No worries. I have a fairly high NVH tolerance, probably.

 

Ben's purple car is abrasive, but it's so much fun you don't care.
This one should be nearly as fun, but comfier.
As Mrs. Concealer would say, "nicer".

 

Loud
Stiff
Obnoxious
Uncomfortable

Yup, sounds like a street car

 

Nah got that magic sauce revalved bilstein plus ride. And will have a muffler. And stock seats.

 

I was actually surprised at how smooth the purple car drove. I guess I was half expecting it to feel like a shifter kart or something, but I thought the suspension was nice.

 

I may have black door panels available soonish. They're pretty nice but I haven't looked over them that hard for blemishes either.

 

sounds like my car...

 

Let's update this.

Some swag for those of you that are thirsty.


2017-12-18_05-13-27 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

12/18/17
Vteckiller2000 came and visited me this weekend. That was nice. We ate like crap, drank some good beer, and did a little work to the car. Old steering rack is out, old oil drain bung is out, and the differential is re-installed with the MR Delrin bushings inserted. Had to swap housings with an old 4.30 open i had laying around. Seemed easier than messing with the bushings in the Torsen housing anymore.

No great pictures other than him messing with my rack.

Hater shown being a great bike stand and coat rack.


2017-12-18_05-22-33 by concealer404, on Flickr

Oh yeah, and i got new foglights. Prices on not-messed-up NB1 fog housings are awful, the oem fog lights are terrible anyways, and i'd have to buy new bulbs even after i paid way too much money for a good housing. This seemed easier.


2017-12-18_05-26-38 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

2/28/18

Got a care package from my boi Adam.

2018-02-07_04-57-47 by concealer404, on Flickr

Wait for it....

2018-02-08_06-05-25 by concealer404, on Flickr

Da ba dee da ba daa

2018-02-08_06-04-31 by concealer404, on Flickr

Removed 12 gallons of E85 and a big walbro pump. Installed stock pump. Sans oem FPR because where we're going, we don't need that.

2018-02-25_11-37-50 by concealer404, on Flickr

Installed a depowered rack i got from Jason McDaniels because he's a cool dude. With V8R aluminum rack bushings because.... street car?

2018-02-25_03-47-04 by concealer404, on Flickr

OEM exhaust manifold gasket and VC gasket because i had them laying around from other things.

2018-02-25_03-47-19 by concealer404, on Flickr

Fancy header, fancy mounts, fancy nuts.

2018-02-25_03-47-33 by concealer404, on Flickr

Near final what the end result of this side will look like in the bay.

2018-02-25_03-47-53 by concealer404, on Flickr

More swag.

2018-02-26_05-19-49 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

3/30/18

Disjointed update. Actual work done since last update is minimal. Work is a mess and i'm house shopping.

Target is to get this thing on the road next weekend.

Got this cool leather Lady J from vteckiller2000.

2018-03-05_08-09-44 by concealer404, on Flickr

Got this.

2018-03-14_06-40-10 by concealer404, on Flickr

Time for my hotboi to battle it out with my OCD.

2018-03-14_06-40-23 by concealer404, on Flickr

Inner tie rod locks from Mazda, the CORRECT exhaust gaskets from 949Racing, because after the whole stupid muffler debacle with Racing Beat, turns out they sent me the wrong gasket. Neat.

2018-03-23_03-32-28 by concealer404, on Flickr

Oil pan turbo drain plug and some barbs to do the thing to the fuel system that everyone is convinced will make the car explode.

2018-03-28_10-12-17 by concealer404, on Flickr

99-00 header EGR plugs on right. (Terminals are for Hater.)

2018-03-28_10-12-36 by concealer404, on Flickr

Oem "coin tray" to replace air bag module.

2018-03-28_10-12-54 by concealer404, on Flickr

Not sure if happy in pants or triggered.

2018-03-30_11-29-17 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

5/14/18

Did somebody say updatez?

Need this return-style system to ensure the car never runs on a US ecu again.

2018-04-15_10-41-28 by concealer404, on Flickr

Snagged a set of NA6 polished VC bolts for $150 shipped, got a great deal!

2018-04-15_10-41-47 by concealer404, on Flickr

Red is gross.

2018-04-15_10-42-40 by concealer404, on Flickr

Exhaust fitment on point.

2018-04-15_10-43-37 by concealer404, on Flickr

NB with more than 20k miles? Yeah good luck with that passenger axle, buddy.

2018-04-15_10-44-18 by concealer404, on Flickr

Close enough.

2018-04-15_10-44-55 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

The most JDM swag.

2018-04-15_10-45-08 by concealer404, on Flickr

Mmmmmm.

2018-04-15_10-45-21 by concealer404, on Flickr

Stand back i'm doing a science.

2018-04-15_10-45-52 by concealer404, on Flickr

Old hand-me-downs from Hater saved the day on the passenger rear.

2018-04-15_10-46-48 by concealer404, on Flickr

New hotness on top, old busted on bottom.

2018-04-15_10-47-50 by concealer404, on Flickr

Got to remove driver side motor mount because got a defective set from V8R. Yay. Fished it out from the top without removing the header because i'm a god.

2018-04-23_02-34-14 by concealer404, on Flickr

Yep. Confirmed i got one drop plate and one normal plate.

2018-04-23_02-34-29 by concealer404, on Flickr

Old busted left, new hotness right. (Prior to swapping top hats)

2018-04-23_02-35-21 by concealer404, on Flickr

So pretty. Much jdm. Very wow. Such oem appearance.

2018-04-23_02-36-21 by concealer404, on Flickr

4 corner new hotness. Two Six revalved MSM bilsteins, Integra Speedthane custom length bump stops, Bauer Limited sleeves/perches, Eibach spring sliders, Hyperco CS100 helper springs, Hyperco 700/400 main springs, custom rear extended hats, Maruha 20mm extended front hats.

2018-04-23_02-37-10 by concealer404, on Flickr

Life hacks for rear coilover install with oem rubber bushings.

2018-04-23_02-37-27 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

Whatchoo know 'bout useless JDM parts?

2018-04-23_02-37-51 by concealer404, on Flickr

Happy.

2018-04-23_02-38-02 by concealer404, on Flickr

V8R endlinks. I do not recommend these. They are too long. I got them to sorta work by not using spacers on any of the ends, and adjusting them as short as they will go. However, since i'm at the smallest possible end of the adjustment to just sorta make them work, there is no "dialing in" possible. Spend $10/pr more for 949s.

2018-04-23_02-38-23 by concealer404, on Flickr

At ride height.

2018-04-23_02-38-45 by concealer404, on Flickr

Race daily suspension/brakes.

2018-04-23_02-39-12 by concealer404, on Flickr

GS fender braces going in.

2018-04-23_02-39-27 by concealer404, on Flickr

Minty rust-free 56k mile NB? Doesn't matter, lower fender bolts still gonna snap.

2018-04-23_02-39-42 by concealer404, on Flickr

Broke the rest off flush, then drilled through it.

2018-04-23_02-39-55 by concealer404, on Flickr

Then used this life-saving contraption.

2018-04-23_02-40-10 by concealer404, on Flickr

Then covered up all my work.

2018-04-23_02-40-25 by concealer404, on Flickr

Then put trunk carpet and plastics back in. This was surprisingly difficult, as i've not seen a complete/oem trunk in a few years, let alone every actually put one IN.

2018-04-23_02-40-39 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

Soooo meatyyyyyyyy

2018-04-23_02-41-02 by concealer404, on Flickr

Can't drive a Miata without one.

2018-04-23_05-06-07 by concealer404, on Flickr

Blueeeeeeeee

2018-04-23_05-06-22 by concealer404, on Flickr

DD needs ATE200.

2018-04-29_10-25-49 by concealer404, on Flickr

Put the bumper on about 11 times. Kept forgetting little parts that needed to go behind it. Many were missing because previous turbo install, so i had to dig into my spare supply a few times.

2018-04-29_10-26-21 by concealer404, on Flickr

Magically turned my intake polished (stolen from Hater), and installed GS radiator panel.

2018-04-29_10-26-51 by concealer404, on Flickr

Hitting the ground for the first time in awhile.

2018-04-29_10-27-19 by concealer404, on Flickr

Wow so vintage. Peep the Revlimiter oil cap.

2018-05-01_09-19-58 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

Messed with this thing.

2018-05-01_09-20-35 by concealer404, on Flickr

Exploded it.

2018-05-01_09-20-48 by concealer404, on Flickr

Grainy potato pics of interior. Yep still tan door panels. Keep putting off buying the flat panels because i'm going to need custom speaker holes cut. Peep the window switch. Auto down, sucka!

2018-05-01_09-21-02 by concealer404, on Flickr


2018-05-01_09-21-16 by concealer404, on Flickr


2018-05-01_09-21-32 by concealer404, on Flickr

ShadowMX5's old wheel looking fresh.

2018-05-01_09-21-58 by concealer404, on Flickr

Half got away with my fitment gamble. Front fits without roll of any kind. Rear will need a flat roll.

2018-05-01_09-21-44 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

Then test drive. First time the car moved under its own power in about 3 years.

2018-05-02_07-49-13 by concealer404, on Flickr


2018-05-02_07-49-26 by concealer404, on Flickr


2018-05-02_07-49-41 by concealer404, on Flickr


2018-05-02_07-49-57 by concealer404, on Flickr


2018-05-02_07-50-09 by concealer404, on Flickr

Dem guages. (Need to take them back out to convert the odometer to red.)

2018-05-05_10-52-40 by concealer404, on Flickr

 

Where we stand today (051418)

I've been sorting a few things. I spent way too much time removing the oem hardtop latches. Then installed GS brackets. I hate this design, and i'm pretty sure my Miatacage brackets are defective. Will be purchasing Jass brackets soon. I cannibalized two NB2 hvac panels to make one good one, so it has NB2 panel now. Got both NB2 dimmer and fog/cruise switches in.

Things remaining to sort before alignment:
1) Car doesn't idle right. Seems to idle at about 800-850rpm when cold, but 1500rpm when hot. Suspect vacuum leak or IACV. Friend of mine dropped off another upper plenum complete with TB. I pulled mine off to swap it and noticed that A) mine looks fresh, B) his doesn't, and C) my upper injector bushings look pretty trashed. Ordered a bushing/seal set, will be here tomorrow. I will rebuild them and reinstall, probably with my plenum back on and see what happens.

2) We have a fairly substantial trans leak. Only when driving. I cleaned it all up last time i put it on jackstands 4-5 days ago, and it has stayed bone dry since. Need to pull reverse switch and reseal, then check to be sure the turret isn't leaking for the 12th time. The leak is manifesting itself in drips directly below the reverse switch, so i'm cautiously optimistic.

3) Have to roll rear fenders. Setup mostly clears now, but i'm also running -4* camber in back just to drive it.
3b) Have to set ride height. I hate doing this. Have been avoiding it.

4) Side mirrors rattle like crazy and are loose. Seems weird that this minty cars has that problem, but Hater doesn't. Will remedy this and install delrin window guides at same time.

5) Align it.

6) Install H1 projector retrofit and LED fogs.

7) Stereo. This will involve LRB door panels wrapped in NA black cloth seat fabric as well. Looking at 8" Focal components, Sony AX100 Android Auto headunit, and a Soundstream or Kenwood digital amp.

General thoughts:
I may have shot myself in the foot by not driving Hater immediately before building this thing. I thought i needed to bring it back from Hater about 2 notches. After putting 60 miles on this car.... i think it needed to come back 5-6. Eiffel is pretty rowdy. Steering is manic, response is crazy, making it a bit hard to not drive at low speeds like a jerkoff when combined with the 6spd/4.30 combo. We're getting some pretty crazy resonance between 1500-2000rpm as well, CRAZY loud. Can't tell if it's drone node from the RB setup or if there's some other alignment issues (PPF?) with the stiff mounts. Going off of Mazda's specs, the PPF is high at trans side, but 1) i can't figure out how to pull it down, and 2) i'm unsure how high it is, because i have GS frame rails installed and they mess up the measurement.

It does SOUND really good outside the car though.

 

I'm utterly mesmerized by your impeccable taste in miata swag

 

Please attempt to fondle the AX100 along side it's competitors before you buy one. IMO it's a clunky piece of **** with an atrocious UI.