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Thread: My 1996 BRG NA8C Build Thread

  1. #196
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JamieH View Post
    Thanks for those light pictures! They really hit my curiosity itch.
    No worries Jamie! Glad those pictures helped! They weren't the greatest photos I've taken but my phone is almost 4 years old and the built in camera is on its last legs so to speak so was pretty happy and surprised they came out the way they did!

    Quote Originally Posted by Proyea View Post
    Damn. They hit both my curiosity itch and created that "one more thing I 'need' add to my NA" list. ;)
    It's a never ending list that seems to get longer and longer haha!

  2. #197
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! benpopham's Avatar
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    Oh man, your car just gets better and better.

    I have considering a set of the JDM fog lights for my NA for a long time now. They are a little tricky to come by in the UK, and the ones I can find are the clear versions and normally very rusty and cloudy lenses.

    They suit your car very well though.

    *Adds to the purchase list*

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    BRGNA8 (01-30-2017)

  4. #198
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by benpopham View Post
    Oh man, your car just gets better and better.

    I have considering a set of the JDM fog lights for my NA for a long time now. They are a little tricky to come by in the UK, and the ones I can find are the clear versions and normally very rusty and cloudy lenses.

    They suit your car very well though.

    *Adds to the purchase list*
    It will suit your black NA very nicely too!!! I just sent you a PM

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  6. #199
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Sunday sunrise over Palm Beach. Sydney, Australia.

    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-08-2017 at 12:43 AM.

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  8. #200
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Update on a few parts which came through

    Received a set of billet aluminium HVAC A/C button, knob dial, trim ring and selector covers made by RS-Products Japan. I bought these because it compliments the interior with other parts the car currently has at the moment, such as the rings on my KG Works cluster, the Garage5 vent rings and it will also tie in when I fit the Nakamae door cards and fit the polished LE speaker panels as well as the Nakamae door handles. These pieces will go nicely with the custom HVAC panels I will be ordering soon from Adam from Revlimiter.net. I haven't yet decided on a HVAC panel design but I do know that I want the font for the numbers on the fan speed dial to be matching my gauge faces and the illumination on the panel to be green, thus keeping everything consistent.



    I also received my Mazdaspeed competition diff mounts. These provide about 40% stiffness over the OEM rubber mounts. I'm planning on upgrading my diff to a Torsen 4.1 unit as well as refreshing all suspension bushings to Mazdaspeed, therefore I also wanted to refresh the diff mounts. I didn't go with polyurethane or delrin mounts for fears of increased NVH so hopefully this will be a good happy medium.



    After backlogs, christmas and new years holiday periods and waiting for about 4 months, I finally received my order of Samco Silicone hoses from Williams Race Services (WRS) who are the official Australian distributors for Samco Sport. These are my cooling hoses which will replace my failing hoses that I purchased from Carbon Miata. Never again.

    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-08-2017 at 12:43 AM.

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  10. #201
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Nice updates once more Steve! I plan on refreshing all of my coolant-related hoses as well; debating on OEM vs aftermarket silicone ones at the moment.

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  12. #202
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by HarryB View Post
    Nice updates once more Steve! I plan on refreshing all of my coolant-related hoses as well; debating on OEM vs aftermarket silicone ones at the moment.
    Hey Harry. OEM should be fine and it should do the job for next 10 years at least anyway. Theres lots of people who would also argue that silicone hoses is mainly engine bay bling and nothing more and it doesnt provide that much extra protection or functionality for cars which aren't being used in high stress conditions such as racing or motorsport. But if you do decide to go with silicone, I recommend going with Samco or another reputable brand.

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  14. #203
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BRGNA8 View Post
    Update on a few parts which came through

    Received a set of billet aluminium HVAC A/C button, knob dial, trim ring and selector covers made by RS-Products Japan. I bought these because it compliments the interior with other parts the car currently has at the moment, such as the rings on my KG Works cluster, the Garage5 vent rings and it will also tie in when I fit the Nakamae door cards and fit the polished LE speaker panels as well as the Nakamae door handles. These pieces will go nicely with the custom HVAC panels I will be ordering soon from Adam from Revlimiter.net. I haven't yet decided on a HVAC panel design but I do know that I want the font for the numbers on the fan speed dial to be matching my gauge faces and the illumination on the panel to be green, thus keeping everything consistent.

    Even more great details Steve, always look forward to your updates to see what's next! The RS products HVAC bits are really nice, I love my black set. The smaller knobs took a bit of playing with to get them locked onto the levers for heat/ recirc/ direction. Unfortunately I still haven't been able to get the outside ring of the fan control to work with just a pressure fit. It sits fine but without the two raised ridges inside or the additional piece on the bottom it doesn't click through the settings. Some other folks have suggested I try double sided tape inside the opening but that hasn't worked. Let me know if you have similar issues/ find a fix.

    Cheers

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  16. #204
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone RustRat's Avatar
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    I don't have the RS products ones, I got the Retromodern knobs Chase had. At first I had the same issue you mentioned. But then Chase explained that I had to PUSH it, it required quite a bit of force to click in place. Maybe you are not pushing hard enough?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    BRGNA8 (02-10-2017)

  18. #205
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Proyea View Post
    Even more great details Steve, always look forward to your updates to see what's next! The RS products HVAC bits are really nice, I love my black set. The smaller knobs took a bit of playing with to get them locked onto the levers for heat/ recirc/ direction. Unfortunately I still haven't been able to get the outside ring of the fan control to work with just a pressure fit. It sits fine but without the two raised ridges inside or the additional piece on the bottom it doesn't click through the settings. Some other folks have suggested I try double sided tape inside the opening but that hasn't worked. Let me know if you have similar issues/ find a fix.

    Cheers
    Thanks Benny! Yeah the little screws on the heat/recirc/direction will be hard if not impossible to take all 3 out without me taking off the tombstone but i guess I'll need to take it off anyway if I want to use revlimiter HVAC panels.
    Regarding the trim ring piece, I'll keep your issue in mind and let you know if mine is the same and whether I have a fix for it or not. I think what RustRat said seems reasonable too though, perhaps it simply needs a little bit more encouragement

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  20. #206
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! benpopham's Avatar
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    Great call on the RS-Products knobs and doodles, they will look perfect in your already perfect interior

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  22. #207
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    The OEM speakers and sound system in the MX-5 aren't the best. The sound isn't as crisp or as clear as other factory systems I've heard. Not only that, Mazda decided it was a good idea to remove the speakers from the headrests and instead substitute it with tweeters on the door cards instead.

    I'm not a huge audio guy but I do like listening to music on drives so I wanted to upgrade the factory speakers to something which was quality and that would give me the crisp sound I was after but wasn't overly expensive. After a bit of research, I opted for these Polk Audio DB651 6.5" 2-way coaxial speakers. This should be a pretty decent upgrade over the factory units and should pair nicely with the Nakamichi headunit. I should mention that I do not plan on using those speaker covers that came with the speakers. They're beyond hideous!

    The later model NA8 did not come factory with headrest speakers like the NA6 but from what I'm told, the cutouts for the speakers are there. It's just that there's nothing in them except foam, so the option of putting aftermarket speakers in is definitely a viable option. I'm planning to install speakers in there and keeping with the same brand, I've decided to get the Polk Audio DB351 3.5" coaxial speakers. Since the sound will have to travel out from the headrests once installed, the Nakamae seat covers I plan on getting will also need headrest speaker perforations.

    Hopefully these upgrades will make driving even more of an experience, listening to my favourite tunes while tackling the twisty stuff on the blacktop.



    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-08-2017 at 12:44 AM.

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  24. #208
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Please throw away those hideous covers as soon as possible. Other than that, I would love to hear a review once installed.

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  26. #209
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by HarryB View Post
    Please throw away those hideous covers as soon as possible. Other than that, I would love to hear a review once installed.
    Yep, I dont plan to use those covers!!! So ugly!

  27. #210
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Absolutely glorious day today in Sydney which was rare because for the past few weeks it's been miserable with rain and thunderstorms, so seeing the sun was a welcome change indeed. Perfect day to go for a bit of a drive but instead I decided to do some DIY, namely replacing the fuel pump and fuel line cover as well as the metal lower bulkhead parcel shelf.

    In a previous post, I mentioned that this year I was going to focus on refreshing and restoring the things on the car you can't see with the naked eye. First step towards accomplishing that goal was to replace these covers. Now a bit of a recap: I ordered these parts from Amayama and since these covers were metal, I gave it a few coats of VHT silver flameproof enamel paint to prevent any possible rusting in future. They were ready to be installed.

    Much to my surprise and amazement, when I took the rear parcel shelf carpet off to access the covers, they were still in excellent condition. Slightly oxidised but zero rust! Not bad for a 21 year old car! I had seen other peoples covers which had rusted to bits and gone very bad but mine were still minty fresh. Even the bolts were still shiny! I could have left the covers as they were to be totally honest with you but I had the parts out ready to install so I decided to go ahead with it anyway. It was also a great opportunity to inspect the soft top rain rails as well as cleaning the grime/dirt/dust which had accumulated on the parcel throughout its lifetime. There's something therapeutic about cleaning that I enjoy and it's a great feeling knowing that after a good clean, given the proper treatment and maintenance it should last for at least another 21 years.

    Original covers. Still in amazing condition! Zero rust!



    Fuel pump cover.



    Fuel lines cover.



    Closeup of fuel pump cover. Slightly oxidised and very tiny bit of rust but nothing too crazy.



    Closeup of the fuel lines cover. Oxidised but otherwise in excellent condition.



    Rear bulkhead parcel shelf. Looks brand new!



    Old covers at the top, new covers on the bottom.





    Always use a trim removal tool to get to the plastic clips.



    Out of the 20+ plastic clips, only one broke. It was already half broken when I pried with the trim removal tool.



    NA8 seat with holes in the foam for headrest speakers. I will be putting some speakers in there and doing a DIY but thats for another day...



    New covers installed and rear parcel shelf cleaned. No more grime/dirt/muck.



    Carpet vacuumed and cleaned before putting the seats back in.



    Overall, this wasn't really a hard DIY to do as all it involves are to remove some plastic clips, remove the rear parcel shelf carpet, unbolt the old covers from the car, pop the new one on, bolt them back down and you're done. Just need to take your time and be patient with it, especially with the rear bulkhead parcel.

    Also went ahead and decided to spray the exhaust manifold heatshield in high temp flat black. I will be changing the headers over later on but for the time being, I decided to clean it up a little bit and make it more presentable in the engine bay.

    OEM exhaust manifold. Has definitely seen better days...



    OEM Heatshield.



    The inside of the heatshield had a lot of surface rust. Got the dremel out and coarse sandpaper and sanded it back down before wiping it all away with wax and grease remover before spraying.



    A few coats of VHT flame proof high temp enamel paint.





    Installed back in the engine bay.



    New bolts to keep the heatshield in check.

    Last edited by BRGNA8; 07-08-2017 at 12:44 AM.

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