Weather yesterday on New Years day was,great.
We could feel our fingers and get on with a load of small jobs that came together to deliver on the unwritten schedule.
For me, a massive achievement for my holidays would have been to get the engine out of the MX5 and getting that stripped on my own.
But, with the help of @nickwheeler the pace was quadrupled and we completed it in two days.
BOOOOM ! As @pauly always says.
That job done, meant that I still had a few days of leave over to make more progress, in-between Sally’s working days and all the happy festive family days that I had agreed to being festive on this year. And I actually enjoyed the very low key Christmas season. Though stuff was not getting done nonstop, it was actually the right pace, because this build must never become a chore or a bore.
With the engine and gearbox on the floor, the obvious next point to aim for was to lift up and get the mock up and then fixing them to the chassis.
On the in-between days I carried on and got the body ready by stripping it further etc.
On New Years Eve, Nick and I spent a few hours getting some stuff done.
I made up the gusseting/boxing plates for the engine mounts in the mean time.
Then…… 01 January 2022
Nick was at my door by 9.30 followed by a coffee, planning and looking at some Kit Car options like lights etc.
Then we headed down and hit the build hard.
Really hard.
Slotted mount plate and engine in position.
Then one gusset tacked in place with the MIG welder Nick had brought.
Followed by the other side.
Some crawling around on the floor…..
Giving this result.
With all the gussets tacked in place, Welder no 2 came out…….
Stick welders love thick steel.
I turned the amps up to result in a cherry glow right through the 6mm steel plate.
So full on, deep penetration.
I ran up all the seams and between us, the mounts ended up a formidable pieces of engineering, covering over most of the original Ford mounts that I had cut away the day before.
From there a quick coffee (Nick runs on caffeine) and without missing a beat, the 80 grit flapwheel came out and tidied the splatter and flat surfaces.
The results speak for themselves.
One side….
Opposite view.
CHUFFED AS FECK WE WERE.
Time for a sandwich and coffee.
Anyone want to see the rest of the afternoon’s activities?
.