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A bit about myself. 61 years old and still enjoying the car hobby. A child during the 60’s muscle car era; that’s when/how I got hooked. Spent my teenage years hanging out at the Baileyton, AL drag strip wrenching on a Vega wagon called Charlie’s Angel. This was back when every young boy I hung out with had a poster of Farrah Fawcett hanging in his room.
Built/resurrected several cars over the last 40 years with the last being a LS-powered Brunton Stalker. Somewhere along the way, I transitioned from straight line acceleration to enjoying HPDEs. Tracked the Stalker at various venues such as COTA, VIR, NJMP, Barber, Cresson, Eagles Canyon and the now gone forever Texas World Speedway.
Fast forward to 2018; my son is 15 and my daughter 13 (yep, married late in life) and I want to teach them both how to drive a stick. Not sure what the current generation refers to a manual transmission car as, but in my day, it was a ‘stick’. Told my kids ‘if you learn to drive a stick, you can go to any country in the world and drive anything there’. My search for the right vehicle lead to my purchasing a 1999 10th anniversary Miata with 123K miles out of the Houston, TX area. The car, while cosmetically-challenged, was mechanically sound. After the task of teaching my kids the art of driving a car with a real clutch, the Miata became a part of the family. Even bone stock, it was (yes, was) a blast to hop in and drive. We even gave it a name, The Blue Beast.
Last year, my son expressed an interest in either turning The Blue Beast into a dedicated track car, or using it as a donor for an Exocet built. I gave him the choice…he went with an Exocet build. I put the Stalker up for sale to fund the build and a track day buddy of mine purchased the car almost immediately. This is the part where I say ‘If you have children, and you are presented with the opportunity to engage in a bonding experience like this with them, then do it’. With the Stalker sold and an Exocet kit ordered, we began the disassembly of our Miata. My daughter even joined in and the three of us ended up spending some very valuable bonding time in the shop turning wrenches and getting dirty. In the end, we stripped the little Miata of every nut and bolt and dove head first into the Exocet build.
As I write, my son is now in his first year at Southern Arkansas University (full ride on academic scholarships plus he’s running track), so he’s left the nest. My daughter, even though she’s home, her high school schedule is no less hectic and is fully packed with academics and sports. Prior to one college departure and school starting back, the kids and I managed to complete a mock build of the Exocet, take it apart for powdercoating and complete some of the reassembly.
So, this brings me to why I decided to join this forum? The world of Miata’s is relatively new to me and I found myself constantly researching and digging for information. One site I continued returning to time and time again was this forum. Yesterday, after discovering the difference between VICS and VTCS (yes, knowledge gleaned from this forum), I learned which one I had, why I needed to retain it, and how to plumb it properly. Going forward, I’ll need some handholding as I learn more about Miatas and the mods I’m doing. Some, for the first time. For instance, I added fuel injection for the first time to anything in 2001 and have done other fuel injected builds since then, but I’ve never done a build with a stand alone ECU. I’m using a MS3Pro Evo on the Exocet because I wanted to challenge myself to learn something new. I know enough to know that I don’t know enough and will need guidance from this community. Also, I’ve never done a power adder, so throw a turbocharger into the mix.
Anyway, enough chatter from me. In closing, my 16 year old daughter has been driving a stick for three years. Her daily driver is a one owner low mileage YJ with a five speed. However, we all miss The Blue Beast and are now on the hunt for another low buck Miata for fun drives around town. As for the Exocet, my daughter will most likely end up being the one who tracks it….I love it.
A few photos.
The Stalker we sold to finance the Exocet build. Last track day we did with this car; Eagles Canyon Raceway.
Son and daughter take The Blue Beast for,one last drive.
You've definitely done a great job raising your kids.
Most teenagers want NOTHING to do with their parents yet yours are obviously enjoying this, it's quality time that most parents will NEVER have with their kids.
You should write a book on "The secret!".
You've definitely done a great job raising your kids.
Most teenagers want NOTHING to do with their parents yet yours are obviously enjoying this, it's quality time that most parents will NEVER have with their kids.
You should write a book on "The secret!".
Thanks for the compliment, and the idea…if only I could write. If I could give anyone any advise on parenting outside of a book, it would be simply this; take interest in your kids. Find some common ground, engage and be intentional. For me, when I finally wake up on the wrong side of the dirt, the greatest thing I will have ever done in this life will have been the privilege of being a dad.
Quick update on the Exocet family project. When the kids and I started the Exocet build, I knew absolutely nothing about MegaSquirt other than it was an alternative source of fuel injection management for pretty much anything with internal combustion. After much study, continued research of posts on this forum, and along with some guidance from Randy at Hoffman Innovations, I was able to start the car. While this is a first step in the process of getting the Exocet dialed in, it was a great accomplishment to hear the engine run after a two-year hiatus. Next step will be to get the idle worked out (she won’t idle and the rpm surges on the low end). However, a big shoutout to Hoffman and the brain trust on this forum.
Like you, I started out in drag racing, then spent some time racing motorcycles, and eventually found myself with a Miata, and that Miata became a racecar and led to other Miatas.
Great looking Exocet project, and it's fantastic that your kids are interested and involved!
Really cool build. I was almost going to shame you for taking a very clean (from the looks of it) 10AE to cannibalize into an exo. But really, it's just a miata, and a great starting point. Your kids look PSYCHED in those pics, really nice to see them so happy about a car project in this day and age. Great work Dad!
Like you, I started out in drag racing, then spent some time racing motorcycles, and eventually found myself with a Miata, and that Miata became a racecar and led to other Miatas.
Great looking Exocet project, and it's fantastic that your kids are interested and involved!
Thanks! Glad to know I’m not the only old guy hanging out around here.
Really cool build. I was almost going to shame you for taking a very clean (from the looks of it) 10AE to cannibalize into an exo. But really, it's just a miata, and a great starting point. Your kids look PSYCHED in those pics, really nice to see them so happy about a car project in this day and age. Great work Dad!
Trust me when I say I had some reservations about taking that car apart. However, it was worth every nut and bolt to get to share the experience with my kids.
09-16-2022, 11:11 PM
Old Dog, New Tricks…Still Learning
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