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Post by robski on Jun 13, 2024 16:25:37 GMT
Hi all.
Thought I would start a dedicated thread for my project rather than let the scope of my last post creep even further.
So I bought the unfinished project that was on fleabay a couple of weeks back. Picked it up yesterday which was an interesting experience. Yes you can load a rolling Exocet chassis into a Luton Transit using the taillift, an engine hoist, some firm ground and a bit of ingenuity. You can even get it out again in a similar way - which is always a bonus!
So my garage / workshop now plays host to a black powdercoated 2011 Exocet chassis and a 2002 MX5 Mk2.5 skate. They are currently joined but that is about to change as I want to be sure on what has been done so far. The early chassis is a bit of a different beast to the current design: 2" main tubes - aren't the new ones 40mm? The subframes and wishbones are in great nick rust wise, and now I have inspected them they appear to be quite nicely powder coated satin black. I had thought they looked a little scabby and I was going to powder coat them metallic silver but it was just dust and rust from other bits. All the wishbones are similarly finished and have been rebushed by someone. The skate needs to come off the chassis and apart as the gearbox needs painting as does the engine and diff casing. There is some work that needs redoing because it was a bit suspect or just done a very long time ago. Pedals need some TLC as does all the hydraulic stuff. The ABS has been deleted which is unfortunate but hey ho. First query. I know the master cylinder needs changing and I believe a proportioning valve from a Mk1 needs fitting as per the pic in the end of the build guide. The project came with a set of non-ABS Hel flexible lines whch I am going to use. Just need to make, or get made, the short pipes from the master to the prop valve. Does all that sound sane and sensible?
Next query. Is it acceptable to just have a flexible line straight from the clutch master cylinder to the slave? There seems to be a couple of coils of pipe at the bottom end at the moment that looks like overkill. Obviously I would get the new clutch hose made with enough slack for the engine and gearbox to move on the engine mounts.
Rear subframe question. There doesn't seem to be any of the square brace that is bolted in under the rear subframe. I believe in the MX5 it reaches further forward and becomes 2 of the 6 fixings for the subframe. Can I just knock some up from some tubular steel with flattened ends as per the originals? I could then add a couple of short pieces to the 2 brackets just ahead of them on the 2011 chassis.
I need to get the 3 handbrake cables as there are none with the project. Are the Mk1, 2, 2.5 different and which is the best fit for the Exocet?
And the last query for now... Am I correct in thinking the Mk2.5 has an electronic speedo - i.e. no drive cable?
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Post by robski on Jun 14, 2024 17:46:34 GMT
Quick update.
Well I have the chassis on trestles now looking almost like it has just come from the factory, if you ignore the floor and a selection of self tapper screw holes that were holding a lot of IVA fails in place, like the sides and a pair of copper fuel lines held in place by domestic copper pipe clips. That area was a nice shade of green! It also looks like whoever fitted them thought that an average of 200mm between fixings would be acceptable rather than a maximum of 200mm.
I will be tearing down the subframes as I keep finding loose bolts, incorrect bolts etc and I want to be sure that I will be able to drive it without bits falling off and my bum ending up on the road! Most of the bits are already powder coated under the grime, but there are some bits that, inexplicably, haven't been de-rusted / refinished at all but slung back in! Oh well - it will keep me out of mischief.
Hopefully pictures will follow.
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phaeton
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Post by phaeton on Jun 14, 2024 19:34:11 GMT
Clutch you can remove the circles/coils & replace with a flexi. Bias valve you can have a flexi or just use kunifer Rear subframe bracing most people don't bother Speedo, Yes electronic Handbrake I 'think' are all MK1's but there is very little between any of them, think I've used both/all
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Post by robski on Jun 14, 2024 20:56:43 GMT
Clutch you can remove the circles/coils & replace with a flexi. Bias valve you can have a flexi or just use kunifer Rear subframe bracing most people don't bother Speedo, Yes electronic Handbrake I 'think' are all MK1's but there is very little between any of them, think I've used both/all Thanks for the info Phaeton - very helpful. Clutch - good news. Both the master and slave look like they were new at some time during the Exo project but both are rusted solid! I'll sling the whole lot and start again. Bias valve - I was thinking of a couple of flexis between master and valve - but I think that's impossible as flexis don't have unions that rotate on the hose like the union does on a pipe so I'd never be able to tighten both! I'll head to the auto factors that makes my flexis for the clutch and get them to make up 2 short straight kunifers for me to bend into place. The rest of the brake lines will be the full Hel flexi kit that came with the project. Rear subframe bracing and mounting: do all Exocets have only the 4 bolts between the chassis and rear subframe then? Not using the lower bracing kind of implies that? I will order up some Mk1 brake cables as that was probably what my 2011 chassis was designed for. Thanks again!
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phaeton
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Post by phaeton on Jun 15, 2024 5:55:03 GMT
On the 3 Mev's I've built none of them have ever had any rear bracing, my current Mevster which I think has a MK1 rear subframe doesn't have any brackets/tabs on the subframe. It's something to look at post IVA, you could ask on FB, but I don't think most people run them
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Post by robski on Jun 15, 2024 21:01:11 GMT
I guess the lack of rearward mass on the Exocet compared to the boot area of the MX5 negates the need for the additional bracing of the rear subframe. I will think about the transverse braces between the lower wishbone mounts as that ought to reduce flex in that area, but how much difference it will make is probably very much open to interpretation.
Some more subtle progress today. Things like sorting out the contents of various boxes, separating the box of assorted M6, 8, 10 and 12 fasteners into dedicated boxes. I have broken down the pedals for powder coating as they are pretty skanky and started a 'Black Satin powder coat box' that can go in on monday. Must remember to put the mudguard stays in that box too. Broke down the rear subframe a bit to extract the bush plates for the diff that were rather rusty. They are now wire brushed and painted gloss black, together with the engine mounts and starter. Why does somebody do serious work on refinishing the rear subframe and leave the bush plates rusty and put them back in? Hopefully Amazon will deliver a C spanner / hook wrench tomorrow and I can strip the (aftermarket) suspension units. They are in quite nice nick aside from a bit of a polish, except the top plates that are really rusty. I am hoping the spring adjuster rings will permit removing all the spring preload so I can dismantle them and put the top plates in the 'Black Satin Powder Coat Box' without having to resort to spring compressors which are just plain scary!
Tomorrow looks like it should be a flying day as my RV6 needs to be taken aloft to keep it happy. I might take the Morris 8, Nellie, out for a spin as well as she is residing in the hangar now that the Exo is in the garage / workshop at home.
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Post by robski on Jun 15, 2024 21:13:57 GMT
Have some pics, but it's too late in the evening to work out how to post them. We'll get there, bear with me. After a 30 year career in IT it still amazes me that things that ought to be easy continue to be a p.i.t.a. I guess that explains the popularity of 'soshal meeja', but that eludes me too - it just looks like a solution desperately looking for a problem!
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Post by hutchey on Jun 17, 2024 7:05:02 GMT
Almost all the Exocets I've seen use the rear bottom subframe brace but with a bit cut off so it can be bolted to the Exocet's frame. Helps give a bit more stability. Will it make a massive difference - depends on your driving and roads / track I would guess.
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Post by robski on Jun 17, 2024 12:53:10 GMT
Question time again...
I think I have read about this issue before but can't find the reference to it, or what the solution was.
Front suspension - top swivel ball joint. When done up the holes in the bolt section don't reach the castellations on the nut. The nut isn't especially chunky so getting a thinner one or skimming it down in the lathe wouldn't be my preferred solution.
I believe the issue is caused by having a combination of Mk1 top wishbones and Mk2/2.5 uprights.
Three solutions suggest themselves. 1. Fit nyloc nuts. The cheapest option. But would that be acceptable for IVA, one wonders? Is it acceptable to me, come to that? 2. Replace either the uprights or the wishbones with the matching partnering part. 3. Get the swivels changed in the wishbones. I understand that they can be pressed out and new aftermarket ones pressed in - if one has access to a 20 tonne press. Does anyone offer this as a service?
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Post by hutchey on Jun 18, 2024 7:39:04 GMT
nylocs are acceptable Need to see what you are talking about, can't picture the problem
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phaeton
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Post by phaeton on Jun 18, 2024 8:47:22 GMT
nylocs are acceptable Need to see what you are talking about, can't picture the problem Glad it wasn't just me then,
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Post by robski on Jun 18, 2024 14:26:14 GMT
I will try again to get pictures working, although I'm not sure how I'd photograph it anyway. Always difficult to photograph something that is not happening!
The thread on the tapered shank of the ball joint is a certain length X. The top of the upright that the taper and thread go into is thickness Y. After they are brought together there is some thread showing (X minus Y) so you put the castellated nut on it and do it up. You do it up until it is tight and line up an opposing pair of the castellations in the nut with the hole in the thread on the balljoint / taper and put a split pin through to secure the nut.
However, after tightening the nut, it has not gone on to the male thread far enough for the hole to appear in any of the gaps in the castellations. It appears that Y is thicker on the Mk2 than the Mk1.
I have ordered a pair of appropriately threaded nylocs (M12 x 1.25 pitch I think) so that will probably be the solution, assuming at least one thread will protrude from the nylon insert.
Funnily enough I was cleaning down the now bare front subframe yesterday and found a barely legible label on the face where the chassis joins the subframe - i.e. the bit that is covered up once skate and chassis are assembled. The label is a reminder to fit a couple of nylocs to the top swivel! Full marks for the reminder. No marks for where it was positioned!
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Post by robski on Jun 18, 2024 21:11:31 GMT
<Snip>!
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Post by robski on Jun 18, 2024 21:23:42 GMT
Ah - I seem to have stumbled on a way to post pics. My Exo has lost weight but has gone up in the world - using a pair of trestles... ![](https://i.ibb.co/zrWsTH5/20240615-131635.jpg)
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Post by robski on Jun 20, 2024 15:13:32 GMT
![](https://i.ibb.co/7jwPyFv/20240620-155058.jpg) Hopefully a quickie. Can anybody identify the manufacturer of this suspension unit? It's a front unit and the only identifier on it that I can see is a number: 190005 I need a couple of spares for it and its partner.
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