DanM

@lg2k how central were you able to get it before interfering with the brake pedal?

Upper steering column and bracket I have decided to wait until the gearbox is in the car before I refurb the gear shifter turret. I figured that having one less thing to get caught on the chassis would only be a good thing. So, while I get myself organized for the engine install (hopefully next weekend), I thought I'd have some fun prototyping a bolt on bracket to get the steering wheel a bit more central in the cockpit. Looking at the pedal positions I'm not sure if I can get it fully central but, I'll be happy with what ever I can get. Cutting off the tabs After the grinding After some chat on tech talk I went for a simple exhaust bracket and flat steel bar from the local hardware store. I then used some M8 x 45mm bolts with a coupling bolt cut to size to hang the bracket at the right height. It ain't pretty, but it certainly proves the concept for now.

Speedo Driven Gear replacement From the factory my donor 1990 MX-5 had a 1.6L engine, 5 speed gearbox and 6" ring 4:30 ratio fixed differential. As the car is over 30 years, had over 230k Km on the clock and the 6" ring has a reputation for weakness in the MX-5 community, I decided to upgrade to a more robust, 7" ring LSD. I now have the following Engine, Gearbox and Rear end differential combination: 1.6L (1990) 5 Speed (1990) 3.9 LSD ('99-'05 Torsen/Taguchi Fugi Super LSD, 7" Ring)* This combination has provided a couple of small problems to overcome. 1. The speedo would read incorrectly due to the different gear ratios (3.9 vs 4.3) 2. The 3.9 ratio gear was not an option for NA MX-5s 3. The speedo mechanism from a 5 speed gearbox is not compatible with a 6 speed gearbox and vise versa. One is mechanical and the other is electronic. After lots of research on the subject I found Maruha Motors in Japan that manufactured an aftermarket part that would match this combination. 3.9 Speedo Driven Gear (NA) They connected me to their Canadian agent Chikara Motorsports and although it is not on their website, they were able to source it for me without too much of a lead time. Installing it was a doddle. Just one bolt to remove and the unit pulls out in one piece. Within 10 mins the job was done! The next and (hopefully) last job on the gearbox list will be the gear shifter refresh....

Thank You, I will check it out. I'm also getting input from the UK forum. Seems like it is a "Feature" of the Westfield builds LHD and RHD!

@MPG @fastg Thanks for the recommendation. I just bought some Royal Purple 75W-90 from Canadian tire. Do you know how this compares? I haven’t opened them yet.

Gearbox Today I started to give my gearbox a bit of attention. I have no plans to do an overhaul, but I at least wanted to refresh some seals etc., and put in some new plugs. First up, change out the front and rear seals and gasket with genuine Mazda parts. New rear seal Front seal and Gasket. The donor had a thick layer of silicone instead of the OEM paper gaskets....I hope it was just laziness. All greased, ready for the clutch fork and a new throw-out bearing And finally new oil drain and filler plugs

Steering Column mods So while I'm waiting for some gearbox seals to arrive, I thought I'd have a go at modifying the Miata upper steering column. The manual says to remove the lower mounting bracket and welds. So out came the angle grinder and I went to work. Followed by some bench grinding.... ....and some hand filing to get it smooth(ish). Once I was happy, I cleaned it up, repacked the bearings with grease and gave it a coat of paint. Unfortunately, I'm missing the U-bolts from my kit so couldn't install in the column. But, for fun I decided to temporarily fit it in place..... Question: I know these columns don't fit straight, but is this a little excessive? Westfield SDV builders please chime in!! ....and with the donor steering wheel.

Header wrap As my donor car was missing it's exhaust manifold heat shield I decided I was going to wrap them. Partially for aesthetics and partially to help reduce the heat under the hood. First things first I needed to tidy up the headers a little by tapping the holes and installing new bolts. Next, because I am installing a wideband O2 sensor, I needed to plug up the OEM O2 sensor bung. Instead of welding a plug I bought a threaded one instead. The O2 sensor bung also needed tapping. The finished item ready for wrapping.... After a bit of research I decided to use the DEI Titanium wrap in grey. It only came with 4 short clips so I needed to by extra. As this was the first time I had ever wrapped an exhaust I took it slow and steady. I was really surprised how soft and pliable this stuff was and after a few short minutes I had the first pipe completed and temporarily held in place with a zip tie. The finished product. The only thing remaining was to seat a new gasket and install it on the engine. Happy Days!

Today I spent some time on my engine to start getting it ready for install. First, I rerouted the oil cooler coolant hose. Normally this would connect to the coolant neck, however because I installed a coolant reroute kit I deleted the neck and decided to connect the hose to my G19 water pump inlet. The water pump inlet has a 18mm threaded port that enables you to connect a hose. I bought a Earl hose end from vividracing.com. https://www.vividracing.com/-p-152784447.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI64Cl492m-gIVGHyGCh3PEAiOEAsYBSABEgKanvD_BwE Hose end installed on the G19 inlet. ...and then ran a new length of hose from the cooler to the inlet.

So I'm finally back in the garage this week after nearly two months away from the build. The rest has been good, but tuning into where I was before I stopped has taken me a couple of evenings (Just staring! 🤪). The first thing I tackled was finishing off the rear control arms and knuckles. If you recall I had trouble fitting the bolt and had to saw it in half. Well, I managed to get some replacement bolts (and a reamer to clean out the bushing) and then the assembly went together like butter. I'll trim off the excess length once its all torqued down. Once the assembly was together I could then move on to the discs, calipers and pads. Question..... When are builders typically adding brake fluid to the system?

On my Westfield build, I plan to install 12V outlets on panel between the seats so I can use seat heater pads..... just to take the edge off my tush in the fall!

If the evapo rust doesn’t get it to where you want it. Electrolysis will clear it right up! 😁

I have quick jacks. I use them on my Westfield build and also for servicing my Nissan pathfinder and other cars. https://www.quickjack.com/

Thanks @S1Steve. So, it's been just over a month since my last post! How time flies! I took a short break from the build to enjoy the last of the summer with the family before the kids went back to school. First we went down to Nova Scotia for some sea air and fresh lobster and then I flew back to England for a family wedding and catch up with some friends. The kids are now back at school and apart from some household chores and repairs I hope to be back on the build within a week or so!

Thanks for the electric tech tips Dave. Appreciated! 👍🏻

Rear loom With the weather reaching 40C with thunderstorms here this weekend, venturing outside doesn't seem to be too appealing. It been in the 30Cs for weeks, but this just takes the biscuit! As much as I said I wanted to take time away, I truely have the "build bug" at the moment so I'm moving on with anything I can while waiting for my wishbone bolts. Today I decided to fit and trim the rear loom. Those that have been following my thread will remember that I started my build by stripping and sorting the old MX5 loom. Well, I'm glad I did 'cos I found laying out the rear loom quite relaxing. The route past the diff. I managed to add the extra wires using the donor loom, but still need to add a few more (Handbrake switch, 3rd stop light and the rear fog light). I used some painters tape to leave myself reminders. I couldn't seem to find the rear fog light wire from the donor...weird!! Once I have new wires in I'll remove the loom and start taping.

Quick Jack time After installing the diff during the week I noticed that my rear stand was starting to feel the weight. In fact for the last few days I had wooden 2x4s propping up at the back to stop it from buckling. I was always planning to put the chassis on quick jacks at some point but figured it would be once I had wheels on it. Anyway, with the help of a couple of neighbours we lifted the car off the stands and onto the more stable platform. Here are the jacking points I chose, anyone see any issues?

So after a lot of thought, input from the UK forum forum and price comparing ($USD -> $CAD +Tax + Shipping) I decided to go with 2 new grade 8 bolts from McMaster-Carr. https://www.mcmaster.com/91257a487/ Fingers crossed it will do the job!

Yeah! It's spirit lives on in the westfield! lol

Control Arm Bushings are from a Hillman/Chrysler Avenger!!

I know, intriguing isn't it! lol The whole vehicle is a mixed batch of metric and imperial. All the miata bolted stuff is typically metric, but because the westfields use parts from older UK cars (Bushings etc.) there is also a lot of imperial stuff too!

Hey All, I need to source a replacement 7/16 UNF x 8 inch long double threaded stud for my Westfield Miata - It is to connect my rear Knuckle to the lower control arm. Does anyone know where to get one? or have one made? Its to replace this one that I had to cut in half to remove it. Thanks. Dan

Upright Install The final part to bring you up to date, was installing the CV axles and assembling the rear end suspension and uprights. One side complete, I'll have a go at the other side tomorrow.

CV axle refurb Before installing the uprights I need to refurbish the CV axles. I had bought new boots from Rockauto and disassembled the axles to clean and re-grease. I don't have many photos to share because once the grease was out there was no way I could touch anything other than the parts. That stuff managed to get every where...another T-shirt in the trash Grease went in next. I packed it in there a little at a time in stages, moving the piece and letting the grease get sucked in. Then I moved the boot in position and clamped it down. The finished product.

The last couple of days have been a real mixed back. I feel like I accomplished a lot in a short period of time, but amongst all that progress I had a few set backs, made a few mistakes and lost my patience a few times. After this I think I need a break from the build for a short while... Differential Install With my new differential bushings pressed in I moved on to installing the diff. First things first, trim off the metalastic buffer tabs. My buffers were in terrible condition when I pulled them off the car and after cleaning them up they had each separated in to three parts. I put the three part sandwich together and draw a line around the rubber parts to use as a stencil for cutting. Then I clamped the metal part to my work bench and used my dremel cut off wheel to remove the tabs. Finally I ran the part through the belt sander to smooth the edges. Next I put a load of cardboard strips around the chassis to protect it from bumps and scratches when I first put the diff in. Unfortunately, there was no-one around when I wanted to lift the diff in so I put on my big boy pants and went for it. I'd like to say that I lowered it in, in a controlled methodical fashion, but that wasn't to be. I think I basically threw it in there on to the cardboard and then figured it out from there... Not particularly elegant I'm afraid. After getting it in position I seemed to enter missing hardware hell. Every time I wanted to move forward with the install the advertised bolt was missing. First the repair washers for the diff mount, then the M12 120mm bolts for the diff hanger and went from there. Total waste of an afternoon making trip after trip to the store. Once I had what I needed I pulled out my pry bar and went to work lining everything up and securing the parts. With my buffer in three parts the bottom part had nothing to secure it in place. Any ideas if I actually need it? If so I'll somehow glue it together. Edit: Thanks @MV8 for pointing out that the bush is upside down. It should look like this.