Typos are Dangerous

This has absolutely nothing to do with MX5s, but it is related to machines and transport.

It's an ATSB animation showing an incident that occurred at Tullamarine on the night of 20 March 2009. It was developed by downloading the data off the FDR. There's no sound.

The aircraft, an Airbus A340-541, registered A6-ERG and operating as Emirates EK407, with 18 crew and 257 passengers suffered a tailstrike and cleaned up a locator beacon when it ran out of runway.

The reason? Erroneous take-off performance parameters were entered into a laptop by the crew. Apparently someone typed "2" instead of "3".

Some typo!

The crew and passengers need buy no more lottery tickets. They've used up all their luck.

This shot (taken off the end of the runway) shows a locater beacon taken out by the aircraft.

This one shows marks left by the main wheels in the dirt also off the end of the runway.

That was close.

Hardtop Hassles

Paint it silver or leave it black?

Now that what felt like an interminable wait for the MX5’s hardtop is over, I decided I’d better get organised to actually fit the thing.

I’d taken a photo to see how it looked. It looked OK.

I’d even stuck it on top of the car, clipped the two front brackets in place, and drove it around the block.

This disabused me of any notion of actually using it before all clips and brackets were installed. It made the most amazing rubbery creaking noises, and threatened to detach itself and fall off onto the road. The results would not have been pretty.

Now we’re told by the aficionados that any hardtop will fit any MX5. This is true, but there are a range of clips and brackets and you have to match the clips on the hardtop with the latches on the car.

Frankenstein bolts aren't rocket science

Brackets and clips changed with three models of MX5 and I presume three models of hardtops. The mathematicians out there will probably contradict me, but I think that amounts to nine possible combinations. Given that I had no idea of the vintage of the hardtop (even if I did of the car) this matching up exercise was not necessarily straightforward.

Lots of bits

I did lots of browsing on MX5 websites (there are plenty) and after a careful inspection of both car and hardtop came up with pics of what was needed. These I emailed to the three or four suppliers and got info about price and availability. In the end the best deal was local (Brisbane) so I drove and collected the parts. In the process I discovered that the hardtop is about five years older than the car.

I checked the packaging carefully to make sure I had an LHS bracket and a RHS bracket. Turns out I should have taken the brackets out of the packaging. When I got home I unpacked two RHS brackets. Even weirder, they were different breeds of brackets.

The Frankenstein bolts were the right ones. I guess there’s not much to change in a Frankenstein bolt.

I decided to go ahead and fit it. I reckoned that only one securing device missing out of six would probably not be a major problem. I phoned the supplier who promised an LHS bracket to swap for the RHS one when I was next in Brisbane.

It got a bit messy

The most difficult part of the exercise was cutting an opening into the plastic panel behind the front seat to access the thread for the fixing bolts.

I didn’t have a Dremel, so I went to a hardware store where I was sold a twenty dollar drill attachment which took Dremel bits. It worked OK cutting the panel. The aperture has rough edges but that doesn’t matter as it is hidden by the bracket once mounted.

Dremel attachment

I discovered that a fair bit of mucking about is necessary to adjust each of the brackets to get a tight seal. First time on is not the two minute job it’s supposed to be.

RHS bracket installed 

Anyway, it all bolted together, and is watertight after spraying with a Karcher (which didn’t go “twang” when I packed it away).

There seems to be less wind noise with it mounted which means that you can hear the motor – a much more pleasant sound.

Front bracket and clip

The greatest advantage is security. I can leave the thing parked now without worrying that some lowlife will quickly and quietly slit the soft top to get at whatever is in the car. Rear vision is also improved.

Rear clips over Frankenstein bolts

It doesn’t leak, but then the convertible top was also watertight. This is one of the Mazda’s main advantages over classical British roadsters.

One of many virtues

The right truck

My bride tells me that patience is not my most noteworthy virtue.

She should know, as we’ve been married for thirty four years.

I reckon that’s changed with advancing years. My evidence for this statement resides in recent experience with an e-bay purchase.

I bought this item (a hardtop for our MX5) on 25^th August. I was probably a bit lucky to snaffle it, as they’re as rare as hens’ teeth and fiendishly expensive when new ($3000+).

I got this one for a third of that, so I was feeling pretty chuffed.

Problem was getting it from Melbourne to Toowoomba.

I was warned by the wise (members of local MX5 clubs) that these things don’t travel well. Simply loading it into a truck as is would be seriously tempting the courier Gods.

OK I thought – no problem – I’ll drive down to Melbourne, clip it on, and drive it home. This would combine a nice drive in the country with shipping the goods north. I’m always looking for excuses to drive this thing all day.

Unfortunately, the seller broke the bad news that it was lacking the vital parts (“Frankenstein” bolts and striker plates) that would attach it to my car. There are about 20 different combinations of hardtops and MX5s, despite the fact that only three models exist (NA, NB and NC), and the only way to be sure was to view the car and the hardtop together.

I wasn’t going to risk buying parts sight unseen, driving to Melbourne, and then finding that it wouldn’t fit because I didn’t have the right combination of parts.

Plan B was to get a crate made in Melbourne, ask my obliging vendor to pack the hardtop inside, and freight it north.

I found a crew in Melbourne, who knocked up crates, and gave them the dimensions. They fabricated a crate for $137 which was reasonable. I didn’t realise how reasonable until I saw the crate for the first time today.

It's sturdy

There seemed to be an interminable delay in getting it picked up from the vendors place in Melbourne – about ten days actually. I kept hearing that they “don’t have the right truck”. The couriers work alone, so if they’re shifting anything substantial they need a truck with a hoist.

Did I say “substantial”?

This crate would be proof against nuclear attack, and probably weighed four times as much as the hardtop.

Anyhow, it arrived today, after a further 24 hour delay getting it from the depot in Toowoomba to our place because (wait for it) they “didn’t have the right truck”.

It's nearly as big as the car

The hardtop fits. I know that because I’ve already tried it on, carefully avoiding the temptation to take it for a run with only the front clips engaged.

I figure that after waiting four months, another week or two sourcing the attachment parts won’t be a problem. It’s in good nick – although I might get it sprayed to match the MX5. It’s black – too hot in this climate.

Waiting for the attachments and the paint job is no hassle.

I’m patient now. Even my bride says so.

Update

Black or silver?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  It looks OK fitted.

The Ghost in the Machine

The rat has been removed, but its ghost remains.

Not long after the successful rodent extraction, the ABS warning light started to glow intermittently. The car was due for a service, so in it went.

Verdict – faulty ABS sensor. Fair enough – but which sensor? The answer was passenger side front – the same place where the rat was found. 

Eerie.

OK – maybe just a coincidence.

The problem is, the light continues to glow intermittently, despite a new sensor and sender.

Now I’m looking for an exorcist. Anyone out there know one close to Toowoomba?

Smoke - No Mirrors

Forming up - James St Information Centre

The Darling Downs Chapter of the MX5 club disappeared into smoke yesterday.
We were heading off to Queen Mary Falls in one of the most pervasive smoke hazes I've seen since living in Toowoomba.

Hume St Southbound

Heading out, the amount of activity surrounding the Carnival of Flowers was evident, but the spectacle was diminished somewhat by the haze.

Through the smoke darkly

The effect on the New England was ethereal.

Tucker time

We paused for Morning tea at Yangan.

Breeze proof shelter

The shelter shed was obviously a modified off-the-shelf garage, cunningly designed to maximise any heat build-up whilst at the same time screening out any cooling breezes.

Summer has arrived without any reference to Spring, or even a “Gidday” as it whizzed past.

Green grass - brown sky

The scenery became hazily bucolic as we punched South, following the track of the old railway line, the last remnants of which closed in the 1960s.

MX5 road

Once we’d left the New England, the roads became more MX5 friendly, with great sweeping bends.

Upward and into the haze

The mountains loomed ahead through the haze, and soon we were climbing. The country, where you could see it, looked great, but there’s plenty of fuel and fires are obviously going to be an issue.

Mazdas on the edge

Our next stop rejoiced in the name of Dagg’s Falls. Harry knows how it got its name – you’ll have to ask him.

Dagg's Falls

These are the falls.

MX5 drivers

These are some of the people looking at the falls. MX5 drivers smile a lot.

Deep in the forest something stirred

We plunged into the mountain (but stayed on the road whilst doing this plunging).

Lean green hungry country

 After lunch at Queen Mary’s Falls, we went for a stroll, and came across some interesting scrub, with the stream flowing through it, and the falls themselves.

Queen Mary Falls

Despite the summery day, it was spring, and the flowers were out.

Bush blossoms

Further along the track was a day lily.

It waited for us

It had obviously decided to pick that time and place to appear, just for us.

An Explanation

It took a while, but I figured it out in the end.

Last week I was driving a Nissan X-Trail diesel along the Warrego on my way west to work. They’re a neat little machine, and quite enjoyable to drive. The usual fleet equipment for these trips is Hyundai Santa Fe.

This particular vehicle, however was not behaving as per specification. When cruise control was engaged, it would immediately downshift to fifth gear, so the motor would move from 2000rpm to 2300rpm, resulting in more noise, and I assume, higher fuel consumption.

It was easily fixed by moving the auto selector across to manual mode, selecting top (sixth) gear without disengaging the cruise, but it was a nuisance and bothered me, because I don’t like unexplained phenomena when I’m driving.

When I refuelled in Roma, I noticed both front tyres looked a bit underinflated. This step (of looking closely at the vehicle before driving it) was something that was drummed into us at the last driver training session I did. I've been driving since 1964, but still attend these Q-Fleet sessions when they're offered, as they're usually good value.

I should have remembered what I was taught.

Both front tyres were about 10 psi lower than they should have been.

When they were pumped up to the recommended pressures, the cruise control reverted to normal behaviour.

It seems unlikely, but in the absence of any other explanation, I’d have to accept that the slight drag caused by these low pressures were the source of the problem.

Why?

Probably the last thing you’d expect on a sunny Saturday morning in leafy Toowoomba…….

I was driving along by Lake Annand in the MX5, when suddenly – Bang!

Half a brick landed on the bonnet about 40cms ahead of the bottom of the windscreen. By the time I’d stopped and figured out what happened, the perpetrators had scarpered.

There were perpetrators -  the bloke sitting on his front veranda heard the bang, came out to discover its origin, and told me about the kids who lob things at cars and hide under a pedestrian bridge across the lake.

We (he and I) went looking, but they were long gone – probably just as well. The result of that same half brick being jammed somewhere obvious would not have been pretty.

I reported it to the police (this will help with the insurance claim). They didn’t seem to be at all surprised. Apparently it’s pretty common.

It could have been worse. I could have been driving with the top down – could have worn the brick in my face. It could have landed 50cms further back and gone through the windscreen, or 60cms further back and landed on the soft top. MX5 convertable tops are pretty sturdy, but I don’t think they’re brick proof.

As to why? Possibly someone’s been watching coverage of the British riots and was inspired. The cost of a new bonnet (aluminium on the MX5) is about the same as a one-way fare to Blighty. Aluminium is beyond most local panel-beaters.

I’d cheerfully deport them to the UK, reversing what happened two hundred years ago.