Jamiep

looking good so far, seen quite a few mr2 body conversions in the past and there is a company in town which specialises in them ( as seen on traffic cops. oops) a lot have been let down by poor paint work though. I really feel that if your going to spend the time making every thing fit so well, why scrimp on the paint job.

not sure how I feel about the ones with all the badges either are they classed as a fake or a homage to the real thing?

if its not a 3a it could an Exmo with a wishbone conversion.

looks like the mountings are forward of the point you would cut off the buttress fabrication.

If it is an exmo I would avoid chopping the tub too much, like Daz says the strength needs to be maintained.

I remember seing a step by step conversion to a k seires in a monocoque on a random google session. could be an option.

I did see somewhere that mentioned drilling the cap but it said its an MOT fail if spotted (not sure why).

I have also looked at the race valves but these would need to be vertical so could I then run the pipe off the top of the valve and back down under the back of the car?

Can anybody see a problem with this.

Thanks

I'm having a new tank made and wondered how other people have vented their tanks.

I have put a 10mm vent next to the 2" inlet with the aim of connecting a pipe back up to the stub on the side of the original filler neck.

will this work?

I was looking at getting an aero style filler cap and making a connector for the back but can't find any vented ones other then a CBS all in one unit.

If I got this, where would people recommend I vent the tank to, bearing in mind it comes up into the boot and I don't want to die in a vapour explosion.

All ideas/ experiences greatfully received.

regards

jay

nice to see another Exmo back on the road.

not had much experience at painting the full car, did it once with a mk1 fiesta but it didn't look brilliant. I think practice makes perfect and having someone to show you the 'tricks' of the trade would help. Have you tried a night course at a local college, I know the local one to me does courses.

sorry for the hijack but, would having the tee offset cause an imbalance in brake application? mines on one side and the last MOT showed one side braked first but both released together.

As I have most of the rear in bits I could change if needed.

I looked at the burtons tie bars but felt most of it would be thrown away or need so much modification it would be cheaper to make from scratch. not got round to that yet though.

This is how mine looks.

its just a folded cover bolted through floor and rear bulkhead with M4's

hope this helps.

Also, I have LED running lights on my tintop which come on with the ignition but stay on all the time same as new Audi and Mercs, are these now a fail because there is no switch?

Just had a look, am I reading this correct that drivers seat must move back and forth or its a fail?

also if you have a tow bar with socket it must be wired the same as their test plug or fail?

might be reading it wrong though.

I've seen this type of theft before and sadly it's becoming more common as insurance premiums sky rocket, people doing dodgy deals to get replacement parts after either hit and runs or simply not wanting to inform insurance.

really winds me up.

I like the look of that. Don't suppose you could upload some bigger images (upto 500kb and 1500px is allowed) into your garage or start a thread with abit of a guide with pics. and dimensions.

Thanks,

Jay.

Never saw the initial rant, but its good to know there are still a few Exmo's about. I'm supprised to be honest as mine seems determind to return to kit form whenever I turn my back.

I've just seen your post on the front suspension conversion, did you go through with it or return to original spec?

there are probably better ways but when I was an apprentice we used scratch test gauges, basically a book of machined squares about 1"x1" with different grade of finish which your run your nail across to compare.

might have just been something the lads made though!

I've ordered my new ETB instruments today, last winter never ended for me due to lack of funds. Hoping for a big push this winter, just as long as I'm not banging my head on icicles this year I’ll enjoy time in the garage.

Not sure if this will help you but cant get out to mine at the min:

I think you could use 22mm copper pipe, bend to the profile of the rear of the car, the frame sits ontop (on mine, not 2b but 2b frame) of the rear panel. the inner frame is then the same profile but inside the last one, and about 100mm shorter at each end.

sorry if its abit vague but that is basically how mine turned up but in aluminium, just tweeked it to fit.

that install looks great, wish I had the skill to be able to do things like this myself. You'll have to check that exhaust for stay cats ever time you set off though!

looks great, I know how you feel about jobs snowballing. What started as replacing the seats in mine has resulted in ripping out the steering column, brake lines/servo and wiring loom with more needed.

I've kind of acedently started the same thing by moving the loom under the dash. a couple of plugs fell off and I lost all power in the car.

looks like I've got a full original loom with hundreds of connections everywhere which all seem to have fallen off!

hope these help

marking where to bend

marking where to cut. you may not need to do this.

final result

I managed to fit mine without any help but it is pain.

First off if using both hoop make sure they are bent equally (mine wasn't) then make sure inner hoop fits within the outer so you can work out the joining pivot point.

my kit had 2 mild steel 'L' brackets (no holes) about 4mm thick by 30mm wide.

I laid the bars on the back of the car and kept clamping the brackets in different places to get the best mounting position.

on the hood I started in the warmth of the house and found the centre of the back bottom edge and marked with tape and worked out equal spacing for the fasteners.

I then took to the car to see how they lined up and whether they would foul anything before fitting the central stud.

I then pulled the hood into position and clamped and marked fastening point on the car with tape. make sure the hood is warm when fitting as it will pull tight when cold instead of going saggy when warm.

my hardest part to fit was the doors as I needed to cut the screen pillars and bend the doors to shape. I did a lot of searching on here and used other people's photos and posts to guide me through and I think it went well.

is there a photobucket app, that's what I use on iPhone (no flash compatability)

I cheered up abit on Sunday as I managed to spend a couple of hours in the garage, although I managed to snap a bleed screw in the front caliper without any effort which was a bit odd.

I think all the extra overtime I've been doing and starting an HNC course stressed me out somewhat when I first posted! just going to do a bit at a time and not worry about time scale, pick up bits as and when I can afford them.

Feeling a bit demotivated with the Exmo at the minute, took it off the road last winter for a bit of tlc but due to the harsh winter couldn't spend long in the garage.

spent a bit/lot of money at the shows and had every intention of getting the car back on the road this year but time and funds have dried up.

just feels like every thing I try to do leads to more cost.

The steering column lower bearing could be the last straw, in order to get to it I've had to split wiring looms (all soldered direct to swiches) pull apart the peddle box cover (all glued down and sealed) and now having to remove the servo and master cylinder which is badly corroded/leaking and means cutting the brake lines off.

Anyway rant over, I might be allowed in the garage one night this week so might get the bearing fitted eventually.

the middle trim is same as mine and works well, I also like the chrome finish but when I tried to use some on mine it kinked and kept popping off. mines an Exmo though so might be different scuttle shape.