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Post by nitram on May 8, 2015 10:31:51 GMT
My headlights did not come with a wiring diagram. I just used the MX5 diagram applicable to the year of my vehicle - there are quite a few on this forum; just use the search function. Then connect the battery, turn on the lights, check you have a voltage at the appropriate loom wire and then trial and error the wires coming out of the headlight. You will not have a problem.
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Post by scooby1929 on May 13, 2015 18:00:54 GMT
Is your baby still behaving itself Nitram? Any mods planned? Turbo? !!!
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Post by nzexo on May 29, 2015 0:43:04 GMT
The 1 mm polycarbonate screen was, to be honest, rubbish. The 3 mm polycarbonate screen is excellent. Ebay provided the 400 x 1220 mm sheet which should be big enough for anyone to carve a fly screen (I'm 6 ft 2 in and sitting "up" on MX5 seats). I've mounted the screen about 5 mm off the bonnet. This allows a layer of air to pass up the inside of the screen and reduces turbulence off the trailing edge. Same principle as a slotted flap, for any aerodynamicists around. I've been up to 70 mph + VAT and the only thing that stopped me going faster was the realization that I had built this thing myself in my garage and I had promised myself to take it easy for a lengthy shake-down. Hi Nitram, Many thanks for the idea of spacing the aero screen off the bonnet. After 6000 km, I just altered mine on the weekend - and wow, what a difference it makes! I'm 6'3" so will always struggle a little to be out of the "buffering zone", but this mod has at least halved the amount of turbulence the top of my head feels. So, again, many thanks! I used 4 tap washers per mount, which totals about 15 mm when squashed tight (under my 4 mm thick Lexan screen):
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Post by driver on May 29, 2015 16:01:30 GMT
That looks good, how did you cut the lexan any tips?
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Post by nzexo on May 29, 2015 18:21:07 GMT
I have a boat windscreen supplier locally who supplies the screens, cut with a band saw, using a 3mm MDF template that I made.
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Post by beav on May 29, 2015 22:09:59 GMT
Are there any templates for the screens or is it just a freehand thing?
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Post by nzexo on May 30, 2015 4:43:54 GMT
I started with cardboard, to get the bottom radius right, then cut out an ugly, large, square-edged MDF screen out, bolted it on and took it for a drive to see if there was a difference. There was - a big one! Then I experimented with various shapes - just with a pencil on the MDF to see what looked good. The final shape is a bit of a compromise between form and function. With squarer shoulders it deflects a little better, but I prefer the curved styling. Because you don't look through the aero screen, you can play with different shapes in MDF and take it for a drive, before committing to Lexan.
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Post by nitram on Jun 30, 2017 9:13:35 GMT
It's almost 3 years since passing IVA and getting the little exo road legal. Probably not more than half of those 1000-odd days have had suitable weather for a car without roof, without sides, without windscreen, without heater etc etc. Still great fun to drive and 8500 miles covered. To be honest most of the journeys have been to the local supermarket.
No significant problems apart from one fault on the fuel filler pipe that I designed into the build. The method of installation I chose involved the use of ultra-flexible pipe from CBS that turned out to be not as flexible as I needed. Over time, the pipe de-laminated and leaked. I replaced the pipe and the same happened a few months later. My re-design now involves a 90 degree bend formed with a metal pipe and a more vertical installation for the filler cap.
This set-up has now worked satisfactorily for 12 months and has the side effect is making the tank much easier to fill at the pumps.
And so to the first, and second, MOT.
I had checked over as much as I could but there are always things that cannot be checked in an amateur garage, like emissions. I booked the exo into the nearest MOT station to where I live, which happened to be Kwik Fit. I made the effort to go there the day prior to the test to make sure the tester was happy to do a kit car. He was and was extremely chatty and interested in all the things that were done during the IVA. I was completely open with him and told him about all the various inspections and the fact that the VOSA inspector had told me to get the catyliser really hot before he did the emissions test. I told the tester that I intended to do the same prior to the MOT and asked him to do the emissions test reasonably early on. The car was booked in at 4pm and the catyliser was red hot. The car sat in the Kwik Fit carpark for over an hour (they were running late) and the emissions testing was done last (after the tester had had a cup of tea), starting at 5:15pm. By this time, the oil and water in the engine was still hot but the catyliser had cooled to ambient temperature. Not surprisingly the exo just failed the MOT on CO emissions (only) and the smug g*t of a tester said he did not like to be told how to do the test.
Resolving not to touch Kwik Fit with a barge pole ever again, I booked the car in for another MOT the next day at a "proper" garage and asked for the emissions to be done first. The tester was happy to do this and the CO emissions were less than a tenth of the previous day, an easy pass.
Draw your own conclusions.
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Post by scooby1929 on Jul 17, 2017 21:23:38 GMT
Nice job Nitram glad you are enjoying your car. In Northern Ireland we do not have to MOT for 4 years after IVA.
Ps i added a turbo to mine its epic now
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