This is 11th March 2015 - the first day I fired up the replicar.
You can see that I made a large dashboard cut out for the instrument pod. I bought two dashboards from MEV; one in black & one in body colour. I am using the black one to experiment with.
Just a brief history of my build :
Firstly : thanks to Stuart for developing a product that I think I am capable of building. Thanks to Stuart & Julie for dealing promptly with the few queries I have had to date.
Secondly : If you are reading this as a potential buyer : Just do it. The build process is relatively simple & it's a very satisfying project.
I drove & enjoyed my Mk11 MX5 purchase during July & August 2014. Did an oil change, spark plugs & MOT. Cat & Lambda sensor were border line passes on MOT so I replaced them.
The donor had no ABS or air con. It had PAS which I have kept. I knew that I might buy wider section tyres. I also kept the vapour sensor system - those electrical connections must be doing something. It looks ugly but is mostly hidden under the offside front bodywork.
Notes on discussions I have seen on the forum :
Front brake hose brackets : I used the ones off the donor but maybe could have ground out a bit more bodywork to help with attaching to the MEV round tube frame.
I am running brake & fuel lines through a channel I have created in the offside sill.
My Mk11 fuel tank needed to be bent down at the front lip to avoid touching two round tubes on my chassis frame (constructed in Oct 2014 ).
I have cut a section out of the lower rear of the bodyshell to allow clearance of the rear chassis extension for vertical lifting on & off of the shell. I have also ground off the "lips" from the tops of the doors to allow easier access.
I have ordered plain burgundy vinyl seats from Interiors seating. The "dummy spinners" on my wheels are from Europa spares.
Most other parts & materials have come from Car Builder solutions.
I am fitting the battery behind the passenger seat. I intend to store a space saver spare in the rear boot space ( access only from underneath )
Current jobs : Rear lighting. The recesses seem to be too small and not quite flat enough for snug fitting.
The front number plate plinth on a MK11 MX5 makes a useful rear plinth for the Replicar ( albeit plastic ).
i am fitting a small rear exhaust box with n/s/rear exit. I have a cheap small hand held noise meter for testing
A bought an "Aston" style fuel cap but it wasn't vented. CBS have now supplied me with a vented locking insert from another cap but I am going to have to fiddle with it to get it to fit.