I was waiting for a couple of hose clips to finish off the intake so I started on other things. For some reason, I decided the exhaust downpipe would be a good idea. It’s impossible to do anything but guess where the hole in the tub should go, but I did some measuring anyway. Forward/backward area wasn’t too difficult to work out, holding the downpipe above the exhaust manifold and seeing where it would exit. I then measured how far the top stud on the manifold was off the ground and marked that position on the tub. Then, it was a case of seeing how much difference there was between the top and bottom of the downpipe. Simples. Would have been if I got the last measurement right! Had to dremel the hole downwards in the end. Good excuse for a custom manifold to fill the slightly oval hole I reckon!

and now everything is orange…

Other non-photogenic jobs completed includes sealing the sump (I swear it’s lower to the ground in the westfield jacked up than it was in the MX5 on its wheels) and filling the coolant, which promptly drained itself from the water pump inlet. New gaskets arrived today.

I made a new bracket for the steering column out of thicker metal which has straightened it up a touch. Still looks like the hub will be through the dash though so I may get the column extended by 1-2cm. I might also put some spacers on the bracket to drop it lower but I’ll refit the seat and test it before making that decision.

Still not worked out an estimated completion date yet. Given the weather, that doesn’t seem such a problem! IVA at the end of May I guess, though I’ll caveat that with it being a busy time at work so I may be doing overtime instead. All makes the winter upgrades better… assuming the car is even on the road by then!