The XIDA are just better everywhere. More composure. Heaps more mechanical grip. Easier control. It's like an easy button.Originally Posted by Bruce
The car is still exactly the same to drive. It's just way easier.
The XIDA are just better everywhere. More composure. Heaps more mechanical grip. Easier control. It's like an easy button.
The car is still exactly the same to drive. It's just way easier.
God damn it Adam... just when I was happy and settle with my Tein Flex!!! =(
Hammerhead (05-22-2015),jux (05-24-2015)
This is Sharka as of yesterday. He might not even look this good anymore.
Why? Because hood.
I got the hood painted. I liked it. I liked it a lot. I was hungry for more.
The shop that painted the GV hood is just a little family business. They use high quality German paint and take their time. Seemed like just the place to get Sharka painted. We chatted, we shook hands, a plan formed.
I asked what I could do to make the job easier. Strip the car as much as possible was the answer. So I did.
No more stripe. Not much anything.
Sharka - Version Hard Times.
The photos look a lot better than real life. The car is SAD in real life. It looks so bland. So boring. The painted NA8 wheels and snow tires? Like a sad cherry on top of a $1 melted ice cream dish.
I'm gonna stop by every few days and take photos. The shop said I could do as much as I wanted - reassemble the car, lay out the stripes, etc. I'm super excited. And I'm gonna try to keep this updated in as close to real time as possible.
Sharka is on a vacation. He will come back better than ever.
I hope.
Bruce (05-27-2015),Grip Driver (05-27-2015),Ihatecars (05-30-2015),JamieH (05-29-2015),Phatmiata (05-31-2015),RotorNutFD3S (05-27-2015),Slampen (05-28-2015),speedypenguin (05-28-2015),tsingson (05-28-2015),vote4pedro (05-27-2015),WASABI (05-28-2015)
Are you sure that's your car?All the little exterior touches, and especially the stripes, make a huge difference!
I'm excited for you though, I remember when I got mine repainted, so much nervousness and then excitement.
I've got a lot less horsepower - luckily they are Japanese horses - usually in better shape and more motivated.
Amazing how much of a visual difference a pair of stripes and a set of wheels makes!
That first picture is one of the saddest things I've seen! Poor Sharka, but I'm sure Sharka will be looking better then ever here shortly! I'm excited!
Good luck, Sharka!
That is making Baby Jesus cry.
Sharka looks naked.......
mmmmm.....naked Sharka
Are you going to stick with the same color, just repainted?
Yup. From traffic distances, you probably won't be able to tell anything was done at all.
looking forward to the paint
MIATA...incredibly fun to drive - as that is its only purpose for being.
I stopped by the shop to check out the progress. I walked in, said hi, and walked toward the back… no Sharka.
I walked around the side. No Sharka. No Sharka on the side of the lot parked next to the other cars either.
I looked in the paint booth. No Sharka.
I walked back toward the front doors, and then realized I was standing next to a car wearing NA8 Miata wheels. Then my eyes focused and I realized I’d walked past my own car TWICE without recognizing it.
This is a fender from the wrecked 97. I beat it back into shape and touched it up. It’s been on Sharka for the past couple years. Not easy to tell that it wasn’t original, even from up close.
I swapped it out because of how badly I mangled the original front fender trying to make my Star Sharks not rub. The mangled fender has not been seen on my blog for about 3 years. I never mentioned it… to anyone.
Yeah. I’m ashamed.
This fender is the worst on the car. They’ve just barely started work. It was also mangled by me.
I’ve never posted about this before. I’ve hidden my shame. The mangling can only be seen up close and from certain angles, but from those angles? Holy shit. Really really bad.
But it’ll all be fixed soon.
There’s been a few dings in the trunk lid since I bought the car. I didn’t realize there were this many. There was one high spot that always drove me nuts. Getting those gone is gonna be awesome.
This side is where most work has been done. About half a day by shop estimates. It looks quite nice in person.
I’m having 80% of the lower rock guard removed. I’m gonna follow the NB style and just have the wavy stuff under the door. I think that’ll look lovely. I plan to also protect the area right behind the front tire with some clear bra.
These little J-type fasteners replace the inner nut on the Garage Vary tail panel. That means no need to remove the panel to fix a burned out bulb in the future.
Why would I need to worry about that? Because this panel will never come off the car again. It’ll be bonded on.
More photos in a couple days!
Bruce (05-29-2015),Golden Stallion (05-29-2015),Grip Driver (05-29-2015),Ihatecars (05-30-2015),JamieH (05-29-2015),Paul B (05-29-2015),Phatmiata (05-31-2015),RotorNutFD3S (05-29-2015),speedypenguin (05-29-2015),theothersawyer (05-29-2015),tsingson (05-29-2015),ueru (06-07-2015),Vegard (05-29-2015)
They've done a lot of work quickly! Not surprising you walked by it.
Last edited by RotorNutFD3S; 05-29-2015 at 01:30 PM.
I've got a lot less horsepower - luckily they are Japanese horses - usually in better shape and more motivated.
Your car is going to be even better than before....Never thought that would be possible. Usually I dislike molded in GV panels but for some reason I have a feeling that yours will look amazing lol
Any idea how much all of this is going to cost? If you don't want to share, that's fine. Just curious as to what a good paint job w/ dent/slight issue repair runs these days while keeping factory color.
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