Winter woes.....

[93 Mk1]

Just when I thought a routine service was all that was needed, the Mazda conjured up a few evils to keep me occupied.....

Seized fuel filler cable (again !)
Boot leak - light seals suspected
Broken fan belt adjuster - have a spare from Robert
Intermittent near side fog light
Green algae on roof...
Flaking lacquer on Nardi steering wheel


And then interior illumination which I started earlier. The car came with red illuminated Mazdaspeed dials but all else was green. About seven years ago, I installed some auxiliary gauges (red bulbs) and changed the heater panel illumination to red also. Due to either boredom, over familiarity or midlife crisis, I'm slowly returning the car to OEM...







The clock is left to do but I'll paint the hands white: the red hands of the original are tough to read at night (pay attention MX5 Parts !). Now the voltmeter reads funny since removing earlier.....aaaargh !

[mrges]

Clearly it doesn't want you to be bored!!!!

Like the green illumination. Which reminds me that I must explore the non working light on the clock in mine. (In fact, I think my lights are white.... might consider swapping for green ones).

[93 Mk1]

What clock do you have ? If it's the MX5 Parts clock then changing the bulb is an easy affair. It's a T5 seized bulb I think. I removed the front bezel and glass yesterday from the clock (patience needed !) to paint the hands....

[mrges]

Coincidently, I had taken a photo of the gauges earlier today - this is what I have. The voltmeter and vacuum gauge both light up, but not the clock. Have no idea how to remove any of these (although haven't really explored this too much yet - it was more a case of having read about yourself changing bulbs and thinking "oh, that would be nice"!).

20180113_142956.jpg

[93 Mk1]

Your voltmeter is the exact same as mine. Mine came with an additional chrome bezel which I have since removed. Your clock looks very similar to a VDO item so I'm wondering if it's out of a German car ?
Removal is quite easy - the clocks are held in by a metal bracket for each one (you will need access to the rear of these so stereo removal is advised along with the whole plastic surround). The metal bracket at the rear of each clock is usually held in place by two 8 mm nuts, at least this will be the case for the two TIM gauges that you have. The bulbs for the TIM gauges are T10 in size. However, your clock could be either a T10 or T5 sized. If your clock has no wires connected for illumination then you could always tap into the lighting circuit for the cigarette light like I have.
I see your clock has white hands - good job ! Mine had red and it was a nightmare to read at night so I dismantled it for painting.......

[mrges]

That's great information..... many thanks. Will try get around to this sooner rather than later. Also, as you may have noticed in the photo, the glass is damaged on the clock too, so this may be a double job.

Thanks again.

Graham

[93 Mk1]

Graham, what's the vacuum gauge hooked up to ?

[mrges]

To be honest ....... I'm not sure!!! I'll try have a look when I get back (in snowy France this week). Have to say, I find it, and the oil pressure gauge, two useful features.

[93 Mk1]

Well, my weird voltmeter problem has been solved When connected up it was reading ~ 8 volts but after finding both the courtesy light fuse (10A) and fuse for the wipers (20A) blown, normal voltage reading have resumed to 12+ volts with the ignition on (13+ volts at engine idle). These 52mm volt gauges are a handy little indicator of your electrical system I find.
I had some white VW touch up paint (R902) in my "mysterious paints" drawer so "let there be white".........this should be easier to read at night:

[mrges]

Well done on sorting out the blown fuses issue - and the white looks just the ticket.

[93 Mk1]

Well done on sorting out the blown fuses issue - and the white looks just the ticket.

Cheers Graham ! Now to turn the chrome bezel ring to satin black..............

[93 Mk1]

A rarity today....fine-ish weather (!) so it was time to tackle some of the exterior jobs on the list. Previously, I'd removed the carpet from the boot area as it was pretty damp and some investigation with a hose revealed where it was leaking.....



So I ordered these to replace the old knackered items:





So hopefully that solves my swimming pool boot impression. While refitting the carpets, I noticed that some of the snap-on studs on the battery mat had corroded and broken off. Fortunately, I used the very same type recently for camper curtains and had some spares left over. Grand job....



Meanwhile inside, the return to green illumination is slowly coming together. I swapped a heater facia panel that I had (thanks Robert !) with my existing one. I soaked it in silicone spray and left it overnight to soak in. The result is a cleaner, slightly newer looking panel:



Dechromed gauges (had to paint the clock bezel satin black) but still waiting on some green T5 bulb covers for the clock to arrive from Mr. Postman.....





Embarrassingly, my mohair roof was looking like somebody blew their nose on it....




I mixed up some Milton sterilisation liquid with warm water and scrubbed with a nail brush. I left it to soak into the fibres for a while, rinsed thoroughly and then washed the roof down with Aldi baby bath. I dried the roof with a chamois before leaving to dry naturally...mohair roofs dry so quick ! Then it was time to seal the material with Fabsil. I used an aerosol version but I'd recommend the brush on version for ease of use.



The results were definitely worth the time and effort, don't you think ?

[Pops]

Brilliant results on the roof and shows there’s no need to spend a fortune on specialized products

[leamyj]

Roof turned out lovely...Hopefully that mould will not return too soon

John

[93 Mk1]

Cheers guys. Regarding the mould/algae, fingers crossed.... I'm hoping it's not too regular a job !!