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Thread: Sharka

  1. #751
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift NCGreasemonkey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cermivelli View Post
    Should have added the shiftpattern plate with my last order. Oh well, there will always be a next order for goodies at your shop!
    That is my problem. I always forget something small. So I have to order big to get the small the next time. It is a Pandora's Box of goodness and $$$. But at least it is Adam. The Saint of customer service!

    Damn, now you made me think of something else to ask him about.

    Peace!
    ... Rick

    Quote Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
    ...and don't be like an NCGreasemonkey.
    For the thread on Noir click below
    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....e-light-Slowly

  2. #752
    Forum Sponsor revlimiter's Avatar
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    Sharka got wood too. Mad wood. Wood for days.


    This is one of the 911 model shifters in Argentine lignum vitae with a matching brake grip. It’s fantastic to hold. And the smell of the LV in Sharka’s interior? OMG. It mixes with the leather, old plastic, and gasoline to make the most memorable odor combination possible. It’s…

    I’m just saying that if there was a smell-o-plugin for a web browser, I’d be giving you a link to the download site and forcing Sharka’s interior stench upon you.


    I did a custom Elanore insert for the knob. The LV has so many colors that adding more to it with a colorful insert seemed wrong. Black and chrome seemed to be just the thing. And the chrome works with Sharka’s chrome brake button.

    I even swapped out the Watanabe Falcon in favor of my old Nardi Classico. The wood combo seemed to be begging for a chrome spoke steering wheel.


    Wood is a bit of a different look for Sharka, but I think it works. It feels harmonious to me. Nostalgic even.

    The Falcon and metal shifters will return in the future, but for right now, I’m enjoying a little change. And did I mention the smell? OMG. So good!

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  4. #753
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    Dat interior doe! These are pieces from the same miata enthusiast that provided the wood shift knobs you sold a batch of? Really dat interior.... ...a great interior makes such a HUGE difference imo to the driving experience.
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

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  6. #754
    Forum Sponsor revlimiter's Avatar
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    SPEED HOLES!!

    This is a tiny mod, but something that's been on my wish list for a long time. I recently got to meet Jeo and Blue Jay and was gifted this set of wiper arms. When he pulled this out of Blue Jay‘s trunk and handed them to me… there may have been a tear.

    So awesome.



    This is a set of hand-drilled Miata wiper arms made by Chad who used to own Warbird. Chad made a handful of these – some in a brushed finish and some in various black powdercoats. The one Sharka has is done in satin black powder, which is the exact set I wanted.

    If I remember right, Chad started with something like 20 sets of wiper arms. He destroyed some learning how to drill them. Others were badly powder coated and he didn’t like the results (they were kinda brown I think). And he had only 4 or 5 sets when he was done.

    Out of those 4 or 5 sets, Chad wasn’t 100% happy with any. Each had a small misalignment or some other imperfection. He didn’t feel that any of them were worthy of my blog – and I got updates and pix of the whole project while he was working on it – so none ever came to me.

    I was… kinda crushed. I didn’t expect perfection. It just seemed like a cool piece to have and a subtle detail to add to Sharka. But if Chad was not pleased, then I’d just wait for a future batch when he had all the kinks worked out.

    Then Chad sold Warbird. And I didn’t expect to ever have a set of his wiper arms.



    Yes, those are Sharka’s wiper arms. They’re old and faded and have rubbing compound dots from polishing the hood. Wiper arms are easy to ignore until they get a lot worse than the ones pictured above. A quick spray of black paint usually fixes them up for another few years.

    But Jeo provided me with something WAY nicer than a set of sprayed arms!!



    I love that! It’s such a cool little detail. And, like the original tired wiper arms, they’re easy to miss. Just something you notice when you’re really looking.

    A word about the misaligned holes – you truly cannot tell unless you’re staring at them from a foot or two away. It’s easy to see the crooked holes in these photos, but it’s not like that in real life. They just look like custom wiper arms. Your eye is drawn more to the spring behind the holes than the holes themselves.

    And a word about noise – I have not noticed any. Since installing these, I’ve had Sharka on the freeway a few times and not heard any whistling. I mean, he’s not the most quiet car anyway, but I’ve not heard any new noises.



    So happy to have these! Seriously. Thank you Chad and Jeo!

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  8. #755
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    I am REALLY glad you like them, Adam! I was relieved, honestly, when you said you would wait for a set I was happier with because not one set was what I wanted. I only kept the gloss clear set which I sold to Brian Lietchy when Waribird was parted out and the matte clear, matte black and gloss black sets went to bromungandr aka Jeovany as he was the first to inquire about a set and honestly didn't want to charge him for even a single set because they were not up to my standards.

    Any who, I am flattered you like them and they are on Sharka despite their imperfections(mostly hole alignment)!
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

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  10. #756
    Forum Sponsor revlimiter's Avatar
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    Seriously, they're fantastic. I really dig them. And while perfection is, well, perfect and something I always strive for... there's something really awesome about hand made parts. You can see the care that went into making it. It's something I really appreciate.

    So... mine are not matte black or gloss black. I'm very familiar with different powder coat finishes. Gloss black is SUPER glossy and deep. Flat black has no shine at all. The arms I have are right in the middle. They're extremely similar to the satin black vent rings I sell. I assumed they were satin. Did your powder coater call these gloss? I remember you having problems getting the coating the right color.

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  12. #757
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    You may very well correct on them being satin as I recall the powder coater saying that would be similar to a oem finish. The only issue was when powder coating them matte clear as it can/will discolor the metal depending on alloy and prep work. That is the set Jeovany ended up using as he said it reminded him of raw titanium. So glad you like them!
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

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  14. #758
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Dave737's Avatar
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    Speed holes are fun!!!


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  16. #759
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Indeed they are! I made a set myself but then realized that LHD and RHD wipers are different, so they live on project Ronin now! ��

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  18. #760
    Forum Sponsor revlimiter's Avatar
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    Nope, you’re eyes are not playing tricks. That’s a trunk rack. And it’s gonna be on Sharka in a minute.

    No offense to those who like these, but… well… I’m not really a trunk rack guy. I’d rather have either a spoiler on there or nothing at all. I really like the bare trunk lid look on an NA. Just never been into having anything back there.

    But I’ve got a reason to have a trunk rack. Sharka’s gonna drive to California!



    Since we’re gonna be driving a decent distance, I wanted a spare tire. And not just the donut spare that came with the car… it takes up a lot of trunk room and is nearly useless. I wanted a real spare.

    And that meant trunk rack time.

    I didn’t wanna damage Sharka’s pretty paint, so out came the post it notes. They're my high tech stripe measuring device of choice.

    Stripes.



    Clear bra stripes.



    Yeah, that's a Raceland trunk rack. I wanted to buy the real deal from... whatever company made this design. But they were always sold out. Raceland had them in stock.

    The clear bra should protect the pretty paint from the Raceland. I hope.

    We'll come back to the rack in a moment.


    Tint!



    The next step was some tint. I’ve wanted to tint Sharka for years, but just have kept putting it off. I finally had a reason.

    I had some “buddies” tint the car. They showed up with a van and a box of no-name purple tint. It was… well, you’ll see.


    ... wait. What's going on here?


    No good at all.

    The side windows went well, but the hardtop was not at all good. I mean, it looked good when applied, but the next day the stars came out.

    No amount of time sitting in the hot NM sun cured things. The bubbles were there to stay.

    Add to the fact that the tint did not look to be decent quality material and I paid very very little for the (bad) install… I decided to re-tint it the next week.


    At an actual Tint shop.




    Bad tint gone. 3M Crystaline 40 installed.

    Goodbye crappy tint. I hardly knew ya.

    I had 3M Crystalline 40 installed all the way around by Tint and Trim Works here in Albuquerque. It’s pretty damn amazing tint. Very thick, blocks everything, and still has decent light transmission.

    I didn’t want dark limo tint. That stuff looks pretty odd when the windows and top are down and there’s just the front quarters super dark. Nope, I just wanted some heat and skin cancer protection.

    Heh, I’m old. But my tint has no bubbles.


    Alignment time!



    Next stop was Keith’s Wheel Alignment here in ABQ. Nothing was too off. I just wanted to get everything squared back up and ready for a trip.

    Keith’s is great. I’ve gone to him all of my Miata-driving life. I’ve followed Keith through 3 or 4 shops. He’s a wizard and the only one I’d trust to align Sharka.

    Now back to the trunk rack.



    YES! That’s a reason to have a trunk rack mounted.

    The wheel is a spare 14″ RPF1 I had made. See, those wheels used to be rare and special order. I ordered 5 years ago so that I would have a spare if anything happened to one. And then Enkei started making them as a regular size…

    The tire is also a spare I had rattling around. I got some grey market Potenza G3s for Bucky (who wears the 14″ RPF1s daily) a few years ago. I ordered 5 just in case one got a sidewall hole or something. Good thing too since those tires are long gone.

    Put the extra wheel and extra tire together and now have a lightweight spare for Sharka’s California trip.

    Cost: $0.



    I originally planned to fabricate a wheel mount for that trunk rack. I got a huge chunk of aluminum, some all-thread, various bolts, and other things. I measured and made plans. I was just about to start cutting things.

    And then I strapped the tire to the trunk, just to see how the straps worked by themselves.

    It’s ON there. Not moving. I mean, the whole car moves when you try to shove the tire around. It’s solid. So I’m just gonna use these two lashing straps for the trip.

    I’ve got two more spare straps in case I need them, but they’re REALLY good. I can get the tire off in a few seconds and back on in about a minute. No big bolts sticking up when the tire is off. Win all around.


    No paint contact


    Front side


    Back side


    Hardtop clearance


    And the trunk even opens.

    Yeah, these lashing straps are fantastic. I don’t think I’ll have any problems with the spare over the 1500 mile journey.

    Just one more thing…



    There’s ZERO visibility with the spare back there. I considered a camera and monitor system, but the huge stock mirrors are a much better solution. They can be angled to show the rear view out of both mirrors and the bubbles take care of lane changes.

    No cameras or technology needed. $0 solution.



    Sharka will wear his 15×8 RPF1s for the trip. They’re round and road force balanced. No 70mph shake at all. They’re not anything near as pretty as the Star Sharks (I’ve never even blogged about these 15x8s…) but they’re round. They’ll be good for the trip.

    I even got some center caps to fit and made inserts for them. Can’t expect me to roll without center caps!





    Overkill? Probably. But I like fiddling with the car. I don’t wanna be unprepared. And I don’t wanna have to drive with a tire in the seat next to me.

    Next stop: California!

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  20. #761
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    That trunk rack solves my spare tire problem. Great job!

  21. #762
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift NCGreasemonkey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tsingson View Post
    That trunk rack solves my spare tire problem. Great job!
    Heck! You have to make the trip.

    Just poking!

    Love the add Adam. And a nice package for a roll to Ca.. Safe travels my friend!
    ... Rick

    Quote Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
    ...and don't be like an NCGreasemonkey.
    For the thread on Noir click below
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  23. #763
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone speedypenguin's Avatar
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    Where will you be going in California??!?!

    If you're going to be coming to the San Francisco Bay Area, please let us know!
    My Eunos Roadster, Jazz

  24. #764
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    There's something retro-cool about racks to me, really liking this! Didn't knew you had 15" RPF1s as well... How come and you are not using these on Bucky? I mean, to me 14s look better on NAs and NBs look better with 15". But that's just me! Also awesome idea with the bra tape, will be copying you ;)

  25. #765
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by revlimiter View Post
    Next stop: California!
    Counting days!!

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