Li'l Stinker (NC Content)

[Johnnie]

Swapped out my Protege 5 in August 09 for a 2006 Sunlight Silver Grand Touring. Totally forgot when i made the deal that I wanted the "suspension package" mainly for the Tochigi Fuji limited slip. Got it home and realized I had bought an open diff car. A little disappointment, but the car was so much fun, I knew I could live with it.
Bone stock--4x4 mode:

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Got the Goodwin Racing Roadstersport RACE muffler at some point along the way. Installed it in a few minutes.

Asshat hit the car in the parking lot while the wifey and I were in Chi for thanksgiving that year-- came home to this.

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Signed up for my first autocross in December. At the last minute, the car was still in the body shop, so I did my first event in the rental car. I was hooked.

Santa brought this-- Quaife ATB LSD.

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Swapped out the stock suspension for Racing Beat springs, Koni Sport adjustable shocks, and Hotchkis bars. Modest drop, but functional--

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In the spring of 2010 I finally realized a lifelong dream and got my own garage (2 car with a 3 bedroom house attached) One of the first things I did was go to Harbor Freight and buy a floor jack and a set of jack stands.

Room for two--

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Finally, a spot to do my own maintenance!

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Stripped some paint and polished some aluminum. First NC with a polished hood? Maybe.

I hesitated for a long time with an open can of paint stripper-- believe!

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[Johnnie]

Re-shaped some sheet metal to make room for something a little meatier.

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A little. 17x9 / 245-40-17--- Those are 215-45s on 17x7s on the left.

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Lost a center cap at the first autocross...

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What else? In no particular order: Swapped the too-stiff Hotchkis bars for Racing Beat. Got the AEM/Mazdaspeed CAI and within 3 days ingested water, nearly stalling the car, --destroyed the A/F sensor. Lesson learned, I modded the intake for STR compliance and to get the inlet out of the puddles. New sensor from Mazda turned off the CEL.

I'm sure there's more to the story, but I can't think right now.

$h*t! Li'l Bastard? That's not what I call it. Li'l Bastard was some dead dude's Porsche. I call this one Li'l Stinker. If some kind moderator wanted to allow me to edit my title it would be greatly appreciated.

[Johnnie]

At play.

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[morr]

Good to see you're really enjoying it! I love the polished hood

[— Phatmiata —]

...................

$h*t! Li'l Bastard? That's not what I call it. Li'l Bastard was some dead dude's Porsche. I call this one Li'l Stinker. If some kind moderator wanted to allow me to edit my title it would be greatly appreciated.

Done, fixed it for you.

Can you post an overhead shot of the polished hood? Hard to see it in the current photos.

[Johnnie]

Thanks for fixing my post, Phatmiata.

Here's a pic from the other day.

[blackchicken]

I really dig the polished hood. And good to see an NC build thread on here too!

[Johnnie]

What?

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[blackchicken]

Sh*t just got real!

What?

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[I<3flippyheadlights]

ohhhhh maaaaaaan

[Grumpy]

Looking good! And good to see *another* NC build thread on here. We are far and few between!
How are the reflections off that hood? I'd be too afraid of blinding folks with it.

[Johnnie]

I guess the reflections are probably not much worse than glossy paint. There is a reason the hood is angled *away* from the driver.

[Johnnie]

New tiller--7154979320_11a3eb0f2e.jpg
The RPF1s in action--7191608128_807d7496d1.jpg

[blackchicken]

Is that the MOMO "Monte Carlo" wheel?

[Johnnie]

Monte Carlo 320 mm.