New radiator is in but it was a bastard getting there.

I knew I had a little corrosion in the block as the coolant as always slightly orange. To prep for the new rad I drained and refilled it with fresh distilled and went for a drive. It looked good after that so I let it cool, drained it and installed the new radiator with more fresh distilled water. After burping I went for a drive and thrashed on it and it never skipped a beat. The TSE is a truly solid product.

NOW my coolant is about the same color as my car :facepalm: I'm going to let it cool and drain it again. I'm thinking I might toss a bottle of Prestone in there to clean up the corrosion and maybe flush it 2-3 more times to see how clean I can get it.

On the subject of the burping, after thinking about it a bit more I realized that once the turbo is installed the coolant fittings for the CHRA are very much going to be the high point in the system. Bleeding it should be as easy as loosing up one of the fittings until all the air is out. That sounds much easier than trying to add a bleed to the system.

In the past I just removed one of the heater core hoses to bleed it. You can even pour coolant in them if you wish. Now I have them going back to the upper radiator hose with a restrictor, so it bleeds itself as soon as you start the car. On my setup the radiator is the highest point though, and the upper radiator hose travels up to the radiator inlet.

I finally found an M10x1.25 and got a chance to fix Blox 490 "Gun Metal" shift knob that's been in my tool box for like 3 years. It was tapped with what I'm sure was the dullest tap in existence and I couldn't get it to fit any shifter I owned. This is probably why it was on sale so ultra cheap when I bought it. Its 490 grams (17.3oz) of stainless steel and it pairs well with the MiataRoadster short shifter.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433529282

Its funny how little things can change stuff so dramatically. The MR shifter is great and this made it even better. I've never really liked any aftermarket knob I've ever tried, but I've also never used a "weighted" shifter before. This thing is great! Now I just need to figure out how to cover up the exposed stalk and I'll be in business.

Also, motherfucker gets hot in the sun and takes forever to cool down. I guess its trying to encourage me to shift faster :rofl:

the solution is on the passenger floor

though i would use a clean sock to cover the knob when parked :giggle:

<p>Thunderhill July 18th/19th?</p><p>150 per day?</p><p>I might be signing up.</p><p>http://trackmasters-racing.com/index...p;event_id=157</p>

<p>Thunderhill July 18th/19th?</p><p>150 per day?</p><p>I might be signing up.</p><p>http://trackmasters-racing.com/index...p;event_id=157</p>

I thought about that. The wife is going to knit me a shift knob beanie though :party:

The solution is a hacky sack. Cut a hole in the end, remove the filler, and fit over knob. Black leather ones look nice, stay put and keep it cool.

All sorts of them on ebay for cheap. Warning: cloth (woven) ones are a bit too large. You need the leather ones to fit tightly.

/\ This sounds like a really cool idea. Why have I never heard it before

Because nobody plays hacky sack anymore?

Wife is already jazzed up about knitting things so that'll have to do. I do like the black leather hacky sack idea though.

<p>....thunderhill?</p>

Because I am a cheap-ass designer, and I came up with it?

Need to check calendar.

The box from Trackspeed showed up today!

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433543643

:yippee:

Thunderhill in July is brutal. Bring your cool shirt.

--Ian

Probably why its so cheap

There is a very good chance I've be working in Arizona in July. So...

Thunderhill will be a nice break.