Ruckkehr's 二回目 Second Lap: Clean Build

[—RuckkehrMiata—]

I was gonna do a full writeup on my revlimiter.net gauges, but I am too exhausted. So this before/after will be fine for now:

BEFORE



AFTER


While I was in there I discovered some new things to keep me up at night such as the damage to the plastic cover that didn't wash off (looks like old mold from when it was in storage by the previous owner), my airbag light needs quietly disabled (probably using a sharpie, the garagestar blockout isn't working properly), and I seriously need to get some nice gauge needle caps and save for some KGworks

[—RuckkehrMiata—]

So I put these on last night







Took her for a short drive last night and warmed up the C91's. It was truly transcendental having more grip than power to break it.

This is the first time I have owned nice wheels and tires that weren't $300 drop shipped from some creepy company. Once I get my teins from the previous car installed, this build will REALLY start coming together!

[—RuckkehrMiata—]

So a few things have changed!


1. I got my car professionally washed, was going to get a wax but they refunded me and said I would only be disappointed because of the damage to the paint. I am in talks with a garage owner who is going to do a few test panels of his work to see if I want him to restore it. He thinks he can get it back to 80% all around with some elbow grease and I trust him having seen his work.

2. INTERIOR WORK!! (prepare for photo dump)

[Greasemonkey2000]

Gauges, wheels/tires and window cranks look great!

[—RuckkehrMiata—]

So I had an old friend of mine visit for the weekend, artcentermiata from the LA / KINOD area. He hadn't been around since my car was here, and we had made a lot of plans. We didn't get to hardly any of them, but we hit a few must-dos.



First we deleted the soft top, which is going to a new owner on tuesday. I almost kept it, since it is in amazing shape, but I am so attached to my hardtop that I never use it. If I ever want to, I can always get a bikini top (assuming project-g sticks around long enough)



Then it came time for the big one of the weekend. I had my teins from the old car in my closet for awhile now, just waiting. I knew I couldn't do it on my own, and the friendly local garage wanted a bit more than I wanted to pay to have it done. Soooo, we dug in. We went to Pit Row here in the SF Bay Area and rented a lift. About $120 and a few scraped shins later...



We have come to this. When I first bought my original miata (Ruckkehr), I never imagined I would end up here...

[Ihatecars]

Those coilovers sure did do a lot for your car. Looking great!

Also, is that a Half-Life sticker on your hardtop?

[—RuckkehrMiata—]

Those coilovers sure did do a lot for your car. Looking great!

Also, is that a Half-Life sticker on your hardtop?

Yep, it is a Vinyl I had my friend make a few years ago. I also have it tattooed on my back, long story about modding and mapping for half life leading to me pursuing my career etc sentimental stuff.

[— artcentermiata —]

Car is really looking good! Once the paint has been shined up, and those silly tire letters gone- it will be a serious piece of kit!

Glad we could knock out that big job while i was there- coilovers are a pain in the ass by yourself

[— Phatmiata —]

Looks great bro!!

[CarbonMiata]

Coming together, one mod at a time. Looks better and better!

[—RuckkehrMiata—]

I think it is time for an update!

A few small things are going on, such as getting smog and plates for CA (wait until you see what the plate is :3)

After doing some business with Bo Gaut in the past, I have pretty much started going to him exclusively when I want something. Recently I got word from a mutual friend that he was getting some super special in, and after some deliberation I decided I absolutely must have it.

Introducing my Carmake Corn's bucket racing seat!



You didn't think I was going to give you the installed pic just yet did you?

First, before the seat was installed I wanted to get the GarageStar banner Kenjo sent to me first. I had contacted him about color choices for the banner, as I was interested in buying one. I've spent years developing a good relationship with vendors like GS, and the banner showed up in the mail a week later. With the help of my wife (who has magic Vinyl fingers somehow), it got installed with minimal issue using Windex and left to dry overnight.



I had some misadventures with the seats as I learned bracket placement and how it relates to where the seat sits in the car. My first attempt left a huge mess



But after about 20 minutes of fiddling and test fitting, I finally got her in and placed!







I am a huge fan of Carmake Corn's and this is the first piece of serious Corn's equipment on my car. As the collection expands, I also plan on getting one of their Badges for the car.

Additionally, I just got in my new Randall Carbon Fiber intake that will be going on soon-ish, just gotta get the hole cut and cleaned.

In case you are interested (since I haven't talked about my build plan in awhile), this is a brief list of things currently on my mind for the build in the coming months:

1. Maintenance time! Motor Belts, Plugs/wires, wipers, wiper arms (paint), rotors/brakes, brake lines (woven), spare tires put on (current ones have a tire showing band), 949 racing metal tire valve installed
2. Randall Intake install
3. Front plate bracket (garage star style) for CA regulation
4. Motor mounts
5. Turret rebuild with MSM bushing

If budget allows:

1. Cut and buff to fix paint before it is damaged too much
2. GS Delrin door bushings
3. GS brake brace and/or Shock Tower braces
4. Car cover (lol)
5. Auxiliary valve cover cut and painted then installed

Long term planning:

1. Carmake Corns exhaust
2. Headers
3. Flares (undecided on style)
4. Other various aero additions
5. Small-form head unit that only accepts AUX and USB
6. Replace speakers (I still commute in her, and some non-farty tunes would be nice)
7. Hood louvres
8. Coolant reroute
9. Oil filter re route
10. Cam gears


Very long term:

1. Carb-legal boost
2. Engine management
3. Full suspension bushings (poly)
4. Diff bushings (poly)
5. Power Plant / Drive train upgrades
6. Lightweight flywheel & higher stage clutch

These are just the things that don't tend to change with every new part/vendor I see

[—RuckkehrMiata—]

I've fallen tremendously behind on this build.

I started a new job in August/September at Sony PlayStation - while this raised my income significantly it also raised my responsibilities. I now daily drive her to work instead of taking public transit - which heavily limits the "Down time" she can have for work.

My finish plate recently shattered, my brakes are getting old, my idle is getting rough due to ancient plugs/wires. I've fallen behind on maintenance.


However, I've had an intense amount of driving in her recently which has helped shaped the direction I want to go. I am not done with aesthetics (not by a long shot), but I know it's time to start focusing on the mechanicals, engine, drive train, and suspension more.




She waits patiently for me....

[— artcentermiata —]

Its on the right track for sure. The cohesiveness in quality parts you've been using are all there; now that you have discovered your direction- it will be cool to see where it goes in terms of freshening up the looks

[—RuckkehrMiata—]

So,

I spent some money today.

And I will be spending some more in the coming weeks.

And with that money spent, will come some very fun build thread updates.

It is time to take the next step...

[— Agent☣Orange —]

Uh oh....the suspense!