Dash and Carpet out... what would you do?

[Mr Morlock]

so checker style- that makes it half as good? Most of us drive MX-5s without it anyway. I don't really subscribe to just replacing things for the sake of it. If its an old car plenty of things may be suspect and how long do you keep these cars etc etc

[taminga16]

When you re-install the earth points, knowing that they are bright, shiny and conductive, secure some nail varnish (mine is purple, but colour is not important) and give them a coating. It will keep out the dirt and reduce electrolysis.
Greg.

[BlackLeaf]

Well, I enjoyed that. Here are a couple of before and after shots of the de-rusting. It was getting quite dark by the time I finished and it looks like I missed at a spot or two, but overall not too bad at all. Will give it another go on the weekend.

Before...



After...

[BlackLeaf]

having easy access to the carpet I would take the opportunity to refurbish it

I concur, and it is indeed my plan. I did a trial run on the boot carpet a little while ago and, whilst not perfect, it is certainly more presentable that it was.

[BlackLeaf]

Yep, that’s the one. I had my laptop in the car riding gunshot with me.

The instructions looked pretty good to me, though the airbag steps did not apply, and the bit about disconnecting the speedo cable (“…compress the tab on the speedometer connector to loosen its hold”) was a little confusing for me.

I was looking for a tab but was never really sure whether I was doing it correctly, and I was worried about pulling too hard and doing some damage. I consulted another forum member and he confirmed to just pull it towards me and it would indeed “…come free with a snap from the speedo connector”. It did just that, though it was loud enough and sudden enough that I thought I had broken something, but it was all good.

All said and done it was easier than I thought it would be and Anthony Weeks (the authour of the guide) should be acknowledged for his work.

[BlackLeaf]

Regarding the Dynamat: To make it 50% lighter, halve your cost, and make it easier to install, cut it into small squares and apply it in a checkerboard pattern (ie. alternate between bare metal and a Dynamat square). This has the same effect as applying a full layer of Dynamat.

Getouttahere! Really?

The logical part of my small brain says that can't be right, but then again the logical part of my brain thought (mistakenly as it turns out) that my wife would understand that even though we are in an equal partnership I am still the dominant partner and can tell her what to do.

A quick search of the interwebernet came up with:
http://www.iwsti.com/forums/gd-general/18952-proper-sound-deadening-dynamat-technique.html

Haven't got time to look further but if the Conundrum of the Chequered Dynamat was a Myth Buster episode it could very well be Plausible.

Thanks for introducing this line of thinking into the thread, Lokiel.

[BlackLeaf]

I admit up front that what is to follow may be seen as questionable by many people, however, from my perspective I am fairly happy on a number of levels, not the least of which is that I was able to put it all back together again.

On another level I would ask that you think about it this way... you know when you go out with your lady and she gets all dolled up, including putting on the hottest pair of panties (is this word allowed on this forum?) and you are the only other person who knows she is wearing them and you are a little bit excited at the thought and people look at you and wonder what you're grinning at? Well it is a bit like that.

*Forum readers may re-gender the above to suit their personal circumstances*

Consider also that I presently lack the skill set to do anything mechanical to my car so I will limit myself to purely cosmetic mods. It will be safer for my fellow road users that way.

Lastly, this may very well be an inspired one-off. I had a rummage around googleland and didn't come across anything quite like it, so this may be my one and only shot at 15-seconds of MX5 fame.

Anyway, here is my spray booth...





And here is the end result. Not exactly classic red but pretty close...





Quite chuffed with how this turned out...


If you are driving along the freeway heading into Brissy around 7am tomorrow morning and you see someone in a red MX5 grinning stupidly to himself, you will know why!

[LiteIsRite]

You just HAD to do that, didn't you... now my Classic Red is feeling unloved

Seriously, though, interesting idea and great work!

[MattR]

And now it is no longer my car with the first set of mods done to it......

Enjoy the journey with the new, just don't bugger up the handling

The only thing that maybe worth looking at in the next couple of years for suspension would be to renew the rubber bushes with rubber, you still want some movement and sway for the suspension to work properly.

Oh and get to the club track days, it will enjoy the exercise of being punted hard around QR and Lakeside, and Morgan Park if you want to venture further afield.

Lucky I found a good custodian to enjoy the car now I can't.

[Lokiel]

:
If you are driving along the freeway heading into Brissy around 7am tomorrow morning and you see someone in a red MX5 grinning stupidly to himself, you will know why!

Will there be a "dolled-up" lady in the passenger seat next to you?

[BlackLeaf]

Thanks for the feedback Dundy, LiteisRite and Matt.

Matt - I've made a few other changes as well. I will try and document in a 'garage' thread sometime soon. Roger that regarding handling. It is very well setup. The only thing I am thinking about at this stage is replacing the current 16" enkeis with my 15" enkei Apache II's. I would presume that if I replicate your alignment settings (which, if you could send to me I would really appreciate) there should be no negative impacts. BTW, last week was the first time I had the opportunity to put the boot in and I was scarily impressed at how it went. It was still dialling out in 3rd when I had to pull in the reins. It made me realise how tired my mariner blue was in comparison.

Lokiel - the car, she is my dolled-up lady, and it is what she will soon be wearing under the dash that is making me smile.

[MattR]

I wouldn't have a clue what they are

I had Paul at Option One do the alignment and set up when the coilovers were installed. I just told him what the car would be used for and picked it up when I was told it was ready...... Just go and see them, now at Albion behind the Brekky Creek Hotel, and tell them who's car it was, the bloke that annoys them for bits for his S14 race car that is being built as slowly as Paul's S15 and they will look after you.

Paul generally doesn't answer the phones as he is the workshop guy, Storm will more than likely answer the phone, but he is very helpful and knowledgeable and will make sure you are looked after. I am quite happy to spend my money there and have spent a small fortune there already and will be spending a lot more over the coming 12 months.

Paul is an old school rally guy and knows how to do proper alignments that work, and also does good prices on tyres as well. He mainly sells Achilles but can get other brands like Khumos and Nittos and so on in both R spec and high performance tyres and at good prices.

[smy0003]

Nice one!
Can't wait to see a reinstalled pic.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

[slug_dub]

I really like the red visible under the black outer dash, nice work.

[hamx5ter]

I LOVE the bits of red showing under the dash... brings the outside in (like the old Fiats) and a bit like this..