Hi from Inland Empire SoCal :noob: (a wee bit long)
09-15-2008, 05:15 PM
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Hi from Inland Empire SoCal :noob: (a wee bit long)
I am a new 1993 NA C-package owner... 170k miles... very excited....
The miata was munched in the passenger front side... so I was able to pick it up from the guy for quite cheap... I drove it straight to the body shop and now everything is straight...it needed the front pulled up a little, and the radiator core was replaced... the front bumper cover was tore, so i picked up a blue one, and rattle canned it black,(i do have a paint gun etc... but don't want to spend time making it look all pretty until i get done with the motor work) doesn't look so bad, i bent the front fenders back, and reused them, and picked up a red hood, to match my redtop (picked this up separately after i bought the car, the redtop is in unbelievable condition)
the car is dropped on teins-s, and has kyb's, the belts, plugs and wires, new radiator and hoses, and water pump was changed at about 160k by the owner.... and for some ungodly reason he put huge fener flares all the way around...
this is what ive done so far...
1. body shop just pulled the chassis back...
i straightened and put back all the body panels, replaced the hood with a red one, replaced the front bumper cover...
2. replaced misc. lightbulbs, etc etc...
3. installed a cockpit cross brace from a 94
4. oil change
5. ordered a upper and lower shift boot (tired of the sulfury smell on the inside of the car... (and an ebay short shifter
)
6. welded cross beams into the muffler... the cheap *** tip that was welded on was vibrating and making the most obnoxious sound...
7. completey removed the soft top...
8. air bag computer was bad, and the light bulb was removed by someone? so i just unplugged the whole computer, I was tired of it beeping at me.
9. I also disengaged the door buzzer....
10. new windshield wipers...
the sprayers were messed up... so I unplugged,it and replaced the plastic.. it had become brittle, and was not shooting water anymore...
I'm picking up some new tranny and diff fluid... i'm getting the gear roll-over chatter... i think.. some sort of weird sound I'm trying to diagnose and fix...
i'm planning on driving her, and enjoying the car, while i save up for parts etc...
as for now, she needs her clutch fluid topped off... the cas oring is leaking, the head gasket is leaking and the oil pan is leaking... but since it is so old, and gunked up.... the oil leak is very very minimal... i checked to make sure oil and coolant are not mixing... i.e. when i did the oil change(part of the reason why i did it early..) it was not discolored or smelled sweet... the coolant is clear and clean, and not murky as if mixing with oil... also, i don't smell coolant burning which would be typical...
i have decent fab skills, and my father was a mechanics, so we have all the necessary tools (only reason why i even took it to a body shop, is because i don't have a frame puller, the only thing missing i think...) i've been working on cars my whole life, but it's mostly been repair ... mechanicaly and body work... but includes rebuilds motor swaps etc...
this will be my first venture into trying to create a performance vehicle (i.e. turbo) and am quite excited...
i was planning on doing a 5.0 motor swap... but now am hesitant due to the chassis damage... figured, i'd turbo her and enjoy her as a daily driver.. then save up to pick up a second miata with a clean body for the 5.0 conversion... specifically, i'm interested in the 250 whp diy turbo for under 2500 that everyone is talking about... doing a lot of research don't know quite what to pick up brands etc..... reading and searching etc etc...
I have bell's book on turbos... been reading that as bathroom reading, and taking notes... I understand the basics of how it works, and what i need.. but now its all the little details, and the specific brands that i have to research....
for this turbo project, since the 1.6 is pretty much shot.... i'm thinking of picking up a spare 1.8 (local bone yards have lots of miatas) and rebuilding that, and then juicing it with turbo... looking for something very reliable.
anyways...
nice meeting you all....
The miata was munched in the passenger front side... so I was able to pick it up from the guy for quite cheap... I drove it straight to the body shop and now everything is straight...it needed the front pulled up a little, and the radiator core was replaced... the front bumper cover was tore, so i picked up a blue one, and rattle canned it black,(i do have a paint gun etc... but don't want to spend time making it look all pretty until i get done with the motor work) doesn't look so bad, i bent the front fenders back, and reused them, and picked up a red hood, to match my redtop (picked this up separately after i bought the car, the redtop is in unbelievable condition)
the car is dropped on teins-s, and has kyb's, the belts, plugs and wires, new radiator and hoses, and water pump was changed at about 160k by the owner.... and for some ungodly reason he put huge fener flares all the way around...
this is what ive done so far...
1. body shop just pulled the chassis back...
i straightened and put back all the body panels, replaced the hood with a red one, replaced the front bumper cover...
2. replaced misc. lightbulbs, etc etc...
3. installed a cockpit cross brace from a 94
4. oil change
5. ordered a upper and lower shift boot (tired of the sulfury smell on the inside of the car... (and an ebay short shifter
)6. welded cross beams into the muffler... the cheap *** tip that was welded on was vibrating and making the most obnoxious sound...
7. completey removed the soft top...
8. air bag computer was bad, and the light bulb was removed by someone? so i just unplugged the whole computer, I was tired of it beeping at me.
9. I also disengaged the door buzzer....
10. new windshield wipers...
the sprayers were messed up... so I unplugged,it and replaced the plastic.. it had become brittle, and was not shooting water anymore...I'm picking up some new tranny and diff fluid... i'm getting the gear roll-over chatter... i think.. some sort of weird sound I'm trying to diagnose and fix...
i'm planning on driving her, and enjoying the car, while i save up for parts etc...
as for now, she needs her clutch fluid topped off... the cas oring is leaking, the head gasket is leaking and the oil pan is leaking... but since it is so old, and gunked up.... the oil leak is very very minimal... i checked to make sure oil and coolant are not mixing... i.e. when i did the oil change(part of the reason why i did it early..) it was not discolored or smelled sweet... the coolant is clear and clean, and not murky as if mixing with oil... also, i don't smell coolant burning which would be typical...
i have decent fab skills, and my father was a mechanics, so we have all the necessary tools (only reason why i even took it to a body shop, is because i don't have a frame puller, the only thing missing i think...) i've been working on cars my whole life, but it's mostly been repair ... mechanicaly and body work... but includes rebuilds motor swaps etc...
this will be my first venture into trying to create a performance vehicle (i.e. turbo) and am quite excited...
i was planning on doing a 5.0 motor swap... but now am hesitant due to the chassis damage... figured, i'd turbo her and enjoy her as a daily driver.. then save up to pick up a second miata with a clean body for the 5.0 conversion... specifically, i'm interested in the 250 whp diy turbo for under 2500 that everyone is talking about... doing a lot of research don't know quite what to pick up brands etc..... reading and searching etc etc...
I have bell's book on turbos... been reading that as bathroom reading, and taking notes... I understand the basics of how it works, and what i need.. but now its all the little details, and the specific brands that i have to research....
for this turbo project, since the 1.6 is pretty much shot.... i'm thinking of picking up a spare 1.8 (local bone yards have lots of miatas) and rebuilding that, and then juicing it with turbo... looking for something very reliable.
anyways...
nice meeting you all....
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09-15-2008, 07:25 PM
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Welcome James; after your description I'm afraid to ask you for some pics. I'd rather not see any in this case
BTW, you didn't mention changing the timing belt and water pump among the things you've done to the Miata so far. I suggest you do that asap if you don't know for sure when these things were changed.
Read the FAQs and enjoy the forum.
p.s. please post your location below you Avatar
BTW, you didn't mention changing the timing belt and water pump among the things you've done to the Miata so far. I suggest you do that asap if you don't know for sure when these things were changed.
Read the FAQs and enjoy the forum.
p.s. please post your location below you Avatar
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09-15-2008, 07:39 PM
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Welcome James; after your description I'm afraid to ask you for some pics. I'd rather not see any in this case
BTW, you didn't mention changing the timing belt and water pump among the things you've done to the Miata so far. I suggest you do that asap if you don't know for sure when these things were changed.
Read the FAQs and enjoy the forum.
p.s. please post your location below you Avatar
BTW, you didn't mention changing the timing belt and water pump among the things you've done to the Miata so far. I suggest you do that asap if you don't know for sure when these things were changed.
Read the FAQs and enjoy the forum.
p.s. please post your location below you Avatar
Ill definitely post up some picts when i get the chance!!
i'd like to get a decent set of wheels and tires first... the car looks goofy as hell with the wide fenders and the stock wheels... lol...
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09-15-2008, 08:35 PM
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Thanks for the welcome... moved my location to the appropiate place... the timing belt and water pump was changed at about 160k mark, so i'm good on that for now...
Ill definitely post up some picts when i get the chance!!
i'd like to get a decent set of wheels and tires first... the car looks goofy as hell with the wide fenders and the stock wheels... lol...
Ill definitely post up some picts when i get the chance!!
i'd like to get a decent set of wheels and tires first... the car looks goofy as hell with the wide fenders and the stock wheels... lol...
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09-16-2008, 04:12 AM
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lol... rushed home from work, to spend time under the car... changed out the
diff fluid (don't think it was ever done before, it was disgusting...)
changed the tranny fluid to royal purple.... 1 quart 75/90 1 quart 75/140
and she sings and purrs .... also put in the short shifter... world of difference... i like it a lot more with the short shifter than without... although it is an ebay pos... it feels great....
i wish i had taken pictures of the process of rebuilding... she was naked from the windshield forward... at one point...
and the body shop guy (***) didn't hang my door properly... that was a pain to get it right... but she is driving great now!!
now all she needs is good thorough detail from the top down, degrease everything including the undercarriage... then on to more and more modding... new shoes, roll bar, some seats, are definitely on the list of things to get next... dunno, if i want to reskin the seats i have, or go all out for some nice buckets... (ok, some decent buckets... lol...)
after that... source a nice 1.8 and the fi, is on it's way... i'm hoping ill have read enough that i will kind of know what to do when it gets to the point of me buying the parts... lol...
but ill definitely take some nice pictures... i have one with it munched in the front... ill post em up this weekend...
diff fluid (don't think it was ever done before, it was disgusting...)
changed the tranny fluid to royal purple.... 1 quart 75/90 1 quart 75/140
and she sings and purrs .... also put in the short shifter... world of difference... i like it a lot more with the short shifter than without... although it is an ebay pos... it feels great....
i wish i had taken pictures of the process of rebuilding... she was naked from the windshield forward... at one point...
and the body shop guy (***) didn't hang my door properly... that was a pain to get it right... but she is driving great now!!
now all she needs is good thorough detail from the top down, degrease everything including the undercarriage... then on to more and more modding... new shoes, roll bar, some seats, are definitely on the list of things to get next... dunno, if i want to reskin the seats i have, or go all out for some nice buckets... (ok, some decent buckets... lol...)
after that... source a nice 1.8 and the fi, is on it's way... i'm hoping ill have read enough that i will kind of know what to do when it gets to the point of me buying the parts... lol...
but ill definitely take some nice pictures... i have one with it munched in the front... ill post em up this weekend...
Last edited by james399; 09-16-2008 at 04:23 AM.
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09-16-2008, 01:44 PM
#7
Hey James,
Welcome, I'm a newb here also. We are close in goals, and status of car. Not to mention I live close by. If you want to help each other out, I'd be game. I have most of my suspensen parts, and a 1.8 ready to freshen up for the swap. I hope to order the timing belt, H2o pump, gaskets, etc today. Trying to decide who will get my money
Rafa, How did the DR fare after the hurricane? Is all good?
Welcome, I'm a newb here also. We are close in goals, and status of car. Not to mention I live close by. If you want to help each other out, I'd be game. I have most of my suspensen parts, and a 1.8 ready to freshen up for the swap. I hope to order the timing belt, H2o pump, gaskets, etc today. Trying to decide who will get my money
Rafa, How did the DR fare after the hurricane? Is all good?
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09-16-2008, 03:54 PM
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Hey James,
Welcome, I'm a newb here also. We are close in goals, and status of car. Not to mention I live close by. If you want to help each other out, I'd be game. I have most of my suspensen parts, and a 1.8 ready to freshen up for the swap. I hope to order the timing belt, H2o pump, gaskets, etc today. Trying to decide who will get my money
Rafa, How did the DR fare after the hurricane? Is all good?
Welcome, I'm a newb here also. We are close in goals, and status of car. Not to mention I live close by. If you want to help each other out, I'd be game. I have most of my suspensen parts, and a 1.8 ready to freshen up for the swap. I hope to order the timing belt, H2o pump, gaskets, etc today. Trying to decide who will get my money
Rafa, How did the DR fare after the hurricane? Is all good?
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09-16-2008, 10:31 PM
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Hey James,
Welcome, I'm a newb here also. We are close in goals, and status of car. Not to mention I live close by. If you want to help each other out, I'd be game. I have most of my suspensen parts, and a 1.8 ready to freshen up for the swap. I hope to order the timing belt, H2o pump, gaskets, etc today. Trying to decide who will get my money
Rafa, How did the DR fare after the hurricane? Is all good?
Welcome, I'm a newb here also. We are close in goals, and status of car. Not to mention I live close by. If you want to help each other out, I'd be game. I have most of my suspensen parts, and a 1.8 ready to freshen up for the swap. I hope to order the timing belt, H2o pump, gaskets, etc today. Trying to decide who will get my money
Rafa, How did the DR fare after the hurricane? Is all good?
About your question on the hurricane and the DR: I posted in another thread about Ike, (which btw, is my youngest son nickname; talk about irony!), that I felt it was going to be a monster because it really made a huge damage in Cuba. (those damages amounted to more than 5 billion Dollars and more than 400,000 homes affected). We were relatively lucky both with it and Fay because we "only" got rain. I'm in the middle of fixing my apartment's roof as we speak because of those 2
But when I see Cuba and Texas, I'm pretty happy. At least I still have electricity! Thanks for asking
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09-17-2008, 03:00 AM
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Your post is the kind of post that keeps me coming back to this forum. That's a great welcome. Congrats!
About your question on the hurricane and the DR: I posted in another thread about Ike, (which btw, is my youngest son nickname; talk about irony!), that I felt it was going to be a monster because it really made a huge damage in Cuba. (those damages amounted to more than 5 billion Dollars and more than 400,000 homes affected). We were relatively lucky both with it and Fay because we "only" got rain. I'm in the middle of fixing my apartment's roof as we speak because of those 2 But when I see Cuba and Texas, I'm pretty happy. At least I still have electricity!
Thanks for asking
About your question on the hurricane and the DR: I posted in another thread about Ike, (which btw, is my youngest son nickname; talk about irony!), that I felt it was going to be a monster because it really made a huge damage in Cuba. (those damages amounted to more than 5 billion Dollars and more than 400,000 homes affected). We were relatively lucky both with it and Fay because we "only" got rain. I'm in the middle of fixing my apartment's roof as we speak because of those 2
But when I see Cuba and Texas, I'm pretty happy. At least I still have electricity! Thanks for asking
ha ha ha ha...
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09-17-2008, 02:59 PM
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Hey James,
Welcome, I'm a newb here also. We are close in goals, and status of car. Not to mention I live close by. If you want to help each other out, I'd be game. I have most of my suspensen parts, and a 1.8 ready to freshen up for the swap. I hope to order the timing belt, H2o pump, gaskets, etc today. Trying to decide who will get my money
Rafa, How did the DR fare after the hurricane? Is all good?
Welcome, I'm a newb here also. We are close in goals, and status of car. Not to mention I live close by. If you want to help each other out, I'd be game. I have most of my suspensen parts, and a 1.8 ready to freshen up for the swap. I hope to order the timing belt, H2o pump, gaskets, etc today. Trying to decide who will get my money
Rafa, How did the DR fare after the hurricane? Is all good?
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09-19-2008, 01:27 PM
#14
I got the 1.8 off craigslist. A guy in OC was going to put it in a spec miata, but then got into vintage racing. It's a 94 with a reported 64k on it. It is leaking oil from either the front of the pan or the seal behind the oil pump, so I'm going to clean it up and redo all the gaskets and seals.
No, I don't know what I am doing, just got tired of paying other people to do something that I would probably enjoy learning to do. My wife thinks I'm an idiot, maybe she's right, but I'm having fun reading, trying, then rereading, then doing it again I've also really enjoyed the satisfaction of having figured it out.
So what part of the IE?
No, I don't know what I am doing, just got tired of paying other people to do something that I would probably enjoy learning to do. My wife thinks I'm an idiot, maybe she's right, but I'm having fun reading, trying, then rereading, then doing it again
I've also really enjoyed the satisfaction of having figured it out.So what part of the IE?
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09-19-2008, 01:27 PM
#15
I got the 1.8 off craigslist. A guy in OC was going to put it in a spec miata, but then got into vintage racing. It's a 94 with a reported 64k on it. It is leaking oil from either the front of the pan or the seal behind the oil pump, so I'm going to clean it up and redo all the gaskets and seals.
No, I don't know what I am doing, just got tired of paying other people to do something that I would probably enjoy learning to do. My wife thinks I'm an idiot, maybe she's right, but I'm having fun reading, trying, then rereading, then doing it again I've also really enjoyed the satisfaction of having figured it out.
So what part of the IE?
No, I don't know what I am doing, just got tired of paying other people to do something that I would probably enjoy learning to do. My wife thinks I'm an idiot, maybe she's right, but I'm having fun reading, trying, then rereading, then doing it again
I've also really enjoyed the satisfaction of having figured it out.So what part of the IE?
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09-19-2008, 02:02 PM
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I got the 1.8 off craigslist. A guy in OC was going to put it in a spec miata, but then got into vintage racing. It's a 94 with a reported 64k on it. It is leaking oil from either the front of the pan or the seal behind the oil pump, so I'm going to clean it up and redo all the gaskets and seals.
No, I don't know what I am doing, just got tired of paying other people to do something that I would probably enjoy learning to do. My wife thinks I'm an idiot, maybe she's right, but I'm having fun reading, trying, then rereading, then doing it again I've also really enjoyed the satisfaction of having figured it out.
So what part of the IE?
No, I don't know what I am doing, just got tired of paying other people to do something that I would probably enjoy learning to do. My wife thinks I'm an idiot, maybe she's right, but I'm having fun reading, trying, then rereading, then doing it again
I've also really enjoyed the satisfaction of having figured it out.So what part of the IE?
)
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09-19-2008, 04:41 PM
#17
oops, How did I do that twice? Sorry, not trying to get my thread count up...really.
Thanks for the offer on the tools, I got most of the basics, and a couple of specialized. I may need some things here and there. What I really need is someone to drink my beer and ask "what the **** are you doing that for". You know... the usual.
I will let you know when I'm gonna be working on it. I drive through Claremont on my way to work several times a week. Do you have a regular m-f 8-5 schedule?
Thanks for the offer on the tools, I got most of the basics, and a couple of specialized. I may need some things here and there. What I really need is someone to drink my beer and ask "what the **** are you doing that for". You know... the usual.
I will let you know when I'm gonna be working on it. I drive through Claremont on my way to work several times a week. Do you have a regular m-f 8-5 schedule?
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09-19-2008, 04:49 PM
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oops, How did I do that twice? Sorry, not trying to get my thread count up...really.
Thanks for the offer on the tools, I got most of the basics, and a couple of specialized. I may need some things here and there. What I really need is someone to drink my beer and ask "what the **** are you doing that for". You know... the usual.
I will let you know when I'm gonna be working on it. I drive through Claremont on my way to work several times a week. Do you have a regular m-f 8-5 schedule?
Thanks for the offer on the tools, I got most of the basics, and a couple of specialized. I may need some things here and there. What I really need is someone to drink my beer and ask "what the **** are you doing that for". You know... the usual.
I will let you know when I'm gonna be working on it. I drive through Claremont on my way to work several times a week. Do you have a regular m-f 8-5 schedule?
i do have a normal 8-5, but it's more like 8-7...
weekends are best for me... and i commute hella far too man... downtown LA everyday... love it... live it...ha ha ha ha h....
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09-20-2008, 01:56 AM
#19
I never got that PM with your email. I read your other post, we should talk. I have a line on two wrecked cars that may be useful to us. both have front end damage. I ran the numbers on one its a 99 with a torsen. The other is a 2001 unk rear end. If they are still available in the spring (tax return time) I was going to buy them, use the brakes, trannys, and rear end, then part the rest. If your gonna stick with the 1.6, you can use yours for now and buy the one I am pulling for cheap, and rebuild it your way, then swap it in. I am PM'ing you with my email and phone.
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12-28-2008, 06:08 AM
#20
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long over due picts.
Here are the pictures i promised long long ago... crappy night time photos... p.s. it is ******* impossible to keep a black car clean for more than 10 minutes after a wash and wax... lol....
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