MiataQuest (02-12-2018)
So, I got bored tonight after walking the fellas. What started out as,”maybe I’ll just start prepping for installing the rollbar,” soon became,”one more bolt.”
Working solo I made it this far in about 2-2.5 hours. I have the 12 through bolts to drill and install, but I’m a lot farther ahead then I originally planned.
Greasemonkey2000 (02-18-2018),HarryB (02-16-2018),MiataQuest (02-16-2018)
I love my garage and some classic 80s music so I can identify. The problem is the stupid sun seems to come up right in the middle of my stride.
No todo que es oro brilla.
Ha! Yeah, I’ve ‘borrowing’ my wife’s BT speaker and playing music from my phone. A random string of some good jams just helped keep me going.
When I get the broad strokes of this install done, I can focus on getting the details right for finishing the interior bits correctly.
It does feel pretty awesome to install the roll bar solo. AND annoying at the same time. I liked that at one point...I was able to take it apart and put it back on (don't ask why) in an hour or so. . Already forgot the reason why I took it apart.
Well shoot. Now I have to read through this entire post (after work.)
It seems that I also did a thing around the same timeframe. That thing is almost the exact same thing as you...
So now I have my red NA and a white NB1 with black interior.
2012: Purchased Miata, Laid off 3 days later. 4th place overall (default!), NWOR SCCA (RTR)
2013: Budget RTR build, massive increase in participation, 3rd place overall, NWOR SCCA (RTR)
2014: Suspension and more active competition in STS. 3rd place overall, NWOR SCCA
2015: Time for some "form" and vintage styling (while still racing NWOR, of course).
Check out my Miata Journal: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....-miata-journal
kung fu jesus (02-16-2018)
Harddog Hard Core Hard Top, Double Diagonals.
I chose that one for a few reasons:
Familiarity
Maximized seat travel for comfort
Fits under a hard top
DIagonals for strength (doubles for rearward vision)
Hard Core for track/sanctioning body compliance.
I was going to go with a Blackbird bar. I know Moti, his work is second to none, and he is a genuinely great person. Shipping was killer. Also, I wanted the possibility to add a bolt in harness bar later, but make street/track configurations easier to accomplish. In other words, I didn’t want my harnesses baking in the sun when I’m not using them.
Rollbar install complete! This was the most tedious installs I’ve done. It was mainly because I wanted to do it as cleanly as possible. I will likely get a spare interior cover for the passenger side and re-trim because I cut too much. I have installed around 10-15 rollbars over the years and usually leave the interior trimming to the owner.
Everything else went very well! I did a few extra things I normally don’t. I bought some self-adhesive rubber “C” channel to trim out the edges of plastic I cut and the parcel shelf cuts. That worked better than I thought! It eliminates sharp edges that could fray my harnesses and helps isolate the tins to prevent vibrations.
I also added sound/heat mat leftover from the carpet install on the parcel tins. This is to try to insulate some road noise coming from behind. I’m pretty pleased with this one.
Agent☣Orange (02-17-2018),Demon I Am (02-17-2018),Greasemonkey2000 (02-18-2018),Grumpy (02-16-2018),HarryB (02-17-2018),JamieH (02-17-2018),JonB (02-16-2018),newoldm (02-03-2020),Phatmiata (02-18-2018),TNRooster3 (02-21-2018)
Oh, yeah...tires arrived! I caught the UPS guy making car noises as he rollled them up the driveway. It’s good to see someone having fun with their job.
Nicely done!
kung fu jesus (02-17-2018)
Making phenomenal progress, my friend. I need some of your motivation!
kung fu jesus (02-17-2018)
No rest for the wicked, I moved on to engine maintenance reset: TB/WP. The seals were toast, oil and gunk all over the front. I started late, so I was just taking my time. I cleaned off a lot of grime, scraped old gasket material off, sanded off light surface rust, sanded mating surfaces flat, etc.
The pulley boss was stuck. I chipped the skirt while trying to gently pry on it. I was able to get the woodruff out cleanly, then I used a chisel and a mallet to spin the boss, breaking the light corrosion bond. It slid right off after that.
Fortunately, I found clean spares while sorting through my parts bins earlier this week (thank Xenu!).
I cleaned up the crank snout easily.
Installed the WP, idlers, seals, etc.
It was 5p by now and my wife was hungry. I stopped for the day. I’m glad I did this now. I was going to wait until April or May. I don’t think the seals would have liked a track day. I know fo sho the main coolant hoses would NOT have survived. I found a NIB tertiary coolant hose and installed it. I will replace the others a little later. I’ll wrap this up tomorrow, install the new radiator, bleed the system and more!
Doing work, getting shit done!
Agent☣Orange (02-17-2018),Greasemonkey2000 (02-18-2018),Grumpy (02-24-2018),JamieH (02-18-2018),JonB (02-20-2018),Phatmiata (02-18-2018)
Great work! Looks like you'll definitely be ready by next month!