Vindi's 91 BRG
02-23-2015, 06:44 PM
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Vindi's 91 BRG
Thought I ought to start tracking my progress on my car as I'm heading towards a DIY turbo build over the next couple of months. First a quick (ish) intro ...
I'll start with the reason I got it... used to commute to work by bike, had a VFR800 first and then managed to pick up this beauty, a BMW Boxer Cup
I was knocked off in January 2009 and smashed my wrist etc...decided 4 wheels was safer, especially with 2 young kids!
My first MX5 when I got it in March 09, £950 off ebay... sight unseen apart from the usual few dodgy photos! Jumped on a train to South Wales (I'm in the UK by the way) with a fistful of notes and my fingers crossed. Luckily the guy I got it from was really nice, took time to show me round the car and explain how everything worked, any quirks, his top ten things I ought to do to get it perfect (he had written them all down), etc... rear brakes were the only thing that really needed sorting, so I did ok I think.
Wheels were made by Rays which was a nice bonus too! See, even my son loves it ("Its better than the noisy orange one")
First mod was a strut brace and a front lower brace bar, followed by ditching the style bar and replacing it with this
etc etc, all the usual stuff followed including about 4 different sets of wheels until a nicer base car came up.
I'll start with the reason I got it... used to commute to work by bike, had a VFR800 first and then managed to pick up this beauty, a BMW Boxer Cup
I was knocked off in January 2009 and smashed my wrist etc...decided 4 wheels was safer, especially with 2 young kids!
My first MX5 when I got it in March 09, £950 off ebay... sight unseen apart from the usual few dodgy photos! Jumped on a train to South Wales (I'm in the UK by the way) with a fistful of notes and my fingers crossed. Luckily the guy I got it from was really nice, took time to show me round the car and explain how everything worked, any quirks, his top ten things I ought to do to get it perfect (he had written them all down), etc... rear brakes were the only thing that really needed sorting, so I did ok I think.
Wheels were made by Rays which was a nice bonus too! See, even my son loves it ("Its better than the noisy orange one")
First mod was a strut brace and a front lower brace bar, followed by ditching the style bar and replacing it with this
etc etc, all the usual stuff followed including about 4 different sets of wheels until a nicer base car came up.
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02-23-2015, 06:46 PM
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So here's the next MX5 I got ... I've bought about 15 others since then but this one has stuck with me for various reasons ...
So here's MX5 number two
At this stage I'd already changed the wheels and added a hard top, but the basic spec was good already:
1991 V limited, 1.6 Long Nose Crank engine
HKS filter, uprated plugs and leads
Borla exhaust, 4-1 stainless manifold and decat pipe
Performance 5 Puredrive shocks
Carbing front and rear, upper and lower braces
Hard Dog M1 Double Diagonal Roll Bar
Uprated ARBs and fully polybushed
Uprated to 1.8 brakes
It had been owned by Phil at Performance 5 (a UK based MX5 specialist) so had been a test bed / demo vehicle for their shocks and had been really looked after
Russell
So here's MX5 number two
At this stage I'd already changed the wheels and added a hard top, but the basic spec was good already:
1991 V limited, 1.6 Long Nose Crank engine
HKS filter, uprated plugs and leads
Borla exhaust, 4-1 stainless manifold and decat pipe
Performance 5 Puredrive shocks
Carbing front and rear, upper and lower braces
Hard Dog M1 Double Diagonal Roll Bar
Uprated ARBs and fully polybushed
Uprated to 1.8 brakes
It had been owned by Phil at Performance 5 (a UK based MX5 specialist) so had been a test bed / demo vehicle for their shocks and had been really looked after
Russell
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02-23-2015, 06:52 PM
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I'll try to cut to the highlights as a lot has changed, but along the way I made my own ducktail spoiler, and got a friend to make a tow hook as the ones on the market seemed to bend quite a lot
Managed to find a Garage Vary bonnet
and some lo pro headlights
Next up was the biggest purchase I've made for the car...the wheels were bad enough, but the tyre prices were stupid!!
Wheels on - first trial fit
6ULs in Matt Bronze, 15 x 9. Tyres are Toyo R888 in 225/45/15
Also managed to get this Bride Seat from a friend in Japan
Really is a nice place to be!!
Russell
Managed to find a Garage Vary bonnet
and some lo pro headlights
Next up was the biggest purchase I've made for the car...the wheels were bad enough, but the tyre prices were stupid!!
Wheels on - first trial fit
6ULs in Matt Bronze, 15 x 9. Tyres are Toyo R888 in 225/45/15
Also managed to get this Bride Seat from a friend in Japan
Really is a nice place to be!!
Russell
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02-23-2015, 06:55 PM
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I decided at this point I really ought to see if all the changes I'd made actually made the car any faster... so off I headed to Rockingham Circuit for a day with Mazda on Track...
Its this way!!
Great day, but just not enough poke down the straights
Russell
Its this way!!
Great day, but just not enough poke down the straights
Russell
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02-23-2015, 06:58 PM
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Sorry, the orange one ...
Not the prettiest car ever made (!!) but cheap and quick which is all I was after at the time. It's a Vindicator Sprint with a Focus ST170 engine on Jenvey TBs etc, it was a bit too focused for me at the time with no roof, doors or windscreen, 575kg and 200bhp.
Russell
Not the prettiest car ever made (!!) but cheap and quick which is all I was after at the time. It's a Vindicator Sprint with a Focus ST170 engine on Jenvey TBs etc, it was a bit too focused for me at the time with no roof, doors or windscreen, 575kg and 200bhp.
Russell
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02-23-2015, 07:07 PM
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Next up was an engine swap... the car did well on the track day, but I really wanted a load more power... something anyone reading this will relate to!! The 1.6 was doing ok, but had 184,000 miles on it so I didn't really want to spend any money on it... after hunting round I decided on a Mk2.5 Sport engine - the VVT one.
Few pics as it progressed
Cleaned up the clutch (Spec II) and flywheel (lightened), and mounted them on the new engine.
Test fitting the strut brace
Lots of friends over to help, as usual!
So with the engine sat in place, I messed about a bit and got it all wired up... got it fired up at and then decided I might as well supercharge it.
At this point I'll skip about 20 changes of plan from part way through 2010 to now ... to summarise I charged it (Sebring M45 kit), then changed the charger kit to a better one (MP45 Mini kit), then put some Jenvey TBs on it, then got another Mini MP45 charger kit, then sold that for a BRP MP62 kit, then sold that and that's where we're up to at the moment.
The head was changed for a 1999 Mk2 one but otherwise the engine is stock.
Essentially I was trying a load of things to see what I wanted and none of them ticked the boxes ... then a local lad gave me a ride in his FM2 car. It's an old build with the engine having been forged in about 2008 but it's holding on well and currently runs about 270 ... so my decision was made, I needed a turbo!
Russell
Few pics as it progressed
Cleaned up the clutch (Spec II) and flywheel (lightened), and mounted them on the new engine.
Test fitting the strut brace
Lots of friends over to help, as usual!
So with the engine sat in place, I messed about a bit and got it all wired up... got it fired up at and then decided I might as well supercharge it.
At this point I'll skip about 20 changes of plan from part way through 2010 to now ... to summarise I charged it (Sebring M45 kit), then changed the charger kit to a better one (MP45 Mini kit), then put some Jenvey TBs on it, then got another Mini MP45 charger kit, then sold that for a BRP MP62 kit, then sold that and that's where we're up to at the moment.
The head was changed for a 1999 Mk2 one but otherwise the engine is stock.
Essentially I was trying a load of things to see what I wanted and none of them ticked the boxes ... then a local lad gave me a ride in his FM2 car. It's an old build with the engine having been forged in about 2008 but it's holding on well and currently runs about 270 ... so my decision was made, I needed a turbo!
Russell
Last edited by vindi49; 02-23-2015 at 07:20 PM.
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02-23-2015, 07:17 PM
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Few random additions along the way ...
Better rad as the old one started leaking
Found a nicer exhaust, full titanium so 16kg lighter than the Racing Beat one I had before. 2.5" with no mid silencer and a decat so should suit the turbo ok
At this point, a load of other bits were being swapped over as well... out with the old Viscous diff, and in with a Cusco adjustable diff
Russell.
Better rad as the old one started leaking
Found a nicer exhaust, full titanium so 16kg lighter than the Racing Beat one I had before. 2.5" with no mid silencer and a decat so should suit the turbo ok
At this point, a load of other bits were being swapped over as well... out with the old Viscous diff, and in with a Cusco adjustable diff
Russell.
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02-23-2015, 07:19 PM
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Thinking about safety, I had sat in a few cars with full cages and was less than impressed with the clearance to your head, especially on the side bars. So following a conversation with a good friend who has an Endurance Racing MX5, I decided to send the car in for some surgery! 3 days later I get the call, she is out of surgery and in the recovery room...
Spot the difference... not the hardest one this!
Russell.
Spot the difference... not the hardest one this!
Russell.
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02-23-2015, 07:33 PM
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Made a carbon ducktail boot for myself at some point as well
Made a Roll Bar as well ... I made an offset one first, like the Jap ones but in 45mm CDS tube and properly fixed to the chassis, then as someone did a photoshop, I made a twin sided one as well.
and a brief fling with a Kanspo hardtop ...
Russell.
Made a Roll Bar as well ... I made an offset one first, like the Jap ones but in 45mm CDS tube and properly fixed to the chassis, then as someone did a photoshop, I made a twin sided one as well.
and a brief fling with a Kanspo hardtop ...
Russell.
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02-23-2015, 07:39 PM
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Decided if I was lower, my passengers really ought to have the same treatment otherwise it looked a bit odd
So the floor is now about 4 inches lower than it used to be, and the seat has been custom mounted nice and low as well ... so plenty of space for a full cage or whatever I plan next, while staying miles away from anyone's head!
Which brings me nearly up to date, and to the first item of any real interest to this forum ... I bought this:
Russell.
So the floor is now about 4 inches lower than it used to be, and the seat has been custom mounted nice and low as well ... so plenty of space for a full cage or whatever I plan next, while staying miles away from anyone's head!
Which brings me nearly up to date, and to the first item of any real interest to this forum ... I bought this:
Russell.
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02-23-2015, 07:44 PM
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Bit of a change in the wheels department, and my first really big mistake ... I sold the 6ULs to help fund another car. Really shouldn't have done it as 6 months later I decided to sell on that car anyway, so I had some money but no wheels about that I liked ... temporary solution is these:
They are sub 5kgs for a 15 x 7 and the colour is good, but I'll want something wider for some bigger tyres at some point.
Russell.
They are sub 5kgs for a 15 x 7 and the colour is good, but I'll want something wider for some bigger tyres at some point.
Russell.
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02-23-2015, 07:53 PM
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So that's about it ... I managed to get a turbo off an S15, nothing amazing but it's ball bearing so ok for a start. I have a turbo elbow and downpipe also off S15s, both 2.75" which should flow well enough to get me going and not be too different from my 2.5" exhaust.
I've spent the last few days buying a load of odds and sods I'll need like a boost solenoid, bigger injectors (650cc EV14s) etc and fingers crossed my list is almost complete.
The rough plan is get the car running and back through its MOT so it's road legal again (it's been off the road for about 9 months). Once that's done I'll start bolting on the turbo bits and see if I can get it running in a basic format to check everything works. I need an intercooler at some point as well, and then the game is really on ... find the weak points and once it's running well I'll try to get a decent amount of track time in the summer.
Russell.
I've spent the last few days buying a load of odds and sods I'll need like a boost solenoid, bigger injectors (650cc EV14s) etc and fingers crossed my list is almost complete.
The rough plan is get the car running and back through its MOT so it's road legal again (it's been off the road for about 9 months). Once that's done I'll start bolting on the turbo bits and see if I can get it running in a basic format to check everything works. I need an intercooler at some point as well, and then the game is really on ... find the weak points and once it's running well I'll try to get a decent amount of track time in the summer.
Russell.
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02-23-2015, 08:40 PM
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The brakes are Maruha 4 pots, but that was just a test fit as I don't have any pads yet. They will go on before it goes back on the road though. They are pretty light but use the standard Mk2.5 Sport discs, so I was hoping to get a set of the ally bells and outers that 949 racing used to make to save a bit more weight.
I'm in the West Midlands, but have relatives in Bolton and Wigan
Russell.
I'm in the West Midlands, but have relatives in Bolton and Wigan
Russell.
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03-08-2015, 06:34 PM
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Just made a different shape Roll Bar, slightly more normal track day type bar this time.
It's only temporary as I'll make a full cage before too long but I think it's better suited to what the car will be used for this year
Russell.
It's only temporary as I'll make a full cage before too long but I think it's better suited to what the car will be used for this year
Russell.
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