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Thread: My 1996 BRG NA8C Build Thread

  1. #1
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    My 1996 BRG NA8C Build Thread

    Hey guys. My name is Steve from Sydney, Australia. Thought I'd start a build thread for my recently acquired NA8C in BRG.

    Brief history : The car was previously owned by a much older gentleman (2nd owner, age would be around mid-late 60's) who kept it for around 10 years. He too was a car enthusiast and we chatted a bit about his past car history, which included a Porsche 944, Type A Mini and an Austin Healey 3000, amongst others. In fact, it was the love that he had for his BRG Austin Healey which led him to search for an NA BRG MX5 with tan interior. He had found the perfect one for him and when he picked the car up in late 2005, it has 153,XXX kms on the clock, equating to approximately 15,000kms per year travelled, which I'd consider average mileage. Once he picked it up though, he realised that he simply did not have time to enjoy it as much as he thought he would, which meant that this MX5 under his 10 year ownership travelled only approx. 2000 kms and was always garaged with a car cover over it, laying dorment. He did, however, take the car out every year to get it registered and serviced by getting the oil and filter changed and fixing up whatever may have been wrong.

    Fast forward 10 years to December of 2015, the car is now with its 3rd owner. Me. The BRG paintwork is still very deep and in very good condition, has relatively low km's for its age when I picked it up (155,646 kms), has full service history and receipts (including every single receipts from the first owner, also an older gentleman according to the previous owner), and the best thing was that there was absolutely zero aftermarket modifications done to the car aside from a Sony Headunit, thus providing me with the perfect blank canvas to work with.

    Here's a few photos of when I picked it up :

    12/12/2015





    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-06-2017 at 03:23 AM.

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  3. #2
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    1996 NA8C MX-5
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    29/12/2015

    Photoshoot with Joseph Hui
    A good mate of mine who is a photographer and who has taken a few photos of my past cars wanted to see if I was free today so that he could test out his new lense. It just so happened I was, so I picked him up and we went scouting for locations for a mini photoshoot. We took a bunch of photos and even rigged up the MX5 for some rolling shots. I think the photos turned out pretty well!











    More photos coming after he edits them.
    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-06-2017 at 03:26 AM.

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  5. #3
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    1996 NA8C MX-5
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    Getting my NA8 a full service in a few days time hopefully. As with all my cars, whenever I pick up a used car, I always change out and replace with fresh fluids.

    So along with the fluid change, the following will be performed :

    - new Gates Racing timing belt
    - new NGK ZE21 ignition leads
    - new NGK BKR5EIX-11 Iridium spark plugs
    - new NA8 black silicone cooling hose replacements from CarbonMiata
    - new Koyo Aluminium radiator with 1.3 bar Koyo radiator cap
    - new Goodridge braided brake lines
    - new Bosch Aerotwin BBA450 wipers
    - new Philips 4300K H4 Crystal Vision headlights with matching T10 wedge parkers
    - new GarageStar Delrin Door Bushings
    - new OEM cam and crank seals
    - new OEM rocker cover seals and gaskets
    - new OEM timing tensioner pulley
    - new OEM oil and fuel filter
    - Liquimoly 10w40 engine oil
    - Liquimoly 75w90 gearbox oil
    - Motul RBF600 brake fluid
    - Dexron III power steering fluid



    And a few little bits 'n bobs purchased as a late Christmas present to myself :

    - Joyfast Gearknob (super short)
    - Joyfast Chrome Handbrake Button
    - KG Works Retro Rear View Mirror
    - NoPro Washer Bottle Relocation
    - Custom number plates "96 BRG" black background with white letters
    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-06-2017 at 03:44 AM.

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  7. #4
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    1996 NA8C MX-5
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    ENGINE & TRANSMISSION


    SUSPENSION & HANDLING


    WHEELS, BRAKES & TYRES


    EXTERIOR

    - ZOOM Engineering Retro Fuel Lid


    INTERIOR
    - JASS Performance Sun Visor Plugs


    MAINTENANCE/OEM REPLACEMENT/MISC
    - OEM Rubber Pedal Replacement


    30/12/2015

    OEM Rubber Pedal Replacement
    Decided to change these as they were getting quite worn and faded.








    JASS Performance Sun Visor Plugs
    Bought these as the sunvisors were getting in the way and I never really use them anyhow. Looks much cleaner as a result




    ZOOM Engineering Retro Fuel Lid
    I've always wanted this ever since I saw this on a friends NA8C Clubman. It gives it such a nice retro feel to it! Shout out goes to Greasemonkey2000 for sharing a bit of knowledge on where to purchase this item! Thanks again! Install was a breeze, albeit in Japanese. It didn't really take too long to figure out from the diagrams and soon enough, it was fitted and looking very nice indeed!



    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-07-2017 at 12:48 AM.

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  9. #5
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 91BRG's Avatar
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    You're wasting no time in modding Steve Keep this up, and you'll have more mods than me in a year!

    The Zoom fuel lid - make sure you keep it nice and shiny, it is a high maintenance item.

    About the plates you asked me before, I just went out and measured it, 32cm x 13cm, in custom yellow style. I think you got the choice right with black/white, but I also think the Euro black style plates look really good if you are willing to spend it.

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  11. #6
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 91BRG View Post
    You're wasting no time in modding Steve Keep this up, and you'll have more mods than me in a year!

    The Zoom fuel lid - make sure you keep it nice and shiny, it is a high maintenance item.

    About the plates you asked me before, I just went out and measured it, 32cm x 13cm, in custom yellow style. I think you got the choice right with black/white, but I also think the Euro black style plates look really good if you are willing to spend it.
    Thanks Dan for the measurements re: the plates! I think the number combination (2 numbers, 3 letters) in the plate style you chose suits the rear garnish of the NA6 more than my NA8 as I realised that mine is a bit slimmer. Therefore, I still went with the Black back and White letters, but decided to get the slim plates.



    ETA : 3 weeks
    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-07-2017 at 12:51 AM.

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  13. #7
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    1996 NA8C MX-5
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    Sydney, Australia
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    ENGINE & TRANSMISSION


    SUSPENSION & HANDLING
    - GarageStar Delrin Door Mounts


    WHEELS, BRAKES & TYRES


    EXTERIOR
    - ZOOM Engineering Retro Fuel Lid


    INTERIOR
    - JASS Performance Sun Visor Plugs


    MAINTENANCE/OEM REPLACEMENT/MISC
    - OEM Rubber Pedal Replacement
    - Philips 4300K Crystal Vision with Parkers


    05/01/2016

    GarageStar Delrin Door Mounts
    Received these in the mail the other day and decided to mount them. It was a very simple install, only requiring a 10mm socket and a philips head screwdriver. Revlimiter has done a pretty nice review on these items here



    Factory Mount (which still looked very very good) :



    Once removed, there was some gunk and residue :



    Decided to clean it up with some cleaner and degreaser before installing the Delrin Door Mounts



    Installed!



    Have yet to drive the car with these on due to Sydney having some really shocking weather (rain) lately (isn't it meant to be summer?!). These did require a bit of careful playing around and as mentioned on Revlimiters review, the door should not be any harder to close with these mounts in. My driver side screws were loose when I was taking them off. Passenger side was okay. I made sure to tighten them and being careful not to over-tighten.


    Philips 4300K Crystal Vision with Parkers
    Purchased some bright white Philips headlight bulbs to replace the dull yellow from the headlamps and parker lights. Freshens up the front a little bit at night and emits a very nice white light. The bulbs come with matching white parker lights so decided to change them all.

    Yellow parker light



    Comparison of Philips Crystal Visions VS OEM

    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-07-2017 at 12:50 AM.

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  15. #8
    Admin / Pit Boss / Miataholic Phatmiata's Avatar
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    such a pretty color... ugh someday if im lucky ill have a BRG to play with.

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  17. #9
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Pole Position Key

    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-07-2017 at 12:53 AM.

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    91BRG (01-05-2016)

  19. #10
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    1996 NA8C MX-5
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
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    715
    Thanks Given
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    Thanked 1,413 Times in 378 Posts
    ENGINE & TRANSMISSION


    SUSPENSION & HANDLING
    - GarageStar Delrin Door Mounts


    WHEELS, BRAKES & TYRES


    EXTERIOR
    - ZOOM Engineering Retro Fuel Lid


    INTERIOR
    - JASS Performance Sun Visor Plugs


    MAINTENANCE/OEM REPLACEMENT/MISC
    - OEM Rubber Pedal Replacement
    - OEM Third Brake Light Gasket Replacement
    - Philips 4300K Crystal Vision with Parkers
    - Front Number Plate Mounting Bracket


    07/01/2016

    OEM Third Brake Light Gasket Replacement
    I realised that my third brake light has little tiny cracks on the plastic and the crusty rubber gasket had all but worn away. Decided to replace them as well as the gasket just for peace of mind. Managed to find a donor third brake light from the wreckers which was in perfect condition.



    Brand new rubber gasket





    The donor third brake light with old gasket cleaned off




    Front Number Plate Mounting Bracket
    The OEM bracket was all rusty and worn. It also wasn't doing my front bumper any favours as the number plate which was mounted had screws which were way too long and as a result, the top two corners where the screws were holding the plate onto the bracket was also hitting the front bumper itself, which would have caused it to chip etc when going over bumps or when driving over rough surface. I pulled the bracket as far away as I could to the bumper to avoid further damage until I got my new mounting bracket. Thankfully the damage isn't large with the chips being about 1-2mm in diameter, so it's really nothing.

    Old number plate bracket :



    New number plate bracket. Precision laser cut.



    Before. Yuck!



    After. Much Better!

    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-07-2017 at 12:54 AM.

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  21. #11
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    1996 NA8C MX-5
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    08/01/2016

    Small cruise, tackling some twisties
    Met up with with two mates of mine, one who owns a 2015 Porsche Boxter GTS, and the other being who owns a pretty amazing NA6. Some of you may know him from this forum (Dan AKA "91-BRG")

    I met Dan a while ago through a mutual friend and ever since I took delivery of my NA8 BRG, I've been wanting to meet up with him to have a chat to him about MX5's, mods, to see his car, etc since he knows a lot about them and to also just take my car for a good drive through some B roads. Thankfully, that opportunity presented itself today, especially after some horrible weather Sydney has had over the past few days with torrential rain etc. The drive today was epic. Blue skies, no clouds, sun was out. Perfect for some top down cruising.

    We went through Bells Line heading up towards Blue Mountains, then decided to come back down and go through Putty Rd. Both drives were fantastic and Dan was so kind to let me drive his NA6 through a few sections of road. I have to say, given that it has no driver aids, modified suspension components and grippy rubber, it made my NA8 feel like a wobbly boat by comparison. Need to do suspension ASAP!

    We stopped off at a few locations to chat and take some photos. Here are some. All photos courtesy of Dan (91-BRG)





















    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-07-2017 at 12:55 AM.

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  23. #12
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
    Drives
    1996 NA8C MX-5
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Posts
    715
    Thanks Given
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    Thanked 1,413 Times in 378 Posts
    ENGINE & TRANSMISSION


    SUSPENSION & HANDLING
    - GarageStar Delrin Door Mounts


    WHEELS, BRAKES & TYRES


    EXTERIOR
    - ZOOM Engineering Retro Fuel Lid
    - Raybrig Crystal Reflector Headlamps
    - NoPro Washer Bottle Relocation


    INTERIOR
    - JASS Performance Sun Visor Plugs
    - RevLimiter Gloss Black Vent Rings


    MAINTENANCE/OEM REPLACEMENT/MISC
    - OEM Rubber Pedal Replacement
    - OEM Third Brake Light Gasket Replacement
    - Front Number Plate Mounting Bracket
    - Philips 4300K Crystal Vision Headlamp Bulbs
    - B1 Hybrid Polarg Light Bulbs
    - Bosch Aerotwin Wiper Blades
    - Reconditioned Wiper Arms


    11/01/2016

    Raybrig Crystal Reflector Headlamps
    Decided to upgrade the tired old stock Koito headlamps to these brand spanking new Raybrig Reflector headlamps. Should have waited for these to arrive before I installed my Philips Crystal Visions but oh wells. Install was a breeze.

    Raybrig Headlamps


    Installed!



    Closeup shot



    Before :



    After :




    Reconditioned Wiper Arms
    Due to the car's age, exposure to sun and general wear and tear, the wiper arms on the NA8 have faded and it was starting have that chalky matte black appearance and texture. Since I was going to replace the wiper blades anyway, I decided to take the arms off and give them a refurb.

    Closeup of the worn wiper arms :







    Prepping the wiper arms by sanding it down to bare metal. Ended up using a Dremel with a sanding bit.







    A once over with some wax and grease remover, I then used a rattle can which has a "satin black" finish to spray the wipers. Applied approximately 6-7 light coats, spraying on the whole wiper arm, then waiting about 10 minutes between each coat before re-applying.

    Result :





    Pretty happy with how these turned out.


    Bosch Aerotwin Wiper Blades
    Changed the wiper blades to Bosch Aerotwins. Had these on my previous vehicles and loved the wipe. Model number : BBA450




    B1 Hybrid Polarg Light Bulbs
    Had a stack of these bulbs laying around from a previous project. Decided to change all the exterior indicator, reverse and brake lights to these items. In the NA8, some had busted, some were worn, so I thought may as well refresh. All the exterior bulbs are the same 1156 bulbs (pictured below), except for the rear brake bulbs which use 1157.




    RevLimiter Gloss Black Vent Rings
    I purchased these vent rings from Adam (RevLimiter) and went halves on shipping with a friend of mine who wanted some chrome vent rings. I decided to opt for the gloss black as I wasn't sure whether the polished look would suit the BRG's tan interior dash.

    I have to admit, I was very surprised when I received the package. In all my years of buying aftermarket parts, I have never once received a thank you letter from the guy I was buying the item from. It was quite personal and was a very nice touch I felt! Adam also included a free gift for me, which was a pretty awesome looking EF Honda Civic Hotwheels car! Not only is the quality of the vent rings exceptional, but he made me feel valued as a customer and for that, I would not only recommend him to people I know, but I wouldn't hesistate to purchase from him again (which I already have in the form of some custom keyrings)

    Thanks again Adam, if you're reading this!

    Goodies from RevLimiter



    Honda EF Civic Hotwheels Car. JDM YO!



    Sharka Vents Installed




    NoPro Washer Bottle Relocation
    Received the NoPro Washer Bottle to relocate the washer bottle to behind the firewall. Install seemed pretty straight forward. Just need to remove the factory water pump and then install that pump from the old bottle to the new NoPro.

    Wires are included in the kit which act as an extension to connect to the relocated water pump. There are two plugs and four terminals supplied with the kit, expose the wire, crimp the terminals and insert them through the plug. Done

    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-07-2017 at 12:56 AM.

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  25. #13
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    2001 NB2 aka Misfire
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    Temple, Tx is where Chad resides.
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    Keep up the great work Steve! Really enjoying your well written post(great format and makes me have something to aspire to ) and great pics!
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

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  27. #14
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone RustRat's Avatar
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    Red NA8C 1.6L
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    Mediterranean Sea
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    These Raybrigs are sweet! Tasteful mods, overall, great job

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  29. #15
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone Paul B's Avatar
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    White NA Miata
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    Buffalo, NY
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    Good stuff! Gotta love Adam's attention to detail in everything he does. I wish i had more miatas so i could utilize more of his items lol

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    BRGNA8 (01-14-2016)

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