Melvin the Mev Mevster

[Phaeton]

The Formula 27 came & went, the BMW R1200GS came & went, the Freestyle went, the GTM K3 came & went, then finally the Robin Hood 2B4 came & went, so what next, well the idea was to wait for Andy to get a MGF frame build to try to make a Freestylesque type buggy road legal. But in the meantime on Faecesbook there was a Mev Mevster up in Bedlington, it's a full kit including powder coated chassis & engine/box already installed. It had come school as a project they were doing but the teacher left & wasn't replaced, the seller bought it to build but has been given an eviction order from the council to get it out of the garage he was storing it in. After some haggling we agreed a price & an 7 hour round trip was ensued to collect it.

Only issue was although the engine/gearbox had been installed there was no documentation with it, so no V5C for the donor which means a Q plate would be the end result & I would have to prove the age of the engine for IVA. Was talking to my son about this & he said well what about this one, (MX5 on FB) it's complete apart from no rear subframe & diff, ask him if it comes with V5C, yes it does, okay so we're off on another 6 hour round trip to collect that one. Interesting getting it on & off the flatbed with no rear subframe/suspension/wheels but we managed it without causing too much damage.

The engine on this one is a 1.6, but sounds very good, the plan now is to swap the engine/gearbox over so that the donor is actually the true donor, as although it's a bit extra work we know at least we have a good running engine. Only paid £150 + £50 fuel so I'm hoping that it will end up being free.

Melvin arrives at night on the flatbed



His new heart arrives on the flatbed



They meet



Don't envisage any progress for a few days I have house DIY to finish & then a drift car to repair.

 

[Phaeton]

Not really a great deal done, still not taken the covers off Melvin to see what I actually bought, yesterday I swapped the cambelt, tensioners & the water pump on the 1.6 didn't quite get it finished, decided to do it in the car, then once I have finished I can start it up to make sure I got ti right before pulling the engine. At least that way if it doesn't star once installed in the kit I know I've done something wrong since then.








Looked like the belt had been changed recently as the tensioners looked clean but at least I know now & the water pump hadn't been changed.

 

[Phaeton]

No pictures but last night was a bit hectic, I was steadily plodding along removing stuff to get the engine out of the MX5 when my son decided he was going to join in, at which point things speeded up, engine & box was removed apart from not draining the gearbox oil & spilling most on the drive it went well. Then as we were deciding what to do next his mate a professional mechanic turned, up, the evening then speeded up even more, within the next couple of hours, the unknown engine in the kit was removed & replaced with the known engine from the MX5 along with a clutch change, they compressed about 3 days work into 2 hours, although trying to find all the tools in the dark was intersting.

 

[Phaeton]

Nothing really on Melvin other than the shell got loaded today, filled up the space with anything metal we had lying around.



So I can now start to look at Melvin & what I'm going to do

 

[Phaeton]

Dropped the shell off at the scrapyard, they wouldn't take it without disclosing the Reg No, never had that before, but as I have the V5C in my name & both VIN plates I'm hoping the come registration I'll get an age related plate.

The other day we swapped the engine over, but on having a closer look I need to swap the gearbox as well, the MK1 box has a mechanical speedometer, whereas the MK2 has an electrical or at least that's what I' being told, the MK1 only has 2 electrical connections the MK2 has 3.

So we started with









The looking closer the front coil springs don't look good.



Nor do the trackrod ends



So I fitted some new coilovers







Then finally ended up with





There's only 12 bolts holding the Skate to the frame so I removed them & lifted the frame off, there are also 4 big bolts that hold the 2 subframes to the Exo, I made sure I could undo those & called it a night

 

[Phaeton]

Went out again to the car to make more mess, removed the engine again, then the gearbox then split the 2 subframes, then stripped them, had an issue with one bolt that had quite a bend on it & had to be cut, but in the end it ended up as.

 

[Phaeton]

Just a bit more progress whilst the subframes are off to be powder coated, the MX5 come with power steering but everybody seems to think it's not needed so depower the rack. You can simply remove the pump & then leave the pipes on, then loop the inlet to the outlet, this is how I received the rolling chassis. Or you can strip the rack & remove the centre seal which then makes it into a manual quick rack, this is the way I went, I followed the instructions on http://www.flyinmiata.com/tech/depower.php?x=1 & it was straight forward.

Yes I know the workshop is in a disgusting state, it is planned for a tidy up tomorrow as I've already chucked a load of stuff

Rack removed from housing



Housing needs cleaning up



Don't you just love it when you put your hand into your little used toolbox & find the right sized 41mm spanner

 

[Phaeton]

Went to the powdercoaters today to fetch the suspension back, then started on the 22 polybushes, then immediatly fitted the first 3 in the wrong arms so had to take them back out again. Then put the 4 right ones in, first 3 went in easy as, the 4th was a barstool.

 

[Phaeton]

Instructions said to warm the poly bushes up to make them more pliable which did work,

So a bit of camping in the worksop







Then yesterday started building them up to the point of at my carrying limit, luckily just able to still lift them





Fitted the diff back into the rear subframe, along with the wooden springs again & the EXO, then the wheels





Fitted the steering rack to the front subframe, long with the wooden springs then the wheels, forgot the pictures, until I made a shorty





Bought a couple of trestles from Screwfix so lifted the frame up so can see about the fuel & brake lines, they do 250Kgs each, so I'm hoping with a bit of extra support they will hold even when the engine & box are fitted, should make it easier to work on.

 

[Phaeton]

So 2 weeks, many hours & £600 I'm almost back to where I started




Got the frame up in the air, got to find a good way to get 2 fuel lines & a brake line from the back to the front, have to start by removing the previous attempt which was only 1 fuel & 1 brake, they've drilled & pop riveted the frame which I wish they hadn't, but as long as it doesn't rain tomorrow I'll get a better idea.

 

[Phaeton]

It's amazing how long simply jobs take, all I managed tonight was clean up & fit the clutch slave cylinder, fit the starter motor, fit the exhaust manifold after repairing the heatshield brackets, & the first part of the exhaust

 

[Phaeton]

Well I think I have turned the corner, I'm going forward now (hopefully) not a great deal done as I'm now chasing the light with no garage. Last night I made a couple of brackets to hold the flexi's on, hopefully I've fixed them in the right place.

So we started with a mistake, anyone see the obvious mistake



Also bought a couple of saw horses from Screwfix, they hold 250Kgs each so I'm hoping that once the frame is back on the Exo I can then put the whole thing back up on them so I don't have to work on my knees



Then I set about doing the front brakes

 

[Phaeton]

Just a bit more done, new rear calipers fitted & brake lines put on, bit stuck now, need some more brake line clips which were ordered last night, but were going away on Saturday to a cottage in North Yorkshire so this is likely to be the last update for a while, not sure there is anything else I can do before the frame goes back on.

 

[Phaeton]

We've been away last week, up in the Yorkshire Dales away from everybody, went into Whitby & it was just too busy, anyway got back yesterday so spent the afternoon making up some brackets to go underneath the fuel line brackets to hold the rear brake line.

Before we went away to tidy the drive up the son & I put the frame onto the chassis, it didn't go straight on & was held on something, we couldn't see it at the time, but it was obvious today.



The frame needs to off again anyway, so it will have to be replaced, as it's got a kink in it.

So after that I fitted the 10 brackets I've made & got the pipe on as far as it can, the last bit needs extra clamps that will need holes drilling which again can only be done with the frame off.





Then as the light was fading I fitted the handbrake.



It's going to start getting hard to make any progress now as it will be dark by 5pm, so it will be restricted to the weekend

 

[Phaeton]

Spent the last few days trying to get the brake & fuel pipes nice & straight, but given up god knows how people do it, they have more patience than I have, so it's good enough, they are all fixed & clipped in.








Next job was to put the frame back on the Exo hopefully for the last time, I was just about to get the engine crane out when the son turned up so it was fairly easy to lift it on, went on without any issue this time, not even sure how we could have caught that pipe last time.

So all fitted the 12 bolts, had 2 minds about these as they are currently hex button heads which look the best, but there is a concern that should I have remove them in a few years time they are not easy to hold so did consider with cap heads, but I've gone with them.






So then started to look at fitting the coilovers, unfortunately looks like I need to modify the modification on the front top arms, as standard the top arm is cut & a horseshoe put in, but because the coilover is thicker, I need to cut it back more, so my thought is to grind it back 10mm & then weld a backplate on to add the strength back.

 

[Phaeton]

Just a bit of a progress report, fuel pipes finished in the engine bay, ordered & received a new braided clutch pipe, seemed easier than trying to modify what was there, only thing is the banjo bolt is a bit long, had to use 4 washers 1 under the head to keep the fluid in the right place but 3 under the panjo otherwise the bolt bottoms out, I could grind 2mm off the bolt but this way works, then I think I'll stick with it.

Then tried to fit the steering column but found the brackets were too far from the bulkhead (one has to be modified anyway), but because of the way I am doing it I'm using a MK1 steering rack with a MK2 column, but as usual it's not that easy. You can't swap over the last part of the column as they are different diameters, you can't swap over the racks because they are completely different mountings & the diameter of the UJ connector is different, not only that they are a different length



So I managed to get some of the distance back by extending the slot where the bolt goes through

[

So I think I'm close enough, just waiting for the son to bring me some steel to extend the brackets, then the rest of the time was taken up by making a tray to go under the fuel tank so that if it leaks it can't drop onto the exhaust, some Mev's have passed without having this, some have failed for not having it, so thought best to make one now.









Just needs spraying up now

 

[Phaeton]

Last night I was making brackets to fit a Mazda MX5 fan & cowling to fit on a Nissan Almera radiator, all was good till I noticed that it would foul with the radiator mounting.







Fouling the next bracket to be made



Also a bit close to the coolant pipe



Modified & sprayed again.

 

[Phaeton]

Fitted the bracket back to then radiator to the frame along with the main bracket, need to make up 2 further brackets for the top of the radiator but waiting for some rubber mounts to arrive before I do.





The fitted the petrol drip tray to the subframe & then placed the tank in place, just waiting for the fuel filter to arrive before running the pipes





I've got 3 days off next week I was hoping to get the wiring harness in & consider getting it started, but my fathers boiler has packed in so it looks like I'm fitting a new central heating system instead.

 

[Phaeton]

Took 3 days off to spend on the car but had to fit a new central heating system in my dad's bungalow, we're waiting for the delivery of the last 3 radiators so did a bit on the car.

Made up some more brackets along with some Land Rover rubbers to make the top mounts.







It still moves a little at the bottom, I have the space to fit a couple of stays between the anti roll bar bracket & the bottom bracket, but it's close to the bonnet hinge so want to wait until I get to that point before I make them up.

Then did the hoses, there was a full set of hoses from the MX5 with the kit, so I managed to repurpose them





Finally went to the back & mounted the fuel filter bracket along with a new filter, along with the pipes, waiting for hose clips now, hoping it's all in the right place & doesn't catch the bodywork when I come to fit it.

 

[Phaeton]

Need some foam/rubber padding to put under the tank about 30mm wide, 5mm does anyone know a source?