Post it up for trade, I'm sure there's gotta be someone in your area interested
Paul B (07-27-2017)
Another easy bolt on arrived today.
Circuit Sports coolant overflow tank via GarageStar....via Circuit Sports.
Had to gently bend each tab a little bit to get it fitting properly. Will need to find some extra tubing to route it under the headlight; just preference.
Huge improvement over my OEM painted tank.
Before:
After:
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Greasemonkey2000 (07-28-2017),HarryB (07-28-2017),MiataQuest (07-29-2017),RustRat (07-27-2017)
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HarryB (07-30-2017),MiataQuest (07-29-2017)
So the "build" thread has been slow lately. The process of buying a house with a nice space for Miatae makes buying Miata parts far and few between.
In my tight budget I bought some new hood prop rods from Flyin Miata when I saw they were back in stock. They're a re-labeled IL motorsport kit. It seems anything sold by FM is of high standards so I felt good about this kit.
Kit installed easily. Measured and marked holes to be drilled. Drilled holes. Tapped holes. Removed two GarageStar engine bay dress up fender bolts. Inserted strut ball ends. Hooked it all up. Closed and open hood 10 times.
Hood opens by itself nicely. Closes with ease. Hood opens much farther than my old rspeed kit(s) and waaaay farther than OEM prop rod.
Very happy with this kit.
Only negative I have is the Flyin Miata decal.
Im being nit-picky here but I really wish this logo would have been engraved on there. The decals aren't straight and are peeling a bit straight out of the box. A Laser engraved logo would have been the perfect touch even is it would add a few bucks to price.
I didnt want to lose the GS dressup fender bolts and washers so I repurposed them on the coolant tank. Need to get more of these for the engine bay. They really clean things up.
Sorry for crappy pics it was getting dark.
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Greasemonkey2000 (08-13-2017),JamieH (08-13-2017),MiataQuest (08-14-2017),oldgrayleather (08-15-2017),speedypenguin (08-13-2017)
Back corners of the hood stick up any further/sit any higher when closed than before the gas struts?
Also, another way of looking at FM's cheapness of using stickers to rebrand someone else's product, is that they're easily removed for a cleaner look.
HarryB (08-14-2017),oldgrayleather (08-15-2017),Paul B (08-14-2017)
Great idea with reusing the fender bolts for the coolant tank. I got RSpeed hood struts and took out some fender bolts too. Think I'll do the same as you.
My Eunos Roadster, Jazz
oldgrayleather (08-15-2017),Paul B (08-14-2017)
Tinkered with the car for a bit today to find the sources of some ugly noises.
Had an exhaust/heat shield rattle the last few times Ive driven the car. Quick look at the exhaust shows the rear shield had broken off at the rear. A few twists and jt came right off. Problem solved.
Then to fix some right tire front rubbing issues. Lately, left hand turns have produced a loud rubbing noise. Trimmed some of the inner fender liner away. That should solve that noise.
And for those who were wondering about hood alignment with the FlyinMiata/IL hood struts...
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Greasemonkey2000 (08-15-2017),JamieH (08-15-2017),RustRat (08-16-2017)
The last couple months have had me packing up stuff to move out of our house and into my parents house temporarily until we close on the new house.
Needless to say my garage was a shit show as things got packed up. Not sure if I ever posted this but a baby stroller had fallen onto the rear of my car and broke the taillight, leaving a hole about 3" wide. I had some red transparent vinyl that I placed over the hole so it wouldn't look awful and the car could still be driven; temporary fix.
Hole.
taillight 2.jpg
Red vinyl temporary fix.
taillight 1.jpg
Internet searches brought me to poor condition taillights for $50-100. Ugh. Decent condition prices weren't much better. It finally came time to fork up the cash and get a replacement taillight. Found a good condition light for $70 shipped. The light arrived last night and today it was time to install.
But you cant just install a Miata taillight. They're in the Museum of Modern Art for Christ's sake! They demand and deserve love and attention.
https://www.moma.org/interactives/ex.../plastics.html
So today the new light got the same attention as the old light got (and all other lenses on the car). Wet sanding the letters and crud off. Then buffing and polishing them.
New light
taillight 3.jpg
Wet sanding
taillight 4.jpg
Tools of the trade (sandpaper excluded)
taillight 6.jpg
all done.
taillight 5.jpg
Before and after. So much cleaner, nicer and brighter.
taillight 8.jpg
Demon I Am (08-25-2017),Greasemonkey2000 (08-18-2017),MiataQuest (08-18-2017),speedypenguin (08-19-2017)
Nice! Much better shaved! There are/were some Simpson Design taillights on m.net for $250, just saying.
'01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
'97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
Instagram: @greasemonkey2000
Paul B (08-18-2017)
After seeing and wanting the RetroModern ignition cover I finally bit the bullet and ordered one.
It replaces my Zeromotive ring. As nice as the Zeromotive piece is, it looks and feels like an afterthought. It doesn't look as nice as the RM piece.
Zeromotive:
The RM piece took some trimming of the plastic cover and some fine sanding to the inner ring and ignition itself to get it to all fit. Once on it looks incredible and as if it came from the factory.
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Agent☣Orange (08-24-2017),BRGNA8 (08-22-2017),Greasemonkey2000 (08-21-2017),HarryB (08-21-2017),JamieH (08-21-2017),MikeA (08-21-2017)
Was out in the garage today and realized I never installed my Raceland header I picked up last year.
I had been putting it off thinking I needed new gaskets and hardware and also from research I was worried about fitment issues.
Today I said to myself "if the nuts come loose Ill see how far I can get."
Well 4 of the 8 nuts holding the stock manifold took very very minimal effort to remove. The other 4 took barely more effort than the first 4. The hardware connecting my racepipe to the stock manifold were installed last year and came off easy. The support bracket bolt came off quickly.
In 15 minutes it was ready to come out.
Gaskets were salvaged.
Upon install of Raceland header the support bracket attached to tranny had to be removed for it to slide in nicely.
Bolted it all in. Success! No fitment issues. No rubbing.
Finished some MAF issues in darkness so here are some potato photos.
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Agent☣Orange (08-24-2017),Greasemonkey2000 (08-24-2017),JamieH (08-24-2017),MikeA (08-25-2017),RustRat (08-25-2017)
My quest to improve the engine bay continues.
The car has its original radiator. Its is changing color quickly. It will stop working any day now.
The time came to order a radiator. Wanted something that will help cool the stock motor and also be a nice upgrade to work with the eventual turbo install. Didnt need anything too large or overkill. Also wanted easy install/stock fitment and fan fitment with possibility for fan upgrade. Looks is important too.
Chose this Mishimoto. Best price was from an ebay dealer with free shipping. $240. Will eventually order the slim fan and shroud kit that is available for it.
Great looking piece. It feels significant. Cant wait to install.
IMG_6975.jpg
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BRGNA8 (08-30-2017),Greasemonkey2000 (08-29-2017),JamieH (08-29-2017),RustRat (08-30-2017)