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Thread: Brap-Brap's Miata (Mis)Adventures

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  1. #1
    1,000 rpm - releasing the clutch
    Drives
    Red 97' Daily Driver
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Posts
    79
    Thanks Given
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    Thanked 146 Times in 42 Posts

    Brap-Brap's Miata (Mis)Adventures

    Hey guys, this is the build thread of my Daily Driver 97'.

    But first a little story. The earliest memory I have is when I was 7 years old and my dad took me to the grocery store and as we were walking in the parking lot I saw a little red NA and I was transfixed by it, and the driver saw me as a little kid just staring at it and he winked the headlights for me. I was smitten and I vowed myself to own one of these cars one day. And now I do.

    Purchased 5-20-2017 I present: Molly the Miata.





    She came with Ground Control's, Eibach Springs and Sway Bars, Racing Beat end links, a Bosal Exhaust, a Hard Dog DD roll bar, an Autozone special CAI, 17x7 ASA's wrapped in Yokohama Parada's and a whole list of problems.

    The night I brought the car home I was instantly signed up for all of the forums and I stayed up until some insane hour going through every aftermarket retailer for the Miata. The prices for some things made me cringe (I'm looking at you Rev9 lol) but others encouraged me that I made the right choice for my first car. After I saw how much some things went for I committed myself to making as much as reasonably possible for my car.

    But I needed to start somewhere so off to my local Harbor Freight.



    Miata trunks are deceptively big...

    With the appropriate tools acquired I started the process of base-lining the car. First came oil and a filter, spark plugs and a few other things.



    She desperately needed plugs...

    Then as i'm 6'2" 250LBS I set about making the car more comfortable for me.



    I removed the armrest to get more room and then I sacrificed an old leather belt for a pull handle. I got the holes by beveling the outside of a 1/2 inch copper pipe until it was sharp and then using it as a leather punch of sorts.

    Next came a foamectamy for both seats, for the passenger side I just removed the extra part at the bottom and left the back untouched, but for the driver's seat went crazy. Underside piece gone, trimming of topside cushions, shaving of the side bolsters all around, removal of back piece. My head was level with the roll bar but now it's 2 inches below.

    Another issue I had was storage. The car came with some ancient Sony radio with a CD player but it didn't work, so I modded it a bit.







    Leather came from an old VW seat my neighbor had sitting out back by the dumpster.

    I'm not gonna say it's good as it still looks a little crummy in person but everyone who rides with me says it looks factory. But my perfectionist attitude I have developed with this car doesn't think so.

    Next came my obsession with old-school. Wood, leather, chrome, raw metal. I've always loved to look back, listening to Jazz music and appreciating the certain aesthetic the past has.

    It also didn't help that around this time I found RevLimiter.net...

    Adam if you're reading this I just wanna say you are a huge inspiration to me and i've spent too much time pouring over your Sharka posts. Also prepare to get literally all of my money.

    Whatever. A wooden e-brake handle was my next task:



    Started as square stock that I filed off the edges. Then my neighbor (Same one who threw out the VW seat) who is a professional wood worker showed me that If you mount it up on a dowel in a vice you can get way more pressure and remove material way easier.



    After a couple hours. This is before finishing with beeswax. I went all they from 80 grit to 5000 grit norton pad (similar to scotch brite but goes way finer)



    Personally I hate the "Mile of glass" super shiny almost epoxy-coated look Nardi and other wooden parts have. I prefer a matte, more soft finish to my wood pieces. Just feels nicer in the hand.

    I'm on vacation right now, and the night before I leave i'm going to be buying a whole ton of parts. Until next time.

    Also F-U Photobucket for removing 3rd party hosting. This thread would have gone up a week sooner if you didn't screw literally the entire forum-using section of the internet.

  2. The Following 9 Users Say Thank You to Brap For This Useful Post:

    Agent☣Orange (07-09-2017),Greasemonkey2000 (07-09-2017),HarryB (07-10-2017),JamieH (07-09-2017),MiataQuest (07-09-2017),Paul B (07-09-2017),Roadster7 (07-10-2017),Slampen (07-10-2017),tsingson (07-09-2017)

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