Seven - The magic number

 First thing to say is that as yet, none of the major bits are back from being refurbed or modified, so I haven't got the suspension on on done any of that exciting stuff yet. However, I have done a few more bits that were good to get out of the way. I modified, painted, and fitted the steering column: In the second picture there, I should probably add that yes, I did pretend to drive it and yes, I did make broom broom noises. There are two kinds of kit builders - those who admit to doing that and those who are lying. I finished fitting the fuel system at the back. I now have fuel lines running in conduit from the fuel pump to the filter and on forward, and then the return back to the tank plumbed in as well I have fitted and done the initial setup as recommended by MK on all the rose joints so the suspension can go on as soon as the uprights get here. I also cleaned and painted the gearbox in my home spray booth! Looks nice huh?! Well, yes and no. I am pretty sure I am going to ne...

 I may have outsourced some of the stuff I was not really enjoying. I have bitten the bullet and sent my manky uprights and axles off to be reconditioned by people paid to do so, with the added benefit that they will almost certainly do a better job than I would. That's relieved the stress levels hugely, and turned this project back into what I wanted, which was a cathartic exercise where I can make a bit of progress every time I go into the garage. Over the last couple of days I have installed the fuel tank, modified the fuel pump bracket and got all that installed. This has meant learning a few new skills. I have never riveted anything before for a start! The fuel tank straps bent and fitted and the fuel pump unit fully installed and ready to go. I now have a load of things I could do. I can't make big significant progress until some of the parts I have sent away start coming back, but I can do a few little preparatory bits and pieces - trim, paint and fit the top half of the...

While I said I enjoyed breaking the donor, I may have oversold that a bit. Pulling the engine out was deeply satisfying. Fighting with every. single. part of the donor since is somewhat less so. The car is from just before the turn of the century, so there is the best part of 22 years grime, corrosion, and just general gunk gumming everything up. The gearbox looks in great shape. It really just needs a good brush, a clean with some brake cleaner and then paint. Check. The engine looks OK. The previous owner assures me it runs fine and there is no reason not to believe him to be honest. Problem is he had already taken it apart a certain amount. That makes it a bit difficult to put back together but lets assume I can manage that with some guidance. The diff is fine. It's gone off for strengthening, but its in reasonable nick and its an LSD which is nice. The driveshafts, most of the ancilliaries and anything from the interior are fine. The uprights and hubs look like they are closer ...

 Originally, I wasn't going to be doing this, but circumstances dictated otherwise and certain things aside, I have quite enjoyed the process. The most satisfying moment And success!!!! Main bits all together Boxes of stuff More stuff Most of an engine.

 I've bought a fair few tools and bits and pieces for this project. So far, I have pretty much only been working on the donor car, so have used hammers, breaker bars, my socket set, spanners, pliers.... and so on. All useful and expected. The one thing I didn't buy up front but very quickly decided to invest in was this. Seriously - if you are breaking a donor car, just buy one. It will save you HOURS, possibly even days of sweat and tears, skinned knuckles, swearing, aching muscles, and ruined tools (oh, and get an inexpensive set of impact sockets as well - regular sockets can explode with the amount of force it generates. If you are breaking an MX5 - get a set that goes up to 32mm. You'll realise why when you come to the rear hub nuts). It's a 1/2 inch impact wrench and it's a beast for removing rusted up, over torqued, stuck nuts and bolts. Garages have even more extreme pneumatic versions but the 18V battery versions are perfect for the home hobbyist. All my 18...

 So - after the excitement of the donor arriving at the weekend, the really exciting bit finally happened and the kit arrived today!  While we had a few problems with the courier for the donor, the courier for the kit was flawless. He picked up in Essex at 8 am and dropped with me in Stirling at 3.10 pm! As I was in the middle of my working day I literally helped unload into the garage then went back to work and left it like this: I then had to do the obligatory thumbs up shot for MK which looked like this: I was a bit worried that it was going to be far too tight in the garage but all those boxes in the background are mostly full of body panels which have been relegated to the shed for a while. Once I had it unpacked, everything moved around and sorted out, it looked like this: Much better! And I can neither confirm nor deny whether I have already sat in the drivers seat and made brrrm brrrm noises. I'm pretty excited - all the kit looks nice - a few of the bits and pieces ar...

 Big week! First - after a few false starts and a bit of an issue with the courier, the donor arrived. True to his word, the person I bought it off has done a lot of the stripping of it and its down to the important bits I guess! As I write this it looks like this: Except a lot wetter (it's chucked it down all day). That doesn't really matter - I managed to pull out the steering column before i finished, as well as the propshaft which are two of the critical bits I need to get off to MK to be modified. The rest is going for scrap anyway once I have the big greasy bits that I need. So, the order of work next is: Try to get the rear hubs off. I've splashed out on a nut gun to go with the rest of my Ryobi stuff - everyone tells me it will make stripping the rest of the car a piece of cake. I hope so - those nuts had two of us hanging off a big piece of scaffolding and did NOT want to move. As soon as i get the hub nuts off, I can quite quickly get a load of other things out: r...