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Thread: My 1996 BRG NA8C Build Thread

  1. #286
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Stunning and great to see your updates back here! Interested to see what direction you’d go with for 15” wheels.

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  3. #287
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    1996 NA8C MX-5
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    03/08/2018

    Recently, I was given the opportunity to do a short blog piece for Bridgestone Australia on one of their more popular street performance tyres, the Bridgestone Potenza RE003's. It's easy when you have a platform like MR to write whatever you want but when you're limited to words, it gets a bit trickier trying to say everything you want in the least amount of words possible. Thanks to Jerry who was my contact guy for Bridgestone, Dan for lending me his awesome 15" Enkei Apache II wheels and Joseph from JHUI Photography for always taking quality photos!

    I wanted to hero the RE003's and show just how capable they are as an everyday performance street tyre. It's a shame these don't come in 14's, otherwise it would be wrapped around my RS-Watanabe's already. But, I'm in the market for a new set of shoes and it seems like 15's might be the way to go. The car did feel a little heavier with the steering and it lost a little bit of the nimbleness that comes with having 14's, but really, I'm clutching at straws here. It's still every bit as fun and the extra tread make it noticeably grippier through the twisty stuff.

    If you have 5 minutes to spare, have a read and any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Link is down below.

    https://www.bridgestonetyres.com.au/mazda-mx5-build














































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  5. #288
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Well, it's a shame they do not come to Europe, given how good the (now discontinued) RE002 were as an all-around tire.

  6. #289
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    1996 NA8C MX-5
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    20/10/2018

    It's been a bit of a hiatus in terms of mods for 96-BRG. Life and other things tend to take priority as it always does and I haven't had a chance to take it out for a proper drive since the MX-5 Club of NSW's Presidents Picnic last month. It sat in the garage after that day and sadly, the freshly washed/waxed/polished paintwork now has specks of dust all over it (which reminds me, I need to look into a car cover...)

    I haven't had a chance to do a major mod on the car for a while and I've been itching to get some things done such as installing my frame rails, taking the dash out for a complete overhaul and refurb, as well as re-building a set of wheels which will used as a second set next to my current RS-Watanabe's. But since I had a bit of time today, I did something I've been wanting to do for a while but kept putting off. I polished up the indicator stalks. "Indicator stalks?" I hear you ask? Yes, indicator stalks.

    The OEM stalks were okay and there was nothing wrong with them. However, after 22 years there were little pit stains and imperfections on it which irked me. I thought that it would look much better if they were polished up since it would tie in with the rest of the cluster and the interior. But, the reason why I kept putting it off was because this was one of those things which requires a lot of prep and time in order to do it properly. For it to turn out the way that I wanted, I needed to be meticulous and patient. Not only that, most of it will be covered up by the steering column shroud after it's completed and it isn't something which will be noticed immediately by most people. However, "the devil is in the details" as the saying goes and I have to say that it turned out much better than expected. To say that I am pleased with the end result is an understatement. It matches the rest of the interior so well.

    Using multiple grades of sand paper, wet and dry sanding, being patient with those hard-to-reach places on the stalk and making sure it has full coverage, to finally polishing the stalks with a Dremel and polishing bit, the whole process took well over 4 hours. However, just know that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Given the way that it looks, I'd say it was well worth the effort.

    OEM indicator stalks. Notice the imperfections and pitting.



    Definitely asking for a refurb...



    This side isn't as bad...



    The different grades of sandpaper I used to prep and sand down the stalks. I also used a 120 grit and 250 grit not pictured here.



    In progress: after the 250 grit.



    In progress: after the 400 grit wet sand.



    In progress: after the 1000 grit.



    Final step of polishing the stalks with the Dremel using Pikal metal polish.



    Polishing them up.

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    Result.



    Very pleased with the end result. I decided to swap out the Nardi for the moment and go to the Momo Futura 350mm.



    P.S I plan to refurb this steering wheel in the very near future by sanding the grip down, repairing the splits and and re-varnishing by using Adam's (RevLimiter) restoration guide.

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  8. #290
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    21/08/2018

    A few months back, I purchased a Momo California wheel from their new "Heritage" line. If I'm honest, it was an impulse purchase as Sparesbox were having a 25% sitewide sale or something at the time and it was too good a deal to just walk away from it.

    I decided to purchase the Momo California as it still retained that classic oldschool period look. The wheel comes in two trims: black leather wrapped with white stitching grip or a mahogany wood grip. As much as I think wood goes well with a BRG and tan interior colour scheme, I liked the look of the black leather and I thought it would be fun to switch it up from the Nardi Classico wood or Momo Futura wood that I have previously used in 96-BRG. The only thing I didn't like about the Momo California steering wheel was the polished spokes. There wasn't an option for a brushed or matte finish for the Mom California. I personally feel that the polished finish on the spokes ties in better with oldschool 60's and 70's muscle cars. However, despite this I decided to bite the bullet, buy the wheel and see what it looks like in person.

    When I put it on 96-BRG, I felt it didn't quite tie in with the rest of the car. The polished spokes of the Momo California was too "in-your-face" compared to the rest of the interior trim and it took away from the overall interior subtlety. I took it off, placed it back in the box that it came and put it into storage. Can you say "buyers remorse"?

    Fast forward to October 2018 and although I wanted to sell the wheel and get rid of it, I decided to keep it. I was determined to do something about the polished spokes and I figured a DIY would be the best way to go. You would have read in my previous post that I recently purchased a variety of sandpaper in different grit ratings as I was planning to polish up my indicator stalks. Well, the sanding madness didn't stop there. I took the steering wheel out of the box, wrapped up the leather grip with thick layers of painters tape all around, applied some wax and grease remover to the spokes and started to sand it back on what was a brand new steering wheel. I was pretty nervous as I felt like I was ruining a perfectly good wheel which would have easily sold had I decided to sell. I've now reached and surpassed that point of no return.

    Much like the indicator stalks, patience is key. I started off with 400 grit wet sanding, then to 600 grit, 800 grit, 1000 grit, 1500 grit, then finally 2000 grit, before going over the spokes with some metal polish to rid the wheel of any light scratches from the sanding. To be honest, I didn't find any DIY articles on how to perform this whole procedure nor did I find anyone who had attempted to do something like this before, so I basically took a shot with this whole experiment and it was a bit of a gamble. But, I'm happy to say that the gamble paid off and I achieved the look that I wanted. I haven't put the wheel on the car yet, however I might change it up soon because it came out much better than I expected. I'll let the pictures do the talking.


    Momo Heritage California 360mm steering wheel with black leather grip and polished spokes. Notice how the polished spokes is too "in your face" with the rest of the trim bits.

    I also trial fitted a GarageStar 6061 aluminium hand brake handle.



    Taped up and already hit with a few rounds of 400 grit sandpaper.



    In progress: wet sanding the spokes using 1000 grit.



    A few hours later, here's how it turned out after it was cleaned up. The painters tape is still on as I still had a bit of polishing left to do to rid the spokes of tiny imperfections. But overall I'm very pleased with the way it turned out..



    I did not bother sanding and polishing the back of the steering wheel. This photo was taken so that a compare/contrast comparision can be made between the front and the back of the wheel.



    Painters tape off, ready to be installed.



    The original polished look of the steering wheel, which has been retained to give you an idea of how much "bling" was on the spokes.


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  10. #291
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Beautiful job on the wheel! I share your preference for brushed over polished spokes and expect this is going to look stunning in your interior!

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  12. #292
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! MaRcOp01o's Avatar
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    93 EUNOS and 93 LE
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    I demand an update! I miss seeing this gorgeous build!
    Follow the Builds
    1993 Eunos Roadster B-spec by Mazdaspeed
    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....819#post222819
    1993 Mazda Miata LE
    https://mazdaroadster.net/showthread...233#post244233

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  14. #293
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    +1

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  16. #294
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    1996 NA8C MX-5
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    Quote Originally Posted by MaRcOp01o View Post
    I demand an update! I miss seeing this gorgeous build!
    Quote Originally Posted by HarryB View Post
    +1
    Hahaha thanks guys! Yeah its been a little bit of a hiatus for me as I have been busy with other stuff in life.

    However, the 96-BRG is alive and doing very well. Have a few plans for it this year....but in more exciting news, I may or may not have bought another NA.

    This one is a car that I actually helped my friend purchase when he was looking for one. He has decided to move on and given how clean it was, I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

    It's a '95 model NA8, zero modifications and completely 100% stock. My plan with this is to go the route of the Japan Restoration program, where they take every nut, bolt, rubber moulding, etc everything back to brand new using OEM mazda parts. Only thing I would change would be the headers (already have a set ready to go, maxim works) and catback (oem NOS mazdaspeed from Yahoo Japan). Aside from that, the rest will be completely 100% original.

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  18. #295
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! MaRcOp01o's Avatar
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    Man I am excited to see the new build!!
    Follow the Builds
    1993 Eunos Roadster B-spec by Mazdaspeed
    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....819#post222819
    1993 Mazda Miata LE
    https://mazdaroadster.net/showthread...233#post244233

  19. #296
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! HMT's Avatar
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    Wow. Really looking forward to any new posts. Very nice car!
    Only thing that i found odd immediately when looking at the pictures is the tire size. Why didnt you go for 205/50s instead of the 55s?

  20. #297
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by HMT View Post
    Wow. Really looking forward to any new posts. Very nice car!
    Only thing that i found odd immediately when looking at the pictures is the tire size. Why didnt you go for 205/50s instead of the 55s?
    there are no options for a 205/50/R14 options here. Plus, i dont mind the look of the 185/65 as thats what they came with

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  22. #298
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MaRcOp01o View Post
    Man I am excited to see the new build!!
    funnily enough, its the same colour as your 93 eunos. and guess what, it comes with 14x7 +19 enkei RPF1's hahaha. Now that you also have a BRG, i guess we're twins?

    looks exactly like this (not my photo)

    Last edited by BRGNA8; 02-12-2019 at 07:39 AM.

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  24. #299
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! MaRcOp01o's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BRGNA8 View Post
    funnily enough, its the same colour as your 93 eunos. and guess what, it comes with 14x7 +19 enkei RPF1's hahaha. Now that you also have a BRG, i guess we're twins?

    looks exactly like this (not my photo)

    Man that Is Awesome!! looks like we will both be following each others builds very closely haha. and BTW your BRG is my inspiration for my BRG so I may copy you a little.
    Follow the Builds
    1993 Eunos Roadster B-spec by Mazdaspeed
    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....819#post222819
    1993 Mazda Miata LE
    https://mazdaroadster.net/showthread...233#post244233

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  26. #300
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! HMT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BRGNA8 View Post
    there are no options for a 205/50/R14 options here. Plus, i dont mind the look of the 185/65 as thats what they came with
    Sorry, my bad, i meat the Apaches, but overlooked that they were only borrowed.
    I'm running 14" Watanabes myself and finding tires is becoming more and more difficult as i legally am required to run V rated tires which do not exist any more in 185/60 14, except for R888s. So with my next tire change i will have to go semi slick.

    Really like your pictures, thanks for this very nice thread!

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