well now that ive actually got my donor car the hard work now begins
donor car i got is a mk1 mx5 1.8 jap import
need to start stripping it while i try and get a chassis sorted
any bits of the car i dont need will be for sale to save throwing them away,well if anyone wants them
so im on the lookout for a chassis,anyone know where theres one available maybe a build thats fell through
or a flat pack kit that never got started
icthing to get going with this now

steve

Stoneliegh kitcar show this weekend for inspiration.

yes me and my boys are going for that very reason

i know its not a haynes roadster but were going Monday in our sr2 mx5 your more than welcome to have a good nosey round if you need to measure anything etc etc

so i went and picked a chassis up today
its a book spec sierra chassis so im going to have to rework some of it to suit my mazda diff
or i just try and source a donor sierra and sell the mx5

Steve, if you google westfields MX5 chassis, they just used the standard sierra diff mounts with a bracket attached for the nose mount, and a pair of brackets bolted between the upper wishbone mounts and the upper shocker mount to bolt the arms to, may save you having to chop up your rear end.

Just looking back through the gillham / saturn drawingstop of the diff cage bottom and back as you have and the rear portion of the transmission tunnel not to much work
Can send you a copy if needed
Good luck Gary

Also have a copy of rear upper wishbone dimensions if you require, no connection or interest but I had craig at plazcut do the plates for the Saturn wishbones front lower and rear upper, saved a lot of work
Gary

ive got a 45 page guide from saturn,is that the same one your on about?

quote:

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Originally posted by garyt
Also have a copy of rear upper wishbone dimensions if you require, no connection or interest but I had craig at plazcut do the plates for the Saturn wishbones front lower and rear upper, saved a lot of work
Gary

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theres still a few bits to weld onto the chassis
steering rack mount
engine mount plates
cp9
cp14
cp18
cp16
cp17
and a few other bits
also will tr5 be in the way of the mx5 engine

Hi yes its the 45 page Saturn guide you will get the top rear wishbone dimensions in my photo archive, , when using the mx5 uprights pay attention to the bolt sizes , they are different to the drawings , would need to check before quoting sizes.
Re the chassis TR5 I did not use allows more clearance round the engine, cp9 if using a fiberglass rear tub you will not have a toprail and so no cp9 attachment point means the rear rollbar stays have to go elsewhere you can see how I did mine in the latest photos , others have taken them right down to the rear bottom corners, cp14 handbrake cable plate again its used but holes to suit mx5 cables ,cp16 if using the mx5 column then follow Saturn guide and use the bearing illustrated not as per book also worth using thicker plate for this and the pedal/ mc backplate (again I got mine from plazcut ), cp17 I did this for the passanger footwell aswell, cp18 lower seatbelt mounts I bought from demon tweeks fia weld in harness mounts.
I spent quite a while going through other mx5 builds on all the forums picking out ideas and how to's, feel free to go through my archive and if you need any other photos or info I'll do my best to help.
Regards Gary

been looking at the chassis today and seen as its a sierra based one
im going to cut the rear tubes to fit the revised tubes for the mazda diff
now what would be the best way to cut it with out doing to much harm to the tubes that dont need revising
hacksaw would take ages so im thinking maybe a reciprocating saw?
whats your thoughts guys

cut the tube as close to the weld, cutting disc in angle grinder then grind back to dress the good tube if possible do one tube at a time thus minimising any risk of distortion, or if you have a build table clamp it down so its flat, trying to think , but if you cut out out cp10 and sb4 then weld in new sb4's to suit the mx5 diff, then do the rear trans mission tunnel tubes 1 at a time,
as the bottom framing on the diff cage stays as is, you should be able to cut out the top frame, make up the new frame off the chassis and then weld in .
I think the hardest part will be the top shock mount are they there? if so not sure the best way to remove for new ones to go in the correct position
remember the ones coming out are sacrificial so it doesn't matter if they come out in small sections rather than in 1 piece, it may make access easier as you go
Gary

yes both the top shock mounts are there
so thats more work

hi leave the shock mounts where they are ie 20mm to far back from mx5 position then when you make your rear upper wishbone the top plate that the lower shock mount is welded to extend rearwards by enough to move the mount rearwards by 20mm this should then line up the shock mounts and be far easier than trying to change the upper plate will do a drawing if need be but hopefully you follow, this would work because it is 5mm plate and is welded on top of the tubes so extending it a small amount should be fine.
Gary

diff mount plates on ebay item number 281067952783