Padlock

Got my first prototype HVAC blanking plate printed off last night. Need to tweak a few dimensions just a couple tenths of a mm to make it a perfect fit right off the printer, but the prototype itself will work great after I sand off a little bit of material. A little bit of acetone smoothing and some paint and it will look pretty awesome. I intend to have it almost be a press fit, but if need be I should be able to toss a dab of epoxy on it from the back to keep it in place if its a little on the small side. Its going to make a great switch panel

aidandj

iTrader: (5)

Can you post up the file?

Padlock

I could potentially post the file once I finish up tweaking the dimensions.

Got these in today




Also got the starter replaced so it runs once again. It's so stupid easy to get at the bolts with the wire tuck I have done on the car. I got the whole project done with a 14mm 3/8" long socket, a 14mm ratchet wrench, and about an hour of time. Simple!

Padlock

its currently like 0 degrees in the garage.. so the ambition to work on the miata is at an all time low until it gets tolerable to be working in the garage again. The turbo build should go pretty fast once that happens as i have a pile of parts waiting to be put on.



in the meantime, I've been working on my faster project. Picked it up wrecked for cheap = perfect streetfighter candidate. Completely repainting everything and making it look pretty on top of doing a mild build on a few components. here's how it sat a few days ago (front forks, brakes, wheel were done with new bars and clip-on's installed)



then i decided to bring it in the house where its nice and warm to work on this build when its freezing outside. I may have gotten a little carried away



figured out another reason to love mothers polish.. before and after


degreased everything and just got to repainting pieces.





hoping to have it completely back together in a week as I have all the needed parts sitting on another pile. I'm literally waiting on paint to dry.....

Padlock

not to let the thread die, not much progress has been made due to weather conditions.. rather difficult to work on your car without getting completely soaked when it looks like this LOL

Padlock

budgets are getting tight with college graduation coming up in a month, so progress has slowed..


that said, I found a nifty spot to mount my MS so its finally off the floor

Padlock

spent some time working on some FREE.99 projects today.

Finally committed to deleting the AFM and making an intake with a bunch of intake pieces I had just laying around. Its short and has a slight bend to it but it's effective (exactly what she always said). I just put breathers on both the IAC and PCV.

Also, I never deleted the Air Bag from the steering wheel even though the entire air bag harness has been removed for the last year. So between the steering wheel air bag delete and AFM delete I probably took another 8 lbs or so off the car. I'll take it! Don't mind my terribly exposed picture and plastic hood prop. Damn does my engine bay need a cleaning. The winter was not nice to it.




Drove the car over one of the local farm scales. It is not an accurate way to measure but it is really all i have. Its resolution is only every 20 pounds and who knows the last time it was calibrated.

That said, it weighed in at 2040. I'm thinking I have to be hovering very close to the <2000 pound club.

Padlock

Deleted my antenna and 3D printed a plug to cover the hole and the section of worn paint that the antenna base use to cover. Got all the dimensions right on the first prototype, not bad for a 15 minute print! It sits about 1mm tall above the body

Padlock

went to put the top up on a cool evening and this happened.. the 24 year old top finally quit at life



so i did what anyone would do in this scenario.. made the car a hardtop only car!




then just because little racecar

Padlock

Life has taken over a bit..

Graduated college
Started my new job
Found a duplex to live in



So heres the picture out of all of that which really matters.. LOOK AT ALL THIS ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES!!!!!!

deezums

iTrader: (3)

Nicely done, garage space is mandatory, even with little racecar.

Padlock

well the build is well underway! car is up on jack stands since last Saturday

I scored quite a few additional bits to add to the build last-minute that I still have to install:
Cobra Monaco driver's seat
Hard Dog Hardcore Double Diagonal Roll Bar

Progress:
turbo manifold installed
460cc injectors installed
universal IC kit almost completely installed
T25 is clocked and good to go

What needs doing:
install oil and coolant lines (in shipping)
install new turbo gaskets (in shipping)
WG and BOV line routing
lastly, some misc exhaust work

aidandj

iTrader: (5)

Turbo gaskets are usually a waste. Especially if the car is tracked. They like to disintegrate.

Padlock

I dont plan on this car seeing anything past a short time interval lapping day or ice racing event anytime soon (besides its typical AutoX events). If the gaskets end up leaking, it is what it is.. I can at least say I tried. they are cheap

deezums

iTrader: (3)

I never even reached full boost before that **** disintegrated and left molten aluminum all over the bay.

Don't doo it!

Padlock

hmmm.. so you just put up with it leaking?

Schuyler

iTrader: (1)

My T2 flange and V-band off the back of the turbo both leaked. I bought stainless steel gaskets off of ebay, and coated them in copper gasket spray. Stopped the leaks. Went through an autocross, track day, and 5 months of hard daily driving before i had to take them off to work on the car. Gaskets were fine, cleaned them off, more copper gasket spray, and I reused them again. Still doesn't leak.

deezums

iTrader: (3)

No, you don't need any gasket and it won't leak at all if your flanges are flat. I put a bit of wheel bearing grease on all the flange mating surfaces, but even that was likely unnecessary.

Padlock

thats a bold assumption to say my flanges are flat

i'll probably do what schuyler did if he had luck with it

Padlock

progress is slowly being made

universal IC kit is coming together nicely. rough mounting position was tested



made up a fancy $8 IC bracket out of aluminum with just a drill, dremel, and a set of pliers because I dont have fancy tools at my new place yet



looking pretty




got the turbo and mani mounted up in position. need to cut the bend off the charge pipe and it should connect right up. NOTE: the WG actuator is currently a work in progress and wont be at an angle when i'm done



got this.. just need to take the decals off of it yet




then last but not least, the last few nights have been spent working on my wiring harness on the interior to minimize it and clean it up.. not a lot to take pictures of, but I'm deleting everything (including plugs and associated wiring) not essential to making the car function. door buzzer wiring, speaker wiring, cruise control wiring, door switch wiring, horn, etc. It's tedious, but it's nice in the end of things. Yes, I still have floor matts in the car



you can see a bit of the new addition in that picture already. still need to finalize the mounting position