Mr Zee's Exocet Project

[lukiez]

Thanks!


using some scrap stainless steel from left over extractor fan/hood ducting, i made up a simple battery tray

battery finally in its place, all the brackets & fixings are from scrap obtained over the years being put to use, the alu bar is from an old shelf in the kitchen and the hooks are from some old car or trailer re-tapped to take M4 wing nuts.

next up i wanted to fix on the interior mirror, i used the foam board to spread the load of the rather small base and a alu plate underneath. visablilty is fairly good actually, i think the longer stalk helps to see over the humps however it does block some of the view down the bonnet slightly.

naturally the side mirrors were next to go on, i'm using the standard iva friendly ones for now. these are meant for flat surfaces so the foam board came to the resue again, first the mirror base was profiled with a curve down the middle then using some heat to warm the foam then quickly screwed it down while softened. it filled the gaps rather well, i form then on a scrap tube of similar size rather than use the heat gun near the powdercoat.

now the battery was in for good, i finally could put the passenger seat in at long last. i also applied some PU sealant around the tops and any gaps in the side panels against water ingress and iva tester's ball.

[lukiez]

well this is it guys, the car is pretty much finished now - just the edge trim and nut caps to stick after going round it with a fine toothed comb. the last job i did was the vin plate i was going to make one using more of the stainless steel with the painted mev logo etc. but some how messed up the stamping gaps so used a simple plain alu sheet instead,
which means the drill/screws no longer spins in anger or heavy hammer blows so protective backing pulled of the alu and the bandages can finally come of the powdercoat.

Boy! did i stand back and admire the view, hard not to resist wanting to just take it out for a drive

so the iva forms have been sent off and i can relax slightly and get some sleep

[jgilbert]

Car looking very nice. One comment on your battery, other builds have placed the battery in a complete battery box? no sure if this is an IVA requirement if the battery is within the thingypit?

Also hard to see from your photos but have you go an edging on the rear ally lip that your fog light is mounted to?

Make sure you take some extra trim on the day for any small points they may pick up on.

Good Luck

[lukiez]

Well I have double checked in the iva manual - the battery is only mentioned 3 times, none to do with where its located nor for covering it. I aim to make a box for it later on once its on the road.

As for the rear panel with the fog light, its a partial box to shield the fuel tank. Plus all the sides are sloped at an angle so the tester's ball practically misses it.

[lukiez]

Well, I've finally received a date for the Iva test for the 13th Aug.
Since the last report I've stuck on loads of edge trim every where, sealed up the gaps between the side panels and chassis at the front.
Now just twiddling my thumbs in the meantime, might have to start another project out of boredom...

[jgilbert]

Jul 27, 2015 13:18:55 GMT lukiez said:

Well, I've finally received a date for the Iva test for the 13th Aug.
Since the last report I've stuck on loads of edge trim every where, sealed up the gaps between the side panels and chassis at the front.
Now just twiddling my thumbs in the meantime, might have to start another project out of boredom...

Post photos, lots of people would be willing to help/comment.

Your build look good so fingers crossed for you.

[tanny]

Good luck with the IVA fella. I've read through the entire thread start to finish just now, and love the build. Waiting for my garage to get fixed up and then I'll have the space to start a build.

[lukiez]

well the day for the IVA finally arrived, having looked at the weather reports all week leading up to the day it predicted to be the worst day of the month for storms and rain. however on the morning on the test all was clear, so the backup car was loaded up with most of the garage for every possible eventuality i wore the water-proof jacket and helmet.

after setting off shortly after 6am there was some light rain here and there on the way to the test centre but thankfully stopped and stayed dry all morning for the test. it was a good little drive and achance to bed in the brakes and check all gears work fine, i noticed the steering gets light and the back a little skittish but put that down to too much pressure in the tyres - currently set to 26psi, will try about 24-22psi next maybe a low as 20?

anyway, i have to give praise to the guy at Yeading test centre, he was reserved but friendly enough, allowed me to ask questions or explain how i done what i did and accepting them. we seemed to breeze through most of it, he did ask about under the rear cover so i showed him the access panel so he went off for a cuppa while i removed it.

it seemed the seat belt anchor point was borderline but he accepted it, he did point out my side repeaters were not visible from behind - he measured 45cm from the light and 5m backwards which i didn't know from reading the iva manual, so i had mine set to far inwards as it got blocked by the curve of the frame.

he did ummm and ahh about the brakes, altho the brakes checked out on the rollers he wasn't sure if the rears were locking up first, as i was watching it looked to me to be the fronts locked instead - to be fair the car stops very well so only skids a tiny amount - but he was happy that the rear of the car wasn't trying to swap ends or fish-tail. as i say tyre pressures may not be helping, plus suspenion setup will help too but thats for another day.

the car was weighed, which came out to a svelte 680kg for the early big tubed chassis version wich surprised me but very pleased with since i haven't attempted to save weight (standard mx-5 seats etc.), plus it came to a 54/46 split so it looks fairly balanced. sadly i didn't see what the db level was for the exhaust but it does sound nice!

after all that he then said "right, about those side repeaters... what can we do...?" having showed they can be pushed out of the grommet he said if i can mount it furthur outwards by an inch he'll be happy, so off he went to look for something to use! i was able to wedge them sticking of the grommet he came back satisfied they were more visible, then told me to meet back round to the front and he disappeared to the office.

i remembered i had some left over heater hose so used that to extend them, and quickly tape it up to hold them in position. had lunch and tea til he eventually reappeared to look at my bodge, still happy with it and presented me with the IAC pass certificate and admitted my car was the easiest car he's ever tested!!

[scooby1929]

Brilliant result well done

[miket]

Congratulations - well done. I've stolen/borrowed some of your pragmatic ideas - thanks for putting them in a build thread.

[lukiez]

You're welcome!

however, that was only the beginning of the story... (hadn't a chance to type it yet)

after the examiner wishing us well and shaking his hand with thanks, he warned of the weather ahead as it was coming up from the south... exactly the direction we were heading towards well we knew it may happen at some point in the day.

no sooner had i left and got a few miles down the road the rain started - i soon realised my mistake in not putting on the weather proof trousers... deciding stopping somewhere was not much of an option and just wanting to head home as soon as possible. only for the torrent of water to steadily get worse and more constant, wiping the visor no longer had any effect - compounded by the fact water was coming in seamingly at every angle i realised an instant upgrade to add mud-flaps on each wing was badly needed! the water spray from the tyres were 4 foot high! at low speeds so turning the corner meant a bucket was chucked at me each time

this continued throughout the journey until i eventually got home, even a drowned rat would have shown sympathy at this point, once back in the garage i peeled myself out and saw an inch of water in each footwell! as well as my plastic seat covers not having much effect. i was soaked right through, even i admitted the water-proof wouldn't have made much difference. of course once i changed out of my wet clothes and had a chance to soak up all the water inside the car (two full buckets worth!), and lo, the rain stopped and the sun even came out for a spell doh!

[lukiez]

thankfully the car is all dry now i've had a chance to leave it in the sun, however it revealed a fault has developed on the car, but its not the fault of the car nor my building it.

on the way home, due to poor visibily, i had hit what i thought was a deep pot-hole - sutton borough's upkeep of speed humps/cushions are impecible, however they ignore pot-holes and poor roads even if its next to the new humps they've put in! - the rear went with a BANG! wince! i did briefly look at the tyre once i stopped but looked ok and the car still felt fine.

what i had hit was a kerb which sticks out raised at right angles and on a corner - i hadn't seen it as i cut it close, judging by the evidence so does everyone else some so much as going airborne. luckily it didn't seem to damage the tyre or rim but the damper had taken the full hit and was constantly leaking oil over the floor, now its possible the damper could have been damaged in its original crash then again its probably the same age as the donor MX-5 (25 years), oh well, a pair of rear KYB dampers from euros were on offer so i quickly ordered them and set about painting white to match.

also the dominator headlights needed some mods as water was splashed into the back, causing the lenses to fog up the water had no way to escaping. first some holes were drilled in the lense cover and bowl to allow for breathing and water to drain out, next i replaced the open grommet for a 38mm blanking plug, a 10mm hole allowed the wires to be poked through.

[lukiez]

Yes! After the dvla dragging their heels I finally received my new reg docs yesterday, I couldn't wait to to fix on the plates.
Sadly yet more rain that evening, so I waited the next day to take it out for a brief spin dropping in to see the boys at work.

Talk about bees to the honeypot! The Exocet pulls more looks than my previous kitcar did (a Robin Hood), I even had a fella approach me to shake my hand once he learnt I built it myself! Turned out he attempting to build a monster truck from a Toyota Hilux

[Stewart]

Hey, if you fancy a drive out this weekend, we're racing at Castle Combe on Saturday. Should be able to sort a ticket or 2 out for you

[lukiez]

Wow, thanks for an invite sadly while i'd love to go we've got relatives from Canada to entertain this weekend.
altho I will make an excuse to use the car for ride outs