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er kouki says 30mph on dial you actually be doing 35.9 same nock on affect with 60 actual is 71. same amount of turns 19%further distance travelled. something like that. I think i'll need a gps thing too
Hmm, that's quite a big difference that could land you some unwelcome points.
There are companies that will recalibrate speedos, for a price, but I know one Sammio builder who just checked with a GPS and marked the speedo glass with a chinagraph pencil at the relevant points. Works for him...
I use http://www.willtheyfit.com which seems to think that 215/55x16 are 643mm dia (a tad over 25") but it's always best to use the tech spec of the tyres rather than the generic size as they can vary quite wildly.
it fits perfectly, requires slightly longer M4 grub screws than it is supplied with but it allows the original mx5 cap to be used inside. A modified mini fuel tank rubber is used as well so the neck can be fitted from above with countersunk screws but remain hidden under the rubber seal.
I also have a dummy filler neck which ive modifiel to allow it to fit to the original mx5 neck extension, this allows a locking mini cap to fit inside the aston cap, i'll fit this if / when someone robs my petrol!
The 16" stainless blades came from ebay (boltonbits) who i have used a fair bit with mini parts and always send items quickly and can't be beaten on price..... not bad for £15 a pair
i will need to remove all the brightwork to get it polished before i wrap the car, the wipers are a little dull for my liking and could do with a few minutes on the polishing wheel!
My job for tomorrow is to get the car ready for wrapping,
obviously that will involve removing all the bits ive been working so hard to fit! but it needs to be done to get it right first time.
I have quite a bit of some really good quality metalflake pink sparkle vinyl, left over from a nissan Juke we have just completed but i'm not sure it will bring out the best in the car!
I didn't get much from selling the spare bits off. The hood complete was the only worthwhile bit at £90. Things like the boot lid, rear lights etc I just got a few pounds each so hardly worth the hassle of posting or waiting for people to collect.
I agree that some parts are almost not worth selling, now that tribute make a 1 piece front end the wings can also be sold, .... i guess every little helps!
most were sold on ebay with 99p start just to clear my garage
Summary of parts sold and what they fetched,
Boot lid £4.80
Soft top + tan tonneau £150
Set of wheels with 3 good tyres (no centre caps) £30
Set of 4 wheels with caps and good pirelli tyres £65 :l
Bonnet, Both wings, front bumper, rear bumper and all lights / headlamp motors £180
Black Tonneau £38
By my calculations this means the donor car set me back less than £100.
it fits perfectly, requires slightly longer M4 grub screws than it is supplied with but it allows the original mx5 cap to be used inside. A modified mini fuel tank rubber is used as well so the neck can be fitted from above with countersunk screws but remain hidden under the rubber seal.
I also have a dummy filler neck which ive modifiel to allow it to fit to the original mx5 neck extension, this allows a locking mini cap to fit inside the aston cap, i'll fit this if / when someone robs my petrol!
Ive just spent a week in dubai where 99% of the worlds 'wrapped' cars are (I'm guessing) seen a nice bugati veyron with a greeny/chrome wrap, looked the part. not sure on this 1 though.....
decent chromes cost up to £130 a metre, so I doubt I'll be doing that! I already have the vinyl for my car but I'm keeping it under wraps - excuse the pun
Chrome looks great but is a complete b****d to fit as its prone to discoloration when used on tight curves (which the mx250 has loads of!)
Some of them looked nice on the right car but that chrome rolls in my opinion they have just made a decent car look 'tacky'. with keeping the color 'under wraps' can you at least tell us if its going to be a standard finish or matt or chrome etc?....
I can safely say it won't be leopard print, I have do have Brown snakeskin, not enough to do an mx250 fortunately!
The vinyl I have is a pearlescent colour, that's all I'm saying
Today's efforts were not quite as fruitful as I'd liked.
Decided to make sure the car was driving sweet before I started stripping it.
Basically it had developed a strange idle problem, revs going up and down. Turned out to be a bad connection where I'd repositioned the fusebox,
With that sorted I then needed to cut out the rear arch liners I'd fibreglassed in, note to self..... Smaller tyres = no rubbing
Attatched the numberplates and took it for a cautious drive to the nearest petrol station, everything went well so I planted my foot on the way back, slight rubbing at drivers rear wheel when I hit a pot hole, I shall investigate further tomorrow
After taking a good close look at the susspension components, it seems that one of my rear springs is sagging a little, due to the age of the car i thought it would be wise to replace both rear shocks and springs before i continue with the build.
i was going to invest in adjustable ride height, however i noticed all the adjustable kits lower the car from 20mm - 60mm, at their maximum adjustment, would still be 20mm lower than stock! i couldn't risk this being too low for the large wheels
so...
I ordered standard rear shocks and standard springs
includes all the pictures, torques and nut sizes for a rapid job! get your WD40 out, there will almost certainly be a rusted in bolt or 2
If you suspect dodgy suspension components, I would recomend doing this before you fit the tribute kit, the upper mounts are located deep into the boot space, even deeper once the new rear is bonded in place!
not so much a problem if you have long arms!
the highlight of this job was probably the 4 hours spent removing the drivers side lower shock bolt, as the encapsulated nut decided it was going to demote itself to a regular nut, leaving a 5mm gap to squeeze the mig welder into weld it back on!
All is complete, ride height still looks a little wonky but it has been on axle stands for a week, i will take it for a spin tomorrow and see if it settles.
I took the car for a brief spin yesterday, the new shocks and springs have made a massive improvement, so much so i think i'll replace the fronts in the near future as well, absolutely NO rubbing on the rear.....
today the spacers arrived from [url]www.freakyparts.co.uk[/url]
i went for 40mm wide, i also fitted inner arch liners made from rubber sheet
the pic below shows the R/H side with spacer, the L/H side without.
i haven't decided what route i will take for the exhaust, currently it consists of the standard mx-5 box with the tailpipe cut shorter with a 60 degree elbow clamped on to redirect the fumes!
I imagine i'll get a dual exit set up, going to try to avoid cutting out the rear end if possible,
a few people have recomended a custom exhaust shop (pipecraft) near me, i'll probably just hand the car to them and say "make it sound as good as it looks"