What did you do to your MX5 today ?

[TOM 5252]

I got the front of the car up on axle stands yesterday and was nicely surprised to find that all the holes in the front wishbones were put there by the Mazda designers. I had already checked out the front chassis rails (forward of the front wheels), and now I know that the underside floor area and the sills are good too. So it looks like the metal or the manufacturing process in the making of my rear wishbones
was not up to the quality of the rest of the first mk2 cars.

While I had it up on stands I Brushed, Kurust-ed, and Painted the front suspension assy. and the underside area, to hopefully keep it all going for another few years.
I'm wondering about the benefits or otherwise of filling the hollow parts of the wishbones with expanding foam. and maybe even the square box section rails running under the floor. You could ensure the inside was dry before hand by blowing hot air through them, but I'm not sure if moisture could get in to either end of these box sections,-the way it can get into the sills and be trapped without available drain holes.

[quigs snr]

New wheels. Ronal LS - 15's. ET25. 7.5" width. Ride height is a bit high on the car. May look at that shortly.. although it does handle very well as it sits.

Will get a better pic shortly.



Set of very good condition original Enkei 14's (from the 94 jap import above) with excellent condition 80%+ Pirelli tyres up for sale shortly. Offers on a postcard.

[Merlot man]

Tom
Instead of using expanding foam would you not consider using cavity wax like waxoyl or dinitrol etc ,remember that a lot of the moisture that causes the rust is from condinsation . Might be worth making sure the garage is well ventilated and it's no Harm leaving the car outside in the "drier " months .
Best of luck with it
Brian

[Real Rayzor]

Big day yesterday,, Sorry this is pic heavy:
I have my car for about a year now and have always wondered what condition my sills are in. I started by taking off my side skirts to check tin worm.



This is what i was confronted with,, not surprised really.

Drivers Side:


Pasengers Side:


So I decided to tackle the passengers first and after a little grinding with the flappy disc:

Some cutting and pulling,


Tin worm revealed:


Added some Rust eater:


I was happy to see that it was only surface rust in there and it came off easily so got that sorted sealed and etch primed.



I cut out a piece of metal from what I had lying around the garage, (Always new that would come in handy some day)



New metal welded in and a skim of filler to hide my poor welding skills.



Few coats of primer,


I ran out of day light so i still have to add the stone chip some paint and clear coat and the jobs a good un. Its not up to body shop standard but i'm pretty happy with it TBH. Anyway I will be putting the skirts back on again so if it does'nt turn out like a factory finish it only me that will know. I'm happy enough knowing that there is fresh metal in there to keep it going for another 10 years or more.

[Merlot man]

That work looks great Ray , once it's stone chipped and painted it will look like new and I'm not so sure a body shop would go to the trouble of cutting out , rust killing and priming the inner sill ! Good luck with the other side and don't forget to use cavity wax when the cavities are open , you can still do the first one by drilling a small hole and spraying the wax in .
I used dinitrol in an airosol can with a 600 extension from a supplier in Wexford , he does Miller oils and Evans waterless coolant , might be worth a Google . Also make sure the drain holes are clear , there at the front and rear of the sills , two holes either end
Best of luck with it
Brian

[93 Mk1]

New wheels. Ronal LS - 15's. ET25. 7.5" width. Ride height is a bit high on the car. May look at that shortly.. although it does handle very well as it sits.

Will get a better pic shortly.

Set of very good condition original Enkei 14's (from the 94 jap import above) with excellent condition 80%+ Pirelli tyres up for sale shortly. Offers on a postcard.

Welcome to the Ronal LS club !

[Real Rayzor]

Thanks for that Brian.. I'm going to try that dynax S50, I read some good reviews about it on the nutz forum. There is a Web site called http://www.towandrestore.com that sell it. I think they are based in Meath.

[quigs snr]

New wheels. Ronal LS - 15's. ET25. 7.5" width. Ride height is a bit high on the car. May look at that shortly.. although it does handle very well as it sits.

Will get a better pic shortly.

Set of very good condition original Enkei 14's (from the 94 jap import above) with excellent condition 80%+ Pirelli tyres up for sale shortly. Offers on a postcard.

Welcome to the Ronal LS club !

Your's seems to sit much lower at that back than mine. Looks less like a beach buggy than mine does. Did you lower it ?

[93 Mk1]

New wheels. Ronal LS - 15's. ET25. 7.5" width. Ride height is a bit high on the car. May look at that shortly.. although it does handle very well as it sits.

Will get a better pic shortly.

Set of very good condition original Enkei 14's (from the 94 jap import above) with excellent condition 80%+ Pirelli tyres up for sale shortly. Offers on a postcard.

Welcome to the Ronal LS club !

Your's seems to sit much lower at that back than mine. Looks less like a beach buggy than mine does. Did you lower it ?

Yes, mine is lowered with Eibach springs. However, the fronts have lowered slightly over time. I have other springs (-30 mm) that I'm going to try but just haven't gotten to swapping them over yet. Be careful when choosing springs - sometimes you can ruin the handling by going purely for "the look".

[Merlot man]

Fitted a tr lane roll bar today , hope to never find out how good they are

[Merlot man]

Rear view of bar

[barney]

Jaysus Brian, you're trying out the roll-bar already

[Steve]

Lookin' good! So did you get a right angle drill attachment? Bit of a struggle that bit.

[Real Rayzor]

Fitted a tr lane roll bar today , hope to never find out how good they are

Looks great.. I really think they suit the car.

Looks like your anti - gravity machine is working well also

[Merlot man]

Thanks lads , ya used the right angle attachment on the drill with a step drill bit , to be fair it wasn't too bad and it was the worst bit . The ripping out and putting back of all the stuff is the most time consuming , nice project to do though .
I don't think they look out of place on the mx5 either .
Brian