☆☆☆ '97M- Warbird ☆☆☆

[Gene Rodriguez]

i see alot of inspiration from other builds in this one

[Greasemonkey2000]

I will take that compliment Gene!

I have found a lot of inspiration in various builds and always try to site the source of said inspiration because let's face it, "there is nothing new under the sun" and even if it hasn't been documented doesn't mean someone hasn't done it.

For example i thought the Warbird emblem was unique till Adam aka Revlimiter pointed out Flyin Miata used the same emblem for their Westfield kit which i can honestly say I hadn't seen or knew but even if I had my coworker csme up with the idea of flipping the M to make a W on the Flyin M emblem and he isn't into cars much less miatas.

I have tried to add my own unique touches to Warbird but i think that just as it "takes a village to raise a child", it takes a community to sculpt/influence/build a car. Some may not agree with that sentiment and in some cases it isn't true but the "lone wolf" eventually gets killed off.

[NCGreasemonkey]

The Masses grow stronger as long as they share and sustain one another.

[woahmiata]

I really like the shaved letters on the side markers! I'm gonna have to look in to doing that myself.

[HarryB]

Shaved looks cool, have been considering it since Adam did his. On the plus side, it will also eliminate dirt accumulation in the recesses formed by the letters. ;)

[XMIKEX]

Warbird looks great! I'll be keeping an eye on this build thread...

[mx54life]

Hey Chad is that an oil relocation kit peeking thru post #327?

Gold oil filter looks good with green background......

[Greasemonkey2000]

I really like the shaved letters on the side markers! I'm gonna have to look in to doing that myself.

Thanks Grayson! Pretty simple and cheap but a little time consuming to do a good job.

Shaved looks cool, have been considering it since Adam did his. On the plus side, it will also eliminate dirt accumulation in the recesses formed by the letters. ;)

Thanks Harry! I didn't realize Adam had done this but certainly no surprise because there isn't probably a single aspect of Sharka he hasn't modified in one way or another.

Warbird looks great! I'll be keeping an eye on this build thread...

I appreciate it Mike!

Hey Chad is that an oil relocation kit peeking thru post #327?

Gold oil filter looks good with green background......

It most certainly is Ed, it was originally a Track Dog Racing oil cooler and filter relocation kit that I bought second hand but decided the oil cooler was needed at present so just installed the filter relocation part of it.

[Greasemonkey2000]

03-02-16: My wonderful wife bought me something for our 8 year wedding anniversary that I have been wanting for some time......


....Carbon Miata aluminum door panels w/ speaker covers/grills! Marc shipped them out on the 24th of February and they came in on the 29th but I worked the past couple days so didn't get to them till today.

First I had to use the supplied rivets to attach the speaker cover and grill to the aluminum door panels. The rivets worked but they were really too long so they didn't do there job as well as they could have if they were the proper length.

Next I removed the OEM door panels and removed the upper door pads to attach to the Carbon Miata aluminum door panels. Unfortunately I realized right away they are not a true PNP part, which I do not believe Carbon Miata says they are but it is just more or less drilling some extra holes and enlarging others.

Here is one of the OEM upper door pads attached to a Carbon Miata aluminum door panel:


Not going to do into detail about each step but essentially I just put the OEM door card on top of the Carbon Miata aluminum door panel and marked the holes to drill out. I also used some 3M double sided tape on a few places where the OEM upper door pad and Carbon Miata aluminum door panel meet.

Thankfully my upper door pads were in good shape and most of the screw points were still intact which I understand are common failure points on them. I also put some adhesive backed foam along the edges of the aluminum door panel to keep it from rattling and some around the hole for the door cup.

Here is what all will recognize as the OEM door panel.....


...and Carbon Miata aluminum door panel w/ speaker cover/grill and OEM 94-95 door pull......


.....both installed.



I really like how they turned out but improvements could be made, in the least the included hardware because the plastic fasteners are too small and essentially doing nothing so the upper door pad, door pull and door cup are what are currently holding them on. Also it turned out I received two driver side(left) door panels because one side has a adhesive plastic barrier on and they both had it on the same side but thankfully both sides are finished the same.

Also I'm not sure if they are meant to be used with Carbon Miata door pulls but the factory door pulls needed much larger holes to be accommodated so need to check into that because I was planning on buying Carbon Miata carbon fiber door pulls. They really are nice and happy with how they turned out but just need to get the right size plastic fasteners to be completely done.




It seems my AWR motor mounts have "broke" in(about 500 miles) as they aren't nearly as harsh as they were but even if they hadn't lessened in terms of NVH, I still would have been glad that I did them.

Also my custom ARTech exhaust is finally louder than the OEM exhaust and is starting to pop and burble which I'm really happy about because while I would rather it be too quiet than too loud I certainly did intend on buying a custom exhaust that is quieter than the OEM exhaust.

[Hyper]

I see the Audi TT shift boot. It looks really cool.

[NCGreasemonkey]

Yeah, my 70 mounts are starting to settle also. Around 1K on them. Not warm enough here for me to chase the rattles and buzzes yet. But glad I went with them for now. Hardtop harmonics are, yeah!!!!

[woahmiata]

Hey, I didn't realize you were an operator! I'm going to school for Process Technology to be a process technician at one of the plants here in Houston!

[Greasemonkey2000]

I see the Audi TT shift boot. It looks really cool.

It is Eli and thank you!

Yeah, my 70 mounts are starting to settle also. Around 1K on them. Not warm enough here for me to chase the rattles and buzzes yet. But glad I went with them for now. Hardtop harmonics are, yeah!!!!

Plus if you get tired of the NVH you can just buy one Mazda Competition motor mount and install it on the left side which is supposed to have not much more than a set of Mazda Competition motor mounts.

Hey, I didn't realize you were an operator! I'm going to school for Process Technology to be a process technician at one of the plants here in Houston!

Yup been a water treatment plant operator for about 4 years now.



03-03-16: I went to O'Reilly Auto Parts to find the correct size plastic fastener, which is a two piece fastener that goes in and then has the center piece to expand the fastener, and after trying a few i found the correct one. It is a GM cowl vent fastener made by Dorman part#461250BP (also had a C-123 on the package), there was only two in a pack and there is 8 holes per door, so 16 is needed and the little buggers were $2.49 plus tax so almost $22 for them.

The holes on the Carbon Miata aluminum door panels were approximately 1/4", according to my stepped drill bit, and the holes in the door were approximately 11/32" so i drilled out the holes in the aluminum door panels to 11/32". I also measured the supplied fasteners from Carbon Miata and they were 6.4mm while the Dorman fasteners were 8.4mm. They are a tight fit and hold the door panels well but are difficult to remove, not that they will be on a regular basis so no big deal.

[Greasemonkey2000]

03-05-16: Received a "care package" from the one and only Revlimiter! As usual it is personalized and has goodies....



...contents of said "care package".....



....Revlimiter redesigned flush mount window switches! Yes I already had Revlimiter switches but these are BETTER! Really, I promise! Of course this is a 10 minute job swapping them out so lets get to some pics!

Before w/ original Revlimiter window switches:


After w/ redesigned flush mount Revlimiter window switches:


Before close up w/ original Revlimiter window switches:


After close up w/ redesigned flush mount Revlimiter window switches:



I know it is subtle but the details is what REALLY matters! I can't say enough about Adam aka Revlimiter's products but more importantly his customer service because I GUARANTEE it is second to NONE, period! *drop the mic and walk off stage left*

Don't take my word for it, give Revlimiter a chance to show you that my "nose isn't brown"!

[NCGreasemonkey]

Rev always improves his game. And he rulez in perks for purchase! Need a third head in this emo.

'Noir' is going down the "Rabbit-hole", so NVH is a bonus for me. I Know what she is doing and feeling.

How is the new coil-over set-up feeling? Waiting on your critique before I hit up GWR for mine.