Roda

I guess I didn't realize ProAuto stopped running CCW there... I don't have a ton of car time on West, but have LOTs of time there on bikes. IMHO CCW flows better than CW, and has better runoff, but there's not an excess of runoff in either direction. Mostly, we prefer AMP to any of the WH tracks.

yuba

Cayman dude got lucky, he came in super hot lol.

I'll stop by and say Hi next time. . Tage (NASA AZ) told me that he thinks there is too much rear bias in the car, so I'll play with the bias adjuster next time I'm out (probably run a Chuckwalla promoter day since they are empty car count wise and there is a ton of runoff), and if it still doesn't feel right I'll pull the ABS fuse.

I ordered a used headlight off eBay, which will be here Sunday. Also ordered a new complete Singular wing kit this afternoon.

I think I might be able to stitch the front bumper up well enough to work until I can find one of a matching color to cut up as I haven't had any luck finding an NB2 bumper locally. I've pulled most of the easy parts of the quarter panel out, this weekend will be the stuff directly behind the door which looks creased to hell. I don't expect much, but at least the door jamb area is straight. I've got a lot of work to do during the offseason, but at least OEM metal is cheap.

Roda

Glad to hear you're making progress on the repairs.

Try checking Tucson CL for 'Miata parts'... there's a guy down there that parts out Miatas, and he usually has a selection of body parts. IIRC, his name is Scott.

BTW, the NB I PM'd about is a '99 so my bumper cover wouldn't help anyway.

yuba

Thanks, I'll check it out. It sounds like the bumpers follow the headlights in terms of crossover, but I already got a replacement one. Depending on the ability to find an NB2 bumper locally I might just buy NB1 stuff since it seems more available.

Yesterday I got my NB2 headlight from eBay, and felt bad about taking it apart since all of the tabs are intact. I'll list everything but the lens locally if someone wants to pick it up for a pack of diet coke or something.



Got the ducting all back together, painted the headlight lens, and mocked it up.


Tested the destroyed bumper and it all kinda lines up, I think I can make it work until I find an NB2 bumper locally.



This is what the damaged side looks like for now, I'm hoping I can clean it up a little bit more and get away without being protested locally until the offseason when I can cut the quarter out. My region isn't real serious and I know most of the people involved, so we will see how it goes.


My Singular wing mounts / hardware showed up today, just for fun I laid the supports over the old ones. Right support is dead straight, left side that pulled the quarter down is about a quarter inch out. Waiting on the wing element from APR, need to cut a new splitter, piece together the bumper, and to take some rubbing compound / paint match to the quarter and door.
Once the element is here I can see how much more quarter trunk adjustment I need to do for the wing to line back up, I suspect not too much.

BroFab E30 front hubs with ABS rings and SKF bearings should be here next week; I'll be grabbing a set of Sadfab MR2 rear hubs on the next production run.

IF, IF, IF everything is here in time I am hoping to make the November 6th Chuckwalla promoter practice day.

codrus

Man, that track looks super sketchy. One stuck throttle away from a ramp launching you either into a lake or onto the freeway?

--Ian

RedNB

Glad to see you're still going strong fellow goon. Fingers crossed you'll hit Chuckwalla on Nov 6th

Joseph Conley

Great progress! Glad to see this thing will be back to racing soon.

I'm on the BroFab fronts and Sadfab rears, very happy with both.

yuba

Thank you, goon friend.

A long time ago a motorcycle made it almost onto the freeway at east track, haha.

Thanks, the BroFab pieces look really nice.

Pieced together the front bumper temporary since I can't find an NB2 one locally for the life of me. Might just plastic weld it from behind and refinish it, but it really does need a new metal support piece since it sags down a bit due to bends, which I also can't find locally.



Cut out the headlight bucket and fender mount since it was too far gone to bother saving, imo. The splitter was mounted to this before, hmm, won't be replicating that. It basically means that catching a curb will bend this since it is practically made out of paper mache.



Installed SKF bearing BroFabs with ABS rings up front. Driver front wheel bearing had some play in it when I pulled it off.

icantlearn

I would mount the splitter to the front bash bar. Its the sturdiest and most forward point you have to work with.

yuba

Yeah, you're right, I plan to reuse the rear mount and front center mount ideas that the PO had. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of them since I didn't take the front bumper off before bending everything up.

The side supports are where the issue was, imo, and are something I will be changing to be similar to what I did on my S2000. Rivnuts into existing holes in the front frame rails, manifold studs, and professional awesome rods / hardware. I also really liked the Racebred quick release main splitter mounts.


Anyway, as I've said before, I'm not a body guy and I've never welded outside of some test strips of steel on a bench, so with that in mind...





I found out about the Mazda Motorsports OEM part discount so I'll be ordering a NB2 bumper, both rear quarters, both trunk drip rails, and a right door shell for the offseason.

Arca_ex

iTrader: (2)

That headlight area replacement looks like it turned out pretty damn good.

yuba

Thanks, it'll do.

I received an invoice and paid for the WHP fence replacement today. Turns out it cost $2k to replace an 8 post length of fence so, idk, maybe don't hit it.

Anyhow, seat showed up from Poland this week.


Cut a new splitter out of 15/32 birch using some guesstimation, it was pretty close.





Seems pretty sturdy, I'll figure out some side supports but it actually isn't too bad. Probably end up hanging the front and notching the rear when I have some more time. Need to cut a new airdam, paint the splitter, and clean the bumper up a bit then the car should be good to go from the doors forward. Ignore the bumper fit to the headlights in the picture above, I didn't have it slotted in correctly, they fit fine.

Wing element also showed up this week and it looks like I need to do some more quarter adjustment to get it to fit how I'd like. I also need to get ahold of some MR2 or MiataHubs rear hubs.

yuba

Airdam done, makes the wavy splitter fairly obvious.





Until I get told 'NO' for the 50/50 rule or the offseason I just need to massage the trunk drip rails enough to get the wing mounted.

Edit: Decided to push through it today.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

Oh damn, I just barely got to reading this thread. Heartbreaking to see such a gorgeous car get whacked, but way to go on the reconditioning, very impressive work.

If you come out on Nov 21-22 chuckwalla I'll be running the timing equipment and you could run in the Superspec race group. Maybe you could get Alan out there with Bullit.

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

Way to rebound brother. Keep it up.

yuba

I appreciate it

Thank you . I think I'm going to spend some time to build some trust in the car before going out in race group, but I am tentatively planning to run just the 22nd in DE.

Debeaded the rear tires and cleaned them out today, car is ready to go back on the ground so I can check the alignment. I ordered Miatahubs for the rear yesterday, hopefully they show up before Chuckwalla.
Also pulled the check valve line off the booster, which seems to hold against pressure and the booster sucked air when I pulled the line off, so it doesn't appear to be leaking. Wound the brake bias valve all the way out so I'll be walking that in on track, then I will play around with putting the ABS fuse back in.

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

If you remove the check valve from the booster, you will not have any brake booster. I would order a new line from Mazda to make sure you get a new check valve. It is a rare failure but sometimes those check valves go bad.

yuba

You've got a good point, ordered a NA01-43-640.

Arca_ex

iTrader: (2)

Good call on new check valve, boost sometimes makes those old parts do weird things. If you remove just the valve the brake booster doesn't just stop working though, it ends up varying the assist wildly depending on however much vacuum is currently being generated by the engine. Make sure the direction is oriented correctly too.

One other tip, try Mother's R3 Race Rubber Remover on all those scuff marks on the panels, it should improve the appearance of the car from a distance by a lot.

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

Yup, we use mother's R3 too. Good stuff.