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Challenge budget so far:previous challenge budget: 1709.68 recoup total: 820new money: header wrap: 17.10
misc supplies: 50and fittings: 21.98 (4.99 male coupler, 10x tube nuts for 16.99) race car paint: 14.98 new total: 1813.74 recoup: 820kicking ass and taking names. This weekend was spent helping dad on the 49 ford truck, and getting ready to get the motor back in. the motor started here:https://farm1.staticflickr.com/841/4...8a1df345_h.jpg 20180630_110948 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrstep one was to make the headers actually fit and flow again. Somehow, when I finished welding them, I screwed up and made all the tubes move. Not sure how I did that, other than stupidity and heat. So I cut them apart a bit, and re-welded them bolted to the engine. They still fit after cooling, so im calling that a win. They really don't look any different in ways that you can tell, other than having all the bolt holes line up. So use your imagination.I then tackled the other bit of stupid I did. When we cut the flanges, we cut them exactly to exhaust gasket size. When I put them together, I shoved the tubes into the holes in the flanges and welded. Obviously, now the headers are smaller than exhaust port size. So I put dykem on the gaskets, dykem on the header, and ran it all together. A bit of creative scribing and jigging, and we had some marks to port to.https://farm1.staticflickr.com/926/4...2514f054_k.jpg 20180630_125209 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI then broke out a new carbide burr on my die grinder.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1762/...25579330_k.jpg 20180630_131050 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrcouple hours later, and one completely wore out burrhttps://farm1.staticflickr.com/918/4...66a5bf1f_k.jpg 20180630_131049 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1763/...d77da032_k.jpg 20180630_131044 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrwhen I came back to the shop this morning, dad gave me the headers mostly completed. He took one of the pictures (he used some muffler paste on the flanges. That muffler paste has been on the shelf since he found it under the seat of the tracker when he bought it. Im throwing it in the misc category for budget), and I took the picture of paint. Paint is another of the misc (neither of us remember buying it, and the can is so old that its starting to rust out on the bottom. Dad wanted to use it up.)https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1828/...6f1d1a70_k.jpg 20180701_111931 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1765/...591279eb_k.jpg 20180701_160440 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm1.staticflickr.com/915/2...85624743_k.jpg 20180701_160442 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthey're still uglier than some of the women I woke up next to after a week long bender, but some header wrap and no one will see them. And the header wrap should help underhood temps.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1821/...ece4bd41_k.jpg 20180701_184256 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthe next step was getting the engine cleaned, taped, and painted. I finally was convinced to take the easy route of painting the whole engine silver. With black accents. So, super clean, wire brush, brake clean, scrapers, etc. then some painters tape.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1763/...b5037a7f_k.jpg 20180630_141244 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI also used some black valspar on the brackets and lines and such. Pulies as well. The hard lines for the cooling system were all modified to work with the new setup, fuel lines modified, and everything bolted back together. (upper intake not bolted on. But sat there to give you the idea. And so I can see it. Turned out GOOD. I was really nervous about it looking like chrome spray paint at first....)https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1829/...46a9dd2b_k.jpg 20180701_111934 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm1.staticflickr.com/839/4...2fd6a9b4_k.jpg 20180701_153220 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1809/...f719e66e_k.jpg 20180701_153228 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1790/...e8e0b38d_k.jpg 20180701_160407 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm1.staticflickr.com/836/2...ba4eeeeb_k.jpg 20180701_160412 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1830/...f4624d14_k.jpg 20180701_160418 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI pulled the used clutch and flywheel out of their box to get ready to assemble that when I realized I don't have a pilot bearing. I'm ashamed to say that this clutch will have to do. Its pretty well worn out, but its what I have, and its paid for. These parts are off a 2.2 s10, which is what the 3400 fiero guys use, and wvtumbler recommended for this swap. Hopefully it doesn't slip. I'm going to dress the pressure plate and flywheel with the zizz wheel and a brown pad and hope for the best.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1830/...5d209e09_k.jpg 20180701_160234 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1805/...61943b2a_k.jpg 20180701_111928 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhopefully the next post will see the engine in the bay, and all but hooked up!Happy 4 th y'all. And remember to thank our servicemen (armed forces, police, and firefighters) for the freedoms we all enjoy in this great country. |
I kinda feel like you're not putting enough smoky Yunik into the build. Meaning if another slightly better shape clutch disk was found who's to say it wasn't the one that came with your original purchase? Claiming every little fitting and can of paint? Who's to say they didn't all come from the clearance section?
I'm not suggesting you out right cheat and fudge the true cost of things......but that's exactly what your competition is doing. It's really a race to see who can put together a build sheet that is barely believable. |
I'm a man of rigorous honesty. I did pretty well with the amc, and actually got protested. However, because of the build thread and counting EVERYTHING , they wouldn't even accept the protest fee. We also pulled 9th. Being completely honest.
if i fail, I'll fail honestly. if i win, I'll win honestly. i do, however, channel my inner yunick, chapman, and frieberger every step of the way that i can. Some parts i just channel them better. |
Challenge budget so far:previous challenge budget: 1709.68 recoup total: 820new money: plug wires: 10FMV
clutch kit: 52.99 plugs: 14.94 fuel injection hose: 2.98 exhaust manifold gaskets: 13.57 FMV new total: 1908.22 recoup: 820so, some ups and downs this week.Got the headers wrapped (first time ever wrapping headers). The stainless zip tie things that came with the header wrap sucked. So dad did safety wire at all the ends. Aint going nowhere now!https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1763/...2044f7aa_k.jpg 20180703_174436 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm1.staticflickr.com/840/4...39c53ca0_k.jpg 20180703_182229 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI turned my flywheel on a brake lathe in preparation for putting a new clutch in. it was a hard decision, but I feel the right one. This may mean I forego turbo parts under challenge budget, but I would hate to end my race due to a failed worn out clutch. Much happier twisting an axle or breaking a trans or something.https://farm1.staticflickr.com/836/4...7d685e21_k.jpg 20180702_165318 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrmy free, but put in the budget at FMV plug wireshttps://farm1.staticflickr.com/834/4...aebfe859_k.jpg 20180702_131327 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1805/...0814f8df_k.jpg 20180702_131323 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI got everything assembled on the stand except the upper intake, and started prepping the engine harness.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1769/...98842f0a_k.jpg 20180706_170509 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1767/...b5a84f01_k.jpg 20180706_193250 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr then got it mated to the k framehttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1806/...d6a13044_k.jpg 20180707_113131 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr and run homehttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1786/...60568880_k.jpg 20180707_121624 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrmy joy stopped there. Apparently when welding the k frame, I warped the crap out of it. The rear 4 bolts didn't come close to fitting. So I quit for the night.https://farm1.staticflickr.com/842/4...c23dd238_k.jpg 20180707_140651 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrToday I tackled it again. Using some creative jack placement, a scissors jack, some ingenuity and leverage, we spread the ears of the k frame that were warped. Its all bolted down. All the coilovers are found to be bottomed out at the moment (on the bumpstops). But by god, its on all 4!!!!https://farm1.staticflickr.com/835/4...dc67f0cd_k.jpg 20180707_141856 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1803/...b7c6109a_k.jpg 20180708_082055 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI went ahead and started laying out the chassis side wiring. Near as I can tell, the chassis is just about standalone ready from the factory in 99. everything will work without the ECU except possibly some gauges and indicators (which I don't have anymore!). I will need to extend the starter and alternator charge wires to reach their new locations, and then find some convenient switched is start and run circuits for the GM engine. Not a whole lot of overlap of GM and Mazda as far as wiring goes, at least as far as I can tell at the moment.The biggest change to the harness is the battery leads and rear wiring. Factory they ran down the trans tunnel on the torque arm. Since that doesn't exist anymore, I ran it through the AC evaporator line hole, under the dash, down the passengers side rocker, and into the trunk.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1809/...504e537c_k.jpg 20180708_090315 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1825/...6953e208_k.jpg 20180708_095331 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm1.staticflickr.com/915/4...1d9cfeac_k.jpg 20180708_113712 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm1.staticflickr.com/919/4...fd796549_k.jpg 20180708_113715 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1763/...5320e1ba_k.jpg 20180708_113736 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1825/...c9fde640_k.jpg 20180708_113730 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr got the frog arms back inhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1786/...20af0c64_k.jpg 20180708_113722 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrsometimes, you snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Other times its vice versa! |
Challenge budget so far:previous challenge budget: 1709.68 recoup total: 820new money:pulled some fittings I couldn't use from the budget, and added some I scrounged from boxes in the shop.Used 3 of the 5 dorman fittings, so I pulled that as well.So pretty much I just did budget cleanup for this. Recoup: 820
new total: 1882.05after the last update, we spent a LOT of time measuring the clutch, hydraulics, etc and doing math. Wanted to make sure wed have enough movement for disengagement. According to the measuring and math, we do! So I put the new clutch in, loctite on the flywheel and pressure plate bolts, etc.https://farm1.staticflickr.com/836/4...7d685e21_k.jpg 20180702_165318 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm1.staticflickr.com/921/4...3e381b5e_k.jpg 20180714_105744 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1823/...d47e91d6_k.jpg 20180714_110041 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthen I put the trans in.nope.First the trans fouled the passengers side header. So I pulled it out.Found out that with the thermostat housing welded to the lower intake, the engine cant pivot far enough down to have the bellhousing clear. So I walked away and did other things for a while. It had stopped being fun.So, were back on it now. The reason? A clutch explosion in the duster. Stopped me cold on that project. And I was going through withdrawals of blank sheet hot rodding.Friday, dad and I dropped the engine and cross member out the bottom, and bolted the trans to the engine on the cradle. Took the opportunity to shorten the bump stops, reinstall the headers, install the fuel lines, etc.https://farm1.staticflickr.com/858/3...a80c2360_k.jpg 20180810_101203 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrshifter coming through the insulation reminded me of the scene from aliens....https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1799/...90b771dd_k.jpg 20180810_120931 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrbut, we got it all run home and butterfly brace installed to boot.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1837/...226d82ae_k.jpg 20180812_120458 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrtoday I worked on plumbing. Got all the brake lines tightened down, heater hoses and fuel lines run, lower radiator hose, and mocked up the upper hose.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1835/...d8d83843_k.jpg 20180812_100908 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrstarting to get excited now. Next stop is wiring, and yanking the rear suspension for bent parts replacement, torsen install, painting, etc. |
Challenge budget so far:previous challenge budget: 1882.05 recoup total: 820new money: oil filter sandwich plate: 17.99
water temp sender block: 4.52 radiator hose: 10.95 advance shift light: 10.69 tuned ecm: 120, sinister performancebattery cable splice: lowes. 4.99 pack of 2, needed 1: 2.50removed turbo stuff from the budget. That sucked. Recoup: 820 new total: 1932.70well, its been a minute since a legitimate update. Between working, the duster, the bmw, the truck, and family stuff, not a lot of time on this until recently (waiting on parts for the duster). So when we left off.....hell if I remember. Honestly. Its been a wild ride lately. So im just gonna throw it all out there is some way that makes sense to my pea brain.First up in my brain is wiring and such. Its really what ive been spending a lot of time and brain power on, so...I needed an ecm that had all the security measures removed. A friend on the GRM forum has HP tuners, and can do it for me. However, hes in Ohio. I'm not. And at the time, I was in a hurry thinking it was still possible to make $2018 (which is this week). So I spent the money to have it done by sinister performance. Well go back and reflash with HP tuners and fine tune it with a consummate reduction in budget after I actually prove this whole shitshow works.Anyway, we used the 01 impala ecm and harness as GM apparently really upped the security stuff by 04. so, I started de-building and rebuilding the mangled 01 harness. Used large sections of the rondevous harness. I also made the decision to take the easy way out. Almost completely separate harnesses. One for the chassis, one for the engine. The starter is all run off the mazda parts, and the only crossover will be at the battery, fuel pump and fan relays, and gauge cluster. I could have run relays and such, but free toggles, a crappy free fuse block, leftover LED bulbs, and lengths of assorted wires seemed quicker, easier, and cheaper (already had it all, most from pull-a-part and not charged for). The ECU fits beautifully in the cavity where the passengers airbag lived, and the switches/fuses/etc will live on a piece of plastic where the radio went. Anyway, some pictures that don't look like much, as wiring never does in pictures. But I can assure you, its a hell of a lot of work.... battery cable splicehttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1953/...d2aa9bf0_k.jpg20181007_164659 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrand how the charge cables, starter cables, etc laid out. The gold box came from a car at pull-a-part with a horribly installed amp setup....https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1944/...f36fec97_k.jpg20181007_164653 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr then wiring. Lots and lots....https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1876/...0a809917_k.jpg20180923_122037 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1978/...b19f7108_k.jpg20180923_154807 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1925/...36edb7d7_k.jpg20181003_175712 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1924/...cef4dd0f_k.jpg20181007_163208 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthe CAD (cardboard aided design) template for the switch panel where the fuel gauge, aux fuse panel, and switches will live. Probably the CEL as well if there's room.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1947/...19cf64a5_k.jpg20181007_171044 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrdad found the by the road when he was mowing one day. We have no idea what the hell it is, but its plastic and big enough for what I need. Ill trace the template, cut it on the bandsaw, and then drill a ton of holes in it and mount it up like some sort of freak reject from a elementary school science fair.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1958/...27842e35_k.jpg20181007_171107 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrreally, the only other things ive accomplished are plumbing things. The upper radiator hose has been a mother, but after 13 different attempts (no BS) we found a workable solution. The black block in between the two sections is a ryanstar inline water temp sender block. It came with an 1/8 hole in it. My mechanical gauge requires an NPT fitting that's freaking huge. Brother Dallas, being a plumber, has NPT taps. So ill modify it at his house. I don't own any and they're like 20 bucks.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1902/...7d1e1989_k.jpg20181006_141426 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthe other thing was I ordered an oil filter sandwich plate to have a place to hook up my mechanical gauge. I would really rather use a t-fitting and the port that goes to the ECMs oil pressure sender, but its rusted into the block so bad I cant get it out with the engine in place. I ain't pulling the engine again unless I have to. So, budget buggery it is!In other news, we got the fuel system pressure tested. Held full pressure with no leaks first time. No picture, because how the hell do you take a picture of fuel flowing through a hose without leaking?Until next time, y'all. Hug your family and say a prayer of thanks for your health. Never know how long you'll have both. |
Challenge budget so far:previous challenge budget: 1932.70 recoup total: 820new money: oil filter sandwich plate: 5
oil pressure gauge fitting: .97 belt: 21.99removed purchased oil filter sandwich plate: -17.99removed quart of holy freaking green: -14.98removed oil pan gasket and plugs per new rules (I deleted them from my spreadsheet and dont feel like looking at the moment. Additionally, I found the other oil pan gasket....) Recoup: 820 new total: 1877.19I've been like a ping pong ball in a blender lately. Doing way too much on way too many things. So this update will be a little scattered. Between going with my family to all sorts of fall events, working WAY too much, fixing the duster, etc, ive been having a hard time keeping track of what im doing with this.So, to start:the plastidip that was done to this car has turned to goo over much of it. Ive been working on peeling/scraping it from the plastics. I tried aircraft stripper, and luckily it didn't damage the plastic. But it wasn't my best idea. Ive found mineral spirits and lacquer thinner with an sos pad, as well as a razor blade to be the most effective means so far. And child labor. (she likes peeling the stuff that will peel) we've got the front bumper done, rear most of the way, and lots more to go everywhere else.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1958/...bd1d770e_k.jpg 1540468889_15404688612351221519150_mmthumb by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1966/...3fa93a6c_k.jpg 20181025_141225 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1959/...0c657903_k.jpg 20181029_144150 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrnext up is belt routing. I finally figured out what size belt fits. Spent way too much on a belt, but have learned that the original application is a dodge intrepid. Ill snag a used belt next time at the junkyard. That'll cut $19 from the budget. And it'll make me happy to have mopar parts on this.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1976/...0e9a7a01_k.jpg 20181026_185835 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1914/...7d38864d_k.jpg 20181026_185904 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI also picked up some free slicks for the 14s. 21X7x14 avon medium compound. Should cut $140 from the budget if they prove as fast at the SM7 on 15x6 in testing. Im sure as hell going to try! Very nice guy with some awesome garage hardware. And a really nice day and drive with my wife.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1949/...2aefcb44_k.jpg Screenshot_20181027-205009 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthe kinked oil pressure line was really bothering me. The ultra-lites I bought, and then self traded for came with a braided line and a couple of fittings. The engine side fit my oil pressure sandwich plate fine, however the gauge end wouldn't fit. It was 1/8 female NPT, and the sunpro wasn't. So I bought a brass block off plug with a hex head for $.97, drilled, and tapped to make an o-ring sealing bushing (the threads were I think, 5/16 fine. Don't quote me)https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1932/...c4ec5fb8_k.jpg 20181019_202159 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1933/...1a737fcd_k.jpg 20181026_194239 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1971/...86ccdbf9_k.jpg 20181026_194626 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4908/...b30c7451_k.jpg 20181104_105634 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhad to make some clearance for it behind the instrument panel.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1957/...f543cb91_k.jpg 20181104_105627 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrnext, wiring and engine bay stuff.Obviosly, youve seen that the engine is together and wired. But here's some details.The ECM is run almost completely independent from the chassis. Only crossover points are the fan relays, fuel pump relay, OBD2 port, and instrument panel. I built a switch panel from scrap plastic, a free pull-a-part fuse block, some leftover LEDs, and used toggles. It has only now dawned on me that I could have relayed the fuse block, and made life much simpler. Thats revision 2 coming soon. Anyway, I did my best to make the whole engine bay side of things clean, neat, and mostly hidden. Routed the plug wires with zip tie looms, and trying my best to make the hoses neat and tidy (haven't done the fuel pressure regulator/MAP/crankcase vent yet). I'm happy with how its coming out for the most part.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1925/...61c40770_k.jpg 20181019_190432 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1979/...2053d610_k.jpg 20181019_190437 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1947/...eb559eda_k.jpg 20181019_202227 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1914/...60c39e61_k.jpg 20181021_102253 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1930/...fdb25478_k.jpg 20181023_170526 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1964/...1d6e396c_k.jpg 20181023_180020 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1944/...edcd7180_k.jpg 20181025_191007 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthis brings us up to exhaust. At the end of the post will be a few YouTube links. Needless to say, exhaust on this was NOT optional. We were shooting fireballs from the open headers. But it RUNS now, and actually sounds good. I had to tweak the exhaust upon re-installation for no obvious reason, except the one where I forgot an oxygen sensor bung. But for no good reason the midpipes were now too short, so I had to extend the legs of my merge collector. And I also cut the mushroom heads off the hangars to make install and removal of the rear section easier. I also had to move the collector down towards the butterfly brace so it would stop hitting the driveshaft.But its done now, and sounds GOOD. to me it sounds a lot like an indy car.https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1903/...dac8c0b7_k.jpg 20181104_105836 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4827/...c5adac67_k.jpg 20181104_105844 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1970/...ae499b16_k.jpg 20181104_105827 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI backed it out in the driveway to wash the engine bay (it was FILTHY. Pure white looks great when its clean though) and settle the suspension. Its really, really low. The coilovers are and full drop, so it has plenty of room to go up.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4815/...c638d9a5_k.jpg 20181104_111727 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1921/...7fb3b173_k.jpg 20181104_111747 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1954/...7645e8c7_k.jpg 20181104_111826_001 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4868/...522d7018_k.jpg 20181104_112225 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4880/...af5fdf1d_k.jpg 20181104_113433 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrso, videos. Because everyone likes video. And these are monumental achievements for me. Near as I can tell, this is the first FWD 60*v6 in a miata that has ever been done. This is also proof that you don't have to spend thousands to do an engine swap. Or be a genius (cause im sure not!). First fire: |
this update brings no financial changes at this time. Really, the only part that I used was in my magic bits bucket (lives right next to my fab metal bucket full of odd pieces of metal) and I have yet to determine fair market value of the heim. Its pictured below, but came off a set of addco sway bars on a c5 corvette after they became horribly noisy. I had 4, but am down to just this one that I know of. Met be one more in the bucket at the bottom, but.....anyway, here it is. Whats it worth?https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4899/...9819cd4a_k.jpg
20181116_165748 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrregardless, its being used as part of my PPF delete. Ive been waffling back and forth for a month about how I want to do it, and finally, due to analysis paralysis, just made something simple and adjustable.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4915/...5b7dead0_k.jpg 20181116_201858 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthis gets welded to the rear crossmember on the passengers side directly to the outboard side of the original PPF that I cut down to make the lower mount. It will be fully boxed into the subframe, and should be welded in this week sometime when I remove the subframe. Then paint it, swap in the 4:11 torsen, and put it back under. Probably going to paint the underside of the car around the rear cradle white like I did the engine bay and tunnel.I've been chipping away at the dash a bit more. I re-clocked the tach needle to actually read properly, bolted the dash in, tided up all the gauge cluster wiring, mounted the ECU, etc. ECU is mounted behind the cover for the passengers air bag, and fit like GM and mazda planned this swap. I also went ahead and bolted in the gutted AC evaporator box to finish that as well.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4845/...435d18b7_k.jpg 20181109_172101 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrin the process of this, I figured out why the OBD2 port wasn't working. Mazda and gm send the data on a different pin using a different protocol. The scanner is smart enough that it cant/wont use the wrong protocol on the wrong pin. Once I swapped the pin to the GM location, worked plain and easy. I also relayed the auxiliary switch panel and fused the line from the battery with a 50 amp maxifuse, but apparently didn't take any pictures of either, so you'll have to take my word for it.I needed to see another visual progress after all the wiring, so I went after some interior work. Pulled the kick panels, windshield trim, glove box, and knee panel out of storage. Became shocked at how much it all weighed. The pile from storage:https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4878/...f52ce0a0_k.jpg 20181116_153644 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI pulled the steel plate from the knee panel, and the inner structure from the glove box while keeping the hinges and latch. I also stripped all the jute and foam from the backs of the other panels. My highly calibrated left arm says that I reduced the weight by roughly 50% from stock, with no outward indication.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4889/...244d32dd_k.jpg 20181116_154757 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4899/...e6a62cf4_k.jpg 20181116_165646 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrand all put together looking like a car again. Still have to figure out how to gut the airbag assembly from the steering wheel while retaining the horn function and cover for appearance sake. And install the kick panels, steering column trim, dead pedal, etc. lots of interior to go back in.....https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4829/...40df896d_k.jpg 20181118_110952 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthe shift light is going to be mounted where the dome light was above the rearview if I can make it fit in a way im happy with, may require cutting. You know, since NOTHING has been left untouched in this build. Except the gauge hood. I didn't mess with that at all. Yet.While ive been chipping away at electrical, dads been cleaning, painting, and prepping sub assemblies. Seat mounts were ground, cleaned, and painted, seat cover cleaned, hardware torqued, etc. ready to be bolted in after the roll bar.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4811/...418c0d88_k.jpg 20181116_165754 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4892/...2a0f390f_k.jpg 20181116_201749 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI refit the roll bar to remind myself of what needed done. Two tabs to tack on, some finish welding on the floor backing plates, finish welding the roll bar (Stave of AMC fame volunteered to do that), clean and paint. Clean up the hackery on the body shell form where I cut for clearance, bolt it in, and make some close out panels.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4811/...b80e9e23_k.jpg 20181118_160602 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI mounted up the rear bumper. Need to eradicate the structure from underneath it yet that should lighten the car a few more pounds as well.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4826/...875040a7_k.jpg 20181109_172637 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrlastly for this update is my puzzler. You see, I have to redo the throttle cable setup for ANY hope of a hood fitting. However, there's an issue there. I had thought it would be just as simple as moving the mount point towards the intake bu 90 degrees.Except it binds at anything over about 45 degrees from where it is now. Which really doesn't get me anything for hood clearance or cosmetics. Im open to ideas on how to lower the sleeved and fixed end without binding issues though. There has to be a way, and the only option I can come up with is to use a smooth stud to pivot the cable down like a pulley. That way the housing can come at a 90 to the angle of pull.Heres pictures. Help me brainstorm. Please.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4850/...fc8d8510_k.jpg 20181109_172707 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4861/...56086886_k.jpg 20181109_172703 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr |
Challenge budget so far:previous challenge budget: 1877.19 recoup total: 820new money: another can of white from lowes 3.98
heim: 1 from my magic bucketdriveshaft safety loops: 40 from J&t weldinggiant K&N air filter: 2.06 pull-a-part Recoup: 820 new total: 1902.29so, ive been chipping away over the holiday weekend. Tuesday on my lunch break, o swung by J&T welding I alblemarle to get the 2x1/4 plate I needed for the driveshaft and CV axle safetly loops, and have it bent. $40 later, and 30 minutes, I had this in the back of the car. We needed roughly 6 inches between the verticals on the legs. So thats what I asked for, and pretty much what we wound up with.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4835/...a3e007b3_k.jpg 20181119_124615 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrTuesday, while waiting for an appointment, I made a to-do list.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4807/...35208b43_k.jpg 20181120_183625 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrstep one was Tuesday night, which was getting the CAI built, vacuum lines finished, and the throttle linkage sorted out. By the middle of the evening, I thought I had it all sorted out. I used one of my multiple aftermarket air filters, and the biggest I could fit. It happened to be a K&N. See, I buy them any time I see one at pull-a-part. For 2.06, I figure I cant lose. I have AEM, K&N, Spectre, ebay, and a greddy. Seriously, I have like 9 different aftermarket cone filters in storage. This one, If I remember right, was on a 3800 Buick. But don't quote me on that, its been in storage for probably 5 years. Maybe longer. I mounted the giant filter directly to the end of the MAF, tucked low behind the radiator. I dug it. Also, I cut and bent the stock throttle linkage bracket until it looked like it would clear, pretty much mimicking the car version of the GM bracket. (I bought a car version Wednesday morning, but it didn't wind up being the solution).I also finally did all the vacuum hoses and lines. Used scraps of hose ive scavenged from various cars over the years, as well as scraps of the factory nylon vacuum lines. Still need to get a factory style MAP sensor mount (didn't take the right tools with me to the yard for that) or make one, but its otherwise done!https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4818/...e5dfd22c_k.jpg 20181120_193804 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhowever, I wasn't feeling like the hood was going to fit without a giant hole being cut.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4916/...658c76b2_k.jpg 20181120_193809 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrWednesday I ran by the junkyard real quick, had an eye-doctors appointment, and then spent the day helping my wife around the house.Thursday (thanksgiving), we had dinner at my folks place (where im building the car). I was specifically told I could NOT get dirty or stinky before dinner and family portraits. So I looked at the list, and decided to bolt the dash in (not picture worthy), secure under dash wiring (not picture worthy), and see how big a hole we would have to cut. Initially, it was looking REALLY BIG.But then, I pulled the entire CAI (hood was hitting breather hose fitting and IAT) and then the throttle bracket (again, hood hitting it). Without ANY cutting, we get here:https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4859/...6651d609_k.jpg 20181122_113126 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrvia horrible cell phone pictures and some guesstimation, we see that we only have to notch a 6 inch wide underhood brace to clear the intake manifold. Ill then need to build an underslung throttle cable bracket assembly, and a completely different CAI setup. But having an externally stock appearing hood was worth it!https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4904/...6d3feb06_k.jpg 20181122_095559 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrThursday night after portraits, I finally made our fuel gauge. Used an old mudflap, some hole saws, my drill press, and a glue gun to turn the passengers side eyeball vent into a fuel gauge. I found that the gauge will read accurately when entirely divorced from the cluster, just like a GM gauge. That was a very nice thing to find out.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4893/...76ca2f5a_k.jpg 20181122_175346 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4814/...2937ea53_k.jpg 20181122_175711 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4868/...1b4b0b10_k.jpg 20181123_092810 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4889/...d59c6fa7_k.jpg 20181123_093202 by Michael Crawford, on Flickryesterday, I decided to finish tackling the PPF delete, as well as get the car ready to finish cleaning and painting parts, as well as replace the bent driver side rear suspension arms.To attach the upper joint, I had previously made this:https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4915/...5b7dead0_k.jpg 20181116_201858 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrto actually attach these brackets to the subframe, I pulled the subframe out, cut the spot welded flange down, welded the L brackets, then added a reinforcement/boxing strap up the subframe. Should be stronger than the metal its attached to, which is all I can ask for.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4817/...4c7e3e37_k.jpg 20181123_134620 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrwhile I had the subframe out, I figured it was a great time to make the CV axle loops. After all, I had the fab tools out already, right?My plan was to use the UCA mounting bolts to hold it in, thereby supporting the midpoint of the shaft in the event of failure. So, measure, mark, drill, weld, cut, repeat...https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4858/...de36ec2e_k.jpg 20181123_134518 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4883/...16c0291b_k.jpg 20181123_143618 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4917/...91b85bf0_k.jpg 20181123_151618 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthere was a little more trimming and profile work done after these pictures, but you get the idea. The D shaped one will bolt through the passengers side of the trans tunnel just above the merge for the exhaust. You know, in all the spare room I have here.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4891/...2eed3285_k.jpg 20181123_134653 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI then switched gears for the last part of the day to cleaning and painting the underside of the car.I have to say that since I quit smoking, I have become much more susceptible to fumes. Spray paint never used to bother me. The following pictures gave me a hell of a headache. But the AMC proved to me just how nice working on a car with white engine bay and undercarriage can be. So I HAD to do it.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4851/...66fd8c71_k.jpg 20181123_134645 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4888/...b861773f_k.jpg 20181124_130927 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrToday, I finished cleaning all the suspension parts and loops and cage plates and such for painting. No pictures. I also spent the morning over at Steve's place, where he used his welding talent, 220 welder, and surface plate to finish weld my roll bar. Now I need to clean it, and paint it. Im debating between satin black, or color matched tan to match the interior. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. But cosmetically, with no top at all, dark green paint and tan interior, I don't know which would look better. I also didn't take a picture of the finished welded product, and for that I apologize. But heres one of Steve welding!https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4906/...bd44caa2_k.jpg 20181124_102538 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrtomorrow is thanksgiving with my in-laws (fried turkey and homemade collards. I ain't missing that!) so I don't know if I will be able to swing by the shop to lay some paint down or not. Hopefully I can, but no promises. Im really pushing to have test drive by Christmas. If I can do that, ill be really happy. And were awfully close! |
Challenge budget so far:previous challenge budget: 1902.29 recoup total: 820new money:used serpentine belt from pull-a-part: 4.95roll bar paint: 3.99 (was 8.99 at oriellys, but used the $5 coupon I got in the mail) Recoup: 820
new total: 1911.23so, ive been in thrash mode. Lots of caffeine and heavy metal music. I NEED to see this thing moving under its own power soon. Ive been working on it for well over a year now.....Thursday night I started with a pile of parts and hardware that dad had cleaned and painted for me (he did all the really nice final coats on this stuff, as im not that great a brush painter). The only issues I ran into was that the upper control arm bolts were too short for proper engagement when the CV shaft safety loops were added. So a couple grade 8 bolts and nylock nuts from the bins were used. And, since I redesigned the upper PPF delete mount on the fly, I had to change the mounting hole in the chunk of the stock PPF.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4867/...f91994f5_k.jpg20181125_091438 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4836/...48288933_k.jpg20181128_174550 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4872/...8897f389_k.jpg20181128_174557 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrBut got it all assembled with the “new” 4.11 torsen, and slid under the car.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4905/...cb4bd151_k.jpg20181130_181025 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrFriday I raised it all up, drilled another hole, torqued everything, and went to install the factory rear brace.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4835/...2191e9a1_k.jpg20181130_195146 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrIt wouldn't fit. Hit the exhaust. I got to looking, and realized there was a piece of the differential aluminum casting hanging the exhaust up from going up further. So I got out the sawzall.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4804/...2dcc3ebe_z.jpg20181130_201001 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrGot it all bolted up, tightened down, drilled the holes for the driveshaft safety loop with a freaking DREMEL and carbide burr because I couldn't fit the drill in there, and called it a night. Well, after getting the drivers rear quarter beat somewhat into shape to fit the rear bumper cover, and mounted the shift light above the rear-view with a bit of tripled up plumbers hanging strap (scrap from a job site)https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4896/...3c72d8be_k.jpg20181130_195136 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4806/...1089ac9b_k.jpg20181130_201444 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4910/...9bc9c79d_k.jpg20181130_201429 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4905/...9df21b0b_k.jpg20181130_190233 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4894/...97c9b839_k.jpg20181130_190223 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4885/...1ced1fbe_k.jpg20181130_202912 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrSaturday morning started with flushing the cooling system of my vinegar and water flush. I didn't take pictures, but y'all should've seen the crap we knocked out. To facilitate this, and fixing the water pump leak, I pulled the few bolts and zipties holding the front clip and fans in, and cleaned everything else out of the car from stem to stern. While it was outside, I cut the package tray shelf to the scribe d lines, dressed the edges, vacuumed everything out, etc. generally made it a much nicer work environment. I also went ahead and put in the kick panels, dead pedal, sill plates, etc. got tired of cutting myself and laying on the sharp edges of the pinch around the door frame. Why I didn't do this a month ago, I don't know. Guess im a slow learner or something. I also reinstalled the windshield plastics and weatherstripping somewhere in the last week as well.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4806/...ca7baa61_k.jpg20181125_101709 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4901/...c45f9c03_k.jpg20181130_181039 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI pushed the car inside, spread out a tarp, and dad cleaned/painted the rollbar with VHT rollbar and chassis paint. While it was drying, dad and I pop riveted the nut plates to the body, got the hardware lined up, loctite out, etc. when the rollbar was dry enough, we sat it in place and bolted it down with lock washers and blue loctite gel. Thankfully it didn't move too much when Steve welded it, so only the drivers rear leg needed a prybar to line the holes back up. But its got every fastener I designed it to have, and damn sure ain't going anywhere.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4917/...dbfec607_k.jpg20181201_140155 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4889/...e3840c18_k.jpg20181201_140148 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrWhen dallas and I welded up the seat frame, it moved a little as well, so I opened the holes up with a burr on the die grinder, and bolted the seat in.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4907/...53849cdc_k.jpg20181201_172813 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrwhile I was in there, now that it was difficult to access, I got the fuel tank vent sorted and the covers back on.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4818/...6be18847_k.jpg20181201_172832 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrWe also sorted the front sway bar and mounts. This is a 1 1/8 front from an s10 blazer second gen. I had to move the bushing mounts rearward and inward by an inch each. To do so, I cut up some scrap angle iron, drilled some holes, and made adapter plates. Corners were cut from the plates to clear factory stuff. The bar itself had the original ends cut off, then new holes drilled to mate up with the miata end links. We then cut it down to a normal sway bar end with the portaband. All this (except the plates) was done by eyeball, so I don't really have a how to. But, at the end, I have a front 1 1/8 sway bar for $6.66https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4811/...534a2155_k.jpg20181201_123136 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4904/...f4c99660_k.jpg20181201_123142 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4858/...e0054d01_k.jpg20181201_131206 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4822/...09b3e568_k.jpg20181201_134406 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrTo finish the night, I installed the taillights (passengers brake and running lights (LED) don't work, but turn does, and its getting signal from the chassis) which may be the ugliest taillights on any car I have ever seen anywhere. The pictures do not do their hideousness justice. I'm going to tint them red with the VHT red nightshades I have on the shelf, but I don't think that's gonna help much. Maybe ill get lucky and talented and have time to build fiberglass versions of taillights and french in a set of 5 inch round trailer lights or something. Dunno, but these are that damned ugly.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4871/...69bce981_k.jpg20181201_165829 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrOh, and I pulled the water pump, cleaned off all remnants of gasket, and reinstalled with a heavy bead of RTV.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4872/...9843f4b0_k.jpg20181201_172804 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrToday, dad and I started after church to bleed the clutch and brakes, as well as set ride height. I have the front coilovers set at 1 inch up from bottom, and rear 1.5 right now. Little too high at both ends (13 rear, 14 front), but gaining on it. Did a full nut and bolt check of front and rear suspensions except the alignment eccentrics and tie rod jamb nuts. We started on the clutch, and really didn't have much success, were starting to get some pedal, but not a lot. I'm thinking that the air is trapped in the line where it goes above the clutch master before going down to the slave. So I may reroute it before we try to bleed it again. Then, we moved onto the brakes. We didn't seem to have a lot of pedal travel, with a very hard stop at the end. But we soldiered on, right up until the fronts wouldn't bleed at all. After much diagnosing, we decided we had a bad master cylinder. (I later found that I hadn't actually hooked the pedal to the booster rod through the hole in the pedal, so it was bottoming out after very little travel. Its been fixed now, but brakes still aren't bled.) |
I went ahead and finished the water pump, installed the fans, tightened all the hose claps, filled and bled the cooling system, and went on to the front clip instead. Part of the front clip was sorting the throttle cable brackets, and making the hood fit. Spoiler alert: the factory air intake elbow wont fit with a hood no matter what I do. I have a plan, but don't know that it will solve the issues.Anyway, mark and cut:https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4911/...5fd9c9d5_k.jpg
20181201_172729 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4811/...5708c15a_k.jpg 20181202_161657 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthis is the final form of throttle bracket. Needs triangulation. but that has to wait until the intake is done so it all clears.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4903/...0bf35cd2_k.jpg 20181202_161714 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4882/...c59fad1e_k.jpg 20181202_161702 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrThis snowballed into bolting down the fenders, bumper cover, figuring out that BOTH headlights are busted far more than I thought, and cleaning up the shop.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4873/...eb288c92_k.jpg 20181202_161735 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4823/...9276efe9_k.jpg 20181202_161742 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4855/...ee7722df_k.jpg 20181202_161754 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4849/...81b9f1b3_k.jpg 20181202_152829 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4872/...84afd100_k.jpg 20181202_161617 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4915/...73c522e5_k.jpg 20181202_162040 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr But, were definitely getting close!https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4907/...2b270c14_k.jpg 20181202_161637 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr |
Challenge budget so far:previous challenge budget: 1911.23 recoup total: 820new money:silicone 90 degree intake elbow, ebay: 8.90pair of tilton master cylenders from facebook marketplace (2x for 60, used 1) 30 Recoup: 820
new total: 1950.13alright, when we left off I had finished making sway bars. Dad painted, and I reinstalled.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4916/...6efa837f_k.jpg 20181207_174036 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4904/...53af7c2b_k.jpg 20181207_203557 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrred, because we all know red is faster than other colors.We also were having clutch issues. No matter what we did, we could not get the clutch to disengage. We reverse bled, gravit bled, pressure bled, two man....it boiled down to the fact that the miata clutch master just wasnt big enough. Seems that 7/8 is what is needed. So I spent far too much time trying t0 find a cheap and readily availible one. Finally came across a facebook marketplace ad for a pair of tilton masters for $60.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4857/...920d51e5_k.jpg Screenshot_20181212-195551 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrbought them in a ymca parking lot at way too late at night, in the snow, 2 hours from home. Should've actually inspected them, as they were both seized up. So I blew them apart after soaking, and the bores and rubber were pretty much spotless inside. I think water and crap got inside and created just enough corrosion to cause problems.7/8 is the one I used initially, fully expecting to need the 1 inch. I removed the cruise and upward travel limiters while I had the clutch pedal out for a little more stroke, slotted the holes on the body of the master to fit the miata stud pattern, used the stock clutch master reservoir and a chunk of 3/8 fuel line as well as a couple of washers for install. The hole in the firewall needed opened up a little, and I did that with an air file. The masters came without the fittings, and tilton told me they were an AN style fitting. I don't have any of those, but I had a tube nut and some scrap nicopp line from plumbing the 49 ford in the background of the whole build thread. A bubble flare was made, and it seals well enough for what it is. I still need to make a bracket for the reservoir, and I re-tapped the miata clevis to fit the tilton master. But by god, it worked, and hasn't even been bled yet!!!https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4862/...3ce47010_k.jpg 20181216_140702 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4823/...70e23d26_k.jpg 20181216_152629 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI went ahead and filled the trans now that I know everything works. I cannot get to the proper fill/drain plugs on the passengers side, because im a dumbass and didn't give myself any way to get to them. So I used the reverse light switch hole on the drivers side. Hopefully it works right....I also filled the rear diff.Finished today with making the CAI clear the hood, and everything else. Ordered the cheapest coupler in 3 inch 90 degree I could find on ebay (black was more, red and blue were the cheapest). Used a piece of 3 inch exhaust tube to mate the silicone to the buick parts, and ran the filter behind the drivers side headlight. Just no good way to go on the passengers side, and the drivers side made everything fall into place. Its tight, and needs some mounts to keep it from moving around, but it clears everything I need it to. And the hood shuts easily.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4853/...3398ce04_k.jpg 20181216_155157 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4866/...440219be_k.jpg 20181216_155220 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrdad and I do a nut and bolt check, rough alignment, bleed the clutch, and try to test drive before Christmas this week. My family and I leave Friday morning at holy crap its early, and I have to work all week. So its going to be tight. But I proved today that it moves a foot in either direction under its own power! So its possible.... |
Challenge budget so far:previous challenge budget: 1950.13 recoup total: 820new money: 1 sheet .030 aluminum: .505 point harnesses (challenge budget exempt, but $54 on amazon) Recoup: 820
new total: 1950.53the last ten percent of work takes the other 90 percent of the time.So today doesn't look like 8 hours worth of work and thinking....first, I re-purposed some random engine bay bracket for a clutch master mount. Little cutting, little grinding, a pop rivet, and a couple of zip ties makes for a nice install that's hard to photograph because its hidden.https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4839/...1fefb4a7_k.jpg 20181226_121347 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4867/...c8b74e16_k.jpg 20181226_131250 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4883/...7361f337_k.jpg 20181226_131257 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrnext, I finally made a mount for the upper radiator hose. Well, made is a little too strong a word. More like found a random sheet metal bracket in the 5 gallon bucket of random crap that lives in the corner. Worked perfect. The goal here was support, and to make the temp sending unit the highest point in the system. No matter what, the upper hose was going to trap air in the cooling system due to basic design issues, so I figured I may as well as use it to my benefit. Bolted it down to one of the original coil mounting studs, couple of zipties, and good to go!https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4880/...a9f0c4a8_k.jpg 20181226_173411 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrnext, seat belts. My wife got these for me for Christmas. Not a brand I've ever heard of, but the stitching is good, they're SFI rated, and cam lock. Cant ask for much more than that!To install, I had to add a hole and backer plate through the trans tunnel for the inboard lap belt, wrap the shoulder harnesses around the roll bar, and the antisubmarine strap around the seat mounts. Really, nothing unusual. Roll the excess strap up, ziptie to keep contained. Done.https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7829/...d214a096_k.jpg 20181226_163525 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI went ahead and did my interior nut and bolt checks. Every fastener between the firewall and trunklid. That's a lot of bolts and nuts, by the way. Oh, and screws. Don't forget the screws. I also installed the rear bulkhead carpet, and used a ex-printing press sheet of ,030 aluminum (I bought and inch thick stack from stampie at .50 a sheet a couple of years ago. Sheets are roughly 3.5 feet by 2.5, but I should really measure them.) to close out the rear package shelf where I cut it for the rollbar so the package tray carpet would lay nice. Went ahead and finished installing the steering column plastics as well.https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7826/...c9fec16c_k.jpg 20181226_163536 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4911/...ba710ba5_k.jpg 20181226_163506 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://farm8.staticflickr.com/7859/...08244196_k.jpg 20181226_163456 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrthe last thing we did was solve the sway bar interference (helps if you center the damn thing before tightening the bolts), bleed the clutch and brakes again, nut and bolt check the exhaust, butterfly brace, and transmission fasteners, added a couple of missing bolts undercar as well. You know, stuff you cant really photograph. |
so, its been a minute since update. Lots of testing, tweaking, tightening, cleaning plastidip, etc. and still nowhere near done on any of that.
However, its done enough for a test and tune next weekend!!!!! so, on y way towards that, ive been busy. I added a passengers seat for navigator/instructor, installed the package tray carpet, scrapped the inner fenders in exchange for the quick release wheel, got rid of the toggles and exposed fuses, added a feta cheese container painted black to cover the clockspring, tinted the hideous taillights, installed rollbar padding, the list goes on.... but, were ready to rock for next weekend! Im going to drag it back to dads tomorrow if its not raining so I can pull a neon parts car in for total gutting. I need a daily that gets better than 14mpg..... https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7821/...954de381_b.jpg20190207_164512 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7849/...9a681f61_b.jpg20190216_175038 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7914/...695dce59_b.jpg20190216_175043 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7861/...48d193dd_b.jpg20190216_175048 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7911/...bdf67312_b.jpg20190216_175032 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr |
Sweet build man. In for more videos of this thing.
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new money:
valspar hunter green paint 4.99 ollies bondo and spot putty from a yardsale 5.00 rattle can high build primer, oriellys 7.99 honda wheels 4.37 drag slicks (exempt from budget, 4x tires free) 0.00 (actual cost, 165) removed 2x sm7 slicks and mounting from budget for -30 reduction for the other two exempt tires used known good maf replaced under maintenance rule (was actually free to me from a trunked impala) Recoup: 820 new total: 1926.53 so, this is the first real post in a long time. Some of this is recap, some is new, some is drivel. You know, normal stuff. Life got busy, and my documentation has fallen behind real life. Its currently too damn hot to be outside, so im updating. Anyway, I took the car for its initial autocross on march second. I only got one picture, but did do a post about it over on GRM. So heres the picture, with a copy of my post below. https://live.staticflickr.com/7835/3...f41aaf2e_b.jpg 20190302_090621 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr So, we have ignition/breakup issues with the maf connected, but wont idle with it disconnected. Very, very loose. Much faster and more controllable in third. Looks like hammered ass crack Cant get heat in tires yet Gauges are useless unless in grid Needs a top/shade/etc Holy berkeley its a lot more car than i can handle. So, after the autocross, I got distracted with building a daily for work. And a broken truck in west virginia. And.... dad and I started hunting the issues with the car. We found a bad MAF, replaced that, and cured 90% of the drivability evils. Cleaning grounds and fixing loose connections cured the rest. The car tows beautifully with the flat tow setup, and runs fantastically now. Still have no operable oxygen sensor, and im not sure im going to bother sorting it at this time. The shift light is all but useless, as the car revs so quickly that its in the limiter before the light is noticed. Its also incredibly loud inside, but passes SCCA noise regs, so im happy there. Anyway, my county passed new inspection laws, negating the need for emission inspections. Which means, since this car retains all other necessary street features, that this happened. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0e439de3_b.jpg 20190518_123420 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr with the addition of legality to be on public streets, dad drove it for the first time. For about 20 miles. And loved it. It has gotten his seal of approval, which is all the awards the car needs in my mind. Its been a great journey with him. Him and mom leave in the next couple of weeks for the summer Rv-ing in the southwest. He will be going to the challenge with me, but its my game to get the car finished. So I drove it to my house (30 miles away) and found out that it really isn't a bad street car! Which means it could probably use a lot more spring rate. And more power. And aero. And.... anyway, step one was to get it cleaned up, and take it to the local cruise night (last night) which is essentially a late model camaro/challenger/mustang meet, with some neat trucks and other older muscle cars. All domestics. No imports allowed. The miata was a hit, and I worked on my presentation for the concourse. As well as watched what people looked at funny to give me an idea of how to clean up the car for better scores and mire curb appeal. Majority of this will be fit/finish of the interior, under hood tidy up, and paint/body. First, washed before the cruise night pictures (these are also intended to highlight the bodywork issues ahead of me, as well as I good representation of where im starting for concourse preparation): https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...eb2b4035_b.jpg 20190519_102142 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d620c400_b.jpg 20190519_102153 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6b7693f2_b.jpg 20190519_102158 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6f3e52e9_b.jpg 20190519_102204 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...bce2a669_b.jpg 20190519_102216 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4d9599dd_b.jpg 20190519_102228 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b0a86e56_b.jpg 20190519_102234 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...de619814_b.jpg 20190519_102243 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...07c0809d_b.jpg 20190519_102309 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c013577b_b.jpg 20190519_102314 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d670c5ed_b.jpg 20190519_102318 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr so, ill let you know what I think, and hoped to show in the pictures. Every panel except the passengers door has damage of some form. There is an incredible amount of paint damage due to the methods used in plastidip removal, and some of that may have been the reasons for the plastidip in the first place. The worst is the bulge in the hood. Its seriously mangled. Im not a bodyman. I never have been, and ive never been good at doing filler and panel straightening. Im and OK painter, but not good at that either, really. But, I have no fear of failure! And its be hard to make it worse, to be honest. In addition, the interior is scruffy. The door panels arent actually attached, the tans are filthy and discolored, etc. needs a bunch of cleaning and detailing and adjusting. In addition, I know there's more weight I can take out inside while making it look better. I will attempt to do so. Underhood, im not happy with how I have the air intake routed, the wiring looks like ass, there's way too many holes glaring out from the white, there's still sharp weld edges that need dressed, the overflow bottle is ugly, air is coming around the radiator instead of through, the upper radiator hose looks sketchy, etc. I personally think the whole think looks like a flaming hackjob, and quite frankly, im thoroughly unhappy with it visually. Its mechanically what I want it to be (in theory, still need to see what kind of drag times I can grab) step one, honestly, is paint and body. To fix lots of this, I need to pull body panels to get them out of my way. I also need to see the final color and livery on the car to be able to work the rest of the package around to it to match. Step one of bodywork is gather your materials. In a recent run to ollies, I came across a 4.99 quart of green. I bought it. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...da1fe126_b.jpg 20190505_095933 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr the next material was body filler. Neighborhood yardsale got me this assortment of supploes for 5 bucks. All were open and partially used (guy said to fix a boat) https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...20854a2b_b.jpg 20190519_104007 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I then walked around the car with a silver sharpie, circling every dent, ding, and issue I could find. Lots of sharpie.... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...972b3b47_b.jpg 20190526_150038 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I then scuffed the first fer dents with 80 grit, leaving the very small stuff and hood bulge for last. Trying to get my bodywork groove going.... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0d5500ed_b.jpg 20190526_151230 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr and then mixed and spread the first round of bondo https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fae345c7_b.jpg 20190526_154933 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1f3c3fb7_b.jpg 20190526_154955 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a9dd98f6_b.jpg 20190526_155137 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr sanding is done outside to keep the mess down. And its 95 degrees with 142% humidity. So that's waiting till morning. Or after dark. As a parting gift, im leaving you with pictures of my honda wheels (AFTER lots of cleaning) and slicks (no cleaning, just laying on the floor). The slicks are budget exempt, though the wheels aren't. Still truong to figure out how to de-ugly the wheels..... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...17f7d276_b.jpg 20190508_092519 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4e171c0d_b.jpg 20190523_145929 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr |
I love you.
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Originally Posted by 90LowNSlo
(Post 1536362)
I love you.
I gpt about 3 hours of body filler work in this morning. Hoping to paint this weekend. |
I'm hoping I did not offend anybody with the no homo comment. I'm also grateful that this project is appreciated here despite not currently being turbocharged or all that fast. Hopefully by the end of the weekend that I will be able to post a full update of the car in paint. Been kicking ass and taking names every night after work this week
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Old money: 1926.53
new money: pint of magic brand hardener, tractor supply: 15.99 gallon paint thinner (used 1 quart) 8.99 gallon, 2.24 Recoup: 820 new total: 1945.53 ive been busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest this week. I spent all week doing my impression of a bodyman, starting where we left off in my last post. I started block sanding the bondo and previous repairs, and then shot it with the duplicolor high build primer when it felt and looked right. This picture is after its been washed the first time with dawn and an sos pad to knock the dust and crap off before bringing it in for the night. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cef6eb0f_b.jpg 20190527_103521 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr we then grabbed the 220 and palm sander to work down the high build. Thiss is where things went wrong the first time. Near as I can tell, I either had a reaction with the random gloss spray paint I used for a guidecoat, or the duplicolor high build never cured, or something. When it was sanded with ANY grit of paper, it sort of melted and turned to pebbles. I fought it for a while trying t make it work. Dressed the whole car with 220 while I was at it, hoping for the best. Washed it again with the sos pad and dawn, and put it away for the night to think. No good picture of the pebble spots of the primer. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...038e96f2_b.jpg 20190527_091835 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8fcfaa63_b.jpg 20190528_194405 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fc401817_b.jpg 20190528_194419 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr next day, I called my buddy art. See, art and I go back 15 years or so now. Hes the best $200 paint man in the county. Hes also turned into a good friend over the years. Lives across town from me now, but he taught earl scheib how to paint cars cheap. He knows what hes doing, and is my bodywork sherpa. Hes always given me tips, pointers, and a hand when asked. He helped paint the amc last year, and other cars as well. Anyway, he told me the duplicolr had to come off. He also told me to use rustoleum sandable primer, and final sand the car to 320. in addition, he asked to help spray the car, but was only available this morning to help. So, that moved my timetable up considerably. Anyway, laquer thinner and paper towels took care of removing the duplicolor. While I was doing that, my daughter worked on peeling plastidip from the plastics and mirrors. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...166b550b_b.jpg 20190529_170221 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I then re-sanded the car with 220 outside, followed by another round of dawn and an sos pad after taking the bumpers, mirrors, lights, etc off to be able to work edges and such better. When it dried, I sprayed the rustoleum primer, and used a little bit of the leftover rusty metal primer as a guidecoat. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...99838a78_b.jpg 20190529_191244 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...bb39d7ec_b.jpg 20190530_072447 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr we then went after every facet with 320 and 400 grit paper. In between, I did more rounds of dawn and an sos pad. Did this a couple of times, and last night, it was READY. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1f9a3117_b.jpg 20190531_074204 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I put the spare free top frame on as a structure to hold masking plastic, re-prepped the plastics, washed again, and tucked it away for the night. At midnight. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...970de492_b.jpg 20190531_195909 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr this morning at dawn, which came far too damn early, I pulled the car out to tape up. We had planned on using the carport, but with it being 60 degrees and no wind, I thought that the middle of the driveway would be better. And the acr isn't movable, and would be in the way the whole morning. This was a mistake ill explain later. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3c007f27_b.jpg 20190601_083248 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr so, now a side note. This fits as well here as anywhere I guess. I grew up reading car magazines, and especially loved junkyard stuff and bodywork issues. Car craft had a series for a while about how to make cheap paint look great. They suggested many things like washing all the seams well to get rid of dust and dirt, removing parts so there weren't tape lines that look bad and chip, using light colors to hide bodywork sins, prepping around corners and edges to limit chipping, and masking tips. Ive kept all this crap in the back of my brain, and use it every time I paint a car/have one painted. My cheap, shitty jobs typically turn out better than most stuff costing 10x as much. Lots more effort on my part, though. But worth it in my wallet. Youve hopefully noticed these tips in all the [previous pictures. If you haven't, ill wait while you go back and look. Now that you're back, its time for masking. I bought plastic sheeting and green painters tape at ollies, pulled out all my other plastic rolls/sheets, cardboard, sawhorses, painters tape, harbor freight spray gun, mineral spirits (paint thinner), air hose, etc. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...49502745_b.jpg 20190601_083251 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr step one was backing all the holes in the body with tape so overspray didn't turn the trunk/underhood/interior green. Then, used some plastic to block off the trunk https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e7304390_b.jpg 20190601_085128 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr then, some trashbags over the wheels, tape the engine bay jambs, take plastic from the front bumper to the back of the interior, mask off the undercarriage with plastics from below the rocker molding down, tape a plastic skirt around the car, etc. essentially hermetically seal the previously painted and detailed parts of the car from the not yet painted and detailed parts. Only with painters tape and cheap plastic sheets and scraps of other crap. On the right is brother dustin, who wanted to learn how to paint for his upcoming datsun 280z resto, and on the left is art the sherpa. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7928dcbe_b.jpg 20190601_100244 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr now, a little more backstory here. A while back, I read about the $50 roll on paint job with rustoleum. So I tried it. The rolling part sucked, so art and I sprayed it instead. Rustoleum sail blue, valspar hardener, and mineral spirits. 1:1 ratio of rustoleum to thinner, and a splash of hardener to taste as the recipe. We used a pint of paint on the whole car, and it was a great 20 footer. It even went to the challenge last year with the new owner. Laid down pretty good, and sprayed in almost the exact same spot in my driveway. https://live.staticflickr.com/4326/3...f34563c8_b.jpg 20170716_192052 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr so this time, I figured that we could do even better now that we had the secret sauce down! Only with ollies valspar instead of rustoleum. Both oil based enamel, so should be the same, right? https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...af6b96ec_b.jpg 20190601_102026 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr well, we went through the whole quart of green. It didn't lay down nearly as well, and didn't cover nearly as well. The blue car was done with a pint. This was done with a quart. The blue cars color came out exactly as it looked in the can. The valspar did not. But we pressed on, because challenge car! There are no pictures of me running the gun, but all the runs in the paint are mine! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a394015d_b.jpg 20190601_100949 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a07241da_b.jpg 20190601_110037 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6f8fa100_b.jpg 20190601_112151 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr the only overall picture of the unwrapped car I have has art in the middle of it. He wont be coming to the challenge with me, nor will dustin, due to other obligations and barriers. However, they will be listed as team members because they are. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ec797bf7_b.jpg 20190601_114031 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr we pulled the car under the carport to see how it looked in the normal light spectrum instead of the blinding sun. the parts of the car that were not in direct sun, laid down reasonably smooth. The stuff that was in the sun orange peeled, textured, and popped. It will PROBABLY wetsand and buff out beautifully, but we wont know until we actually do it. Ive also never wetsanded or buffed a damn thing, so it'll be interesting to see what happens! I have a porter cable DA, rubbing compound, sandpaper, and no fear of failure! Before you look at the next pictures, make sure you avert your eyes if you have a weak stomach, and maybe send the women and children from the room..... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...84dd6f84_b.jpg 20190601_145931 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cd5258f0_b.jpg 20190601_145950 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...906a5d39_b.jpg 20190601_150002 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...073f0dda_b.jpg 20190601_145956 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr well let it cure out a day or two under the carport before moving it back in the shop. Rustoleum has a ton of fumes, and as you can see, the shop is a basement. I don't want those fumes in my house, and my wife sure doesn't. When its back indoors, I can start reassembly and clean up of other cosmetic issues. Im interested to see the color fully assembled! |
Old money: 1945.53
new money: none of this counts in the budget, thank god, but it counts in my wallet.... buffer and pad, harbor freight: 45 cutting compound, scratch and swirl remover, and machine glaze: 65 pads and sandpaper for DA 44 sandpaper and block for hand sanding: 26 Recoup: 820 new total: 1945.53 so, this week ive learned some new skills, and a new thing about car people. First thing is about the people: the guys that buy really high dollar materials, and lay down paint that looks great out of the gun have large balls. I mean HUGE BALLS. It was pucker inducing taking sandpaper to a $4.50 quart of valspar. I cant imagine a $450 materials job. My job was garbage, and I was still scared of screwing it up. That being said, it was bad enough (though all one color, which was the primary purpose!) that something needed to be done. This is what I was starting with. Random pictures of the as sprayed surface. It was BAD. I did try to take similar pictures for before an after effect, but im not all that good with a camera, so make sure to squint. Or drink. Heavily. Much like last call, this car will keep looking better! Overall long view https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b3f72f4e_b.jpg 20190602_103336 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr decklid, with a picture of my beginners wet-sanding kit. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f4de4172_b.jpg 20190603_073709 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr super closeup of the surface on the best panel on the car https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c71dcfd3_b.jpg 20190603_073726 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr good overall of texture, along with my complete beginners kit of materials. (note, I wound up with a hell of a lot of different supplies by the end.) https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e0bb6ac3_b.jpg 20190603_073742 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr started with the foam block and 800 grit. Wet the paper in a 5 gallon bucket of soapy water, and used a spray bottle of soapy water on the surface. I watched youtube videos and internet posts made it look like a few seconds of sanding would produce a nice flat surface. This was after 10 minutes of sanding, and it definitely AINT a flat surface yet. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...728fdd7a_b.jpg 20190603_082603 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr so after enough wet-sanding with 800 grit to make my arm fall off (it got better!) the surface of the decklid, quarter, and door were flat. Except for the fisheyes. Those were DEEP, so I left them. Figured they wouldnt be noticeable. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8e221639_b.jpg 20190603_170045 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr one of the tips I learned was to use blue tape to outline areas of the panel that needed more work. Trhis also worked to help flatten the runs without going too deep on the surrounding area. Also taped the edges of the panels, though this proved to be wasted effort. Supposedly it would prevent burn through, but it didnt. Aparently 800 grit will work through tape. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...49c4cc87_b.jpg 20190604_080329 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...692e44e0_b.jpg 20190605_081857 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr at some point, my bum shoulder and wetsanding conspired to make me hate life. Thats when I struck on an idea. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f28dc3cb_b.jpg 20190605_125047 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I went to the local autobody supply house and obtained a box of 800 grit wet hook and loop sandpaper discs. As well as a couple of buffing pads, and a backer pad for the paper. This made quick work of the rest of the surface. And the edges. And my wallet. But, my shoulder was a whole lot better, and the process sped up immeasurably! We got the whole car down to 800 grit. I was pretty happy, but definitely concerned that I just ruined the paint. But, im a redneck with a rabbits foot and no fear of failure! Rolled it outside, and washed the slurry off with dawn and a rag. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0d1a2ac1_b.jpg 20190605_180533 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...29b66939_b.jpg 20190605_180951 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr next was 1000 grit https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6d1a23e6_b.jpg 20190606_080451 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr then 1500 https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2d134fb5_b.jpg 20190606_084847 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr then 2000, but it didn't really look any different. And my shoulder was back to hurting. (unfortunately, that's a lingering aftereffect to eating a honda in the drivers door of a 1964 el camino at 50mph. Look back in the thread, there's a picture) https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a7536169_b.jpg 20190607_081933 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr anyway, we then started on buffing. I originally started with the porter cable DA and turntle wax rubbing compound. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...31d5ac16_b.jpg 20190607_165024 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr garbage. Ruined paint that actually looked worse than before I started. So, did some digging, and was told to use a firm foam pad on a rotary buffer with 3m compound. So, a trip to harbor freight and oriellys, and a bunch of money later, we were making progress! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...21d5db3e_b.jpg 20190607_165029 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr but I still wasn't happy with the results. I called Art over to give me pointers on what I was doing wrong. 30 seconds of watching him showed I was moving too fast, at too low a speed, with too much compound, and too much angle. I took back over, and came up with satisfactory results! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...047b3f0e_b.jpg 20190608_180227 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr so, last night and today I worked through the 3m, meguires scratch and swirl remover, meguires machine glaze, and tr3 resin glaze. My shoulder and back are killing me, but im pretty happy with the results! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a135142e_b.jpg 20190609_160837 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...58b22fbf_b.jpg 20190609_160843 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d8e150fc_b.jpg 20190609_160927 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8851d798_b.jpg 20190609_160857 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr and a super close up of the same horrible surface of the decklid as in the first pictures https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f84d9d78_b.jpg 20190609_160953 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr lots of work. Lots and lots of work. But, I have a target. See, in every competition ive ever been in, ive been told to pick your targets. Wether that was football, autocross, or boy scouts, ive always had to have something i was aiming for. In this years upcoming challenge, I have two targets. First is top 10 overall. Second is beating angrycorvair in his mid engine v8 corvair. That may or may not actually get finished. But my major one, and the most euqal challenge target I can think of to my build, is machinenbau in datsanity. Its an incredible build, that outclasses mine in every measurable way. And has already competed at the challenge and placed well before the mammoth paint and body and sorting campaign hes been on all year. But v6 swapped, street legal, rwd Japanese car. Who's build thread rivals mine in length and scope. Its incredible I hope to match him, and hopefully squeak by him in the rankings. But it will be close! And FUN!!!!! heres his build thread: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/fo.../138776/page1/ as soon as the resin glaze cures (24 hours) ill take my car outside to was every surface. Twice. Then, reassembly! And engine bat detailing. And figuring out the livery. And nitrous install. And..... Octobers coming quick. |
Old money: 1945.53
new money: sold the Holley fuel pressure regulator and one wire alternator I never used for 50, but can only count 26.87 used a free demayo law office water bottle, and a .61 holly fitting for new overflow bottle bought a can of forest green rustoleum from lowes 4.38 Recoup: 846.87 new total: 1923.65 this will be my last major update before the challenge. There's further development and tweaks to the car before the big show, bit ive decided to keep them under wraps until we load up for the event. Part of the strategy of doing well is shock and awe, as well as leaving some exclusive content for the magazine. In addition, there's still enough time before the challenge for others to build a better mousetrap. So the final form of the car will have to be a surprise in October. Regardless, here we go! When we left off, I had finished wetsanding and buffing, but the car looked like chrome plated butt crack. That swarf gets EVERYWHERE. So my daughter and I took it outside and scrubbed it. Inside, outside, topside, and bottom. I really liked what I was seeing, but it made my life harder, as now I had to bring the rest of the project up to the standards set by paint and body. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...91c2d34a_b.jpg 20190611_181604 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I figured id start with the underside of the hood and the front fender jambs. I used a can of hunter green rustoleum, as its incredibly close to the valspar color, and what was left a can of white spray paint. And a LOT of painters tape. And used plastic tablecloths from the trash barrel at work. And.... anyway, I pulled the front clip off entirely, and got my tape and paint on! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...12b07dd4_b.jpg 20190613_081017 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...11b6d23f_b.jpg 20190614_124030 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e763cb31_b.jpg 20190615_175225 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e31511fa_b.jpg 20190615_182517 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...946e0ca5_b.jpg 20190613_081015 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2ddeefeb_b.jpg 20190613_081129 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr while I was at it, I did the door jambs. THAT was not easy. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...66781f61_b.jpg 20190613_080959 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d453ffdd_b.jpg 20190612_185542 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8067ae22_b.jpg 20190613_075227 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I also painted the windshield surround that I had forgotten about entirely. As well as cleaned up the cowl plastics, etc. just general tidiness and cleaning. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...764b1af1_b.jpg 20190616_104043 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I then looked at the engine bay. And decided that it looked like a hack job swap that belonged in a trailer park in Kentucky, not my shop. Not my best work, and I didn't like it. Before, as clean and tidy as it ever was https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...07c0809d_b.jpg 20190519_102309 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c013577b_b.jpg 20190519_102314 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d670c5ed_b.jpg 20190519_102318 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr the solution was multifaceted. Step one was to relocate the yellowed, ugly, bulky washer bottle. So I used an aluminum water bottle that was given to me by demayo law offices when they were trying to get my business, and a Holley clearance page NPT hose barb fitting. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...23e01659_b.jpg 20190618_121053 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr cut the top loop off the cap, a little drilling, and bobs your uncle! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d3364345_b.jpg 20190618_121840 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr and ziptied into place https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...597021b8_b.jpg 20190618_171114 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr step two was nuclear. I decided to do a wire tuck. After the washer bottle was out of the way, the wiring was the next really ugly spot. Not the engine harness I did, but the mazda harness and the wiring where the two met in the engine bay. Not my best work, and mazda didn't make the harness for looks, but for their design parameters. So first, I cut off all the extra plugs that weren't being used anymore, stripped the factory wrapping, and started plucking the leftover wires out of the bundles. Then, since I like simple solutions, I drilled some holes in the backside of the wheel tubs in front of where the bundles come through the firewall. Makes it a straight shot to the wheelwell for wiring. Extended what needed extended, re-wrapped, fastened into place, etc. in the process, I changed the starter cable and alternator wiring routing, deleted extra brackets, cleaned up the under dash wiring, etc. quite a lot of work to make it look like I did LESS than the first time! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...18ec5530_b.jpg 20190616_122519 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d7528668_b.jpg 20190618_081015 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...75f380ef_b.jpg 20190618_122247 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...052fc4b0_b.jpg 20190619_091020 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr then I changed the routing of my air intake tube, and put it all back together. In the process, I cleaned all the interior plastics, installed the body kit, cleaned all the undercarriage and wheels, cleaned the windshield properly (razor blade, lacquer thinner, steel wool, windex) for the first time since I bought the car, etc. essentially “finished” the car. From here, the thread goes dark, and when next a big update is done, it wont be such a sleeper anymore. Will hopefully look a lot more interesting than the stock appearing miata it is now. Im super stocked with it, hence the HUGE photo dump im subjecting you all to. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...22f7615d_b.jpg 20190623_143209 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...df6c2e29_b.jpg 20190623_143225 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ec87b965_b.jpg 20190623_143319 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...368ee20d_b.jpg 20190623_143325 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b420a12c_b.jpg 20190623_143337 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1d1b2838_b.jpg 20190623_143353 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ff8b4c0f_b.jpg 20190623_143611 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a7f12a90_b.jpg 20190623_143619 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...19a8f213_b.jpg 20190623_143632 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fdc34734_b.jpg 20190623_143643 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2415fae2_b.jpg 20190623_143741 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f3b8d1f0_b.jpg 20190623_143745 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fa08c64b_b.jpg 20190623_143940 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fa08c64b_b.jpg 20190623_143940 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr now that youve seen this, I WANT you to be SUPER CRITICAL of everything in the pictures. Something that could look better, be done better, sticks out as ugly or unfinished, etc. nitpick it to death like its a political post on facebook. Be brutal and harsh. I want all the feedback, positive and negative, that I can get. Im going after the top 10, and need to bring the best car I can. I know what my eyes see, but I want to know what every other set of eyes that falls on this mongrel see. Preferably the negative. But I wont be pissed at positive mixed in! |
Old money: 1923.65
new money: plastic hole plugs from widgetco 18.20 nitrous line: traded scrap wheelie bars to patrick: .50 added monster tach: $6 spring rubbers 11.98 replacement seats and one 5 point harness: $75 sold 5 point harness: -35 Recoup: 881.87 new total: 1993.83 so, youll notice the budget is almost over the amount. At the moment, it has 4 seats, and some extra stuff in it. Im narrowing down options via testing. Dont want to pull the extras out until I know. Anyway, in my last update, I said the thread would go dark. I apparently lied. At the time I wrote the last update, I was getting very serious about going for the overall at the challenge. The winning spot, and the welder. It sucked the joy out of the build for me. I stopped having fun. I stopped working towards the car I want to OWN. It began to dominate my thinking. This aint what this is supposed to be about. At all. This is supposed to be a fun build with my dad, a challenge car that winds up where it may, and one that has a life afterwards. It was not intended from the start to be an overall car, and to make it sich would require such efforts as to ruin it for what I want after the challenge. And I dont need the stress right now, or ever, of being that competitive again. It danm near killed my marriage once. Never again. I need to thank Patrick, and more importantly MY WIFE for pointing it out to me. I had honestly slipped back into those old habits and ways of thinking without even noticing. Im blessed to have them as friends. Anyway, this is about a car build. Even though its been a little bit like zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance at times. Read the thread from the beginning, and youll see what I mean.... so, I started getting ready to try drag passes. Used about .10 worth of satin black spray paint on those horrendous honda wheels, and got the honda sized slicks mounted up. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...65c58cac_b.jpg 20190703_181651 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I also started practicing powershifting the car through 3rd gear on the street. It quickly became apparent that the clutch was slipping. Luckily this was due to misadjusted linkage at the clutch master and didnt require pulling the drivetrain. After it wasnt slipping anymore, I realized that the shift light wasnt accurate at all. It would sometimes light at the rev limiter, sometimes at the proper point, sometimes not at all. I had picked up a broken autometer phantom shift light tach at a swap meet a while back for 6 bucks. It required reattaching the calibration loops, reattaching the bezel, redoing the ground wire, and then it worked. So I mounted it where the shift light had been, full on ricer style. Had to remove the rearview mirror to make it fit.... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...42cf2dc2_b.jpg 20190713_113739 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr with those in place, I planned my first test and tune night. Which got rained out. So, I went to prep for the upcoming autocross instead. This involved a comprehgensive nut and bolt check, as well as adding some spring rubbers. See, nascar uses rubbers to make incremental changes in spring rate quickly and cheaply. I felt at the last autocross that the car was undersprung. So, I went to oriellys and got a pair of 5.99 coil spring boosters. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...55ba8aa9_b.jpg 20190714_073235 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr these are the universal/intended for 5 inch diameter truck springs boosters. I cut them in half to make 4 sections that should do a full coil of wrap on my 2.5 coilover springs. Then, with a bit of trimming with a razor blade, some molding with a propane torch, and squeezing in place with giant channel locks, I took one full coil out of each spring. Which, by napkin calculation, is about a 30% increase in spring rate. Still have no idea what the rates actually are, but its stiffer! I also dialed in all the negative camber I could get, and zero toe. I am definitely camber limited here. By a significant amount. Somethings bent somewhere, probably the warped crossmember. But it is what it is at this point. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...69283030_b.jpg 20190714_125242 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr the next weekend, I had an autocross at zmax saturday morning. However, the had a test and tune friday night, and I got out of work early, and the truck was already loaded except for drag slicks, and.... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ffa8e526_b.jpg 20190719_165006 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...892c9e38_b.jpg 20190719_180423 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...504ee6ab_b.jpg 20190719_194848 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...78ca31d9_b.jpg 20190719_202223 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I was disappointed to say the least. Really a kick in the emotional nuts. Spent a lot of time thinking, and wrote the following the next afternoon. I think I introduced too many variables, both mechanically and psychologically. Trying to re-learn drag racing, while relearning how to drive slicks on a car that is completely unknown on a drag strip. It felt squirrelly on the big end, squishy all around, etc. Nothing felt right, which caused fear. Dear amplified the nervousness and perception of the cars oddities. Which increased fear. Etc. My plan is to rrtest. On street tires. And focus on shifting and driving the car straight. Once im comfortable with that, THEN introduce the variable of slicks. Relearn a car with a single new change. I wasn't launching properly with the rolling and overthinking slicks. I was lifting when it got squirrelly. I wasn't shifting well, or using 4th properly. There's a LOT of wrong with last night. But a lot of right. It drives straight, stops straight, passes tech, and the clutch doesn't slip powershifting. Im pretty sure there's a low 14 off the bottle in the car. But not a glory run that will get me the overall. Regardless, I left the car parked in the zmax lot overnight, and came back the next morning to autocross. Got there at 6am, as I volunteered to help setup due to some medication side effects with prolonged sun exposure. Means I could leave early after my runs. It was a BIG course. I actually hit the rev limiter in 3rd a few times. I also kept getting significantly quicker every run, and the spec miata slicks just flat WORK. Im sure a set of sticker A7s would be even better, but im not going to spend sticker A7 money. After the challenge, ill spend re71r money. Maybe. Just so I can drive it to and from events and not have to swap tires. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b3acdf18_b.jpg 20190720_081959 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr john (untouchabl that I bought the car and seat from) and his buddy came out saturday. He got some video (whereas I forgot to charge my camera, or even take a picture of it) and john took it for a run up the street afterwards. It got his seal of approval. Im happy there! over my 5 runs, I got down to a 78.xxx the fast guys were all in the mid to high 60s. However, this is my second event in this car. And second event in two years. And first on warmed up slicks with a properly running car. And various other excuses. Im not fast. Im not a rock star driver. But, im getting better, and learning the car and how to drive at an autocross. Hopefully ill feel confident in October of being able to get everything out of the car I can. I plan to run all ME, and skip the pro driver at this point. That is subject to change, however. so that brings us up to today, more or less. I was screwing around at a training on the various sale apps I have loaded into my phone, and came across an add on offerup for a set of tuner fx seats and 5 point harnesses for 150. I plan to street drive the car after the challenge, and wanted more comfortable seats. In addition, the mismatched aluminum seats really don't look all that great in the car. So these seemed like a good idea if I fit in them well. I happened to be going nearby the seller around lunch today, so I stopped to take a look at them, and more importantly a sit. They fit my hips well, were very faded, the foam is somewhat hard, and the ribcage is a little loose. Only one complete, outdated harness, and functional sliders. I had decided to pass on them when the guy said to make an offer. I told him that theyd really only be worth $75 to me, and got in my car and started pulling out. He came to the car and said he changed his mind and would take my offer. So I loaded them up in the mazda. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...257b3ab9_b.jpg 20190724_121441_001 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c2fcbec8_b.jpg 20190724_151923 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr brought them home, and promptly sold the harness to brother dustin for 35 bucks. Making the pair of seats the same price as the one aluminum seat currently in the budget. Still don't know if they fit in the car yet though, but I fired up the superclean, scrub brush, and garden hose to clean the mud, dust, dirt, and nicotine off of them. Re-dye will happen with RIT and a spray bottle after another couple of rounds of scrubbing and then making sure they fit the car. Im sure there's a way to tighten the ribcage fit on the drivers side, and these will hopefully be more comfortable and better fitting, as well as easier ingress/egress than the aluminum seats, even if they are significantly heavier. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d006ff85_b.jpg 20190724_172841 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr |
so, you'll notice the budget is missing. I've finalized it, but want to play some of my work close to the vest before the challenge, and it would give it away.
Anyway, in the last full update I had sucked at drag racing, sucked at autocrossing, and bought seats that ultimately didn't fit. I've made a few small changes since then..... step one was cleaning up the property some. I loaded ALL my extra miata crap in the back of the truck, and headed down to h&s miata parts (kannapolis NC 704-724-8010). Goal was to see if any of it was useful to him before I dropped it off at the scrap metal yard, and buy a side marker lens for the back bumper to fill the hole from where one was missing. Wound up unloading my truck there, and pulling black carpets and scruffy NA seats from a couple of cars headed to the crusher. He was happy to get parts that are in demand, I was happy to get stuff I wanted for life after the challenge. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1791533c_b.jpg20190731_143829 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I also went ahead and used the hole plugs I bought from the internet for cleaning up the engine bay some more. Used the proper sized plug, driven into place with a mallet and chunk of oak dowel. Then a fresh coat of brush paint. Looks much better now. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8a20a6f7_b.jpg20190730_095204 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr my previous roll bar did not clear a soft top. At all. No matter what. So I put it up for sale or trade in a few places. I was contacted from facebook marketplace by a nice young guy from greenville SC. He offered me a hard dog deuce, a soft top on a frame for a straight trade. I agreed. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fae1c98e_b.jpgScreenshot_20190805-192938 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr by the time I left his house, I had a canvas top on an NB frame, stock NB seatbelts, the roll bar, a good used rain rail, and the rear interior plastics and body metal parts for the top. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...731e3a45_b.jpg20190806_080109 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a77e4b1a_b.jpg20190806_080654 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I wasted no time in the next steps. Used some of the can of white brush paint, dregs from a rattle can, and got busy. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...86d7def8_b.jpg20190804_110325 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...afbf2018_b.jpg20190806_182742 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f5a1031f_b.jpg20190807_172654 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I called my better half to help trim the black package tray carpet for roll bar clearance. My last attempts left MUCH to be desired. Shes awesome. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b2a6b6e9_b.jpg20190808_124626 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr tossed the NA seats in, and called it good enough. I really like the contrast between the black carpets and tan interior. I will need to find GOOD seat covers for the NA seats after the challenge in tan. Preferably cloth. I like cloth. But the seats are comfortable, and more importantly, kid friendly! I took the car right after this picture for a road test. By road test, I mean I picked the kiddo up from YMCA camp and proceeded to pound 40 some odd miles on the car going up to the top of morrow mountain and back. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7e8e23dc_b.jpg20190808_130946 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...068dc233_b.jpg20190808_131122 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a72f9eb7_b.jpg20190808_173855 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f7d5754a_b.jpg20190808_173901 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr calling that a MAJOR win. This is what I want to own, more or less. A torquey, good handling, neat looking drop top. This one is coming close to how I imagined the perfect miata. Anyway, hot on the heels of this success, dad and I loaded up and went drag racing again. This time, I left the street tires on. Focused only on using all the track, shifting properly, and launching. Essentially the muscle memory of drag racing, with very limited variables. We only got three runs in. also, I had readjusted the shift light and tach to be visible, and they made me run with the top and windows up. My window switch died that night. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f26606c5_b.jpg20190809_203731 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr last run, it got hot enough to puke, and I lost steering. I honestly think part of the problem with the slicks that night was the quick release wheel coupler starting to loosen up. It came completely undone this time. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cca95f4a_b.jpg20190810_103013 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr dad and I counter drilled the set screw locations, so the set screws now thread into the steering shaft itself, cleaned everything, and broke out the good locktite. Dad then spent a few night putting a wrench on every single bolt in the entire car except bellhousing and flywheel, due to them not being accessible. He was able to get ¼ turn out of some, none out of others, and generally checked all our work with a fresh set of eyes and a magnifying glass. Im grateful he did. I went ahead and flushed the cooling system, getting all sorts of nasty crap out of it. Probably will need to be done again. I blame dexcool being the factory antifreeze in the rondevous the engine came out of. Dad took my cardboard, duct tape, and sharpie spoiler setup, some scraps from a construction site down the road, and made the ginormous spoiler. Its actually a really well engineered piece, and only two holes were drilled in the car for nutserts in the rain gutter channel in the trunk. Whole goal was easy to mount at the autocross, easy to remove to drive home. We hit it. The aluminum tube was curved and found in the front yard of one of dustins neighbors, the wires and eyebolts were bought at ace hardware. The wires run through a couple small pieces of angle iron held down where the Frankenstein bolts would go. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6aef7c4e_b.jpg20190815_190908 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e8332146_b.jpg20190816_165544 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I also got a 3 position toggle to replace the dead window switch. Because challenge budget, both windows now operate with one switch. So, up, down, or unequally in between are now the options. No picture, because it looked really hack, but needed done due to.... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...93a971b3_b.jpgScreenshot_20190814-095914 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr going autocrossing!!!!! had a two day event at zmax this past weekend. Ran in novice A, and sucked. But got faster with almost every run! So, saturday morning, got through tech, pumped the spec miata slicks to 40psi, mounted the spoiler, and went to run. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3783106b_b.jpg20190817_084605 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr First three runs were rough. But the car felt more planted under throttle, and was definitely able to lay down the power in the long sweepers. Keeping a higher base fuel level made the hesitation/flat spot issues id had previously go away. I set the alignment to all the negative camber (2.5 degrees) front, 1/8 toe in, 1 degree negative with zero toe rear. Car was stiff with the spring rubbers, but not bouncy like we had feared. It honestly felt like I had no grip at all, but then I would overdrive and understeer. Left foot braking was much more predictable. Let an instructor take the car for a run with me riding along, and he beat me by 5 seconds. First time he ever sat in the car. So, I know the car has a lot more in it than I have as a driver. We later dropped tire pressure, and it made a difference in ultimate grip and balance. I did rip the passengers side side skirt off in the first run, so you'll see that in the videos. Videos, by the way, are courtesy of a father and his kids. Dads name was david howell. Nice family! On track pictures courtesy of luke woessner. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...43b5bc66_b.jpgFB_IMG_1566137715251 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...70451ff4_b.jpgFB_IMG_1566137768594 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr Sunday, we tried removing the spoiler and playing with tire pressures. I also had another instructor run, with the top CSP miata driver that was there. He was insanely fast, and I almost hurled. Very rarely do I get motion sickness, but I did that time! Forget the guys name that did that run, but he gave me good feedback. The results of Sunday were that we know the spoiler is helping, however, its unbalancing the car. So we will cut it down to legal limit of 10 inches for XP (currently 19 inches tall). Toe out will be a big help in autocross, he recommended 1/8. he also mentioned that the slicks never really bit like they should. When he got out, he checked temps, which he said were fine, but the tires are rock hard. He recommended doping them for the challenge, and scrapping them form cheap r-comps afterwards. I need to learn about tire sauce. After the two days, I was incredibly sore on monday. In talking with dad, an old road racer, he said it was from trying to hold myself in on the stock seats. So we need to build a harness bar and put the butlerbuilt back in for autocross work. Anyway, here are the autocross videos! Car is currently torn back apart for the last thrash before the challenge, where I hope to pull top 10 overall, and maybe win concourse. Maybe. Its kind of a pile. But dammit, its MY pile! yall have a god weekend, and love your family. Also, feedback is ALWAYS welcome. Especially if its on any of the lingering questions/suggestions/ideas/etc. I love community interaction with this stuff. |
so, its close enough to the challenge to let you all in on the last of it. The car is done and on the trailer, and has been done for a couple of weeks.
So, since the last update, we did a bunch. First, I pulled the stock seats back out, then ripped out the entire interior and roll bar. Again. For the roll bar, I welded a tube from side to side for shoulder strap harness bar. The tube was leftover from the stick that came with the spec miata roll bar stuff that I traded for the top and deuce. So budget free! Sprayed it in some leftover satin black paint, and put it in along with my butlerbuilt seat and 5 points. While I was at it, I re-dyed every single piece of the interior with duplicolor medium beige. Really turned out nice! I also painted the radio and shifter surrounds in gloss black for a higher class look. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e78d2377_b.jpg 20190831_204452 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...825ed5c9_b.jpg 20190919_121211 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7c7ccd89_b.jpg 20190919_121252 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...73ccaee9_b.jpg 20190822_172146 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr while were talking mechanical, I took the spring rubbers out, and re-aligned it. Not really picture worthy. I also installed the nitrous, in the process repainting and re-looming the trunk. I integrated the wide open throttle switch in the linkage on the accelerator pedal that was used for cruise control. It bottoms out on a bolt on the firewall. Easy. I put the arming switch where the key for the airbag shutoff would go, with a warning light integrated there as well. The bottle heater is operated by the switch where the cigarette lighter should be. Solenoids were bolted to the passengers side head, and the nozzle in the exhaust tube splice. I went ahead and changed the red intake elbow for black while I was in there. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6d54dbf7_b.jpg 20190902_153544 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e6dca7b4_b.jpg 20190902_153732 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5ceb771e_b.jpg 20190921_120941 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I took the car to my vinyl guy. We tried a bunch of different things out, and what we ultimately decided on was a few things, that all work together. Most obvious is the 20 inch diameter white door gumballs. They are sized such that the challenge number plate will fit entirely within the circle. We had the vinyl to do another gumball and a side stripe on the hood, but decided it was visually too much. We did use some scrap gray vinyl to wrap the way too shiny and sharp steering wheel. Solved the issues there. I traded a pair of BMW battery cables for the materials. Rear mounted battery in his truck, stickers on my car. Win win! We then added some specific family decals. The front fenders are the insignia from grandfather crawfords 305th bomber group in WW2. On the back bumper is the insignia from grandfather tarasis 34th infantry division. If it weren't for these two men, and the lives they forged in ww2 and the years afterwards, I would not have the parents, and therefore life, that I have today. I'm proud of my heritage. We rounded out the package with a flyin miata on the roll bar, bilstein/american powertrain on the air dam, and a hellbilly hotrods sticker. In addition, I cut down the mazda emblems and painted them black. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...60d0fa8f_b.jpg 20190919_113614 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...eb7795bc_b.jpg Screenshot_20190830-172501 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...65007cb6_b.jpg 20190920_081833 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1c936319_b.jpg 20190920_081855 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr stuff that was done, but not photographed: radiator and fans sealed up better. All hardware underhood with matching levels of gold zinc. Overspray cleaned from everything. Tailpipe turned black. Scrubbing, polishing, etc. tons and tons of detail work that isn't in and of itself photographic, but makes a qualitative difference overall. Anyway, the final details were aero. I built a splitter out of the cheapest ½ plywood I could find, and cut the barn door sized spoiler down to XP limits. In addition, I had brother dustins wife get artsy with it. I REALLY dig it. She nailed my vague idea. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...50d3caee_b.jpg 20190922_133054 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...209fc8e8_b.jpg 20191005_083837 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr and this is the final visual product. It will receive the GRM sticker package, and some custom cut name vinyl in gainseville. The silver wheels have been scrubbed spotless, and the tires doped with used paint thinner. Far softer than they were, so hopefully more grippy. I will do a summary of the challenge after we get home. I will say that the competition will be stiff this year. Much stiffer than I ever expected. I am still hopeful for top 10, nut doubt I will be able to hit much higher. It will be a fun and challenging weekend, full of friends, family, and thrashing. Mom and dad are doing the concourse presentation, pro-driver timed autocross runs, and if we crack open the bottle my friend Patrick will take those drag passes. I know I sound like a slacker in having others do the skilled portions, but ive always been a builder. Im becoming much better at the practical use of the car via presentation and driving, but im not ready for the big show yet. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1dc2e114_b.jpg 20191015_140124 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr |
I love everything about this build. Can't wait to hear how you do.
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Originally Posted by 90LowNSlo
(Post 1552812)
I love everything about this build. Can't wait to hear how you do.
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2019 challenge summary
TL:DR broke it in autocross, broke it in drags, 9th overall. So, im finally getting my brain wrapped around this years challenge adventure. Im happy where it wound up. 9th overall. That's lower than we expected, but the level of hardware this year was greater than ever before. If this was last year, it would have been an easy top 5 car, and possibly top 3. but it wasn't last year. It was this year. That being said, im VERY please how well we did, despite our issues. We had the truck and trailer all loaded up before my last update. All we had to do was stuff our personal gear in the cab and go. We were supposed to leave at 5am Thursday morning. Instead, Dallas called me at about noon on Wednesday, and told me he was done with work early, and to see if I wanted to cannonball all night so we would have all day Thursday to screw around in the parking lot of the host hotel with the parking lot build, and at stampies bar. If I was a wise man, I would have stuck to our plan. Im not a wise man. We finally left out about 9pm, headed for gainseville. Got some dennys at a horrible truck stop, and hit the hotel at about 4am thursday morning. Slept till 9. we then hitthe parking lot. I spent almost all day in a camp chair talking with everyone. The car received an amazing amount of attention, and we never unloaded it from the trailer. Lots of positive feedback, fantastic food, great friends and fellowship. Oh, and a golf cart being lifted, a 4th gen camaro being lowered, and an e55AMG being nitrous'd. You know, normal parking lot stuff. In the late afternoon, I hooked up with a gentleman known on the internet as MNDSM. Awesome guy. He once posted a picture of a bowling ball he drew a maze on, and I asked him if he could do the same to my helmet. He did! All freehand, just sitting in the parking lot drinking and jawing with everyone. I think I may have inspired a new business for him, as the line of helmets may attest. Supposedly the maze has a solution. My daughter has already started trying. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a0c2e1dc_b.jpg 1571969931_img_20191024_174825_mmthumb by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fbe8c28e_b.jpg 20191026_084217 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr We got registered, applied all the decals to some magnetic sheet and the car, unloaded the parts for others, loaded the parts for me, and took a nap. Friday morning, we met mom and dad, the camper, and all my rowdy friends at the track. Course was pretty big, but not as big as our local courses. Grid and paddock were FANTASTIC in the way they were laid out. Got through tech, course walks, and drivers meeting without issues. My first run was a 49.xxx on the course, and I screwed it up pretty good. I know I left time out there. But, my goal was to warm the tires, and get the car ready to hand to Alan mccrispin, the pro-driver from the AMC build. He was able to squeeze a 46.064 out of it. FTD was set by a super high mileage Cadillac CTSV at 43.7, and the top five were all under 45 seconds on course. Not far off the pace, but we were having trouble with the car understeering no matter what we did. Ultimately, we figured out we were bottoming out the shocks, and that the car just does NOT have enough negative camber. Plans there are to find some used extended ball joints or offset LCA bushings, and make extended top hats for all 4 corners. However, all things considered we did fantastic! Here's a picture of Alan driving. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...669411ee_b.jpg 20191025_120752 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr our major failures on the autocross were twofold. First, we blew out the front left metal brake line. Apparently we had nicked it when doing fab work, and never saw it. Either that or my wife wants the life insurance money for me. It ruptured on Alan's first run, losing all brakes. We got it back to the pits, sent Dallas in the truck up to the parts store for a new line, and started to get it fixed. All told, we were off course for less than 45 minutes. Old and busted https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3f3b360d_b.jpg 20191025_162545 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr new hotness https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...32a7b7a6_b.jpg 20191026_101407 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr dallas took the car for about 8 fun runs after all the timed runs were done, eventually getting the car down to a 48.5 with him driving. He beat me in my own car. He sucks. We then changed it to drag race setup. Pulled the spoiler, took the toe out out, put the drag slicks on, bolted the nitrous bottle in. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3a88eaa6_b.jpg 20191025_153642 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr pulled up to the water box for an easy shakedown run. Experienced some NASTY wheelhop in the box, and aborted my burnout before I got smoke. Lined up at the tree against the eventual overall winner, datsaniti. Brought the car to 4k, waited for the last yellow, and dumped the clutch. Car spun a little, and hooked. Buried the throttle, and heard some nasty noise from the rear suspension. Like the man I am, I ignored the hell out of it, and left my boot in it. Powershifted through 4th with some horrendous noise from the back. Very squirrelly. Very bad when I let off at the traps. Thought I was gonna meet Jesus there for a minute. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...41c69dd1_b.jpg image000000 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0d90fe2c_b.jpg IMG_20191025_181135 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...366b54e8_b.jpg IMG_20191025_181138 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr got it pulled into the pits, and found that the rear diff was BROKE. Done. Kaput. Gave me the finger. Left the building. Quit the fight. Committed seppuku. My weekend was done. Only time for the drags was a 15.17. had I made a pass like I did in testing, we would have been 7th or so. But im still ok with it. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2758b371_b.jpg 20191028_150204 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr we got it over to the pavilion for concourse. Loved peoples reactions as they walked by the “stock” appearing miata..... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a703f4fa_b.jpg 20191026_101356 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a382bea2_b.jpg 20191026_101402 by Michael Crawford, on Flickrhttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...bb55f41b_b.jpg 20191026_102403 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr got it loaded up after the concourse, hit the banquet, slept a few hours, and headed for home. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...03a6d79f_b.jpg 20191026_161904 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr so, next steps.
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pretty much gutted the works back down to miata and started over. Step one was adding way more sound deadening and insulation. No lie, this car melted brother Dustin sandal on a 45 minute street drive in July. I had wound up with some form of adhesive lined foam insulation, as well as a bit more f my favored reflectix. So, another full layer of the reflectix, followed by a layer of the foam stuff from cowl to gas tank cover. Seems to have made a significant difference in noise already, but cant comment on heat management as the thing hasn't run again yet.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8c16f5ef_b.jpg20191129_134204 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...06775933_b.jpg20191129_122435 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...11f2f835_b.jpg20191129_134151 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr |
I then spent 4 hours to hook up the heater core. Ultimately I cut the aluminum tubes to the core down, ran the rubber hose through grommets in the firewall, and hooked them up that way. There was just NOT enough room to do it otherwise. I almost gave up a couple of times thinking it was impossible. But, a couple of LS1 threads gave me different ideas, and here we are!
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...765f566d_b.jpg20191130_083837 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cf77eb4f_b.jpg20191130_094131 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1f4e27ec_b.jpg20191130_083827 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr the rest of the HVAC firewall boxes went in like stock. And speaking of stock, the shifter I had made a dogleg in was always a little too far back and angled slightly funny. I know I fixed the too far back, and it seems the angled funny as well, but time will tell. Just a few minutes with a welder, and bobs your uncle! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0ecf57bd_b.jpg20191129_134208 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr I then went after the wiring. All of it. Every stitch. That's a whole lotta boring there. So I will spare you the hours of tedium and mild insanity. At the end of the day, we added a stereo, created circuits to fire the aftermarket ac setup with the miata switches, relocated fan override switches, added warning lights for water temp and oil pressure, installed a hidden antenna, added a shift light, etc. lots of stuff, and its all done properly with crimps, adhesive heat shrink, relays, fuses, etc. put the replacement, undamaged dash in while I was at it as well. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...897ed0d9_b.jpg20191130_202352 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...87e99faa_b.jpg20191130_110129 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8c8e5fde_b.jpg20191202_082758 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ed346cbb_b.jpg20191203_171448 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6c8898e1_b.jpg20191205_170839 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2c5c0852_b.jpg20191206_105359 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4b8c26df_b.jpg20191205_181058 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...52ed18fe_b.jpg20191206_190625 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr underhood, I took the factory miata aluminum ac lines, a propane torch, and patience. Re-bent them to fit the new layout of things and added the proper fittings for the 508. still need to clamp the fittings and charge the system. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9065a268_b.jpg20191204_160757 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...395d30db_b.jpg20191206_105416 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr painting the ac compressor mount parts https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e580dff3_b.jpg20191206_175359 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr mounted the warning for water temp in the factory bleed hole at water pump outlet https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f09e720d_b.jpg20191206_182558 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr and lastly, started on the remote thermostat housing. Its a pair of mopar magnum 5.2 housings welded to 1 inch electrical conduit. At the mating point, the 185 thermostat is placed in between a sandwich of housing-gasket-spacer/thermostat-gasket-housing. I think this will work. Hopefully. Spacer is essentially a gasket traced onto 1/8 aluminum and cut out. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d84484b7_b.jpg20191206_184245 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0e0e8e4a_b.jpg20191206_184942 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr |
Old money: 2526.08
new money: inner fenders: 20 new total: 2546.08 we covered a lot of work last time, and had no payoff posted. I aim to fix that. So, I buttoned up the interior, creating a harness for the NA headrest speakers, installing the shift light and rear view mirror, debugging everything, etc. very happy with how it all turned out, and the new autometers are NICE to look at and work with. The relocated shift light is very visible, and actually accurate this time. I also scrapped the thermostat plan. Unfortunately, the just isn't ROOM for it. Would have worked fine, but just no space. I also finished relocating the air filter, and plumbing the AC system. Need to get fittings pressed on, as the clamp on style are leaking. Also need to get the correct size belt. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a787c564_b.jpg20191206_190035 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4eedf19f_b.jpg20191206_190041 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...52ed18fe_b.jpg20191206_190625 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c6819105_b.jpg20191226_131741 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...314ed0fb_b.jpg20191227_162507 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...da6912a0_b.jpg20191227_162522 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr next up was finally fixing the broken diff. I didn't want to, and put it off as long as possible. The job wasn't fun, but wasn't hard. First, assume the position! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...48a0a21f_b.jpg20191208_090221 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr once I got the onld on out and on the bench, I found rust, pitting, gear wear, etc inside the case. It also appears to have been half full of water still judging by the color of the gear oil I drained out. No lie, I never even checked fluid level since ive owned this diff..... https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2d40c58f_b.jpg20191208_155920 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...65e02055_b.jpg20191208_192804 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5d4c7b04_b.jpg20191208_192811 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr but its in. its noisy now, and im not sure if its just because I can hear it, if its actually louder, or if its due to delrin bushings. Regardless, its what I have. Id LOVE the 3.6 gears, but not for 1k. Or even 500. just not worth it to me. So for now, the 4.11 is back in and im calling it done. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b522dd53_b.jpg20191209_190607 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr went ahead and finally installed the front inner fenders https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7e346dab_b.jpg20191210_181436 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr fixed the top weatherstripping, installed the splitter again, and test fit a potential spoiler option (it was free. Duct taped to the decklid. Appears to be the ebay $85 special. Im still torn on the looks.), then proceeded to beat on it for 75 miles, fix a few gremlins in the wiring that cropped up, and beat it some more! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7150cef3_b.jpg20191220_110313 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3f0f9e61_b.jpg20191221_083200 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr ive started mapping out next season of local autocross. My wheels are 15x7, and im currently debating 205/50/15 or 225/45/15 federal rs-rr for the next year. Either way, ill be ordering next month. Also on the to do list is the oiling system upgrades (pan still isn't done), 3500 top swap with a bigger throttle body, and install my Christmas present from my wife: sierra auto tops seat covers https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c6819105_b.jpg20191226_131741 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr |
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