Nugget-The '94 Miata

[theothersawyer]

Thanks Anthony!

[theothersawyer]

Well, lately I have been getting "bored" of my car. I have been working so much lately that when I actually have some time off all that I want to do is sleep, and haven't been working on my car or cleaning my car. The car had become a device to get me from point A to point B. The other day I had some time off and got to use some of my interior cleaning products my parents got me for my birthday a few months ago. I did not realize how dirty my interior actually was. I ended up spend about 2 hours in 90* heat cleaning my interior!

It made me start to appreciate the car again and I went for a little drive afterwards. No destination, no time to be back home, no places to go, radio turned off, and the top down. I forgot how calming and relaxing that can actually be. (Except for my damn exhaust rattle which bothers the hell out of me!)

Yesterday I went to my friends house where he has a shop and runs a small business out of it working on and tuning Subaru's.

There were 9 Subaru's there that day.


My nice clean interior!


I just LOVE this steering wheel. I always want to get an aftermarket one, but I just cannot part ways with this guy.



Now I want to spend money on my car again, but I just don't know what to get. The paint is really starting to fail badly, but I am not wanting to dump thousands into a paint job. Any suggestions on what would look good on my car? What should my next purchase be?

[—atank—]

K.G. Works Gauge Cluster, K1 Racing Exhaust, New Side Mirrors to match your Runabout Gas Lid, I can go on, and on, & on & on................

[theothersawyer]

K.G. Works Gauge Cluster, K1 Racing Exhaust, New Side Mirrors to match your Runabout Gas Lid, I can go on, and on, & on & on................

Always wanted to get a KG Works gauge cluster, but I don't think I can justify them at the price I'd have to pay for one.

I LOVE the way my current exhaust sounds, but I need to change out my old hangers since it moves around so much it bangs around under the car.

I kind of like the mirror idea, but then I would have to figure out which ones....hmmm

[—atank—]

Always wanted to get a KG Works gauge cluster, but I don't think I can justify them at the price I'd have to pay for one.

I LOVE the way my current exhaust sounds, but I need to change out my old hangers since it moves around so much it bangs around under the car.

I kind of like the mirror idea, but then I would have to figure out which ones....hmmm

Here you go, and a good price so far: http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e145744140

[theothersawyer]

My recent Google searches: Watanabe, TE37, Flyin Miata Turbo Kits, etc. I just can't get myself to pull the trigger on anything!! I don't think I can get myself to spend such a large chunk of money at one time!

[theothersawyer]

HUGE THANK YOU TO ERIC FOR HELPING ME! He is extremely busy lately and found time to help me get this car back together!


So after the last track event I parked the car because it was leaking coolant BAD! I was super busy and didn't get around to really working on it until about a month ago! What an event it has been...I love this car to death, but it always gives me such a PITA! Parts ordered straight from Mazda weren't fitting, because they were off by just the tiniest little bit, or seals were fitting but they would catch on something going in and they would tear. Stupid little things kept pushing the project back! It has been such a headache, but it is finally all put back together!




So I ordered a new timing belt pulley since the old one was so stuck it got damaged during removal, but....it didn't fit! It was mm's too small! Banged it on with a hammer and we were afraid it wasn't going to spin freely since the fit was so tight. When we gave it one final blow with the hammer it spun freely! Phew!


Next up was to finish buttoning up the front of the motor and an oring for the waterneck was somehow cut while installing it! Luckily the old one wasn't in that bad of condition so we used that one! While putting the thermostat housing back on we noticed the oring didn't fit! Another part ordered from Mazda that wasn't quite right! We were frustrated at this point so I kind of jokingly said "f*** it, let's throw it in the freezer!" It actually worked though!


What else happened....Oh! went to start the car after it was all back together and....nothing! Battery must be dead, so I went to the trunk to look and the contacts for the battery were completely corroded and when I touched it it fell apart! New contacts picked up from Walmart and it fired right up!


Look everything over for leaks and didn't see anything, but there was a weird almost knock noise from the head...S***!!! It did go away, assuming it is just from the car sitting for almost 6 months and oil not getting where it needed to right away!


My PWR radiator does have a little leak at one of the welds, which sucks so I guess I need to look for someone who can weld aluminum!






Yesterday I took the car to the track! Drove the car about 40 miles the day before the track day! That is how you test to make sure everything was put together properly!













Car felt great on track and I was feeling more comfortable out there than I have in the past! I still have a ton to improve on and just need more track time under my belt!

[SpeedWorks]

Loving your car man.

[theothersawyer]

Two more photos of me on track! These photos were taken by chadbeephotography.com

[theothersawyer]

After putting the whole car back together it still had a coolant leak! It's from the PWR radiator! Pulled it out tonight so I could get it fixed and put in the new A/C condenser (Thanks Rick!) so I can hopefully have A/C again!

[theothersawyer]

It is always an adventure with this car!

So I got the radiator back from the welder and....IT STILL LEAKS! Jzilla at Road Atlanta is in TWO days and I need this thing working! (You can barely see the coolant dripping down from the weld in this picture)


Ended up going and buying JB Weld and JB Welding the sh*t out of it to hopefully make it leak free! I went with the putty because it seems to have all the requirements I needed with a very short set time! I don't have 24 hours to wait for the other types of JB to set. It isn't pretty, but it worked perfectly!


It said not to touch this stuff with your hands or to inhale any of the dust....I didn't have any gloves so I said screw it and used my hands then immediately smelled it, so if my hands fall off and I die you know why! lol



Turned it on and let it idle for a while and NO DRIPS!!!! Took it out for a spin and I miss this car! The ZHP is a fun car, but this is a damn go kart! Anyways, drove it for a good 30 minutes and drove it HARD! No drips! Also filled it up for the track!


Next project: Paint this thing....maybe.

[— freedomgli —]

Get 'er done! Sometimes bodge jobs are a necessary evil. Good luck at the event.

[— Dandy —]

This has always been one of my favorite cars with its unique bumper stylings.

[theothersawyer]

Get 'er done! Sometimes bodge jobs are a necessary evil. Good luck at the event.

Gotta do what you gotta do! And thanks! It'll be my first time driving at Road Atlanta!

This has always been one of my favorite cars with its unique bumper stylings.

Thank you! It desperately needs paint and a lot of work on the front bumper! Lots of rock chips and poor paint!

[NCGreasemonkey]

Where there is a southerner there is a fix! Run the piss outta it and let us know if it holds.

My future quote: I don't use duct-tape. They got that new fangled Gorilla tape now! And that shat is better than hot wax!