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Post by lemans75 on Nov 1, 2018 23:25:40 GMT
Starting a new build thread. Kit is on the last leg of its trans-atlantic trip so it's time to start...
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 1, 2018 23:44:16 GMT
The Donor is a basket case, eaten from the inside out by rust but it's a one owner NB but definitely regretting not getting a California or Florida car. Treasure Coast Miata has come to the rescue for many parts that I had to discard because of rust, and at very reasonable costs. First things first is to make good use of existing good parts, gaming chair for my 12 and 8 year old build partners...
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 1, 2018 23:58:37 GMT
I'm not going to document tear down but labelling everything on the wiring loom and connectors they attach to seems like very good advice. Having said that, I think i'm going too find out that 12 year old scribble is just as bad as 8 year old scribble...
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 2, 2018 0:05:58 GMT
Rear sub frame and suspension components are shot and associated bolts aren't worth struggling with. A clean replacement wasn't too hard to find. Being a LHD model I've also had to source a RHD front sub frame and steering rack which again is a good thing given the state of the original.
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 2, 2018 0:10:10 GMT
Despite the rust, none of the important bolts gave me much trouble, no heat needed to be applied but she lost several pounds of scale from just about everywhere. Replaced all the important engine & trans seals, changed the fluids and applied a shifter rebuilt kit to get back into shape.
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 2, 2018 0:15:33 GMT
Andy Carwithen over at ANC Sports Cars supplied me with the kit and had great help locally from Jase over at R. West and Son to get it crated up and ready for its sea leg.
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 2, 2018 0:21:09 GMT
I'm not going to bore anyone with breakdown details other than front brakes were rebuildable but I had to drill out and re tap new bleeders. I tried doing the same on the rear calipers but someone got there before me had ended up hardening them to the point where I was breaking taps so I sent in my buggered cores and got rebuilt units. The valve cover cleaned up nicely (notice the state of the intake manifold) but I hesitated filling the lettering and opted instead to cover them with a little door sill trim.
A scrub and some black high temp rattle can makes the most of it.
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 2, 2018 15:00:30 GMT
The 18 year old coil-overs had broken springs and the struts were shot, not to mention that the rears were not going to come off without a fight given that the bolts were seized solid in the rear subframe. To replace them, I treated myself to a set of adjustable TEIN coilers. For a little over $100 a corner they were good value for money and they will give me the adjustability I need given the weight loss over the original setup. (The color is a happy coincidence.)
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 9, 2018 19:14:54 GMT
And now for something completely different... My kit is stuck somewhere on a boat on the eastern seaboard so in the meantime I thought I would share this little gem that might shed some light on my avatar. Aside from being a big fan of the comic books, I have family in France that plays host to racing teams during the 24 Heures and the Le Mans Classic. We've had the privilege of having the wonderful guys from Rebellion racing in recent years.
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Post by R2S on Nov 10, 2018 11:36:20 GMT
Château de Chanteloup by any chance?
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 11, 2018 13:23:55 GMT
Other side of Le Mans, a place called La Vagotière (http://www.racinglemans.com) I see you used a Mk2 as your donor, anything I should look out for as I start my build?
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Post by R2S on Nov 11, 2018 21:28:40 GMT
Suspension corrosion (its very wet in this part of uk), seized suspension bolts, and what ever you do don't try to undo the bolt through the PPF and Diff, see my thread Derbyshire Replicar.
Make sure ALL electrical block connectors are labelled, if you do this you'll be fine, I spent years worrying it wouldn't start when I connected it back up but it started first time.
Oh and if you take crankshaft pulley off and strip it down make sure rear plate, with the tangs for the timing sensor, is put back on right way round, if you get this wrong it will never start.
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 14, 2018 18:38:33 GMT
Home at last! Looks like I'll need a bigger garage...
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 21, 2018 0:50:50 GMT
Un-crating in a small space was no fun. but she's out and up!
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Post by lemans75 on Nov 26, 2018 2:03:00 GMT
Just a quick update as I finish up the power steering delete. I could not find suitable bolts to plug the holes up so I decided to simply cut off the pipes from the existing bolts and tap them so that I could screw in a hex insert. Worked pretty well.
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