An engine donor is found! A quick search on eBay found this little gem, a Mazda MX5:
 |
| Lou modelling the Mazda MX5 in her finest boiler suit |
Driven down from London by Phil’s mate, Chris, a(nother) love affair soon began between Phil and his newest vehicle. She was was quickly stripped of her vital organs and I’m pretty sure I caught Phil with a tear in his eye as he tore into her.
With the help of expert mechanic, Wilf, we had the engine out in an hour.
The Mazda's wiring loom was also needed, although this took a lot longer to remove in one piece from the car.
As soon as it was out, Phil started work on stripping the MX5 wiring to its bare essentials.
With the MX5 engine ready for action and hanging on a lift it was time to see how she fits in Debby.
 |  |
Despite being much smaller than the Ford lump, some serious chassis modification was needed. After a lot of thought we decided to cut one of the main chassis rails out and replace it with a stronger piece that would house the Mazda’s gearbox. The new section was installed, much stronger than it needed to be, but we thought it better to be safe than sorry.
 |  |
The next task was to secure the engine to the chassis. The
original engine mounts were to be used, we just had to decide how and where to
fix them. Chris came back to lend a hand and construct some engine mounts.
Before:
 |  |
After:
 |  |
The chassis was then painted to prevent corrosion and young Debby awaited the return of her dashboard and wheels ahead of her relocation to her new home...
No comments:
Post a Comment