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Thread: The Slow Pursuit of Vintage.

  1. #1
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    The Slow Pursuit of Vintage.

    So.... I've been apprehensive about making a build thread for my car for a looong time. I mean, when I first decided to really start looking for a Miata to buy, I kept telling myself I was just looking for a front engine, RWD, manual trans 2 seater that was decent on gas that I could still have fun with, without making any changes to it. Anyways, getting a little ahead of myself here. Let me tell you what got me thinking about owning a Miata.

    Back in Dec. of '10 I was sitting at home having a moment of nostalgia as I was looking through all my old Hot Wheels that I played with when I was a kid. I then came across a little yellow Miata with a pink interior. You Hot Wheels guys know which one I'm talking about. So I was looking at it, and started to think what a Miata is. For as long as I could remember I had thought of them as girls' cars, but why? It's a front engined, RWD, 2 seater convertible sports car that you can get with a manual trans. That's a pretty damn good description for fun and all through my 20's I've learned to look at cars more maturely. Anyways, I tried to think of other cars that where what the Miata was and I had a short list. And once I started to look at the going prices of the Miata and it's competition nothing made as much sense as a used 1st or 2nd gen Miata. Now, I had already been thinking about finding something to use as a new DD to keep the miles off my '98/'99 Chevy 1500 that would also be better on gas. But I knew I'd never be able to live with a boring economy car. So I get to looking at Miatas, started researching them, learning about them, finding out everything that I could about them. When you break it down to what a Miata is, you get a lot of fun for not much dough. And there's just no other car that has what a used Miata does at it's price.

    So, the search began. I had a list of must haves that were simple. Cruise control, A/C, and Torsen. Wasn't concerned on color or NA/NB or black cloth/tan leather. Then a buddy kept showing me wrecked Miatas laying belly up. So I started to look for cars that had rollbars or I was going to budget for one to immediately buy. Well, 2 months go by and I had looked at car after car. Then I came across the car I would buy. It was all the way up in the mountains of VA near the Blue Ridge Parkway 200+ miles away. Off I went with a buddy and his gf (they're now married) with cash in hand to look at the car. After crawling on our backs, checking for rust, leaks, & damage and then a proper test drive, the car checked out. I handed over the cash and on Feb 13th '11 I was the new owner of a Black & Tan '97 NA with everything I thought I wanted in a Miata. That first long drive was fricken awesome. Driving through those mountains on the way back home removed any concerns that my new little Miata would ever be boring.

    OK, so that got longer than I intended quick. So, pics, yeah, those things that keep people looking. Here's how it sat the morning after getting it home.















    128K miles on her when I bought her. Yes, her, I've come to the decision that her name is Betty. I'll explain that later. Betty is a nearly fully loaded '97 only lacking ABS (which I rather not have) and a HT as far as I can think of without being an M, R or STO. She also came with all of the following bonuses as is. New-ish Robbins glass window top, silver 15x7 Chaparrals w/ 195 Yokohama S-Drives, Hard Dog HTDD M2 Sport, OEM tan top boot, Wolf fitted car cover, Haynes manual, and a recent amount of service which included the timing belt, water pump, belts, clutch master & slave, and KYB GR2s.

    So yeah, those pics were taken on Feb. 14th... the car has been a love affair since.

    Now, the one thing I did not anticipate on was the Miata turning me into a convertible convert. I'm a dude with pretty damn long hair, and long hair plus top down driving just doesn't mix. But, it only took the first top down drive to realize I was going to start putting the top down far more often than I had thought I would. So I've learned to do what I must to keep my hair out of my face with the top down.

    Here's the first pics I took of her with the top down.










    There's so much more I have to post, but I'll do it later. I just wanted to get this started today, on my birthday. Every year I have a local cake shop make me a simple themed cake. This year was a triple layer cake with the Eunos "V". I thought after 3 years of ownership it would be fitting since I've recently figured out my "finished" vision of the car.





    It was soooo gooood.

    So, yeah, will post more later.
    Last edited by JamieH; 07-22-2017 at 09:07 PM.

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  3. #2
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    Nice pickup man! Can't wait to see this in person. And that cake looks delicious.

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  5. #3
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    So, I had a Miata, and she was in really good condition when I got her. But a few things needed to be addressed. First off I had a bit of radio interference going on that I suspected was the plug wires. I also wanted to change all the brake pads just to be safe. But, I was still in the mind set of trying not to mod her. So I got some NGK plugs and NGK OEM blues along with Akebono pads. The wires took care of the radio interference and I felt fully confident in the brakes (the fluid still looked fine and pedal feel was good).

    Before (oh yeah, forgot that the PO had installed a K&N filter):



    After:



    And I tried getting fancy with my old 5MP Kodak camera.



    There was one other thing that bothered my about Betty. Mazda, for what ever reason, left the left quarter panel exposed inside the trunk. I've had a bad experience with another car that had no quarter panel protection in the trunk ('87 GN) and I was sure as hell not going to let it happen again. The PO's solution was to keep a rolled up towel over there. That was not going to cut it for me, that's just a loose band-aid waiting to fall off. I looked into possible solutions and found that a plastic shield was available. But I didn't like that, still not strong enough as far as I was concerned. So what to do? Make my own damn shield! I picked up a piece of thick gauged sheet metal from Lowes to make my shield.

    First, I made a template.



    Then I skipped a bunch of steps because I forgot to take pictures. Then I test fitted the unpainted shield.



    Up next was paint and installing forever.






    And I have zero worries about anything in the trunk damaging the quarter panel now. The other side is the same way, but with the battery bolted in place I feel it's an adequate shield.

    I also decided around this time that it was time for our garage to actually be a, you know, garage. We had recently had part of the house rebuilt (mostly the garage, surrounding area, and 1/3 of the roof) from a fire that happened in 2010. This worked out in the long run as the garage got cleaned out and remodeled. No more wood vaneer paneling, now clean white walls. So, before the garage got filled with too much random junk, I made room for Betty.






    As you can see, there's a lot of boxes sitting around, we were still unpacking and trying to find everything that was packed away after the fire. Everything was taken out of the house to be cleaned and to have new carpet put in and the walls cleaned/repainted because of smoke damage. We also got around to just ditching some stuff we still had but weren't using. Like that old 26" wood cabinet TV.

    Anyways, remember how I said I have long hair? And that I was going to do what I needed to keep it out of my face with the top down? Well I decided I'd make a windblocker out of some clear ploycarbonate. I figured the best way to mount one would be to take advantage of all that scaffolding in the back.

    Templates:



    Test fitting the templates:



    Again, I'm skipping steps because I forgot to take pictures. Finished windblocker:






    So, yeah, I had over thought it and in doing so made a small, tinsy tiny mistake. I had the center section of my new windblocker reaching nearly all the way down to rear shelf... keeping the top from going up. I didn't make this discovery for 2 weeks as since I started to keep Betty in the garage, I had no reason to put the top up since it hadn't been raining. So yeah, balls. I was going to have to make another windblocker. I convinced myself it was for the best since the first one was also a bit of a PITA to install and remove, and you know, kept the top from going up. It'd be a couple of months before I made another one. I just lived with the first one until then.

    But, then disaster happened! It was a rainy Wednesday afternoon and I was at Sonics getting lunch. I finished eating and backed out of the parking space, but before I could put her in 1st and take off, the car that was parked next to me backed up too.



    I swear it was like it all happened in slow motion. From the corner of my eye I saw this big Honda SUV coming at me. My instincts said to jam her in 1st and drop the clutch to get the hell out of there. But my brain stuck it's nose in and said to honk the horn to get them to stop. By the time I had found the horn button and blew the horn, it was too late. Stupid brain. The whole car shook and I thought the worst had happened, the quarter panel was damaged. So glad it wasn't and that it was just some paint chipped off and scuffs. Still I was so damn pissed. Barely had Betty for a month and someone had hurt her. And the reason this happen? The lady driving the Honda Pilot said she didn't see me in her rearview camera. Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me? I about lost it at that, thinking "what, your neck doesn't fucking work?" But, I kept calm, called the cops, filed a report, and her insurance paid to have the bumper repainted.

    And all of that was my first month with Betty. More to come later tonight. I promise the good stuff is coming.
    Last edited by JamieH; 07-22-2017 at 09:24 PM.

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  7. #4
    Super Moderator atank's Avatar
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    Looks great, so clean........^^things will happen, just glad its not too bad!!!!!!!

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    Individual-1 ☚ ☻ ☛ Agent☣Orange's Avatar
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    I love this thread.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

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    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    Nice job on the windblocker. I have thought about making one myself but I barely drive with the top down anymore with a hardtop in place.

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  13. #7
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power Rogue's Avatar
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    Nice brilliant '97…….and its rude not to share that cake.

    I just picked up a nice triple Black '97PEP.
    1992 BnT, 93LE #737, 94M, 95M, 96M, 97PEP, and a few 90s

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  15. #8
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    I'm sure some might be wondering where all the vintage is. It's coming, just going through this in order. Really, the aim for a vintage look didn't come about untill I got my Nardi. And even then I wasn't sure if that was going to be my goal with the car. Alright, back to where I left off.

    Now, you know what's annoying? A convertible that leaks. It will take you right out of being completely confident of your car's ability to suffer the elements. Well, I noticed Betty was leaking water into the trunk the night she was hit. So, a couple days later I tear apart the back of the top to inspect the rain rail. Yep, it's no good... "fuck." I order one up immediately off ebay from Robbins. Now, I hate doing some things more than once, by some I really mean all. But working around a rollbar is a PITA and I'm not a large fellow at all. So I left Betty to sit with her top partially disassembled untill her new rainrail came in. It came in I got it in and that was that. Sigh... not really, I'd notice she was leaking again months later. I had already cleaned out the gutters/drainholes and everything else. The new rain rail was already coming apart. What do, what do. Fuck it, duct it. And she hasn't leaked since.

    Two months went by and I had just been enjoying driving a Miata everyday. But, I was just getting very tired of dealing with the old Kenwood Tape/CD dual unit setup. Tapedeck adapters for a 3.5mm jack just don't last that long, and I was already on my 3rd one. Never mind the Kenwood units were showing their age with being faded. I wanted something new, something with a 3.5mm aux jack built in. Which seemingly all radio had when I bought my new radio. The trick was just finding something of OK quality that also wasn't ugly as sin. Really, why are most aftermarket head units so damn ugly? Anyways, I did some comparative shopping and settled on a Pioneer DEH-6300UB. Now, I'd never tossed in a radio myself before. I've never been a fan of electrical work. But, with Betty, I've wanted to do absolutely everything myself. It was super simple and I kept asking myself why I hadn't done it sooner. I wish I had taken pictures when I was wiring things. I also picked up an OEM dash pocket from Rosenthal Mazda.



    I've got a bad habit of being so damn excited about getting a part on my car once I have it that I rush to get it on. So I sometimes forget to get pictures of things when they show up in the mail or pictures of the process. So I will end up with a ton of pictures of the results of my giddyness. Which isn't to say I don't take my time putting things together and installing them. I'm kind of anal about things to the point I like to put screws, nuts, and bolts back exactly from where they were removed, even if it wouldn't matter if they weren't.

    But yeah, new radio was in and it was way awesome and I had another location to store stuff. A couple weeks later I finally got around to making a another windblocker, this time much simpler. Just a big rectangle, still secured to the scaffolding. But the big difference is now the top can go up with it in place in case of a surprise shower.



    I eventually got some 2" wide Velcro off ebay to clean it up a little. One of these days I'm going to make some custom leather straps with snap buttons for a better look and slightly quicker install.

    So, I was still kind of in a "I'm keeping this car unmodded" mind set but that was starting to get rocky. I had already started to eye a whole bunch of amazing parts, and installing the radio started the itch of the mod bug. I was really starting to bond with Betty and I needed to do something. Just... something, anything to scratch that itch. I needed a unique keychain and the idea that hit me was going to be that soothing scratch.

    So, remember how I said looking at a a little yellow and pink interior Hot Wheels Miata got me thinking about owning a Miata? Well, I decided to turn it into a mini version of my car.




    I got the wheels from a Trans-Am racer Hot Wheels 'Cuda. Had to do a fair bit of grind to get them to fit. I carried that little guy around long enough to wear most of the paint back off of him. I retired it when I got a R2 Limited black background Eunos "V" keychain.

    A couple weeks go by and I couldn't do it. I had to do something, something that I had felt Betty had needed since I got her. An OEM R pack front lip. I had already been looking for one for a while, but I just hadn't been serious about getting one. Now I was. And boom, XCLR8TN was selling one on CR.net. It had to be mine. Here's the thing though. The family was about to go on a vacation to Orlando, FL. But I didn't have my new to me R lip yet but it was due to arrive soon, but not soon enough. I wasn't about to let it sit outside for over a week knowing it might be waiting for me when I got back. So, the rest of the family went on ahead of me a day early while I waited for the lip to show up at my house. It shows up and I immediate went out to the shop to put it on. Got to the shop and then realized I needed to go to Lowes for some hardware first... "DOH!". Yeah, like I said, too excited to get a new part on my car. It was done and I felt like I had done something that made Betty more complete.




    The OEM R lip is that right amount of... stuff... style... I don't know. But it's not too much or too little. A Miata doesn't need to be lower than stock for it to look right, but if it is it looks good that way too. And I know it's not exactly a mod, as it's an OEM piece, but it was something for me to do that I wanted to do to make Betty look better. Her front end had been looking naked to me.

    So I scratched that itch. All was right in the world. For a month. I was just minding my own business, perusing craigslist out of habit, and there it was. A black HT with headliner & defroster. "Crap, crap, crap, ugh, I've got to have it!" Well that train of thought is never good when you're a car guy. You know you're about to spend money. So with cash in hand I made a trip to Raleigh that was filled with anticipation. I get to Raleigh and I'm looking for a place called Weaver Motorsports, but I go right by it as I didn't notice it at first. Small place with a very small lot and mechanics shop in the back. Anyways, I get to talking with the owner and I ask if it's OK to see it on my car first. That sealed it. I wasn't letting it come off my car. I wanted it too badly and paid exactly what a nice HT goes for. Now, oddly enough, Betty already had side strikers for a HT. So I was suspecting she may have had one at one point in her life. Which made the drive back with my new HT that much better as it was fully seated.

    Holy hell, it changed the car so much. She felt tighter, it was quieter inside, roomier, and she looked dead sexy with it. I spent the first 15 minutes of the drive back just in dumbfounded awe that I now owned a HT and kept constantly looking around in the car at it.

    That night I got to ordering the relays, switch, etc. for the defroster to work from Rosenthal. Here she was back home and put away for the night.




    The next day I went to see a movie, I don't even remember what. But once I walked back out I thought the side of the theater would make for a nice backdrop for some day light pictures of my new HT.








    I took waaaaayyy more pics of Betty that day. I get carried away even though I use basic point and shoot cameras. I also did a bad attempt of MS Painting Rota Aleicas on a lowered Betty.



    No lie, if they came in a reasonable offset I'd be all over them.

    So after spending that kind of money on a HT I'd be good for a while right? Nope. Two weeks later I had a set of M Edition door sills. This was likely the real beginning of my not modding downfall.




    While I was at it I picked up a set of new OEM tan floor mats from Rosenthal. Oh, and some Ford Escape windshield washer nozzles off ebay too.

    And another two weeks later? I had an OEM R pack rear spoiler. I think I scored it, along with the door sills, off the same guy on craigslist... I think. The spoiler took longer to get on the car because it needed a little body work and paint.



    This is one of my favorite pics of Betty, likely THE favorite as I'm still using it as my computer's wallpaper.









    So yeah, I got it on there and at that time I felt like there was nothing else I wanted to do to Betty's exterior. After that I didn't do anything else that year except rebuild her shifter and give her fresh trans and diff fluids in Dec. I was feeling pretty good about Betty. She looked great, just how I thought she should. She drove just fine, ran strong, and kept bringing me joy. Little by little I had been making her better and making her my own. It was a good first year with her.

    But about 4 months later, that mod bug sunk in again and hard. It was time to do something serious for the interior.
    Last edited by JamieH; 07-22-2017 at 09:50 PM.

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  17. #9
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! WASABI's Avatar
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    Nice job so far

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  19. #10
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power freedomgli's Avatar
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    Car looks super clean. Love the Eunos cake.

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  21. #11
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Around March I started to to keep staring at wood Nardi wheels pretty hard. They just look so old school but they're brand new. It's like something that has never needed to be redesigned because it's just that damn good. I wanted one something bad. But, I was fighting myself because a Nardi wheel would definitely break the no mods mind set I had. Before, I had just bent that little rule I had, or at least that's what I told myself. But an aftermarket wheel? While incredibly pretty, I wasn't sure still because I'd be giving up my airbag. What would happen if I got in an accident? Etc., etc. But then I asked myself if my '67 Camaro not having an airbag ever bothered me. Not once, and it has latch style lap belts for seatbelts. And holy hell have I driven that thing hard, without a doubt I've had it fast enough to more than kill me in an accident. I kind of got over it and don't really think about it that much any more.

    So, I kept trying to figure which would be best in my car, black or polished spokes. I went back and forth on that over and over. I'd tell myself that black would look more contemporary, that it would be a good mix of modern and vintage since the car is a '97. "But, but, but, the polished is so damn purdy... it's shiney!" I guess you could say I was having an argument of the heart and mind. And the heart won out, because I went for the polished.
    But I couldn't just toss that wheel in there by itself, it need something to accentuate it, to help draw the eye to the rest of the dash. So a set of R-Speed vent rings were ordered at the same time. I went with the Daikei hub as it seemed to be a better match aesthetically to the car in my eyes.





    Jesus, look at that. Ain't that effing gorgeous? The Nardi wood wheels looks great in pictures, but in person? It's like your eyes on resting on clouds... made of boobs. And the feel? It's like silk, my god. a Nardi wood wheel feels so good to hold. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but at the time you couldn't tell me my shit stunk I was so happy to have that wheel. That initial joy has subsided, but I still get a smile from time to time when I look down and see what I'm steering my car with. Also, one of my initial thoughts when I got done installing it was, "man, that looks so vintage." Well, that was just what I needed, a single thought.

    That same month I bought a Porter Cable 7424xp buffer and goodies from AutoGeek. I was getting very curious about buffing and polishing and learning how to do it myself. And I had felt Betty's paint could use a pick me up. Her paint looked good when I bought her, but I knew she had been resprayed at some point. I don't know why, as there's no signs of an accident before I had her. And I don't think they had any problems with black cars in '97. Sadly, what ever they did between the base coat and clear coat wasn't enough prep. There's clear coat peeling off from the left fender, behind the wheel below the body line. I've also recently notice that the clear is starting to bubble just above the right taillight. Right on the edge where the body meets the light. From everything I've read about Miatas, only the metallic color cars were base/clear from the factory. Anyways, she could do with a good buff and polish I thought. So I spent the weekend that the buffer came in spending some serious quality time with Betty.











    I used Megs 105/205 on Betty and some Megs Ultimate paste wax. Her paint has never looked better since I've had her. I really need to get around to doing it again. Being my DD I've been slowly seeing swirls come back. I've tried washing her as gently as possible, but I'm stuck using the local quarter washes. The water at my house is off a deep well, so it's very hard water. And I just haven't gotten around to getting a filter system yet. That and a a nice two bucket system plus a nice brush. Planning to get those items sometime this year... if I can stop buying parts for a minute.

    Oh, and here's a few top down, HT off pics I took the next day.







    A couple of months had went by and I had been pretty satisfied. But knew I was looking to get some more goodies as I had made my mind up that I wanted that car to have that vintage feel to it. At least on the inside. And one thing was really starting to annoy me. The slow speed of the power windows. I had done everything to get them to work better. Cleaning the tracks, Shin-Etsu grease, cleaning the contacts of the factory switch, but none of that ever provided a lasting solution. Then I saw Adam's retro switches on his site, revlimiter. They looked so damn good and kind of industrial, like they were just built of better stuff than the factory switches/ I instantly fell in love with them and knew I had to have them. I also saw some very nice KG Works door handles over on Rod's site Tetsuya Garage. Rod also had a Saizere dress up kit that was only missing the glove box piece. All of these would really compliment the few shiny items I already had in Betty.

    Well, well, look at this, I had enough patience to take some pictures before the nice stuff went on Betty.





    But no in process pics. Well, here's what it looked like once in.







    Yeah, started to get a small collection of stickers going by that point.

    I started to really feel like I was getting somewhere with all these tidbits in Betty.
    Last edited by JamieH; 07-22-2017 at 10:10 PM.

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  23. #12
    Supporting Member Dandy's Avatar
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    Wow, I definitely need to break out the popcorn for this one.

    Lots of pictures and good reading. The Nardi really fits Betty. I bet you find yourself looking back at your car a lot. That's when you know you've done it right.

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  25. #13
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone Ihatecars's Avatar
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    Great choices with the parts you're getting. Everything is very classy and tasteful. I'm excited to see your progress.

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  27. #14
    Supporting Member Grip Driver's Avatar
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    definitely got some good stuff going on here, looking forward to more!

  28. The Following User Says Thank You to Grip Driver For This Useful Post:

    JamieH (02-27-2014)

  29. #15
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Black & Tan '97 - Betty
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    Kinston, NC
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    Jan 2012
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    Well, I was kind of getting tired of the stock exhaust finally. I'd been listening to several exhaust vids on youtube for a a year by now. So many damn choices, really, the Miata has a ton of exhaust choices. I thought some kind of rare JDM muffler would be cool, but I didn't like their prices for usually being used and showing it. I also wasn't wanting anythign all that loud, but it did need to obviously be louder than stock. I eventually settled on the Roadster Sport 3 cat-back from Goodwin Racing. It arrived in Aug. 2012.




    Didn't get around to installing it for a couple of weeks. And again, no in process pics. "Ain't nobody got time for that!"




    So far it's the only performance mod I have on Betty. Well, I don't know if it really adds any power, but it sweetens the lovely noises Betty makes. I left the baffle in the tip at first. After a week I was curious how much of a difference it made, so I took it out.... and it has stayed out since. I would like to add forced induction down the road. I dont' want much more power, just enough to give me passing power I can be confident in. So, I haven't ruled out a roots blower kit. I also like the silly noises turbos make.

    So, a bikini top may not be vintage. But I like the way they look. And Project-G makes one damn fine quality product. A used one came up for sale on CR.net and I was on the fence about it for a few days. I'm sure I wouldn't have had that luxury if it wasn't a tan top. But it was I had time to mull it over. Don't know why I did, I knew I was going to get one and this was going to save me a few bucks.





    So now I had three options for a top. The soft top, the hard top, or the bikini top. Some would argue I need a taller rollbar for the bikini top to look good. I don't care, I like it, and it's so nice to have that sort of top down experience. To get the sounds and breeze of the top being down, but not to have the sun trying to turn your interior into a frying pan. That's a nice way of cruising around. Also, it helps to keep the heat or A/C in too if I so choose to run either. Whenever I get around to bringing Betty closer to the ground I think the bikini top will look a bit better on her.

    Being that I bought Betty's bikini top used, I didn't have everything I wanted for it. Such as a storage bag, the fancy garter rings, and bow end caps. So a quick order directly to Project-G was done.




    I've seemingly misplaced the bow end caps some how. I thought I knew were I put them until I got around to getting them on. But, yeah, currently in the Negative Zone as far as I know.

    So, I'd wanted to do something about the garage floor since even before the house fire and the garage was remodeled. And I had eyed RaceDeck for years. I probably built my custom layout 100 times on RaceDecks site trying to get it just right. Well in Oct. of 2012 a whole bunch of boxes showed up in the morning from UPS.



    I got to work immediately. First I had to clear the garage out. I then got to sweeping.



    It probably took me longer than it should have. But I took a break here and there because I was actually on my hands and knees with a hammer, which didn't do my back any favors. Stomping on the tiles like you see in their install vids wasn't working that well for me.





    And here is everything back in the garage.



    Yes, I left the bikini top on for a little over a month. Pretty good advantage of keeping Betty in the garage. And next to her is my truck. it's a '99 Classic. In 1999, GM had '98 C1500 chassis & bodies left over, and they weren't about to waste them. So, I've one of the last '88-'98 Chevy trucks. One of the best generations of GM trucks in my opinion. It's also a Mark III conversion based on the '56 Chevy Bel Air.

    I took a few more pics of the garage the next day.






    You may notice that the front edge of the tile is exposed. RaceDeck sent me the wrong edges and I had to wait for them to send the right ones. At no charge mind you, which I felt was the right thing to do.

    So yeah, it was Oct., might as well have some fun.



    It would also be the last time that was an option. I have never minded the height of the NA Miata's headlights when up. I really don't see how they are a problem for shorter drivers either. I'm only 5'7" and they've never obstructed my view. But, they did leave a lot to be desired as far as light output. Now, I know I could have just gone with some Hellas and decent bulbs, but I wanted something a little more. And a set of lo pro headlights would be sweet as I think they look awesome. I favor the square lens types over the dual circle types so I was hoping to find some RS Actives. But yeah, those are kind of hard to come by. Then I saw JASS Performance's thread on CR.net and decided they'd likely do the job nicely. So in Dec. 2012 Betty got a double eye transplant.

    Here's everything that came in the kit.



    You'll notice no instructions, you have to download them. They weren't great. But I figured it out, and after cursing several times while trying to get them level and aligned, Betty had sight again, and now she could really see at night.






    Last edited by JamieH; 07-22-2017 at 10:35 PM.

  30. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to JamieH For This Useful Post:

    ssstuckey (04-16-2014),WASABI (04-18-2014)

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