Man of Honour
Passenger side came straight out on mine, driver side was the git.
Based on everything I see posted on the various groups I was expecting the bottom shock bolts to be the pain.
Fronts were a doddle
Building a supercharged Exocet
- Thread starter wesimmo
- Start date
Passenger side came straight out on mine, driver side was the git.
Based on everything I see posted on the various groups I was expecting the bottom shock bolts to be the pain.
Fronts were a doddle
Soldato
I'm stripping my suspension soon, I've got a dewalt impact I was hoping would be up to the task - but will be soaking it in plus gas beforehand
Man of Honour
I'm stripping my suspension soon, I've got a dewalt impact I was hoping would be up to the task - but will be soaking it in plus gas beforehand
You'll inevitably need a breaker bar. Not a job that most people will do themselves but removing the PPF when I did a clutch change I had to use a breaker bar with a 6ft scaffold pole to break it loose
Associate
Just spotted this, definitely subscribing to see progress
Soldato
I have a tiny compressor and it works fine on an impact gun and a lot faster to "charge" than an 18v cell and it comes with many more power tools that are useful in a build which was my point.
An update, but not much actual progress, the World Cup took a big chunk of time out and the suspension continued to be a right git....
For example, no matter what, the rear passenger coilover would not come undone, so out with the angle grinder, chop the arm to hell and chop the bolt off, rescued the coilover at least.
The diff? Well the mounts for that were a little past their sell by date..
Trying to depower the steering rack, yeah this isn't coming out anytime soon, still need to find a replacement and cut it off.
But mainly i've got it broken down for refurbing and powder coating.
I've hopefully got a decent deal on powder coating, some MX5 breaker (who i had to buy a spare arm and ARB off after cutting them off or open to get coilovers out) reckons he can take all the bushes out, shot blasted and coated for less than £200, so that's on the list for this week to sort.
The brakes are boxed up to be sent to Bigg Red brakes for a full refurb, everything (seals, nipples, etc) is replaced and they're tested fully, £310 but brakes is brakes and i want them to be safe.
For example, no matter what, the rear passenger coilover would not come undone, so out with the angle grinder, chop the arm to hell and chop the bolt off, rescued the coilover at least.
The diff? Well the mounts for that were a little past their sell by date..
Trying to depower the steering rack, yeah this isn't coming out anytime soon, still need to find a replacement and cut it off.
But mainly i've got it broken down for refurbing and powder coating.
I've hopefully got a decent deal on powder coating, some MX5 breaker (who i had to buy a spare arm and ARB off after cutting them off or open to get coilovers out) reckons he can take all the bushes out, shot blasted and coated for less than £200, so that's on the list for this week to sort.
The brakes are boxed up to be sent to Bigg Red brakes for a full refurb, everything (seals, nipples, etc) is replaced and they're tested fully, £310 but brakes is brakes and i want them to be safe.
Soldato
I really fancy an MX5 but seeing your pictures keeps filling me with dread
They seem really good prices for the powder coating, well worth spending on the brakes too. Do they replace the caliper pistons? Are the original ones stainless steel?
They seem really good prices for the powder coating, well worth spending on the brakes too. Do they replace the caliper pistons? Are the original ones stainless steel?
So, given i'd largely done the breaking down and the kit had been ready for some time, i arranged to go and pick it up, a 350 mile round trip from Newcastle.
I booked a LWB transit type of thing through Enterprise for 8.30 in the morning but got a phone call the night before to say there had been a mistake so the van wouldn't be ready until 9.30-10. No worries, i just made sure if the worst came to the worst and i was delayed i could take it back the next morning at no cost, which they were more than happy to agree to.
However i eventually got the van at 10.30 so the manager, without prompting, knocked 20% of the bill and gave me £31 of additional inurance for free.
Reasonably happy with the way they dealt with it, my daughter (7) and i set off, chucking enough diesel in for a range of 190 miles as we left Newcastle, figuring i'd see what i used and then make sure i had enough to get home without leaving them gallons in the tank.
A pretty uneventful trip and we arrive in a tiny little commercial park, very Centre Parcs like, tree lined single track roads and all that. Realised the sat nav had got me lost so turned round in a little car park. Doing so i brushed some trees with the top of the van but thought nothing of it (i'll come back to that...)
After a couple of minutes i find MEV Headquarters and pull in, do a 3 point turn and reverse up to the gates, at which point i smell diesel, a lot, and see it all over the road.
A quick look under the bonnet and the fuel filter is spraying diesel everywhere, it must have let go as i arrived, there was no way I'd driven all that way with that much diesel leaking.
I call the AA and they put me in touch with VW Assist, i ring them and tell them i know what the fault is, i can see the diesel coming out and they have already issued a recall for this fault, so please send a new fuel filter. No. The guy turns up an hour and a half later, says "I need a new fuel filter" and disappears for another hour and a half.
By now my daughter is bored out her mind and, worse, there's no wifi at the factory. And then, i notice that the inconsequential brushing of trees has somehow smashed the rear reflector, lights and cracked the bumper, i have literally no idea how but can only assume it was doing the turn in the small car park.
Finally the van is fixed, loaded and we set off with some diesel the VW Assist guy put in, range is pretty good looking at 70 miles so i chuck another bit of diesel in to give me 210 miles and head home.
Within 10 miles the range has dropped by 50 miles, fearing it's still leaking i ring the VW guy who explains (only now) that the gauge will be recalibrating. It finally calms down and i chuck a bit more diesel in to get me home.
We finally arrive back near Newcastle at 20.30, and they've shut the road overnight for repairs, by now my daughter hates me and just wants to be home, the perfect end to a rubbish day!
I drop the van off the following morning and the manager asks me how it was all sorted and apologises profusely. "Hey, i'm not happy, but really the van breaking down isn't your fault. Though i am a bit gutted that someone must have driven into the back of it last night while parked in my street."
To be fair to him he immediately "didn't see" the damage and told me i wouldn't be charged a penny for the rental.
So, i now have a frame and GRP bits in the garage, excuse the picture, it was taken at 22.30 when i finally got the garage door closed.
I booked a LWB transit type of thing through Enterprise for 8.30 in the morning but got a phone call the night before to say there had been a mistake so the van wouldn't be ready until 9.30-10. No worries, i just made sure if the worst came to the worst and i was delayed i could take it back the next morning at no cost, which they were more than happy to agree to.
However i eventually got the van at 10.30 so the manager, without prompting, knocked 20% of the bill and gave me £31 of additional inurance for free.
Reasonably happy with the way they dealt with it, my daughter (7) and i set off, chucking enough diesel in for a range of 190 miles as we left Newcastle, figuring i'd see what i used and then make sure i had enough to get home without leaving them gallons in the tank.
A pretty uneventful trip and we arrive in a tiny little commercial park, very Centre Parcs like, tree lined single track roads and all that. Realised the sat nav had got me lost so turned round in a little car park. Doing so i brushed some trees with the top of the van but thought nothing of it (i'll come back to that...)
After a couple of minutes i find MEV Headquarters and pull in, do a 3 point turn and reverse up to the gates, at which point i smell diesel, a lot, and see it all over the road.
A quick look under the bonnet and the fuel filter is spraying diesel everywhere, it must have let go as i arrived, there was no way I'd driven all that way with that much diesel leaking.
I call the AA and they put me in touch with VW Assist, i ring them and tell them i know what the fault is, i can see the diesel coming out and they have already issued a recall for this fault, so please send a new fuel filter. No. The guy turns up an hour and a half later, says "I need a new fuel filter" and disappears for another hour and a half.
By now my daughter is bored out her mind and, worse, there's no wifi at the factory. And then, i notice that the inconsequential brushing of trees has somehow smashed the rear reflector, lights and cracked the bumper, i have literally no idea how but can only assume it was doing the turn in the small car park.
Finally the van is fixed, loaded and we set off with some diesel the VW Assist guy put in, range is pretty good looking at 70 miles so i chuck another bit of diesel in to give me 210 miles and head home.
Within 10 miles the range has dropped by 50 miles, fearing it's still leaking i ring the VW guy who explains (only now) that the gauge will be recalibrating. It finally calms down and i chuck a bit more diesel in to get me home.
We finally arrive back near Newcastle at 20.30, and they've shut the road overnight for repairs, by now my daughter hates me and just wants to be home, the perfect end to a rubbish day!
I drop the van off the following morning and the manager asks me how it was all sorted and apologises profusely. "Hey, i'm not happy, but really the van breaking down isn't your fault. Though i am a bit gutted that someone must have driven into the back of it last night while parked in my street."
To be fair to him he immediately "didn't see" the damage and told me i wouldn't be charged a penny for the rental.
So, i now have a frame and GRP bits in the garage, excuse the picture, it was taken at 22.30 when i finally got the garage door closed.
I really fancy an MX5 but seeing your pictures keeps filling me with dread
They seem really good prices for the powder coating, well worth spending on the brakes too. Do they replace the caliper pistons? Are the original ones stainless steel?
Yep, they do the lot if needed, and i believe they are stainless from the condition of them anyway.
Man of Honour
I really fancy an MX5 but seeing your pictures keeps filling me with dread
They seem really good prices for the powder coating, well worth spending on the brakes too. Do they replace the caliper pistons? Are the original ones stainless steel?
This will make you cry then. http://gallery.baucutt.me
Still a bunch to upload to that after doing the front chassis legs too
Soldato
Wow yeah i don't envy you one bit there, looks like it was just hopeful thoughts that was holding those front chassis rails together
![[TW]Taggart](/styles/overclockers/avatars/4.png){kind=avatar}
Associate
- Joined
- 29 May 2005
- Posts
- 1,006
nice write up.. been thinking about doing this to the turbo5, will watch with interest!
So finally got round to taking some more photos off my phone.
I've made a template for the floors, you basically get a big sheet of alloy and cut it out to suit, then rivet it to the frame.
The floor is all about weight saving, i don't know if you can make out the comparison to a half emptied Rizla packet?
The brakes came back from Bigg Red, can't fault them, great job and service.
And while i waited for the main suspension arms and subframes to be powder coated, i finished off taking the dust shields off, rust removal and painting of the hub carriers.
Then the arms and subframes came back from the powder coaters, again great service from a local company called MazdaDudes (any MX5 tinkerers I highly recommend them). Because I've bought a lot from them and referred a lot of other happy Exocet owners to them, they did the whole lot at cost. So upper and lower arms front and back, both sub frames, ARBs, engine mount cups, bushes removed, blasted and coated for £150. When picking them up I also grabbed seat rails, which I'd sold on with my MX5 seats, 2nd hand diff bush mounts and a brand new Mazda handbrake cable.
I then set about fitting all the Energy poly bushes, whoever calls the stuff you smear everywhere grease or lubricant is a liar, its the hated lovechild of superglue and vaseline, gets bloody everywhere, still, all done now(ish).
I did say "Ish" about the bushes, i still need to remove them from the diff carrier and i've burnt them off the diff bush bracket i got from MazdaDudes as the kit i'm using is a different set up to OEM.
Now i need to make space again and start building up the suspension. I'll do that over the next few days while i wait for a big order to come in from MX5Parts, bolts, ball joint boots, drop links, that kind of stuff.
I'll also sort through all the bolts that survived the removal process and make sure that the order I've already made covers all i need, I'm sure there's a few i have forgotten trying to do it from memory but what I've ordered will keep me busy for a while.
Apologies for the potato phone pics, I'll try and make sure when I get to the fiddly and interesting bits i get some better quality.
I've made a template for the floors, you basically get a big sheet of alloy and cut it out to suit, then rivet it to the frame.
The floor is all about weight saving, i don't know if you can make out the comparison to a half emptied Rizla packet?
The brakes came back from Bigg Red, can't fault them, great job and service.
And while i waited for the main suspension arms and subframes to be powder coated, i finished off taking the dust shields off, rust removal and painting of the hub carriers.
Then the arms and subframes came back from the powder coaters, again great service from a local company called MazdaDudes (any MX5 tinkerers I highly recommend them). Because I've bought a lot from them and referred a lot of other happy Exocet owners to them, they did the whole lot at cost. So upper and lower arms front and back, both sub frames, ARBs, engine mount cups, bushes removed, blasted and coated for £150. When picking them up I also grabbed seat rails, which I'd sold on with my MX5 seats, 2nd hand diff bush mounts and a brand new Mazda handbrake cable.
I then set about fitting all the Energy poly bushes, whoever calls the stuff you smear everywhere grease or lubricant is a liar, its the hated lovechild of superglue and vaseline, gets bloody everywhere, still, all done now(ish).
I did say "Ish" about the bushes, i still need to remove them from the diff carrier and i've burnt them off the diff bush bracket i got from MazdaDudes as the kit i'm using is a different set up to OEM.
Now i need to make space again and start building up the suspension. I'll do that over the next few days while i wait for a big order to come in from MX5Parts, bolts, ball joint boots, drop links, that kind of stuff.
I'll also sort through all the bolts that survived the removal process and make sure that the order I've already made covers all i need, I'm sure there's a few i have forgotten trying to do it from memory but what I've ordered will keep me busy for a while.
Apologies for the potato phone pics, I'll try and make sure when I get to the fiddly and interesting bits i get some better quality.
Soldato
Gonna follow this one 
MX5 Suspension is a right PITA to remove!
MX5 Suspension is a right PITA to remove!
It's been a while, shortly after my last update I was diagnosed with depression, one of the symptoms was doing not a great deal apart from sleep..
Anyway, I'm back on it with some sun and the medication kicking in.
The big problem is still the diff won't come off, but still I made the floors today and cleared the garage for the next push.
So i got all new camber bolts all round, drop links etc, plus due to the suspension angles you either cut and reinforce the standard upper arms on the front, or you buy shiny.
New camber bolts in the rear subframe which i've built up ready for when i get the diff sorted.
And then cleared down and flipped it to get at the floors and finish the job i started in November!!
First floor cut from alloy..
Test fitting before trimming, as my dad said "You can always cut more off, you can't put it back."
Flip the template and modify it to account for the exhaust coming down the passenger side.
Then etched primered. The intention is to paint them in rubberised paint. I'll then tigerseal them to the bottom, rivet them on and then glue a thin rubber sheet across the bottom, wrapping round the bottom of the frame to avoid any issues with Mr IVA and sharp edges where I've cut the alloy sheet and also to prevent every stone that flicks up sounding like it's coming through the bottom of the car.
Anyway, I'm back on it with some sun and the medication kicking in.
The big problem is still the diff won't come off, but still I made the floors today and cleared the garage for the next push.
So i got all new camber bolts all round, drop links etc, plus due to the suspension angles you either cut and reinforce the standard upper arms on the front, or you buy shiny.
New camber bolts in the rear subframe which i've built up ready for when i get the diff sorted.
And then cleared down and flipped it to get at the floors and finish the job i started in November!!
First floor cut from alloy..
Test fitting before trimming, as my dad said "You can always cut more off, you can't put it back."
Flip the template and modify it to account for the exhaust coming down the passenger side.
Then etched primered. The intention is to paint them in rubberised paint. I'll then tigerseal them to the bottom, rivet them on and then glue a thin rubber sheet across the bottom, wrapping round the bottom of the frame to avoid any issues with Mr IVA and sharp edges where I've cut the alloy sheet and also to prevent every stone that flicks up sounding like it's coming through the bottom of the car.
Last edited:
Associate
- Joined
- 23 Oct 2013
- Posts
- 1,206
good to see more progress m8, and sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope the car build and its progress can help you.
Soldato
Looks good.
So as someone who also suffers during the winter did they give any reason for the depression?
It could be SAD which can be helped with daylight bulbs.
Personally my allotment is my medicine. It may not be that appealing during the winter to go there and freeze/get wet etc, but the daylight, fresh air, physical activity and just random people being about (who often stop to talk as my plot is by a busy footpath) is a real feel good inducing thing.
So as someone who also suffers during the winter did they give any reason for the depression?
It could be SAD which can be helped with daylight bulbs.
Personally my allotment is my medicine. It may not be that appealing during the winter to go there and freeze/get wet etc, but the daylight, fresh air, physical activity and just random people being about (who often stop to talk as my plot is by a busy footpath) is a real feel good inducing thing.
I suspect it's a thing in our family, both my parents have had depression in the past and my sister suffers from anxiety. However it was my job that kicked it off to the point I got help, so I left!
The people stopping by is an interesting one, the neighbours are obviously intrigued, but I'm fed up with "Are you not finished yet?" or people asking me questions when I'm wedged under the car with an angle grinder!
The people stopping by is an interesting one, the neighbours are obviously intrigued, but I'm fed up with "Are you not finished yet?" or people asking me questions when I'm wedged under the car with an angle grinder!