Greetings from the Bay Area
12-30-2015, 02:48 PM
#1
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Location: Berkeley, CA
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Greetings from the Bay Area
Hello,
My name is Albert, and I'm in the middle of building a track Miata. I have added dual-purpose mods to cars in the past, but I purchased a Miata with the goal of building a caged car that I would worry less about tracking from both financial and safety perspectives.
I started off by taking a very gently used and perfectly well-maintained 1992 Base and proceeding to tear it apart. I rent a cheap-o 13x20' shop space in an industrial park for car and metal shop work, so I had plenty of room to tear into things after I got a few packages from 949, FM, and a couple of Spec Miata vendors. Most of the interesting parts are in my signature, but I'm also really trying to attend to all the little things that would waste my days at the track. Lots of McMaster-Carr orders for nice hardware have gone into this car. So far, this is an "everything but the power" build. This may change in the future.
After I got the car put pack together, I did a little initial street testing to make sure everything worked and immediately towed it to TC Designs for a NASA PT-legal cage and a halo seat install (Sparco Ergo). Although I have no plans to W2W the car, it looks like a nice cage spec for an HPDE car. The cage build is ongoing, but there are plenty of items on my prep checklist for when I get the car back.
I have a flat towing setup, and the Miata tows quite nicely behind my Volvo V70R. The 3300lb US tow rating, strong power, and 330mm brakes make this an easy train to drive.
My name is Albert, and I'm in the middle of building a track Miata. I have added dual-purpose mods to cars in the past, but I purchased a Miata with the goal of building a caged car that I would worry less about tracking from both financial and safety perspectives.
I started off by taking a very gently used and perfectly well-maintained 1992 Base and proceeding to tear it apart. I rent a cheap-o 13x20' shop space in an industrial park for car and metal shop work, so I had plenty of room to tear into things after I got a few packages from 949, FM, and a couple of Spec Miata vendors. Most of the interesting parts are in my signature, but I'm also really trying to attend to all the little things that would waste my days at the track. Lots of McMaster-Carr orders for nice hardware have gone into this car. So far, this is an "everything but the power" build. This may change in the future.
After I got the car put pack together, I did a little initial street testing to make sure everything worked and immediately towed it to TC Designs for a NASA PT-legal cage and a halo seat install (Sparco Ergo). Although I have no plans to W2W the car, it looks like a nice cage spec for an HPDE car. The cage build is ongoing, but there are plenty of items on my prep checklist for when I get the car back.
I have a flat towing setup, and the Miata tows quite nicely behind my Volvo V70R. The 3300lb US tow rating, strong power, and 330mm brakes make this an easy train to drive.
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12-30-2015, 10:26 PM
#3
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I can post pictures later, but the seat will be on custom side mounts with the rear "humps" removed from the floor for maximum low.
Basically, pay your cage builder and it will work.
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01-01-2016, 11:25 AM
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Savington speaks the truth.
I love your workshop idea. When I lived in SF I rented a shipping container to keep my car in while I rebuilt it. The 10x20 outer dimensions didnt allow much space though, so I had to roll it out to work on it.
Where is your workshop, and do you mind sharing what the rent is?
I love your workshop idea. When I lived in SF I rented a shipping container to keep my car in while I rebuilt it. The 10x20 outer dimensions didnt allow much space though, so I had to roll it out to work on it.
Where is your workshop, and do you mind sharing what the rent is?
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01-02-2016, 01:11 PM
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I love your workshop idea. When I lived in SF I rented a shipping container to keep my car in while I rebuilt it. The 10x20 outer dimensions didnt allow much space though, so I had to roll it out to work on it.
Where is your workshop, and do you mind sharing what the rent is?
Where is your workshop, and do you mind sharing what the rent is?
It's about 5 minutes from the Coliseum, and I pay about $300 a month.
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01-09-2016, 06:34 PM
#15
My shop is actually about 15 feet wide, since it includes a full-length 2' deep workbench along one side. I used to rent a 10x17' garage, and the big benefit for me is that my current space has more-or-less "soft" boundaries: if I need to pull my engine, I can annex some of the aisle space in front of my shop and get about 30' of length, as long as I'm nice about it. There are also a few areas in the warehouse with grinders, drill presses, and benches so I can do things like control arm bushings away from my car if I'm out of bench space.
It's about 5 minutes from the Coliseum, and I pay about $300 a month.
It's about 5 minutes from the Coliseum, and I pay about $300 a month.
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