MG_Miata

Evening Gents!

I picked up a bone stock '04 Mazdaspeed miata a few weeks ago. I'm going to do the basic bolt-on's and a MS setup.



Last week I replaced the raggity top that came with it. I snapped a few pics for posterity:


... yeah... that's a chihuahua, it's my buddy's dog, and it LOOOOOVED my miata.



Seriously, it hung out in my miata the entire time.

Oh! and guess what I found under the seat!



yup! that's a cheapo steel case for a .308.

anyway, after a long struggle, a little bit of cussing, and one busted finger. I got the damn thing installed!



Wait... that looks a little droopy...






I got that unfucked and finished up.

Yup, I haven't done any actual performance modifications yet, I'm still gathering parts. I did get the first part in today:



Woo! cheap ebay intercooler! it's black for more stealth. It's apparently made by "Sport JDM"



On to the Fuckus... I mean Ruckus! I picked this baby up in November for a song. It didn't run and was pretty beat. Here's how it looked when I got it back to the bat cave:



I stripped it down, cleaned the carb, replaced a lot of parts. cleaned the carb again, and finally got it running.



I've done a lot to it. I bought a Kage 9.5 inch engine mount and a blemished lowered seat frame. I installed them on the sidewalk behind my building.



I picked up a PWJDM Shim kit and cheapo ebay handlebars, I deleted the mechanical speedo and odometer in favor of a Trailtech vapor display. along the way the turn signals were moved to a different location and I cut the center out of the front light mount.

Before:



After:



I've done a few things since then, like deleted the airbox in favor of a MNNTBX intake, replaced the variator for more speeds, and changed to bar end mirrors. Here is how it sits right now, I snapped these earlier:





Anyway, this ended up more about my FRuckus than the MSM. But that should change sooooooon. I'm never going to be fully satisfied with the ruckus or the miata.

Chilicharger665

iTrader: (2)

You sure cheaped out on the top, unless you never put it up. The MSM is in great shape, though! Fix the ECU, it made me hate my 04 Ti so much that I sold it super cheap.

MG_Miata

Oh yeah, the first step to this build is going to be a megasquirt, I've been talking to braineack about one of his ms3x setups.

Yeah... I'm going to wait until it ***** the bed and replace it with a good top.

It looks good, but it has some funky things, like an aftermarket cruise (busted) an aftermarket alarm (also busted) the windows don't roll down quit right, and the door locks suck. But that's about it.

Chilicharger665

iTrader: (2)

Go to mnet and look for the guy that sells the teflon window bushings. I have installed them in all 3 NB's that I have had and they will help to fix your windows. My MSM power locks also messed up, so while I had the door panels off to put in the new window bushings, I readjusted the locking arms and they never malfunctioned again.

EO2K

iTrader: (37)

I want to build a 45mph electric Ruckus and use it as a commuter.

There, I said it. I feel better.

MG_Miata

Oh cool! I'll have to look that up. I'm on mazda-speed.com, but not m.net. It just took a re-adjustment? That makes me feel a little better.

That's actually pretty nifty. Do you have any pics? I use the Ruckus for commuting/errands. It does great, but sometimes I get raged at.

Girz0r

iTrader: (1)

digging the ruckus! I just want one in the typical honda white/red combo with a motor swap. Cruise for dayz. Or pickup a grom for funzies...

On the MSM though, Would you be able to post a photo close up of the inlet/outlet of the intercooler? Just wanna see what the bars & fins look like from the inside

18psi

iTrader: (76)

welcome
clean car, and nice scooter
why are your headlights from a non-msm?

EO2K

iTrader: (37)

WANT to build, don't have anything 2 wheeled at the moment other than a super 90's chinabike.

MG_Miata

I saw a modified Grom this morning, it looked ****. Here's the photo of the inlet:



About the headlights, **** if I know, I'm going to replace the clouded one with a new one and then paint the interiors to resemble the stock MSM lights.

I decided that today was the day that I tore the ruckus down for paint. Here are some random pics showing my progress:



I started from the front and worked back, battery box, wiring, headlights and handlebars came off first. Here's all the wiring and the brake/throttle cables for the handlebars.



Oh, my buddy just picked up a HD Nightster, looks pretty nice.



I also took the opportunity to degrease/clean the engine. I used stove cleaner, and it worked great! The top of the motor had about a 1/8-1/4 of sludge on it. Mainly because I took it off roading on some dirt paths behind the bat cave. Picking all the crud out of the cracks took longer than the rest of the tear down.



Here's the almost bare frames, just front forks, engine mount, pegs and tail lights to go.



I snapped a quick shot before I left of all the parts laid out.



Oh, and here is the engine post degreasing/cleaning.



Tomorrow I'm planning on getting a lot more done. my to-do list is:

-clean parts to be painted
-prep parts for paint
-change oil in motor
-put fresh coolant in
-prime at least the main frames.

On the MSM front, not much news, still waiting on parts.

MG_Miata

Another update:

so I managed to get a lot done this afternoon. I degreased/cleaned all the parts I am planning on painting.




I also decided to shave a few things off of the rear frame. Here's a before shot:



I used an angle grinder to chop off a lot of the random brackets and the rear taillight mount. I got my friend to snap some action shots, because sparks are cool. and yes, I know I'm just asking for an accident using a plastic chair and my foot as a brace.




Here's what it looked like post grinding. I only really fucked it up twice, but luckily both of the gouges are on the bottom/inside of the frame.




I ended up getting all the major parts primered. the front frame was a PIA because of all the little nooks and crannies.



Finally I got all of the smaller parts painted, I still need to do the front and rear frames.




I decided to go with a red and black motif. I'm still debating what color to paint the wheels, any suggestions?

MNNTHBX

Funny I'd run across this... I picked up a cherry 38k 04MSM, so I'm on here trying to learn about the car, which I know little about. What I do know about is the Ruckus. I own MNNTHBX - Enter Feel free to pick my brain as needed if you run into any issues.

MG_Miata

Crazy! Crazy I tell yah! I ended up selling the miata for a Volvo 242, but I still have the scooter, its currently in pieces again for a gy6 swap.