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Post by jamiesharpe on Aug 24, 2018 21:19:02 GMT
Hi Guys, new to the forum and kit cars in general. Im pretty well known for taking cars apart and then getting half way through putting it back together before selling it, so to stop this happening again ive roped in my brother Jon and a good friend Alan to help. I work on cars daily owning a bodyshop so im hoping not to run into to many rusty bolts during the build and happy to take any advice or tips you guys have. I bought the doner around Christmas time 2017 I think when I initially placed my order for the kit but it then went on the back burner and was left outside complete. Stuart then advised that when I finally sent in the completed order that the kit would be ready for end of June. I finally paid and picked it up last week which im sure was a sigh of relief for them. Anyway, I had a quiet day at work today so spent around 6 hours taking the donor car part which is a mk2 1.8 model (with an lsd if that makes a difference) Ive managed to strip off the bumpers, arch liners, all the interior including dash with just the carpet, boot and bonnet to pop off on Monday before we attempt to do the final jobs and lift the body off. Ive had a look under the car now and what was a good car bodywork wise and engine cant be said for the suspension parts so I may be in for a bill to replace a fair bit yet... Pics   |
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Post by jason82 on Aug 26, 2018 10:57:48 GMT
Hi Jamie, welcome to the forum. If I can give you one bit of advice, if the suspension bushes are good, leave them alone. I know that it's nice to upgrade them, but it's a cow of a job, I tried using my 12t hydraulic press & bent one arm & wripped the bush housing on the other. The only effective way to remove the bushes is by setting them on fire & rubber gets everywhere.
Guaranteed the rear lower hub bolts will be stuck solid, I had to press mine out & replace them.they are expensive, from memory £20 each +vat from Mazda.
Enjoy your build mate.
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Post by hammy3601 on Aug 26, 2018 17:00:15 GMT
Welcome along, loads of help and advice on here and the FB group too.
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Post by jamiesharpe on Aug 26, 2018 19:07:59 GMT
Hi Jamie, welcome to the forum. If I can give you one bit of advice, if the suspension bushes are good, leave them alone. I know that it's nice to upgrade them, but it's a cow of a job, I tried using my 12t hydraulic press & bent one arm & wripped the bush housing on the other. The only effective way to remove the bushes is by setting them on fire & rubber gets everywhere. Guaranteed the rear lower hub bolts will be stuck solid, I had to press mine out & replace them.they are expensive, from memory £20 each +vat from Mazda. Enjoy your build mate. Cheers for the heads up, hoping to have the body off tomorrow and then we can really see what we have in terms of usable parts. I just hope much of it can be saved and will go again  |
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Post by jamiesharpe on Aug 27, 2018 17:43:03 GMT
Hi guys, bit of an update from this morning's work. We got the rest of the body stipped and lifted it off revealing the PPF without any real drama which was a nice change. Next stop is to strip the subframes down and blast,powder coat and replace any bits that we cant salvage. Total build time is currently at 18hrs which im really pleased with.      |
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Post by jamiesharpe on Aug 27, 2018 17:58:04 GMT
Quick question, what is everybody doing with the power steering/rack? The pipework on mine would all need replacing and ive read that its best to remove it?
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Post by p2tav on Aug 27, 2018 19:42:07 GMT
Quick question, what is everybody doing with the power steering/rack? The pipework on mine would all need replacing and ive read that its best to remove it? hi Jamie, This has been the big topic in the past, most will say get rid but they will not have tried it first. I decided to keep mine and the ABS system as i'm only going to use it on the road. most people will tell you that its not needed but as I have said in the past its much easier to remove it if you don't like it that add it later. I have only driven mine in the last few days and i'm so glad I kept it as its not too light and makes driving it a lot easier in my opinion. I have driven one without power steering and its not too heavy when moving. keep it i'm sure lots of people will have all the spares as nearly all get rid of it, i'm glad I kept mine. decisions decisions all good fun |
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Post by jamiesharpe on Aug 28, 2018 20:46:17 GMT
Quick question, what is everybody doing with the power steering/rack? The pipework on mine would all need replacing and ive read that its best to remove it? hi Jamie, This has been the big topic in the past, most will say get rid but they will not have tried it first. I decided to keep mine and the ABS system as i'm only going to use it on the road. most people will tell you that its not needed but as I have said in the past its much easier to remove it if you don't like it that add it later. I have only driven mine in the last few days and i'm so glad I kept it as its not too light and makes driving it a lot easier in my opinion. I have driven one without power steering and its not too heavy when moving. keep it i'm sure lots of people will have all the spares as nearly all get rid of it, i'm glad I kept mine. decisions decisions all good fun Cheers, something I need to decide fairly shortly then. cheers |
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Post by jamiesharpe on Aug 28, 2018 20:54:38 GMT
Bit more done this evening and some fighting with rusty bolts etc. Im hoping to have the rear subframe fully apart and then blast and powdercoat/paint before reassembly, then start on the front. It all looks pretty rusty but oddly enough most of it is on top of the metal meaning it will all come up nicely after blasting What are people doing for replacement bolts for wishbones etc as mine had to be hammered out and would need replacing. Also what bush kits are people buying? Cheers Total build time 22hrs      |
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Post by jamiesharpe on Sept 6, 2018 20:32:26 GMT
A little update on the build so far. Im yet to total up the hours since the last post but the rear subframe, suspension and brakes came apart last week and some parts have gone for powder coating and other parts im cleaning up for paint. The front subframe came off on Tuesday and has now been stripped down, bushes/ball joints removed and all 4 hubs have also been split. Had a bit of a nightmare with the front ABS bolts snapping combined with the actual sensors breaking apart which will be replaced (im keeping ABS for now) So everything is now apart to be either powder coated or painted. A few pics but more to come soon After a quick check, Total build hours have shot up to 40 hours     |
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Post by hammy3601 on Sept 7, 2018 14:39:34 GMT
Looking good, very satisfying part of the build
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Post by jamiesharpe on Sept 8, 2018 21:22:21 GMT
Looking good, very satisfying part of the build Yes ive been enjoying it to be fair. I should have a huge update soon though which will be nice. Lots of cleaning, painting and assembling to do... |
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Post by jamiesharpe on Sept 11, 2018 20:45:45 GMT
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Post by themorgster on Sept 12, 2018 11:00:16 GMT
Quick question, what is everybody doing with the power steering/rack? The pipework on mine would all need replacing and ive read that its best to remove it? I removed the pump and all the pipes from mine (not looped), then welded the pinion and cut off the ram (many tutorials online). I put loads of grease in to replace the fluid (probably too much!) but it was all fairly simple. People say welding the pinion is dangerous if the weld breaks, but it can’t be, because welding just removes the dead spot / slop. If the weld fails, the dead spot just comes back, you don’t suddenly lose steering! Note: the car is not finished yet, so hasn’t been driven, but I am willing to man-up and steer unaided. |
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Post by themorgster on Sept 12, 2018 11:08:30 GMT
Re: Bushes - I fitted the full Energy bush kit from Summit Racing in the US. Including shipping and taxes it came in around £260. The US Miata guys have pretty good things to say about them. In the UK the kits are either cheap (with a number of bad reviews) or crazy expensive! I also tapped grease nipples (aka zerks) into the wishbones, so if they do squeak, I can re-grease them easily.
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