A Kiwis Series 3

[gt_james]

In my opinion "P" plates end up causing people to cut you up and try to get past at any cost. Not everyone is like that but there are a lot of impatient drivers

[Hobbawobba]

I had an annoying thing happening where my sidelights were always on. I found out when people mentioned it on Nik's thread that it went away when unplugging this connector from the centre console cubby-hole


The problem with unplugging this on my car meant that my excuse of a headunit had no power. Wasn't hard but I finally got around to finding another connection for the headunit power, meaning I can unplug that cubby-hole plug. Woo no more permanent sidelights! The little things aye


I had plans to of spent quite bit of money on the car by this time of year, but has been delayed for a while... So I decided to treat myself to something new.

I don't remember ordering pizza?!



As I only have short legs I have the seat pushed all the way forward which means the steering wheel is closer to my chest than I'd like. I found a Works Bell short hub for our car which is only 40mm deep and brings the wheel closer to the dash




Cheapo calipers but they do they job . May of also spied some gauges for future install . 2 Defi racer temperature gauges. These are the type which don't need a separate controller. Boss/gauges are a lot cheaper from RHDjapan than it is to get from the UK.

Here you can see the height/depth difference. I measured the old wheel to be approximately 11.2mm and the new at approximately 8.8mm.



Finally installation pictures!




Overall I am really happy with the steering wheel aye. I think it suits our interior really well. With it being smaller and closer to the dash it gets in the way of my gauges a little. Where I sit means I can't see from about 2700-5000rpm and about 50-90MPH but I don't mind it much. I feel when the car wants to change gear and I'll get used to when the lower half of the speedo is at 60 . I can see it all clearly if I sit back, which I do when going along fairly straight A roads.. But when driving around town or up Malvern Hills for example I tend to lean forward for some reason hahah.


My drivers side door was pretty rusted down the bottom of it so I managed to grab another one to replace it. GT_James gave me a hand getting the door on and Steve-A helped me get it aligned properly a few days ago. Brings out my dodgy paint even more though! Not without its problems. The window in the door doesn't really want to go down/up. I tried adjusting the runners with the bolt towards the front of the door but it is already back as far as it can. Will I need new window rubber bits too? Any suggestions? Switches have been cleaned out.


My door seals were pretty munted since I got the car so I finally got around to buying some new ones from Mazda. I also got outer window seals while I was at it. The guy at Mazda near me said the right (or was it the left ) door seal was the last one in the UK but can get them ordered in from overseas if anybody is interested in doing the same. Will just take a bit longer to arrive . Cost £144 all up but I'm pretty happy with them aye! The door seals are obviously a perfect fit and awesome quality. Needs more force to close the door but its reassuring and not just a slam haha. I haven't been for a drive with them on yet so can't comment on if its quieter or not. Ask me at RRG if anybody has read this by tomorrow




Didn't realise the outer window seals were supposed to be soft rubber and not rock solid .




Now a few bad points..
My clutch bite is getting preeeeettty high so will need to get a new setup. Tool, are you there?

Rust . Going to need some for my MOT coming up. I know someone who will be able to sort it out. Steve-A noticed some swollen patches in the front drivers wheel arch that he didn't want to touch . So once I have found somewhere to live in the next couple months then I will be buying a welder and practising my ass off. I've always wanted to learn since I was about 7 for some reason hah. It will be an awesome skill to learn considering we have old cars


That's about all I can think of for now. Bout to go and wash the car ready for tomorrow . Hope I haven't crashed any computers with all the pics . Thanks for reading!

[ian65]

great work Jesse
Have you soaked the window runners with silicone spray? That'll free up the electric windows a bit.

[Hobbawobba]

Thanks Ian. I have some graphite stuff to spray it with. They dont look in the best condition though. Forgot to mention that the window actually moves around a bit. Might be easier to just show you tomorrow

[Lucky]

That cubby box connector/sidelight thing is one of the weirdest things in a long tradition of Mazda weirdness It makes my feeble brain hurt

That steering wheel looks superb; I've often thought it's one of only a couple of Momo designs that aren't really nasty! Suits the car perfectly

[ian65]

Thanks Ian. I have some graphite stuff to spray it with. They dont look in the best condition though. Forgot to mention that the window actually moves around a bit. Might be easier to just show you tomorrow

don't put graphite on it, you'll get the stuff all over you whenever you touch the car..... I'll bring some spray silicone tomorrow and you can do your runners with it

[TOOL]

My clutch bite is getting preeeeettty high so will need to get a new setup. Tool, are you there?

Yes, I'm "sort of" here.

[Hobbawobba]

I've been pretty quiet on here. Moved house recently and only just got internet on my computer again. I'll try post a little update in a few days

[Hobbawobba]

Haven't done a whole lot since my lasts update. The new door seals made an awesome difference inside the car while driving. So much less road noise!

Part numbers if anybody wants/needs to replace theirs
Left - 8871-59-760
Right - 8871-58-760

Went for my MOT a few months ago at a garage I done some work for last year. Passed but was mentioned I may want to change my track rods sooner rather than later . Ordered whole new ones from Rockauto for pretty cheap. Also got an Exedy clutch kit and rear caliper rebuild kits since I was placing an order. Love that website!



Changing track rods is a fairly straightforward thing to do. Bang the old ones out with a hammer, try to get the new ones looking similar length, put new ones on with the supplied hardware. Got an alignment done a few days later with that flashy Hunter system. Sorted.

Excuse the dodgy paint on my front end




I also got myself a welder, good welding mask and various other bits with a VAT free code that Machine Mart send out occasionally. A friend lent me his trade card so I could buy a breaker bar and torque wrench from Halfords which saved a decent amount. Also scored a few bits from a friend of mine which will come in handy! Hopefully I'll get the FC oil cooler installed before RRG



Removed my broken Aerial also and put a blanking grommet in place. Looks a lot nicer haha. I hate radio stations anyway .

I moved house a few months ago to a place right in the middle of Worcester. Nice and secure. I also have a garage now!! Booked the first week of February off work to get some car stuff done. Going to take out my whole rear end up clean up/weld/replace/upgrade. I'll try to wire up my shiney FD alternator afterwards. Hopefully should see a lot more decent progress from me now aye!

[DKWW2000]

It seems like you have it all well organised & thought through, good luck with the welding.
I will look forward to seeing the results at RR if it is not precipitating down again
I wanted to study/ask about all the other 7s but hey ho