2002 Arizona Rebuild

[Lumphammer]

The finger sander is the best tool I've bought by far. I've used cheap belts and expensive Norton ones and the Norton last a bit longer, the biggest difference is the cheap ones the belt snaps whereas the others keep going but by that time the grit has mostly worn off anyway.

I have a joggler but I've tried to do it all butt joint to avoid moisture traps.. I don't know if this is valid concern tho?

I'm trying Wayne Just had other boring stuff to do - hopefully get a bit done this weekend!

[Lumphammer]

Started cutting out some bits from the rear arch. Going to do the same thing as the other side but have remembered a few mistakes I made first time around. Try and make different mistakes this time

The rot on this inner arch is a bit worse than the other, part of it went past the seam

01_rusty_part.jpg (448.78 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

Access in this part is terrible so cut it out carefully with a dremel. Marked roughly where the flange needs to be

02_cut_out.jpg (413.88 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

Bent up a new bit. I'm using 1mm like the other side - 0.6-0.7mm like the original is misery to work with. Used the stretcher to put the curve in

04_bent_piece.jpg (528 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

Cardboard template to butt join to the original

03_cardboard_template.jpg (398.16 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

Transferred to the edge of the bent bit, put a couple of plug weld holes in and some primer

05_weld_through.jpg (387.64 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

Welded it in. Couldn't dress the back part because the finger sander wouldn't fit in so cleaned it up, scuffed up with some paper and that'll do

06_welded.jpg (451.24 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

Removed all the crust old inner arch from the back

08_rear_tidied.jpg (372.17 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

And the front. Took out the sill end plate because it's easier to be able to put the new sill end plate in and out when making the new arch

07_front_tidied.jpg (299.7 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

Started making the new inner arch. If my bender was 500mm I'd be able to do it in one piece but it's not so i'll make it in two. Maked up on the panel where the sill end overlap needs to be an bent it up from there. Used the shrinker stretcher with hammer for small positive adjustements. Fits well

09_bendy_bit.jpg (481.2 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

Like the other side, the inner arch is curved in both dimentions

10_bendy_bit.jpg (482.09 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

Clamped it to the panel, clamped the panel in place then put some bits of scrap to hold it in the right position with tacks. Then i can release the clamps, remove panel and have much better access to work making up the new inner arch curvy bits

11_in_place.jpg (307.9 KiB) Viewed 6749 times

[Lumphammer]

Rust is wierd, this side is worse in some parts but better in others. I'd expected it to be totally fubar but some of the insides are not as bad

[Lumphammer]

Had a few weeks off doing other stuff. Made good progress on the next rear inner arch. Made it in a few sections like last time, started with a cardboard template to cut the steel to about the right size with a good amount of overhang. Bent by hand and fitted it in overhanging a lot

01_first_piece.jpg (389.49 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

On the overhang marked where it needs to turn down to join the outer edge

02_mark_turn_down.jpg (371.63 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

Bend the pieces down, trimmed several times and then tacked in place

03_tack.jpg (393.48 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

Check it hasn't moved

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Weld a bit more to get good strength into it

05_weld_a_bit_more.jpg (354.58 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

Moving to the rear I extended the edge to go down the back fitting the wing a few times to check it's ok. The edge piece is made from a piece of 40mm steel bent in half and the curve put into the front with the stretcher, then relief cuts on the panel transition to follow the bit where it goes a bit inwards

06_extend_rear.jpg (338.23 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

Welded and linished back

07_weld_extension.jpg (299.98 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

Then the same process with the next piece

08_second_piece_tack.jpg (324.57 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

Dressed back

09_second_piece_dressed.jpg (297.64 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

This is the PITA shape towards the back

10_difficult_piece.jpg (446.89 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

Made it from several pieces, forgot to take pictures but this is the top part tacked on

11_third_piece.jpg (435.57 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

Came out alright, might need minor dressing

12_third_piece_dressed.jpg (546.95 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

The fitment of the overal panel is good, wing fits well and the cut edge is nice and tight

13_panel_fitment.jpg (348.05 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

The sill end plate doesn't fit well at all, I think i had this with the other side too - i've marked where i need to cut out to let it sit flush and i'll make a piece to fit properly

14_sill_end_plate_fitment.jpg (325.72 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

Mostly finished rear inner panel number 2, like the other side when finished i'll shot blast to give a key for high zinc epoxy

15_whole_thing.jpg (440.96 KiB) Viewed 6593 times

I saw the MX5 national rally is in September, hoping to get the car done for then. Original plan was "a few weeks over Christmas".. hopefully this one is more realistic

[Lumphammer]

Finished the inner wing, the front part where it meets the sil end plate was a bit off - the edge was right but the return was at too much of an angle. Adjusted the front part and it fits good.

Linished back the welds and ragged over the parts with a wire mop, this is just before I shot blasted the inner arch and the back piece

01_parts_for_blasting.jpg (493.76 KiB) Viewed 6560 times

After shot blasting this is the wing with a coat of zinc epoxy

02_painted_inner_wing.jpg (383.63 KiB) Viewed 6560 times

And the back piece

03_painted_rear_thing.jpg (385.15 KiB) Viewed 6560 times

There was a bad piece of rust on the jack compartment so cut it out

04_cut_out_rusty_bit.jpg (413.89 KiB) Viewed 6560 times

Wierd piece of rust, just a spot that was almost through..

05_rusty_bit.jpg (411.36 KiB) Viewed 6560 times

Welded in a new piece. Not my finist piece of welding

06_welded_bit.jpg (398.9 KiB) Viewed 6560 times

Painted it in zinc epoxy on the inside. The outside will get done when the under chassis gets done

07_painted_bit.jpg (376.09 KiB) Viewed 6560 times

I made a test piece to see how much abuse the zinc epoxy can take. Going to stick it in salty water or something more noxious.. dunno..

08_coupon.jpg (483.51 KiB) Viewed 6560 times

[Mazda Mender]

M-m

[Lumphammer]

Made a bit of progress on getting the outer sill off. Like last time I carefully drilled the spot welds and cut off half the side panel at the front

01_part_removed.jpg (380.33 KiB) Viewed 6525 times

Was careful not to bend or otherwise muller it so the panel can go back on easy

02_part_fit.jpg (397.84 KiB) Viewed 6525 times

Up front the front inside piece is gone like the other side, just not as bad

03_mess.jpg (392.48 KiB) Viewed 6525 times

Will still have to remake it as it's got that horrible crusty rust on the back (can't see in picture). I kept the plywood bashing jig fortunately

I had a really interesting conversation with a guy who runs a metal finishing business today - about zinc spraying. It uses oxy acetylene to vapourise zinc which is then blasted at a metal surface covering the bare metal in 100um of zinc - which is very thick. It's an almost heat free process, so can be used where the side to be plated has paint on the back, he showed me a picture where he'd zinc sprayed a polystyrene cup . I think i'm going to get the subframes done this way but can't say i'm not tempted to get the whole underside done. 20 year corrosion proofing apparently..

[Lumphammer]

Had all day on it today, think it went well but i spend a lot of time faffing around. Fed up of drilling spot welds

Outer sill removed, the rear inner sill is "pretty bad" i.e. partially absent

I've cut off the curvy inner sill pieces at the back in a place where it's easy to re-weld and dress later. The lines look mental but it makes sense to me.. honest..

01_rear.jpg (347.16 KiB) Viewed 6500 times

Front isn't that bad comparitively but its still knackered. I'd removed the lower a-pillar / sill reinforcement piece in the picture - several difficult spot welds

02_front.jpg (402.62 KiB) Viewed 6500 times

Marked a cut line to cleanly get the inner sill out. Most of it will be reused, only the bottom 1" and a bit behind the a-pillar reinforcement piece needs replacing with new metal

03_before.jpg (416.68 KiB) Viewed 6500 times

Overall the inner sill is marginally better on this side than the other but the back is worse

04_bad_rear.jpg (404.61 KiB) Viewed 6500 times

Tomorrow i'll take the calipers / front heat shield off so i can fit the "build to" rail and get on with remaking the inner sill pieces. Quite looking forward to it this time which means it'll likely go badly

05_side.jpg (433.04 KiB) Viewed 6500 times

[Lumphammer]

Had a couple more days, seems to have gone quickly

Started taking off the front bulkhead reinforcement panel, was a PITA - lots of rust so couldn't see some of the spot welds

01_rusty_panel.jpg (451.44 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

Frame rail was a bit rusty and at some point in the cars life it must have slipped on an axle stand because there was a big dent in the piece that goes off to the subframe mount. Must have been me, not one else has worked on it

02_rusty_rail.jpg (438.18 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

Cut out the rusty section and enough to go past where the bent piece turns off to let me get a G-clamp behind it and bend it back

03_cut_out.jpg (432.14 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

Tacked in the first piece bent to the right shape (1.5mm)

04_first_patch_piece.jpg (364.04 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

Then tacked on the second piece

05_second_patch_piece.jpg (412.48 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

Cut off the tack welds to remove the part

06_tacked.jpg (368.66 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

Then welded it both sides and linished it back. Welded it both sides so i could linish a nice radius onto the edge so it looks right

07_welded_a.jpg (540.32 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

08_welded_b.jpg (417.46 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

Gave it a couple of coats of the red weld through on the inside, cleaned up the inside of the frame rail and did the same. Put it in place with magnets

09_welded_in_place.jpg (434.45 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

Welded on and linished back the welds

10_welded.jpg (399.02 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

Put some of the red primer on the parts that'll be welded to later on. Looks alright

11_primer.jpg (364.48 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

Got the build-to rail on and marked where the new parts will need to start and end

12_rail.jpg (430.71 KiB) Viewed 6465 times

I cut out the rusty part of the front chassis rail / bulkhead reinforcement, will get on to making a new one

[Lumphammer]

Cut out the rotten part of the chassis rail / bulkhead reinforcement piece

01_hole.jpg (338.3 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Bent up a new piece from 1.5mm to match the shape

02_bent_piece.jpg (476.49 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Marked and drilled the holes for the two captive nuts. For the nuts I got some flange nuts and stripped the zinc off with brick acid. Did 3 or 4 big tacks on each one

03_captive nuts.jpg (375.14 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Mounted it in place and tacked on a 'L' pieceto form the lower part

04_second_piece.jpg (354.76 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Removed the part, tacked the other side then linished back the face and welded it completely on both sides

05_welded.jpg (417.32 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Linished back, trimmed the lower part to shape and fitted in place. The heavy welds on both sides lets me put the nice radius on it so it looks like it's formed from one piece

06_shaped.jpg (370.22 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Against the old with the plug weld holes and the hole for the inner arch trim

07_against_old.jpg (401.17 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

The back of it

08_back_side.jpg (430.39 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Painted ready for fitting. Used zinc aerosol with a gloss top coat on the parts that wont get hot in welding. The hot bits get the zinc silicate red stuff

09_prep_a.jpg (358.39 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

10_prep_b.jpg (420.01 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Welded in place and linished back. Put some leftover red stuff to stop it surface rusting. It'll get zinc epoxy when the whole chassis is stripped

11_finished.jpg (395.78 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

The curvy bit of the front inner sill was rusty. Cut a curved piece to match the existing edge, then bent up a piece to sit on top - it's a funny shape because a bit of rust starts towards the back and getting it in one piece seemed easier

Tacked in place

12_front_sill_layup.jpg (415.55 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Removed it and tacked the other side to make it stronger

13_front_sill_tacked.jpg (362.94 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Linished back the edge of the top piece to meet the curved lip

14_linished_back_edge.jpg (452.17 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Fully welded on both sides

15_welded_front.jpg (377.46 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

16_front_sill_back.jpg (446.16 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

Linished back and trimmed

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Mark the exact outline on the rusty part. Have to use a bit of judgement as the piece will sit back a bit when fitted

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Test fitted in place against the build rail. The gap up the top left is a bit bigger than i'd wanted but it'll weld up OK

19_in_place.jpg (370.32 KiB) Viewed 6445 times

[blackyb]

Excellent work with a good clear explanation of what and why. Keep the good work up.

[GlennyGills]

That is looking great. did you get Wayne to do the photos. Lots of detail shown.

[Lumphammer]

Had a good day today but took naff all pictures

Welded in the repair piece and dressed it back. Checked fitment of the front panel (hence welding clamp) and it fits alright

01_dressed.jpg (380.48 KiB) Viewed 6352 times

Cut the replacement outer sill to shape, just removing the small part behind the door and checked it was fitting good

02_outer_sill.jpg (406.04 KiB) Viewed 6352 times

Then drilled out a load of spot welds and cut the inner sill for the new parts to go in, i'll get some pictures next time

This is probably quite boring to read because it's exactly the same process as the previous side

[blackyb]

It's only by following this build that you realise of the complexity of the construction of these wee roadsters.

[Lumphammer]

They're total rust pits blacky, if they'd used the same level of corrosion protection that VAGs used in the same era then it'd still be fine. Still, it's made 20 years which is probably double the design life

Done a bit on the inner sill, made the new front piece including jacking point like before. It's sloped up the front to mate with the front bulkhead reinforcement panel. Tacked in place to get the shape

01_tacks.jpg (416.86 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Removed, fully welded both sides and dressed back

02_dressed.jpg (470.05 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

03_top_dressed.jpg (471.08 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Decided to move the ECU and wiring over to the side for welding, had bad omens of flames getting to it Removed the anti tamper nuts by welding M10 nuts to the top

05_ECU_bolts.jpg (361.53 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Put back on the car, welded and dressed back. The red weld thru primer put on the mating surfaces before

04_finished.jpg (410.02 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Thought the rear would be the same as the other side

05_rear_mess.jpg (537.03 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Unfortunately the panel that joins the rear sill to the transmission tunner and reinforces the back is in a bad state, a lot worse than the other side

06_reinf_panel.jpg (473.69 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

With the inner sill removed the rust on the inside was bad, crusty stuff quite a way in. Doesn't look too bad in the picture but it was quite bad

07_inner_reinf_panel.jpg (467.27 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Drilled out the spot welds - which were artisan in placement

08_wierd_spots_drilled.jpg (448.98 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Cut out the bad bits enough to get a 2" wire wheel in there to rag out what was left

09_removed_dressed.jpg (399.29 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Made a new part. I could have hammer formed it but it was easier to cut a pair of slots to make the "bulge" for the bracked it needs to clear

10_new_panel.jpg (405.64 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Welded both sides, dressed back and some primer on it. I put the plug welds back in the same place as they were, even tho it's a bit wierd

12_new_part.jpg (385.38 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

I used the rust.co.uk "molecular rust converter" on the inner.. seems the same as kurust to me.. then scuffed it up and put some frosts zinc aerosol on it

11_tidied_inner.jpg (357.16 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Pushed into place, seems to fit alright

13_in_place.jpg (446.47 KiB) Viewed 6273 times

Would have done a bit more but it was my turn to do dinner. Should get it done tomorrow and get back to where i thought i'd be