jason_l

*** Little Update ***

Well as we still don't have a completion date on the house a bit more progress has been made on the buggy

Again i need to say a big thankyou to Paul from my work as he has been awesome and has continued working away like a machine and is down in the workshop every lunch time to work on the buggy.

He has almost finished off adding the foam to the ply templates and i now only have to make a few more parts and its on to the long job of filling, sanding, filling, sanding etc........

This won't be the final shape but is just the template, after i have fibreglassed the mould i can shape the ends better.

We then started working on finishing off the handbrake. First thing to do was to remove 2 of the fillet triangles as they where in the way, they will be replaced later in a slightly differnt place.

Cables where then roughly routed from the calipers to the handbrake lever......

Space is going to be really tight around that area as most of the wiring all goes down the middle part.

Then had to work out how to make and mount the bracket that holds the gear cables in place, luckily the gearbox is just in the right position and there are a few bolt holes spare so i made a bracket that mounts directly to it.

Handebrake cables are now nice and secure. We connected it all up and after a small modification to the handbrake lever its all done and in place.

Just need to add a few clips to the back to hold the cables in place and its there.

Then turned attention to sorting out the rear camber, the camber adjusters where maxed out and the camber was still shockingly bad. So took the adjusters off the back and modified then slightly so that they can now be adjusted to get the camber spot on.

Don't really have any pictures before we modified it but here's what it looks like now, its just been done by eye at the moment but will be setup properly later on.

Then decided to look at mounting the air filter. Was going to just have the filter come straight out the side of the frame but don't think Vosa will like that and it would be in front of the rear wheel so would get covered in crap when driving about. Decided to push it back ever so slightly but it means the side scoop will feed cool air directly onto it.

Welded bracket directly to the frame, turbo can be seen in the background, still need some sort of humped hose to go over the oil filter but its getting there.

with the filter added.......

air scoop feeds directly onto it.........

And thats it for the moment, well sort of, been sorting a few other parts out. Got a huge tub of bodyfiller on the way to start filling out the nose cone shape. Going to take ages to sort out but worth it in the end.

Then im also in the process of getting the driveshafts made, whoop whoop! Have a contact from 16v mini forum and have confirmed he can make them. Just need to measure up and clean them up slightly and then they are getting sent off to be made Will be good to have this done as it means im that little bit closer to the finish line. Will probably get them cryo treated so they are a bit stronger ;)

Well thats it for the moment........... more coming soon

Jason

^^^

my bad.............sorted.

Looks great dude, i did the exact same thing to mine a few months back...........

Saw another mariner one today as well Few of them about now.

What you got planned next dude??

Jason

Cheers Fella.

Uk plates are homo, really cleans up the back end a treat with JDM plate back there. The reason there popping up is mariner is the best colour ha

Yes want to change my plate but have so much else to buy that im not in a rush. Gotta love the Mariner blue, makes a change from all the green, red and silver ones i always see ;) Keep up the good work dude

Jason got to say this is by far the best build thread ever! Keep up the good work, I always look forward to the updates ;)

and yes the house was a great idea, even if you are skint at the minute!!, congrats on buying it!

Thanks Dude! Always nice to have comments like this. House was the right thing to do, still trying to sort the completion date but its getting there. Once i have the house sorted and done i can get back on the buggy, although it won't be for a long time yet.

Jason

Looking good dude! ;)

Mine has a UK plate panel and want to convert it back to a Jap spec version. Seeing more and more of these about now in Mariner Blue

Jason

Just checked back on this.

Bummer to see your selling up but best to get out of renting Steve, its just money down the pan each month. We are in the process of buying a house and although im going to be broke for years to come now and no money to spend on the Demon its the right thing to do

Jason

What did you do in the end dude? As im just about to do the same

FFS you need to text me to remind me

On it..................

I voted to remove it, but then i can't really talk.

I have no Air con in mine but then i have no doors, windscreen, roof, so no real need for the air con

Jason

Look forward to more news

Thanks Guys Im well happy with the work

If you want more news Sparky i will need parts Like a ECU Loom Connector maybe???

Well, its been a while, who am i kidding its been flippin AGES!!!!!!!

*** Update ***

Well as most of you know the work on this has been VERY slow. What with breaking the lexus (STILL) keeping the mazda running and clean, house hunting, work, etc i just haven't had the time to do anything on this.

A guy from work recently got back from a week off where him and a mate just drived and camped across Europe and after seeing the pictures im dying to do something similar! I mentioned that i would love to do something similar in the buggy and he thought that sounded Amazing. I said that the mrs wouldn't want to go with me and by the time we got to Dover she would be ready to turn back. He said that he would go with me and be the co-pilot, to which i agreed! He is now dying to see the buggy finished and even though its a long way off is keen to help. He has been a LEGEND and has started coming into the workshop on his lunch breaks and helping out and even staying late some evenings with me to help out. He has kept me motivated and i owe this last update mainly to him!!!!

Started off by getting the MR2 (SW20) shortshifter fitted to the gear linkage.

After trying it fitted it was clear that its just not going to fit and eventually i refitted the standard version but with the aftermarket spacer fitted which gives the best feel and has reduced the movement also which is what i wanted

Then my bro kindly donated these to the cause, haven't fitted them yet but will soon get them on there!

Then decided to start mounting the front arch's. Every time i end up taking the cover off or moving the buggy i usually end up with them falling on the floor. Probably best to get them mounted then i guess

Started off with roughly fitting the brackets to the hub/brake and tacking them in place and then building them up from there........

Should have taken more pictures of the next part but i had to concentrate fully to get it done properly. After much head scratching it was however finally sorted. Took a while to work out the correct placement of the brackets as they need to sit in exactly the correct position to hold the arch's at the right angle but got it in the end.

Bracket welded up.........

the other side roughly tacked holding the arch in the correct position........

This picture shows how it fits to the arch, just 2x mate bolts. Very simple idea but it works and as the arch's are so thick they are nice and strong. Don't think this would have worked with the other thin style arch's.

This is the template i made to ensure the arch's sit in the correct position when fitted to meet the IVA regs, bit of a pain to use but it means they are correct. Have mounted them about 15mm from the tyre so look pretty slick as they are nice and close

and all fitted in its final position........

Looks so much better having the arch's in their final location and really helps visuaulise the front end more. So then attention was turned to continuingwith the front end. Paul (guy from work) has been doing this mainly himself and he has really worked hard.

More parts all hammered in place..........

and with the arch's fitted..........

hard at work...........

and roughly smoothed out and starting to add the filler, more currently on order...........

Still need to build up the templates around the side but its getting close, then comes all the fibreglass work which takes all the time...............

Also started looking at the handbrake assembly, finally got my mk4 handbrake cables and after offering them up they didn't quite fit. So a quick filling and sanding later and they where good to go.........

with the cable fitted.........

and back on the buggy........

After the first attempt at fixing the cables i have had to rethink the routing and need to change the brackets and modify the chassis ever so slightly but we are currently sorting this and should have updates soon

So how's that for an update then guys and gals?

On a side note after several offers and waiting for over 2 weeks me and my girlfriend have had our house offer accepted Have also sorted the mortgage as well and just need to exchange contracts and will hopefully get the keys in 3-4 weeks with any luck. We are both over the moon as this house has so much potential and will be awesome to finally have our own house. It has rear access via a small gravel road at the back and has a garage at the bottom of the garden. Its pretty run down but will do for the moment and plans are to later extend into a double garage/workshop. This is good news as the buggy will now have a dedicated living space. However now comes the bad news with this! The house needs a LOT of work!!!! We have maxed out all our money with the deposit but it means the mortgage repayments are now £130 cheaper a month which was just too good to miss! I now wont be buying anything for the buggy for quite some time but will be concentrating on getting the house sorted. I reckon it will be at least 3-4 months before we even move in, it needs that much work. Anyway, it had to be done and is the correct thing to do in the grand scheme of things.

Sorry for the HUGE update, so what do people think?

Jason

Oh, and the Lexus is now soon to be scrapped as its just getting in the way now and needs to go.

Jase!!!!

Whats your number? I keep fucking forgetting to look for this poxy loom!! lol You'll have to text me to keep onto me!

PM on its way dude!!!!! ;)

Sounds epic Sparkdog! ;)

Know what you mean about bits keep going wrong all the time! Everytime i go to do something on the buggy something gets in my way ;)

Jason ;)

Yay more progress!!!!!! ;) Know what you mean about the tyres, the lexus was like that and the insides where destroyed. Thats also one of the first things that will need sorting on the buggy as the camber on the rear is CRAZY!!!!!

Keep up the good work sparkdog, can't wait to see this thing for real! Any luck with that connector? Sorry to keep bugging,

Jason

I currently have £54.25 sat in ebay so i think i might buy a few more parts and that will give me some stuff to get on with for a bit.

Now what parts to buy????

start coolant lines?

sort handbrake?

battery cover/footrest?

Although i do have a few parts i can currently work on..........

mounting the front arch's

speedo wiring

sorting/cleaning up wiring on engine further

welding number plate brackets/etc

hmmmmmmmmmmmm..................

Thanks Guys, yes Sarah is pretty Awesome, wouldn't be with her if she wasn't

Will find out about the house tomorrow and then we will know where we stand! If we don't get this one we will be back to saving more money as there isn't much else out there at the moment. I think they will say yes but can't be certain Busy times ahead, but before the house sale goes through i might be able to get a few more updates done on the buggy

Jason

Just read it mate, house is much more important than the car so congrats

Just glad I dont have to make those kinda commitments right now

Missed it so much mate you wouldnt believe, its phenomenal!! Not far off where it was when running a bar on the ct9

Yeah, bout time we got our own place! needs to be done, big commitment i know but we have been together for nearly 8 years now so about time i guess Will hopefully be about a bit more now, if i get time

Its all about that first drive dude, smile on your face must have been huge. When weather is nice you need to get up those black mountain roads and enjoy even more!!!!!

Jase where the hell have you been missed you!!!

Cheers dude I am loving it! And I will have to see what I have done with the loom! Doubt its gone far.

I missed UKSC too, and you of course you ol man whore!!!! LOL

I could tell ya all about it mate but its probably easier for you to just read the 'project deathwish' thread latest post and that will explain all. Saves spamming up this thread.

Will be a HUGE help if you still have that ecu connection block

Really glad this is back on the road, been a long time coming this. That first drive must have been something else!!!!! Im dying to get a first drive of mine, especially as i have never owned a FAST car

Been a while since i checked up on this, well i say a while, its been flippin AGES!!!!!!!!

Anyway, the work thats gone into this is epic, flippin love this car Sparkdog! I bet your flippin lovin it, been a long time coming!

Just on a side note, you didn't happen to keep that connection block i needed from the old burnt out loom did ya???

Jason

Im still about lurking in the shadows guys Just not posted since february Time has just flown past the last few months, would love to say i have secretly finished the buggy off but that is far from the truth!!!!!

Work has stopped on this for the time being, just don't have any time at the moment and thats only going to get worse. Me and the misses have been saving for a house for the last few years and a few weeks back we put in a offer on a little bungalow and will find out next week if we have it or not. Im pretty confident we will get it and finally have a house of our own. Now the bungalow we are looking at has rear access via a service road and a Garage at the bottom of the garden. Plan is to eventually extend it to a double garage/workshop so i can have my own space and work on my many ongoing projects i have. The problem is that the house is at the very top end of our budget and needs a LOT of work. Will be needing every penny we both earn over the coming months to sort the house out, let alone do anything else.

However, this is a step in the right direction and means that the buggy will eventually have a home to go to We have both been discussing what we can do to earn/get more money for the house and selling the buggy was mentioned as an option. However Sarah is aware that if she ever did make me sell the buggy then she has to live with me for the rest of her life and she said that she could not put up with me constantly reminding her of how she made me sell my dream car to buy a house so THE CAR IS STAYING!!!!!!

Also me and a guy from work have talked about spending a week touring around europe and what better to do it in then the buggy. This has given me more motivation and he has even started helping me out to see the buggy built. He works on the main desk at our work and although he is not very mechanically minded he is really helping out and actually motivating me pretty well. Im not saying your going to get weekly updates like before but i will try my hardest to crack on where and when i can. Would like to say this will be finished this year, or even next but i just don't know if thats possible with everything i have going on. However its not going anywhere so will get finished one day!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason

Think the Garage Vary front lip will look awesome on yours! looks great on mine!

Yes of course mate ;)

Hopefully weather improves so i can get the roof down!

Think its just me and Dan at the moment??? He's only going as im taking him for a spin in the Mex ;)

Very easy to find!

Coming from Bournemouth direction, go to junction 2 on M27 and take first left, go to next roundabout and take first left again, pub is on right, you really can't miss it. Its sign posted as well ;)