I... Can't... Believe the idiocy in that thread... that guy needs to be banned sooo badly. Just ban them all.

:facepalm:

please be joking :laugh:

:giggle:

Calm yo titties, I got this. I just didn't bring my laptop with me when I went out for lunch.

Lolwut.jpg

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397273205

No seriously, that can't be right. I'm sure I'm just not doing something correctly :loser: posted anyway, zero fucks given. I'll try it again tomorrow when I'm not dodging semi trucks and field worker buses out on farm roads.

Cracked 100whp @5K RPM ... impressive. :rofl:

-Zach

Yeah, I'm sure I fucked that up. I need to figure out what data needs trimming out of the CSV after converting from MSL. That weight is legit though. Car + absolutely full tank of gas + bunch of other shit + my fatass = 2660lbs. I got in line with all the semi trucks at the scales and weighed it before heading out :bigtu:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397494331
IAT piggy. The factory harness now has a weatherpack connector so I can switch between the stock and GM IAT sensors as needed.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397493820
MS3 Basic -vs- stock ECU

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397493820
Yet another angle

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397493820
Brackets! The rear bracket ended up being a simple Z bracket rather than this compound bend fuckery I created

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397493820
Snug as a bug. Again, that firewall bracket is not the final one I ended up with.

In all honesty, I spent all weekend getting my truck running. Again. About a year ago I resurrected it after it had been sitting for 8-9 years after my grandfather passed away. I had the heads rebuilt, but a fully restored Autolite 4100 600cfm vacuum secondary carb on it, installed a custom recurved electronic ignition distributor, MSD6 ignition box & MSD coil left over from my old Mustang, replaced the shattered exhaust manifolds with Sanderson headers and brand new 3" exhaust. Used rims and tires rounded out the package. This truck was a beast!

I loaned the truck to my brother a year ago on the condition that he actually start it up and drive it every once in a while. Keep the tank full, check the oil and coolant, and actually drive it to keep it from varnishing up. I guess this was too much to ask.

When I went to pick up the truck on Friday it was the same oil from a year ago, plus 3 quarts low. There was also no water in the top tank of the radiator and as I found out driving it home, both fuel tanks were empty. Thanks Bro. :facepalm:

Step 1 was cleaning it. I spent 6 hours pressure washing and then hand scrubbing dirt, mold and moss off the paint.

Before:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397495386

After:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397495386

There was about 40lbs of FUCKING PINE NEEDLES in the bed, cab, cowl and underhood. There was also a pile of sand in the passenger footwell. WTF? I ended up removing the entire heater box assembly from under the dash to get all the duff out of it. Because I'm a supergenius I decided the best course of action for cleaning out the cowl was driving down the highway with the vent system unhooked. At about 50mph a HUGE wad of pine needles came shooting out from under the dash and proceed to fill the cab with a cloud of pointy death. It was like when they put people in one of those air chambers full of dollar bills, except with pine needles, and at 50mph. I managed to get something in my eye and pull over without dying, so I counted that as a victory.

Step 2 was ripping the carburetor apart and cleaning it. Every one of the little micro passages and such was blocked, I'm somewhat amazed it ever ran like this. For whatever reason there was a huge quantity of shit in the bottom of the fuel bowls, cloudy light brown floaty clumps of stuff and hard brown flakes. The filter should have caught this but it also might be hardened crap and varnish from the carb sitting unused and full of fuel, or it might be junk from running the tank completely empty. It was like 3 hours with a strand of wire and 2 cans of carb cleaner to get it decent again. I managed to get that in my eyes too :facepalm: Being not a complete moron, I changed out the fuel filter when the carb went back on. It idles MUCH better, but not perfect like it was before when I first put it back together. Another minor victory I guess. The idle is high but its not "vacuum leak" high. I need to figure out why I can't get it to drop down to something reasonable. I also need a cheap tach that will work with the 6A box.

Step 3 will be getting the fluids changed: coolant, oil and transmission. I believe the gear oil in the trans had been changed maybe once between the factory fill in '74 and again when I did it last year. There was significant volumes of sludgy crap in there. It's had good dinosaur oil in it for a year, so its time to change it with something long-term, like Amsoil. I also need to adjust the clutch linkage.

I'll play more with the car this week, I promise ;)

Awesome truck, glad to see you keeping it goin'. Also, glad you learned your lesson on lending cars to your brother with the old truck, and not your miata :P

Re: virtual dyno, make sure you are on a FLAT road when you do pulls, any down/uphill will skew the results.

Also make sure you calculate your gear ratio and tire height correctly as well :)

Yeah, my grandfather taught me how to drive stick in this thing when I was about 14 so I've got an unhealthy attachment to it. Unfortunately my brother just sees is as a dumpster and I need to figure out how to change his attitude. You should have seen the beercans and cigarette butts I broomed out of the bed and left in his driveway :giggle:

As for VD, road was perfectly flat and car profile was set correctly as far as I can tell. I just need to screw with it some more and see what I can make it do. Neat piece of software though, definitely worth the price of admission.

Thanks

Got to love old Ford trucks. They may run shitty sometimes, but they'll run like that forever.

I went and found my favorite 1/3 mile long stretch of 23% grade and did a shitload of VEAL tuning today after work.

• Put it in second
• accelerate car up hill
• modulate the throttle to vary MAP across the range
• climb to redline
• save results
• reboot MS
• repeat in 3rd
• rinse and repeat

Seems to be a rather effective way to sort out a fuel map with a quickness :bigtu:

Sweet! Dat right der is goodness I need in my life ... CNC head is sucking up all my funds though.

I really, really, really want one of those heads. I've been staring at my computer holding a credit card twice now and I just can't bring myself to do it.

But ohhhhhh do I want to...

Staring at the computer, at the CNC head, holding a credit card ... uh huh.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1397715621

Well, that's creepy. Glad I've got naked babies in my buildthread now :facepalm:

Something showed up in the mail yesterday! I decided polishing my valvecover was too much of a bastard so I sent it off to begi to get powdercoated wrinkle black.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397755868

It's black, so that's good. Unfortunately the old "10ft, 10mph" thing applies here. Its nowhere near as wrinkly as anything else I've ever seen powdercoated in a wrinkle finish.

I also put a hand written note in the box specifically asking them NOT to powder coat the threads and sealing surfaces for the oil filler cap, PCV, vent and machined locating surface for the cam sensor.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397755868
Oil filler

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397755868
Cam sensor

Ok, I'm really fucking worried about this one. I'm not sure if I should try to remove the coating from the face here or not. AFAIK the machined face in this location is used to locate the cam sensor. This coating is not exactly thin and I'm worried I'm going to have cam pickup issues.

I'm open to recommendations here.

Overall quality is not that great either as the devil is in the details.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397755868
Vent nipple itself isn't coated as per my request, but whatever they used to mask it left something to be desired. Crap in the bottom of the image is casting flash above the gasket rail I should have removed but didn't.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1397755868
Yeah, that's an issue. Good thing its on the back of the cover.

I'm also not sure they did that great a job cleaning it before coating. In the recessed "MAZDA" lettering on the top of the cover, I can see where there is something built up in the bottoms of the letters under the coating. It looks suspiciously like the grime I didn't clean first as I assumed they would be giving the surface a thorough cleaning before coating.

They had me send them a valve cover gasket so they could bolt it to something to keep powder from getting under the cover. Either they didn't use it or that seems to have accomplished absolutely nothing. The damn thing is also full of loose powder, probably from blowing it down the oil filler that I asked to be masked off. Either way I'm really glad I pulled the baffles before I sent it. I need to figure out some way to get it absolutely clean inside before I attempt to use it.

It also smells like paint. Is fresh powdercoating supposed to smell like paint?

I'm still not sure this was a good idea. I should have just had the cover blasted to get a consistent finish and then hit it with satin clear like I did with the intake and compressor housing. I have a feeling this is something I will regret having spent money on :facepalm:

Maybe I'm just too fucking critical.

I'll call around locally and see if I can find someone with a soda blaster or something that is willing to blast out the underside because this is miserable. At least with soda I can flush it out with water.

dude.

that's garbage. tell them to fix or refund

not to start the hate train but that's about what I'd expect from them.

^No question, that's terrible, terrible work. Oh begi... having seen some of the stuff they've put out, I would never let them touch my car.

Its not a hate train when its the truth.

Each time there's a million excuses. Each time it takes forever.

I'm kinda surprised you'd send it there when there's a million places that powdercoat in CA, will gladly ship, and ACTUALLY pay attention to what they're doing cause they ACTUALLY care about their reputation.

Seriously, to powdercoat inside the oil cap threads and cam sensor? Seriously?

Literally no excuse can be made that would justify such stupidity. My dog woulda done a better job.

The problem is that this shit will NEVER completely come off this cover without a shitload of work that I'm not willing to put into it. It's not complete trash, but its not anything like what I expected. Once again Vlad is right and I feel like I should have fucking known better, based on everything I've read.

I always feel like I need to give someone a chance before I completely write them off. BEGi has been in the Miata business for a long time and I always try to support vendors who support development for the platform. I buy shit from 949 and TSE all the time even though I get screwed on CA sales tax because I try to support businesses that support my hobby. That's literally the only reason I sent it to BEGi.

I don't even feel like filing a paypal dispute or calling and complaining.

Don't file a Paypal dispute. DO call and complain. That's ridiculous.

Definitely call and complain. At first I saw the images and assumed you took it to some local bro's shop in your town, but this work is from BEGI? Surely they are smart enough to know not to powdercoat the threads and cam sensor provision, even if you had not have left a nice note for them.

That's messed up, I've never been on the BEGI hate train (lots of begi parts on my car I'm happy with), but that's ghetto.

That said, I'd still clean it up and run it, just not what i expect from a legit miata specialty shop at all.

The problem is that there is a good chance your cam sensor won't seat properly, and you're gonna damage your oil filler cap or flake that crap off into your engine when it eventually crumbles and cause all sorts of issues.

that's what the problem is.

it takes an IQ of 2 to make those two mistakes.

Yeah, I agree. I just don't heave time to deal with this kind of crap right now.

Agreed on all points. This looks like the VHT Wrinkle Black I did a couple years ago when I didn't use enough heat. Its just absolutely not what I was expecting and it looks nothing like what's on their website. Camera difference notwithstanding.

I've never been on the BEGi hate train either. I've done business with the 3 times now and never had any real complaints (until now obviously.) They ported the housing on my GT2560R and while its not as aggressive as some I've seen, it was still quality work. They did a 2.5" dia 5" long section of aluminum tube with a 3/8" NPT bung welded into it about 2 years ago. The welds were "meh" and I had to take a tap to the threads to get my GM IAT actually into the airflow, but it wasn't something that I would complain about and it wasn't important enough to worry about.

Also, just to clarify: They didn't powdercoat the threads for the cam sensor, or even the hole for the cam sensor, they powdercoated the FACE that the cam sensor locates on, the face that determines the distance between the nubs on the cam pulley and the face of the sensor itself. Mazda bothered to machine this face flat and parallel into the face of the valve cover, probably because, you know, its important?

You are absolutely right, this is not what I expect from a Miata specialty shop.

Both those reasons are EXACTLY why I asked that the threads & sealing surface not be coated, and the boss where the cam sensor mounts to not be coated. I politely requested these 2 things specifically in the inquiry emails I sent to Stephanie while I was working out the details and included the handwritten instructions.

I'm more disappointed than anything else. I'll send them an email with pics and follow up with a phone call tomorrow morning. I'm not going to have time to get into it with them today before business hours are over in Texas.

That's seriously one of the worst powdercoating jobs i've ever seen, and i'm not even convinced that it IS powdercoat.

Like... that's holy shit bad.

And there's no way in HELL i'd even bolt that to a head as is. It needs to be completely stripped and cleaned again. I did better work than that when i was 18 years old cleaning by hand and hanging parts under a damn infrared heat lamp.

Do you have another valve cover? If you have to put your car back together NOW then you can always strip it and install it and worry about it later, you have photo proof.

I just cringe when I see the photos. What a crappy job they did.

Yep, not arguing any of those points. I agree 100%

I do have another valve cover, but that's not the point. This one was grabbed from the classifieds here some months ago specifically for this purpose.

Ok, to be absolutely fair I never dealt directly with Corky, but that right there is some funny as shit. :bowrofl:

The only thing I can figure is they subcontract this stuff out and do absolutely no in-house QC before it goes out the door. If they are doing it in-house, they need to reevaluate their process.

Pics sent with email indicating my displeasure and I will follow it up with a phone call tomorrow, right now I need to get back to work. I'm going to give them them like, one chance to make this right. I have no patience for this kind of crap.

Not to beat a dead horse but I shit you not my rattle can wrinkle black vc looks better than that

Begi is taking the cover back and swapping with a non coated on, plus refund. Done and done (well, once I get the clean one back.) Turning out better than I expected.

Well, I guess it's good to know they at least came through with some reasonable support after a problem. Sounds like it was about the best they could do for you, considering.

My powder coater would flip his shit if one of his employees handed off something like that to a customer.

If you want it done perfect, my guy does it super cheap. Plus he doesn't charge me for sandblasting.

I am sad that you were passed off such garbage work. Makes me a-scared to order my reroute spacer from them which should be unscrewupable...

Your thread tags are hilarious. So confidence, very success!

Yep. The results suck, but support (thus far) has been fine. The admitted it sucked and offered to replace it. I'll be sure to updated the situation if there are issues working out the replacement. This is going in the mail before noon today. I'm really hoping the replacement gets here before I leave for vacation.

I know, I have no idea what they were thinking. If I'd have been contacted and told "Hey, this came back from the coater and its shit. We can replace it and refund you or we can find another cover and try again, what would you like to do?" I would have been a lot more impressed. I'd rather have that than "yeah, we didn't think you'd like it either" and then waste my time.

I found a local guy who does coating that I want to check out. He has some decent looking stuff posted on his website, plus I can go look him in the face and explain exactly what I want. I have a feeling he's going to be ÜBER EXPENSIVE based on all the exotics on his site. I've got Mazda money, not Ferrari money. Depending on how that turns out, I'll shoot you a PM :bigtu:

Just make sure it actually has the recess cut into the face for the thermostat and you should be fine. Also, be aware there can be clearance issues with the top of the bell housing on some cars, depending on the casting of the transmission case. Oh, and make sure the threads are cut deep enough that the sensors seal properly and actually end up in the flow of coolant ... :giggle:

I tend to take myself too seriously and I end up frustrated and angry all the time. Gotta poke some fun while I can. Miata r srs bsns :rofl:

You know what's really really quiet? A DW200 is really really quiet.

I installed it last Thursday and its kinda scary how stealth this thing is. I also think my car is now running a consistent full point richer than it was with the Walbro 190HP. I'll do a bit of VEAL tomorrow at lunch and see if it pulls a bunch of fuel out of the table.

That is good to know. I think I have a stock pump in my car with how high the duty cycle seems to be.

I'll have to check out pricing on them.

DW pumps are full-on win.

Except the DW300 that I installed last week into a subaru that was a complete and utter POS and literally died after 2 starts.

Had good results with my dw200 in the miata though, worked like a boss.

Thats good to know. I sound deadened the shit out of my 190hp and I can still hear that annoying whine at idle.

After watching my wideband this morning I believe its more pressure (or volume?) on the low end. After about 4k~ the ARFs seem to be about the same. Plus I forgot my laptop this morning. :facepalm:

Though I must say, its liberating to think I don't NEED to carry around my laptop on a daily basis just in case something goes screwy with the MS3. The base config is so dialed in on this thing its stupid.

More props for MSLabs :bigtu:

While I'm on the subject, I've been considering screwing around some more with my fuel system. I don't like the "returnless" fuel system on the NB simply out of principal. I scavenged another NB fuel line out of a friends car who is doing an engine swap so that I could set up a return system, but never followed through. I'm starting to think maybe I do want to do that now. I really REALLY like what Soviet did with his car. Even though I don't think I'll ever NEED 400+hp worth of fuel in my car, his setup is exactly what I see in my head as an "ideal" fuel system. I could do the same thing but with my DW200 and have more fuel than I'll probably ever need. Probably.

The only thing that's really stopping me at the moment is finding OEM style socket connectors that will work with AN lines. I can't cut the ends off my fuel lines because I will need to go back to stock eventually. If anyone has any leads, I'm open to recommendations.

Don't you put that evil on me!

Ok, so back to the fuel line stuff. I did a bit of snooping around the interwebs and I found this little guy:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1398216487
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rus-640863

This looks kinda like exactly what I want, except its discontinued. It sounds like the "domestic" crowd couldn't figure out how to install these correctly and burned down a bunch of cars.

This is the replacement:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1398216487
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rus-644113

The male threaded part goes under the retainer groove in the line and threads into the female part that seals internally with O-Rings.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1398216487
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rus-611273

Its also available with incredibly convenient 90° fittings. They are twice the price but when you consider you would need a -6F to -6M 90° to go with the straight adapter, it ends up as a wash.

Unfortunately I'm going to need about 8 of these bastards:

• 2 90° fittings for underhood hardlines (feed and return)
• 2 for the top of the tank (feed and return)
• 2 for the "other ends" of the hardline under the rear of the vehicle
• 2 for the fuel filter (assuming I continue to use the stock filter)

That's about $150 worth of just hardline adapters, and that's assuming I can get away with only using the 2 90° ones under the hood. I had considered cutting the fittings out of the OEM lines and installing them with hose and clamps but then I remembered I can actually do things right once in a while. :rofl: I might consider doing this on the return side simply because once fuel passes the regulator under the hood, its all free flow low pressure from the regulator back to the tank.

Anyone know the 5/16" ones will fit a NB Miata fuel line, and if these things are rated for 60~80+psi? I can't find a pressure rating anywhere so I may call Russell and ask about the pressure thing.

Edit: Oh, look what I found https://www.miataturbo.net/engine-pe...fitting-65687/

Good. Life would just be too easy and predictable if parts were actually unscrewupable!


How are you liking the MS3 basic? When are the FICs going in?

That would certainly make for less of a challenge. Of course, I would do well to stop getting involved with challenges I don't need :facepalm:

MS3-Basic is glorious. I don't know if its the base configuration or the customized firmware or what, but everything is exactly as it should be. My previous DIYPNP seemed to be a mess of unconfigured settings that I beat my head against trying to find any kind of range that might be appropriate to even start from. In contrast, the MS3-Basic started on the second crank. I thought I was smarter than the config and started screwing with things and jacked up my idle, but Rev set me straight and I was off and tuning my fuel table and warmup. Booyeah. Highly recommended.

I actually signed up and paid for the MS3 Pro/Enhanced 14 months ago before the hardware was completely finalized and tested. Rev and I were in touch every couple of months and it was my decision to continue to wait. When I made the decision to move to the MS3-Basic, Rev had no issues with making the change. I ended up asking myself "Am I actually going to use the rest of these features?" Ultimately the answer was no, and I wanted to get my project rolling again.

As for the FIC 650's, they have been installed since the MS3 went in. Also highly recommended. I made the car idle at 16:1 just to see if I could do it. :rofl:

Some goodies showed up while I was in Florida on vacation:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1399353070

• M-Tuned Fuel Rail (I've owned this one for years)
• Fuelab 53501-1 Fuel Pressure Regulator
• Fuelab FPR gauge
• GM E85 Sensor (just in case)

I followed a page from Soviet's build thread and I'm basically copying his fuel system. The Fuelab "mini" regulators (535/545) are good to like 500hp worth of flow so WAY more fuel than I'll ever need. I'll block one of the inlets with a plug and then I won't have to deal with the upside-down regulator mounting scheme :giggle:

Next step is to map out where I want to put everything under the hood and then put together a Mocal hose and fittings order from BatInc. Thanks (again) to Soviets (and also I'm guessing Hustler?) recommendations I've got a pretty solid parts list for the fuel system so reorders should be minimal.

Quick shout-out about the folks at Fuelab: These guys are great to work with. I exchanged several emails with them regarding regulator selection and not only did they reply in minutes, but also tolerated my stupid questions and treated me like a human. I love doing business with these types of people :)

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1399353074
So tiny! (Apparently I have no thumb)

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1399353074
damn gauge is almost as big as the regulator!

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1399353074
Here thar be part numbas!

The E85 sensor is kinda just for kicks and giggles right now. My MS3-Basic is wired for it so I figured while I was pulling things apart, there was no reason NOT to add E85 compatibility. Someday maybe we'll get corn fed out here :facepalm:

On the recommendation of a coworker I stopped by a body shop today to get another quote for paint. While discussing particulars we were quite rudely interrupted by the sounds of a smallblock Chevy running out to about 6,000rpm on open pipes through the wall from next door. Cursory inspection has revealed a Dynojet chassis dyno no more than 10 minutes from my front door! I was out of time at the moment but I did get their card and I'll be stopping by for more infos shortly. So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Begi update: Cover made it to them on Monday 28th and the refund landed in my Paypal account today. Thus far I'm out about $40 for both times I mailed it to Texas, plus the frustration. Waiting to hear back about when I should expect the replacement cover to show up.

I'm liking my M-tuned rail, I just hated having how much grinding has to be done to fit a BP4W head.

Fuelab is good people and i will give them my business many more times in the future. Them and Turbosmart are standouts to me in the last couple years of building stupid shit.


Oh, and spoon feed me: Tell me what threads all the ports on the M-Tuned rail are. I need to replace the fuel lines on our car and figured i'd throw an AFPR and ditch the rubber lines while i was at it.

Yeah, that was not a surprise I was expecting. FUEL ERRYWHER! Do you by chance have pics of how much you ended up grinding off the rail to make it fit?

Yeah buddy! I've got a Turbosmart IWG75 from a Protege that will be put to use once I figure out a bracket. I bought it used but it looks like its never been mounted. Will also be using a Turbosmart plumb-back BOV :bigtu:

3/8NPT on the ends or the -6 male to 3/8NPT male adapters I bought are going to be worthless :loser: I think the port in the top is 1/4 NPT but I don't have it in front of me at the moment so don't quote me.

Oh wait... is ours different?

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1399399626

Yeah, I dunno what you've got there :rofl:

It's probably the same rail. It looks like you might have a 90° fitting in the end of the rail, then the brass FPR adapter?

https://www.prospecautosport.com/upl...0_i1_w500.jpeg

Google image search of "m tuned fuel rail" turned up this gem:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1399401638

Looks like I've got some more grinding to do :hahano:

Oh.... you think the FPR isn't bolted directly on the rail? That would make sense and be awesome.

Yep, that's what it looks like to me anyway. I'm guessing there is a 3/8NPT street ell and maybe a bushing adapter to the FPR adapter? FWIW that brass adapter should screw directly into the blocked port on the rail in your pic and thus act as a return. I guess if you aren't running dual feed it does not matter.

I'll be running dual feed when i re-do it i think. :)

If you are not going AN, I have the M-Tuned plumbing kit to go with the rail that I won't be using that I'd be happy to sell.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1399404386

No hose but mine has a legit "Y" adapter rather than the galvanized pipe "T" they used to ship :rofl:

PM me with price. Even if i don't use it now, that stuff looks handy. :rofl:

I've got access to the machine shop at work now, Send me your things and I'll poke at them over lunch :)

Are you aloud to tell me what magical machines this shop contains? If I can remember how to write G-Code in Notepad++ will that be helpful at all? :rofl:

Also: Random email notification showed up in my inbox this afternoon with tracking from UPS that says there is a box on its way to me from BEGI. w00t!

I ground mine back a little further because I wanted to be able to remove the valve cover without scratching it.

Good point. I'll probably wait until I get my valve cover finalized and go from there. Speaking of valve covers, the replacement should be here Monday from BEGI. For whatever reason they are returning the baffles and hardware I removed for the old cover before sending it in for coating, but included in the package when I returned it for exchange. Not sure what's up with that. They probably pulled the baffles out of the one they were going to send me, assuming I wasn't going to include the originals? Meh. I'd end up pulling them anyway to inspect and clean so no skin off my nose, just kinda strange.

In other news: I've got an appointment for paint. I am cautiously optimistic, god I hope this turns out :x:

In prep for paint, I pulled everything out of the car last night except the jack, spare, registration and insurance card, including the stereo. Not that I don't trust the bodyshop, but I also don't want to tempt people. I have no soft top so while the hard top is getting painted, its just going to be open.

Something I picked up years ago that I've been lusting over for a long time is also finally being painted and installed on the car. Back when I pulled off the guppy mouth 99/00 nose in favor of the 01/05 nose and massively improved MSM headlights, I lost the 99/00 specific "Sport Package" mini lip as seen in my sig pic image:

https://www.miataturbo.net/signature...pic15208_1.gif

I always loved that lip. It just seems to complete the nose of the car and it perfectly matches the lines of the rest of the factory small tupperware. Without it, the NB nose just looks soft and flabby and and meh. I pulled the lip off the old 99/00 nose and used some burly 3M double stick automotive trim adhesive tape to see if I could make it sit correctly on the 01/05 nose, but the contours are just different enough that it never lined up properly and looked like ass. No lip for me. Sad panda :(

Then I found this gem:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1399566872
"99 Factory Style Front Sport Package Lip Spoiler for Mazda Miata MX-5 2001-2005"
Its now discontinued so you can't actually browse to it on their website, but I saved the direct link to it years ago: RSpeed: 99 Style Front Lip Spoiler Miata MX-5 and they have very limited stock, but the part can still be ordered. The part number is NB2-40405. Yes it was godawful expensive, but its a really nice part and it gets me exactly what I want: 99/00 Sport Package lip that actually fits correctly on my 01/05 nose! w00t! Hopefully I can not trash it too badly on diveways and such :crx:

Well, that is interesting. They told me that I got the last one when I bought one of those 1.5 years ago. In case something happens, I have one you could buy.