Dwight's Build Log

[krystalanddwight]

Well if everything goes according to plan I'll have a Haynes chassis in the next week and a half. Wayne-o has graciously offered to sell me his secondary chassis.
My plan is to purchase a MX5 donor - just waiting for the "right" price for the "right" car to come along on CL.

I found a great addendum that Saturn Sports Cars put together for the Haynes Roadster when using the MX5 donor - http://fridge.pov.lt/~alga/dxf/Mx-5_Build_Guide-rev3.pdf
Maybe it'll come in handy for someone - I was concerned about the mounts for everything since the Haynes book was written for the Ford Sierra donor not the MX5 and I don't have the experience to wing-it.

Can't wait....

[krystalanddwight]

Got the chassis home on Saturday, a big thanks to Wayne-o for a well done chassis.
Wayne-o was building the chassis per the Haynes roadster but I started on the modifications for the MX5.
Right now the few mods I've done are simply clamped down to the rest of the chassis, I'm hoping to get my hands on a Mig welder in the next few days from a friend of a relative who said I could borrow it.

[krystalanddwight]

I'm dying here - got the chassis but having issues with getting a donor.
Found 2 deals this week - one went before I was able to show up - the other was a huge scheduling issue with the seller.
I'm kind of stuck right now until I can pull everything off the MX5 I want to measure everything and figure out where to build the tunnel.

But in the mean time - I went over to my sisters down the street to clear out space in her garage for the donor - so I'm making some progress - just not where I'd like to.

[Lonnie-S]

That's a great building guide. I'm sure you noticed it's for a RHD (Right Hand Drive). I did see that the site also has a PDF of the top view only of a LHD Roadster, which is what I assume you'll want to build. It's not clear that it is the Saturn MX5 version. It could just be the standard Haynes LHD

It does have dimensions for some things. It may give you something to look at as you await a donor.

PDF with (limited) dimensions for LHD version (which?) ==> http://fridge.pov.lt/~alga/dxf/Top.PDF

Cheers,

Lonnie

[krystalanddwight]

I am doing a LHD not RHD, I figured I'd adopt the plans as I went. I didn't see this top view pdf, thanks for including the link, this will come in handy!

[Lonnie-S]

You may want to consider joining the Haynes UK site. A number of these issues (MX5 vs Sierra) for the chassis and tunnel have been covered there. It's something you can do that will help you be aware of issues before you find a donor. Here are 3 examples:

1) Haynes plans for standard LHD (not MX5) Roadster ==> http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=2430

2) Mx5 gearbox tunnel issues ==> http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=12937

3) Saturn vs Vodou wishbones? ==> http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=12969

They had some hacking issues a few months back and added some password dialogs to access certain parts of the site. If you're a new user, I suppose you'll be OK. PM me if you have trouble joining or accessing the site.

Cheers,

Lonnie

[krystalanddwight]

Oh my goodness - what a day, but let me back up a bit.
A few days ago, I found a black '96 Miata up for auction in Phoenix. I've made a few trips to Phoenix in the past month, and boy am I tired of the drive - but I figured if I got the Miata for the "right" price - well, then it would be worth one more trip. I signed up and registered with some sort of proxy bid so that I could bid online this Saturday, but I awoke this morning - what a beautiful morning it was - and checked my Craigslist bookmarks and found "her" - in Tucson, the guts of my new Locost. $350 was the asking price, and I called faster than my wife can talk. Spoke to a younger man who wanted to tell me about all the dents and nicks (that I didn't care about). He did mention that the seats had been pulled.

Rented an automotive dolly from U-haul and my father and I (this is a father/son project after all) grabbed his van and went a few miles to pick her up.
Of course the battery wasn't charged and we neglected to bring cables - but the seller was nice enough to say that it does run but has Rod Knock.
She's a beaut - RWD, 1.6L, dropped (don't know if that's going to be an issue), removable aftermarket steering wheel, clean title, and a pretty powder coated red engine topper.

After 4 hours of messing with the automotive dolly (BTW, if you're planning on using a UHaul automotive dolly, make sure the vehicle isn't dropped, otherwise get the full automotive dolly and pay the extra $20 - I swear it will be worth it) and finally getting it up into my sis' garage - I went home, said good-bye to my wife - and started to work.

Forgot my cell - so I'll post the pics soon - but my progress so far:
1. Removed and labeled the wires to - headlights, front turn signals, front parking lights, 1/2 done removing front bumper.
2. Jacked the driver side up and put in 2x 3ton jacks (harbor freight special for $17 for 2)

I've got work tomorrow but plan to plow through my new girl this weekend - we'll have some late nights over the next few months - but she's wearing red (for now) so that'll do the trick.

[krystalanddwight]

I can't sleep.... Either it's my ADHD or it's just normal.
I forgot to mention a few thing in my last post.

So, I removed the hood, the headlights, etc. But I figured I'd try and start her up tomorrow - so I plugged in my battery charger and connected it to the battery. After a few minutes, While I was ripping the ripped boot off the gear shifter, I saw lights - like disco lights between the gear box and the chassis on the floor under the vehicle. I thought I was hallucinating, maybe lack of sleep, too much work on the car for the day - I don't know.
I got out of the car and lights - red, blue, green, clear - were flashing underneath my new locost-wannabe. This car had been "pimped", LED lights lit up the passenger side, rear, and front. I haven't checked yet - but I assume it's installed on the driver side - just not working. For 3 hours I left my battery charger plugged in and got a wonderful light show. I looked everywhere for a switch to turn them off but to no avail. My battery charger kept hitting 25% then dropping back to 0%, I assume the lights are eating up what little the charger is charging.

My sis' came out before bed and started laughing, she totally wants the lights for under her Honda. Of course, being the big brother I said no problem - grab a tool and take them off, you can uninstall then install them on you Honda - but unfortunately she wasn't interested in working on that tonight - or ever.

She did take some pics and video of the light show for me - I'll post it soon. I also offered her the light-up foot pedals too - never knew they existed. Crazy pimps early 90's Miata's are for Locost builders.

[Lonnie-S]

Congratulations on the donor buy.

Boy, those lights would be unique if they were on a Locost, but I'm not sure they would get you into the "Locost Builders Hall of Fame" if you know what I mean. They might get you a quick wave-through down at the Nogales border crossing any evening, however.

We'll be looking forward to those photos.

Cheers,

[krystalanddwight]

Here are the pics, as promised.

[krystalanddwight]

Ok, I spent a good 4 hours on the Miata today. Broke down some of the dash and middle console. Took off the front bumper, pulled out the aftermarket air-filter and the duct taped hose, and pulled the radiator. I'm not mechanically inclined but it's pretty simple to remove all the bolts and nuts - it's just killer getting up and down and angling myself around the vehicle - I'm a computer geek for G*D sake!
Here's a pic of the current progress.

[GonzoRacer]

I'm not mechanically inclined but it's pretty simple to remove all the bolts and nuts -

A lot of the instructions in service manuals for old British cars will tell you how to take apart something and then say "Re-assembly is the reverse of the above directions."

So, in other words, once you've taken one apart, you should know how to put one together!

If that doesn't work, right-click the mouse...

Keep after it, Bro, you'll get there!

JDK

[davew]

If that doesn't work, right-click the mouse...

That is good!!!! I will have to try that. My problem, I can't tell right from left Dave W

[thegarman]

Just a quick note...as best as you can, I strongly recommend carefully marking all connections on the wiring harness as you disconnect things. LABEL EVERYTHING!! It will greatly simplify your work when you come to cutting down your harness. I read my wiring diagrams until I went cross-eyed and better labeling would have made my job much easier. I hastily cut too much on my first harness and spent 6 hours pulling a second one! Because to my experiences, I suggest you don't cut anything on your harness until you hook everything up and get the motor running...then cut a little, make sure it starts, cut a little more, check to make sure it starts, repeat.
Good luck with your build!
-Gar

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14227&start=285

[krystalanddwight]

LABEL EVERYTHING!!

Yes, I figured that might be something that will trip me up. I have a roll of masking tape and a sharpie, and so far I've labeled everything electrical that I've unplugged.
I figured that at the very least it will give me a sense as to which side of the rats nest is for the front and which is the back