Eunos Chump

The Mazda went into the garage today to have a flexible section put into the frontpipe.  I used a new place Mrs B discovered, they can actually weld stuff, which is an art little practiced in Basingstoke.  That's the good news, the bad new is the bloody exhaust manifold is BUGGERED.  It's misshappen at the turbo flange and it won't seal, a new one is the only solution.  It's $449 and only available from Canada, which means another 30% in shipping/duty.  I'm getting a bit tired of this now, I might as well get a Ferrari - at least it will look nice when it's sitting on stands outside the house!

The 5 is still broken, and Mrs B denied my plan to buy a Porsche 924 (with brown trim!)  That is all.

Further investigation of the MX5 revealed 2 of the 4 turbo-to-manifold studs had sheared; I was lucky to get back.  After some discussion on  t'Nutz forum I think a flexible section in the frontpipe might be the answer.  I've discovered CBS who do all kinds of bits for car builders, including all the odds and ends I've found so difficult to source from normal parts places - I'm getting the flexipipe from here (plus some bolts to make new threads).  I just need Mrs B to persuade somebody to remove those broken studs now...

Another track day, another mechanical fault - it's the rules, don't you know?  Almost crashing the car is also the done thing, and I did have a half-hearted go at this, getting a tank-slapper on down the pit straight which resulted in the marshall sticking his head out of his window and giving me a Paddington bear -style stare.  As I was already in trouble, I hung the backside out on every corner for the remainder of the lap, then came in.  Nobody came after me though, even though this company (Focused Events) don't take any nonsense and send you home if you fall off the track twice, which seems a bit harsh! Anglesey is a great circuit, this was the international layout which is the longest at just over 2 miles, but the straights are much shorter than they first appear, and it's pretty hard on tyres and brakes - more so than Brands Hatch, for instance.  It's very technical and takes some learning, but there's a lot of run-off so it's much less daunting t...

I've been on leave the past few days, which always results in me getting a bit stressed that I'm not relaxing enough - make of that what you will.  So Monkeyboy and I went to visit my folks in Norfolk for a couple of days (and my bruv welded up the cracked exhaust again), that was very nice in the summer weather.  I'm off to Anglesey shortly for a track day tomorrow, it's a bloody long way but it's a track I've long wanted to drive so I'm hoping it's worth it (is anything worth 5 hours in a MX5 though?  World peace?  An end to poverty?  I'd have to think about it, and if it's raining it ain't happening).