Hoodedreeper's MX5 (Purple Project)

[hoodedreeper]

Yesterday (Sunday 21st August) myself and a few friends headed over to Santa Pod Raceway for their Run What You Brung events. Having never done this i was pretty nervous...













MX5 - 200hp
MR2 Turbo - 363hp
Astra GSi - 276hp
Leon - 325hp



It wasn't until my last run of the day that i found the Intercooler pipe on the Charger side wasn't attached. By the time we managed to get it fixed the track had closed. The times aren't the best for the car spec,but i now have targets to beat for next time

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Against my better judgement I quite like the crazy little car

But unfortunately, that stupid sticker across your windscreen deserves to get you knicked. I can't believe a petrolhead thinks that is in any way acceptable for driving.

[hoodedreeper]

Haven't posted for awhile...

Been to a couple of shows since Santa Pod,then i broken down on the way home from a show mid Sept and spent 3 months fault finding but its finally fixed

Headed into the city where a new light tunnel had been put up. Would have been rude not to get some snaps

[hoodedreeper]

Going back a month or so,i received a spare engine and stand for Christmas. The current engine suffered from alot of bore wash and the compression is lower than i'd like.

The replacement engine is the same,its a 1.6 from a UK car (90hp). Here are some pics of the progress so far







Toyota Coil On Plugs with the loom already made



Collection of new gaskets,seals,cambelt kit,waterpump etc



I was finally able to degrease the block inbetween the rainy showers. Theres a few smaller areas that
need cleaning (behind the silver tape for example) but its 90% ready for paint. I've switched from aerosol to brush on as it'll be easier to do with the unexpected weather at the moment

[hoodedreeper]

Finished off the prep on the block and masked it up ready for paint



A couple of layers of Smooth Silver Hammerite,job done!



Started to spray some bits and pieces in VHT Wrinkle Black





Also had some bits and pieces powder coated in Gloss Black



I also received my GarageStar/Circuit Dreamer order,much excite! rare part! wow!

Mazda 323/Mercury Capri Valve Cover
Coil On Plugs bracket
Alloy Overflow Tank
Cam Gear Hardware

[hoodedreeper]

Fitted a front Stainless Tow Hook from Jass Performance along with their new Interior Mirror and retro style oil cap. I also fixed the broken side light on one of the TSIs.

While the bumper was off i refitted my HIDs as the current bulbs are pretty useless







With the car breaking down back in September i was starting to have enough of it,this meant it didn't get cleaned for 4 months!

The other half kindly cleaned it for me,as it always seemed to rain when ever i had a day off :/

[hoodedreeper]

Made alot of progress with the spare engine recently

[Actus Reus]

Remember seeing this on Nutz - lovely project.

[cheddar]

Worth seeing again for the rear wing alone

[hoodedreeper]

I've had one of Aran's MP45 inlets it sitting in the garage for about a year,it was time to finally fit it. While the supercharger was off i did an oil change and fitted a new belt and tensioners.

Also while the supercharger was off i replaced the L shaped hose inbetween the Waterpump inlet and metal joiner (which goes to the lower radiator hose) as i'm pretty certain thats the cause of my coolant leak.



I received a package from Japan a couple of months ago. That was a brand new RX7 FD3S 99spec front splitter! I've seen one other car with it fitted on a Mazdaspeed bumper and i fell in love. It was a gamble as i didnt know what the fitment would be like.
With the original lip discontinued from Mazda,i had to improvise. Its far from perfect,its not the correct shape but i think i did a good job with getting it on.









As you can see,i didn't fix the coolant leak I need the front crank seal,timing belt and waterpump changing so fingers crossed its waterpump related.

[hoodedreeper]

Y'know when you get an idea in your head,and you can't tell if its going to be a good or bad idea...well...that may have happened.

Every year it seems i do something drastic with the car and its always a risk. I've had an idea about having a livery designed and fitted to the car for almost a year now. I contacted Tom at Infamous Creations (he's done some awesome drift car designs for drivers across the globe) as i knew he'd be the guy to speak to.

A few months went by with ideas being thrown back and forth. I've always loved the HKS livery and knew that would be the one for MX5. So Tom drew out the pattern as a base and we built it from there. The design ended up looking like this:



I wasn't too keen on my photography logo being as big as that,but that could be changed later on. I emailed a local graphics company ( Unique Signs) with the render back in June 2016. We got the design sorted,the guys took lots of measurements and the graphics were fitted this week. I collected the car on Thursday (25th May) ready for the Modified Nationals show the following day.

After getting back from the show today (Sunday 28th May) i stopped off at a previous location i took for photos not long after i bought it

[hoodedreeper]

A couple more photos of when i got the car back



My Car Club's new window sticker





And a couple i took from the show

[Superhoop]

For the coolant leak, have you checked the two hoses to the heater from the back of the block? They are a common failure due to getting covered in oil from the CAS O ring leaking and causing them to get weak - You can get silicone replacements??

[Butter Face]

What a transformation! I actually love it a little bit.

[hoodedreeper]

Superhoop said:

For the coolant leak, have you checked the two hoses to the heater from the back of the block? They are a common failure due to getting covered in oil from the CAS O ring leaking and causing them to get weak - You can get silicone replacements??

I've got silicone hoses fitted but the leak is at the front of the block according to the puddle on my driveway. Tomorrow will tell as it goes into the garage to be sorted

[5harp3y]

i cant help but think that this would look 100000 times better without the BGW

[C70R]

5harp3y said:

i cant help but think that this would look 100000 times better without the BGW

Agreed. And, it might have hustled itself down the quarter mile faster than a standard car had it not been adorned with so much tat...

[hoodedreeper]

C70R said:

Agreed. And, it might have hustled itself down the quarter mile faster than a standard car had it not been adorned with so much tat...

Its a good job i went there for a laugh with some friends and didn't take it too seriously Who really cares?

[DonaldTrump]

The rear spoiler has dived opinion ever since you fitted it. For me i'm afraid it's a no, it overwhelms such a small car. However the car is yours so if you like it then that's all that matters.

[carphotographer]

Whats the purpose of the rear spoiler ?