Tracker

Having done so much to AGH! over the winter I finally took the car to a professional alarm company who upgraded the CAT 1 alarm to include a GPS tracker and paging system. For obvious reasons I will not go into further detail but can confirm that it is monitored at every stage.

The finishing touch!

The finishing touch had to be a wooden handbrake cover - beautiful!

Keeping in touch!

Over the past few months I have been collecting the bits together to make up a in built phone. I already had the handset of the Nokia 810 from a previous project so as the components came up on Ebay I have assembled the complete kit. The ashtray was removed to accommodate the readout - perfect fit! I also managed to purchase a JVC double din head unit and sub base which were installed during the cold winters nights.

Racing Wing is installed

It is still bad weather outside so ideal for inside jobs. Three 8mm holes were drilled into the boot in preparation for the install of the freshly painted wing. Problem......on the provided template one of the holes in the middle has the wrong measurement - more on this later. Add black silicon and offer up top the body - after a little jiggle, the two outside bolts are fastened leaving the middle one completely out of alignment - lucky that the wing covers the new hole in the boot! Drilling up from below solves the problem using a self tapping bolt - the wing is made from a composite material that is very light but also very strong. The whole thing is completed a day later with the chrome surrounds and a touch of 18J paint to the underside of the bolts. A new LED high intensity brake light completes the job - very smart it is too! Will it make a difference to handling of the car? Of course not!


What I had of course forgotten was that the wing now added weight to the boot so that when opened, it promptly shut itself again! After using a stick to keep it open I found a boot lifter on Mx5Parts and this solved the problem - note(1): I was sent the left hand instructions with the right hand strut - doubled the time stripping the boot! Result is that I now press the button and up pops the boot and stays there - worth every penny. note(2): Drilling the 8mm hole is impossible unless you have sharp (very sharp) drill bits - do not even attempt unless they are brand new and start with 1mm and work up to 8mm. Whatever Mazda made the boot hinge from it was not ordinary metal!

MOT passed with flying colours

AGH! went in for its yearly MOT yesterday and passed with flying colours having done just less than 2000 miles since the same time last year.

Viewed in Australia!!

Thanks to Michelle and Steven in Australia who have voted for the car in the Ultimate Finish competition!

Ultimate Finish competition

AGH came third in the competition out of 60 entered!!

Father Christmas left a Dual Action Polisher by Meguiars under the Christmas Tree. After warming up the garage (to above freezing!) I had a play with the new tool with the result that the bonnet and boot are now rather shiny! As Father Christmas shops at Ultimate, I could not resist entering a competition to win a track day for the best presented car.

Rear Boot Spoiler

To finaly complete the exterior of AGH I have been researching the purchase of a rear boot spoiler. The one from MX5 parts was just too expensive and the ones found on Ebay did not follow the original pattern. Eventually I decided to take advice from Martin at MX5city and ordered a Mazda copy of the original complete with colour match spraying. I will report on the fitting in due course but have been told it is simple to do. What I have discovered is that the spoiler still enables the boot rack to fit - another purchase along with the genuine alluminium case ready for the summer trips! This concludes the modifications to the exterior of the car.

16" Alloy Sport Wheels go on

The weekend saw the 15" wheels and Bridgestone tyres come off AGH and the renovated 16" sports alloys fitted to the car. The Goodyear Eagle - D3 F1 tyres 205 / 45 / 16 look the part and I can confirm that thet transform the handling of the car. The increased cross profile now makes the car feel 'planted' to the road and the very smallest movement of the wheel translates to movement on the road. We (the royal we) will see how things progress in the weeks to come. I am now considering a trip to Nottingham Alignment Services to have a full geometry setup done.