Nugget-The '94 Miata

[theothersawyer]

Well I bet you are wondering why the hell I named my car Nugget. Well, my sister drives a Lava Orange Mazdaspeed which she named Cheeze-It, so I figured I needed to name my car after a food to keep with the trend. Well a friend of mine saw my car and said "aww look at the little nugget" and I knew that is what I wanted to name it. Anyway on to the car.

I was looking for a nice NA for a first car and came across a nice red one in Clearwater, FL. Well I fell in love with it, but I never actually drove the car because I didn't know how to drive a stick!
This is how the car looked when i first got it.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/DSCN0336.jpg

Then for Christmas my sister gave me some Racing Beat springs to lower the car a bit. She bought them 3 months before I even got the car!

Then I brought it home, drove it for a month, if even that, and I decided to go to a Mustang car show in Florida on the way back home from the show the car decided it wanted to leave me stranded!
You can read all about that here http://www.mx5atlanta.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6223&highlight=kaboom


The first mods I bought (center console, shift boot, and headunit)
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/DSCN0516.jpg

After saving up some money I picked up a set of Chaparral's from RSpeed
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4111/5079763306_94b341b02b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/5079763306/)

Next on the list was to get rid of the awful torn up, faded, and yellow rear windowed soft top. I was so embarrassed about it that I don't even have any pictures of it, so I got a new glass windowed top! The top I bought was pretty dirty, but underneath all of the dirt was a nice top I just had to find it, so the cleaning began!
Picked up a bottle of this:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5215/5475071878_9cdf9c9348_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/5475071878/)

And the side-by-side before and after pic
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5139/5475072392_f5a3d04691_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/5475072392/)

[theothersawyer]

Then around this time was when **.net had the thread about how to redesign the NA bumper where Adore photoshopped the NC bumper to an NA and I fell in love! Unfortunately I knew that since I was broke and wouldn't be able to justify spending a so much money on a bumper that I would never get one. Well, I was lucky because a local member bought one and decided it was just too low for his car and didn't want the hassle of such a low front end. I got the bumper for a partial trade of my OEM bumper + cash!

Thankfully I got the bumper of my dreams, but I had to drive around like this for AWHILE due to funds.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/DSCN1810.jpg
So after about 4-6 months I finally got it painted!
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6122/5952161159_93d7b19e55_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/5952161159/)

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6133/5952177269_7577238e5a_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/5952177269/)

Next came the painting of the bottom portion of the bumper to make it look just like the NC.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6027/5992424199_9f4dddd6c9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/5992424199/)

This bumper looked even better than I thought and now I would catch myself drooling while staring at my car.

[theothersawyer]

Next on the list was to get rid of my beat up steering wheel, so I got a basically brand new NB Nardi wheel installed! I also picked up the floor mats and the shift knob around this same time. Sorry for the crappy picture and the dirty interior.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/DSCN1927.jpg

Got an R package rear lip! (The Kosei's were my sisters and we were swapping wheels that day for fun)
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5240/5910974910_0ff0f83068_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/5910974910/)

Roll bar time!
With the help of...or should I say thanks to Eric (RotornutFD3S) I now have a roll bar. It is a sport bar.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6093/6221324898_6abc02e071_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/6221324898/)


That pretty much brings us to where the car stands today!
Oh yeah how could I forget about this mod!
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6231/6278487047_959c641e21_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/6278487047/)

On to some random pics!
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6115/6326112081_d0a8243ba1_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/6326112081/)
JDM angles yo!
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6117/6326079941_1a29fa98e6_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/6326079941/)

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6113/6326083259_3eae70bc68_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/6326083259/)

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6096/6326835548_15073c7dd2_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/6326835548/)
All I need now is a nice intercooler in that big opening!
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6037/6326094923_c1ee6bd487_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/6326094923/)

And now that is how the car sits for now and probably will sit that way for a while since I am now in college and paying for school!

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/PixelCar-1.png

[miata5620]

You know I like that bumper but once you painted the bottom part black I think that really help make it pop and look even better.

[exdotcomer]

love that bumper

[phillyb]

i sort of have a cat named nugget...
she's like 3, but recently a friend has been calling her nugget.

[theothersawyer]

love that bumper
Thank you!


i sort of have a cat named nugget...
she's like 3, but recently a friend has been calling her nugget.
That's cool!

[phillyb]

just noticed the bumper - like it a lot

[theothersawyer]

Thank you, sir!

[theothersawyer]

Garage Vary rear bumper installed!
This picture prove I need to do something for sideskirts or paint the side skirts red to lower the side of the car.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/DSCN2069.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/DSCN2067.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/DSCN2070.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/DSCN2075.jpg

[ChrisJuliano]

Yeah the black side needs to go, with those front/rear bumpers it makes it look weird:p

Nice car though

[theothersawyer]

Yeah the black side needs to go, with those front/rear bumpers it makes it look weird:p

Nice car though

I have some side skirts waiting to be installed to solve that problem!

I was on my way down to Florida for the 12 hours of Sebring and hit a tire tread :(
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/ac67da84.jpg

[theothersawyer]

Well it has been a little while since I have updated this and a few things have changed.

I got my windows tinted which makes a HUGE difference. (Yes I know, the black needs to go and I still have side skirt waited to be installed)
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/IMG_1175.jpg
Next I got a KG Works spoiler and LOVE the way it looks!
http://images55.fotki.com/v586/photos/4/1877024/10554917/IMG_1744-vi.jpg

http://images50.fotki.com/v1515/photos/4/1877024/10554917/IMG_1745-vi.jpg
And a random interior shot!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/IMG_9339.jpg

[blenderblast]

Car looks nice!!
and not to take the attention away from your car, but what does your sister's car look like? (swapping the koseis made me wonder)

[theothersawyer]

Thanks man!
My sister car:
She no longer has the fastback.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/246608ee.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/7f65c68b.jpg

[Gene Rodriguez]

Thanks man!
My sister car:
She no longer has the fastback.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/246608ee.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/7f65c68b.jpg


i give so much respect to whoever has a fastback considering how expensive it is and much more a girl owned one

[theothersawyer]

i give so much respect to whoever has a fastback considering how expensive it is and much more a girl owned one

She gets a lot of weird looks when she gets out of the car! Obviously it is not her driving in the picture though. Her BF is driving and I'm in the passenger seat! lol

[Spinnywhoosh]

Congrats on MOTM! Hopefully you buy something a little less stupid than what I got, lol. Were you able to get your bumper fixed?

[theothersawyer]

Thank you! I already got my part and will hopefully be installing it today!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/14226C1F-BD1B-4C44-BC0B-B309FD62AFA9-17791-00000765151D0472.jpg

Also, no I haven't gotten the bumper fixed yet, but I do have some plans for it!

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Very sexy!

[theothersawyer]

Intalled! It is a crappy sell phone picture. I moved just enough while taking the picture to make it blurry! I will get better pictures probably Friday!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/B2223F4D-72F8-47D2-AA36-28BF58FD52C5-19721-0000084D4A28EA86-1.jpg

[theothersawyer]

I had fun today taking pictures of the domo guys that I got with the gauges! :D

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/IMG_0347.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/IMG_0337.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/IMG_0342.jpg
My dog, Enzo, wanted to hang out! :D
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/IMG_0319.jpg

[Spinnywhoosh]

Gauge cluster looks really cool. Did you have those already?

[maharaj]

How difficult was it to do the guages?

[theothersawyer]

Gauge cluster looks really cool. Did you have those already?
Yeah, I got the gauges a while back and I love them! Revlimiter makes awesome products!!!! The needles being in different spots takes a bit of getting used to, but now I love them! I get compliments on the gauges all the time!!


How difficult was it to do the guages?
Super simple! Adam has the directions perfectly laid out on his website!
Gauge instructions:
http://revlimiter.net/mods/gauge_install.php
HVAC Panel instructions:
http://revlimiter.net/mods/hvac_install.php

[theothersawyer]

Happy 3 year anniversary to me and my car! :D I wish I had time to give her a bath or get her something special, but I am too busy studying for finals! :(

[atank]

Really looks good, and when you install the side skirts it all will come together nice!

[SM16RMSM]

One of the best looking cars I seen. I waiting to see pictures too. Can't wait to see the bumper fixed and side skirts installed.

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Happy 3 year anniversary to me and my car! :D I wish I had time to give her a bath or get her something special, but I am too busy studying for finals! :(

Congrats! That is really impressive seeing as how I haven't owned a single car longer then a year and a half! (On car number 6 :x)

Love the gauges and HVAC panel. If only I had more money. Anyway, congratulations to you and Nugget.

[theothersawyer]

Congrats! That is really impressive seeing as how I haven't owned a single car longer then a year and a half! (On car number 6 :x)

Love the gauges and HVAC panel. If only I had more money. Anyway, congratulations to you and Nugget.

Thank you!! It is my first car and I never plan on getting rid of it!

Here is a nice before and after...well I guess it is not after since I'm not done modifying it!

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/575534B3-C607-4D35-BC8A-6E0F4C06EAF5-47962-0000141195DC14C1.jpg

[I<3flippyheadlights]

You have the start, then a nice half-way picture

[theothersawyer]

Right! The beginning, the middle and the....well hopefully there is never an end!

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Best way to look at it!

[theothersawyer]

Nothing has really changed with my car lately, but I did photoshop the sides of the car red. The sides definitely look better color matched!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/Edits_zps5879f69e.png
I have Racing Beat side skirts waiting to be installed, but I think a may go a different route.

I also just got a nice cloth top that needs to be installed as well!

[Gene Rodriguez]

what happend to the fastback?

[theothersawyer]

what happend to the fastback?

That was my sisters fastback. She has a Lava Orange MSM. She sold the fast back awhile ago to buy a parts car for an older Jetta she was working on.

[GripFTW]

Here is a nice before and after...well I guess it is not after since I'm not done modifying it!

That is quie a transformation already. Very nice.

[SpeedWorks]

your car is looking amazing so far man. every time i want to see how my front bumper is going to look when fitted, I look at your car. even more so now with that last pic you posted. its really lookin good. keep it up man

[theothersawyer]

your car is looking amazing so far man. every time i want to see how my front bumper is going to look when fitted, I look at your car. even more so now with that last pic you posted. its really lookin good. keep it up man

Thank you! I only wish my build was as awesome as yours is though!

There should be some major updates to this thread soon! (Well I hope so! Keep getting parts with no time to install them!)

[wannafbody]

Did you get the fiberglass or kevlar bumper?

[theothersawyer]

Did you get the fiberglass or kevlar bumper?

It's fiberglass. I got it before they came out with the Kevlar version.

[theothersawyer]

:D
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/7BD3C846-F7E6-4F8E-B3F3-BFBD7C331EDD-4826-000001CBE7F8A98D.jpg

Hopefully I can do a proper photoshoot tomorrow!!

[theothersawyer]

Well, I was able to get out and take some pictures of the side diffusers today! :D
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8465/8371753756_a02877d7f3_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/8371753756/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8093/8370686847_3b30350160_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/8370686847/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8083/8370687823_779c59fe38_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/8370687823/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8370687329_27eccc35c1_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/8370687329/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8086/8370698515_2dec10fc69_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/8370698515/)

[Demon I Am]

looks great!

[SpeedWorks]

man your car is coming out awesome. you might want to paint your rocker panels though to tie in lower front and rear bumpers. aside from that, your car is looking amazing. i'm really digging the rear bumper you are running.

[theothersawyer]

Thank you!!! The rockers will be painted red to make it flow better! Also the rear bumper is a Garage Vary piece.

[SpeedWorks]

i really do like how your car is simple yet awesome

[theothersawyer]

Thank you, I LOVE your build as well!

[SpeedWorks]

thank you sir. keep up your good work. maybe when my car is done and i take a drive up to georgia, we can meet up and admire the miatas

[theothersawyer]

That sounds like a great deal!!

[theothersawyer]

I worked all day Sunday, and was on my way home to catch the end of the Super Bowl, but when I pulled into the garage steam started to come out of the hood. Great. So Eric (RotorNutFD3S) came over after work to help diagnose the problem.
Excuse the blurry picture, but you get the idea. Coolant on the subframe. (Yes, I know I have an oil leak)
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/E3D4B3FC-5614-4748-8757-1343D81FDA7F-12005-000005033D51FBC0_zpscd827627.jpg
This is not how I wanted to spend my day!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/C5E7767B-A238-48A6-8B84-1DD062787519-12005-000005036B70530D_zps12933218.jpg
So we figured out that the thermostat had died and it was also leaking. Cool. That was an easy fix! Oh wait, there is another leak. ****. Luckily the clamp on one of the coolant hoses just came loose and the hose was leaking. Another easy fix. (Although not the easiest spot to get to) We noticed the alternator belt was split and missing a rib, but we only needed it to last until the weekend of the 16th. (That is when we will be replacing the front main seal)

Yay!! Car is back and working just fine! :D
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/7243D0CB-C73C-47B2-984A-AB721FA73C7D-12005-0000050374C7F315_zps13e39199.jpg

That is...until today. I drove the car to school with no problems. Everything was working great! I went to leave class about 30 minutes ago and upon start up I had belt squeal, which has been happening for a while now, but I figured the belt needed some adjusting. Then I got a nice smell of rubber with a nice little POP!!! ****. The belt broke and I knew it. It is now sitting in the parking lot at school waiting for Eric and Taylor (FooSchnickens) to get here with parts and tools.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/CC8EFB5A-079D-4207-8717-7E0ABADC8450-12005-00000503839A6D80_zps8324d8a2.jpg

You can almost see Rspeed in this picture, but Rspeed does me no good when it is 8 o'clock at night!

I don't think this is what my belt is supposed to look like....
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/29C9E025-532C-47EE-837E-BBFD16885F05-12489-00000524CCEAF50B_zps343a7ece.jpg

Anyways, I'm back home and the car is running great!

[theothersawyer]

Does anyone want this car? It is really pissing me off!!!

The car just died on me while going to school! Thankfully I was only a few miles from home, but unfortunately it died and I pulled into a parking lot, with a hill, so I couldn't push it myself! I had to get my mom, brother-in-law and sister to help push it! I thought these cars were supposed to be lightweight!?!?!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/01DC482B-27CF-44CA-9883-DD300B42BC2C-1209-0000003641844ABE_zps18411494.jpg

[Martin]

Time for an LS3 swap!

[theothersawyer]

Trust me, I have thought about doing a swap, but I am a big Ford fan, so no Chevy motors are going into my car. If anything, I would put a 2.0L ecoboost out of the Focus ST into my car! :D

Actually my ideal swap would be the 5.0 out of the Mustang, but I have heard it is too big. Since I can't afford to do a swap anyways mine as well dream big!

[Martin]

The new(ish) overhead cam 5.0 would be awesome if it would fit.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/28/deep-dive-fords-all-new-5-0-v8/

[theothersawyer]

Woo!! Car is back in action after a quick 10 minute fix yesterday! The fuel injector harness was probably never secured properly and shorted out on the EGR tube after said tube melted through it. Pretty easy fix since it only got one wire and a fuse.


http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/0DE0880C-27EE-4C7B-9B49-AC7D208DC4C9-6204-0000013EB722B993_zpsf5b6b026.jpg

[theothersawyer]

I got a set of tsi's yesterday. Here is a quick picture I took at work today!

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/EA238EF1-3060-4DFE-8A33-6A0398972CC4-38853-0000079BFC823402_zps7fff256a.jpg
That would be my sisters MSM on the left!

[sillysaurus]

I love Nugget :3:

[theothersawyer]

Haha thank you! If you are going to Miatapalooza you will see Nugget!

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Haha thank you! If you are going to Miatapalooza you will see Nugget!

You're going! Sarah and I will be registering the cars!

[theothersawyer]

Yup! My sister and her fiancé are taking her MSM and I'm taking my car!

Also, I cut out the broken front lip!

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/133BFEC8-D1DE-4116-BD90-6988282167E2-41797-0000084764F0449B_zps215e3bdc.jpg

[I<3flippyheadlights]

SAWEET!!!!!

[SpeedWorks]

man, your car looks nicer and nicer each time you post a new pic. keep it up

[theothersawyer]

Just got a package in the mail!!!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/5C4B3846-9589-4E98-BE91-130F606219A2-2811-000000810D2B32B0_zpsb28313f3.jpg

Fog lights!!!! I can't wait to install them! The brackets should be here on Monday!

[Sawyer]

It's going to look sooooo good with the fog lights installed.
Your car is looking way better than mine. Cheez-It some how managed to get so stock looking now. I need to stop selling all my parts!

[theothersawyer]

Thank you!! Glad to see you are finally checking this forum!

[theothersawyer]

Brackets came in today! Here they are mocked up!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/55034A45-D11E-4E1F-A6C0-BC5A627ABFF4-8478-000001E05A15B8AD_zps830f28e4.jpg
I know I have a million paint chips on my bumper. I am hopefully getting a full repaint over the summer! :D

[theothersawyer]

Just got my emissions done!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/03BA5336-09F6-487D-BA73-BC6C63A96289-18371-000003779DBDB444_zps5b497fcd.jpg
Passed with flying colors!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/25AA3209-AE07-4FED-9E8A-1A06D2F7A4BB-18371-00000377962C0CC7_zps68fd1646.jpg

The guy who did it was hilarious! Definitely the best time I have ever had getting my emissions done!

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Just in time for MIATAPALOOZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't wait to see you there :D

[treeafodo]

This is my first time looking at this thread, nice work! It must be pretty cool to have a sister that is into cars as well.

[theothersawyer]

Sadly, none of my parts have been installed! :( I had planned on installing them last Friday, but then my rear caliper decided to seize and that obviously comes first! I was really hoping to have my fogs installed in time! Oh well!

[theothersawyer]

Okay, so not much has changed with the car, but today I changed out the spark plugs becuase there were some major stumbling issues. Thankfully the plugs seemed to do the job!!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zpsea1c2bf9.jpg


I somehow don't have a picture of my new cloth top, but that is because I have been enjoying the top down weather!!! The new top does not leak though!!!

And yet another thing to add to the to do list! :D

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zpsab65b61e.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zpsab65b61e.jpg.html)


It seems as though I bought entirely too much material! Oh well, looks like I will make door panels and the transmission tunnel piece!


Still waiting for my door pulls to arrive! Slightly sketchy since I did not get any sort of email from !NJOY, but I have faith that they will just show up on my door step!

Parts waiting to be installed:
Fog lights
KG Works Spoiler
SS Clutch Line
Polished Valve Cover
Mazdaspeed Rear View Mirror
Over head Panel thingy that the sun visors are attached to out of a 1997, since it has a dome light
Make custom door panels
!NJOY Door Pulls

[Dandy]

I ordered INJOY's visor plugs about 2 months ago and they showed up pretty quickly through USPS. I don't think I had any confirmation either, other than PayPal.

Looking forward to pics of your interior.

[theothersawyer]

Yeah I received the Paypal notification. I'm not too worried about it, since they are a known company!

[theothersawyer]

Well I have been waiting for my door pulls to get here in the mail and they finally showed up today!!!!! I was super excited and they look like really great pieces!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps9b438929.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps9b438929.jpg.html)

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps4e877c9d.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps4e877c9d.jpg.html)

Then I decided to just lay the door panel onto the material and get an idea for everything, but I didn't plan on making the panels today.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps1ee99a72.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps1ee99a72.jpg.html)

Well, I was just too excited and ended up making the door panels anyways!! :D

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps73f4f368.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps73f4f368.jpg.html)

I will definitely get some better pictures soon!

[Dandy]

Nice work TOS. It looks really nice. I bet it is feeling really nice to be sitting inside your car.

[theothersawyer]

Oh yeah! It is nice, and it feels even better knowing that I made them!! It really didn't take that long and wasn't that hard! It took ~1 hour per door panel.

[atank]

Man those door panels look great, now on to the tranny tunnel.......

[theothersawyer]

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/IMG_0017_zpsb5ead7bd.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/IMG_0017_zpsb5ead7bd.jpg.html)

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/IMG_0024_zps5144754f.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/IMG_0024_zps5144754f.jpg.html)

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/IMG_0065_zpsc95180d2.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/IMG_0065_zpsc95180d2.jpg.html)

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Classy as fuck

[theothersawyer]

Well I bought Laurabeth's (my sister) old coilovers off of Cheeze-It (her MSM that is now sold :( )! A part of that car will live on with our family! I installed the rears tonight and will finish the fronts tomorrow! They are JIC Magic FLT-TAR.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1001690_10151442061936184_771357023_n.jpg

As you can see, the paint on my car is chipping like a mofo and the fog lights still are not installed... :(

[SpeedWorks]

i really like how your car is coming along

[theothersawyer]

i really like how your car is coming along

Thank you, sir!


Well I went out today to take some pictures, since I installed the coilovers! My brother-in-law helped adjust the ride height the other day and I think I am happy with where it is at! You can also see the new exhaust, which I think sounds fantastic and it fills up the massive exhaust hole in the GV rear bumper!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7397/9398397488_c209b16a23_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9398397488/)
~IMG_0531 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9398397488/) by theotherSawyer (http://www.flickr.com/people/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3770/9395631977_6a91a89529_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9395631977/)
~IMG_0510 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9395631977/) by theotherSawyer (http://www.flickr.com/people/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2869/9398401006_32abfb1c37_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9398401006/)
~IMG_0503 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9398401006/) by theotherSawyer (http://www.flickr.com/people/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7434/9398402800_274b687d08_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9398402800/)
~IMG_0498 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9398402800/) by theotherSawyer (http://www.flickr.com/people/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5488/9395636573_418537ff3c_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9395636573/)
~IMG_0475 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9395636573/) by theotherSawyer (http://www.flickr.com/people/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7394/9395638173_1f73ea9ec9_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9395638173/)
~IMG_0470 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9395638173/) by theotherSawyer (http://www.flickr.com/people/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7341/9395818885_5d855be05a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9395818885/)
~IMG_0557 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9395818885/) by theotherSawyer (http://www.flickr.com/people/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7433/9395820843_4cd0c56897_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9395820843/)
~IMG_0542 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/9395820843/) by theotherSawyer (http://www.flickr.com/people/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

[Dandy]

Looking really good. Is it feeling finished yet?

[kung fu jesus]

Just came in to say nice thread. I still misread the name of your car for this a couple of times:

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32200000/-Ted-Nugent-rock-guitar-legends-32208549-800-600.jpg

[theothersawyer]

Looking really good. Is it feeling finished yet?
Is a project ever finished? It needs a paint job badly! I mean you can't tell much in the pictures, but photoshop does wonders! haha Plus I still have lots of parts to install! It is definitely close to where I want it though!


Just came in to say nice thread. I still misread the name of your car for this a couple of times:

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32200000/-Ted-Nugent-rock-guitar-legends-32208549-800-600.jpg

Hahah Ted Nugent!!!

[SpeedWorks]

I really like how your car has come along. very nice choices in parts and execution. can't wait to see further progress.

[theothersawyer]

Thank you!! There is still a lot to be done to get it where I want it!!

[SpeedWorks]

Thank you!! There is still a lot to be done to get it where I want it!!

I know what you mean. Just don't rush to get things done. Take your time and do it right. That is one thing i've learned when building a project car.

[atank]

Looks very good Sawyer!!

[theothersawyer]

Well this happened today....
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zpseab0f98e.jpg
Picked up a hardtop. Paints faded but it was a good deal for an OE hardtop with defrost and a headliner!!

[Hyper]

Nothing has really changed with my car lately, but I did photoshop the sides of the car red. The sides definitely look better color matched!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/Edits_zps5879f69e.png
I have Racing Beat side skirts waiting to be installed, but I think a may go a different route.

!

put the RB side skirts dude and or put some other side skirts whatever brand you like, your car looks awesome!!!

[Gene Rodriguez]

how much was the hardtop :D

[theothersawyer]

put the RB side skirts dude and or put some other side skirts whatever brand you like, your car looks awesome!!!

I have the RSpeed side diffusers on, but I need to paint the sides of the car red now!!

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Looks dope, mang!

[theothersawyer]

Well, I went to the track the other day got in one session, and then the transmission started to make noises! :( So it seems like it's the pilot bearing! I ordered all of the parts the other day and they showed up very quickly, so props to Rosenthal Mazda and Goodwin Racing!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps7618043e.jpg

[theothersawyer]

Motor ready to be pulled!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zpsa673bd62.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zpsa673bd62.jpg.html)

Motor is out! Engine bay is dirty!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps90da2ed8.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps90da2ed8.jpg.html)

Dirty *** engine!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps6ac1484b.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps6ac1484b.jpg.html)

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps658f23fa.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps658f23fa.jpg.html)

"Even though the car has no heart, it still smiles. That is because it still has a soul"
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps7fd9108f.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps7fd9108f.jpg.html)

Clean Engine!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps8a394675.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps8a394675.jpg.html)

Clean Trans!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps4f756223.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps4f756223.jpg.html)

Cleaning the engine bay!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zpsaf094753.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zpsaf094753.jpg.html)

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zpsffb9634a.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zpsffb9634a.jpg.html)

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zpsdf1006b1.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zpsdf1006b1.jpg.html)

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps2ea029a3.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps2ea029a3.jpg.html)

So clean!!!!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zpsba68ff80.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zpsba68ff80.jpg.html)

Going in!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps5f775a6d.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps5f775a6d.jpg.html)

It is in! Time to button everything up!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zpsf84ca9be.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zpsf84ca9be.jpg.html)

NOOOO!!!! Water temp sensor broke so the car isn't going anywhere!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps301e7638.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps301e7638.jpg.html)

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Looks like everything went smoothly till the very end. Should be on the road soon again!

[theothersawyer]

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps2fd46f6d.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps2fd46f6d.jpg.html)

YAY! Car works and drove without making god awful noises! Drove the car back to Eric's house only to realize that one of the heater core hoses had a whole and is spraying coolant into the interior of the car. I guess it is time to replace that. This is getting rather annoying. I'm sick and tired of spending money!

[Dandy]

Hang in there buddy. We all go through those stages of bad luck (even when you are trying to do good). They don't last. If you are feeling down, just look at that ass you just posted. That ass is worth spoiling.

[theothersawyer]

Hang in there buddy. We all go through tose stages of bad luck (even when you are trying to do good). They don't last. If you are feeling down, just look at that ass you just posted. That ass is worth spoiling.

Thank you! It is irritating, but it will definitely be worth it in the end! I'm really disappointed that I didn't have my camera for that picture, because it had potential to be a really good picture, but Iphone+night time+shaky hands=not so great picture!

[atank]

Its easy to get discouraged, but everything will work out, just keep at it!!

[theothersawyer]

In preperation for pulling the dash, I started to take some of the interior apart on Saturday! Well, as I removed the glove box, I found these behind the glove box!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps744da954.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps744da954.jpg.html)

I wonder how old they are! Was it the PO or an owner before that, that lost them?!?

[I<3flippyheadlights]

All of it will be worth it in the end. :8):

[theothersawyer]

Should be replacing the heater core today!!! Assuming all goes according to plan, I'll be driving Nugget again later tonight!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[atank]

In preperation for pulling the dash, I started to take some of the interior apart on Saturday! Well, as I removed the glove box, I found these behind the glove box!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zps744da954.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/null_zps744da954.jpg.html)

I wonder how old they are! Was it the PO or an owner before that, that lost them?!?

Vintage Ray Bans ??

[theothersawyer]

Why must my car hate me???? Changed the heater core, then went to start the car and the coil pack is dead!!! :(

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Dude.... the heck is going on?!

[RotorNutFD3S]

Dude.... the heck is going on?!

Rule of Three. Everything with the pilot bearing and clutch install, then the heater core, then the coil pack. Hopefully it's all over now since the car is on the road again. :) That and I'm tired of working on it. lol

[theothersawyer]

The car is alive and well!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/null_zpse09bba71.jpg

[I<3flippyheadlights]

BACK ON THE ROAD!

Glad you have friends that can help!

[theothersawyer]

It is so great to finally drive the car again! I missed it!

[theothersawyer]

Here are some recent pictures! Didn't really have any good pictures with the hardtop!

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2864/10863239984_2c52b41124_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/10863239984/)

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2849/10863245304_302335e5bc_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/10863245304/)


http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3797/10863248474_e68e35809a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/10863248474/)

[Dandy]

Awesome pictures! The car looks great. Those bumpers really give Nugget a subtle low to the ground appearance that I just seem to like more and more. Right selection on the color and style of wheel. You have turned Nugget into one unque roadster.

[theothersawyer]

Awesome pictures! The car looks great. Those bumpers really give Nugget a subtle low to the ground appearance that I just seem to like more and more. Right selection on the color and style of wheel. You have turned Nugget into one unique roadster.

Thanks I really like the bumpers, but the car looks likes a teenage kid with acne! The paint is flaking off everywhere, and it really bothers me!(The front is WAY worse than the rear) But I know if I am going to get the car painted, I am going to do it right, which means I need to wait a while and save up money! Then I will have the car where I really want it visually (after I install all the parts I have waiting to be put on) and then it'll be time to turbo it...or put in an Ecoboost! Obviously, that all depends on what the future holds for me after I graduate!

[theothersawyer]

Forgot a picture!!!

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3786/10864601436_4bae4165e9_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/10864601436/)

[Dandy]

Well, the paint flake doesn't show up in the pictures. These are definitely calendar worthy pictures.

[atank]

Nice work Sawyer!!!

[theothersawyer]

Well, the paint flake doesn't show up in the pictures. These are definitely calendar worthy pictures.

Photoshop is an amazing thing! :P

Thanks for the kind words though!! I plan on having this car for the rest of my life, so I can't wait to see what's in her future!!

[theothersawyer]

Racing Beat away bar installed! :)
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/DFFCBA4C-4550-4654-972C-B5AE491752F2_zpsy93vx3of.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/DFFCBA4C-4550-4654-972C-B5AE491752F2_zpsy93vx3of.jpg.html)

[I<3flippyheadlights]

How does it feel?

[theothersawyer]

It feels great! I didn't really get to drive it too hard, since my drive to work is pretty much highway only. I got to throw it into one turn and it handled it very well! I always fly through this turn, but I was going about 5mph faster than I normally go and it handled it well, slight oversteer but it was very predictable!

[theothersawyer]

Fog lights installed! They aren't wired up yet, but the will be wired up next week! Waiting on the pigtails to arrive!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/56D3941B-ED9D-4443-A1AD-62E2131BA7C0_zps8vlevds6.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/56D3941B-ED9D-4443-A1AD-62E2131BA7C0_zps8vlevds6.jpg.html)

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/3B4336CC-525B-4ECD-8F3E-37273BE2DAE2_zpsxw9wauyx.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/3B4336CC-525B-4ECD-8F3E-37273BE2DAE2_zpsxw9wauyx.jpg.html)

[theothersawyer]

Well I'm sure most of you have heard about the crazy weather Atlanta has had today! I was on my way home and everything was going great until all of a sudden it wasn't going great! Terrible alignment and **** tires. Everything was smooth sailing until it just all of a sudden let go on me. I was able to maneuver around two trees though!

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/FA488391-B329-430D-937D-109951541632_zpskvdia54p.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/FA488391-B329-430D-937D-109951541632_zpskvdia54p.jpg.html)

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/07E4658C-1322-4A12-A84C-71FCA5BCE64D_zpsy3otl3gp.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/07E4658C-1322-4A12-A84C-71FCA5BCE64D_zpsy3otl3gp.jpg.html)

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/41BEC044-09CC-4EC5-9321-7A5E05BDEA3B_zpspucoanwf.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/41BEC044-09CC-4EC5-9321-7A5E05BDEA3B_zpspucoanwf.jpg.html)

Because my bumper doesn't accommodate tow hooks I had to get my mom to drive me home (2miles away) go get tools and the tow hook and remove the front bumper. A nice guy stopped and helped! Car is completely fine and sitting in a random neighborhood until I can get it back home!

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/F6A219AF-C433-4F76-B94F-0538197A32C3_zpsccttrqdo.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/F6A219AF-C433-4F76-B94F-0538197A32C3_zpsccttrqdo.jpg.html)

I just ordered a tow strap from Projet-G that should work perfectly for me! It will save me a lot of time if something like this was to ever happen again!

[Martin]

Wow, that sucks, dude!

Glad you and the car are okay.

[theothersawyer]

I just can't believe that the car is fine! The roads have turned completely into ice today. The difference between snow here and snow up north ( I'm from Michigan) is that none of the roads are plowed 24 hours later!

[Martin]

Northwest Arkansas doesn't know how (or have the equipment) to clear roads very well either. I just stay home if it snows at night or head home early if it starts snowing during the day.

[atank]

Glad you are okay!!!!!!!!

[maharaj]

EVERY year Atlanta gets snow/ice but continues to say that they don't. :shrug:

[Phatmiata]

I was just about to say, time to order or fab up a tow hook! Glad you and the car still in one piece, mostly. Time for some all season tires and crappy wheels, or maybe a winter beater car?

[theothersawyer]

Funny thing is, I was looking up dailys last week!! Was thinking about a Fiesta or a Focus. I drive 500+ miles a week, so having a daily that gets 35+mpg highway would be awesome!

[theothersawyer]

Well my tow strap came in from Project-G! Ignore the dirty car. I haven't washed it since the roads are currently covered in salt/sand and it's just going to get dirty again!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/C1BE247C-CD47-40F4-A929-6C2B321EF379_zpsmsijvyvg.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/C1BE247C-CD47-40F4-A929-6C2B321EF379_zpsmsijvyvg.jpg.html)

And I need to reinstall my fog lights. I had to remove them when I removed the bumper earlier and was in too much of a time crunch when I put the bumper back on to reinstall them!

[theothersawyer]

200,000 smiles on the Miata!!!!!! :D
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2863/12525322485_f9dbb01ee3_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/12525322485/)
IMG_0394 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/12525322485/) by theotherSawyer (http://www.flickr.com/people/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2878/12525810684_c89c456128_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/12525810684/)
~IMG_0393 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/12525810684/) by theotherSawyer (http://www.flickr.com/people/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

[theothersawyer]

Finally took some real pictures of the tow hook and fog lights installed! :D
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7274/13574431205_dc1b4fe69b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/mFwvtk)

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3786/13574432095_f3854b0fe4_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/mFwvJF)

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2877/13574489063_ebb2670619_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/mFwNET)

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2912/13574489813_24a8afcb3d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/mFwNTP)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7371/13574806764_f3af5b094f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/mFyr7u)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/13574492463_738c0329cc_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/mFwPFv)

[atank]

Your Roadster is looking very good Danny!!!!!!!

[theothersawyer]

Thanks Anthony!

[theothersawyer]

Well, lately I have been getting "bored" of my car. I have been working so much lately that when I actually have some time off all that I want to do is sleep, and haven't been working on my car or cleaning my car. The car had become a device to get me from point A to point B. The other day I had some time off and got to use some of my interior cleaning products my parents got me for my birthday a few months ago. I did not realize how dirty my interior actually was. I ended up spend about 2 hours in 90* heat cleaning my interior!

It made me start to appreciate the car again and I went for a little drive afterwards. No destination, no time to be back home, no places to go, radio turned off, and the top down. I forgot how calming and relaxing that can actually be. (Except for my damn exhaust rattle which bothers the hell out of me!)

Yesterday I went to my friends house where he has a shop and runs a small business out of it working on and tuning Subaru's.

There were 9 Subaru's there that day.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3846/14468006214_bca1eb518a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/o3ujc1)

My nice clean interior! :D
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2930/14469160555_e2b7731949_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/o3Aekr)

I just LOVE this steering wheel. I always want to get an aftermarket one, but I just cannot part ways with this guy.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3871/14282714967_457fdd989b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nL7Dyk)


Now I want to spend money on my car again, but I just don't know what to get. The paint is really starting to fail badly, but I am not wanting to dump thousands into a paint job. Any suggestions on what would look good on my car? What should my next purchase be?

[atank]

K.G. Works Gauge Cluster, K1 Racing Exhaust, New Side Mirrors to match your Runabout Gas Lid, I can go on, and on, & on & on................:mrgreen:

[theothersawyer]

K.G. Works Gauge Cluster, K1 Racing Exhaust, New Side Mirrors to match your Runabout Gas Lid, I can go on, and on, & on & on................:mrgreen:

Always wanted to get a KG Works gauge cluster, but I don't think I can justify them at the price I'd have to pay for one.

I LOVE the way my current exhaust sounds, but I need to change out my old hangers since it moves around so much it bangs around under the car.

I kind of like the mirror idea, but then I would have to figure out which ones....hmmm

[atank]

Always wanted to get a KG Works gauge cluster, but I don't think I can justify them at the price I'd have to pay for one.

I LOVE the way my current exhaust sounds, but I need to change out my old hangers since it moves around so much it bangs around under the car.

I kind of like the mirror idea, but then I would have to figure out which ones....hmmm

Here you go, and a good price so far: http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e145744140

[theothersawyer]

My recent Google searches: Watanabe, TE37, Flyin Miata Turbo Kits, etc. I just can't get myself to pull the trigger on anything!! I don't think I can get myself to spend such a large chunk of money at one time!

[theothersawyer]

HUGE THANK YOU TO ERIC FOR HELPING ME! He is extremely busy lately and found time to help me get this car back together!


So after the last track event I parked the car because it was leaking coolant BAD! I was super busy and didn't get around to really working on it until about a month ago! What an event it has been...I love this car to death, but it always gives me such a PITA! Parts ordered straight from Mazda weren't fitting, because they were off by just the tiniest little bit, or seals were fitting but they would catch on something going in and they would tear. Stupid little things kept pushing the project back! It has been such a headache, but it is finally all put back together!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/6E68D051-5AFE-401C-987A-D4D755885195_zpsqlndekcp.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/6E68D051-5AFE-401C-987A-D4D755885195_zpsqlndekcp.jpg.html)



So I ordered a new timing belt pulley since the old one was so stuck it got damaged during removal, but....it didn't fit! It was mm's too small! Banged it on with a hammer and we were afraid it wasn't going to spin freely since the fit was so tight. When we gave it one final blow with the hammer it spun freely! Phew!


Next up was to finish buttoning up the front of the motor and an oring for the waterneck was somehow cut while installing it! Luckily the old one wasn't in that bad of condition so we used that one! While putting the thermostat housing back on we noticed the oring didn't fit! Another part ordered from Mazda that wasn't quite right! We were frustrated at this point so I kind of jokingly said "f*** it, let's throw it in the freezer!" It actually worked though!


What else happened....Oh! went to start the car after it was all back together and....nothing! Battery must be dead, so I went to the trunk to look and the contacts for the battery were completely corroded and when I touched it it fell apart! New contacts picked up from Walmart and it fired right up!


Look everything over for leaks and didn't see anything, but there was a weird almost knock noise from the head...S***!!! It did go away, assuming it is just from the car sitting for almost 6 months and oil not getting where it needed to right away!


My PWR radiator does have a little leak at one of the welds, which sucks so I guess I need to look for someone who can weld aluminum!






Yesterday I took the car to the track! Drove the car about 40 miles the day before the track day! That is how you test to make sure everything was put together properly!


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1700/25170047713_bfdebc1955_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Emc5gT)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1690/25796689345_c0dda8a927_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FiyLZX)


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1683/25166192504_840c4645ed_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/EkRjfL)


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1581/25675260222_fdcf7bfb80_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/F7Qqmo)


Car felt great on track and I was feeling more comfortable out there than I have in the past! I still have a ton to improve on and just need more track time under my belt!

[SpeedWorks]

Loving your car man.

[theothersawyer]

Two more photos of me on track! These photos were taken by chadbeephotography.com

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1515/25800392381_3f2569a8c3_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FiTKMp)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1469/25869441666_2c47d3948e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FpZDJj)

[theothersawyer]

After putting the whole car back together it still had a coolant leak! It's from the PWR radiator! Pulled it out tonight so I could get it fixed and put in the new A/C condenser (Thanks Rick!) so I can hopefully have A/C again!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/C291458A-5BEF-499A-BF6A-04F505C8FB60_zpsjprwigm5.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/C291458A-5BEF-499A-BF6A-04F505C8FB60_zpsjprwigm5.jpg.html)

[theothersawyer]

It is always an adventure with this car!

So I got the radiator back from the welder and....IT STILL LEAKS! Jzilla at Road Atlanta is in TWO days and I need this thing working! (You can barely see the coolant dripping down from the weld in this picture)
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/665D0ACA-34B2-4F99-AB36-19074C2EC338_zpsn01dylmz.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/665D0ACA-34B2-4F99-AB36-19074C2EC338_zpsn01dylmz.jpg.html)

Ended up going and buying JB Weld and JB Welding the sh*t out of it to hopefully make it leak free! I went with the putty because it seems to have all the requirements I needed with a very short set time! I don't have 24 hours to wait for the other types of JB to set. It isn't pretty, but it worked perfectly!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/AE17CC70-40B2-427C-B0C7-15F168DBA195_zpswcdnt4bi.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/AE17CC70-40B2-427C-B0C7-15F168DBA195_zpswcdnt4bi.jpg.html)

It said not to touch this stuff with your hands or to inhale any of the dust....I didn't have any gloves so I said screw it and used my hands then immediately smelled it, so if my hands fall off and I die you know why! lol



Turned it on and let it idle for a while and NO DRIPS!!!! Took it out for a spin and I miss this car! The ZHP is a fun car, but this is a damn go kart! Anyways, drove it for a good 30 minutes and drove it HARD! No drips! Also filled it up for the track!
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231/GaAsSlugger22/FD1BAF3B-D8AB-4510-8B2E-C08B3A812328_zpsswfk6j1c.jpg (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/GaAsSlugger22/media/FD1BAF3B-D8AB-4510-8B2E-C08B3A812328_zpsswfk6j1c.jpg.html)

Next project: Paint this thing....maybe.

[freedomgli]

Get 'er done! Sometimes bodge jobs are a necessary evil. Good luck at the event.

[Dandy]

This has always been one of my favorite cars with its unique bumper stylings.

[theothersawyer]

Get 'er done! Sometimes bodge jobs are a necessary evil. Good luck at the event.
Gotta do what you gotta do! And thanks! It'll be my first time driving at Road Atlanta!

This has always been one of my favorite cars with its unique bumper stylings.

Thank you! It desperately needs paint and a lot of work on the front bumper! Lots of rock chips and poor paint!

[NCGreasemonkey]

Where there is a southerner there is a fix! Run the piss outta it and let us know if it holds. :drinkto:

My future quote: I don't use duct-tape. They got that new fangled Gorilla tape now! And that shat is better than hot wax!

[theothersawyer]

I drove the hell out of it at Road Atlanta, and it held together just fine!

Also, I'm no southerner! Born and raised in Michigan!

[NCGreasemonkey]

I drove the hell out of it at Road Atlanta, and it held together just fine!

Also, I'm no southerner! Born and raised in Michigan!

Glad it held.

And I'll give you a 'True Southerner's' card for that fix.

You had no choice on where you were born. You shot out!

:slayer:

[kung fu jesus]

Ex-pat Michigander here too.

[theothersawyer]

I knew there was a reason I liked you! lol! I don't think I saw you or the car on Friday!

[kung fu jesus]

I had a conference call in the morning, but made it to see the green group pit out for the incident on 12. I decided to not push the car, I just didn't get enough miles on the new engine to go out there in it. I parked it up at the tech pavilion and helped out James. I went out for a ride in the red e28, left around 2:30.

I'll be ready for the fall events. I am going to add some safety gear though.

[theothersawyer]

The more I attend track days, the more I debate turning this car into a dedicated track car. Replace the bumper with a stock one with a lip, lose some weight in the interior, etc. But I don't know, because I like it the way it is!

The only other bumper I would want is an M2-1001 bumper! Ugh those are so pretty!

[kung fu jesus]

If the Bimmer is your main car, it would be wise to leave the Miata streetable. Trust me on this. ;)

[tsingson]

The man speaks only the truth.

[theothersawyer]

Well the car is in like an in between stage. Partly street partly track and so it's like I care about how the car looks, but at the same time I just say screw it, it's a track car! Lol I wanna go one way or another with it! Maybe it's just because I don't have much else to do to the car! I intend on keeping it street able one way or another!

[NCGreasemonkey]

Take the red pill with me. And get another MX-5 for a back-up for the Bimmer. Win win! LOL

[kung fu jesus]

Well the car is in like an in between stage. Partly street partly track and so it's like I care about how the car looks, but at the same time I just say screw it, it's a track car! Lol I wanna go one way or another with it! Maybe it's just because I don't have much else to do to the car! I intend on keeping it street able one way or another!

Because there isn't much you need to do to the Miata to track it heavily. Besides safety, regular maintenance, and grip, it is virtually track-ready out of the box. Slow car fast.

If you want to improve at the track, improve your safety systems and start filming your laps and data so you can see how to go faster. :)

[theothersawyer]

I think the next purchase is going to be a GoPro! Ill use it a ton since I wanna use it for mountain biking as well! And I need a new helmet since mine is out of date!

I guess really what it is, is that the bumper is so fubar'd that it makes me wanna go a different direction instead of getting it fixed/spending money on another fiberglass bumper. This bumper has kind of turned me off of having something so fragile on the front end!

[theothersawyer]

My trip to Road Atlanta was a great time! As always James from Jzilla Trackdays put on a wonderful event. I finally got to run this track after attending races for the last 14 years, and after being at multiple track events to shoot pictures! The track deserves every bit of respect that people say it does! It is a ton of fun and can be very safe, but it can also bite you in the ass! Turn 12 is...interesting! You come up over a hill and then drop probably 3 stories off camber with little to no run off room.

Turn 12:
https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7576/26923834053_755dd18b6b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/H2aFRp)IMG_6103 (https://flic.kr/p/H2aFRp) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

Every event I have ever been to at RA the track eats a car. Focus ST one year, $100,000+ GLI race car another, and this time it was a Lotus Elise. A 21 year old kid lifted in turn 12 and hit the outside wall and bounced back into the inside wall. He was taken to the hospital via helicopter, he broke his C4 and needed surgery. He has made huge improvements and is gaining back movement in different parts of his body. This track day family is amazing. Everyone got together and signed a big get well soon card and have been visiting him in the hospital. And in 24 hours they have raised $2,500 towards his medical expenses!

I luckily got one picture of the Lotus before his incident. It was used for his get well soon card.
https://c8.staticflickr.com/8/7038/27533718335_ca9a7de86a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HX4vcD)IMG_6430 (https://flic.kr/p/HX4vcD) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

This happened during his first run group. This makes things a bit scarier for the rest of us. Seeing as I get free 1/2 track days because I photograph the events, so I debated not going out, but then I remembered this happens every event and I have a little bit of track experience under my belt. If I didn't go out I'd regret it! So I went out after lunch and started out easy. As many times as I have been to this track, you'd think that I would know it pretty well! It is a whole different experience being on track. The elevation changes are WAY WAY worse than you think. Forza doesn't even come close to capturing the elevation!

See how small these cars look on this STEEP hill?
https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7115/27257065900_c47bf39e87_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HwBA55)IMG_6343 (https://flic.kr/p/HwBA55) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr


I was running Novice since it was my first time at RA and since I don't have a ton of experience since I only ever run a half of a day at the events. Even though my run group was a bunch of newbies and I, there were some fast cars! A new Viper, an older Viper, Lamborghini Huracan, and a Z06. All were very intimidating to see in the rear view mirror of my tiny little Miata! I joked that my mission for the day was to pass the Lamborghini! Now the Lamborghini driver was cool, he was out there to just have fun and learn about his car. He didn't have an ego to get in his way! Not your typical rich dude!

https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7034/27257473810_ed6745274f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HwDFk1)IMG_6417 (https://flic.kr/p/HwDFk1) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

My first session was nice and slow learning the track and getting a feel for it. The track is a blast! The esses are probably my favorite part! Hopping the car over the rumble strip at turn 3 and then going down hill into the next set of esses is a blast! I still have yet to master it, but it is still so much fun! I came in early on my first session because the temperature gauge was moving back and forth. Since I just JB Welded my radiator together two days before the event I figured it was a good idea to come in and check things out. No leaks and it wasn't overheating! Either air in the system or the needle itself is loose since they have been removed before it may have worked itself off a bit.

The Miata looks tiny out there! Obviously this picture wasn't taken by me! lol
https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7003/27551580605_c69828d56c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HYD42P)IMG_7938 (https://flic.kr/p/HYD42P) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

The second session was way more fun since I was more comfortable and had just ridden with some of the advanced drivers. They made me feel SLOW!! I rode in my buddies Cayman S and another buddies Miata. I have a lot to learn after riding with them! I was really starting to feel it out there! After nailing together a few turns I was clapping and cheering myself on in the car! The back straight is so long and the Miata is so slow that it seemed like ages before I had to hit the brakes for the next turn! The car topped out at 103mph on the back straight! The major difference between the first session and the second session, was in this session I was passing cars!

My buddies Cayman S:
https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7287/27462365331_24b1096378_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HQKNrr)IMG_6648 (https://flic.kr/p/HQKNrr) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

I was getting a lot quicker out there and was coming up on some cars and getting the point by! Sometimes people forget how ungodly slow a Miata is in a straight line. So when I got the point by from a Challenger, he didn't lift and I couldn't pass! I was full throttle and was gaining no ground on him! Opportunity missed and I was stuck behind him for a few more turns. The next time a passing zone came up, he gave me the point by again and started pointing erratically. I get it bud, you want me to pass and I am trying to!!! He finally hit the brakes and let me by, never saw him again!

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7466/27517150056_6dcb40b2ea_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HVAA2E)IMG_7943 (https://flic.kr/p/HVAA2E) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

Now was the fun part! The 370z and the Huracan were ahead of me going into the esses! A bit of a conga line ensued and the Huracan was at the front, followed by the 370Z, and then me! Coming out of turn 5 the Huracan let the Z pass, but he had more power through the straights and I wasn't close enough to get the point by. A few laps go by and I continued to be right behind the Huracan! Going through the back straight he was a good bit ahead of me, but I took 10a/10b pretty well and caught some ground. Then on the front straight away I saw his hand come out the window and over the top of the car. I GOT THE POINT BY! I couldn't care less if he was a slow driver or he was having car issues or whatever could have happened. Passing a $200,000 car in the car I picked up for under $3,000 just feels good! Mission accomplished!

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7490/27532791945_3029a8705d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HWYKPp)IMG_6226 (https://flic.kr/p/HWYKPp) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

I left the track wanting more and can not wait until the next event at Atlanta Motorsports Park in September!

This got way way longer than I thought! lol

[theothersawyer]

I had a wonderful time two weeks ago at Atlanta Motorsports Park at the Jzilla Trackdays event. This track is always fun and I look forward to going to it twice a year ( not nearly often enough!) I have so many photos to go through and not enough time to do it! I shouldn't even be making this post right now since I should be doing a lab report for my Heat Transfer and Thermodynamics lab...Oh well! :)

Here is the car anxiously waiting to get out on track! I love this photo because you can't tell how terrible the paint has gotten on this car! Thanks to my friend Bobby for the photo!
https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8741/30025737135_8c18df3b17_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/MKgKz2)DSC00307 (https://flic.kr/p/MKgKz2) by Robert Brunelle (https://www.flickr.com/photos/102239745@N05/), on Flickr

Here is a video of one of my laps with no traffic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrfx9LNQb8U


As always, Jzilla puts on a wonderful event and there were no accidents or issues! It was an all around perfect day!

[tsingson]

I hope to partake in one of the events in the future.

[Martin]

So much Danny and Adam in my office right now!

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh514/MartVerd/IMG_3891_zpstkgshx5e.jpg (http://s1249.photobucket.com/user/MartVerd/media/IMG_3891_zpstkgshx5e.jpg.html)

[theothersawyer]

I hope to partake in one of the events in the future.
DDDDDOOOOO IIIIITTTTT!!!!!! Seriously though, don't even think about it and just do it!

So much Danny and Adam in my office right now!


HAHA YES! I love it!

[theothersawyer]

Today marks seven years since I bought this wonderful car! Best decision I've ever made!

[BRGNA8]

Today marks seven years since I bought this wonderful car! Best decision I've ever made!

Happy anniversary!!

[theothersawyer]

Thank you!

[Greasemonkey2000]

Wow seven years! That is an accomplishment, congrats Danny! :drinkto: I'm just a little over 3 yrs and feel like that is an accomplishment since I use to average one car/year for over 13yrs:fp:. Keep up the progress! :D

[theothersawyer]

Yesterday I was surprised with one of the coolest and most unexpected gifts I have ever received! Some of the wonderful guys in the Jzilla Track Days (https://www.facebook.com/jzillatrackdays/) group got together and bought this incredible racing seat for me!
All I did was take some pictures of some cars on track and these guys got together and did this for me. I am truly at a loss for words. This group never ceases to amaze me with their generosity and kind hearts. I will now be much safer on track because of it. A few of the people on this list I have never even met, which just blows my mind. So please, at the next event find me and introduce yourself! I would love to meet you and thank you guys personally! This also means you guys get more pictures of your car than everyone else! :p
Now I need to get it all mounted up, but in the meantime I think I'm gonna have to sit in the seat and throw on my helmet and play some Forza! :)
https://c4.staticflickr.com/1/126/31552808675_941f9e4bf6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Q5doJF)

https://c8.staticflickr.com/1/781/30743599343_7aca671c34_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NQGYZD)

[kung fu jesus]

Noice! I have an OMP, great quality.

[theothersawyer]

My friends seem to be extremely generous and I was just given a harness and a sweet Miata hoodie!
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/249/31440718272_7dbb86a82c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PUiUaw)

[theothersawyer]

So on the 3rd we went to Savannah for an awesome weekend! We got to drive at a track that doesn't get to be driven on often. Grand Prize of America on Hutchinson Island was crazy! Some of the roads are public streets most of the time, so there are stop signs and street signs on the track, which is hilarious when you blow through a stop sign at 50 miles per hour sideways! There is also a driving range on the inside of the track and a golf course around the outside!

Probably the picture that most sums up this odd track. I knew it was a perfect photo op when these golfers came up to the green, stopped what they were doing and walked trackside to take videos of the track day!

https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5817/31309704101_b76bf7f126_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PGJqdv)

Probably one of the coolest cars there in my opinion, and I would love to have one. Viper ACR
https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5676/31463475435_27993839b3_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PWjx5p)

Me and my buddies S2000, it was an interesting ride home when it started to downpour and he has R-Comps on the S2k.
https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5504/31350035691_43c0842889_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PLi8oK)

The stop sign I was referring to earlier
https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5615/31349094341_7574853e1a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PLdiyz)

And a little two wheelin' action! This was an interesting turn. You hit a patch of fresh asphalt just before turn in and it wants to yank your steering wheel to the right towards the guard rail, and then right after you get off of the fresh asphalt you turn in and hit a patch of concrete which is slightly elevated and unsettles the car and then you land down on asphalt again. Such a fun turn!

https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5584/31309699771_65119eb8ae_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PGJoVR)

There were a lot of interesting cars there! Always a good group of people too! (They did after all buy me a badass race seat!!)
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5614/30655982433_5c9217f81f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NGXVxg)


Seriously, if you ever wanna do a track day and are located in the Southeast you have to come join Jzilla trackdays for an event!

[theothersawyer]

I think most of the comments following this post will say something along the lines of: FINALLY!!!!

So I...finally got the seat installed thanks to the help of so many of my incredible friends! I used two peoples brand new trailers before they even got to use them. Had to tow the car to three different places by two different people, had people call in favors for me to get free work done on my car, so many offers to help, and I am just amazed at the people who I surround myself with. Seriously, you guys are awesome! Oh yeah, and on top of all of that a bunch of people pitched in and bought me a racing seat?!?! What? Who has friends that do that? Some of the people I still have never met! I need to find all of you at the next events and shake your hand!

So basically I guess I figured it was going to be easy to put a seat in a miata, and I was super busy with school and work. I finally got some free time like a week before the AMP trackday and that is when I realized this seat was not going to be an easy fit. Had a friend who owns Pullz-on-Tuning cut and weld the trans tunnel for me. Downside to doing the trans tunnel notch, is that the catalytic converter will no longer fit in the car. Well I need to pass emissions and my birthday was around the corner! Something needed to be done about that. Got the car back and attempted to fit the seat again....no luck! It seemed like there was going to need to be an even more aggressive notch cut into the transmission tunnel, which would mean less room for a cat!! Obviously, the car didn't make the event, but I still had a fantastic time as always!

Random pictures I took of the event:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3792/33315164152_2b4c217bde_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/SKWVBW)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/694/33315158412_5cc969bbb2_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/SKWTUY)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3712/33087729060_494df67e41_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/SpRg6f)

After the event I had a new deadline, get the car done by Miatapalooza! A friend stepped up to help get it done. Turns out we just needed to take a hammer to a small section in the transmission tunnel where it was contacting to make the seat fit. No more cutting and welded needed to make the seat fit! Woo! We did have to cut the door topper to allow the wings on the seat to fit inside the door. The wings on this seat are HUGE! The wings were the main issue for fitting this seat in a Miata.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2922/33786249142_fd53148e84_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/TtzmLW)

The next step was working on the exhaust. Decided that the best route to take was going to be cutting the flanges and turning them 90* to get the cat in its narrowest position so it'll clear the notch we made. Thankfully that worked and the car was finally up and running! Now that the It may have taken awhile but we got it done.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3941/33099871464_9ac17f8868_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/SqVuB3)

Now it was time to pass emissions! The car ended up failing because I forgot I had advanced the timing, and the cat on the car was a smaller high flow cat we used to fit. No problem, take the car back home and retard the timing and go back, right? Failed again! WTF? I need this done today (day before my birthday and the day I'm supposed to leave for Miatapalooza!) I ended up passing the first part of the test but failed the second, so it did improve but not enough! The guy at the emissions place was cool as hell. He ended up running a different test made for cars that can't get traction on the rollers. 30 seconds in neutral at 2500 rpm and 30 seconds at idle. Passed with flying colors!!

Miatapalooza time!!!!
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2836/33068121523_1df0c4ba28_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/So7Lsg)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3840/33840411366_ecb6316e7a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/TymXjo)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2924/33130032063_5523e8bb5f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/StA5in)
The race car, the daily, and my sisters turd.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3804/33130038143_d9fe776c6b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/StA77c)

I had such a great time at Miatapalooza, and met so many people that I've wanted to meet in person! Thanks again to Randy for putting the whole thing together!

So the drive down to Tampa was a great time to test out a new seat, right? 7 hours there, and 7 hours back! This thing is so comfortable! I did get sore after a while, but that happened in the stock seat too. The most amazing thing was fitting in the car with the top up and not hitting my head on the soft top! My hair used to graze the soft top and it was so annoying. Now I can sit up as tall as I possibly can and my head never touches! I CANNOT wait until the next event to try this thing out on the track! It is going to be fantastic!!!

[theothersawyer]

Eric (RotorNutFD3S) had this Axis Power Racing trunk left over from his NA build so we decided to see what it looks like on my car....I don't want to take it off!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/35717416391_5b026282ba_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Wqe6vZ)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4261/35009178954_3eeb61a75b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/VkDccG)

I have a bit of preparation to do before I drive the car to Charlotte for a track day, but the car should be ready to go soon.

[Paul B]

Trunk looks good!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tsingson]

Must be nice to live near other Miata enthusiasts. :cry2:

[theothersawyer]

Must be nice to live near other Miata enthusiasts. :cry2:

It's okay, a lot of us are coming to you in a few weeks for the track day!

[theothersawyer]

Charlotte Motor Speedway was a BLAST! I finally met Anthony (tsingson) in person! Great to meet you again! The car did really well as always! The ~4 hour drive to Charlotte was uneventful. The lack of cold A/C was killing me. I took out almost all of the heat insulation on the drivers side of the transmission tunnel to get the racing seat to fit, so it gets pretty hot in there. That needs to change!

Preparing to go out on track! Thanks to Kevin of Exomotive for the photo!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/36108494032_ded3e2ae3e_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X1MtgW)Exomotive Exocets at Charlotte Motor Speedway (https://flic.kr/p/X1MtgW) by KevinPatrick (https://www.flickr.com/photos/thekevinpatrick/), on Flickr

Here are a few laps of the track at night!

https://youtu.be/39sExTGhLq0

And a few photos I took of the event!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/35439042114_b3b81c1bbc_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/VZCmxu)IMG_8717 (https://flic.kr/p/VZCmxu) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/36273208695_7074b12758_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/XgkFcV)IMG_7058 (https://flic.kr/p/XgkFcV) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/35468924603_1416957444_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/W3gvyP)IMG_8394 (https://flic.kr/p/W3gvyP) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/35879121560_14b76706e5_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WEvSQ9)IMG_7581 (https://flic.kr/p/WEvSQ9) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/35440575824_7860d6496f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/VZLdsL)IMG_7110 (https://flic.kr/p/VZLdsL) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/35906329090_0910d11984_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WGVjFu)IMG_8707 (https://flic.kr/p/WGVjFu) by Danny Sawyer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/50481382@N04/), on Flickr

Wish I got more track time, but splitting the day up between photos and tracking gets difficult! The new seat and harness set up is fantastic though! Holds me nice and tight and I could tell I was pushing the car harder and was more confident!

[tsingson]

It was great to finally meet you Danny. I am trying to make it to the AMP event in Oct but it's not looking so good with work. If I could only get out of going to my cousin's wedding.......:whistle:

[theothersawyer]

Make it happen! :D

[theothersawyer]

Forgot to post these here! Some great photos of my car by Devin Hultgren. Charlotte was one of the cooler tracks I have driven. That has a lot to do with the fact that we drove it at night! Such a cool experience! There was a weird time at twilight when the lights didn't really do much, but it was too dark to not have lights. The track became so different and I had to relearn the track all over again!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4433/36788609231_9e8bc13359_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Y3TeQ4)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4434/36928331485_341d8caaed_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Ygemor)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4403/36120317493_2957b82dea_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X2Q4YH)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4351/36120239353_b039083c20_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X2PEKt)

[theothersawyer]

Had another great track day with Jzilla trackdays on Friday! There were some cool cars there!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4500/37398106975_046f9ac2c5_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YYK5gR)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4483/37208355656_75fe2f3e60_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YFYxPo)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4430/37397832825_d0563c7776_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YYHEM8)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4514/37226473572_e0e1834735_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YHzpDf)
No pictures of my car...yet, but that's what happens when you are the one taking the pictures! :D

And a video of one of my laps! Chasing down another NA! My all-season tires are really holding me back! haha

https://youtu.be/KJSxP3qTmOU

[tsingson]

Love that Mazda 2.

[theothersawyer]

Yes! He is awesome!

[tsingson]

Spring time.....Just wait. Not going to be anything special but at least you will get to see it out there.

[theothersawyer]

Will be looking forward to it!

[theothersawyer]

Last Sunday I had another track day at Atlanta Motorsport Park. It was an appreciation event, so I didn't have to take pictures...I still managed to take 1000 photos somehow. But my friend let me borrow his RE71's so I could use some stickier tires and not have to deal with those all-seasons again. All I have to say is....I'M HOOKED!!! I'm gonna need some nice tires for next season for sure.

I also borrowed my friends AIM SOLO to get some proper timing and data. That thing is cool! And between the new tires and the new seat/harness, I was able to cut 6.5 seconds off my previous best time at AMP! I still have a ton of time to make up, but having grip was something I wasn't used to!

A huge thank you to Eric (RotornutFD3S) for these awesome photos of me on track!!
Here is a photo of me getting passed by two Miatas! :D
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4460/26214791209_f9ec7683b3_c.jpg
And here you can see how low my catalytic converter sits now. It had to be flipped 90* to clearance the notch for the seat.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4455/37990526401_7402888151_c.jpg

I need to get a race seat for the passenger side now, as you can see my dads head sticking up over the roll bar.

And here is a video of my best lap!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cm3ISfnK_w

[theothersawyer]

8 years since I bought this car!!! Happy Anniversary! <3

[theothersawyer]

Getting prepared for the first track day of the season on Sunday. At the last event I realized my brakes were feeling not so good. I was still running ATE Super Blue, so it has been in there a while. Time to change that! Got some ATE TYP200 and flushed it! Thanks to Eric for the help and for adjusting the belts!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/806/39024096420_33efd9ec1f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22sqGhC)
Then I picked up some tires. My brother-in-law had some Nitto NT01's he was selling. Only one track day on them and he sold them to me for a good price. Yes please!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/784/39024096410_ce981987fd_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22sqGhs)
Mmmmm...nice and sticky!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/810/40792291202_ccbfc63b6a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/259F9Zy)
Also changed the oil and gave it a bath. I'm now ready for the weekend! Car should be much better now! Hoping for some much improved times, but GPS signal isn't very good at AMP from the cell phone. Debating on renting or buying an AIM SOLO to use, but the new one is out and its selling out faster then they can get them in. Decisions decisions...It'll be good to see some old friends and to make some new ones this weekend!

[theothersawyer]

Had the season opener with Jzilla Trackdays at Atlanta Motorsports Park. The "Death of Winter" event as they call it. Always an amazing time! Car was great! I was running back to back sessions, so 40 minutes straight on track with a car that has 230,000 miles on it. It was flawless!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/974/27068370067_727784658d_c.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/971/27068370227_a6c7f84650_c.jpg

I got to take my dad around the track one last time before my parents moved to Michigan. He's the one that got me into cars, so it was nice to take him around!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/912/40131016170_8b850751d9_c.jpg

So the NT01's were INCREDIBLE! I'm hooked! Downside is, I have no data to prove they were faster, or that I'm improving as a driver. Time to change that!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/823/40131017420_d2bfffd306_c.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/863/41893883942_3e2d508f13_c.jpg

I turned 25 a few weeks ago, so naturally that means emissions time...This car only passed last year, because the emissions guy helped me out big time. I was worried, but this was the last time this car will ever need an emissions test. Just pass this once, please! Retarded the timing and headed to the test. This guy didn't want to run the test, because my car was too low...I had to turn the cat 90* to get it to fit with the seat. So its the lowest part of the car. He was afraid it would hit the ground when he dropped the rollers. I wasn't, run the damn test! He struggled to get into the car, due to the height and the race seat. Sorry, bud! He was a very by the book kind of guy, this wasn't looking good for the car.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/981/40131013930_bfb29be4c3_c.jpg

Thankfully retarding the timing did the trick, and it passed...barely! Passed on NOx by less than 100ppm. Phew! Never have to do that again!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/911/27068371237_23511b045d_c.jpg

I have a really big hole in my top, so my friend let me borrow his hardtop. I need one now!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/863/40131014180_bc72793501_c.jpg

Last weekend I also got the chance to drive an Exocet for an extended period of time...WOW are they fun! It was turbo'd. Weighed 1600lbs and had 210hp! If anything ever happens to my car, this will be the next step.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/971/28066861738_847e92983e_c.jpg

[theothersawyer]

Two weeks ago I went to Road Atlanta for the Esses of Summer with Jzilla Trackdays. What an event as always! My first time at Road Atlanta with some real tires. Last time I had all season Neo Gens. Good tire for the street, but not so much for the track. Now I was on NT01's, which is quite the jump! I love these tires! I was taking turn 1 20mph faster than before! Turn 12 I took flat for the first time, but my butt was puckered the entire time!

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1785/42107899944_7bf2dc6df9_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/279VZCU)
My friend brought out his Datsun race truck, but unfortunately it broke down on the second lap of the day. So I let him drive my Miata. He has an NB, so I wasn't worried. My car was doing double and even triple time when I did back to back sessions. The car was on track for 60 minutes straight without an issue! It has 230,000 miles on it!

First time using my AIM Solo, and it was incredible! My previous best time at RA (based on GoPro footage) was a 2:09. This time I ran a 1:58.1! I definitely had a 1:57 or maybe a 1:56 in me, but I couldn't get clean laps and ran out of gas. Nothing broke, and the car was doing great. Good time to head home. It was also HHHHOOOOTTT outside, so that didn't help.

Thanks to ChadbeePhotography for the awesome photos!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/918/42193675245_30acb00a5a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27hvBDp)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1807/42379771654_77c357d695_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27yXpCb)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/839/42379772774_eb7e2396fe_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27yXpXu)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/918/42379769714_ae66b8018b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27yXp3J)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1822/29226065178_5c672899e8_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LwBdXu)

And since my friend was driving my car, I got to take photos of my own car!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1762/42864529532_a45d47c519_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28iMVfC)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1806/42864444272_456f3bacd8_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28iMtUC)

[Paul B]

awesome. Always cool to hear Miatas still taking abuse.

Also stoked on that race truck. Does it have chevy colorado wheels on it??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tsingson]

I am excited to see this run in person at AMP.

[theothersawyer]

awesome. Always cool to hear Miatas still taking abuse.

Also stoked on that race truck. Does it have chevy colorado wheels on it??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The truck is sadly being parted and sold. I’m unsure what the wheels are off of. The truck had a “built” motor and it was put together terribly, so it seized. No problem, the PO also had a stock motor with 70k miles they gave them. NOPE! Also “built” and would fail as well if driven. Cutting losses and finding another champ car was the smart decision.

I am excited to see this run in person at AMP.
I can’t wait to get back out to AMP! Especially with a bunch of Miatas!

[theothersawyer]

This one has been a long time coming, but it makes me a bit sad. I feel like the Autokonexion bumper on my car has always made it unique. The only time I've ever seen another person with this bumper was at Miatapalooza on one of V8Roadster's cars.

I loved this bumper. When the bumper first came out, I was in high school and I was broke. There was no way I was every going to be able to afford one, but I set one of the renderings of the bumper as the background on my phone as motivation to somehow make it happen. One of the members on the local forum bought one well he decided to go a different direction and wanted a stock bumper! This was perfect! So I traded my stock bumper for his Autokonexion Adore NA/NC bumper! Fantastic!

So I traded my bumper plus cash for his Autokonexion bumper! I now had the bumper I dreamed of, but no money to paint it! I drove around for a very long time like this...
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1826/29290113418_21f489427b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LCgugu)

Eventually I saved up enough money to get it painted.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1810/43111556792_73b37e43d8_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28FBZRj)

Painted the lower portion black.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1789/42443051094_f017800fb0_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27ExJp1)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1821/29290113218_4ae824d5fe_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LCgud3)

Ended up hitting a tire tread and broke the lower portion. You can sort of see it here next to my sisters old car.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1801/42443052244_63b30205c6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27ExJJQ)

I then cut out the entire lower portion since it was broken.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/917/42443051204_ba1351e54d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27ExJqU)

Added fog lights! The mounting was interesting, since the bumper didn't have all the nice stock mounting points that the NC bumper has for the fogs.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1821/42443051504_78cef53207_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27ExJw5)

I ended up hitting ANOTHER tire tread (probably the 3rd or 4th one by this time) and it caused the fog light to pop out. I never got around to fixing it, since it never wanted to fit right again after that.

Then this is the most recent photos with the bumper still on from the recent track day.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1806/42864444272_456f3bacd8_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28iMtUC)

As you can see the bumper had seen some damage from rock chips and tire treads over the years. It looks decent in that last picture because I literally spray painted the bumper before the track day, just so you couldn't see the rock chips in the photos! :D

After the track day I went to Miatastuff's (Somehow my first ever purchase from him after all these years!!) and picked up a nice stock red bumper. Also picked up the bumper support, air guide, hardware, and mounting points. All things I haven't had on this bumper.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/840/28183881727_baeda4b482_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JWvL8i)U (https://flic.kr/p/JWvL8i)

Here is the damage the bumper had seen over the years.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1824/42150488755_a148bbb5db_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27dGgNK)

Notice that wonderful spray painting? :P
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1784/42150488945_5150bd02cd_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27dGgS2)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1761/28183881647_b0fe08656f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JWvL6V)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1761/28183881647_b0fe08656f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JWvL6V)

Also added this nice LRB Speed undertray since I now had stock mounting points again! First time running an undertray in like 6 years.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/845/29180732748_a68894d2cf_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LsATcS)

And very very stock now...It is actually growing on me a lot! The Home Depot lip wont be on long. I plan on doing an R-Package lip with a splitter and turn buckles.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/919/43002553422_308a31f986_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28vZjWS)

I'm slightly sad about it, but at the same time I'm not. It is definitely for the better, and the looks are really growing on me! I'll make it look more aggressive soon!

[theothersawyer]

Alright, I'm sitting in a hotel in Dayton Ohio for work, so this is the perfect time to update this thread. I have nothing else to do!


So a few weeks back I went out to Charlotte Motor Speedway to drive the Roval. Since the last time I was there, they added two chicanes. One on the front straight and one on the back straight. They were extremely fun! The front straight was a bit challenging at first, but once I got it figured it out was awesome!

Spenser (a member from a bmw forum I’m on)came out and rode along most of the day! I hope you learned something or at the very least just enjoyed yourself! Thanks for coming out and it was great to meet you!

Random rolling shot I took of my brother-in-laws Raptor on the way to Charlotte. It was a struggle to take this shot. I was basically taking a selfie with a DSLR while driving 70mph....not advised, but the road was empty and I had everything under control!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/928/29814239438_3c8e90448c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/MqzLF1)

On to pictures! Thanks to Tradd's Photos for the shots!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/937/42197089110_d4c14c8f1f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27hP7t9)

I need to change up that front lip, but it works for now!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1817/42197089660_6530dc2da3_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27hP7CC)

Money shot!!!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1831/42197091190_47d9366356_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27hP861)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1839/42197091350_5b89e6fed4_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27hP88L)

Night time!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/935/42197090840_a938b12344_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27hP7YY)

I still need to upload my GoPro footage, I haven't even looked at it yet! Hopefully I have the footage of Spenser laughing like a little girl when I went on two wheels! The GoPro may have died by then though! :(

Charlotte was on a Saturday and then I went to Atlanta Motorsports Park on that Thursday! It was....wet!!!
I don't have any pictures of my car on track, but I have some photos I took of everyone else!

This event was a Miata event for everyone going to the Miatas at the Gap.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1818/43805006572_324c263357_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29JU7j1)

My brother-in-law saying "hello"
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1836/43917234991_ce75e88422_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29UPiUK)

The boss mans car! (This is James car, he is the Jzilla in Jzilla Trackdays!) This livery is inspired by a BMW M1!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1795/42146710620_9d9192d4be_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27dmUGu)

I want to build an Exocet one day!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1813/29017477847_97f061b5c0_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Ldbadc)

It was slightly wet!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1820/42146957080_29865f6b58_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27doaXN)

Videos will come later whenever I decide to go through them! I love taking GoPro footage, but hate going through it!

[HarryB]

Certainly looks like fun! Wet trackdays may not be the fastest, but are certainly a good time!

[theothersawyer]

Certainly looks like fun! Wet trackdays may not be the fastest, but are certainly a good time!

Oh it was a blast! Much easier to drive at the “limit.” Just now the limit is much lower due to the tires!

[theothersawyer]

A few months back I went to Charlotte and ran the Roval again. Anthony came out again this year and he came out for a ride. Chadbee Photography got this awesome shot of us. Unfortunately shortly after this photo, I ran over some metal piece and put a nice big hole in my tire! Thankfully the awesome Jzilla family helped me out with some spare wheels and I was able to drive the car back home!

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48793389986_6f5c208c1c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hkGSUA)

[Martin]

That looks like so much fun :)

[tsingson]

I can still hear that noise. I seriously thought you hit one of your side splitters. It was awesome riding in this. Also funny watching the one guy get black flagged three times.

[theothersawyer]

I can still hear that noise. I seriously thought you hit one of your side splitters. It was awesome riding in this. Also funny watching the one guy get black flagged three times.

It was so loud and such a weird noise. It sounded like there was something in the wheel well and then when the sound disappeared I thought it flew out. It was strange! The piece that was inside the tire was HUGE about 3"-4" long. I still have no idea what it was.

Glad you enjoyed riding along! It was great to see you again, and I'm sure I'll see you next year with the new configuration of the track....again!

Some people just don't look out for flags, unfortunately!

[tsingson]

Yeah, nobody knew what it was. Definitely looking forward to next year because I do have plans to come down to your neck of the woods.

[CLZinn2]

The night footage from Charlotte looked soooooooooooo cool!!!!!!!!!!!!! It must have felt it too!!!

[theothersawyer]

The night footage from Charlotte looked soooooooooooo cool!!!!!!!!!!!!! It must have felt it too!!!

Oh it is pretty wild! It becomes an entirely new track! It is amazing how different everything looks at night!

[tsingson]

The night footage from Charlotte looked soooooooooooo cool!!!!!!!!!!!!! It must have felt it too!!!

It was sticky butt cheeks hot. I believe Ethan (SigmaX) and I went through 12 gatorades total. Crazy hot.