Emissions test

 Another post for IVA, the engine number. I've had the letter from Mazda confirming the age of the car, as well as confirming the engine is the original fit. But the engine number is in a really unpleasant place and is extremely difficult to read, so I thought a picture of it might be good. 

I'm kind of taking a risk on the internet, there may be people that copy that engine number for their own purposes. But at least if I can show a physical stamp as it is then the emissions test might be easier.

I also have a VIN that needs to be stamped on the chassis, obviously I'm not going to post that on the internet as it needs to be plainly visible by default.

Fuel tank straps and seatbelt fixings

 First off, a disclaimer... I was having a nightmare day of welding, so some of them aren't pretty! But they're photographed here for IVA inspection, so bear with me.

First the fuel tank straps;

This the side view of the tank, with a tag going downwards which will bolt to the frame. The bottom section will be welded to the frame along with the back, then the top left corner will be another bolt. I have some rubber strip on order to mount the tank with, as soon as that arrives I can finish the sizing to ensure the tank is secure.

Next, the seat belt mountings. These had planned to be full brackets, but actually the location where I want the seat belts mounting is already partly taken up by the rear diff cage plate. So what I did was cut 3mm plate and fill in the gap;

As I mentioned, really not pretty welding but it was a very tight corner. They both got good penetration though, and with them welded on three sides they're about as strong as they can get for the seat belts. I need to flatten the other side in order for the aluminium panel to sit correctly. 

The last little job from this weekend was to finish welding the roll bars. And that is where this happened;

High wire speeds, high temperature and too close with the shroud was just a bad combination, this is the aftermath of the shroud getting welded to the pool! I've got some die grinding bits on the way, I'm  going to cut this away and have a look. If it looks to have penetrated then I'll just make it pretty, if not I'll remove and reweld. 

Next job will be to do the seatbelt fixings on the roll bar cross support, they'll be for the shoulder brackets. They're all cut but then need to be positioned so that the belt doesn't catch on metal. 

One job I did forget was ordering the prop shaft. I had got the measurements from last time I put the engine in place, I need to get some prices and get it ordered. I still don't know whether new or recon is the best, it's not just a price difference.