was a longish wait while all the data was entered into a computer and when Malcolm came out it was a fail and what looked a long list of points. However he quickly pointed out that the car is basically fine but that the chafe points, the aim of the rear fog lamp, proximity of reflectors to rear side lights, interior mirror wrong type and so on have to be fixed before we can get a pass. The re-test will cost £38.00 and we can arrange it directly with Yeading.

So it was back onto the trailer (and while doing so a youngster passed calling out "Wicked car Mister!") and back to Oakhanger. We decided to check the speedometer against Nev's GPS now that we knew the car was basically safe so set off down the local road (private of course) and I drove as close to 30 as I could for a mile or so while Nev sang out the actuals - we were within 2 mph below indictated 30 which is perfect. The car is very sensitive to steering inputs!

Then off for a discussion and a pot of coffee in front of the fire in the local. Neville very splendidly agreed to come and spend Saturday with me and we would blitz the rectifications. And indeed we got a huge amount done yesterday - my muscles tell me so! Nev really is a mine of knowledge and gets things that would take me days and three retries done in no time. There are a few things left:-

the fog light aim,
number plate light (don't buy the LED type until post SVA),
a couple more grommets needed on the front bulkhead,
lower dash roll,
wiper motor and ECU to be wrapped,
a nyloc on the roll cage mount which the SVA missed but we'll fit,
bleed the hydraulics because we had to re route the reservoir pipes,
interior mirror and so on

I'm not sure when it will be best to book it. I've a lot on at work over the next 2 weeks or so.

Build up to S (evere) V (endor) A (ggro)

2008-11-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

It all got pretty frantic - but for Neville, not so much me. We had both been pretty relaxed about the SVA date of October 31st and both felt that we would be OK. But suppliers can be a mixed blessing and poor old Neville got caught right in the middle............. I have rarely met anyone who can be so calm in a fire storm, especially since Catherine and I in delicious ignorance of what was to come pushed off for a 30th anniversary holiday. That story is all his and I'll leave it to him to tell the tale.

Neville's Tale:
TW3

The elder generation reading this may remember a satirical Saturday night program called that was the week that was…it was renamed TW3 for ease.. A fledgling Peter Cook and Dudley Moore often appeared; they went on to great comedy.. Something like the week leading up to the fury mot…

All had been going well with the SVA preparation. We had a few electrical gremlins to sort and most importantly needed to fit the screen and seat belts etc.

I spent quite a long time calculating the pulses per mile from the little gizmo id made, then tried to program the vapor speedo….
I gave up and phoned the Vapor company, reset the man said, I’ve tried I replied but it won’t. Press all three buttons he said…..it didn’t say that in the manual…..,it still didn’t work,….have you got it wired direct to the battery,? Wiring modded .., still wouldn’t calibrate, replace internal battery…what internal battery…remove dash remove speedo ,discover internal battery…flat… The local AA man arrived and had a new tiny battery on his van! Fantastic..Fit new battery replace in dash ,re affix dash board..Press all three buttons…nada..Phone firm ..Did you reset speedo by pressing little button grrrrrrrrr remove dash, remove speedo, and press reset. Replace dash … press all three buttons…nada…… grrrrrr phone firm didn’t I say disconnect from car battery… sorry…grrrrrrrr

Spent the next 2 hours going through calibration routine and finally got the sort of reading I was looking for.
Saturday morning..
Took Gloria out in the car for lunch turned on the sat nav to work as my mobile phone blue tooth thingy,,
Drove a couple of miles and uttered an expletive deletive…why didn’t I think of cross calibrating the vapor unit with my sat nav, well I thought if I had a windscreen to attach it too…..
Sunday

At Mallory Park with David Hall racing the Firenza

Monday
Waiting for the windscreen man to arrive… of course he didn’t and I spent some time removing the jubilee clips from the steering rack and modding the bonnet to clear the wings. Also Velcro’s and glued carpet over sharp edges. Finished the bonnet catches etc
Tuesday
After much phoning screen man arrives….2 hours later he departs… screen not fitted… you have to jig it up he said..What’s that I replied..You know jig it up… you could remove the body and bend it to fit the screen, I could get you another screen I could grind this one down ..I was losing my cool… it seemed an age but in the end I asked him politely to leave before I got annoyed…. There was a lot more to this but the 9 pm watershed may come into play…
Called another screen company but they couldn’t do it till the following week… called all the firms locally ,one in Guilford said bring it along.
I spent quite a time making up bits of 2 by 1 and pushed the screen aperture into the closest position for screen fitting. I then mixed up a large amount of glass reinforced resin stuff and squeezed this into the void under the screen frame and let it set overnight.
Wednesday am carefully removed my bits of wood one at a time and filled more void with glass fiber.

mid-day trailered the fury up to Guildford, can you leave it overnight…Ok says I ,dropped the trailer at the yard, picked up senior management and drove to Bath to get some MGB bits…another story…
Thursday morning took the package that arrived in the post ,which I assumed was seat belts into work (assumed ,makes an ass out of you and me)and hooked up the trailer, drove to Guildford and collected the car with screen fitted……yeeee haaaaaa.
Back to workshop and undid seat belt package, wrong… not seat belts but soft edging ..Phone seat belt firm..Seat belts with you this morning sir..Phone Glo no seat belts grrrrrr.
Glo phones at 11 seat belts here! Drive home collect seat belts, get to workshop open package.. Seat belt singular not plural..Grrrrr phone seat belt firm get one more to you next week sir..grrrr I politely explained the error of his ways and said id collect from Hastings later that day… must have worked coz he said it would be ready in an hour!…Carried on with other Fury jobs until about 2,when I said I was off to Hastings Chris, one of the other lads asked what for, I explained the situation and he said he’d get his wife to collect for me! But id still have to get to Brighton to collect from her…it’s a long story….Ok back to the workshop by 6pm,fit final belt and fit seat etc fit fire extinguisher and mirror, and a hundred other things… load up for Friday am

Friday am early start ,drive to SVA at Yeading… I’ll let Neil take over from here……Nev

2008-10-16T23:18:00.000-07:00

The tiredness in Tokyo turned out to be food poisoning or suchlike. With a weather eye out at all times for "facilities" I caught an earlier flight down to Hong Kong on Saturday. By mid afternoon I knew I was ill and with the kind help of Adrian, his wife Christine who was a nurse and the hotel, I hunkered down to let it pass. By Tuesday morning I could cope with the dry toast and water and managed the one vital meeting of the HK end of the trip. Then I lay low until mid evening in my room, went out to the airport and flew home. BA flat beds upstairs and quiet on a 747, I love you. We're now Friday early morning and the head-, muscle and other aches are much less.

On my return I found David's excellent pedal rubber, the grille mesh, wiper arms and gear knob waiting, all exactly as ordered. Neville has organised the tyres for today and seems to have got a great price and I'll go over on Saturday and Sunday and get some work done.

2008-10-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

Friday evening in Tokyo and I'm finally on my own, frankly jiggered. Catherine sent a text to say that VOSA has confirmed the SVA on Friday 31st but now at 9.00am. Bit tricky as C & I are going away for a 30th anniversary break in the sun that week and don't get back until the evening before!

Finished some work and so before heading downstairs for a quiet meal I phoned Nev with the news. NO problem says he, we're on track, windscreen going in next week, tyres being sorted, bits of trim being done, will get an MOT ahead of the SVA etc. I'm also told that various parts have arrived at home and David Elliston is very kindly sending some pedal rubber. I've got to go to Hong Kong in the morning and will get some great hill walking on Sunday with friends before heading into China but I think I know what I would rather be doing at this stage of the build!

2008-10-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

As Catherine had to go out I went back to the car this afternoon. First task was to fill the tank as it said empty on the gauge. But petrol made no difference and a couple of odd things were not working - the Vapor was not reading rpm or water temp, fuel gauge nothing and indicators making funny clicks and burps. I thought it was an earth but as I hunted about under the dash I found a black / red wire from the Sierra loom disconnected and with bare wires. I must have pulled something out but I would rather Nev had a look as he is rather more conversant electrically. The engine ran fine and the lights all work.

Then I took an executive decision, fired up the compressor and took the air hacksaw to the front section of the inner wings since the headlight cans are stone and water proof anyway and are the only thing there. Bingo, no more rubbing. Next I tried to fit the males for the loose cover press studs to the seats. But, or so I first thought, Cranbrook / Fisher struck again - the press studs are for fabric not 2mm fiberglass and so thought new ones are needed. However bumbling around when I got home a light went on - I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to put a screw or rivet through the hole in the male and mount them on the seat surface. If that's correct, apologies Cranbrook.

Finally I dismantled the steering mount and the airflow meter bracket and painted them with blackish Hammerite, then I took a tube of metal polish to the engine bay and cam covers etc, then finally reassembled everything. I think it looks really nice but I may be biased.

There is still a "to do" list. While I am away Neville is going to get windscreen fitment, tyres and harnesses arranged. He also has solutions for the interior - old carpet held in place with Velcro until the SVA after which I can decide on the final finish. Last night I ordered from ebay sellers mesh for the grille, MX5 gear knob (had thought we had one) and Mini windscreen wiper arms. Then from Car Builder Solutions gear lever and handbrake gaiters as well as sealant strip to go between body and bonnet. I forgot to add a stick on interior mirror to the CBS order so emailed them in the hope that they can add it. I'll need to find some sticky backed rubber or something to go on the pedals.

2008-10-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

When I got to the car yesterday it was terrific to see the progress Nev had made redressing my wondrous wiring challenges - he had made up a new loom for each of the rear left and right lighting sets and fitted a switch to operate the rear fog light. Headlights work now as well! Plus, big bonus, he had identified a redundant outlet on the engine at the rear of the block, high up, which Mazda close off with a rubber cap. When removed, all the water fell out so by using a small length of hose and taking the temperature sensor itself out of the housing that Vapor supply he was able to fit the sensor to the water temp function on the digital speedo. Really really neat. There is also a fallback wire on the bonnet pull now.

My first task was to use the self adhesive Velcro I had bought to secure the ECU behind the dash - I may add a bit of foam too - as well as the strip of Velcro along the dash top to hold it in place but make it easily removable. Next was refitting the horn push. With age it had become a bit lazy so remained piercingly "on" when pressed in some segments. I tried WD40, packing it out, but Nev's suggestion of some small springs in the holes in the seat under the push worked. I used a bit of sealant to hold them in place while fitting the push itself. Next I had to remove the left side pod to fit the rounded end trim on the exhaust. All the fixing screws came out easily enough but the pod itself was reluctant. It was only after half an hour of wiggling that it came out without damage and I could see that a piece of adhesive tape, used in the body "fit" and left in place by none other than me, was holding pod to upper body. Once removed, it was simple and I cleaned up the chassis rails etc before drilling and fixing the trim with a self tapper after having put some copper ease on the pipe itself in case I have to remove the trim later. I also put copper ease on the screws etc that are vulnerable to water ingress when refitting the side pod.

To address the issue of the front wheels rubbing on the wheel arch liners we had agreed that jubilee clips to restrict the travel might do it. Here is a task that you want to delegate. I put the car up on axle stands and Nev explained how the rack is arranged. So I loosened off the boots, opened a jubilee clip and saw how to fit it. But I smashed my left wrist while at school and have little power in the grip so clamping the jubilee clip end into the screw track with my left hand while aiming a screw driver with my right, all in a position circus contortionists would balk at took ages. Ages, and I needed to get help from Nev. Then you do it all again on the other side! Note to self, if re-doing this remove rack first. And the wheels still rub on the inner arches but Nev and I could see a simple fix for this since the only item at the front of the arch is the headlight can and that is a waterproof plastic can that does not need protection.

I'm off the Asia for 10 days tomorrow but the windscreen fix and new tyres are things I could not risk so Nev will get his suppliers in in my absence. I wonder if I could get a pass for this afternoon after church?

2008-10-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

Letter from VOSA asking for more details and a surprisingly friendly remark that I seem to have quoted too high an engine speed. I've done a little more research and found a reference to 5500 as max power and another to 5800 with "a flat power curve thereafter" so sent that off with various copies of receipts and photos that they requested.

2008-09-28T01:03:00.000-07:00

Nev's at Spa with the Lotus Cortina and I'm taxiing luggage to University and belatedly weeding. May get to the car next Saturday. I've asked the oracle (well the Sylva Chat List) about tyres and the general consensus is Yokohama AO21R for all round road use, price and wear and the Avon CR500 for similar performance, better wear. Wing mirrors arrived, ugly but E marked and I'm trying to get a "to do" list together.

2008-09-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

As I expected, Nev has been able to find the wiring issues and all the lights now work correctly etc. He left a message yesterday about this and also that the oil pressure gauge is working with the T piece we found - 50psi at tickover. The water temp sensor needs inserting into the top hose, connecting to the digital speedo and then that should be it for the instrumentation. We need to arrange several other chunks of work like adjusting the pedal travel, the body strengthening, trim and so on plus of course the tyres, limiting the steering rack travel, etc etc.

2008-09-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

So wot'll she do? It depends on the calculations used but it looks like 120.5mph at 6500rpm. Nev tells me that below 20mph/1000rpm it's an accelerative gearing, so frankly, it should be Yummy. And the die is now cast - I've sent off the SVA forms and my cheque for £190.00 and asked for the 31st October, in the afternoon, at Yeading near Hayes. Nev spent Saturday and much of today on the car and feels he is getting to the seat of some of the wiring issues.

2008-09-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

Power - Well it was officially 115bhp @ 6500rpm so I'll have to use that. Top gear ratio was 0.81:1 and final drive was 4.3:1 on 14" wheels. My final drive is, but need to check, 3.89:1 on 13" wheels. So wot'll she do?

2008-09-16T00:49:00.000-07:00

Nev phoned last night to say that the starter motor was refusing to disengage. This could be starter motor but I had the same thing a few weeks ago and solved it by fiddling with the grey Ford connector from the Sierra ignition barrel to the loom. Nev thinks this is probably the brass contacts in the barrel itself and this may be affecting several things, or somehow linked to the newly connected demisters which also pull power via the ignition barrel. I also spoke to Tifosi about getting a replacement instruction manual for the Vapor speedo. No problem, could not be more helpful and will either email or post one.

Isn't she lovely?

2008-09-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

I fitted the bonnet release cable, although leaving a safety release as gently but firmly suggested by Nev after he had to dismantle the whole thing last week when the temporary wire came adrift. Then I plumbed in the windscreen washer piping and tidied up various bits of wire, which included the rev counter lead from the Vapor speedo unit which I wrapped around No 3 plug lead - seems to work exactly as planned. Then I decided to bite the bullet and change the O rings on the fuel injectors in the hope of stopping the petrol leak from one cylinder. I nearly crashed and burned on one of them when one O ring that seats the injector in the cylinder was reluctant to come out. I think I damaged it a bit and it really refused to be removed, so I decided that the ones that seal the fuel rail from the injector would be changed and the other left. Once I had reassembled it all it seems to be OK. I left it to idle for 15 minutes while I had some coffee, then decided to try it out in the yard. There was a lot to clear up and cables to check, plus a seat that would not go back properly until I realised it was the wrong side. But after an hour or so I was satisfied, had checked the steering bolts and wheel nuts, checked the tyre pressures (19psi all round) and manoeuvred out of the workshop. The front wheels rubbed badly on the bonnet on full lock which I thought at first was simply the bonnet leading edge but it's not, it's the wheel arch liners and they will be tricky to reposition. However for the rest, it was great. The engine is really smooth now and responsive and the car just seems to want to launch itself at the road. I had seen that the discs were a bit rusty so I made a dozen or so emergency stops and so forth. The car seems to stop in a straight line and I JUST WANT TO GET MY SVA AND GO!

Things to do include several minor electrical glitches and missed things. The handbrake warning and ignition lights are on, albeit dimly, when the battery is connected. The rear indicators have stopped working, as has the number plate light. The headlights don't work on "dip" but do flash. I have no high intensity rear light switch. The crack to the drivers side of the cockpit (top of where the door would be) is needing urgent attention. The clutch pedal needs adjusting to be level with the other two pedals. But it's coming on!

2008-09-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

Good day, starting with incorporating the switches for the demisters into the tight space on the removable panel. Took much longer than expected, then I shortened the wires that lead to them to tidy it up. Nev arrived and we got stuck into making the new instruments work. I confess bafflement regarding positive and negative earths, all I know is that after some fiddling the fuel gauge now reads! Actually 1/4 full.

During last week Nev has made a binnacle for the warning lights in the centre of the dash and rather fine aluminium trim to tidy off the lower edge. Then I made three aluminium brackets to support the dash top, and glued some foam on the top of them to prevent it drooping. After that it was carefully measuring and cutting out the gaps in the dash top for the demisters themselves, the cutting being with a neat pneumatic oscillating saw Nev has. The dash top will be covered and held in place, either with recessed screws or Velcro, but I think Velcro may not be positive enough. I'll use Velcro for locating the ECU, which Nev has tucked up neatly behind the centre console. Tomorrow I need to fit the bonnet release cable and the windscreen washer piping. The O rings for the injectors have arrived so we'll see how time goes.

I had been trying to find out the power delivery on the MX5 for SVA assessment, but of course when I got home Alistair knew exactly where to look. Max power is at 5800rpm so that is the figure I will use on the application.

2008-09-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

David Elliston has allayed a huge fear I had about the SVA application by sending me a copy of his form. Since his website has been the source of so many useful bits of information about building and officialdom it should be reprinted as the build manual. I must have turned to it 50 times. I can't quite see how such a widespread anxiety has grown up around the SVA forms but Hey Ho. The new gauges for fuel and oil pressure have arrived, with engine block adaptor, as has the bonnet release cable.

2008-09-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

Now that Catherine's' foot is better and she'll be out all weekend I plan to go down to work on the car next weekend. Neville called while I was in Sweden yesterday to say he had identified the correct fuel / oil pressure gauges and the relevant engine fitting at Europa Spares so I ordered those by phone. The ones I bought all those months ago are of course surplus now and out of guarantee but I'll sell them - not the most expensive mistake I've made in this build but you do wish that the Fisher build manual joined up the odd dot - this time on Midget tank senders and Sierra looms and positive vs negative earths! I've also ordered a bonnet release cable and new O rings for the injectors - I plan to change all 4 sets while the fuel rail is off. Nev has been rivnutting the tunnel top and says that the switches on the demisters can be set behind the wheel or the dash panel so will be OK, hence I just have to shorten the cable runs to tidy them up behind the dash.

2008-09-06T09:35:00.001-07:00

Another day at the car! I started by re-doing the stupid mistake I had made last week, misunderstanding Nev's point about where the rear fog and reversing lights should go. Then I secured the rear lights and sealed them. Next I fixed the high level brake light properly having simply taped it last week - much harder than you would think. Finally I moved on to the demisters. Nev and his assistant had remade the dashboard in a much more robust sandwich material and covered it, plus making a removable insert. You can see above how it fits. The demisters came from Car Builder Solutions and are really clever and very simple. They wire into the spare unfused yellow leads from the Sierra ignition barrel and can run hot or cold, pulling over 160W each. They have adjustable vents and can easily swivel / rotate to point downwards, so the one on the passenger side (photo on left) can be adjusted to keep the passengers' feet warm so long as I leave the space below clear. The switches are pre-wired and will have to be fitted behind the steering wheel being definitely not SVA OK. I also tidied up some wiring. Very productive day.

2008-08-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

Catherine, broken ankle notwithstanding, daughter uncontactable in Northern Sierra Leone, me away endlessly at present, suggested I have a day at the car. Brilliant! Nev left the key and a list of suggested tasks which was really helpful. From that list I swapped the reversing light and fog light (typical me to confuse the wiring) then fitted and wired the number plate light. After that I spent a couple of hours tidying up the rear wiring looms and finally decided to tackle the high level brake warning light. This meant drilling the roll bar to take the wire then trying to feed the wires round to the pre-drilled hole Nev had made low down near the boot floor. However something solid is in the way so I poked a stiff wire down the other side of the roll bar and despite some resistance decided to make the exit hole again. That took ages (drills or steel quality?) then feeding the wires to enable me to hook them and get them out through a 10mm hole was an agony. Eventually it got done and I connected positive and earth, switched on the ignition and had the satisfaction of seeing it light up first time when I pushed the brake pedal. I spent the rest of the day tidying up the looms, wrapping them in protective spiral and tape and using cable ties to make it neat and safe. The rear looks a lot neater now though I must still securely fit the rear lights and the rear loom runs. Nev has re-done the air intake and the engine does run much better. I ran it until the fan cut in a couple of times. When I get a chance I must re fit the injector on No 4 cylinder which is still leaking.

I've never seen Nev's workshop so neat! Apparently he now has a girl assistant, which explains things. Drawers are even labelled!

2008-08-24T00:37:00.000-07:00

I spoke with Nev on Friday when I got back. He's been unable to make any progress really.

2008-07-29T12:19:00.001-07:00

Although I don't see how I can get away to help, the next best thing was hearing from Neville that they are making progress, air intake remounted, engine restarted and general tidying up. His electrical chum is coming soon to fix the wiring and so on. Hopefully I'll get down to see it by mid-August!

2008-07-05T23:31:00.000-07:00

I still don't see how I'm going to make any serious progress for the next few weeks, or thereafter if I have to keep going to Oakhanger. I've got so much going on at work with visitors, overseas trips and so on. I'll have to speak with Nev and ask him to finish the car electrically and mechanically as a specific customer project, then get it back here and trim etc here. I'll give him a call. On the one hand it feels like I'm wimping out but there is no way this is going to be allowed to languish like so many other unfinished projects I hear about, and it will be forever a work in progress even after SVA.

2008-06-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well it's now 16th June, I've not been able to get to Oakhanger for ages and it'll be at least another three weeks till I see the car again. Nev cheered me up by describing a speedo pick up he's built to take the output from the MX5 gearbox speedo cable output rather than propshaft or diff. When even Nev describes it as having "this bit here and this bit there then a clever little bracket to the whizzo and some Sikkaflex to hold the wozzit" you know Henry Royce would have been proud. Nev's going to get some of the outstanding stuff finished whilst I'm away. Wouldn't mind getting to SVA before the weather closes in. I'm going to miss his car show in aid of the hospice too which sounds a great idea but I'll buy a ticket and he'll show the car.

2008-06-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

Managed to get a few hours and saw the roll bar. Nev's done a great job. He's also drilled it ready for the high level brake light. We looked at the pick up for the speedometer and he's going to have a go at fitting the pick up. I had a better electrical session, getting Sierra wheel re-assembled, the horn working, the head of the digital speedo wired up, the rev counter function working. However although the separate fuel gauge worked, it reads full which I don't believe. Could be wrongly wired, but I checked several times, or could be the sender is just stuck. Or maybe the sender is not connected? I just thought of that. And the temperature gauge in the speedo needs plumbing in later but not urgent. I trimmed up the dash panel too so maybe some good progress today.

2008-06-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

And painted and finished today!

2008-06-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

Spent the weekend driving, collecting Emma from University and all her stuff from halls. Did not get to car but got great photos from Nev of the roll bar, for which he has fixed stay bars.

2008-05-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon was really nice after all the rain so as a break after Hong Kong last week I drove the car into the yard to work on the warning light cluster. How frustrating can things get? With benevolent support from Nick, Nev's next door neighbour, I wrestled the indicators into life and the high beam light. But the wiring diagram was not clear - to me anyway - and I could not get the ignition light to work. I spoke with Nev who was at Brands Hatch supporting the Lotus Cortina and he seemed pretty relaxed about it. But I remained sceptical and a bit demoralised because it seems that everything I tackle is a challenge. Then when I get it right somehow my finished wiring goes awry and I blow half a dozen fuses! I had to work on the Bank Holiday so I took today to go down to the car. Nev was at his best, avuncular when needed, intervening when needed and letting me pretend I had worked things out. I nearly blew my own fuse when we realised that I had to undo most of the engine bay loom to trace the alternator wires but the end result was a much cleaner loom, simpler wire routing and all the warning lights working, plus the reverse light connected and the handbrake warning light circuit. I think the high beam switch on the indicator stalk is broken but I have a spare. And just to prove it.....

Nev is going to weld the stays on the roll bar in the next day or so which is the last "engineering" job - we hope.

2008-05-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I got the rear indicator / brake / side lights connected properly, including the brake light switch at the master cylinder and ready to secure in place. The reflector rings and internal fog / reverse lights needed securing differently and I'll need to get something suitable. At least the main ones work.

Then I switched to the dash indicator lights. I could not get them to work at all and after a long struggle gave up. Need to speak to Premier Wiring and do some circuit testing I think. Nice note from Nev - "it's starting to look like a car". Finally woke up Cranbrook today so will go down and collect windscreen, seat covers and VIN number tomorrow!

2008-05-11T01:15:00.000-07:00

During the week the aluminium header tank and cap arrived so yesterday I had a word with Neville regarding where, pipe runs etc and we ended up with it central on the scuttle, raised slightly on 1" aluminium section to keep the air above the highest point of the water in the engine. It was all a rather long drawn out process trying to get pipe runs to fit and what I've ended up with is a little strained on one bend but once filled we started the engine (first time in 3 months or so) and let the water flow until hot, topping up as it settled. Once full, with the fan running to show it was hot, we shut it down and left it to cool for an hour. Then we repeated the exercise and have left it overnight. I'm going over later so will have a look to make sure all is well. I had found some key components by shopping about, a D Tweeks inlet pipe with branch suitable to go on the end of the plenum and have a feed from the idle control valve, demist fans, a "budget" horn, some new silicone hose to replace tatty bits, a couple of electric bits and so on which will arrive next week. Also pleased to discover that for SVA the handbrake switch can be wired to the brake test light and save a switch on the dash. At the end of the day I was rather dumb when trying to complete the rear lights, trying to fit bayonets back to front and so on and ended quite frustrated with myself but compared to some of the negotiations at work just now it don't half take your mind into other realms!

2008-05-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

It's exactly 2 years since I first saw the Fury at Stoneleigh. The JPSC are having a get together up there but I'm not going until the car is SVA'd. On Bank Holiday Monday I got the indicators and hazard warning lights working using the relay and connectors I found on Sunday plus I tidied up some wiring. We found that we had run out of spade male terminals (why are there always more females? I'm not complaining mind) so I moved on to the dash area. I had decided from reading other blogs and posts that a heater is probably unnecessary due to the heat soak through the footwells so we'll go with hair dryers for demist. I therefore cut a sheet of 2 mil ally and blanked off the heater gap in the scuttle which you can see above. I also decided to buy a CBS aluminium header tank, and that can sit on the scuttle where the heater was going to go, leaving plenty of room for the electrics. Lastly I started getting the indicator and light stalks refitted, then the dash. The dash blank needed widening at the steering column area. I then tried fitting speedo, warning lights and instruments but the warning lights proved invisible behind the steering column so I cut out a space where the heater would have been. Not very neat so far but I'll tidy it up next time. Have to get side repeater connectors from a scrappy. It appears they are standard and SVC don't sell them.

2008-05-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

A day of electrics. I started by fitting the headlight rim retaining clips, easier than it seemed once you identified where they should go. Then I switched to the back of the car. Last week I decided I did not like the lighting format and would have needed a reflectors set as well. SVC had a combination reflector rim with insert reversing light for one and fog for the other so i ordered those and will return the others once I'm sure these are OK. It was back to taping, measuring etc then drilling out the third pair of holes. The hole saw that had hidden last week was only 79mm and I needed 93mm for the new holes. Nev had a pneumatic deburring tool that made life great, plus this time I also knew where the coarse rasp file hid. Once that was done I switched to wiring in the headlights and indicators at the front. To my delight a sidelight worked and Nev and I worked our way through fuses and relays and got the dip and main lights and intermittent wipers going. It's not straightforward even with the Premier instructions! I need a relay for the indicators and hazard system but the hazard column light now works.

Then I switched to the rear lights, eventually routing the rear loom under the rear frame, round the tank and back in via the boot sides. By the time I had got the wires identified and ends stripped and female connectors clipped on it was time to stop.

I need the relay mentioned, some male and female connectors, connector blocks and I need to find out if I need an extra heat sink for the rear indicators. Good day!

2008-04-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Got to Oakhanger about 2.00pm. First job was to jack the car up and trim the bonnet return that was catching on the fan housing after the bonnet was repositioned. Nev's big jack would not fit under the car, the hoist was broken and so I used his older small jack. I got the car up OK and axle stands under the frame. Then I chalked out a line to cut, used an angle grinder with a sanding disc and cut it to shape. Letting the jack down I failed to spot the worn ratchet drive on the hydraulics and when it did catch the release the car came down with an almighty bang. I am concerned that the sump bottomed on the steel channel between the hoist posts but hope it is more my pride rather than metal that is bruised.

Then I started on the headlights. As usual, working out which hole needs to be drilled where, which screw needs undoing and which not, took up a a lot of time. Once the first one was done the second took no time and my only puzzle is how the spring clip fits for the headlight rims. I'll call SVC tomorrow. Anyway here we are>

After the headlights I fitted the indicators, which can be seen above in the headlight recess, then the side repeaters. Now I was firing on all cylinders and decided to mark up the rear light positions and fit the indicators and brake / tail lights. With extraordinary care, and using tape, steel rules, spirit level, dividers, compasses etc., measure twice, mask with tape, check four times and drill, I got the offside holes perfectly aligned, then the inner nearside. The nearside outer, for the indicator light, despite being beautifully measured, and I say that with passion, coincided with the nearside boot floor wall. First thoughts were my error, but it's not. The boot floor sides are different, port to starboard. Hey ho, and as Dylan Thomas said, "Llareggyb" to be done about it. So I drilled the wall out too and started on the hole. Of course I had been unable to find the 80mm hole saw, (it appeared when I was tidying up at the end, exchanged "Hellos" with me and proceeded quietly on its way to the storage box) so I was drilling within a scribed circle prior to filing down. And the coarse rasp file too was also lurking elsewhere until later when I tidied up so I slogged away with fine file and so on. Eventually the nearside indicator seemed to fit, nearly, so I packed up and headed home. It may sound frustrating but actually the 12 hours or so I've fitted in this weekend have been great. We're getting there.

2008-04-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

One of those lovely English spring days. Just right for car building plus I'm not away on business nor committed elsewhere. May even get down after church tomorrow morning! Nev was in and so we looked at fitting the roll bar. Like many parts that bridge Kit Car Workshop and Cranbrook it did not fit. Nev had to cut off the bracing bars then I fitted and drilled the main plates. A real faff as the body as moulded is not square, as many other builders have pointed out, and I'm no engineer. Getting the thing relatively central and with enough space for the washers and nuts to miss the frame was a nightmare but after several hours it was done. I then started fitting the seats after Mark Fishers' guidance and seeing his own car at Detling. The front of the fibreglass moulding sits in front of the chassis cross rail and is drilled through in a couple of places to hold it. You then climb into the tub and sit down to make sure that the height of your eyes misses the windscreen frame and then pack up the seat base - in my case a piece of wood about 1" thick to get the height right for your eye line and to spread the load (you). I drilled through the seat base and wood spreader at the seat angle and screwed it down. Result - a very nice driving position for my 5ft 10 inch height! Then I ground off the sides of the passenger seat until that slotted into the tub and fitted that too. Finally today I refixed the bonnet so that it does not leave such a gap at the scuttle and sits flat on the side pods. One side pod is a little out fore and aft but this is a Fury, and the chassis body combination a KCW / Mark Fisher / Cranbrook hybrid at that, so it will do. Now the bonnet butts onto the fan housing when lifted but I'll fix that tomorrow.

2008-04-13T09:51:00.001-07:00

Neville has sent the car away for the bonnet to be painted. So I went down to the Detling Kit car show and met Chris and Steve from Cranbrook and was able to see a lot of features on a body like mine that help to determine how I'll move ahead. In addition they are thinking of making an MX5 donor version so were very interested in my car. I said I would take it down to show them when finished. I also met Mark Fisher, along with a couple of guys from the JPSC. They confirmed that the proposed SVA changes are detail only and nothing like the scare stories being bandied about involving crash tests etc. The consequence was that I ordered the windscreen, the fitting kit and, having seen them on Mark' own Fury, the removable seat covers. Expensive day.

2008-04-06T10:28:00.000-07:00

Despite the snow this morning the weather brightened up. The lights for the car had arrived so I went down and cut out the headlight section of the bonnet to accept the headlight "cans" so that the bonnet can then go and be painted. It took quite a while because I was very worried about cutting too much and having nothing to fix the lights onto. When we were fitting the bonnet we cut these partly to enable us to reach through and position the bonnet but the consequence was that there was no centre point to refer to. However after much measuring it seems OK.

I also trimmed the air intake surround, looked to see how easy it may be to fit the new expansion tank and played with the seat to see how I might fix it in position. I was also astonished when Fisher asked £75.00 each for the removable covers so I'll have a little think first.

2008-03-30T01:54:00.001-07:00

The moss in the lawn had become so invasive I put down some moss killer last weekend before going to Chicago. Unfortunately it worked well, black dead patches of moss everywhere, so yesterday became gardening day. Alistair's ultralight dayglo green track wheels had been left where I needed to rake and in picking one up I ricked my back. Got over that somewhat but no time to go down to the car so I went to the scrappy where I had found the engine instead for some part hunting. The scrappy up North that said they could send the Escort expansion tank etc has dropped out of sight so I decided a little car-focused outing would be nice. No problem for the back climbing over wrecks but when I twisted to get into the engine space on a car to unbolt the tank I found myself in agony and semi paralysed! At least I got the expansion tank and cap but this is a nuisance. And it's not as if I don't exercise.

2008-03-19T01:19:00.000-07:00

Having been a way a while I took a couple of half days to go down to Oakhanger. I was even more impressed with the bonnet than I had imagined possible. It looks as if it was always meant to be that shape and the finish is smooth. One of Neville's neighbours on the small industrial estate had said that he is superb with fibreglass and this is probably as good as it gets! The first thing I did was to drill and fit the windscreen washer nozzles to suit the planned sweep of the wipers, and to mount and wire in the washer bottle and pump.

Nev had started on the dashboard blank while I was away and I took with me the Vapor digital speedo etc, warning light strip and the round fuel and oil pressure gauges I had bought from Europa spares. He's made a removable panel so that instruments can be changed going forward and so I had to get the holes ready, pre-drill it etc.

2008-03-15T04:03:00.000-07:00

Just back from Asia and have missed the Fury a lot! Neville has kept me up to date and here is the bonnet as sent to me while in Japan. Looking very good indeed. I'm going to try to take a couple of days holiday next week in sunny Oakhanger to get on. The gauges and warning lights have arrived without the fire extinguisher, and no sign of the expansion tank from the scrappy up north. Hey ho!

2008-02-24T23:23:00.000-08:00

Ireland vs Scotland in Dublin took precedence this weekend. Goodish rugby with great Irish finishing so we lost, again. Croke Park is fantastic. Not sure when I'll get back to the car as it's a busy month in prospect. Ordered a couple of gauges from D Tweeks and found the Ford water expansion tank and cap via 247 Spares at a Rotherham scrappy. Neither have arrived yet.

2008-02-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

Neville arranged for the sun to come out today and since Andy Hampshire's Striker is on the hoist above mine light was poor, so on arrival I drove the car into the yard. First job was to trim the drivers seat shape using the sander to make it fit more easily. Then I mixed some fibreglass filler and filled the few remaining gaps in the bonnet cuts. I also had a look at the wiper wiring - it appeared that there may be a relay in the Premier wiper circuit, so I wondered if that was the cause of the non-wipe - it isn't but that was nothing to the wiring surprise we got later! Nev had had to go out on an errand and was quite a while, returning with a young lady whose wheel had fallen off (her car that is). Once he had sorted that out we turned to the wiring to try to get the dash area tidied up. I had misrouted a couple of wires so did those, then started leading Premier cables for instruments to the Mazda connections, spiral wrapping them as I went. Eventually we were left with a puzzle due to the range of colours used for the various Sierra options. Testing the headlight flasher circuit we got an odd click and the intermittent wipe actually operated. It seemed that the connections I had made at the column switches were dodgy and the wires went to the wrong stalks. However I'm not always bad at these so we tried unplugging what I had thought to be the wiper plug to swop it to the other side for the indicator stalk plug. At this point to our astonishment the engine started and it was alleged by persons nameless that I must have nudged the key. However I switched off and we plugged the stalks in again, on the correct sides. Now we had all wiper operations! I then unplugged them again and this time proved that the engine would start unaided, unprompted and without my hamfistedness when the stalks are unplugged. We got out a circuit testing unit and found that most circuits are OK and simply had to isolate what was going to be needed for my car since it has a Mazda loom and ECU controlling the engine. We then ran the wires for the engine warning lights etc to the engine and I connected the temp switch at the front, the oil pressure gauge and the hydraulic fluid warning switch to the Premier circuits, as well as getting the front lighting circuits ready run to the bonnet with plugs for easy removal - Nev says because "when" I blow the engine I'll need the access. In the meantime Nev started getting the dash blank roughly cut until the "End of Play" message was sent out by our better halves.

2008-02-03T10:04:00.001-08:00

I went back down again because Catherine was out and I wanted to finish the fibreglass inside the rear arches and rear tub to boot floor. It took about 3 hours - I put two additional layers on the most vulnerable parts of the arches where they support the rear wings of the car and where people are likely to lean. I also did the under-arch side of the plates I made yesterday. Then I emptied out the tub to get access (it's very tricky to reach) and finished off the inside of the back panel where the rear tub butts up against the boot floor, behind the fuel pipe you can see here. I also took a photo of the cooling system header tank to try to find out if I can get a pressure type screw cap for it. I brought the cap home and will shop around. You can see the mucky brown colour from the overflows! I suspect the cooling system could do with a good flush.

Then I was able to start on the bonnet bulge where it touches the engine. Neville has already cut and lifted the leading edge of the bulge by 2". Then he found a 1/4 tube of PVC section used for the edging on large vans which had roughly the right curvature. I measured how long the bulge needed to be then using the air hacksaw and a sander slowly worked a profile that will sit into the area cut out. That gave an outline and I cut out the necessary area of the bonnet. Then it was clear that it is the throttle cable mount and the idle control screw that was needing clearance and nothing else.

Once that was done we taped the two cut sections in place and I packed (very badly) the gaps with fibreglass consolidating compound. Now it will need filling to shape, matting to hold it underneath and so on.

2008-02-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

I spent a lot of time trying to finish last weeks efforts with the wiring on the right of the engine bay, It's a very "busy" area and I need to be careful to avoid the risk that SVA says wires could interfere with throttle / suspension / steering. It's looking better now. I don't seem to have knicked any wires - she still started up without problems. Then I switched to making the panels that fill in the gap between the body, the sidepod and the passenger areas just ahead of the rear wheels. I made a rough template out of cardboard then transcribed that to aluminium sheet. It is a complex curve on one side, a bend towards the bottom and a notch on the other side. I nearly, but not quite, forgot to mirror the left and right hand sides. I used Nev's electric nibbler to trim them - the edges don't need to be neat and as you can see it is sealed in with fibreglass - the metal needs to be a very loose fit to avoid stressing the body in use, it's the matting that allows some give. I rivetted the lower part to the chassis then used chopped strand mat to bind it to the car. I only managed the faces inside the tub today.

Meanwhile Neville has started building up the bonnet to cover the engine. Not pretty at this stage but it will be soon.

2008-01-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

I concentrated on getting the wiring sorted out around the battery box area and right side of the block. All the engine control wiring runs past this point and there is a lot of it. One or two wires needed cutting and rerouting and I then wrapped it all in spiral wrap. When I started on the wires in the side pod at the battery box itself I realised that I had not cleared it out properly since the brake fluid leaks - it was grungy and strewn with aluminium sprue, dropped washers etc. Anyway I cleared it and it's starting to look a bit more professional, but woe betide me if I've knicked any insulation. It took several hours for what looked nothing at all, then got dark too early to finish putting everything back and testing it.

2008-01-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

Went down with Alistair with the hope of doing some work and him having a drive. We tidied up a few earths first then started the engine which ran smoothly at first but then an odd lumpiness / misfire like the second run last week which I had put down to the very wet conditions. Then Alistair noticed steam coming from the plug lead area of spark plug 4. Drew the plug leads and found water swimming round the plugs of 1 & 4. A was very concerned, although I thought it was just condensation. Also noticed milky white inside oil filler cap which was not there before. Wondered if we had an airlock (did not want to think about cracked head). Released the cap on the expansion tank, which was bung full, and water flooded out so we let a bit more out and ran the engine with no cap on the expansion tank. There is no expansion outlet in the system I've installed and I had not thought about a pressure relief cap anywhere. The aluminium cylinder head has water cooling and we think that the pressure must have been pushing it out into the rocker cover and hence into the spark plug recess. There must have been air in the system too because as we ran it the level dropped and I had to add a litre of water before it stabilised. Now the engine ran sweetly, and idled fairly smoothly. The fan soon started to cut in and out as needed and all seems well - the milkiness even dissipated from the oil filler cap. There is a slight weep on an old rubber water pipe I have not replaced at the idle control valve and a fuel leak at the injector on 1 - I cannot have seated it correctly but that's easy to do.

Need to find a water pressure relief method.

Then I drilled the vent holes in the ends of the exhaust pod for extra cooling while Alistair fitted spiral wrap around some cables. Nev has started re-doing the bonnet and he is going up to Evesham to collect a non-runner MX5 Alistair has bought.

Delicious day today.

She Drives!

2008-01-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

Well here we are at NHP Motorsports on 12th January. The larger master cylinder and a wholly revised clutch pedal linkage worked. We repiped the brake and clutch hydraulics, I trimmed one of the seat shells to fit loosely and for the result, turn up your computer volume, see the video and hear the sound! After the first run Neville and I spent some time bleeding the brakes again (they bed in) and tightening as many nuts and bolts as we could think of. Then we took her out again! Was I excited? You bet!

2008-01-06T05:09:00.000-08:00

Well, it wasn't the slave cylinder. A long day bleeding and so on, totally unable to solve it between us. We'll try a bigger master cylinder, 0.75" instead of 0.7". And I managed to slice three fingers wide open so no oily play for a while.

2008-01-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

Entirely speculatively we wonder if the clutch slave cylinder that is the link between the master cylinder and the clutch fork may be jammed in some way - it came with the gear box from a scrapped car. You can see the brass nipple on it at the bottom of the gearbox here just to the right of the bunch of cables hanging down. I've ordered a new spare from MX5 Parts - cheaper than Autolink and much cheaper at £13.50 than a genuine Mazda part. I've also ordered heat reflective mat and contact adhesive for lining the exhaust pod. And I have a pass for Saturday!

New Years Eve 2007

2008-01-01T02:42:00.000-08:00

Well, motion under the car's own power will be a 2008 event although Neville and I tried very hard to get her going yesterday. I started by tidying the engine bay, refitting the battery tray, the airflow meter mounts etc. Then I connected the radiator fan to the Mazda wire and earthed it, using a "plug" rather than a crimped joint in case the radiator needs to come out in the future. That got me to the point in the photo below - if you click on the picture to enlarge it you can just see the short piece of silicone hose and a bolt, a trick which we learned on on Alistair's car, to close off the vacuum pipe exit at the back of the plenum chamber that normally serves the brake servo.

Now I needed to fit the triple hydraulic reservoir for brake and clutch. That has been mounted directly above the red battery isolator switch in the lower left of the photo, on the firewall and the flexible pipes led via holes drilled in the top of the side pod alongside the isolator and round to the 3 master cylinders on the face of the pedal box. Once that was done it was time to involve Neville again. He has a superb pressurised brake fluid bleeding system with a tank, a mandrel to go on the cars reservoir and a pump. Of course the triple reservoir I now have to accommodate the Mazda hydraulic clutch was a different fitting from any in his mandrel kit so we had to go back to the twin master cylinder Saab unit supplied by Fishers when I collected the brake pipe kit. The first discovery was some pipe connectors not done up properly but once that was done the system pressurised well and we were able to bleed the brakes. The rears started working pretty easily but the fronts (calipers rebuilt by yours truly) needed a lot of pumping to start working. I had visions of having to strip them again but eventually they came to life.

Nev then gave me a tidying up job to occupy me so that he could have full access and fabricate a throttle cable and mount (which we have lost in the build). We then re secured the petrol pump which was the last job to be done before she could go mobile

Excitement mounted as we turned to the clutch hydraulics which should be easy. But first we found that the circlip holding the piston in the clutch master cylinder had come loose, then after an hour involving gyrations to extract the cylinder for repairs (try upside down head first in a tiny footwell and pedal box!) we got pressure out of the master cylinder but no action on the clutch master cylinder. About this time David Hall, who owns the racing Lotus Cortina and Firenza Nev maintains arrived to take Nev out for a drink. For a bit of an ending we kept the car on the hoist, started the engine and I selected 2nd without the clutch. The wheels turned! albeit 2 feet in the air. The engine runs really well and the exhaust sounds great, although she was very reluctant to idle still - it may be simply the last very small inlet, which links to the purge control system I'm not using on the plenum chamber that is still open needs plugging but I also need to spray the plenum inlet with cleaner as recommended in the manual.

So she is going to be a 2008 baby!

The car as it currently stands!

2007-12-22T02:47:00.000-08:00

Engine Start!

2007-12-22T01:36:00.000-08:00

Well she started, of course while I was away on business! The problems lay in simple areas of the wiring that were difficult to trace because of the mixing of Mazda and Ford looms. The connections we made last week were fine. Alistair also kept reminding me that all earths need grounding on the engine loom and Neville Powell eventually found one hanging down loose under the car and attached it. He was able to hot wire the fuel pump relay to prove it worked, then with this earth connected the pump ticked into life on the key and he got a spark. Then a bit of unleaded. I had installed the fuel pump to suck not blow (in fairness to myself there was no instruction enclosed) so he reversed that. There was a slight leak at the fuel pipe to fuel rail connection I had made last spring but after that it was a matter of putting a finger over an air inlet on the fuel rail (I'm pretty sure it's from the charcoal interceptor I am not using so I'll plug it) and she started on the third turn of the key. With chipped insulation on the coil pack and with the original plugs and HT leads after goodness knows how long in a Sunbury scrapyard, mated via eBay alone to a manual box from another wreck, with an old loom from a third car, and an ECU and air flow unit from a fourth! Then mated to a Premier loom for a Sierra based kit.

Nev said she was a bit tappety at first as the oil flowed round (inevitable) and phoned me in Italy to let me listen. I went down today to have a look. It was so good to see it and hear it for myself, and the sealants burning off from inside and around the exhaust showed heat building as it should. It's a nice exhaust note, not seemingly too loud but "roary" under power.

She won't tick over yet but that may just be lack of a throttle cable to hold it at the right point on the quadrant. I'll go to the bike shop and get a cable with a suitable lug on the end.

2007-12-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

I got a pass after doing some Christmas errands. Glorious sunny day and Alistair said he would come and help, plus bring his MX5 so we roared down with the roof off (very cold) and had a wiring model. Unfortunately all my ideas failed, and the engine even shorted out on cranking now, which it did not do last week. Back to the drawing board, except that there are no drawings for mating a Ford / Mazda /Rover melange.

2007-12-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

A long day with no progress - probably due to the fact that I had forgotten that the loom from the scrappy up North had an aftermarket immobiliser that I cut out. Some key wire connections no longer exist. Spent the day tracing, unbundling, testing for continuity and gradually finding which is which, or not as the case may be.

I prefer this view!

The Engine Loom comes to Life!

2007-12-08T22:47:00.000-08:00

Amazement! After an hour or so fabricating and fitting a strap to hold the windscreen wiper motor in place Nev turned up. I fitted the FIA battery isolator switch, more as an electrical safety cut out than anything else, then completed the battery leads and earths, where the great long redundant Mazda battery lead came in very useful and was cut into practical short lengths. Nev came back and had a look then suggested we make up a fusible link between battery and earth to see if anything was shorting out when the ignition circuit came on. Position 1 OK. Position 2 OK. Position 3 she turned over! All those hours of weeding out the extraneous Mazda circuits and the general doubt from other Mazda engine users, other than Justin, then siamesing in the Premier Loom and the Rover parts. We were so delighted we had to have a cup of coffee then try it again. I had to pack up then and head home, which was very difficult because now we need an earth to the fuel pump (easy now I know), plug in the ECU, a little bit of unleaded and see if we get a spark!

2007-11-25T01:33:00.000-08:00

Long day, Neville came over for the whole time and we got some major tasks done. I was extremely glad of Nev's help - big lesson for first time builders with no mechanical knowledge. While there is no need to go as simple as the Caterham or Westfield route, unless you buy a kit of standard parts from a supportive company, and welding or cutting are needed a skilled helper, a workshop or decent garage are essential. Even the Locost builders featured in the book admit to getting such help.

I was set to work making a battery box first, bending mild steel lengths then welding the two "U" shaped carriers to the cross pieces. If you enlarge the photo you can see that this is now under slung in the side pod where I cut the hole. Then I made an aluminium retaining bar to hold it in place. Even with Nev's guidance I made simple errors by trying to mix my slow and ponderous method with his skilled approach. Meanwhile Neville cut and shaped supports for the MAF unit then fitted them. This is the unit just to the right of the battery box, then using self amalgamating tape I secured the brown air hose to the MAF and the plenum chamber inlet. The air filter fits on the end of the MAF above where the battery will sit.

We also wired in the windscreen wiper switch that had arrived this weekend reconnected the terminals on the wiper motor, positioned the wiper wheel boxes to the correct angle by cutting a piece of water hose the right diameter to act as a spacer and ran the radiator fan cable from the main relay box forward to save a run round the dashboard.

While I was finishing these, Nev cut and shaped the spacer to go between the chassis cross rail at the front and the body, which in my case sits high there. Then he cut and made a return on an aluminium plate to go across the rear of the engine bay, plus the top of the pedal box.

Finally we riveted and rivnuted all the plates in place. Given that everything today had to be fabricated, sealed in place and / or shaped, it was a longish day!

2007-11-18T02:29:00.000-08:00

I connected the fuel pump to the loom and secured the P clip for the fuel line. Then I reinstalled the column switches and levers and drilled and bolted the group of earth wires on the loom to the column support. Then it was back to what looked like the mess on the MX5 engine loom in the engine bay. However once looked at in separate branches, as I had been able to do when I laid it out in the drive months ago, it appeared that the main fuse and relay box would sit on the offside front chassis rail. Nev then spotted that the wires to that box that we had thought were not removable had neat little plugs on them which enabled me to run the mass of wires much more neatly. That enabled us to decide on the place in the side pod for the battery which I cut out with the air hacksaw, to plan an extra niche so that the cables emerging from the dash rail could be neatly concealed within the pod yet run neatly to the various functions and so on. Finally I taped the wheel arch in place and could see that the MAF meter and air filter will sit neatly next to the fuel rail using the flexible air pipe I bought from Europa Spares. I simply need to fabricate a bracket out of stiff steel to support it. Very pleased with all this.

2007-11-11T13:11:00.000-08:00

The first thing was to drill the holes in the scuttle for the windscreen wiper axles. I had hoped to wire up the motor as well but the wires had been cut too short and the plug would not come out.

Anyway it was fairly easy to do. Then I ran the rear loom and connected up the petrol tank level sensor and left the fuel pump wire loose beside the pump ready for later. The connectors were still safely in their box. Finally I replaced the left side trailing arm bolt with the correct length.

2007-11-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of sessions I've been working on the wiring. The first step was to re-run the MX5 engine loom through the new hole next to the driver and across the chassis rail parallel with the Premier Sierra loom. I then fed the Premier fuse boxes out through the hole you can see in the centre of this photo, made originally for the MX5 loom, on the nearside of the dash and screwed them to the firewall. I also drilled and secured the 4 relay holders for the Premier loom next to it, feeding the wires through grommets which are just to the left of the fuses.

Next the Sierra switches on the steering column were removed and the series identified (B90) so that the Premier wires could be correctly linked to them. I had simply assumed that the colours of the wires would join up and while that was often the case, there were plenty of subtle variations! Each terminal on the Sierra switch has a minute number or letter next to it moulded faintly into the switch base and you see them (if you have heard about their existence) when you pull out the connector. Without Nev's hints who knows what would have happened when power went to them? But once identified it was pretty straightforward.

Meanwhile Nev took charge of tracing the main engine loom to the Sierra connections. All the analysis and tracing I had done so laboriously a few months ago paid off because I at least knew what went where, and with Justin's diagram and the MX5 Haynes manual we did well. It also was pleasant to find that Mazda and Ford used similar colours for the ignition switch wires. So by the time we went home we were well ahead and I drilled a hole in the tunnel top under the heater so that we passed the rear loom through that, protected by a grommet, ready to secure it alongside the fuel pipes.

2007-10-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

I had ordered fuel pipe, fuel filler cap, (including lead free insert) and some heater water hose. Also the air ducting for the engine which I had intended to work on this weekend but when the parcel arrived from Europa this was "TF" - to follow. I also ordered 3" bolts for the trailing arms and a dozen 1/2" UNF Nyloc bolts from Stagonset. I started by removing the old 21/2" bolts from the offside arm and fitting the new one but with the poor shaping on the original bracket and the lack of access now I could not get the new one through. So I deferred that and moved on to the fuel filler and pipe. I plotted the position of the hole in the rear deck then drilled with a large hole saw, cleaned up the hole so that the filler would sit in it then measured the length of fuel pipe I would need by passing it through the hole in the body, down through he hole in the boot floor and over the opening in the tank. This was relatively straightforward, and after removing the seal I had put over the tank orifice and slipping a Jubilee clip in place the filler nested neatly in the neck so I bolted it in place (twice - because the first time I forgot the lead free insert). Nev told me that last week while the car was in the yard so that he could get another on a ramp someone had clipped the rear wing of the Fury. It's actually more a graze than anything and he says he'll fix it - looks as if it will be easy to smooth out. Currently we share the garage with this gorgeous Mk 1 historic Lotus Cortina for which Nev is rebuilding the engine!

2007-10-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

Started to lay in the wiring, both the Premier loom and the MX5 engine loom. The Premier loom main part lays across the dash rail and then I had to find a way to feed the engine loom back into the tub. I drilled through the front of the tub on the passenger side and fed the MX5 loom through. The plan is to place the ECU on the nearside tub return, held in place with Velcro where it will be below the dash itself and out of any rain. I also borrowed a Mini heater the same as mine will be (postal strike permitting) to see how that and the loom could fit. This meant cutting through the tub -

it's horrible when you make holes this way! However what became apparent was that the better wiring solution will be to run the MX5 loom via a hole drilled through the side of the engine bay on the drivers side, just behind the pedal box. The loom can then run along under the dash top behind the dash fascia, the fuse box can be mounted on the side pod next to the pedal box and above the battery, and the MAF unit can sit beside that. The original hole I drilled through to the engine bay will be the exit for the cables for the headlights, instrument cables etc.

Late in the day I tried to close up the shut line between the tub and the offside pod but did not really get it as neat as I would like. I don't think I can do much more to improve it but I'll keep thinking.

2007-10-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks away from the car, quite a list of jobs. First to shorten the track rod threaded ends so that the steering could be tracked and then roughly track the front wheels. Very awkward as the rack is in the car and the ends flap about. I had to hold them with one hand while sawing away without wrecking the thread. Could not see how to do the tracking with the wheels on so took them off then used a long length of straight steel and laid it parallel to the rear wheels then measured from the steel to the disc brake. By screwing the track rod end to roughly the same number of threads each side it all seemed to line up. Certainly the car was easier to push about. Then I made up some resin and repaired the cut lines on the side pods with fibreglass. Next was the steering column mount. My B&Q brackets would not pass muster so I got a length of rusty angle iron, cut off an 80mm length and polished it up on the rotary wire brush. Then it was a matter of measuring for the mounting holes and - oh! that's tough to drill! I then got the washer and bearing for the collapsible column back together and secured it all. Finally for the day I decided to secure the drivers side of the tub to the chassis and pod. Somehow the final positioning had moved the tub relative the chassis rail holes. Not a big deal but fiddly to find the holes under the fibreglass and re-drill. It was essential to take care because the line of the tub to the pod is very visible and nothing makes a car look shoddier than poor shut lines between panel sections. I think it's pretty good for most of the run other that at the very rear and I can adjust that. This photo does not really show the slight gap in the horizontal line at the wheel arch but it's there and needs fixing.

Of course the Sikaflex tube was bunged up and in clearing the nozzle to put a line between the panels I got covered too. Typical. I managed to speak with Chris at Cranbrook who seems to be getting the management of the Fisher project rather more under control. He can get me covers for the seat moulds I bought and a dashboard - I just want a flat 2 piece one so I think we'll be OK. He was checking the details, but he did not call me back again! I've won a heater from a Mini on ebay for £35.20 (when the post starts up again). Given the price from Cranbrook I'm happy! Also great communications from Stafford Vehicle Components about the lights I need. I sanity checked this with Chris at Cranbrook who said that they just buy them from SVC and make no margin as postage takes up the little they get. He said I should buy direct.

2007-09-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

When I was with the car on Sunday I measured roughly the height of the headlight position since one or two people had mentioned that the car is almost too low for the rules. The Fisher book says one thing but recent articles in the kit car press said another. The "other" was promulgated by one of the big kit manufacturers as being the rule but their interpretation would be impossible for the Fury - too high. I posted a note on the Sylva chat list and after a lot of views, and some decent encouragement, Andy Wallis said as a builder he himself ought to know but was now unclear so was phoning the relevant Govt. dept. Turned out that fortunately Mark Fisher was right all along and he wrote to confirm as well. Rob Collingridge wrote in to say that the inspector did not even check his!

2007-09-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

I seem to be in one of those periods when progress is glaringly obvious and I think that maybe it will be a car one day. The Samco cooling pipes also arrived from Demon Tweeks following Nev's review. I was quietly pleased that he recommended the layout I had envisaged a couple of months ago. He has a special tool for cutting the silicone and it was easy to assemble.

I also replaced the pipe linking the water pump to the fuel rail with some narrow diameter silicone pipe I had left over from another repair.

Then I went to XL Spares and bought the stainless jubilee clips and heater hoses anticipating buying a heater from an old Mini so installed those roughly, linking to the header tank. Nev had provided a suitable bypass T piece so possibly perhaps maybe we can fire the engine up when the electrics are installed to see if it works!

Nev had explained why the body sits awkwardly and left me to measure it up. He had taped a datum in the centre of the rear chassis above the diff and by measuring diagonally to the left and right of the body and vertically from the chassis cross rail to the same point, then down to the ground from the bottom of the arches as well as checking the hoist was level, it was apparent that the body was within 3mm either side. He said I won't get closer so I got out the fibreglass matting and now the tub is fixed. Of course once the resin has "gone off" you see the flaws elsewhere in the alignment and there is nothing you can then do other than tweak the bonnet hinges and so on.

Now that the tub was locked in place relative to the chassis I could trim the leading edge of the tub at the front chassis cross rail and next time I will seal it and trim the rear of the engine bay with aluminium plate.

Finally I thought to final fix the steering column but I could not remember the order for making up the bearing and the washer so will have to look up the Sierra manual. I've won a late model Mini windscreen wiper motor and rack on ebay for £55.00 delivered vs £140.00 plus post for a new one from Cranbrooks.

2007-09-14T23:06:00.001-07:00

Not much to report - very busy at work and getting youngest ready for Uni this weekend. Ordered and received from Tifosi http://www.tifosi-devon.co.uk/ a very compact motorcycle derived Vapor digital combination speedo and rev counter which does almost everything else you need except oil pressure and fuel. Fraction of the price of the Digidash and SVA OK too. Looks pretty small when you open the box!

2007-09-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

Got to the workshop fairly early. Neville had said he would leave a list of things to do, in order, and being a wimp I was worried when he had not done that. But I did always want to work it out myself so after a few minutes I got stuck in. First I replaced the self tapper that we had used to get the body position right, then drilled through on the passenger side tub return to enable me to secure the removable side pod. Then I drilled through adjacent to this into the chassis rail to make the holes where the fixing rivets will go to hold the body when ready to set finally. In the photo the pod rivnuts are on the left and the rivet positions on the right.

Then I got a text from Neville reminding me about the plate for the offside pod. I found a piece of scrap ally in a corner and guillotined it to shape, then positioned it as I had the nearside plate. However this pod is riveted permanently in place so it was less tricky (or maybe I'm learning).

After that I cut and bent various pieces of ally to trim the edges where the tub meets the sills and the engine bay. Some had to be angles, some plates. I found that using a length of steel angle in the vice made a great former and then I simply worked the metal over progressively with a soft faced hammer. On the passenger side, where the tub has to be removable, I riveted the angle in place but drilled a hole so that the tub rivnut can go through it.

Then I made up two angled brackets to go at the back end of the side pods to stop them flexing and rivetted these to the tub inner panels. The pod on the drivers side was fixed permanently to the bracket but the passenger side left for securing with nuts and bolts later, as shown.

Finally I decided to drill the bulkhead to allow the steering column to pass through. I measured the height of both brackets (in the passenger compartment and the engine bay, then plotted the fall through the point where the column goes through the fibreglass. It was low so when drilled I found I had to elongate the hole somewhat. But once in position, since no one was around, of course I had to clean up the tub, sit in the car and make brrm brrm noises!

2007-08-31T13:13:00.001-07:00

With the offside pod fairly straightforward and fitted, despite being 25mm narrower and needing a fillet on the upper side to attach it, we focused on the nearside pod which needs to be removable.

One of the key features is the exhaust outlet that needs to be cut. I had no idea how to position this accurately but Nev showed me how to establish a datum by measuring from the floor and relative to the tailpipe. I then chalk marked the outside and used the hole saw to cut the hole. The tailpipe itself protruded too far so I had to cut off about 3 inches. We then coated it with copper ease where it slots into the silencer, pushed it in and offered up the pod. Correct!

To make the pod removable and reasonably robust, the pod was positioned with self tappers and holes drilled at 100mm intervals along the lower extension of the floor and the aluminium strip that I had riveted to the upper chassis rail to take rivnuts. At the same time, to make the top of the pod more robust where the bonnet will close onto it I cut an aluminium plate which was riveted to the pod and which follows the rivnut line to hold it to the chassis. With a line of Silkoflex at the edge and in a zig zag pattern in the middle, this should help. This will look like the lower picture once the body is positioned. The drivers side will hold the battery tray in about the same position and I'll try to finish it off in the same way as the passenger side - easier as it will not need to be removable. The body inner return (where doors would be in the standard body) will cover the rest of the pod and protect it.

Finally I fitted rivnuts along the edges, and screwed the exhaust pod in place. It still needs lining with heat reflective film, vents at either end, a bracket at the trailing edge to secure it to the chassis and the cut I made in the vertical face repairing.

2007-08-26T23:23:00.000-07:00

Had about 4.5 hours down at Oakhanger on Sunday. Re-installed fuel pump and filter on back of drivers seat panel below tank level and above risk of interference from axle etc and re-routed pipes loosely. Secured remaining rivets in seat panels and fixed forward top panel on transmission tunnel. You can see the rubber covered pump in the background and the filter in foreground just behind the right hand coil spring. Then I unbolted the front shock absorbers and springs and used Nev's compressors to enable me to lift the base plates to the top of the threaded section to keep the ride height high enough for the SVA. (That was heavy and sweaty work and took about 2 hours or more on my own if including the re-installation!) Finally I made an opening in the nearside tunnel panel for access to the reverse light switch. Nev has done a great job fitting the bonnet and started on the side pod fixings but we must remember to change the bolts on the trailing arms which Nev spotted were too short for safety. He has also fitted a handbrake switch which astonished me by looking to have been dead easy - of course once you know how.

2007-08-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

I got back to Neville's today to find the boot floor fitted, clutch pipe done, back axle filled and longer wheel studs etc fitted. We decided to trial fit the body. The first obstacle was the extra crash protection triangles welded to the chassis sides. The insides of the tub lie on them but the angles push the body up at the back of the passenger compartment so we had to trim part of it. Air hacksaw rules!

Once the body appeared to sit properly we then trial fitted the side pods. The first fun bit is that one pod is 20mm wider than the other so you have wonder why. Thankfully Nev has done one before so rumbled the offset fit but otherwise I could see myself trimming the whole pod then having to buy another. Then the side pods, like the body, needed trimming to go round the crash protection like this.

You can see the diagonal cuts clearly if you click on the photo to enlarge it. They are at the back end of the pod. However the pods also have a badly moulded leading edge panel which is a problem I've not seen on the build site, with a faulty recessed panel. Mine have been moulded with a panel that is about 25mm too small meaning that the pod was not "tall" enough at the front to go onto the chassis so again we had to cut to get them in order to go over the top and bottom aluminium support panels. This cut is in the photo below

The shiny part is the gap where the cut allows the fibreglass to open out. This will need to be redone later and the air inlets and exhaust pipe outlet hole will need cutting too, as well as a heat reflective lining.

Once both sides were done John, Nev's No 2, cut two strips of ally to go down the side of the chassis and act as a support for the top of the side pods. Nev has an electric nibbler that is incredibly quick and cut out the recesses we need for the chassis rails in a flash. I riveted them in place with a trace of sealant. The pods were then positioned using a couple of self tappers on each side.

Then it was back to the tub. The points on the furthest back top edge of the boot floor side walls (top photo) needed taking off then the tub slid forward neatly. Unlike some bodies I've read about, mine seems to have an excellent extended leading edge in the engine compartment to attach to the chassis. We got it sitting neatly with the rear arches lined up with the side pods and used a self tapper in the driver and passenger inner sides and two others on the leading edge in the engine bay to loosely hold it.

Then on to the bonnet. As I had sometimes thought looking at other Fury's on the build site, the engine is just too high, even with the throttle cable support, the engine lifting loops and the coil pack removed (we had had to compromise on the sump clearance due to the profusion of evil speed bumps in London.) So we cut the bulge out! Just like that. It needs lifting about 35mm at the front and 25mm at the back to clear things. I'm afraid I've delegated that to Nev. You can see the cut in the photo below with it loosely positioned. And I had set the radiator too high so needed to take it off, redo the mounting holes and put it back. But so easy with the right tools! Anyway, I think the car looks great!

It's possible that the tub is still a little too far back, even though the rear arches look OK, because the clearance in the front arch seems wrong - too little between the back of the wheel and the front of the pod - but we'll see better when the bonnet is fixed.

2007-08-11T01:02:00.000-07:00

At last back to the car. As I mentioned Neville took it back to Oakhanger to sort out the Panhard rod and several other points that I just cannot tackle here. So I took a day off and got there about 9. The Panhard rod mount had been badly welded before delivery and since KCW don't exists any more, we had to redo it. It surprised Neville but he got the air hacksaw on it and 4 hours later we had a new mount with a tube and strengthening webs as shown.

While he was busy welding I used his spring compressors to lift the base plate on the rear shocks so that they do not foul the back axle and we also made sure that the top mountings were adjusted to conform with the SVA need for washers etc. Then we checked that the wheels I had bought from Mark Fisher fitted with the Sierra calipers etc and they do. At the same time Nev ordered wheel nuts,longer studs and spacers for the rear and some other compnents from D Tweeks. We had hoped to get the body trial fitted (that's it below on top of the B heritage shell Nev is doing and next to the racing Mk 2 he looks after) but the welding took up more than half the day, so we ended by fitting the tub inner panels. It's amazing how much faster you go with two people and a fully equipped engineering shop!

Note for future. These are the best kind of rivetter if your air rivetter breaks!

2007-07-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is as much an aide memoire as anything. I removed the engine loom and laid it out very roughly as it will go in, with the front closest to the camera and the battery lead running away to the back. I'll leave it now until the tub is on so that I can judge the runs.

Then I cleaned out the rubbish from the tub and started fitting Rivnuts to the tunnel top. After that the rain started again. Ordered a pack of M5 rivnuts on ebay.

2007-07-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Brilliant evening. Collected the pad retaining springs from the local Ford dealer and fitted them to the refurbished calipers.

Then put some Copper Ease on the hubs and slid the discs over the studs. The calipers fitted pretty easily and I fitted them with the new special coated bolts you can just see in one picture. The braided brake hoses also fitted, after I had worked out which end needed tightening first.

Then, having spoken with Chris at Cranbrook (at last) I knew to fit the fan using just the ties, which took a few minutes only. You can see how they need to be trimmed in the other photograph. Seems pretty flimsy to me.

I then decided to torque up the two extra bolts under the gearbox, and change the engine oil drain plug washer. The scrappy had said that the engine was drained but something fortunately made me put protection and a drain pan under the hole - thank goodness. Several litres of filthy oil flowed out. I need to get a new oil filter too. Anyway it was also easy to torque up the drain plug.

Finally, I've managed to order a second-hand roll bar from Cranbrook. Not their most elegant but safety first and not too expensive. Neville's going top collect the car while I'm away next week and do the welding and some fiddly bits like handbrake switch, clutch pipe, reroute the handbrake cable and and so on then I hope I can get a day on my return to go down to Liphook and start the body fitting. All in all, pretty satisfying.

2007-07-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

Well it dried up. I filled the gearbox with oil then remembered I had not changed the washer on the drain plug. Drained the gearbox and tried again. Filled the gearbox extension with oil and fitted the new gaiter. I had overfilled the extension so a bit of mopping up! Then I fitted the two side pod extension supports either side of the engine bay, which you can just see with a line of rivets behind the front hub. Then the radiator. The latter was not easy and needed a bit of cutting of the uprights and of course I sliced my wrist and fingers on the fine metal edges. Finally it was done! The metal bar in front of the rad is the bonnet hinge.

2007-07-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

Wet afternoon contrary to forecast for SW20 - Wimbledon's over so surprise rain no longer expected. Spoke to Mark Fisher last night and Neville and confirmed body pick up and storage in Liphook. Mark also said he has a pair of Fury seats for sale so I bought those too. Had a good afternoon on the car yesterday, and got the special bolts for the Sierras calipers, ordered replacement caliper springs, got washers for gearbox and engine oil drain plugs etc. Finished off the side panel for the exhaust heat shield and P clipped the fuel hoses as far as the engine bulkhead. Thanks to MX5 Nutz got the gaiter over the gear lever and was just about to instal it when the heavens opened. Perhaps more fun later?

2007-07-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Neville called back. I've agreed that he will collect the body from Kent and store it for me at Liphook. He'll also come and get the chassis and take it away to cut and re-weld the Panhard rod locator plate. So I need to get the loose ends tidied up before then.

2007-07-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

Back to panelling after all this time. I fitted the aluminium double skin that is not part of the chassis spec but which others say is essential to avoid frying the passenger. Amazing how skills come back -pencil in the cut lines, snip the ally, clamp in place, mark the drill holes, punch a mark and drill! Where the crash protection has been welded on I drilled from the inside and will bolt in place there. All that remains is to file and sand the rough edges and rivet / bolt in place. Since the purpose is heat reflection I'm not having this panel coated. Anyway it will be hidden under the side pod.

2007-07-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the MX5Nutz a lot of clouds lifted. Mine is a Japanese engine and I've a UK loom I think which means many of the US complexities in the Haynes manual go away. Alistair came out and we went over possible ECU locations, wiring routes etc. It looks like I really need to get the fuel lines clipped in (30cm gaps between P clips per SVA rules), and the forward tub inner panels on, with the rivnuts for the tunnel top leaving me free to get access as I need it. I'll get in touch with Neville to arrange to collect body and come up and agree a re-route for the handbrake cable and re-weld the Panhard rod mount. He's also making the clutch pipe. This weekend (subject to the weather) I'll do the above, change the gearbox top shroud, fill the extension with oil, fit the heat shield panel beside the exhaust, and fit the radiator. I'll need to buy new gearbox and engine plug washers, a few Jubilee clips and maybe some connector blocks.

2007-07-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I added anything due to work travel and holidays. I've now got the engine loom fairly well sorted out and labelled. I've found the circuit opening relay too in the bottom of the box of bits so in theory all the key components are there. There is still no clutch switch and I don't want to fit the purge canister etc. I opened the Premier Wiring loom pack next and found all sorts of useful stuff. Although I'll only use this for the lights / wipers / etc etc it has a crimping tool and lots of connectors and relays. The Haynes Sierra manual is so comprehensive the wiring diagrams are tiny but if I persist I can generally find which one goes where and added to that the help from the guide Premier use is OK. Now I can connect the Sierra ignition barrel wires to the Mazda corresponding wires - theoretically. I've joined the MX5Nutz forum to see what pitfalls I may hit when I get up the courage to connect a battery!

2007-06-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

Changed the broken gearbox switch. Tidied up the loom - there is far too much length in it but I don't relish the idea of shortening all the critical wires until I know if it will work or not. Surprised myself by being left with all the right bits and finding a home / possible route for everything. I checked several components for continuity but some of them are dirty and Hey!, what do I know about ohms? On some I got the reading in the manual, on some I did not. I think the next stage may be to get the fuel pipes tidied up, the radiator and so on in, stick some cheap oil in the engine, then connect the ignition and a battery and watch what happens!

2007-06-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

I've weeded out the irrelevant parts of the loom so next job will be to test the circuits for continuity and rejoin the odd wire that I had to cut to untangle it from something useless like the electric window circuits. I'll try to get around the need for a clutch switch by putting a "Start" button on the ignition circuit so when the great day arrives I will need to press that and turn the key together. There are lots of black earth wires in the loom and I'll need to link them again where they have been cut.

The radiator, fan and spare sheet of aluminium for the exhaust heat shield arrived from BGH / Cranbrook / Fisher today. Beautifully packed. No mounting kit which I had asked for. Only took a month to get them!

2007-06-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

Following some very useful warnings from Tony Healey and Andy Hampshire on the Sylva site, I'm being ultra careful. I identified the connector for the temperature sensor, which was stuffed into a broken something so had all the routes clear. I then very carefully unpicked the loom all the way round, disconnecting the irrelevant parts that simply clipped in. Once I had found the ignition switch connection and removed the previous owners crude immobiliser from it I settled down with the ECU branch and using Justin's diagram successfully identified and labelled all the wires.

Having done that it became a bit clearer that Mazda had actually prepared the looms with some degree of segregation so I taped it up loosely and packed up. Re-reading the Haynes section on the ECU I think I need to make sure that the Error signal has somewhere to show up as I will not have the MX5 instrument cluster and that I have an emulation of the re-set method of disconnecting the battery and pressing the brake pedal. Puzzle for tomorrow.

Wiring Begins??

2007-06-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

On the basis that if it looks like a dogs dinner it probably is, here are the first photos of the second hand MX5 loom going in. At least I've been able to identify 98% of the key components, relays, fuses etc and get them connected up. However there are hundreds of wires that I will not need all wrapped up in the loom and it needs a lot of care to separate them out. The Haynes manual is good if the terms are clear but often the term in the text varies from the term on the diagram. The one Justin sent to me is very good. There are some circuits I could still use for the things like wipers etc but we'll see. Of course I did not have the socket I need for the gearbox switches! Noticed that the insulation on one coil must have been chipped when the scrappy took it out - need to find another.

I need to make a decision about the body now. I think if Mark will hold onto it until July that will be best, I need to ask him tomorrow.

Finally I see on the Google Sylva site that someone has done an MX3 V6 1.8 with MX5 gearbox in a Fury. They don't mention pedal box mods so I suspect that the engine is shorter and can be set a little further forward. May try to find out more.

2007-06-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

Got back to find a message that the body is ready, the engine build date confirmed by Mazda, the additional heat shield panel that I want to go between the exhaust and the passenger side ready to be dispatched. Letter from DVLA saying that the wrecked Mini was not notified to them by the insurance co as written off and here is a penalty and fine! Cloudy but warm so great for outdoor building. Granny H had very sweetly delivered a special bush (garden not suspension) for me so I decided to plant it quickly and get building. And I was reminded of a few errands and chores that needed doing as well. Being useless at gardening I carefully removed the turf where the plant is to go and, as predicted by Alistair at lunch, found a solid concrete base underneath. Being useless at garden planning too, I decide that the plant must go there, the concrete needs breaking up and then the grass needs tidying up and cutting. Alistair looked out of his window as I wielded the sledge hammer with one of those expressions my children use now that they are older - pity mixed with worry about the parental state of mind. Anyway I finished just in time to remember that I am taking Catherine out. Might just as well leave the car until tomorrow.

2007-06-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

BGH left a message on Thursday to say that they have the radiator and fan ready so I need to get in touch. Today I stretched out the loom that came from Dave Philips and started working through the wiring diagrams and comparing it with the residual wires on my engine. Very puzzled by an extra branch on mine but reading between the lines it probably relates to an automatic gearbox lock out on the ignition switch. Alistair came out and thanks to his MX5 being dismantled we were able to trace the components I'll need and the wires that will be superfluous. Got a lot labelled and clear in my mind. I'll need to take a few bits off my engine to fit the other loom on to it but it looks like it will be time consuming rather than chaotic. Still nothing from Dave on the other parts he is supposed to be dispatching to me so I'll write to him tonight.

2007-06-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

Bit distracted by some non-car issues so progress non-existent. I did find time to call BGH Cranbrook who had not replied to my parts request. However it turned out that they had been getting the parts together anyway so much relief that they seem to be functioning OK. No 1 son has dismantled his MX 5 in front of the house, leaving the engine and gearbox to take the eye from the garden as a distraction, to the qualified delight of his Mama! "Please don't (meaning Don't you dare!) walk through the house in that state" echoes regularly from the lips of one of us.

2007-05-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

Only a little time tonight but unpacked the secondhand loom that arrived. All is there as far as I can see, as well as the gearbox switches, connectors to the ECU and so on. Dave said he did not send the igniter and another piece but he'll forward them this weekend with the gearbox bolts and the instrument cluster. This is a good deal more fun than being spoon fed new "click together" parts and a much more economical way to build - everything you look at at the specialists is £25, £50 even £100. Now I've just got to fathom out which bits I need, which bits the Premier Wiring loom will do, and so on. Weather forecast not so good for the Bank Holiday so I'll just have to play it by ear.

2007-05-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

Poor old Alistair has had a long bolt between the gearbox casing and the extension shear away. The thread stayed in so it will at best need drilling out. Anyway it means getting the engine, box etc. out. Will be a big job and distracted us for an hour or two while he planned it. I got an hour on my car and drilled the holes for the fuel pipe clips. Loom arrived!

2007-05-23T04:41:00.000-07:00

Bank Holiday weekend looming - hope loom arrives too. Back from Nuremberg to mixed news. Gap year daughter had phoned on Friday to say that contrary to suggested itinerary she and Tom went into the Lebanon and visited Beirut and the Bek'aa valley last week to see Baalbek. Just as news of all the fighting up there breaks. I'm sneakily full of admiration and jealous but parentally rather moved. I last visited just as the civil war broke out in 1973 and it is fabulous at Baalbek but I do wish Emma had told us of her plans in advance because the FCO is vehement about the dangers and their evac insurance would have lapsed. Especially since it appears they both got runny tummy's and last night we heard that Tom had been laid up. He is recovering but tired, though at least they are in Damascus. When I got it in 1973 I was in a Beirut hospital for a day or so. Worst of all Catherine has heard that her weekend away is off and given that the decorator cannot get to us until September insists we re-paint Emma's bedroom this weekend in anticipation of her getting home in July! I quite understand why she is so focused like this but I don't stand a snowball's chance of wriggling out to work on the car until it is done.

2007-05-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

Thinking about the fuel system last night I decided to go with a short fixed pipe from the tank, and mount the braided pipes in the tunnel. I measured it all out very carefully because I was right on the limit for the amount of pipe. Anyway I have learned to hate sawing braided pipe and detest working it onto fiddly connectors. My fingers and hands feel like pin cushions. I ended up having to take off the fuel rail and part of the inlet manifold - the latter very fortunate because at some point someone had used a damaged bolt which literally sheared in two as it came out. I was able to replace it before it caused some other issue but if the broken end had lain in the casting............

On the left you can see how the fuel pipes emulate the MX5 routing, on the right side the inlet pipe and the other being the return. I'll P-clip them to the pedal box on the extreme left and the chassis rail below the column.

In the two pictures below you can see how the pump, filter and pipes worked out at the rear of the car. I've taped the pipes in place for now.

The brass-coloured can is the filter - it's not cleanable but the alternate from Demon Tweeks was nearly 10 times the price! Alistair, viewing progress, rightly points out that servicing pump and filter will be a bear once the body and panelling is in place. I'm not sure about that because the tunnel top will be fixed by Rivnuts so I should be able to reach round from there. Right now I don't really care because my hands are so sore, but in the cold light of day next weekend, or whenever I get back to the car, I may have to think about making the rearmost panels removable or accept that fixing the fuel system might, in extremis, mean dropping the back axle. And why not?

2007-05-19T13:13:00.001-07:00

David Elliston very splendidly suggested in an e-mail that I leave the weeds until they are taller because they will be easier to pull. (He's got his SVA on Friday so I hope he's out on the car too.) Beautiful day so get everything ready, the fuel filter I had belatedly remembered to order arrived, and of course one of the toilet cisterns starts overflowing. Once that was done (bodged) I wanted some things from the shed. And of course no one (self included) had tidied it so the Workmate was totally buried. At that point a rare moment of responsibility cut in so I emptied the shed, cleaned it, loaded a ton of stuff into the car and headed for the tip. By the time I had some lunch and got ready again it was 2.30pm!

Last night I made a cardboard template to cut the gearlever aperture from the tunnel top. I don't have a large enough hole saw so drilled a series of holes round a scribed circle, then joined them with a file and finished it off. Not too bad though I scratched some of the powder coat on some aluminium filings. Once in place with Clecko fasteners the handbrake opening needed relieving slightly, but otherwise OK.

Gearlever aperture

Once that was done I started looking at the fuel pipe runs, pump etc. The high pressure pump from Demon Tweeks looks great but of course there is no "in" or "out" and the terminals are merely marked + or -. The copper pipe and compression fitting that came with the Spridget tank give me about 0.75m of run. Neville suggests running the fuel lines down the side of the car but I really don't want pump, filter or lines anywhere near a potential impact. However I was concerned about the space in the tunnel down which the loom will have to go as well. After having a shot at running the piping round the drivers side and toying with putting the pump in the space below the additional side impact protection I had had fitted, I realised that I did not really have enough of the beautiful braided pipe to risk it. The cushioned P clips that came with it gave me an idea and in the end I've decided to mount the pump on the sub-frame Nev made for the tank, run a short flexible pipe to the filter which will sit in the area above the passenger side of the back axle, then run the feed pipe down one side of the tunnel tucking the pipes into the angle formed by the frame and cockpit inner side. As they are flexible and very robust this will work well. The pipe will then run along the pedal box and be fed up into the inlet manifold exactly as the standard MX5. The return will go along the opposite tunnel side.

You can see the round pump with rubber body and rubber P clips on the transverse fuel tank sub frame. The shiny pipe connected to the tank is the return.

At this point Catherine got back from a church meeting so I started packing up and then the boys returned from Castle Coombe. Alistair had wangled some free track time somehow and grumbled that the track was boring because it is totally flat and his engine does not have enough grunt to make the rest interesting. Poor him! At least it meant I had an MX5 to check that I'm putting the fuel lines in the right places. It was all so much easier in 1970 with an 848cc Mini, a simple carb etc.

2007-05-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

Nev's going to help with the clutch pipe and switch so I've sent the Mazda compression fitting to him to match. The fuel pump arrived tonight from Demon Tweeks with the most fantastic braided flexible pipe, padded P-clips etc. Totted up how much I've spent so far and retired hurt. Message from Mark Fisher to say body in June now. Catherines going to be out much of the next two weekends, I ought to do the weeding but if it's dry I suspect that the car will win my attention.

2007-05-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

No response yet on the engine bolts. However it turns out that Alistair has done 100 or so laps of the Nurburgring with an engine mount bolt missing and other random items so it probably does not matter that much! I would like to know though......... Letter from Mazda confirming the date of manufacture of the original car in Nov 1991 so I wrote back and asked about the engine itself as the authorities insist that that is proven to avoid the catalyst horror. Ordered fuel pump and ancillaries from Demon Tweeks and had first call with the new Fisher people regarding a radiator and mounts. They seem very willing and helpful. Also spoke, at their suggestion, with Cyanacars who build an MX5 version of the Phoenix regarding the clutch switch to trigger the ECU but they had no idea as they use another ECU. Seems they have not had much luck with their version of the car so far but also build machinery for industry so are not in too much difficulty.

2007-05-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

Had another look at things and made a full list. First concern is the missing bolts under the engine gearbox as shown. Are they or are they not needed?

Then I had a good sort throught the electrical connectors and plugs. I've been able to identify a lot of them now and if I can get the parts it should be straightforward. Annoyingly the Haynes manual is a US version and uses terms that we don't so some dealers get confused. Also most of them want to sell plug and play components rather than hunt through looms and cut them off for me. But it's starting to make some sense! Here's the latest engine photo.

2007-05-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

13th May

I spent a lot of time worrying through the manuals and drawings and on the phone regarding the electrics. So long as I can get the female sockets that fit the engine and gearbox components I can use any other type of connectors for the wiring junctions. The clutch switch is needed by the ECU so I expect that if I fit a brake light switch into the circuit I'll be OK. I'll need to get connectors etc and I've seen how the copper pipe is routed in a wide radius double circle on the MX5 to allow for the sideways engine and gearbox movement. I also need gearbox neutral and reverse light switches. The ECU arrived without a plug or even a few inches of cables - I thought they were to be attached so I'll e-mail the vendor. The airflow meter and air filter are great and came from the same seller.

2007-05-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

6th May

On holiday for a few days in Rome but see that I've won an MX5 ECU and air flow meter on ebay for little money.

2007-05-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

I've started to work my way through the wiring loom still attached to the engine. JAG from the Locost forum has sent another diagram, clearer than the Haynes manuals (to me anyway), and says that he used the standard ECU and engine loom, pruning the non-essentials, plus a Premier loom for the rest which I have too. Less daunting than I expected!