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Brap-Brap's Miata (Mis)Adventures
Hey guys, this is the build thread of my Daily Driver 97'.
But first a little story. The earliest memory I have is when I was 7 years old and my dad took me to the grocery store and as we were walking in the parking lot I saw a little red NA and I was transfixed by it, and the driver saw me as a little kid just staring at it and he winked the headlights for me. I was smitten and I vowed myself to own one of these cars one day. And now I do. Purchased 5-20-2017 I present: Molly the Miata. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4116/...12b10cd6_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4256/...d1843b6c_z.jpg She came with Ground Control's, Eibach Springs and Sway Bars, Racing Beat end links, a Bosal Exhaust, a Hard Dog DD roll bar, an Autozone special CAI, 17x7 ASA's wrapped in Yokohama Parada's and a whole list of problems. The night I brought the car home I was instantly signed up for all of the forums and I stayed up until some insane hour going through every aftermarket retailer for the Miata. The prices for some things made me cringe (I'm looking at you Rev9 lol) but others encouraged me that I made the right choice for my first car. After I saw how much some things went for I committed myself to making as much as reasonably possible for my car. But I needed to start somewhere so off to my local Harbor Freight. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/...19bf2fcb_z.jpg Miata trunks are deceptively big... With the appropriate tools acquired I started the process of base-lining the car. First came oil and a filter, spark plugs and a few other things. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4207/...f84e7048_z.jpg She desperately needed plugs... Then as i'm 6'2" 250LBS I set about making the car more comfortable for me. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4284/...6458743f_z.jpg I removed the armrest to get more room and then I sacrificed an old leather belt for a pull handle. I got the holes by beveling the outside of a 1/2 inch copper pipe until it was sharp and then using it as a leather punch of sorts. Next came a foamectamy for both seats, for the passenger side I just removed the extra part at the bottom and left the back untouched, but for the driver's seat went crazy. Underside piece gone, trimming of topside cushions, shaving of the side bolsters all around, removal of back piece. My head was level with the roll bar but now it's 2 inches below. Another issue I had was storage. The car came with some ancient Sony radio with a CD player but it didn't work, so I modded it a bit. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4214/...a016ae9d_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4280/...9c6e5f52_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4215/...8037352e_z.jpg Leather came from an old VW seat my neighbor had sitting out back by the dumpster. I'm not gonna say it's good as it still looks a little crummy in person but everyone who rides with me says it looks factory. But my perfectionist attitude I have developed with this car doesn't think so. Next came my obsession with old-school. Wood, leather, chrome, raw metal. I've always loved to look back, listening to Jazz music and appreciating the certain aesthetic the past has. It also didn't help that around this time I found RevLimiter.net... Adam if you're reading this I just wanna say you are a huge inspiration to me and i've spent too much time pouring over your Sharka posts. Also prepare to get literally all of my money. Whatever. A wooden e-brake handle was my next task: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4205/...5610a6c3_z.jpg Started as square stock that I filed off the edges. Then my neighbor (Same one who threw out the VW seat) who is a professional wood worker showed me that If you mount it up on a dowel in a vice you can get way more pressure and remove material way easier. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4238/...6b4d98be_z.jpg After a couple hours. This is before finishing with beeswax. I went all they from 80 grit to 5000 grit norton pad (similar to scotch brite but goes way finer) https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4208/...10e2f81d_z.jpg Personally I hate the "Mile of glass" super shiny almost epoxy-coated look Nardi and other wooden parts have. I prefer a matte, more soft finish to my wood pieces. Just feels nicer in the hand. I'm on vacation right now, and the night before I leave i'm going to be buying a whole ton of parts. Until next time. Also F-U Photobucket for removing 3rd party hosting. This thread would have gone up a week sooner if you didn't screw literally the entire forum-using section of the internet. |
Welcome. Those Jack stands suck for miatas. The channel in the support post is too deep, and you can't use them on the pinch welds without biting the rocker. I think HF has another style that fits better. Exchange them if you still can.
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Originally Posted by wackbards
(Post 1426574)
Welcome. Those Jack stands suck for miatas. The channel in the support post is too deep, and you can't use them on the pinch welds without biting the rocker. I think HF has another style that fits better. Exchange them if you still can.
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Thanks for the advice guys. I'll see if I can mill them down or something...
Also, let the madness commence... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4290/...655eef68_z.jpg |
What the hell did you order from them and why? rev 9 if you want to go to car shows, just about anywhere else for performance parts. In no particular order- Flying miata, Supermiata, Trackspeed, Mk Turbos . com, goodwin etc... all carry top shelf equipment tested and used by race teams around the globe.
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Originally Posted by ryansmoneypit
(Post 1426983)
What the hell did you order from them and why? rev 9 if you want to go to car shows, just about anywhere else for performance parts. In no particular order- Flying miata, Supermiata, Trackspeed, Mk Turbos . com, goodwin etc... all carry top shelf equipment tested and used by race teams around the globe.
I got a Daikei hub and the Saizare (spelling?) factory interior dress-up kit. Everything else they have is just too damn expensive from them. Most of the parts I ordered are interior parts as I'm having some engine issues right now and throwing speed parts at it won't fix it, and since this is a daily I wanted to make the interior more liveable with things like cup holders that work. |
More madness:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4290/...8167c250_z.jpg Not pictured is the cheddar I sent over to Adam at RevLimiter, Garage Star and LRB Speed. And a massive order from Amazon for some supplies for custom modding. I've got a ton of stuff ahead of me... |
SUPER MEGA UPDATE TIME!!!!!
So every part is in except the LRB Speed Undertray I ordered... I've been sitting on them for a while but i've been too lazy to install anything until recently. First things first I did the seat rail mod to the passenger side. It drops it 2 inches and I did this just to ensure anyone who rides with me will be safe and well below the roll bar. I didn't do it to the driver's seat as it moves it too far forward and that would put my knees into the dash. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/...25c1f900_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...c8cab0d2_z.jpg You can see the difference in the forward/ backward position here. It doesn't change how much the passenger seat can move though, as I have a 97' and so there was a travel stop anyway to prevent you from crushing the ECU. The mod retains this only the rails stops at the mounting bolt instead of a travel limiter. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...f350b65a_z.jpg To remove these two rail brackets took a spot weld cutter, an angle grinder, a cold chisel and lots and lots of swearing. If you do this I recomend getting the biggest spot weld cutter you can find. The 3/8 Harbor Freight one I was using just barely cut the weld and to get it to fully break I had to go at it with the chisel. 1/2 inch should be just the right size. I then got some 2 inch wide steel stock from Lowe's and made some 2x2 plates to put under the floor pan to ensure everything was nice and strong. Next step after I had the interior back together again was my new I.L. Motorsports center console and various other bits I got. Now for being $300 the I.L. Console is pretty shitty actually... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...86fbafd2_z.jpg That's a horrible surface finish on a part that is just FRP... It looks like they did a simultaneous fiber media injection with the molten nylon, and those bubbles indicate they didn't pre-mix the fiber and plastic and the mold was too cold... Not good attention to detail here. Also notice the fade of surface finish... They applied the texture after but it looks like by hand and a really rushed job as some things look horrible on the sides... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...10ce9706_z.jpg The tolerances are absolutely horrible too. To get the locking mechanism to work smoothly and line up with the hole I had to space it up on 1mm worth of washers and use little rubber o-rings from RC Car shocks to allow me to move the lock cylinder into place but still tighten it down properly. The screws went in VERY tightly, so tight I was afraid I was going to strip or break something just putting them in. Once they were down they moved the lock out of place, requiring the rubber o-rings to allow me to position the lock. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...4a123503_z.jpg THEN even with the lock working smoothly without the lid, once I put the lid on I had more issues. It wouldn't lock without me pressing the thing down and the culprit were these rubber bumpers. I had to shave 2mm off them but now I have buttery smooth lock action and the plastic lock cover lines up perfectly dead center with the hole. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...a1c95ae3_z.jpg I got a new leather shift boot from Red Line leather goods but the stock boot holder has some issues with the console again. I had to trim this corner to fit next to the cupholders. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/...c9e89664_z.jpg Also gotta trim the wire clips off it. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/...f376a7e2_z.jpg And because the window switch it RIGHT behind the shifter and at a shallower angle than stock the window switch has less room than before. My RevLimiter window switch required a bit of cable management to fit but luckily Adam uses super thick and surprisingly supple wire so I was able to bend them a bit to fit. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...e9032da9_z.jpg Final Result. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...50095a35_z.jpg My final verdict on the I.L. Console is that it's "Meh". The cupholders are very nice and fit 2 Starbucks grande sized cups perfectly, but the quality, finish and function is not worth $300. The hinge is built into the lid so it has a weird opening geometry and the travel is not limited like stock. Also there is no hole for the ashtray light. The stock CC had very robust hinges, a travel limiter and just feels more sturdy. That being said this thing is COMPHY. The arm rest is higher and longer so it actually supports your arm, and the window switch is in a much better position than before, you don't have to shift your arm as much. If it was $200 It would be reasonable but $300 is just too much for something like this. The trim ring is a Garage Star unit, I didn't want to drill into a $300 CC so I filed the screws flush with the bottom and i'm gonna attach the ring with some double sided tape. This is my favorite part though: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...23d05c54_z.jpg My new office. Nardi Classico 330mm, Daikei Hub and a Rev Limiter "elanore" horn button. Last but not least these things: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...d6554da1_z.jpg HOLY CRAP these are amazing. Molly feels like... like a car now. Bumps don't make my teeth rattle anymore, I can feel the slight differences in the road as the whole body moves instead of flexing and I can feel what the suspension is doing versus how much the chassis is flexing. Next up is gonna be something big... |
UPDATE TIME!!!!!!
Just some housekeeping things, This is how I did the GS trim ring. Clipped and filed the bolts, just a little double-sided tape and it holds just fine. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/...50454ca9_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...90abdc04_z.jpg Adam sent me a BMW CSL 3.0 in the M colors and this was nice as I had the Castrol colored one but not the M colors. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/...96e4b9ab_z.jpg She's back there next to the Castrol BMW. Cool stuff, these new Hotwheels are pretty neat. Some other quick things, I got a real OPG pressure sender and gauge set. Looks cool but also a peace of mind thing. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...ec3fd6c1_z.jpg Also found these nice little buttons at JoAnn Fabric and I had a bit of an idea... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...943cc1b5_z.jpg Normal needle caps are $50-$200 for various designs and styles. I got all of these for $5 total. Heck if you just get the ones you want it can be done for less than that. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...665eb404_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...8b79775e_z.jpg Also I didn't have that knee panel as the PO raced it so I figured he removed it for the few pounds of weight savings. The clips and holes for the bottom were broken so I figured out a way of my own to keep it secured well. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...e94f8dcb_z.jpg Cut a slit, flip the U-nut clip thing upside down and screw it in like normal. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...acc7040c_z.jpg Also installed some Cobalt pedals. They're not bent correctly so I had some trouble fitting them. The one button head screw on the bottom of the brake pedal is *totally* because I want to feel the difference when i'm on the clutch or brake when left-foot braking on the autocross and *not* because I snapped one of the bolts giving it 200 pound gorilla levels of torque... The I.L. Motorsports console doesn't have the ashtray light hole so I moved the light to the little cubby I made so it has a little light inside as its pretty deep and things like keys can get lost in there. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4317/...4c8f57da_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...547c4f11_z.jpg I took this pic before I trimmed the housing a bit and put in some aluminum tape to spread the light out a bit. Coming next is something big... |
Originally Posted by Brap-Brap
(Post 1426563)
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4284/...6458743f_z.jpg
I removed the armrest to get more room and then I sacrificed an old leather belt for a pull handle. I got the holes by beveling the outside of a 1/2 inch copper pipe until it was sharp and then using it as a leather punch of sorts. |
Thank you! I did that a little bit after I installed it but it's obsolete now as you'll see down below...
So today was a big day, I finally got the last round of mods in. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...ff3dd646_z.jpg LRB Speed tray. I ended up not putting on the side wings as my air duct for the bumper was AAAALLLLL messed up and thus my bumper was super misaligned. I'll maybe put them on at a later date after the bumper adjusts itself. Or maybe when I get a new bumper. Time will tell. I think the reason it was so messed up was that it ate one too many cones on the auto-X course... I had to scrounge some hardware to get it bolted back like factory with the 2 bolts going from the duct to the frame and the 3 going from the bumper to the duct. I had to cut some of the bolts though... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...9e8650e4_z.jpg Dremel decided to take a walk on me and my thumb knuckle was in the path. This was the last bolt to attach it though so some neosporin, a *slightly* clean strip off a rag, some zip-ties and a little bit of duct tape and I was back under the car. It was like 11pm too so I was tired. After that I had a few more little mods I wanted to do before tackling the big project. But I have a confession to make... I, Brap-Brap, am a ricer... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4431/...063be3d9_z.jpg Hood pins and NO removal of stock latch. Actually I saw a buddy's 240 hood fly open on him while he was running the Auto-X recently and that made me paranoid. $40 later and some Sparco Hood Pins were in my possession. Got them the day after I ordered them too (Thanks Jegs). Just some extra security for my hood. I also had all these stickers from Formula Drift and various parts purchases and I wanted to do something... but I didn't want an obvious sticker bomb... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4360/...8ddc653f_z.jpg So I had an idea... Stealth rice or stealth reppin' or stealth sticker bomb, whatever you wanna call it. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4358/...23898b40_z.jpg Trunk off, cut and trimmed sheet of Coroplast. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4360/...896dbbed_z.jpg Little dots of some 3M heavy duty doubled sided tape... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4428/...f5f21d9c_z.jpg Final product. Also got a Garage Star offset plate bracket. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4405/...f74d2ab7_z.jpg |
Now for the mod i've been waiting for... Custom door cards.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/...c646b0d9_z.jpg The Primer 3d Forever cards require you to drill these two posts on the door pad. One broke so I replaced it with an M4 nut. So what I'm going to be doing is called Decoupaging or something like that. Basically you take paper, lay it out, cover it in this stuff called Modge-Podge and have at it. First step is choosing your images. I went with Feudal Japanese art. You must use a Laser Jet printer if you don't want the ink to bleed, but if you use an Ink Jet you have to spray it in some kind of clear coat. Minwax PolyCrylic or Poly Acrylic is whats recommended for this stuff. But before you lay anything down grease the heck out of the little clips and a small area around the holes for them. Modge-Podge is water based so the grease will prevent it from gluing the clips to the door and will let you pull out the clips and do whatever with them. This just makes your life way easier down the road. I used silicone grease that I used to use for RC cars but if you do brakes often you can use the silicone paste that you put into the caliper guides. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...8922ee2a_z.jpg So then you coat the whole door card in Modge-Podge and then you lay out your photos how you want. Be careful though as they can rip. Modge Podge is water based so it cleans up easy when wet but the paper does act like soggy paper as you manipulate it. Take your time with it. I used antique modge-podge which has a amber tone to it and I didn't care about wrinkles or rumples as it adds to the old look. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...f7bb6afd_z.jpg Then to pull it around the edges so it holds I cut the paper and left an inch all the way around the ABS door card. I then made cuts every 1/4 inch or so and pulled it around and stuck it down with more modge-podge. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...f40f124a_z.jpg This is after about half a can of Modge-podge. It took a full 8oz can for each door card just to stick the paper to the door card. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...beb9c1c2_z.jpg I hung it up to dry overnight to let everything set before I put on the next layer. I then used about 3/4 of a 16oz can of Modge-Podge hard coat per door card. The Hard coat gives it a sort of... stiff plastic covered in packing tape feel. Its smooth but still slightly tacky but its hard when you poke it. I did about 8 layers of this stuff to really seal it and protect it. Then came clear coat/ sealer. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...ea09477f_z.jpg Ghetto spray booth with the door card hung by wires from the rafters of my garage. Modge-Podge will disolve with prolonged exposure to water so you have to seal it. I used Minwax PolyCrilic or Poly Acrylic or whatever it's called. About half a can per door card got it done. The blowtorch gets rid of some bubbles that pop up and you want to lay this on THICC. After 2 light coats I got right up to the door card, about 3 inches away and I laid into the thing. It sets instantly, dries enough for another coat after about 5 minutes, but don't touch it as it will leave marks. 24 hours of curing in a hot garage later... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...30b61c6d_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...19c176f8_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/...aa77e23e_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...d22995b2_z.jpg I then decided my ghetto straps weren't going to cut it... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...92bbd9d1_z.jpg I ordered 5 feet of some 1 inch seat belt webbing from Strapworks.com for like $6. Ace Hardware has a wicked selection of Chrome Hardware so I got some chrome fender washers and chrome screw caps to clean up the look. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...53b33cd3_z.jpg The one thing that irriates me about this is the speaker grills... they're too modern. So I ordered some nice ones off Carbon Miata. No telling when they're gonna get here but I hate these Kenwood ones so much I just left them off in the final installation. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...5b04115d_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...20a41bc8_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/...f3952332_z.jpg Then it was time to clean up. I did a bunch of stuff in the engine bay like flushing the coolant, changing the oil, cleaning the MAF, lubing up the hood latch, conditioning the belts and inspecting a bunch of stuff. I also replaced the fuel filter and changed out the diff fluid. After a long set of mods I like to give the car a THOROUGH cleaning to get her back to looking good. There were so many muddy and dirty prints on her from me poking around it was disgusting. I like rain-x car wash as it's spot free and it cleans things very nicely but is gentle on plastics and rubber. I got one of those Harbor Freight hose nozzles with the soap reservoir and with the mix cranked to max, the water pressure on its lowest setting and the spray set to mist it become a pretty good ghetto foam gun. Couple that with the 2 bucket method and a wash mitt and you can get your car looking very nice. I take the extra step to spray it down with some mothers Instant Detailer and wipe the whole car down for that extra shine. So my buddy who used to be a long haul trucker taught me this trick. You clean your glass with normal glass cleaner but then you clay bar it, then you wax it and it makes the water run better than any rain-x or other product you can buy. I did this last time I washed her and holy crap does it work amazing. In light rain you don't even need wipers. He also told me to use shaving cream on the inside to prevent fogging. I didn't like the idea of using shaving cream so I bought the little anti-fog gel stuff from Autozone. I'll keep this thread posted with how it works. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4362/...9483d296_z.jpg I washed, clayed, treated and waxed all the glass, including the back window. The wax trick is especially helpful for this as the Miata has no rear windshield wiper. The water just runs off giving you amazing visibility. The wax also prevents ice from sticking for you winter guys out there. I also waxed the front bumper and the lower quarter panels next to the wheels. I don't wax the whole car as i'm too lazy. I always do the wheels last and as I went to wipe them down I noticed this... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4413/...161dc7a2_z.jpg F***************K! Cheap ASA REP Pieces of Sh*t. I must have done something... Maybe some brake clean got on them or some of my nitro RC cleaner I use to clean up the door- sealing tar... Oh well. I needed 15's anyway. Looks like next weeks project is to clean these up and re-spray them. I have the stock wheels I need to plasti-dip anyway as I'm going to run those as winter wheels. Looks like I have 8 wheels to sand, prime and paint now instead of 4. Ughhhhhhhhhh Now she's all tucked away in the garage until next time. I have 2 little things coming in but they're from overseas so it's gonna be a while. I also have a shifter re-build coming in from Moss and i'll do the trans fluid with that. |
Most of that stuff isn't my style, but I can appreciate someone putting work into little art projects that improve the car in their eyes.
I like how the door cards came out. |
I really dig the door cards. I'd like to see a version done with images of all the best roadster builds.
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Love the ebrake handle
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those door cards look great. nice work.
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Thank you! Thumpetto thank you. Everyone has their own style and since there are so many Miatas out there I wanted to do something different to really stand out. Verwah that's an interesting idea, kinda like an inspiration wall or collage of sorts. I dare say it might be too much though as the colors and theme is too broad, maybe the best BRG roadsters or Red roadsters depending on your color scheme. And thank you RX7 Guy and Apexanimal. The ebrake handle is one of my favorite parts of the interior.
Here's another BIG update: But first some minor things as always. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4377/...b1654ffc_z.jpg A friend sent me this JDM Tsurikawa for my birthday which was the 5th. Every single modified car in Japan had one of these, the only problem was when I went to Yellow Hat or AutoBacs or any of the parts stores the only one they had was heart shaped and I didn't want that. There's actually a company IN Japan that custom makes them nowadays so people don't go around cutting up the JR Trains lol. JDMTsurikawa.com and it was only ~$25. I mounted it to one of the factory tie-down bolts on the drivers side. The JDM zip tie is to keep it kinda closed up so it doesn't fall off. No mounting pics yet because I needed to get some nylon spacers to make sure it doesn't crush the strap when I tighten it down. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4398/...6817a960_z.jpg Also for my birthday my friend gave me some Agora Rabbit fur yarn. She breeds rabbits for show and they are judged by their coat and health. No products or conditioners are used and she has won shows all over the midwest for many years. After the show she shaves the rabbits and makes yarn. Its incredibly soft. I was missing having a center mark on the wheel like other more race oriented wheels. Heck my mom's Audi RS6 wagon has a little stitch at the top to perform the same purpose. So I used the yarn and wrapped my own. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4435/...5acac6be_z.jpg Just something a little extra. The white also matches the white stitching on my shift and e-brake boot. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4418/...072819ac_z.jpg My girlfriend got these for me for my birthday. Funny story, I was going to order a set closer to November when it gets cold here but we saw Baby Driver together and when he got a set of red and white driving gloves I made a little comment like "Oh it's real when he puts the gloves on" and so she had to get a set for me. Now my glovebox can be used for its intended purpose lol. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4410/...d0607899_z.jpg Also my wheels and tires came in... Because my stock wheels already had some dry-rotted all seasons on them I couldn't fit them in the Miata, even with the passenger seat out. So I took the other car in the family. Tires are some 185/65/R14 Bridgestone Blizzak WS60's and my friend works for Bridgestone so I got a killer deal on these. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4394/...e186bdc2_z.jpg Miata Turbo, meet Pikachu. She's a 2012 Fiat 500 Base model with a Manual, and she took me through my last two years of High School up until I got Molly. I went to prom in this car, I've had many parking lot hooning sessions in her and she has hauled band gear across the state more times than I can count. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4361/...db6990c7_z.jpg So while I waited for my tires to be mounted up at Discount Tire I chilled at Barnes and Nobel. They just got the new Roadkill mag, Pas Mag Japan edition and the new Super Street with a widebody NSX build i've been following on Instagram. They also had a book on the anniversary of Corvette (Like 50 or 60 years, I forgot...) and a neat book on the history of the Porsche 911. But Barnes and Nobel also has some nice Hotwheels. Picked up these two icons of overboosted German Engineering. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4349/...cd84f96e_z.jpg So after the tires were mounted up I decided to plastidip my stock wheels because winter beater set. Many just plastidip the face but I like to do the inside as well because it makes it look cleaner and is easy to clean off. Because its basically rubber all it takes to clean is some Simple Green versus wheel and tire cleaner and Simple Green is way less expensive than some nice wheel and tire cleaner. The brake dust was so caked on even clay couldn't get it off, and I don't really care how these wheels look so I just sprayed over it. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4332/...94bd164c_z.jpg I masked off the center caps because I like the little eternal flame design and the silver makes the wheels pop a little more than some basic flat black. As for some new wheels... I had a buddy with some Momo Quasars but they were really crappy and needed refinishing and his New Old Stock set was just way to expensive for me. Also finiding VW to MX-5 hubcentric rings was going to be insane as its only a 3mm difference. I could machine my own but I'm about to start college so I don't have the time. So I got these: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4339/...d67ac533_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4423/...68be3bd8_z.jpg I was already on Tire Rack for some tires and so I decided to look at what wheels they had. Turns out they have a nice selection of Enkei's. And I could save some money as they mount and balance for free. Specs are 15x7 ET38 Enkei 92's shod in 205/50/R15 Continental Extreme Contact Sports. My car friends swear by these tires as nothing else compares to their wet weather traction and durability. Those 2 things were my priority in deciding on tires. But of course with the good comes the bad... UPS friggin lost one of my wheels/ tires. How the heck do you lose a massive round thing bundled with a bunch of other massive round things? Who would order 3 wheels and tires? The one that was lost also happens to be the one with the lugnuts, lugnut tool and centering rings. Tire Rack is sending me the 4th one and it'll be here by Monday. Ugh. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4337/...9d2304c2_z.jpg Rev9 also sells these and in their photos the car has some 25mm Spacers and it has that perfect tuck look. So I spent the money and bought some high quality spacers from Good-Win. I was going to get some $50 amazon spacers but one of my friends did that for his Foxbody and the studs sheered clean the moment he launched it at the strip. I didn't wanna take that risk. Ichiba spacers are machined versus cast and they use ARP studs with grade 8 hardware and are fully hubcentric. $250 is a lot to swallow for some spacers though... |
I feel you on the amazon spacers. I had to buy some for my truck (I got a good deal on some higher offset wheels) and they were pretty crappy quality. It took some dremel love to get them to work. I think the extra money is worth it not to get passed by your wheel on the interstate. I like your wheel selection, they should be worlds better than the boat anchors that were on there.
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Thanks for the reassurance. $250 on anything is a lot for me to spend... I'm hoping the Enkei's are lighter and with the spacers and new tires she'll have way more stability. We'll have to wait and see though because friggin UPS man.
Also a little something to think about. I was driving home and I notice my car is pulling to the left. So the moment I'm in my garage I'm under the car checking suspension and joints and the PPF, etc. Then it dawned on me. I weight 250 pounds which is about 10% of the cars weight. And I'm on the left side of the car. My own weight was making her pull just a little. |
Another update!
A little teaser: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4388/...41984c6c_z.jpg But first as always little things... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4441/...c9e0556b_z.jpg I polished up my indicator stalks today. The nasty green/ gray coating on them is super super thin and soft, I just hit with a couple licks of some 320 and it was all gone. Then I went through strips of Norton Pads from 400 to 4000. All of this was in a single direction to give it a brushed look. The secret to this is don't wet sand. Like at all. Little 3mm wide strips of sand paper and just go back and forth all the way around. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4336/...ebab4de7_z.jpg Looks pretty nice, also ties together the whole cluster/ dash panel together. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4411/...ea71f51e_z.jpg Also my Amazon Garage Vary Rep lip came in and of course it's moulded incorrectly and is garbage. But props to the Amazon rep kit sellers they gave me a full refund and so i'm happy. No I refuse to pay more than $75 for a front lip as it's going to get scraped and messed up and will need to be replaced eventually. Now for what everyone is waiting for... the new wheels! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4392/...22839c45_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4376/...6b363930_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4397/...a2c50566_z.jpg That fitment is absolutely perfect... Also I posted these photos to my instagram, go check it out, alec_hall |
Update time!
So college started and hit me pretty hard but i've had some mods in the pipeline for a while and every weekend I make sure to wake up early to get some mods and maintenance done before I go to work. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4376/...6c4a6117_z.jpg First up were these bad boys. Hella Sharp tones. They sound more melodic than the Super tones and they're very loud. I was tired of getting cut off by rich suburban moms in their BMW X5s and Audi Q7s on the freeway. I thought for just a second "Straight pipes or new horns" and then I realized how much I like general living in the car and so I bought the horns. $25 on amazon. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4362/...665e6e40_z.jpg My fender-side soldering setup. I used crimping for some connections but I prefer splicing by soldering. Its my trusty Trak Power TK-950 that I bought when I got serious into electronics. 850 degrees Frankenstein baby. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4397/...3b761347_z.jpg Splicing into the stock horn wire to run it to the new replay. Using automatic strippers makes this a heck of a lot easier as you just let the tool move the insulation away instead of pulling and flexing with basic strippers. I like to splice and wrap a really long part to make sure it's a solid connection. I also like to use lots of flux to make sure everything gets a good flow of solder. Like paint, prep in soldering makes all the difference. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4423/...2e741541_z.jpg So my car didn't come with ABS so I had an un-used fuse location. So I stretched out a .250" female spade connector to fit the fuse tab in the fuse box. It was already powered with 12v and this allowed me to run it under the fuse box for a super clean look. I then ran it through some grommets in the firewall and through the wiper cowl. Red wire coming off is the power wire before I hid it. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4416/...fa00b042_z.jpg So the proper way to wire in the 2 horns to prevent burning your car to the ground is to power the new relay with a fused 12v source and trigger it with the stock horn wire. Green wire goes to the new horns, red is power, yellow is trigger and black is ground. really easy stuff. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/...ca43878f_z.jpg Hidden in the stock horn locations. Mine came with only 1 on the right side, but a quick run with a tap into the left hole cleared out the rust and revealed nice threads that I could use. I also hit the support with a wire wheel on a dremel to ensure a good ground for each of the horns. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/...e68949f4_z.jpg She also DESPERATELY needed a upper and lower shift boot. The upper was non-existent, the lower barely hanging on by a sliver of rubber. I ordered this from Moss back in July but they were getting new ones in stock. Let me take a sec to give some love to the guys at Moss Miata, I got a notification that the shifter rebuild kit shipped and it was at my doorstep the next day. I also got the upgraded one with the 5X Racing shifter bushing. While I was in the turret I changed the fluid and I changed the transmission fluid too. In went some Motorcraft XT-M5-QS magic unicorn tears sauce. While I can say I feel a difference, the most obvious one is in cold shifts. So much smoother. And doing freeway on-ramp pulls the syncros just seem to pull it into gear. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4390/...e8dc80ed_z.jpg Also got washer nozzles that spray instead of squirt. Easy $10 on amazon for both. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4348/...9793e863_z.jpg Quick comparison. Easy 5 minute install. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4424/...69189944_z.jpg Got one of those 3rd brake light flashers and a 3rd brake light LED bulb. I was cruising with some buddies and he had one of the flashers and the moment he hit the brakes I was like "WHOAAAA" it caught my eye. Labor day sale on SuperBrightLEDs meant 15% off, I figured why not it's $5 and the bulb is like $12. They sent the wrong bulb though so i'm waiting on the new one before I install. The old one is out but I just used the trunk light for now. Its a 921 for the 3rd brake light but a 194 fits. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4372/...82c2994a_z.jpg Carbon Miata speaker covers also came in. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4398/...e6192062_z.jpg Mmmmmm more vintage looking ish. Looks so clean and nice. I went to ace and bought all new M4 stainless hardware to mount it up too. Until next time guys! |
Have you installed the washer nozzles yet? I want to replace mine because they suck and the rubber seal at the bottom is dead. OEM ones are like 20 a piece locally around me.
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Washer nozzles (from the Tribute, I think) are fairly cheap on ebay. Makes a world of difference, and they snap right in. Replace the tubing and connectors while you're at it, as they get old and crack apart.
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Just use the part number on the package for them. The old ones have the silver ring around the hole and the new ones have the square hole. It makes a huge difference. Mine came with new rubbers and they dropped in perfectly.
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Another update time!
Some quick and easy things to keep her running and happy... and make my life a little easier. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4341/...00026e20_z.jpg Since my dipstick handle was broken (like most Miatas out there) I have been living with it for a bit. I saw this pop up in my eBay recommended and its cheap and super easy to install. Its 3D printed. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4363/...b412e52c_z.jpg Shoutout to Greg Parts on eBay for 3D printing a ton of cool stuff for the NA Miata. He also sells shift knobs, sun visor blanking plates, antenna plugs and various other little knick-knacks that you didn't realize you needed. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4475/...46fd9067_z.jpg My 3rd brake light bulb was out so I bought an LED from Superbright LED's and they sent me the wrong one. The one listed most places is an 1157 but my car took a 921. I also installed the 3rd brake light flasher. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4509/...b4202109_z.jpg Here's a pic of my rolled fenders. I trimmed the fender liner back a bit and made a little rubber bumper type thing on the top to keep larger debris out of it. I have tons of clearance all around so even in hard cornering I have zero rubbing. It was super easy. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4451/...1c0a02c8_z.jpg Beauty shots because she got washed and looked really nice in the sun... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4502/...9df81210_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4458/...ba2008dc_z.jpg Doesn't this pic just make you wanna go for a drive? That open door is so inviting. |
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
It's the last day of break for me and I decided to hustle up and get some mods done on Molly before winter rolls around. I found this and laughed for quite a while: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4533/...ca6cabb7_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4523/...36632994_z.jpg This was taken by my good friend Matt Mchugh at the last Cars and Coffee of the season. Check him out on Facebook: Facebook Post Tell him Alec with the red Miata sent you. I was also in the OSU Alumni Parade and I learned that roll bars are quite handy for hanging banners and or T-shirts for parades. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4514/...174e5172_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4450/...8c3bf817_z.jpg And I wired her up to wink during the parade ;) I did a few little mods just to keep things working. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4553/...0883145b_z.jpg The clip for the interior door handle kept popping out, so I just used a die and cut some M4 threads and used a locknut to keep it secured. Now it shouldn't pop off anymore forcing me to roll my window down and open it from the outside. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4529/...36c54b02_z.jpg Also put in a Garage Star radiator panel. My hood cable ended up breaking and so I ordered the latchless panel. The hood pins work just fine by themselves. And for anyone wondering, yes I do have a new Yonaka radiator waiting to go in. My old radiator is looking really crusty and is not long for this world. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4546/...3ab4e554_z.jpg Also got these "Crystal Clear" turn signals from eBay, really cleans up the look of the car. I also took advantage of Black Friday deals and ordered all new exterior LED's to brighten things up and make it safer. Diode Dynamics ran a 20% off Everything sale. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4585/...34bc4802_z.jpg Also got this sweet plate frame from a friend in Japan. He ended up sending me like 20 for my whole group to rep. And he threw in this... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4578/...a65ac0c2_z.jpg A proper JDM Suichuuka. I took some 5K grit paper to the shifter stalk to polish it up and it make it look a little nicer because of the gap. Ended up looking really shiny. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4521/...e8a31fdc_z.jpg Seeing how good the 5k looked I cut a strip and re-did the indicator and wiper stalks to a higher level of shine. Also got chrome gauge rings to really tie everything together. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4557/...2f049a67_z.jpg I also found this little $10 speaker amp on Amazon. It's listed as a Kinter 12v amp, and it takes a little 12v banana plug. I had an old 12v speaker power brick around and I just chopped the plug off. I used an wiring harness from the old broken radio and tapped it into 12v, grounded it to the metal frame and connected the speakers to it. The little box on the right is a ground loop isolator that gets rid of the noise and humming. There's a little ring around the volume knob that's lit by an RGB LED while its on. It's not the greatest in terms of quality and power but its quite nice and gets reasonably loud. Took less than an hour to install. Thats it for now guys, but there's a massive update coming soon... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4569/...277b3992_z.jpg Take a guess as what those are... |
Is that a TRE Motorsports ST seat!? I've been waiting for someone to put one of these in! I'm the same height as you and even with my Sparco Sprint with PCI bracket I'm still hitting my knee on my 280mm Momo wheel.
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No but you're close. Its from a British manufacturer.
Did you mount it straight to the bracket or are you on sliders? I'm either going to mount it with a custom bracket on the stock seat mounting holes or just bolt it straight to the floorpan. Stock seat with a foamectamy and I clear the broomstick test, if I take out the sliders and the rear seat posts i'll be really low. Also thinking about shaving the seat bottom depending on how much foam there is. |
Oh I mounted it straight to the bracket. PCI just has a one piece mount that just goes straight on the floor. But man I can't wait to see that mounted! I'd want to try to mount it on sliders or something. Unfortunately here in Northern Florida I'd have to take it to fab shop to do the mounts properly.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/FOR-89-97-M...RaAfQg&vxp=mtr
Take the back seat posts out with an angle grinder, buy two pairs of these mounts and then bend it up to fit the new angles and then mount your seat. Thats what i'm about to do. Or better yet remove both the front and rear seat posts and mount the side-mounts through the floor pan. Just use 3x3 steel plates under the floor pan to prevent it from pulling out in a crash. |
That could most definitely do it! I'm looking at three options now for my seats. Either get a TRE ST seat and bolt it to the floor, get a set of lotus seats with ryokurob brackets, or my third option is the new Marrad TS2 seat.
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The Marrad TS2 seat looks like the best option for you since its drop-in, and removing the foam drops you 3 inches lower than stock (In an NB, idk about an NA, probably lower due to the way NA/NB's are.) The only thing I don't like is the price. $779 for one seat? Hell no.
I'm hoping what i'm going with is going to get me pretty low. The write-up on the TS2 seat is in an NB miata, and NB seats are already pretty low. Like stock NB seats put me at the same height as foamectamy NA seats, foamectamy NB seats put me nice and low and i'm hoping with no sliders, bottom mounts only and no rear humps will put me properly low. |
Oh yeah, but both the NA and NB mounts are the same. I'm definitely hoping the TS2 will get as low as I want. Because even the sprint won't get me low enough
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The sprint is still too high for you? Side-mount seats will always be higher than bottom mount, unless you just bolt the side mounts straight to the floor pan. The seating space/ geometry is different from the NA to the NB, for some reason stock NB seats sit lower in an NA than stock NA seats. I do not know what the exact difference is, just that NB seats sit lower in an NA. Just remember with the TS2's because its side mount you're going to lose an inch due to the bracket design. Cobra (hint) Bottom-mount seats seem to be the most popular across the pond and they seem to sit the lowest for a lot of people. I still can't swallow $779 for a single seat and mounting hardware...
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clitchemobile.
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Originally Posted by Braineack
(Post 1453683)
clitchemobile.
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I hear ya on the prices. But I don't know what it is with me. I've got the seat as low as possible, but the bracket is not the one for tall people. Unfortunately FAB9 only sells the normal one. May just order the tall people one from PCI themselves to see about getting further back and lower. Who knows, it may work. But damn, I really want to see that seat in there, and now that you dropped the hint I'm guessing a Cobra Classic!
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Originally Posted by Brap-Brap
(Post 1453691)
Original ideas are overrated anyway.
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Originally Posted by Braineack
(Post 1453683)
clitchemobile.
:cry: |
Originally Posted by Braineack
(Post 1453740)
I think you'd do better at clubrodster.
Or the fact that I chase 10ths on track with a "car you obviously built for show and scene points, not laptimes." |
show car. rofl.
exactly why you belong there. |
Eh. The night is still young. He's atleast somewhat self aware. Lets see what happens!
DONT FAIL ME NOW YOUNG PADAWAN!!! Signed, Sleep deprived + over caffeinated med student RTC. |
Lol, it's my only car and so I try to do everything. AutoX, Track days, groceries, car meets. Also all the parts I get and or make i've seen on other Miatas and then I want them on my car. Now that I have access to OSU's machine shop I can start making some more parts. Plus the parts are cliche for a reason... Because they're the best and the get me the most scene points. For every 10 scene points I get, that's an extra horsepower added. With all my scene points and the hella sick stickers I probably have at least 500HP by now. 500HP in a car that is sub 2500 pounds, guaranteed I can beat some Mustangs. I think this weekend i'm going to race for pinks to afford some more parts.
I feel you man, I'm a mechanical engineering student myself. |
More quick updates!
I did a full exterior LED conversion for safety. Diode Dynamics was running a Black Friday deal and I had to jump on it. It had the usual stuff, LED brake lights, reverse lights, etc. But for the front turn signals I decided to go with the Switchback version of the 1157 Bulb: Thats a quick YT vid I made showing off the switchback feature. It's awesome for early morning when its light enough you don't need your full headlights but dark enough you want some form of illumination. The LED conversion required me to modify the stock flasher relay to prevent the dreaded "Hyberblink" that usually arises with LED conversions. You *can* use those load resistors but they add massive amounts of weight and radiate a lot of head and also draw a lot of power. All things you do not want in your little roadster. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4515/...6e64df8d_z.jpg Step 1 was finding the flasher relay under the dash, and its this rather large beige box with the large connector going to it. It's not like the other relays under the dash, it just pulls straight down. I found it easier to take the box off the mounting clip and then pulling the connector off. Once you have it off the car and onto a work bench its just 2 clips to take the cover off and pull the circuit board. The resistor you're looking for is labeled R1 but the label is hard to see as a coil is in the way. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4549/...6081c29d_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4556/...7342274b_z.jpg That's what you're looking for, and my shots are post-mod. Stock I think its a 6.5ohm? You want to replace it with a 1Meg Ohm, or 1 million ohm resistor. 1/4 watt is fine (that what the stock one is rated for), but I used 1/2 watt just to be safe. Next up was LED headlights. I originally wanted GE Nighthawks or TruckLites but I wasn't willing to pay $400 for a pair. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4516/...8c12704c_z.jpg My friend showed me this company on amazon called OPT7, and he installed a set of their bulbs on his 350Z and I quite like how bright and crisp they are. So along with them I bought the Hella H4 Conversion and set to replace the stock sealed beams. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4577/...117a0684_z.jpg The great thing about the OPT7's is the COB LED is at the correct height, similar to an H4 halogen and so the projector and reflector pattern matches perfectly. They also have a fan on the back that keeps everything cool. I left the rubber cover off the back of the Hella housings as the LED's have an o-ring seal on the face and on the tube of the LED https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4552/...ccf04d3f_z.jpg They come with these ballast/ controllers that really have no space inside the housing without pinching something, so I took an idea from a Ken Auto YT video and mounted them to the outside with some 3M double sided tape. But, whatever you do DO NOT MOUNT IT TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSING!!!! Mount it to the side that is inside, closer to the radiator. Ask me how I know. The limiting beams on the interior of the housing are on the outside, and if you mount it to the outer side of the housing, the beam will grab the connector and crush it. I crushed my H4 connector and fought for like an hour trying to figure out why the driver's side light won't move all the way up. Luckily I had a spare connector, and 20 minutes later and I had a new H4 connector on it and it was all fine. I have to say, it's bright as floodlights for soccer/ football fields. But its a very good beam pattern, throwing a ton of light down the road but also having a good pattern to the side of the car. I can finally see more than 50 feet in front of me! Its also a nice, cool white hue versus an amber of a normal Halogen. |
Quick update guys. It's been a while. College takes up most of my time. I've managed to amass a large amount of parts that need to go on but I don't have the time to do much...
But I got a proper radio to replace my janky 12v amp setup. 10 minutes on the soldering bench and I had a nice patch harness. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4661/...1aa9d106_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4615/...114117c7_z.jpg And the finished radio all bolted in. It's a Clarion M508. Super clean looking radio, doesn't look like a Transformers abortion like other radios. Wasn't too bad at $150. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4714/...b42615e5_z.jpg And since I was in a wiring kind of mood I whipped up the quick "light Minder" mod. "Input" on the dimmer connector goes to the Blue/Yellow wire, with a diode in-between to keep the key-minder functional. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4624/...be4a1ec5_z.jpg Also these babies showed up a while ago... Cobra Classic RSR's. I just got the brackets back from powdercoating and hopefully over spring break I can get them in... These seats are so comfortable I nearly fell asleep just sitting in them the day they showed up. Until next time. |
MASSIVE UPDATE TIME!!!!
So over spring break I installed my new seats. The brackets I had made up sucked. Way too high, even though they were thin. This is what I get for buying bottom-mount seats... https://farm1.staticflickr.com/801/3...85b800d4_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...b2e0f92a_z.jpg So out came all of the seat mounting brackets. A lot of work with an angle grinder, a sanding wheel and a hammer and I made some room. I beat the piss out of the drivers side trans tunnel to get the seat to fit decently. I also broke a couple drill bits and so I had to run to Ace... https://farm1.staticflickr.com/800/4...e997c380_z.jpg It was surprisingly comfortable. Until I hit a speedbump. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/798/4...796536f8_z.jpg Everything all in! Ill get more pics next weekend maybe. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...fd51b526_z.jpg I also installed the Project G quarter windows. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/793/4...e972e01c_z.jpg Super simple removal of the stock glass, mine was just a bit stuck after 20 years of being together... https://farm1.staticflickr.com/787/4...0b01076a_z.jpg Simple Green and hot water cleans up the old schmoo and really re-freshes the rubber. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...e36fca44_z.jpg Sliding in the new window is a royal PITA, but using a little wash and wax helps the rubber slide in real easy. If you don't get it in all the way you wont be able to bolt the rail up, and your windows will be super slow from the drag. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/790/4...7b0c3ace_z.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/809/4...7bf07556_z.jpg And everything all in. The vent adds a nice fresh air intake. It's really nice on like 40-50 degree days because you can have the top up and the heat on to keep your feet warm but the vent open for some fresh air. Also I didn't cover my door speakers when grinding the floorpan metal and I messed up my driver's side speaker... But that's just an excuse to upgrade the audio system right? https://farm1.staticflickr.com/798/3...dfa4a2a6_z.jpg 2 Pioneer 4 ways and a couple of subs for the parcel shelf. And that's about it for now. |
So what did you do with the brackets to get them lower? I had an idea a little while back to bolt sliders directly to the base and cut out the humps both front and rear.
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Oh dude I said fuck the bracket and bolted it through the floorpan. I have 4x4 1/4inch steel plates under the car to keep it sturdy.
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Oh hell yeah dude. Once mine's finished up next week I can put in the new brackets from pci for my Sprint.
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More goodies!!!!
HUGE thanks to Greasemokey2000 for helping me source some ZOOM engineering stuff: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...fdf55cab_z.jpg ZOOM "M" size mirror, the mount is part number G03. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...54724452_z.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/808/4...23294f2c_z.jpg The convex and tinted mirror is SUPERB. I can see so much more, to where I can see the edge of the headrests. And now I don't get blinded by people behind me. Because unfortunately when you have a lowered car all beams are high beams. If you want one for your car at a really good price (much cheaper than Rev9): read this thread: NA A few Rear View Mirror questions - ClubRoadster.net And now for more beauty shots of the seats: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...96f2ac7a_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...0c6704b0_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4784/...8ba4321f_z.jpg It looked too good to not take a pic of while I was on lunch break :) |
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/796/2...8f645ecb_k.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4784/...3629c190_z.jpg Decided to cop (hehehe get it?) one of these the other day. I was changing lanes on the freeway and I popped it down to 4th and laid into her a bit and she started to break up, ended up throwing a P0300 as well. Since the plugs and wires are less than a year old, I figured it might be the coil. Pulled it off and sure enough there's a couple of hairline cracks in the epoxy and the plastic housing. I'm borrowing a friends Coil for the moment until the kit comes in. Fab9 is using CBR1000 coils (or the RR coils, can't remember which) and I think an AEM or Bosch module on a custom harness. There's a ton of info on here about it if ya'll want to learn more. I'll share as much as I can when I get the kit. |
Originally Posted by Brap-Brap
(Post 1473447)
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...0c6704b0_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4784/...8ba4321f_z.jpg It looked too good to not take a pic of while I was on lunch break :) |
I figured someone would reply about that soon enough lol.
initially I contacted Cobra and they said due to how large I am, routing it over should be fine. But I talked to a bunch of my friends and after I got home from work that day I fixed it, both seats now have the lap belts routed through the holes. EDIT: I guess for some context I should explain a little more. I'm 6'2" 250lbs, and I powerlift. a 365 pound Squat and a 400 pound deadlift means I have massive thighs. AKA I'm a Thicc Boi. I contacted Cobra when I ordered the seats and explained this to them and they said routing over the seat should be perfectly fine, especially since they're ASM harnesses. With the lap belt routed through the passages its certainly tighter and a little less comfortable. Maybe for long drives I'll swap back to the over the seat routing. If Cobra says it's ok, i'm inclined to trust their judgement. |
fair nuff.
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Update on the COP kit from Fab9:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/787/2...529415bc_z.jpg Simple as old wires and plugs out, new plugs and wiring in. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/880/4...f7db7435_z.jpg If you guys don't have one of these fancy spark plug sockets, you're missing out. Magnetic, swivel end and with a built-in extension. And it's a thin-wall socket so you have room. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/877/2...8bee7c33_z.jpg Aaaand all in and tucked up nicely. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/788/4...64181769_z.jpg And with another part comes another sticker on in the collection. I have to say it makes the car idle so much nicer. Everything is just a little smoother. More coming soon! |
Pics of your thicc thighs?
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Originally Posted by Stock
(Post 1477342)
Pics of your thicc thighs?
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Oh lord here we go...
The ol' girl decided she didn't like me today. I came out this morning to not 1 but 2 puddles under her... https://farm1.staticflickr.com/970/2...8b247013_z.jpg One tasted sweet so it was for sure coolant, and considering the radiator looked like this, I think it was safe to say I needed a new rad. The other puddle was indeterminate though... https://farm1.staticflickr.com/951/2...8075cf6e_z.jpg But as I pulled the car out of the garage to back her in for easier maintenance, I tasted the second puddle and it was acrid and bitter. AKA brake fluid. Time for a new slave cylinder! Then as I was backing the car into the garage the radiator decided it had enough and the lower tank blew a crack and started spewing coolant. Shut her off and pushed her the rest of the way in. So step 1 was to break everything down and make room for the work to come. Passenger side wheel off, LRB tray off, etc. New master and slave cylinder went in, along with a 949 clutch line. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/905/4...bbd788f4_z.jpg I have to say bleeding the clutch took longer than the install. The most frustrating part was getting the old clutch line out. The new stuff feels slightly lighter than before but smoother, with better control. No idea why though. Aaaand since my AC never worked I pulled out the lines and the condenser. with the AC lines removed it gave me a lot of room for a FM lower rad hose. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/870/4...526be5d2_z.jpg Pulling this abomination out was certainly fun: https://farm1.staticflickr.com/864/4...f6ed8073_z.jpg And since everything was going very nicely I decided to do a little nip and tuck on the engine bay. Old washer bottle was cracked so I pulled it and put my Mishimoto coolant res back there, charcoal canister delete and I moved the MAP sensor and evap solenoid to more discrete locations versus the bracket previously there. I swapped the Rad with an aluminum Yonaka unit, and because it had no weatherstripping on the fan shroud I used some basic stuff from Autozone. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/976/4...0e26f3dd_z.jpg If you need a new upper rad hose, don't go to the parts store for it. The Dayco hose listed is too big of an ID, order one from your dealer or from your favorite online retailer. As I took her through a heat cycle though I found a leak dripping from the trans tunnel... Definitely coolant. Turns out the oil cooler line on the back of the head was weeping. So I pulled the clamp, pulled the hose and cut the damaged end off and put on a constant tension clamp. On a long drive today I was blessed with these temperatures: https://farm1.staticflickr.com/946/4...0fa77e16_z.jpg Previously I was looking at cruising temps of 205*F-210*F Now with the condenser out of the way and a more efficient rad she's running ice cold. And thanks to the cramped space behind the head not only did this cost me the money for the parts but also the skin on my hands... https://farm1.staticflickr.com/868/4...dbc10914_z.jpg I'm heading to Formula Drift Atlanta in 2 weeks, I wanted to swap the rad anyway before she sees 100 degree heat just to be safe. Until next time! |
A little quick update,
The Dayco B71638 that AutoZone, Advance, etc will sell you doesn't fit very well. The ID is too big. Ended up ordering a OEM hose from my local Mazda Dealer https://farm1.staticflickr.com/946/4...46857c33_z.jpg Part number for those who want it: https://farm1.staticflickr.com/910/4...644fdec9_z.jpg Aaaand one last bleed before she's ready to go for good. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/832/4...901ef3ba_z.jpg If you don't have a spillproof funnel, get one. I'll wait. |
Truly MASSIVE update time.
I missed a couple of things before FDATL, mainly putting on the GV lip I bought and cleaning the car. Little odds and ends you know. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/898/4...47821540_z.jpg If you've ever seen Akira Nakai-san install an RWB kit, you know he uses black silicone to seal the kit to the car. I took a page out of his book and did the same for my GV lip. The GV lip is from RSpeed, it fits infinitely better than the eBay reps. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1729/...110384a7_z.jpg All cleaned up and ready to go. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1722/...f9c0e8b1_z.jpg I also hit the headlight bezels with a quick spray of black paint to clean them up and hide the red overspray from the POs paint job. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1733/...7e070215_z.jpg And a good wash and wax the night before we hit the road. Formula Drift Atlanta was an absolute blast. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/881/2...e64594f4_z.jpg First fillup back in CBUS, right before we hit the road for the long haul. We ended up zip-tieing a bluetooth speaker to the roll bar and daisy chained it with my radio. It worked quite nicely, the door speakers gave us the bass we wanted and the roll bar speaker made it so we could actually hear the music with the top down. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/885/4...8e6eae3d_z.jpg Ended up catching this guy in a S2000 at the Kentucky Border, we convoyed all the way to the Georgia border. He just got back from a race event and was heading down to FDATL as well. It was fun trading drafts and talking at the gas stations. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1741/...7561cb5d_z.jpg Ended up averaging around 30MPG even going 80MPH. That's a Miata for ya, and I blame the efficiency on the cooler running temps. I never let her get under 1/4 tank but I suspect she could have done 340 miles to a single tank. And now I present: the Miatas of FDATL. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1737/...fd17537a_m.jpg This guy came from Texas. He picked up this car in Oklahoma and then drove it all the way to FDATL. Oh, and his grandma drove the GT500 behind it. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/874/4...27d16919_m.jpg Nice little Silverstone https://farm1.staticflickr.com/881/4...405ff8df_m.jpg Epic rally NB build https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1735/...f2eabaf2_m.jpg This dude in the NB had a FM2 kit under the hood. Really nice sound. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1754/...0112bfe9_m.jpg Back in CBUS, I got my first speeding ticket, 45 in a 35. Super stingy cop. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1747/...fee7f6cd_z.jpg I started the process of wrapping the car, fuel lid was first. Ended up turning out horribly because I couldn't get it to tuck on the hinge side. I ended up ordering a different lid. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1739/...9269e5bc_z.jpg Also started shaving the lights of their lettering. Just cleans up the look. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1751/...8344dfc8_z.jpg Sunshade was also a quick and easy thing. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/901/4...c4781db2_z.jpg AAAnd at work my heater core hose blew up... https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/...93f96838_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1723/...18411929_z.jpg Luckily working at AutoZone we had everything there and I could fix it quickly and easily. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1742/...4e18a828_z.jpg I got the door wrapped and applied the Meatball that morning. Until next time! |
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