Cars, Coffee and California...

[oldgrayleather]

Feeling very thankful for being spoiled by year round Roadster weather and a wonderful collection of MX5’s…





… and a fantastic place to work on them.


Will be back to the framing shop after I received a surprise car package from Goff…


It is true, roadster tribe is still the best tribe.

[oldgrayleather]

I've been thoroughly enjoying a lot more wheel time in the Sunburst and Berg over the last weeks since Benny has been in the shop. Well, a kind of a shop. The kind of shop that is tackling the biggest part of my 2020 goals. Hopefully more on that very soon. Until then will keep taking advantage of the night drives...


and enjoying the HyperRev collection. One day I hope to have a way to display all the various paraphernalia in the work space.

[akperth]

You really do spoil us with your fantastic photography!

[oldgrayleather]

Hope you’re all safe and well while we’re all learning to live with the COVID reset and trying to define a new normal. Honestly feeling incredibly lucky we’ve been able to get our entire family back together (eldest son returned Wednesday to finish year 1 of College from home on the same day they started restricting cross border travel).

Three schooling from home and Mrs. R and I trying to WFH has had its positives in terms of connecting with each other and working on not going stir crazy. I’ve started cycling again and we’ve been doing more walks than usual. While I’m still waiting to get Benny back Mrs. R and I took out the Sunburst to stretch its legs and ours. We went all the way up to Palos Verdes trails to get away from the throngs of people on walking, running and cycling along the beaches.

She still holds that her NA is the best NA. Had to admit it did look pretty sweet basking in all it’s OEM glory.




On the return home she made the effort but unsuccessfully tried to capture the odometer crossing 44,444 miles. Not sure why but I particularly enjoy reflecting on the miles of enjoyment I’ve had that are sometimes punctuated by particularly pleasing numbers



With the lock down measures getting more and more strict was delighted to receive the MPS concept brochure to appreciate that D technique kit in the turbo’d show car. That along with the back issues of Road&ster should help me from going ‘ster-crazy (sorry, couldn’t resist).




More than anything I really hope you and yours are keeping safe and well and that the impact from these crazy times is a limited as possible. Be well, be safe…

[oldgrayleather]

A number of years ago Garret very kindly shared some pointers so I could finally navigate my way around YJA. Now this was back in the good ol’ days. Long before Mazdaspeed oil caps and Royal Clover keys were selling for $300. I learned to watch out for Hajime’s “super rare” listings (and his prices) and got a better sense of what was out there and what market value might be along with the added shipping and buying fees. Many many EMS packages later I feel lucky to have tracked down as many parts as I have and still truly enjoy the late night ritual of carousing the listings. (Pro-tip? Don’t buy big stacks of old magazines, they are silly expensive to send. Even if you opt for the sea freight option!).

There’s been a number of dream parts I’ve been lucky to find and still more I’ve been on the look-out for. One night I spotted the one that was at the top of that list.. a fairly rough looking Garage Vary Type II hood!! But this was my dream hood and sadly GV had discontinued it (despite best efforts they declined to consider making a limited run). The vent placement between the headlights and lack of “power bulge” made for the perfect design in my eyes and I’d been hunting for one for almost four years. I’d also tried and failed to convince Randy to let go of one too ;).



For items this big, Buyee wasn’t an option so I reached out to Sean at JDM Palace who was happy to help with local collection and putting it in his next container. The bidding commenced and we prevailed!

[oldgrayleather]

Unusually it was just a couple days later that a listing for another piece of my holy grail appeared. Since my searches focus on NA parts I’d missed this NB listing but Garret/ Maksim kindly let me know there was a Zoom wing for sale since they’d recalled I had been searching for a time. Since I already had Sean enlisted to help with large parts this felt like there was a viable option. Besides, it would have been rude not to, yes?


Both Maksim, Sean and I had contacted the seller about shipping possibilities which gave them the sense there would be very high demand for the wing and so took the listing down and relisted it with a significantly higher starting price. He then blocked Sean’s local buyer from bidding for some strange reason, perhaps since it was only for the minimum bid and they’d guessed the other shoppers might have missed it and needed another chance? Anyways, after many weeks they re-listed it and we got to place the winning bid.

I couldn’t believe my luck and was excited that Benny’s next stage was all starting to come together.

[oldgrayleather]

Around the same there had been some back and forth between Adam, Chris Horne and I about a set of RS side skirts Chris had listed on IG and MRNet. They rightfully made their way to New Mexico to be painted in a stunning Montego to adorn Sharka’s sills. Such a beautiful detail.

As we were getting close to the container’s contents being finalized ahead of shipping luck again shone down on me when a complete set of skirts appeared. At that point I reached out to Sean and then decided I really needed to stay off YJA for a while.

[oldgrayleather]

On November 14th, Sean’s truck pulled into the drive with some amazing shaped boxes. It was great to meet him for the first time and share stories about our car and the memories they’ve built. I felt like that little kid on Christmas opening that Lego Galaxy Explorer set…





The Zoom wing’s underside and struts had an interesting discoloration that gave it an almost gold-ish hue while the top of the wing was still bright unblemished silver. I wouldn’t be planning to run it with the original owner’s stickers so would have some work to do later to clean it up.

While I’d been waiting for the parts I was thinking about how I was going to tackle this project. I really like the Rspeed/ KGW spoiler but was having a lot of fun running the Mazdaspeed. The latter was never planned to be on full time but I loved having the option to easily switch between the two. The trunk lid from Bo (thanks again Bo!!) wasn’t color matched and the wing itself needed some repairs I’d need to factor that in to my plans.


On top of that, both the Barchetta front bumper and Zoom rear had been cracked/ chipped.


The Barchetta was a mishap when the front left Shark snagged the R lip and cracked it, the rear was a surprise I came back to find in a parking lot. So a number of panels and parts were in need of paint. I also wanted the option to run the Zoom spoiler so had picked up a free trunk from a friend. The whole idea seemed pretty excessive to me until Woolery made me feel better about it given his multiple top options for his PitCrew.

So a couple bumpers to repair and the MS wing. Three trunk lids. The GV hood along with a set of AeroCatch latches to replace the rusted original ones.

[oldgrayleather]

Mid February, eldest son was home for a week from College so enlisted him to help me get the car and parts dropped off at Hermes. Always great to see Louis and we spent some time talking about what he’d do to try and match everything. The paint was in great condition considering it’s 31 years but matching was not super straight forward. We already discovered that when he tackled the hardtop and Zoom bumper. He’d noted that we were effectively only leaving out the doors and fenders. So I thought about it. And slept on it. And decided that for a car I intend to enjoy until my legs couldn’t handle a clutch or they take away my driver’s license that I should do the right thing and get a full respray.

Benny needed to have the decals removed along with the flares. These shots made me feel badly for the old chap. Almost like he was fully naked and completely exposed. That his dignity was being compromised.




But then some of the work began and I got excited about what was to be!!


So much work to bring the hood back to life..


The free trunk lid also needed a lot of fixing..

[oldgrayleather]

And after a significant amount of prep work, the painting could finally begin. Louis works late so many mornings I’ve been delighted to awake to various pictorial updates. These were some of my favorites!







Six weeks without driving Benny had me hankering for some forced induction, low set, extra grip and thankfully Louis was just about finished. I never once put pressure on a deadline and asked only that he take the utmost care with the job. These came through in the final days as it was all coming together!

[oldgrayleather]

So at 5pm last last night, Eldest son and I packed into the family Truckster to tackle the 50 mile trip on LA’s mostly empty roads mostly maintaining our social distancing while enjoying each other’s company on the journey to bring Benny back home. (Thank god mechanics and car shops are considered essential services).

The drive home happened while the sun was setting and it felt so good to be back behind the wheel. Tank was nearly drained so stopped for a fill up and couldn’t help but notice how amazing the depth of the color was on Benny’s clean clean sides.


And then finally tucked away, safe at home.



I stayed up until the wee hours tinkering but mostly a whole lot of just appreciating. Appreciating Louis’ work, my good forture for how this build has come together, everything my brother stood for to me and what a fitting tribute this continues to be, the amazing friends I’ve met through this Roadster and right now, particular appreciation for our health and safety. With the way things seem to continue escalating I have no shortage of things I’ve been wanting to tackle and with Benny in the garage I’m looking forward to putting some time in.

The details that never came through in pictures were always very apparent to me. The subtle mis-match of almost every single panel. The cracks in the wing and rusted bolts. 31 years of minor door dents from careless parking lot mishaps. Etc. The pictures will never do it justice but I am so very pleased with how this has all turned out. For those of you that are curious? Never once considered changing color. To me Benny will always be a Mariner, just like that unusual color that imprinted such a strong memory back in February 1989.

Time now to get Benny’s clothes back on.

For now I sincerely hope that you and yours are all safe and well.

[HarryB]

Thanks Peter for always taking the time to share these beautiful stories with us! As commented on social media, Benny looks weirdly wonderful even in this half-naked state, but much more gorgeous with the new clothes on!

And I feel your pain as it regards rare JDM parts. Prices have more than doubled the past 3-4 years I am in this game; makes me regret selling off some of my stuff.

[druz]

Too good. Hood looks perfect.

[oldgrayleather]

Thanks Peter for always taking the time to share these beautiful stories with us! As commented on social media, Benny looks weirdly wonderful even in this half-naked state, but much more gorgeous with the new clothes on!

And I feel your pain as it regards rare JDM parts. Prices have more than doubled the past 3-4 years I am in this game; makes me regret selling off some of my stuff.

σας ευχαριστώ Harry!! Thanks to MR.Net we've had plenty of experience of social distancing while sharing our Roadster stories. I for one really appreciate how active you still are on the forum!

Too good. Hood looks perfect.

Thanks Drew, very very happy with how it's all worked out. Hope you and the family are safe and well!

[LagBlu]

I´ve seen through the posts here - it´s very nice to read and I like the pictures. They create a good atmosphere of roadster life.
The project is coming along nicely. The latest parts are beautiful and many know the feeling of surfing through yahoo in the evening,
seeing old parts and clarifying the shipping after the purchase and eagerly awaiting the package.
Sometimes it takes years to find the part you were looking for, but you know that the daily search was worth it.

In relation to the side skirts, I wonder why they are always called rs skirts. From 94 onwards, they were regularly available as accessories.

Thank you for the MPS concept book/picture. I wonder what Mazda thought about the ugly rear bumper.