Some smaller jobs achieved over the summer. Firstly I managed to install the front subframe which has been acid dipped and galvanised (it was a good deal, saves money in the long run really). Given the way things are going it may have to get painted black…
Getting the diff and ppf apart was plenty fun. Suffice to say that the captive nuts and series of pressed tubes through which the diff was bolted to the ppf made for an entertaining challenge. Nevertheless some calm perseverence meant that nothing needed to get broken, cut or drilled out so I’m happy.
I started to refurb some of the components that haven’t yet been dealt with starting with the prop shaft which got a good wire brushing followed by a coat of rust converter to catch the last bits that were lingering, then primer and black top coat.
Next job I tackled was mentioned in the previous post, my diff is a Fuji style diff which is great but also has some weaknesses and it appears mine has started to suffer. There is a company in Northern Ireland which has developed a repair for these that is well reviewed and tested and is good value compared to the cost of a replacement, so in order to send it off the diff had to be split.
Once this was done and sent away, I started trying to disassemble the steering rack. Originally hoping to keep the power steering, the effort with which the pipes wanted to stay attached to the rack was quickly changing my mind. That coupled with some friends with depowered racks singing their praises has for the time being swayed my decision, so by the end some of the pipes were cut in order to get a ring spanner on them and managed to get them all removed.
I also wanted to remove the abs sensors (in some cases needed to in order to fit the wingstays). And another fight ensued, this time it was very much a fight to the death and while I was eventually victorious it was left hollow (or not as the case may be) by the broken off bolt that remained stuck in the hub assembly. That will need drilling out but that’s future Ben’s problem.
Next up some goodies for my local powder coater.
Since the Exocet is designed to use the factory suspension and sit at an appropriate sports car height, aftermarket suspension that is designed to lower the original MX5 chassis to a more sporty ride height tends to make the Exocet chassis sit to low, or require enough adjustment that it affects the functionality. G19 engineering have created a solution by designing spacers to sit between the top of the shocks and the chassis. I ordered a set and these were dropped into the box for the powder coaters (to match the chassis colour).
I also stripped the rear subframe to send off as well, although in this case I requested just to get it blasted and paint it myself both to save a few pennies and in case any modifications/welding are needed down the road (e.g. for exhaust hangers?)
And for good measure a spare cam cover and set of brake calipers and carriers were also added to the powder coating box (this time to be done in the body colour)
