My name is Zico, and this is my Chaste White NA8 build

[druz]

The level of detail, no pun intended, is absolutely incredible.

[zco]

This is too satisfying.

Wow.

Exactly this ^

I had the chance to drool over my phone when you posted these on IG, but appreciate the full story (and did not missed my chance to drool over my keyboard as well)

Thankyou gentleman, It definitely has been very satisfying and rewarding seeing all my plans come together over those few days.

Wow, just wow!
I'm really enjoying the lengths that you're going to here! Almost no stone unturned in getting everything as perfect as it can be!

Captured it perfectly.

I did this similar process to mine earlier this year, but crappy phone pics couldn’t capture the color difference.

Nice work.

Thanks guys, and that has always been the vision from when I first bought this car. Leave no stone unturned, and tackle the car with my own 'Mazda restoration program' approach.

After years and years of modifying cars, I have always gotten overly excited and carried away with modifications leading to a car that doesnt really feel cohesive, but more so a car with a bunch of cool mods thrown together, it felt as if the car had no purpose. I wanted to do it differently this time. The brief is an immaculate, comfortable, and zippy car that I can use daily and drive to/from the track, so all of my purchases have revolved around that. The current coiliovers are a little on the harsh side, and the exhaust that came with the car (RS Factory Stage N Zero 2) is a little too loud so those will be replaced shortly. The OSGiken LSD is meant to be a quiet 1.5way LSD as well.

I need a towel or a really long sock.

LOLLL thanks mate, that really made my night haha

The level of detail, no pun intended, is absolutely incredible.

Thanks Druz! All I need now is a nice powerplant like yours haha

[zco]

Here are a series of pictures comparing old and new parts.

Rear combination lamps: Dried up wax/polish on the lettering, scratches all over the lenses, rubber seal on the edges were hardened, gasket on the rear had dried up and considerably thinner than a new one.



New rear combination lamps had some minor scratches on them, the detailer gave the surface a light refinement to enhance the gloss, followed by some ceramic coating for that added protection. No dried up wax or polish on these lenses.





New lamps came with gaskets as well, nice and thick



New amber bumper reflectors for all four corners. In Australia, we get amber corners on all corners. They dont light up either. I actually prefer all corners to be amber, looks more cohesive in my opinion. These were given the same treatment as my combination lamps. A light polish to clear out any fine scratches from factory, followed by ceramic coating.



Both installed





Again, the third brake light got the same treatment.



And installed



New vs Old Antenna, had to install over two days as I had to pull my stereo out from storage and plug it in to power up the antenna lol





Hardtop rear trim bolts and plates: These frankenstein bolts come with loctite/thread locker from Mazda, so they are quite difficult to remove. I knew this would be an issue so I ordered new ones, anticipating on them being damaged during removal. The NA's are known to rust under these trim plates so I wanted to remove them for inspection and cleaning.

I used a JIS screwdriver, the right side came off with a damaged head and the left side was completely stripped.



Old trim plates were slightly scratched, seals were worn and there was some dirt underneath as well.



Removed the hardtop and taped up the paint to prevent any scratches whilst I worked to remove the left hand side frank bolt. Options were to:
1. use bigger vice grips
2. drill out the bolt
3. break the captive nut and use a 12mm locking nut.

Thankfully, didnt need to resort to options 2 and 3. With the trusty WD40 and a large pair of vice grips, I managed to get it out.



New frank bolts, fastener bolts, and trim plates installed for both left and right.





The only thing left for the rear are to reinstall the badges. I am waiting on new clips that go onto the back of the badge.

[zco]

Moving to the front of the vehicle, before I got the detailers to start on the car, I had spent some time removing the front bumper so I could get the front badge off properly.

Here are some pictures



Whilst the bumper was off, I couldn't help myself to giving it a good clean. Nothing fancy here, just Spray n Wipe





Cleaned under the headlights too









Badge came off. You may have noticed that my car came with Gold emblem / badging. This is because the car was ordered from the 1995 Sydney Motor show, and came with 'limited edition gold badging'. It's a cool little tribute to the golden 90's era, but I'm personally not a fan of it. All emblems are being replaced with new silver ones so off they came. It would have been nice to keep the gold badges as a souvenir, but as you can see on the floor, it broke



I fitted the bumper back on, and will need to remove it again when the new clips that secure the badges arrive.

Anyway, back to installing new parts.

The turn signal indicators on the bumper, guard, and front bumper reflectors were all replaced with new items. Lenses polished for gloss enhancement, followed by ceramic coating for added protection.

First up were the side indicators. Old ones were slightly scratched, hardened seals around the edges, dirt encrusted on the back sides. New indicators came with bulbs, so I reused the old bulbs for the front turn signals.



New indicators, nice and shiny



Installed




Front turn signals. Old ones are still in very good condition, so I'll throw those into storage and keep them as spares.





New Turn Signal Indicators





A lot of car owners change their bulbs to white lighting, and usually, that means blue bulbs. I'm not a fan of this as it shows through the lenses.



Luckily, the old side indicators had T10 parker bulbs that I reused to swap out the blue bulbs on the front

Before: notice the blue tinge on the right hand side..



After: New turn signal installed, along with front bumper reflectors too. Much better. Keep in mind that all bumper reflectors have different part numbers, so if you're going to order new ones, dont order four of the same ones.



Continuing on with the front end was a new wiper cowl. These come with the centre clips and screw caps, but do not include the two oval shaped caps on each end, dont forget to order those as well. It comes with a new seal that goes between the cowl and windscreen as well.



Also new wipers for both driver and passenger side. Dont forget to order the two plugs that cover the wiper bolts.





89-96 models came with this aero blade. JDM 1997 models came bladeless on the BRG's. I was close to ordering a wiper arm without the aero blade for a cleaner look. Might just order it one day.



New windscreen nozzles as well. Lots of miata owners end up using Mazda Tribute ones for a more even spray. Call me silly, but I quite like the little things that come on 90's cars such as wind up windows, no power steering, cigarette lighters and ash trays, and... crappy twin stream washer nozzles LOL These are things you definitely wont find on new car these days. It would definitely be one of those things that I can show my kids one day and say 'look how silly cars used to be' haha



All installed



I also got my hands on a used OEM B Type front lip, which is the same lip you guys get on the R Package Miatas. To be installed when I pull the bumper off again to install the new badge.

That wraps up the front end!

[— kung fu jesus —]

After years and years of modifying cars, I have always gotten overly excited and carried away with modifications leading to a car that doesnt really feel cohesive, but more so a car with a bunch of cool mods thrown together, it felt as if the car had no purpose. I wanted to do it differently this time. The brief is an immaculate, comfortable, and zippy car that I can use daily and drive to/from the track, so all of my purchases have revolved around that.

And yes, Chaste White literally glows when it's corrected and polished. The hardtop on my car is Crystal White, the car is Chaste. After a thorough cleaning, correction, and polish, the color difference was night and day. The yellow in the Chaste white gives it more depth and where a highly polished black car looks like an inky pool of oil, this white looks like a tall glass of milk.

[oldgrayleather]

This is so exceptionally satisfying and equally inspiring. I lamented Mazda USA not extending the restoration program that Japan offers but this? This is even better. Thanks so much for sharing the journey!!!

[zco]

The hardtop on my car is Crystal White, the car is Chaste. After a thorough cleaning, correction, and polish, the color difference was night and day. The yellow in the Chaste white gives it more depth and where a highly polished black car looks like an inky pool of oil, this white looks like a tall glass of milk.

Looks like both you and I have the same problem with our hardtops being Crystal white

I absolutely love the Chaste White colour, it reminds me of the Honda Championship white, just a shade more yellow/cream to it

This is so exceptionally satisfying and equally inspiring. I lamented Mazda USA not extending the restoration program that Japan offers but this? This is even better. Thanks so much for sharing the journey!!!

Thanks Pete, appreciate the kind words mate

[zco]

Just like the badge removal, I had the door trims removed and doors cleaned prior to the detailers getting their hands on my car. I did this because I wanted easy/clean/quick access to removing the exterior door handles on the day of paint correction. Thanks to Steve for his help tackling the driver door. It is definitely one of my least favourite things to do on the car.

Door trim removed, vapour barrier removed, and butyl glue cleaned up.



Along with the new exterior door handle, there were some other items I wanted to get to as well. One of those was the door seals that surround the perimeter of the door, up over the quarter window trims, and forms part of the vertical seal that the window runs along. To replace this seal, the window needed to come out.

A crucial step when removing the window is to not remove the window stoppers mounted on the door (10mm bolts at top of door), as this will assist in retaining the factory alignment of your windows' stopping point. Instead, I chose to remove the stoppers on the window instead, which allows the window to slide out of the door. Undo the 14mm nuts to remove the tracks, along with 3x 10mm nuts holding the power window motor in place.

Windows out



This now presents an opportunity to change the window roller bushings. It currently operates fine, but I dont want to pull apart the door again when the 25 year old roller bushing breaks. Old window roller is still in one piece and in fairly decent condition. Remove the bushing, give the window a clean and reinstall a new bushing.





Good it a good spray of Windex



Power window unit and tracks out for a clean, and to re-grease the cables.



Clean tracks as best you can with some degreaser. Try to use a degreaser with a pleasant smell as the smell tends to linger in your vehicle. The sides of the track is crucial to the smooth operation of your windows, so get them clean before you re apply grease.



Based off many recommendations, Shinetsu grease was used. You really dont need that much, apply some grease to the centre of the track, and under both side edges as well. I put some grease onto the new window bushing and mimicked the motion of the regulator, sliding the roller up and down by hand until there was an even distribution of grease. Clean up the excess grease or dirt will stick to it and will eventually clog your tracks again. This is all the grease that was needed for a smooth glide of the roller by hand, up and down the track several times.





Once both tracks were cleaned, I wiped off old grease on the cables and applied some cable grease I had lying around as I wasn't sure if shinetsu grease was appropriate for cables.

Before refitting the window and power unit, one recommended item that should be changed is the door lock spring. This is known to snap in our cars, and in doing so, will leave you locked out of your car. Our cars are quite old so for the sake of a few dollars, save your future self the hassle and replace it. The spring is on the top left of the lock mechanism on your door, easily attended to with a pair of long nose pliers.



Referencing the picture above, that new rod on the right is indeed my new exterior door handles. You can see the difference in colour from the door handle cups. I just needed to transfer the lock over to the new handle.





New handle fitted, with a scratched up lock Will tackle it soon as my door trims are still not installed.



Along with new external door handles, I also got some new interior handles. The springs on the old handles were ever so slightly lighter than the new ones, loss of tension over the last 25 years. Old handles were also scratched and the spring mechanism had some caked up dirt on it as well.





Removed the quarter window and surrounding door seal, gave it a clean, fitted back the power window regulator and tracks,





Fitted new Door seals that seal the perimeter of the door, including the vertical seal that the window follows.
Old seal was filthy and damaged upon removal.



New seal is nice and soft / supple, all clips included and they just clip right in



Moving to the outside of the door, the new horizontal window seals that comes from Mazda only has 5 clips. Try to retain 2 of your old clips for each side to reinstall. The below picture shows where there are missing clips



This is the window stoppage alignment after the windows and door seal was refitted. No damage to seals, no need for further adjustments



And this is how it looked when it was all done. Happy days!



The A frame seal was also replaced. My old seal was dry and hard, and the vibrations from the Mazdaspeed comp mounts made my rear view mirror shake.


A Frame cleaned up, old butyl residue removed as the new seal comes with butyl adhesive tape.



New Seal installed.



The difference in vibrations transferred to through my windscreen seems to have decreased since installing this seal. I am guessing the added thickness and plushness has given the A frame some cushioning.

[HarryB]

The amoun of work and attention to detail is phenomenal! Keep it up Zico!

BTW do you have an estimate of the total number of hours as well as the cost of new parts you have into this by now?

[zco]

Thanks Harry! Got a few more updates as you would have seen on instagram already.. but I'll save it all for next week.

There's been approx 80 hours of work put into it, and as for cost.. I rather not upset myself before bed haha I have a rough idea though. If I had known this was going to be the amount I would be spending, I would have just saved my money for an NSX / FD3S

[Slampen]

Thanks Harry! Got a few more updates as you would have seen on instagram already.. but I'll save it all for next week.
I would have just saved my money for an NSX / FD3S

That would have been a more expensive detour.

[— kung fu jesus —]

There is a valuable lesson here for others reading this thread. Take a few moments to clean stuff up when you have things apart. It’s not just OCD behavior, it’s a little future-proofing repairs and problems. These cars are getting old.

Nice work and method!

[zco]

Had to edit the last post and add a few more pics. Reached the threshold so I had to cut off the last few images and make a new post.

Continuing on.. Two additional areas that needed parts installed as well..

New door lock latches, bolts, door sensor, and door bushing.



And also the rear quarter panel corner



New corner seal, beltline moulding cap, screws, and protective cap









All installed



I took my time installing everything, and it took over 4 hours each side, including cleaning the butyl adhesive off the door. I still need to apply new adhesive, and stick on my new vapour barriers, then install my new door trims. I'll write up another post when I get that sorted.

Until then, stay safe everyone

[zco]

There is a valuable lesson here for others reading this thread. Take a few moments to clean stuff up when you have things apart. It’s not just OCD behavior, it’s a little future-proofing repairs and problems. These cars are getting old.

Nice work and method!

Thank you KFJ, and wise words. Completely agree with you..

If I was to give some advice, it would be the following..

1. Determine a budget
2. Have a vision of what you want your car to be / look like
3. Create a list of all the parts needed for that vision to come to life, and suits that budget. Revise Step 2 if required.
4. Prioritise that list, grouping together things that can be installed at the same time to reduce time, labour costs, or purchased from the same supplier to combine shipping costs.
5. Research, research, research. Do all the possible reading, and plan for worst case scenario. Watch youtube tutorials, ask people on Forums/Instagram/Facebook.
6. Take your time. There is no rush. It is not a race, and your car isn't going anywhere. I spent a whole year collecting parts before I decided to install everything.
7. Try not to get sidetracked. I did a few times and ended up selling parts I bought on impulse.

If only I had step 1 sorted out... haha

[lifebyevan]

Amazing attention to detail when it comes to getting the car ready for paint correction. I am definitely taking notes You are setting a great example for the Miata community and providing some great content for the forum Zico, thank you. I have seen your build pictures and updates on Instagram but it is way more satisfying reading the entire story about the car. It adds another level of satisfaction (as if you didn't make us drool enough with all the nice new OEM parts) to the build It feels like I am reading through a Mazda Roadster Restoration manual when I read through this thread. Keep up the good work and I am excited to see what else you have planned for the car.