Ben Powers

Hi Andy, its a hydraulic clutch. Its not too bad until you get a bit of oil on it, then its a case of lets stick with 3rd shall we!

Right, here we go, having got hold of my Exmo yesterday, I am already stuck and fed up. The "30 minutes to swap the screens over" has run to 3 hours so far. Someone was a bit too rivet happy for my liking. I've swapped the pointless, though very pretty, brooklands aero screens out for a windscreen proper. I've come to put the wipers on and I basically have no idea what I'm doing. The holes are in the bonnet for the wipers to fit to, and I've found where the wiper motor sits under the dash, but there is no obvious fixing point for the rest of the mechanism. The wipers will hold the mechanism in place, but this seems a bit of a bodge and will likely result in it scratching all the paint off the bonnet. Is a washer between bonnet and wiper the normal way this is handled? Or is the mechanism typically held underneath the bonnet so the wipers clear the bonnet? Finally, do I have to have a squibber for the MOT? It would appear that, although I have all the bits, the squibber has never been fitted as there are no holes in the bonnet. I can live with wiping the screen every now and then when driving in the wet. And if I can get away without sorting it out I'd rather spend my time driving it... Thanks in advance.

I got it at 10:30 this morning. Have been burning fuel with it until just half an hour ago. I consider my senses fully assaulted and probably in need of some recuperation! Amazing! Not cold, but very loud, very petrol-ey and very fun! Real shove in your back when you stick your foot down, and a cacophony of pops and crackles and bangs when you lift off. Once I've mastered the gearbox and heaviest-clutch-ive-ever-had-in-my-life I'll feel a bit better, driving through Bedford town centre with everyone looking and me struggling for gears, making a racket while doing it, did not go down too well with wifey! Just need the garage space now, feel bad tucking Kermit (the EXMO) up in an old gazebo next to the garage :-(

Aaaand just found the forum rules... Ben Powers - 07780 697 963 :-)

Any of those fancying a little more refinement/useability, have a look see at my faithful old '5. Looking for £2k but open to offers. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230908135703

A*+ on the video, looks awesome! Re: 3 peaks. Its a world of pain, but don't dispair as even a fatty like me who was nearly dead after the first 10 minutes of Nevis managed it ok. Fast driving saves all. Best of luck!

Well this all sounds promising. The drive back from Essex to home will be a good test. I'm only getting ahead of myself slightly as I have a couple of days at the NEC giving passenger rides the following weekend and wanted to have any required heating already in place for it. Requiring cooling will give me an excuse to buy one of those cool air intakes... :-)

Would a silicon pipe cope with temperatures around the exhaust manifold? I know the water filled pipes do... Could then include more pipe, duct clean air and remove the risk of a driver kebab?

Ok, well nobody has said I'm bonkers. If the pipe ran from the front, behind the radiator, that would handily ensure clean air and minimise engine-fire-to-face-system. My only worry then is that a front impact might send 2 skewers through the bulkhead into the cockpit/occupants. More thought and some research on VWs then... Richard, I'm actually dreaming about it now! Less than a week to go 'til pick up, and 2 autosolos and 2 days demonstrating autotesting booked in for January already :-D

Well having priced up a conventional heater system at approx £200 my stingey/creative/bodgetastic side has kicked in trying to think of alternatives. I had a thought that installing a couple of aluminium pipes on/under/around the exhaust manifolds, (of which I have 2 because v8's are epic), running them from the front of the engine to the bulkhead, then ducting the hot air from there through a fan to the windscreen. This would cut out the need for plumbing, reducing weight (not that important) and cost (very important). Is this bonkers? Have others tried it or something similar before? I would expect the heat transfer between exhaust manifold and air within the pipe to be sufficient anyway, but could be improved by using a rolled sheet of aluminium rather than a pipe, increasing contact area and the time air spends in the hot tube. There would be an added benefit in that I expect the exhaust manifold heats up pretty quick once the engine is on. Would it really be that easy or am I missing something... Usually if it seems straightforward I've missed something!

Oh and very easy to repair, limited mechanical knowledge, can belt replaced in a morning no problem.

I do, having just replaced it with a RH mine is going up for sale. They are fantastic little motors, if you get a good one. My first cost me around £200 a month in repair bills, my latest hasn't ever gone wrong or required anything more than consumables replacing. I have limited experience driving other cars but the 5 is incredibly tolerant of a numpty behind the wheel, being perfectly balanced you can take liberties and get away with it most of the time. Of course the best bit is pop up headlights. Never gets old.

Before you write me off as a great big Jessy I will point out that; a) I will be using my motor all year round, including motorway trips in the early hours in the middle of winter, and sitting behind the wheel in windswept airfields/car-parks on autosolos. and b ) My quality of life is directly affected by how warm Mrs is. If Mrs is cold, and she gets cold easily, I lose brownie points at a rapid rate. My life would be easier if she enjoyed time in the passenger seat. So, just wondered how people keep warm when using their toys in the winter? So far I have looked at a conventional blower system, heated motorbike stylee jackets and heated seat inserts. Any wisdom to offer on these? The heated seat inserts look to be the cheapest but are unlikely to offer a windscreen demisting function...

Well what a friendly club ehy! :-) I reckon I'm going to enjoy this tinkering malarky! Roll on January 5th. Did I mention I can't pick it up til January?...

If you wouldn't mind that'd be great. If it does work I'm due in Doncaster early in the new year so could come and collect. Cheers :-)

The heater is a necessity if I'm spending all day on a windy airfield possibly with some horizontal rain thrown in in order to drive in circles around some cones. It is also absolutely imperative in order to get the all important Mrs approval. This car is on an uphill struggle in that department being free from such frivolous luxuries as doors/windows/windscreens! Good news is she is talking about driving it, bit surprised as she didn't really go for the mazda! I do feel like a bit of a fraud, having bought into this pretty special motor but not having built it and having little/no mechanical knowledge of it and nigh on no mechanical skillz. Everyone has to start somewhere, but I suspect very few start here! Not sure I or it would warrant a place on a stand for that reason!

Bosh, done. Will get membership but makes sense to wait for January innit. Have I mentioned that I can't pick it up until January? Its killing me.

Hi Peter, that'd be great, any excuse to get out and drive it. There has been a lot of talk ^up there^ about 'assualting the senses'. The mazda never once assaulted me I have to say, even with the top down (obviously) in heavy rain at *ahem* 80 on the motorway it was really very comfortable bopping along to the radio. I realised last night that my new toy basically has the same 1.8 mazda motor in it.... and another one right next to it! Good times... I'm really keen to see what other people have done with theirs. I always wanted to tinker with the mazda but because it was a good one and in 'classic' trim I could never bring myself to abuse it, and it would be abuse as I'm not exactly a skilled DIY-er. I must find someone with a heater/blower installed so I can copy! When is the next meet?

It is indeed. I'm already fed up with waiting to drive it! We're off to the IoM after xmas too, where better for a new sports car than twisty mountain roads and no speed limit?! booo.

Well as predicted I went, I fitted, I bought. I was doing really well at not throwing my money at it until the chap started it up. Cue big grin and my wallet falling out of my pocket. I was really quite surprised, at 6'2" and 17.5 stone it wasn't much tighter than my '5 that I got when I was *cough**cough* too many stone. Maybe a bit more room around the pedals in the '5, but I knew that as long as I could physically get myself in it comfort was unnecessary. I didn't test drive it as it was well and truly wedged in so I now have an agonizing wait for the '5 to go and the garage space to become available before I can pick it up. You'll be pleased to know tazman, that the only reason I now own a RH is because I finally got the go ahead from Mrs to put supercharger/LSD/suspension on the '5. I figured It'd be worth having a little look around to see what else I could do with the money. I think this represents a better value performance increase, as does your repackaging! :-D

Yeah ok, I'm sold, I'm not looking for a perfect track caterham I'm looking for a bit of fun and an education in mechanics. Insurance quote was £275, which is surprising given my 0 year no claims (mx5 always insured in Mrs name as a classic), and that my first 1.6 mx5 was £1300. Now just have to hope I fit in it... It may be a very healthy xmas!!!

I'm sure what I do can't be described as 'proper autotesting'! I drive round and knock cones over whilst making a lot of noise and having A LOT of fun. It is very much casual and not-really-competitive, and I stick to PCAs or 'solos. I finished mid-field in last years newcomers challenge so I'm not kidding myself that I have any talent in that department. It would be nice to have the option to move up to something with a bit more finesse if/when I improve but its definitely going to be more about fun than competition for the foreseeable future. That said, I will be hammering it sideways round cones, over bumps, handbraking possibly collecting a kerb here or there (managed to avoid that in the mazda!), is it too heavy/flimsy for this treatment? My budget is only really £4k so I suspect moving to a move rigid/lighter version will compromise power/shininess which in turn may compromise fun and the very point of it all. Ho hum, if money were no object...

Well I'll perhaps go and see if I fit in it tomorrow then. My mazda suffered slightly at me pointing spanners at it, I like the idea of a kit car being a bit more sympathetic to what wifey describes as 'bodging' and I describe as genius engineering. When you talk about the handling not being as good as the mazda, is that in stick-to-the-road-ability or ease of control? I've cut my teeth on the mazda handling via a year of autotesting, the lack of an lsd put a bit of a dampner on things, but I'm finally at the stage where I can get it to do what i want most of the time. Presumeably it would be possible to get to the same point with a RH, just requiring more practice/skillz? I did get the feeling that the mazda was doing all the hard work and ignoring my hamfisted inputs somewhat, I suspect a RH would be less forgiving?

*quickly checks post history for complaints* - all clear. Looks like I'm running out of excuses not to get on this!

Excellent, so far so convinced, thanks chaps. 750kg and a torquey 150bhp to play with its going to be fun without trying to kill me. Whilst I think a zetec would probably be a more sensible choice I just can't get away from the amazing sound of the v8, and that fact that it is just ludicrous to the point of humour in a car without even so much as a windscreen. This is the one that caught my eye - http://www.totalheadturners.com/details.php?Id=455 - Going to have a look this week some time. I'm based just outside Kettering Northants, but will be working in London all this week and away all the next. Slightly nervous I will make the classic newbie error of falling in love with this one because it is shiny and sounds nice and want to buy it immediately. Are there many v8 variants kicking about? Oh, another question, heating. My mazda is out all year round and its roof down unless its raining heavily (light rain, driver faster, stay dry). The saving grace is that the blowers are like a furnace. Do such creature comforts exist on the RH? Presumeably not a big job to whack a bit of hose and a radiator in if not? Cheers