MatosMiata

I ended up finding out that one of my spark plug wires was bad. So bad in fact, that it was arcing. The plug it was on had somehow worked itself loose. I also decided my plugs were too fouled and my wires sucked, so I got new plugs and wires. The car now starts up nicely whenever I need it to. Sweet.

MatosMiata

Since the car is running fine now, I am free to play around with the interior. I made parts in a few different colors and combinations to see what I prefer.

MatosMiata

Should I go with black


Or red


Or some combination of the two

MatosMiata

And then there was green... decisions, decisions. Maybe I'll do a green and black interior next.

MatosMiata

MatosMiata

Was just looking through some old pictures. Amazing how far this car has come.

MatosMiata

Ordered a set of NA8 mirrors. I finally found a set on ebay for a reasonable price, so I went ahead and got them. I initially rattle canned them black, but I wasn't happy with the rattle clear coat. It hazed over and dripped a lot. So I spent the money, got actual car paint, and did it the right way- with my paint gun and compressor. Since my car is Toyota Super White II and I wanted black mirrors, I went with Toyota Black Sand Pearl. Had to continue the theme. They came out pretty good.

Basecoat


First coat of clear


Pictures of the second clear coat and installation coming soon.

MatosMiata

Got them on the car, it was a bit of a mission to get in the bolts that go to the rear side of the car.

MatosMiata

I decided to try purple. The first purple material was lighter than expected, so I got a darker shade as well

MatosMiata

Was satisfied with the e-brakes, so I tried door pulls

MatosMiata

I'm finally getting around to fixing the air conditioning on my Miata. In the past, the car has been used as a night time cruiser and daily driven only during the winter months... about as much winter as we get in Miami anyway. I hesitated to do an R134a conversion due to the fact that conversions usually don't cool as well as straight R12. Fortunately, I found out about ESI12 which is compatible with both R12 and R134a systems. Apparently, this stuff cools better than R134a. I scored a bunch of cans of it on Amazon for around $50.





I also bought a stronger fan from Summitracing to replace the stock AC fan for $58. I used custom brackets to mount it.

MatosMiata

The AC on my Miata stopped working on the previous owners and they never bothered to fix it. After I added R134a conversion fittings on the hoses, I tried adding some refrigerant. I instantly heard a serious leak somewhere near the condenser. I wasn't able to identify the source, none of the hoses seemed damaged, so I figured some of the o-rings went bad. I had new o-rings stored away for this project, and I ordered a new condenser and air drier.





The condenser was $74 on Amazon and the drier was around $15 at Summit Racing.

MatosMiata

When taking out the old condenser, I found out that the bottom fitting was cross threaded. So, besides replacing the condenser, I need to replace the section of hose there in order to get a good seal. I wonder if that is where the system was leaking from. I sometimes get angry at this car for being so difficult, but I end up cutting it a break. I think of it as a sort of rescue dog. What's to be expected from a car that looked like this when I bought it? (I made the vent in the hood, it came without that, but the rest of the ugly was there lol).

MatosMiata

I went on ebay and ordered the ac line from MiataMecca (crazy king of Miatas dude on youtube) last Friday. They shipped the very same day and the line was here in South FL on Monday. Unfortunately, the Post Office made some kind of mistake and I won't be getting it until tomorrow (Thursday). I really hate that the part has been right by my house all week but I can't fix my ac because these folks can't get their act together and deliver it on time!



The cross threaded part is the female threaded one on the bottom, it threads onto the bottom of the condenser.

MatosMiata

Finally got the AC line in the mail. Miata Mike was even kind enough to throw some new o-rings in. Thanks Mike!



Random factoid, the Miata King's name is Michael Paar. I actually wondered for a half second when I saw that name on the envelope and then I thought, "Oh wait, Michael=Miata Mike."

MatosMiata

I tend to have those ditzy moments when I'm exhausted. I was exhausted because I spent the afternoon changing the valve cover gasket on this



Sounds easy enough, until you realize that on a bike, that requires removing the tank, the carburators, all the vacuum hoses and electrical connectors that entails, unbolting the valve cover, and then wrestling the valve cover out of the small gap between the engine and the frame. Installation is the reverse of removal lol. My friend cleaned the carb needles while I did the gasket. I spent some extra time cleaning the valve cover itself as the oil leak from its old gasket had allowed it to become coated in a thick film of oil/dirt sludge. Ah, the joys of used motorcycle ownership.

MatosMiata

I installed the new compressor and ac line. Out of curiosity, I connected a can of the enviro safe refrigerant I got and the system held pressure, no leaks! However, it didn't consume the entire can and the ac didn't get cold. My AC fan also failed to turn on. I'm betting my compressor is not engaging. Oh well, I guess I'll have to get the system evacuated and the compressor replaced. I was really hoping that wouldn't happen. I really don't feel like going through the trouble of taking it out myself, Mazda just had to cram the stupid thing into the tightest space they could find.

At least I got my car port done last night and have space to work in the shade.

MatosMiata

Haven't done much with the Miata lately other than to drive it around. I also built more parts in various colors.

Hollow blue door handles


Blue Ebrake

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Orange Door Cup


Orange Ebrake

MatosMiata

I drive a lot of crazy stuff lately, yet I still have this urge to build a beast Miata. It's great because it's helped me to realize that expensive cars are fun but not all that big a deal. With the exception of the Charger Hellcat, none have spoken to my car "soul" the way the Miata does, and the Hellcat appeals to a different part of my car soul.