Chronicles of a 13BT swap......

[johnnyboy]

I did quite a bit of roll cage investigation when looking into one for my mx5.
 
The conclusion I came to was that for road use it was only worth doing if you were gonna have a proper bucket seat, one of the ones that came up right round the side of your head, 5 point harness and used the proper spec roll cage padding. Like everyones said because otherwise a relatively minor accident can cause sever head injuries as you hit in on the cage.
 
Still with a 70s design, I presume the 1st gens don\'t crash too well and I am quite tempted to cage mine at some stage.....

 
First, my comments about roll cages were meant to apply only to saloon cars - soft tops are a different issue, and I would always want something. Many years ago I drove round a bend to discover an upside down MG Midget in the middle of the road. Myself and another driver lifted it upright to discover that the lady driver had not fared well.... This has stayed with me and even though I know that modern windscreen frames are specially strengthened I am still very nervous in a soft top without a roll hoop.
 
As regards FB crash safety I am no expert - I have only crashed one (the front crumpled nicely....). The windscreen pillars are spectacularly thin by modern standards but FB\'s post-date crumple zone legislation (and I get the impression that most of the more recent crash laws have been to protect pedestrians rather than drivers...) and they don\'t have many sharp edges inside, so I think the "weak links" will be a 3 point seatbelt without pre-tensioners and no airbags. Therefore a good seat with a proper harness should work wonders.
 
John

[captainbizzaro]

Inlet manifold gaskets ordered yesterday, engine crane (hopefully) sorted for the weekend, throttle body on it\'s way from Ade, the only problem I\'ve got is these bloody bolts....

[Steve-A]

I\'ll have a dig around Tim, I\'ve got a spare EGI clutch and flywheel and I presume the flywheel is the same?

[captainbizzaro]

Cheers Steve, got to be worth a try.:King

[captainbizzaro]

Throttle body arrived today thanks Ade, sat down tonight and attacked the UIM with Autosol and it\'s starting to come up a treat.



I\'ve only done the first \'rib\' but you get the idea.

Any luck with those bolts Steve?

[Steve-A]

Got some tomorrow tomorrow to have a dig around tim, will let you know by lunchtime

[captainbizzaro]

Cheers Steve.:Thumbs-up

[Steve-A]

Meant to say \'got some time tomorrow\'. I think my heads not with it today, and I\'ve not even started on the cider yet!

[captainbizzaro]

Haha no worries, I know the feeling.

[TiddlesRX7]

Oh good. Glad its got to you before the weekend. Thanks for the cash. If you need anything else give me a shout I\'ve quite a few bits and bobs knocking about.

Ade

[captainbizzaro]

Steve, the six bolts arrived today thanks for that I owe you one. (The list of people I owe for helping me through this is ever expanding!)

Good news is they are the correct pitch, bad news is the two longer ones don\'t appear to be required on a TII but at least we know they fit thread pitch wise.

So anyone who happens to have two more of the short M8\'s with "10" stamped on the head I would be eternally grateful.

[shaunwil]

Could always get them off ebay !

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=m8+fine+10.9&_sacat=0&_odkw=m8+fine&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

Shaun

[shaunwil]

Thought you said fine pitch, if not then link is wrong !

Shaun

[captainbizzaro]

Yeah I did think about eBay but am paranoid about buggering my flywheel threads and also worried about unwittingly buying bolts lacking quality where strength is concerned.

[Steve-A]

Shame they don\'t quite match up. Hope you find another couple soon!