nickt93

iTrader: (5)

UPDATE! Paint is mostly complete. I absolutely love the way it turned out. You'll have to use your imagination to picture what it will look like once it has the right wheels on it, the ride height set, and all of the other trim pieces in place. I'm thinking a Nardi wheel and wood shift ****/parking brake handle would look right at home here.

bawward

iTrader: (3)

Looking good!

nickt93

iTrader: (5)

Alright, so here goes:

Saturday morning I loaded up my truck with a stack of car parts, tools, and supplies (like Doritos) and pointed it towards Auburn, Alabama (where the Salvagewon guys are) to go finish up this car. I arrived at Alan's house at 10am and got to see the car for the first time in 5 months. A ton of the heavy lifting had already been done over the past few weeks/months - the unibody was cut, cage installed, tub painted, and everything removed (engine, trans, wiring harness, brake and clutch masters, radiator, steering column, lighting, etc). But all of that stuff needed to go back in. Then there were things to be added like fabbing an exhaust, new coilovers, steering wheel/ quick release, seats, etc).

Here's a pic of our starting point - motor out, suspension swapped, sorting wire harness:




The Build

We got to work almost immediately. The first priority was to untangle and sort the wiring harness. Robert (Emoximuu on this forum, the other half of SalvageWon) took the lead on that. His knowledge of the Miata electrical systems is impressive. All of this was complicated by the fact that the previous owner of this car had added a lot of junk to the OEM harness (under car lighting, stereo equipment, alarm system). Here is a pic showing just some of what he removed:




Roger (fwman1 on this forum) wired up the taillights and did a very nice job. And they work! Thanks again for your help.



Day one progress included adding the engine/ trans/ driveshaft back, getting the harness 75% routed, installing the steering column, building the exhaust, swapping in the new coilovers, installing the steering wheel, wiring taillights, and partially installing the nose. We wrapped up around 11pm with using a torch to "blue" the nose piece.


Robert fabbing the exhaust Saturday night. No jig; he did it all custom and did a phenomenal job. There's not really a spot for a muffler in the back of the Eliminator so the muffler and resonator are tucked underneath the car. The clearances are really tight to the subframe, diff, and driveshaft but the fit is perfect.



End of day 1:



Day two included finishing up the wiring harness, installing dash panels, installing/ bleeding clutch and brake hydraulics, 5 point harnesses, finishing pads on seats and fitting seats to car, finishing nose piece, installing radiator, wiring headlights, gauge cluster, and a lot of little things that I'm forgetting right now. Oh yeah, and turning the key! Pretty much fired up on the first try.

Getting close to the end of day 2:




And just as we finished up the clouds parted and the rain cleared. A sign? I think so. So rather than leave the car and going back to pick it up later I was able to load it up in the trailer about 8pm and head back to Atlanta. Triumph! On the way home:



HUGE thanks to Alan and Robert for taking on this project and delivering a car that has far exceeded both my original goals and highest expectations. Yes, it took a little longer than we all expected. It was totally worth the wait. I am beyond delighted with the car .

nickt93

iTrader: (5)

Now, for some "finished" pics. As with most builds this car will probably never really be finished - I have a number of short term items to address and a few longer term projects, but I should be roadworthy in a matter of days. In fact I intend to go to Caffeine & Octane on Sunday if the weather is nice, so if you are there come by and check out the car!

Hoping for a more legit photo sesh sometime soon. These will do for now though:

Loving this rear 3/4 angle...











Loving the seats too. Definitely one of my favorite touches.










Oh cool, you can adjust the coilovers without taking the wheel off

stefanst

iTrader: (1)

YES!!!!

Have a likecat.

bawward

iTrader: (3)

SOOO COOOL. That rocks. Let us know she it goes!

Girz0r

iTrader: (1)

Raw lookin, I dig it

aidandj

iTrader: (5)

Are you going to paint the cage?

bawward

iTrader: (3)

You have a list of your aftermarket choices? It would be interesting to see.

nickt93

iTrader: (5)

Funny, when I first saw a picture of an Eliminator I thought the same thing. But actually leaving the cage unpainted is very intentional. It's hard to really get a feel for the finished product in pictures, but it all makes sense when you see the car in person. It is clearcoated to prevent/ slow corrosion (will sand and re-clear periodically).

It's not a long list so far. And while I intend to keep it NA I do have 75% of a turbo kit on hand in case I decide otherwise. Here is what is (or will soon be) on the car:

Tein Flex coilovers
Racing Beat Header
Megasquirt PNP
RB front and rear swaybars (rear disconnected for now)
Intake
Hawk HP+ pads
15x8 949 6ULs (15x9 6ULs/ NT01s as needed)
Kirkey Seats
G Force Harnesses
Momo Wheel/ NRG Hub/ QR

aidandj

iTrader: (5)

Yep, thats what I was wondering. Looks good.

bawward

iTrader: (3)

I may not have chosen brown for myself, but with the cage left nude, the diamond plate, seats and seat covers, it all makes sense. Very, very cool.

Thanks for the list - still parting out my donor in prep for the first day of cutting!

nickt93

iTrader: (5)

Yesterday was a day that I've been looking forward to a long time. The Eliminator has been a work in progress for almost 6 months now, and having just completed it I was excited for the opportunity to put it on the track. I really didn't know what to expect - I knew that some parts of the driving experience would be familiar; after all it is still (kind of?) a Miata, and I've had my green car for almost 10 years. I also knew that adding lightness would add performance, but would it be enough? Or would it feel slow compared to my turbo car.

The answers became clear after about a half a lap. This car is a blast!!! Although it doesn't accelerate nearly as hard as the turbo car, the improvements in handling and braking performance more than make up for that. It is also just a totally different experience than any car I've ever driven. Being totally open just feels so much more connected to the road - you can hear air rushing into the intake, you smell the tires and brakes differently, you can see the racing surface/ reference points/ etc much more clearly. I can't remember the last time I had that much adrenaline pumping!

My hope for this car is that it would be within 3 seconds of my best lap time at AMP (1:33.8). The night before Track Night Rick02R predicted I would hit a 1:39; I thought that sounded a bit ambitious for the first time out. I was ecstatic to put down a 1:35.1 in the third session!

So, quick math vs my turbo car: half the cost, same lap times, twice the fun.


A few videos:

First run group; first time on track in the car


Second run group


Showing up in the mirror of the (nicely built!) Super 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QBz3zYflDY#t=3m54s

A few laps (fastest one at top)



Heading out:


On the track:

bawward

iTrader: (3)

Phew!!! Watching that second video, it was crazy to see you come up on that red BMW - the corners look CRAZY in this car.

For acceleration, I've got a Moss Eaton MP62 kit I'm putting in my own Eliminator (and have a second one w/ TDR intercooler that I'd sell)

What size rears did you run for these laps?

Efini~FC3S

iTrader: (4)

How was the SCCA "TNiA"?

stefanst

iTrader: (1)

Awesome. I'm terribly envious.

nickt93

iTrader: (5)

Thanks man. The corners ARE crazy in this car! Every session I kept pushing it a little harder and was amazed at how much grip the car delivered. I had to change my lines significantly vs my turbo car. I was running 225/45/15 NT01s all around.

You are going to love your Eliminator, especially with boost.

Fantastic. Significantly better-than-average Wednesday night. My weekends get filled with other non-track activities, so taking off work a little early one day a month to go turn laps for $125 works really well for me. I'm going to try and do as many of these as possible this year. Very well run event.

Are you still considering building one? Do it!

x_25

Sorry to get off topicish, how did the novice run group look? I will be doing my second track event ever with TNiA in May.

Also, if I ever crash mine, it is getting turned into one of these so fast...

stefanst

iTrader: (1)

Oh yes! Just trying to see if we get the garage addition done before or after

Chilicharger665

iTrader: (2)

So does the car feel pretty rigid? I like the looks of everything, except for the shock towers out front.