The clutch had started slipping badly in this car, to the point that the engine would drop to idle if the throttle was backed off while moving.

It was behaving weirdly under load though, sometimes gripping ok and sometimes slipping very badly.

On closer inspection, the pivot ball that the clutch lever sits on in the gearbox had broken, so the pivot point could change and not allow the clutch to release properly.

Unfortunately this required the removal of the gearbox, even though the broken part could be seen through the hole for the clutch lever.

The car had an aftermarket performance clutch which, on further inspection, was worn out - which is a possible cause of the broken pivot ball.

The car’s original flywheel and clutch were still available, and turned out to be in excellent condition - so they were installed. An old gearbox input shaft makes an excellent clutch alignment tool

After a good clean up, a new pivot ball, new throw out bearing, and new spigot bush, the clutch was done and the gearbox could be reinstalled.

After a bit of a hassle getting the gearbox back in due mainly to a very close fitting exhaust dump pipe, the car was back up and running, and the new (old) clutch felt much better than the old (new) clutch!

I’ve done a few airboxes for people with exposed “pod” filters - for legality reasons as well as keeping the hot engine bay air out of the engine’s intake.

This one was a bit different because the MX-5’s engine bay is much tighter for space - especially when it has a turbo conversion and a big strut brace across the middle!

I started making up the usual sheet aluminium box, but found that there is not enough width between the headlight motor and the strut tower to fit the filter.

I’ve seen long thin air filters that would do the job, but was unable to source one, so started looking at other options.

The end result was an all stainless steel conical casing that clips on over a base plate, with a 3″ inlet pipe welded in the top. I think it turned out pretty neat, and it matches the rest of the engine bay pretty well.

It’s also easy to service which is nice

I recently got hold of a Honda 4 stroke whipper snipper engine, possibly for running a generator to extend the range of the electric bike.

The engine ran pretty well, but was quite noisy - with a lot of valve train rattle.

I removed the valve cover and adjusted the tappet clearances. After putting it back together with a new gasket, the engine was nice and quiet

This car had suddenly started overheating, and after removing the thermostat and running the engine it was obvious that the coolant was not circulating - which suggested that the water pump wasn’t working.

It’s rare for a water pump to just stop working altogether - and it’s not easy to verify damage without removing various other parts.

On most engines with a timing belt, the water pump is underneath the belt and its covers, so if you’re replacing the water pump it’s also a good idea to do the timing belt if it’s anywhere near a 100,000km interval.

After removing the pump it was obvious why it wasn’t working!

The impeller had broken into several pieces and was not connected to the shaft at all!

Interestingly, this pump had a plastic impeller, whereas the new one is metal.

I was able to retrieve the remaining bits of impeller from inside the engine block by flushing it out with a hose from the other end.

After installing the new pump the engine was happily circulating its coolant - but the radiator needed a good clean out as it was a bit clogged with rust from the engine which had come loose due to the overheating.