Better late than never

[Warhammer]

I've been working on and customizing my 2003 LS for about 5 years now. I had a build thread over on another forum, but Photobucket's extortion scheme pretty well killed my old thread. So, I'm going to start at my current project and I'll backfill the previous projects as I can.

So, today I received the CCP Fab widebody kit I ordered.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/909/27289187527_76b9c9d705_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HzsdHe)

I had it shipped to my store, then made a run to work to pick it up this evening. With this big box sitting in the driveway, I felt just like a kid at Christmas time!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/971/28288325828_1e2b2fbe24_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/K6K4HE)

And I showed just about as much self control before tearing in!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/968/27289192137_521622ffd8_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hzsf5H)

Paul at CCP did a great job wrapping everything up for shipping. Tons of bubble wrap and cushioning! every part arrived safe and sound.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/953/42114318752_6866de8acb_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27auTJ1)

[Warhammer]

New front bumper!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/827/27289191787_0bbbb6cd6b_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HzseYF)

I'm so excited about this! My Miata has had a messed up front bumper the whole time I've owned it. I'll finally have a bumper that doesn't bother me every time I look at it!

I'm not an expert on judging fiberglass, but CCP's work seems really good. No major voids or sloppy looking lamination. The gel coat is reasonably smooth and I'll only need to do basic prep before painting the parts.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/979/42114318252_ec808cbe27_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27auTzo)

How much wider is a "widebody"? A pretty fair bit.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/959/27289186737_4ce926d5de_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HzsdtB)

The new nose is also longer the the old one. It has a sharper, more aggressive look. It's also taller, so that the one piece bumper is about the same height as the original bumper with the large tupperware. The bottom is a large flat surface that extends farther forward and back than OEM, essentially adding a built in front splitter.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/953/27289191267_41d9d3c965_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HzsePH)

[Warhammer]

And now the fender flares. The small ones are for the front and the larger flares are for the rear.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/979/27289189737_f149b038d6_k.jpg

That extra little piece in the middle is the front bumper support. It makes sure the top center of the bumper stays in place with the correct gap/alignment to the front edge of the hood. I'll have to glue that to the front bumper with some Panel Bond.

Last, but not least, the side skirts:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/977/42114316352_e10ec94800_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27auT1C)

Once I get everything fitted up to the car, I intend to open up the front and rear vent areas on the side skirts.

[Warhammer]

I don't plan on working on this in earnest until tomorrow, but I thought it would be fun to just do a quick fitting today. And thus I ran into my first issue:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/976/27289188777_ba30b36f4b_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hzse5M)

Hmm... It looks like the only way to fit this into place would be to remove the black plastic bumper pad under the bumper cover. A quick call to Paul at CCP confirmed that I did indeed need to remove the bumper. I have mixed feelings about this. I'm already committed to installing this kit, but I wish I could keep the OEM bumper pad. After I get everything installed, I may see if I can trim the pad to fit inside the new bumper shell. Although, I don't know it that would compromise the bumper pad's integrity to the point that the whole exercise would be superfluous. :dunno:

Oh, well... In for a penny, in for a pound!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/959/42114315732_cb94105998_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27auSPW)

While I was down there, I finally yanked the baby teeth.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/946/42114315552_67539f2ba5_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27auSLQ)

I also cut off the light sockets and pigtails for the original front side markers. My plan was to use them for the new clear rear side markers, but it turns out one of the sockets is hopelessly corroded and will not work. Tomorrow, I'll make a run to the auto parts store and pick up 4 new sockets; two for the new rear repeaters and two for the round side repeaters I have inbound from the UK.

[Warhammer]

And so the pile of take-off parts begins to grow!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/951/27289188197_87d15f5227_k.jpg

With the bumper pad out of the way, the new shell slides right into place.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/907/28288326658_a182fe3c15_k.jpg

In a happy coincidence, the new flares and bumper will cover up a dent on the front left fender that was caused by the previous owner's ham-handed attempt at fender rolling and pulling.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/977/27289187907_c731d2e998_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HzsdPM)

[Warhammer]

Here are the two pieces of the bumper that I need to bond together tomorrow.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/905/40355301950_2ce9b5ec9e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24u4tj7)

Since this will determine how well the bumper and hood fit together, I really want to get that part right! The panel bond epoxy is super strong, so it's definitely a one-shot sort of thing.

A couple of shots to show the extra width of the new bumper:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/959/40355301780_87a00ee664_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24u4tgb)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/957/41261380765_f0b64ce8aa_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25S8mYD)

It's going to look kind of funny until I get some new wheels and tires on the car!

[Warhammer]

Mocked up with painter's tape to hold everything together:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/908/41261380405_f94f94856b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25S8mSr)r

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/958/41261380105_9ef9024512_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25S8mMg)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/944/40355301570_daf3a74fc7_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24u4tcy)

[Warhammer]

These shots give an idea of how much of the original fenders I'm going to end up cutting away.

Front
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/975/42162149021_4e37e91235_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27eJ2ZP)

Rear
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/828/41261380945_9da9015efa_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25S8n2K)

That's probably the most daunting part of this project. Of course, by the time I get to that part, I will have already drilled about 30 holes in the car and installed rivnuts in them, so I guess the cutting might not seem like such a big deal by then.

[Warhammer]

The first step it the slowest part. First, fitting the bumper and the bumper retainer to figure out where I want to bond them.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/977/41274613085_301d34c065_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Tibu6)

Next, squeezing on a few beads of panel bond and clamping the two parts together. The 18V calking gun was a big help here. The epoxy has a mixing nozzle, and it's REALLY hard to squeeze the adhesive out. So hard that I've seen pictures of cheaper caulking guns that broke in half from this stuff!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/908/41274615135_bf76a22be9_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Tic6r)

Now, I have 3.5 hour wait for the panel bond to cure. Then I'll have to fit the top edge of the bumper to the leading edge of the hood. After that is done, the rest of the fitting should move more quickly.

[tsingson]

That's seriously awesome! I am so jealous. Never seen a caulking gun like that. Nice Red Chucks too!

[Warhammer]

While I'm waiting for the panel bond to cure, here's a pic of the under side of the bumper. No additional splitter needed!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/905/41454980764_c5397e5031_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26aeBvE)

[Warhammer]

That's seriously awesome! I am so jealous. Never seen a caulking gun like that. Nice Red Chucks too!

Lol! Good eye on the Chucks!

There's a Ryobi store at the San Marcos Outlet Mall, just down the road from me. I got the caulk gun for $25, while a heavy duty, hand operated gun costs $15 at Home Depot. Totally worth the extra $10, imo. I already have a whole slew of Ryobi 18V tools and a 6-port battery charger, so it's a welcome addition to the arsenal. I almost WANT to recaulk my shower now! Getting a smooth, consistent bead with this thing is ridiculously easy and your hand doesn't want to fall off after a few minutes of using it.
__________________

[Phatmiata]

Lots of great photos for this install!! Nice job!

[Warhammer]

I got the Miata up in the air to make it easier to work on.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/944/41459915214_bda6153176_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26aEUmo)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/969/40373544570_73786e8b41_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24vEYd3)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/977/40373544250_fc0de872f4_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24vEY7w)

The hood overlaps the top of the bumper, so some trimming to fit is in order.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/944/40373544190_248aa66696_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24vEY6u)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/945/40373543980_80a796410d_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24vEY2S)

[Warhammer]

After a bit of grinding the hood will now close.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/952/42134225302_46a4a3a67d_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27cfVfo)

Apparently, I was a little off when I bonded on the bumper support. The front to back alignment is just right, but it's just a bit too high.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/944/42134225182_99eb83c7c6_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27cfVdj)

Here, you can see how the bumper edge is higher than the hood.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/953/40373543250_a55e6370bd_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24vEXPh)

After a bit of thought and looking at the problem, I think I need to use a BFH to massage the mounting points on the car just a bit. Of course, I'll have to pull the bumper off to do this, then reinstall it to test the fit, then do it all again until it looks just right.

It's gona look cool when it's all done!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/905/40373543380_d03c96d49d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24vEXRw)

[Paul B]

Install is looking good.

What panel bond are you using? Been looking into the 3m stuff for my rear quarters under the flares.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Warhammer]

Thanks!

I used Evercoat FIB-815 Maxim. It fits a standard caulking gun and gets really good reviews.

[Paul B]

Thanks!

I used Evercoat FIB-815 Maxim. It fits a standard caulking gun and gets really good reviews.

Thanks!! Ill look into that stuff!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Warhammer]

I started the day yesterday with fixing the issue with the hood. I bonded the bumper support to the bumper too low, which pushed the top edge of the bumper up too high. I thought about taking a BFH to the mounitng area to bend it down, but realized that I would end up bending the area where the headlights mount as well. I ended up cutting both of the fiberglass mounting tabs off of the support, which immediately dropped the bumper down to where it belongs.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/966/41309405635_5b8b0a53da_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Wnv6D)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/967/41309405965_b2c0a65571_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Wnvck)

With that done, I needed to fab up some new brackets to hold the bumper support onto the car. I was going to run to the hardware store and get some steel to drill and bend when I realized I already had wha t I needed. Good thing I didn't the original bumper support away I chopped off the corners and did a little filing and sanding to clean up the edges.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/943/41309406075_e7a4b2fd3d_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Wnvee)

Then a couple of holes and bolts on each side and viola! It doesn't even look too bad!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/964/41309406225_089a283017_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25WnvgP)

So now the bumper is secure, flush with the hood and has an even gap all the way across.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/961/41309406545_ba44a0ab05_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Wnvnk)

The gap between the bumper and hood looks bigger than it really is because the edge of the bumper has no paint yet. I'm going to play with tightening up the gap a bit, but it will not be as apparent after paint.

[Warhammer]

Before re-securing the front bumper, I took the opportunity to play with a new toy:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/952/41309407245_9ee7230a06_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Wnvzp)

My new rivnut tool. Most people seem to just use self-tapping screws when they install a body kit, but I wanted to do it right. Self-tapping screws tend to loosen up when you remove and reinstall them multiples times, which I know I will be doing throughout the installation of this body kit. So, the first two rivnuts I did replaced the self-tapping screws where the bumper mounts at the front of the fenders.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/945/41309406865_4e22bb7845_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25WnvsR)

The rivnut setter is pretty easy to use. I did find out that it doesn't squeeze quite tight enough in one go to keep the rvnuts from spinning in the Miata sheet metal. I had to set the rivnut, then open the handles and screw the tool in a little more and give it a second squeeze. THEN the rivnuts are nice and snug.

A somewhat funny aside... The previous owner had broken off both of the black plastic bumper brackets that would pop into the square hole in the picture above. Not wanting anything to slow down my installation, I ordered 2 new brackets and popped them into place. Well, It turns out that they get in the way of this particular bumper and I had to take them out, breaking both of them in the process. :dunno:

[Warhammer]

Now that I had already drilled 2 holes in my Miata, albeit in out of the way, hidden places, I was ready to dive into drilling about 20 holes on the first side of the car. A spring loaded center punch and a step drill will be your friend for this part. I cringe every time I see a youtube video where they are just using a big old spiral drill bit and they drill straight through the flare and the car in one step. :eek:

The flares in my kit have :eek:nice molded in dimples where the holes need to be drilled.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/948/41298454155_0a6945e921_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnB2)

Using a scrap block of delrin as a backer, I drilled out the holes, int he flares with a spiral bit.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/975/41298454065_a7d1f4cdaf_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Vpnzt)

I lined up all the parts, center punched the location for the first hole and then drilled the first 3/8" hole.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/828/41298455155_eec0740dd3_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnUg)

Wow! That wasn't as scary as i thought it would be, lol!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/904/41298453985_4b8ef37508_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Vpny6)

I set my first rivnut, then bolted the flare onto the car, marked the next location, removed the flare, drilled the next hole and then set the rivnut. I repeated this process for each hole. It took longer than If I had just marked all the holes and drilled them in one go, but this way I made sure each hole was drilled exactly in the right place.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/905/41298453915_f0f9749101_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnwT)

[Warhammer]

Fitment is pretty good overall. I had to do a bit of fitting on some of the bolt-on points to rebate the underside so the rivnuts wouldn't hold the flare too far away from the panel. After painting, I'm going to ad black fender welting to cover up any uneven gaps.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/824/41298452745_0ed421151d_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnbH)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/975/41298453805_cef97b966c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnuZ)

[Agent☣Orange]

Make sure the hardware you’re using are a good stainless steel or they’ll start rusting and staining your paint.

[revlimiter]

LOVING this thread! And that wide body looks fantastic.

[Warhammer]

Next came the side skirt.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/972/41298455095_65dbc6a90e_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnTe)

The rear of the skirt required some filing to get it to lay against the body just right.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/829/40391947700_af96417b16_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24xihPo)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/946/41298455355_2329d6c15f_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnXH)

I used 3 self tapping screws on the bottom and 3 inside the door jamb. These will be replaced with rivnuts and stainless bolts later. I can't use the same washers and bolts I'm using on the flares, because they need to be more low-profile to not interfere with the door closing.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/957/41298454325_ee8e6d29ac_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnDX)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/825/40391947830_3c1f069ebc_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24xihRC)

[Warhammer]

Finally, the rear flare:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/960/41298455005_fcc08c2b93_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnRF)

And, done with the left side!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/959/41298454745_18ab9021ee_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnMc)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/945/41298453725_4645e19374_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpntB)

Here's a shot that shows how much wider the new bumper is.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/826/41298454555_88984f699e_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25VpnHV)

[Warhammer]

Next, I got to work on the right side of the car. I did't take a lot of pics, as it's really just a repetition of the other side. I did take this shot that shows the added width from the side skirt.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/981/41509248774_3886c112c2_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26f2Kv1)

It also shows the half-assed job the previous owner did on rolling and pulling the fenders. Oh well, that will be cut off soon enough.

[Warhammer]

With the last piece of the kit installed, I decided it was time to take her off the stands and enjoy the nice weather we were having.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/825/40423432590_6e50939f8c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24A5Ebj)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/831/41509248714_4bf95cdca7_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26f2KtY)

I'm definitely going to need to upgrade the wheels and tires soon! The original wheels look so skinny now!

I stopped at work to show it off a bit, then took a few shots of the car in the lot behind the store.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/904/40423431070_f290de762c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24A5DJ7)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/963/40423431470_cd7cda2eb6_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24A5DR1)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/982/41509248164_969a59f329_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26f2Kju)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/824/40423431830_6968f88ce2_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24A5DXd)

[Warhammer]

The initial installation is done, but I still have more work to do:

Fitting the flares a little better so there is less gap in a few areas
Remove and reattach the skirts using rivnuts and bolts
Cutting out the front and rear vents in the side skirts
Cutting the original front fenders
Cutting the rear fenders and then taking care of the resulting gap between the layers of steel
Paint (of course))
Installing fender welting on the flares

While I'm far from finished, I'm pretty happy with the progress I made over the last 3 days.

[Roadster7]

That view from the front is sick.

[HarryB]

I usually do not like body kits, as they are typically of crappy quality and installed by incompetent "builders" trying to gain street cred, resulting in horrendous fitting. This is the exact opposite, hats off to your patience and hunting down a perfect fitment. All the prep-work you are doing at this phase will pay off eventually. Eagerly waiting on the next updates!

[MX5Wisher]

LOVING this thread! And that wide body looks fantastic.

Look out Bucky...

[bootz]

Possibly the best tupperware installation I have seen!

[Agent☣Orange]

Possibly the best tupperware installation I have seen!

18546


Newbs...

[Warhammer]

I took care of a quick little project today before work. I added red LEDs to my new clear rear reflectors. The pics make the color look washed out, but they are very bright and very red in person.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/970/42277395692_affaee23f7_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27pUGPo)

Tracking shows that my new clear, round side repeaters should arrive today. I'll need to do final fitting on the front flares before I install them. I have matching LED bulbs in amber to go inside those.

[Warhammer]

So, one of the good/bad things about the flares on my widebody is the little cutout on the front for the JDM side repeater lights. It's cool that the cutout is there, but it looks empty and unfinished without the lights. So I ordered some form the UK and went about installing them.

Now, the install videos and forum posts I've seen all show someone making a series of cuts to create a complicated hole that exactly matches the shape of the inside part of the signals.

https://grizzum.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/dscn9194.jpg?w=614&h=460

This seemed to me to be unnecessarily complicated and time consuming. so, with a little research, I found the shape of the opening that Mazda actually used for these lights. This is MUCH less complicated:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1746/42424567232_bcbb67f106_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27CUZMJ)


It's essentially a 1.5" hole with the right and left sides extended to 1.75" to engage the mounting tabs. Matching the exact shape of the light body is completely unnecessary. The tabs on the right and left engage the sheet metal and hold the light in the hole. The top and bottom lugs are just to locate the light in the center of the hole. After some testing on a scrap piece of plastic, I simplified things even more. I discovered that a 1.75" hole actually engages both locking tabs tightly enough that there is no wiggle. So, that's what I did and the install was WAY easier than any of the tutorials I've read. So, here goes:

First, the repeater did not come with sockets, so I had to provide my own. I bought 4 sockets for RSpeed when I installed my clear rear markers, so I still had 2 for this project. But, the hole in the repeater takes a 3 lug socket...

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/885/40636669780_7206a19ebb_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24UVyaA)

An the sockets that fit the side markers have 4 lugs.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1755/41542660165_49dc1ed572_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hYZxt)

Why on earth would they use different sockets for these locations? Luckily, the sockets I bought are made from flexible a rubber like material, not hard plastic. So with a push and a twist, they pop right in despite have the wrong number of lugs! Then I just added some extended wires using heat shrink crimp connectors.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1731/41542660185_5a3c2ad462_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hYZxP)

[Warhammer]

Next, came the big step: cutting holes for the lights. If you have unaltered fenders, you'll probably want to measure and mark where you want to drill. For me, the cutouts in the flares dictated location. I used a trick I learned from and episode of Mighty Car Mods to mark my drilling locations: toothpaste!

I put a small dab of toothpaste (in this case I used my son's toothpaste because it is red) on the center of the light lens, then I carefully pressed it into place where I want to the light.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1731/41542660835_4901cfaeba_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hYZK2)

When I pulled it away, I had a nice little marl that I could center punch.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/873/41542659745_c0e3a200ce_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hYZqe)

After wiping off the toothpaste, I chucked my 1.75" hole saw into my drill and cut the hole.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1723/40636670500_9186b33a9f_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24UVyo1)

Now, tutorials I've read have shown people putting on multiple layers of painters tape and using cutting oil to keep things cool while drilling through the fenders. I did neither and both holes were clean with no damage to the surrounding paint. If you want to err on the side of caution, you can certainly do that, but I've recently drilled 20+ holes in my car's body work, so I really didn't think it was necessary.

Next, I ran wiring to the font turn signals and tapped the wires with those little vampire taps.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1735/41542660665_6186737026_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hYZG6)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1739/41542660425_12e7f2ad07_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hYZBX)

Finally, with the rubber gaskets in place, the repeaters are a nice snug fit!

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1722/41542661025_4d37474c04_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hYZNi)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1724/41542660055_e739f58765_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hYZvz)

[Warhammer]

As a weird little aside... You never know what you're going to find when the PO of you car fancied himself a mechanic. While I was running the wires inside the left fender, I saw something that looked like it didn't belong there. I felt around and found these lodged inside the fender!

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/27574587587_2dc5fe7fcb_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/J1EYcV)

Who the hell loses TWO pairs of pliers while working on their car and doesn't hunt them down?!?! :bang:

[HarryB]

What the.

[riefdaddy]

Looking good! I've found tools in my cars before. I have a nice Snap On 3/8 ratchet and 12mm socket from my truck being serviced. I can't complain about that. ;)

All I ever lose are 10mm sockets. I assume those are just offerings to the god of wrenching. I don't know his name, but I think I'm in good with my offerings. :shrug:

[Warhammer]

If only the free tools weren't so rusted they were useless.

[Warhammer]

Another little mod today. I have a Eunos "V" badge on the way from Adam @ Revlimiter for the nose of the car. I took some inspiration from Porsche for some rebadging on the rear end.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/890/42429868072_9fc71b5b05_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27Doaxw)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/28608376408_de4e68d653_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KA2pB7)


The font is called "911 Porsha", lol! I only had some cheap crafting-grade vinyl on hand, so this is just temporary. I'll redo it with better vinyl when I recieve an order placed. Since this isn't permanent, I did two different versions; closer and wider spacing. I'm trying to decide which I like better. I may even get some 1/8" plastic letters made to replace the vinyl. Any thoughts on the spacing? Which looks better? I'm leaning toward the wider version.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1751/42429864412_d003e61411_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27Do9sq)

[HarryB]

Wider looks more Porsche-y. Me likes.

[Warhammer]

I received my new Eunos "Type V" badge from Revlimiter.net. As always, Adam's work is top notch! And, of course, it came loving packaged with a Hot Wheels (which my son promptly claimed as his own), some JDM candy and Revlimiter stickers. Adam really knows how to make opening an order fun!

I know I'll have to remove and reinstall the badge when I paint the bumper, but I just couldn't let such a pretty badge sit in the house. I might move it just a little bit lower on the nose after I install the stripes on the hood.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/874/41784613794_d0fda1d520_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26En4VL)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1742/42455571922_f264b36a73_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27FDUpm)

[Warhammer]

While I was at it, I remade my Eunos lettering on the back. This time I used Oracal 751 vinyl, which is rated for 5-7 years outside, in tomato red. I also spread the letters out a bit to the same spacing Porsche uses on the 911 and I made the letters bold, to thicken them up just a bit. So far, I like this version the best.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/902/42455572152_b459c24483_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27FDUtj)

[SynapticGroove]

Looking good man!

Are your stock wheels Plastidip?

[Phatmiata]

Loving this build! You are correct that you can just use a hole saw to mount the jdm lights. The only reason they have that weird cutout is so that you can twist them and remove them easily to replace a burned out bulb. I did the same as you with a hole saw and there is no way they will come out unless you reach around from inside the fender and pinch those tabs a push the the lights out. Honestly though with LED lights you likely never have to change the bulbs.

[revlimiter]

I could do those letters in chrome with the epoxy dome on top if you'd like. That wouldn't be difficult.

And thanks for the badge order!!! Please remember to not install over fresh paint. The paint needs to outgas for a couple months or it will tarnish the chrome while doing so. :(

Car is looking great!

[Greasemonkey2000]

Warhammer is looking great! :drinkto:

I'm not big on lettering on vehicles but when down properly it can look great, like what you have done. I like it in red but chrome as Adam offered to make might look just as good or better.... :shrug:

[Warhammer]

Looking good man!

Are your stock wheels Plastidip?

I actually painted them, not Plastidip. Unfortunately, when I spun off the highway and had to get the car towed, the tow truck driver scraped the hell out of my wheels with the buckles on the tie down straps. I plan on getting new wheels soon, so I haven't bother to repaint them.

[Warhammer]

I could do those letters in chrome with the epoxy dome on top if you'd like. That wouldn't be difficult.

And thanks for the badge order!!! Please remember to not install over fresh paint. The paint needs to outgas for a couple months or it will tarnish the chrome while doing so. :(

Car is looking great!

Thanks Adam! Like most, its a constant work in progress. Wheels, suspension, turbo, etc... Custom gauge faces have been on my wish list for a while. There's always something else to do next. But what would I do if I suddenly realized I was done?!?!

Thanks for the tip on the paint. I didn't know that. I'd hate to ruin such a gorgeous badge!

I'm still tossing around ideas on how the rear badging will end up. I discovered my wife's Cricut and I'm having fun cutting all sorts of stuff out of vinyl! I have some brushed aluminum-look vinyl left over from a previous project, so I might give that a try. (I also have some carbon fiber DiNoc in black and red.) I'm leaning more toward flat black (a la Porsche) than chrome. While I (obviously) like red on my car, I think that the red Eunos above the red license plate may be a bit much. Since the new stripes will be red in the center with black on both sides, I think black badging will look good.

I'm thinking the big "Eunos" at the top, the ND "Roadster" at the bottom left, and then I need to find a badge to cove the holes at the bottom right as a place holder until I eventually go FI. Then I can put a "turbo" badge there. Once I really settle on a color, I'll probably have the Eunos letters 3D printed to make them look even more "factory".

Ever since installing the body kit, I've had several people stop to compliment the car and ask what it is. I'm sure the Eunos badging will just add to the confusion, lol!

[Warhammer]

These are the stripes I'm going to use. For my Miata, I'll need the Ferrari stripes sized down to 80% ti fit right.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/40727259870_bee4ccaf51_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/253VRrG)

I just found out from one of the guys at work that his mom owns a sign and graphics shop, so he's going to get me an estimate for having them made.

[Phatmiata]

what fender flare bolts did you end up using?

[tsingson]

If only the free tools weren't so rusted they were useless.

Have them sit in some Coke.

[Warhammer]

what fender flare bolts did you end up using?

I used these bolts and washers that ordered from Amazon.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81gb6XWnt6L._SL1500_.jpg

[Agent☣Orange]

Aluminum?

[Warhammer]

Stainless bolts with anodized aluminum washers.

[Agent☣Orange]

Enough to defeat rust. A little corrosion but that's about it. Good job.

[SynapticGroove]

@Warhammer would you be interested in selling your stock NB wheels once you get a new set? If so, I might be interested in buying them. I've got a brilliant black NA that they would look really good on and I'm just north of you in Oklahoma.

[Warhammer]

@Warhammer would you be interested in selling your stock NB wheels once you get a new set? If so, I might be interested in buying them. I've got a brilliant black NA that they would look really good on and I'm just north of you in Oklahoma.

Sure. I'll PM you my number.

[Warhammer]

I ordered new 15x8 Advanti Storm S1 wheels in the "titanium mirror" finish, wrapped in Continental ExtremeContact Sport 205/50ZR15 tires. This is my first time ordering from Tire Rack and I had a mixed experience..

The good:

Price - They had the best overall price I could find on a wheel and tire set. I could have saved a few bucks on each item by ordering the wheels from one source, tires from another, but then getting them mounted and balanced locally would have made up the difference, plus there's the additional leg work involved. Ordering them already mounted is just quicker. I found other websites with free shipping, but they made up the difference with higher prices. (Admittedly, Tire Rack only beat out two other websites by $20. But hey, $20 is $20!)
Availability - They had everything in stock and ready to go.
Quick shipping - I should have my wheels and tires in 2-3 days.
Included items/services - Mounting, balancing, valve stems, adapter rings, lug nuts (which I really don't need), road hazard certificates*
Balancing - They use a Hunter Road Force machine, so they SHOULD be balanced well.


The bad:

Fitment BS - I ordered my wheel and tire package and then got a call from a "fitment specialist." He told me that they would not mount 205/50-15s on 8" wheels. "It's too dangerous!" I couldn't really talk with the guy at the time, so I called back later and got another "specialist." He told me they couldn't mount them for street use, but if I "just say they are for track use" they would go ahead. I said, "yeah, sure, whatever," and he happily stated that they would fulfill the order, and that they would add a "track use only" statement to my receipt. So basically, they told me to agree to some BS statement that I had already told them wasn't true, or they would refuse to fill my order. While I think their refusal to mount this size tire is stupid, I really lost respect for them when they talked me through helping them violate their own policy. Either have the spine to stick to your policy, or acknowledge that its a stupid policy and drop it. :rolleyes: Putting your customers through stupid crap like this is a great way to make sure they won't buy from you again.
Road hazard certificates - I assume these are now worthless, since I can only drive my Miata with these tires on the track, according the Tire Rack's Fitment Police. :dunno:

[Warhammer]

Since new wheels are on the way, I figured I better get off my butt and cut the fenders. So, I ventured out onto the garage today.

First, I had to take the new body kit off. While I was at it, I replaced the last few self tapping screws that I used with rivnuts. Then, I marked the fenders where I wanted to cut them.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1759/41865851845_c17d0ce9ed_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26MxraP)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/42048712674_235a6450ff_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/274GDjJ)

Then it was time to get out the angle grinder and start cutting. I discovered that I don't have the steadiest hand when it comes to this, lol. Luckily, and scuffs or uneven edges will be hidden under the flares.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/880/41865852175_7a2cccfd41_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26Mxrgv)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1730/42048712474_04bb2aee0b_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/274GDgh)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1721/41865851705_9647bbd923_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26Mxr8p)

[Warhammer]

The front fenders are pretty easy: just cut and the file the edges.

The rears are more complicated. Since the fenders are a double-wall arrangement, you have to cut both walls and then bond them together. I've seen a lot of videos on welding them together, but I don't have a welder. So, I used another method I saw online combined with some advice I got from the forum. First, I cut the inner wall a little bit shorter than the outer. I used a mallet to hammer the edge of the inner fender up to meet the out fender. Then, I used the mallet to bend the outer fender over the edge of the inner fender. The result looks like some really aggressively (and badly) rolled fenders. To seal it up, I used panel bond to glue the two edges together and close any voids.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/876/41865851945_623638b7aa_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26Mxrcx)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/876/42048711824_82ce9e1b9c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/274GD55)

I didn't cut the rear bumper at all, as I'm not sure if that's necessary. Once I get the new wheels and tires on, I'll see if I need to. I'd prefer to leave the bumper alone so that I don't lose the connection point between the bumper and the body.

I still need to get some kind of paint or undercoating to seal the edges of the cuts and any places I accidentally removed paint.

[Warhammer]

The other project I worked on today was removing the 15mm wheel spacers the PO installed. Of course, 3 of the nuts refused to budge and I ended up rounding off the edges. My set of bolt extractors only goes up to 16mm and I need a 17mm extractor. So, I'll have to stop by Harbor Freight tomorrow when I go to work and pick one up. That, of course, means that my project will have to be put on hold for a couple of days. The new wheels and tires should arrive tomorrow, so I'll just have to ogle them off the car until I get some more garage time.

[Warhammer]

New shoes!!!

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1742/42738999762_38f6cc624d_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/287GxCf)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/27919723437_f04a7056dc_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JxaT52)

[Greasemonkey2000]

Rudy with Tire Rack is the ONLY person you want to deal with for any setup on a miata.

Meant to ask you about your tire/wheel choice previously but why this setup(15×8 +25 with 205/50/15)? With a stock bodied miata(na/nb) I completely get it but you are going to have to use some THICK spacers to get the setup flush with the widebody, correct? :shrug:

I ran 15x8 +25 with 225's on Warbird and it filled the fender wells but stock metal minus the fender lips being rolled. Seems like a shame not to fill all that fender area with some wide wheels/tires. :D

[Warhammer]

Yeah, wish I would have known to deal with one person in particular.

Yes, I'm going to be using spacers to get the wheels out where I want them. I just really like the look of these wheels. I did a lot of reading on spacers vs 0 offset wheels. What I came up with is that there really isn't a functional difference in wheels that have this offset already or achieving the same offset using spacers. I didn't go with 10" wide wheels because I don't have a V8 or huge boost to overcome that much rubber on the road. I'm not really looking to get the wheels flush, just to have them fill the wheel wells.

[Warhammer]

Well, damn... Turns out that not buggering up the wheel studs is a moot point. When the PO installed the 15mm spacers, he cut the wheel studs WAY too short for me to reuse them. So I just ordered all new wheel studs, front and rear. (Of course, none of the local auto parts shops had more than 1 or 2 in stock.) Hopefully, I'll have them by my next couple of days off on Tuesday and Wednesday. At least this means that if I end up having to cut those stuck nuts off I'll already have the replacement studs ready to go.

[Phatmiata]

Im interested to see how this turns out since I also will be running some 15x8 wheels and flares, I have to get my wheels refinished yet, and not sure if I want to tackle cutting the fenders myself though, id be scared id mess it up.

[Warhammer]

To be honest, cutting the fenders was intimidating at first. I just reasoned that I was already past the point of no return when I drilled all those holes in the fenders to mount the flares. Besides, the cut edges of the fenders are hidden up under the flares anyway, so less-than-perfect cuts aren't visible.

[Paul B]

Im interested to see how this turns out since I also will be running some 15x8 wheels and flares, I have to get my wheels refinished yet, and not sure if I want to tackle cutting the fenders myself though, id be scared id mess it up.

Definitley nerve wracking while cutting but like it was said, once there are holes, theres no going back.

And its all hidden under new panels anyway so it doesn't have to be perfect. Cut it up!!

Flares with 15x8s???


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Warhammer]

A quick test fit on the front and rear wheels I was able to get the spacers off of. Just on there finger tight. I think they will look good when the flares are back on.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/899/42116684184_bf6f07f7ca_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27aH1Tj)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1782/42116684084_99b4c34e8a_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27aH1RA)

[Warhammer]

New shoes installed... mostly...

I got all 16 of the chopped wheels studs out and replaced them with original length studs. The PO had cut them REALLY short! I installed the 25mm spacers and wheels up front, and I'm very happy with the result. In the rear, I think the 32mm spacers are just a tad too narrow.It doesn't look bad, just not quite what I want. I think I need about another 1/4 inch for them to look just right. I already have some 38mm spacers on the way that should be here by Friday.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1785/29052700338_e45347e7e7_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LghFCw)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1828/42023918685_e5565a8a87_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/272vyWa)

I went from the OEM 16" to 15" wheels with this mod. They definitely don't fill the wheel wells as nicely. With all the fender gap, it's obvious that the next major mod I need t plan is a set of coilovers.

I was going to install my new stripes, but the shop messed up my order. Instead of cutting out the white area between the red and black stripes, they left white in that location. I test installed a short piece of the strip, but the white of the vinyl is just way too different from the white paint on the car. I'll have to wait for the shop to make me another set of stripes. The pics give an idea of how its going to look, though.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1788/42023919035_9bc18c9fcf_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/272vz3c)
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/884/29052700848_2c3c0bb5fc_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LghFMj)

[Warhammer]

Thought I'd do a few posts to show where it all started. Here goes...

[Warhammer]

Here she is as I bought her. 2003 LS with 93K miles. The paint is white, but the PO wrapped it in matte green vinyl. It already has a Hard Dog Hardcore Double Diagonal roll bar in it. First steps are to give it a solid once-over to make sure that everything is mechanically sound, replace the completely shredded top, fix the leak in the AC and get some new rear tires.

I've always been a motorcycle rider, but my son has autism and I can't be sure he will hold on in back of me on a ride. So, right now, taking a motorcycle ride means that I have to leave him at home, and I hate missing out on father-son time. The Miata is going to be my new motorcycle that he can enjoy, too! I've taken him out for 4 or 5 rides, and he's already addicted to it! He doesn't want to go anywhere unless we take the "Roger Rabbit car." (That's what he calls it because it's so small and has no roof!)

I know I'm going to have fun fixing up and modding this car. I'm a tinkerer by nature, so I'm sure that it will be like my motorcycle and pretty much be a constant work in progress that will never be quite done.

On the trailer the night I picked it up:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/803/41127732461_dc2f6a3f3f_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25EjnZx)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/881/41127731881_b39b075ce1_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25EjnPx)

One happy kid!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/784/41127730871_74399f42b3_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Ejnw8)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/813/39324891710_448b49063e_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22V1mfj)

Hey, the car matches my bike!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/794/41090525612_eb5ab936b2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25B2FG9)

[Warhammer]

August 5, 2014

First mod! The beginning of a long and never ending road!

I did a quick and cheap visor delete using Nissan door panel retainers. Simply pull the metal visor arms out of the plastic brackets and pop the panel retaining plug into the resulting hole:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/900/40416661784_ca04d94152.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24ztXsh)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/803/39318901650_1b0be40334_b.jpg[/url]

A new high-power LED in the sadly inadequate dome light.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/874/39318907990_8f65f4a054_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22UtFuJ)

[Warhammer]

August 9, 2014

And so the madness begins...

I started to install the new top today. The old top was pretty thrashed, with spots that were worn through along both sides, and no back glass. (The glass was falling out when I bought the car, so I just cut it out the rest of the way.) The PO told me that he couldn't understand why the top lasted such a short time, when he pressure washed it regularly to keep it clean. :eek:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/816/39318907780_a0c29b7e53_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22UtFr7)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/801/39318907880_1caf92f4ba_b.jpg[/url]20140809_102033_zpszflfxcjy (https://flic.kr/p/22UtFsQ) by

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/814/27254637658_f0b3b83989_b.jpg[/url]

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/812/27254637488_bcb0d39166_b.jpg[/url]

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/898/27254637048_442ca7239c_b.jpg[/url]

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/786/39318907650_8fe62e117a_b.jpg[/url]



I say that I "started" the install because it turns out that I need new tension cables, so I couldn't finish the job today. The cables have been ordered, so I'll have to wait until next week to finish. So, I completed the removal of the old top, and then dove into giving the interior a solid cleaning.



With the top out, I cleaned the rear deck (which was already surprisingly clean) and made sure the rain drains were clear (which they were).

Since the seats were already out, I gave them a good cleaning with leather cleaner and conditioned the leather. Man! This may have been the first time these seats have been cleaned! The difference is incredible. While I was at it, I cleaned and conditioned the steering wheel, too. The finish is pretty rough, so I think I'll order a sew-on perforated leather steering wheel cover. I just have to decide if I want to stick with all black, or do a black/tan two-tone cover.

Next, I removed the center console and scrubbed the heck out of it with Simple Green and hot water. It was FILTHY, especially the cup holders, but it's as clean as new, now. While I had the console off, I noticed that the inner shifter boot was pretty torn up. Oh well... perfect excuse to order a short shifter kit from Moss Miata. :thumbs:

The rest of the interior plastics, dash, door panels, door sills, etc... all got the Simple Green treatment, too.

I soaked the seat belts in scalding hot water with Simple Green then power washed them to rinse out all the soap. It was amazing how much grime came out of them.

The carpet got a crazy vacuuming! Apparently, one of the POs had a white, short-haired dog... Dang that fur is HARD to vacuum up!!! After a couple hours of vacuuming, I spot treated and cleaned every inch of the carpet. There were some spots from spilled cola on the passenger side, but they came right out. It looks almost new, now.

I cleaned out the trunk and re-riveted the little plastic support to the tire cover panel, so now it doesn't rock around and come out of place. I'm debating whether to keep the spare tire or just replace it with a can of fix-a-flat.

I removed the rear view mirror until I can figure out if I want to mount it on the dash or remount it at the bottom of the windshield. I love the increased forward vision by getting it out of my line of sight. Besides, with the double diagonal roll bar, you can't see much behind you with the mirror in its original position. I learned to drive in my Dad's 1966 Volvo 1800S, and I always loved the dash-mounted mirror in that car. I am sorely tempted to reinforce the underside of the dash and mount an auto-dimming mirror. Until I decide what to do, no rear view mirror is actually an improvement.

Finally, I cleaned under the hood with Gunk and then let the car idle to dry out while I re-installed the seats. Then, of course, I had to take it our for a short spin since it's such a nice night here in Austin.

Oh, I also ordered a 2004 MazdaSpeed stereo from e-bay. This will allow me to add rear speakers without resorting to an after-market head unit. (After I had my 3rd after-market stereo stolen from a car, I swore that I would never again have anything other than a factory head unit in a car.) Besides, I've already gotten in the habit of not leaving anything in the Miata and just leaving it unlocked. It's cheaper than replacing a soft top after some idiot cuts his way in with a pocket knife.

[Warhammer]

August 14, 2014

Fixed the AC today. Just one hose (a total of 3 bolt) and it's fixed! I'll take it to the shop to have them put a vacuum on it and then fill it up next week.

I worked on the top for most of the day today. Let me say for the record that the instructions Robbins send with their tops are HORRIBLE!!! They skip steps, do things in the wrong sequence, and half way through all of the reference pictures change from the left side of the car to the right side, with no warning. GRRRRR!!!! I've learned a lot that would make this job a lot easier to do next time. (The biggest thing I learned is to just pay someone else to do it next time!) Oh well, I'll definitely feel a sense of accomplishment when I get this wrapped up! I had to stop to run an errand that ended up taking several hours, so I ended up running out of light today. I'll finish it up tomorrow.

[Warhammer]

August 16, 2014

I finished the top today!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/893/39318901500_46e0f84fba_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22UtDyQ)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/887/39318901440_922469daf4_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22UtDxN)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/863/39318901380_f2a734cbc4_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22UtDwL)

I still need to do final adjustments and reinstall the carpet on the rear shelf. I was JUST able to get it latched with the latches adjusted all the way out. I know that some time in the sun will allow the vinyl to stretch so I can tighten up the latches, but the sun was going down by the time I got done. It'll be around 100 degrees here tomorrow, so I should have no trouble getting it stretched into shape. I learned a lot in the process of doing this install. Did a few things wrong and had to back track to fix them. The biggest frustration was how absolutely HORRIBLE the instructions that came with the top are. Whoever wrote them should be flogged, fired, and then rehired so they can flog him some more. Overall, it was a tough job, but not un-doable. Having to work around the roll bar definitely made it tougher. I'm just glad these tops are supposed to last for about 6-7 years!

I also got my new Ultimats from Lloyd. I went with solid black with no embroidery or logos. The mats are really nice and fit perfectly. They came with floor anchors (which I installed), but they also have a really nice rubberized backing. Between the backing and the perfect fit, the anchors probably aren't really necessary.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/866/39318907410_a7f7379f1f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22UtFjJ)

[Warhammer]

Wow! Hard to believe it's even the same car!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/881/41127731881_b39b075ce1_k.jpghttps://farm2.staticflickr.com/1785/29052700338_e45347e7e7_k.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/814/26256283577_ea47dcebb7_z.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/947/41670588301_69297e883e_k.jpg

[Warhammer]

Got the 38mm spacers and rear wheels installed tonight. Backed her out into the drive for a quick wash up then a short drive.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1831/42896827102_46727d5dd3_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28mDsch)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1800/41135697920_2c30283636_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25F2cR3)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1791/42946462521_635cdcf5c1_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28r2R5n)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1776/42946462291_42b6a98cdf_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28r2R1p)

I can really tell the difference in ride quality with the 15 wheels and thicker rubber. Much smoother ride.

[Warhammer]

November 2014

When I bought my 2003 LS, the PO had wrapped the car wih flat olive green vinyl. While I actually liked the color, his execution of the wrap was pretty poor. There were lots of unnecessary seams and obvious patches where he made mistakes. So I finally decided to dive into striping the vinyl off yesterday. I started with the left front panel, then worked my way around the car:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/804/27254632438_05105dcfde_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp7FQ)20141031_144003_zps2wnbe932 (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp7FQ) by Rex Keely (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156683230@N04/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/879/27254632498_647aa03961_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp7GS)20141031_143939_zpsnifnqfgf (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp7GS) by Rex Keely (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156683230@N04/), on Flickr
Then I stripped the hood and truck lid. I stopped with the bumper still wrapped, because I would have to remove the bumper and it was getting too dark to see what I was doing easily.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/887/27254623998_0949188633_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp5bj)20141031_143911_zpsyde9rt0l (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp5bj) by Rex Keely (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156683230@N04/), on Flickr

Today, I pulled the bumper, and stripped off the vinyl. While I had the bumper off, I polished the headlights and installed my Morioto LED fog/DRLs. The headlights look new again, and the Morimoto LEDs are incredible!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/803/27254630468_8926889aec_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp76S)20141106_202300_zpssfwcfsfm (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp76S) by Rex Keely (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156683230@N04/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/796/27254630658_9ceb9981ed_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp7a9)20141102_190414_zpszewdyyq8 (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp7a9) by Rex Keely (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156683230@N04/), on Flickr

Overall, I am pretty happy with the condition of the paint under the wrap. Everything looked good except for the front bumper. I know the PO had smacked a curb hard enough that he had to replace the lip n the bumper. The lip is in perfect shape, but the bumper itself is a loss. It doesn't look to bad from 8 ft away, but up close you can see all of the cracks in the paint, and most of the mounting tabs are broken. So, I'll need to decide whether to go aftermarket or replace it with an OEM bumper, but it's nothing I need to do immediately.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/900/39318900380_d7501d1e7e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22UtDew)20141102_155847_zpsiqeylnyz (https://flic.kr/p/22UtDew) by Rex Keely (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156683230@N04/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/886/27254631118_159a46199d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp7i5)20141102_155830_zpsiw49bykk (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp7i5) by Rex Keely (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156683230@N04/), on Flickr

I still need to spend some time scrubbing off all of the adhesive residue, especially where there were seams and where the edges of the vinyl wrapped around to the inside of the door sills. Oh, here's what a Miata's worth of vinyl looks like after you've removed it:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/894/27254630578_a393b85237_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hwp78L)

[Warhammer]

So... SEATS!

I've been wanting to replace the OEM seats for quite some time. I finally found some that I really like, aren't too pricey and should fit without too much trouble.

Last night I got a great big box from CarID with a pair of Braum Racing "Defender" seats in black and red.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/820/40077992745_2c55a494a5_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/244ybWV)

I got home too late to play with them, so I unpacked them first thing this morning. The seats came beautifully packed. Each seat was wrapped first in clear plastic, then in a nylon draw string bag (the seats are sitting on top of one of the bags in the pic below), then in a tough cardboard box. No damage at all from shipping, which is always nice!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4781/40077991795_88336efdb0_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/244ybEx)

The seats surfaces are a soft, grippy jacquard fabric, with the thigh bolsters, shoulder areas, center stripe, and back in "leatherette." I'll just link to Braum's website for further description of the seats: https://www.braumracing.com/product/defender-series-racing-seats-red-stripe/ I didn't want all leatherette seats because of the heat here in Texas and the fact that polyurethane doesn't breath. Hopefully the black vinyl thigh bolsters won't scorch me too badly if I leave the top down when I park, lol! I love the design! They're going to look awesome with my interior.

Sitting in the seats, I could instantly feel the difference in lateral and lumbar support. These are not super tight seats, but they REALLY hug you compered to the OEM seats. Of course, the difference in feel between brand new foam and 15 year old foam is amazing! Between the higher side bolsters and the jacquard fabric, I should have no trouble staying put while turning.

The seats came with dual locking sliders (which I won't be using, more about that later) and I paired them up with some generic NB seat brackets from Amazon.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/813/39162711680_705d7a6934_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22EF8LU)

The first step (obviously) was to yank out the 15 year old original seats. These guys have served admirably for almost long enough to be old enough to drive! :D The parchment leather is still in pretty nice shape. The original seats look quite a bit taller at first glance, but you have to realize that:
1. they are sitting on the OEM sliders.
2. you sit much deeper into the new seats.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/40077991225_717bd75012_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/244ybuH)

When mounted directly to the new seats bracket, the seats will sit just a shade lower than my foamectomied OEM driver's seat. I test fitted the driver's seat with the new sliders, but it sat too high for my taste. (But I'm getting ahead of myself...)

Happily, the first seat bracket fit just fine without the need to modify it all! The reviews on Amazon were 50/50 on "great product"/"doesn't even remotely fit", so I knew I was taking a chance. All I had to do was trim a bit of carpet around the feet of the bracket. My carpet is aftermarket and custom fit, so I expected that. Then I inserted the rear bolts and stood on the bracket to make the front holes align perfectly.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/806/26100083827_b5b3a3d63f_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FLnKBi)

[Warhammer]

I got a bit more done yesterday. Both brackets test-installed. They both took some downward pressure to make the bolt holes line up. I put in the rear bolts, then stood on the bracket and put in the front bolts. I torqued the bolts all the way down, figuring that this will make it easier to reinstall the brackets with seats on them later in the process.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/26100083757_132e0f7899_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FLnKA6)

I also test fitted the seats. It's SNUG in there, but they're going to work out just fine. I absolutely LOVE how the double row of red stitching at the sides of the seats matches the stitching on my brake and shift boots!!!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/26100083667_e7d834c493_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FLnKyx)


It took a little bit of work with my Fine Adjustment Tool to re-contour about 6 inches of the inside of the door sill to give enough clearance for the seat's tilt lever to fit nicely.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4781/40087697665_a00c060a63_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/245pVT8)

Here, the seat sin't bolted down, but this is where I want it to end up when I'm done. I've got a pretty decent range of lean for the back. The wider then OEM shoulders stop the seat from leaning all the way back to the firewall, but it's got more than enough adjustment range for comfort.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/787/40077989825_80637ea3fd_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/244yb5z)

I had to make a run to True Value in Lockhart to get nuts, bolts, spacers and washers to make the seatbelt buckles work with the brackets. And going to Lockhart ALWAYS means stopping for BBQ, so that was a longer trip than it really had to be, lol. If you don't know about Lockhart, TX, it's known as the BBQ Capital of TX, and Black's BBQ has been in business and family owned since 1932!

[Warhammer]

Since the hole in the seat belt buckle bracket on the new seat brackets was a different size than the hole in the buckle itself, I can't reuse the original bolt. Here's what I came up with:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/788/40087697605_93433c0367_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/245pVS6)

A dome head allen bolt to keep the bolt head from tearing up the seat. A fender washer. Two steel bushings to make the bolt fit the holes in the buckle and bracket. (I drilled both holes out to 3/4" to fit the new bushings.) Another fender washer. Then a nut, which I will secure with Loctite and cover with a black plastic nut cover.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/813/26150749707_e7f12d9edd_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FQRqNX)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/805/40979470442_97347769da_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25rduRQ)

[Warhammer]

The brackets really are intended for use with sliders. I found out that I can't mount the seats back far enough on the brackets without them. And there isn't enough metal further back on the bracket to drill new holes, either. So, I picked up a piece of flat steel bar. I plan to build extensions for each side so that I can place the rear seat bolts a few inches farther back

[Warhammer]

Today didn't start out looking like a day to do much work...

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/867/41082436961_77689d8fd4_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25AjedD)

But I got a few hours of sunshine later in the afternoon and made some progress. The hardest part was getting the seat bolts into the holes in the floor. You can't see them, so the whole operation has to be done by feel, with very little room for your hands, at hard to accomplish angles. To add to the misery, I had to install and remove the driver's seat about 4 times, modifying one bolt hole in the bracket between fittings, before it finally fit just right. Or so I thought...

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/816/41082436781_052539063c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Ajeax)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/813/41039676882_d43902cd8a_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25wx58U)

Unfortunately, once I got everything tightened down, I realized I didn't drill the holes in the bracket far enough to the right, so the whole seats sits much to far over to the left. :realmad: Oh well, nothing to do but to remove it and fix the problem.

I went ahead and installed the passenger seat before removing the driver seat again. As it typically goes for this kind of project, the lessons learned from the first seat made the installation of the second seat MUCH faster and easier. I mounted it as far over to the inside edge of the bracket as the seat belt buckle would allow. I had to do just a tiny bit of hammering on the trans tunnel with my Fine Adjustment Tool, and in it went.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/899/41039675982_eea437f7c9_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25wx4So)

Here you can see two things:
1. How much better the right side fits than the left.
2. How much pollen an oak tree can drop on your black interior in a short time.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/801/41039676452_266b567016_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25wx51u)
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/788/41082436121_822a36740b_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25AjdYa)

So, the passenger side is done and I'm very happy with it. The driver side is back out of the car. I'll have to wait for another day to rework the bracket and remount the driver seat farther to the right.

[Warhammer]

After much pounding of the trans tunnel and drilling of the seat bracket, I managed to get the driver seat installed. It's still a tiny bit off center, but its barely noticeable. Thankfully, I was able to get the seat wing to clear the side of the car, so no squeaking or rubbing.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/784/27300177908_080c8827eb_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HAqxLy)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/890/27300177118_6224e908c8_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HAqxwW)

I took it out for test drive and I really like the seats! Way for lateral support than the originals, and better lumbar support as well! They feel much better than my foamectomied OEM seat, and sit lower.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/791/26301305417_e63f3341aa_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G5a4M4)

[tsingson]

Wow. Those seats were shipped with class. A+ product from the looks of it.

[Warhammer]

I did a quick, easy project that I've been wanting to do for quite a while. The stalks on my turn signal and wiper control had become pretty corroded. So, I grabbed some metal polishing paste and a strip of terry cloth and polished them up.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/895/41356233832_87961111a2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/261vvum)

Right stalk unpolished, left stalk after about 5 mins of work.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/802/41399059691_706c04536c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/265i18e)

Both stalks all polished up and the plastics reinstalled around the steering column.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/884/41356233132_141a880d2b_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/261vvhh)

The next project will be polishing up the elbows on my sun visors.

[Warhammer]

I ordered new headlights for my Miata. My old ones are badly hazed (I've polished them multiple times) an each light has a broken tab.

There aren't many options out there for NBs. New OEM headlights are PRICEY! Used OEM headlights are less pricey, but not cheap. And they often don't look much better than the ones being replaced. Aftermarket lights are pretty universally maligned as too "ricey." So... I decided to go aftermarket and attempt to de-rice them a bit.

Here's what I ordered:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/886/39591613180_eced0cdf31.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23jznfm)

My plan is to NOT hook up the three little LEDs at the top, then use white vinyl to make "eyelids" (a la Garage Vary) to cover up that portion of the lights. I actually like the halo rings, so I will hook up those.

[Warhammer]

Ok, got the headlights in and installed them today.

Here's a before pic of the car.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/811/39631266310_fe596bc15e_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23o5AK1)

The headlights look better in that pic because the car was still wet from a light rain. When they are dry, they look much worse. I've polished them back to life twice, and even applied a clear coat the last time. But they once again look their age. The repetitive hazing and the broken tabs on both lights convinced me to just replace them.

So here's an old vs new pic:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/787/40725343664_e89c1ea936_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/253L2PE)

Pretty huge difference!!!

There were a few different varieties available. Clear lenses/chrome interior, clear lenses/black interior or smoked lenses/black interior. I decided to go with the smoke lenses and black interior. Now, before anyone starts to scold me for getting smoked lenses (decreased light transmission, less safety, yadda, yadda...), let me say that I'll have 55W HIDs in the low beams and VLed V6 switchbacks in the turn signals, so I'm really not concerned about the slight tint on the lenses. The tint does help decrease how noticeable the
3 cheesy LEDs up top are. (I'll still be playing with adding eyelids, though.)

The lights arrive with a bird's nest of wiring at the back to power the high and low beams, 3 top mounted LEDs and the 2 halo rings.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/788/26568994517_31ca7c08db_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GtP3qn)

So the first step was to tidy up the wiring, especially for the 3 top LEDs, which I won't be using. A few minutes and a few zip ties later:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/901/40725345054_5e7a8adb1d_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/253L3eC)

The next step was to peel off the bumper. This is particularly easy with my beat up old bumper, as there are only 4 fasteners holding it on! :eek: The previous owner smacked a curb while parking and broke most of the mounting tabs off. Yeah, I really need to replace that old thing. Anyway, here she is stripped of her outerwear and the old lights. (Apparently, someone in the past decided the car needed a handlebar mustache and scratched one into the bumper, LMAO!)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/870/40725343084_6e53af8033_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/253L2DE)

[Warhammer]

After a bit of wiring and reinstalling the bumper, I now have this:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/786/40725344754_dbb03ce720_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/253L39s)

I kinda like it! Here she is with the running lights and and halos on. The halos are really very noticeable in bright sunlight.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/891/39631266650_8e67d63719_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23o5AQS)

With the low beams on:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/885/40725344354_8812686678_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/253L32y) r

High beams:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/890/40725344144_400e638174_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/253L2XW)

Right now, I just have the standard halogen H1 bulb in that came with the lights. I had to order HID H1s to go with the ballasts I've been using for the last few years with the OEM lights. I know they will make a world of difference. Those are also just run of the mill, cheap bulbs in the turn signals. VLeds is backordered on the V6 switchbacks I want, so I'll have to wait a bit for those.

I just got a message that my white vinyl has been delivered and is waiting for me in the mailbox. Eyelids are next![/QUOTE]

[Warhammer]

A few more pics of the new headlights:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/895/40727828474_72b11a8f29_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/253YLtd)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/890/40727829004_4ec0eef968_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/253YLCm)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/803/41400074612_2f5d629c47_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/265ocPS)

[Warhammer]

Since (mostly) completing my dashboard project, I've been dragging my feet on mounting the new window switches.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/847/26713994057_2e519c6be9_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GGCcJr)

Today, I finally took the time to get it done. I used switches that I wired up myself, and a mounting plate that I bought from Adam @ RevLimiter.com. I purposely canted the switches toward the driver to make them easier to reach. (I'm not really concerned with the passenger being able to operate them, lol!)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/844/39806110240_39083b4b54_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23DwHKw)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/941/27745124668_3a14d9d4c9_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JgK1Wq)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/908/26746125577_6909258a3e_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GKsTja)

The switches are hardly visible if you aren't looking for them, but they're a detail I really l like. Pulling them toward me rolls the windows up, pushing them away rolls the windows down.

[Warhammer]

I received my VLeds V6 Triton switchback turn signals. Installation was quick and easy. These things are BRIGHT!!! If you don't know what these lights do, they transform your front turn signals into bright white DRLs, then switch to amber flashers when you activate your turn signals. You can add a module to make them automatically come on as DRLs, or just use your parking lights to activate them. You also have the option of leaving the white DRLs on at full power when you turn on the headlights, or tapping a headlight wire so that they automatically dim to 10% output when you turn on the headlights.

Here's what came in the kit:
- LED Switchback bulbs with built-in drivers
- 1157 adapters with heat shrink tubing and dielectric grease
- Wire taps and wire to enable the auto-dimming feature

BTW, I already replaced my stock flasher relay with an electronic flasher relay that compensates for LEDs to prevent hyperflash. You will need to do the same or purchase resistors for each light.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/958/41810849041_bc9f69b18a_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26GFwKB)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/965/40003738290_02d91cb1d1_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23WZBFG)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/946/41810847931_1b4bba276e_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26GFwqt)

What didn't come in the kit:

INSTRUCTIONS! I had to go to VLeds' website to find the installation guide. Oh well, not that big of a deal.

These things are BRIGHT!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/910/40003737760_90342c5ec6_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23WZBwy)

Compared to my 55w HID low beams. (Did I mention these things are BRIGHT?)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/966/40003737040_b9721e37fd_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23WZBj9)

Add in some halogen high beams (I think I'll need to get some H1 LEDs for the high beams, too.):

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/980/40003736360_50050f8e70_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23WZB7q)

Yes, I realize that running with 6 lights on is illegal in most places. I haven't hooked up the auto-dim feature yet, but I may later. I want to drive with them at night and see what effect they have on both my ability to see the road and whether they seem to bother oncoming traffic before I decide. Honestly, the only time I would ever have the high beams on would be in the absence of any other cars anyway, so I'm not too concerned about it.

All lights on with the left turn signal activated:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/863/41094246384_93e5dedd56_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25BmKKo) ckr

Just the DRLs on, with the left turn signal activated:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/967/40912228295_a0929ebfb0_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25kgS7t)

Pros:
- Easy to install
- You get DRLs
- REALLY BRIGHT DRLs!!!
- Much brighter turn signals, too

Cons:
- They cost $137 (Well worth it, IMHO)

[Warhammer]

Since I was already in the garage and working on the Miata, I decided to do a little project I've had planned for about a year.

I long ago dumped the spare tire in the trunk in favor of a can of Fix-a-Flat, a cell phone and a AAA card. It was a good way to loose some weight and gain some cargo space. (It was the original spare tire, so it was dried out and probably not safe to use anyway.) The only issue was the left over brackets for the tire and jack got in the way. So, a few minutes with a cutoff wheel and...

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/950/40915247795_ca26ab6bda_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25kxkGP)

Next, I vacuumed, washed and dried the trunk. Then, I made good use of some sound deadener that was left over from when I recarpeted the cabin.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/970/40915248315_59c56f8959_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25kxkRM) r

Reinstall the trim:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/971/40915248655_014bcc9847_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25kxkXD)

The last part of this project will be to cut some carpet to make a trunk liner, just to clean up the look. The thin metal floor of the trunk rings like a bell, so hopefully, this will help reduce noise a little.

[Warhammer]

Just a quick and dirty chop job on the original trunk liner:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/903/27946641998_18d595e537_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JzxR29)

The white bags are big desiccant packs to keep the trunk and it's contents dry and rust free. I'll put together a pretty trunk liner at another time.

[Demon I Am]

man, I can't wait to see the pics of these updates (work firewall). Those seats sound wonderful. Did I read right that they were $750 for the PAIR?!

This is some great progress!

[Warhammer]

man, I can't wait to see the pics of these updates (work firewall). Those seats sound wonderful. Did I read right that they were $750 for the PAIR?!

This is some great progress!

Thanks! And the seats were $650 for the pair, plus the universal brackets.

[Warhammer]

I started a minor project today that, as I seem to have a talent to do, I've turned into a not-so-simple project. I've seen the "single wiper conversion" on several cars and, while I like the idea, I rarely like the execution. I know that you can simply pull off the left wiper arm and reposition the right (center) wiper arm and call it a day. But that leaves the wiper making too short of an arc and sticking up on the windshield while its parked. A little research showed me that the sweep can be increased by either lengthening the linkage that attache the wiper transmission to the motor, or shortening the linkage that attaches the transmission to the wiper arm. So, it will take a little experimentation to get the the lengths right, but I'm going to play with it until I'm satisfied.

To start with, I removed the wiper cowl and promptly lost 2 of the little caps that cover the screws that hold it down. Looks like I'll be calling my local Mazda Parts Desk this week, lol! While I was in there, I pulled the cover off of the fresh air intake and cleaned out a few leaves that had worked their way in there. I also wiped down the area under the cowl and just did some general clean up.

Next, I removed the left part of the wiper transmission and the left wiper shaft. There's no point in having the linkage pushing the wiper shaft back and forth with no wiper arm hooked onto it.

Now comes the fun part. I pulled out the rest of the wiper transmission to check it out. I'll have to figure out how to reposition the ball joint on the center linkage or fabricate a longer linkage for the motor shaft. The transmission arm is a hollow tube with the plastic cup of a ball-and-socket joint at each end. The two link arms have the ball part of the joint press fit into them. I think it might be easiest if I dispense with the ball-and-socket joints and make some simple pivot joints.

[HarryB]

Nice to see someone doing it properly. It is not hard to figure out the new lengths; just figure out how much longer of a movement you need on the wiper ar a ratio, and then extend/shorten the linkage by that exact ratio.

[Warhammer]

I received my custom EUNOS lettering today. They are cut from 1/8" thick acrylic and finished in matte black. I plan to replace the red vinyl letters with these for a more OEM look. They aren't quite perfect; the "n" came out a little thinner than the other letters. It really should be identical to the "u" except turned upside down. I'll contact the manufacturer tomorrow to see about getting another one made. I know it's minor, but I'll know it's not right and that will bug me until I fix it.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1769/29291737708_829fc9c62f_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LCpP7u)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1826/43113355162_489eafd96c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28FMdrG)

[Warhammer]

Okay, here's an update of the wipers, er... wiper.

The after pulling apart the wiper transmission I decided to completely eliminate the driver side of the affair. Upon inspecting the two wiper pivots, I saw that the driver side pivot (the smaller one on the picture below) allows a wider swing, so I swapped it for the center pivot.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/913/42485074714_3c6cf3d414_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27Jg7yb)

Next, I got to work on the motor arm. I bent a new one out of flat aluminum stock, making it as long as possible, without hitting the hood when it's closed.

The last link (literally) was the main linkage between the motor arm and the wiper arm. Since the plastic sockets on the OEM arm can't really be recreated, I had to come up with another way to connect my new motor arm to the linkage. I found a ball joint rod end at the hardware store and figured I could make that work. I cut off the end of the oem linkage tube and flared the end. Then I ground down the outside of a stainless nut until I could pound it into the flared end. Finally, I hammered the edges of the tube over the nut to hold it in place. So now I not only have something that will mate up with the new motor arm, but it's also adjustable for length. Here's what I ended up with:

New linkage on one end and oem joint on the other:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1807/42485074854_192270ae40_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27Jg7AA)
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/837/42485075004_e9bde4b62c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27Jg7Db)

After a little playing with the starting position of the wiper, here's what I have so far.

Parked position:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/836/42485075194_0dde81712a_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27Jg7Gs)

Farthest sweep to the driver side:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1766/42485074434_475653197c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27Jg7tm)

So, I'm happy with the progress so far, but not with the result. I've made all the change I can by lengthening the motor arm, so now I'll have to shorted the wiper linkage to get any more sweep. My goal is to get as close to 180 degree coverage as possible. Of course, with both the motor and wiper arms remade, there's no need to try to preserve parts of the original tube that I've already modified. So I'll be remaking that one, too.

[Warhammer]

I installed a gas strut trunk lift kit from Clark and Clark. I'm pretty sure it would lift just about any spoiler. I'm planning on adding the Carbonmiata Monster Spoiler soon, so I figure I'll need some extra lifting power. If you really need EXTRA lifting power, the same company makes a kit that adds a second gas strut on the right side of the trunk.

Installation was easy and took about 10 mins.

Pros:
More lifting power than the OEM torsion bar
Lifts the trunk lid all the way open when you hit the button on the remote

Cons:
Limits the trunk lid from opening as much as the oem set up

[Warhammer]

I took a drive yesterday morning and used the wiper to clear the dust and pollen front the windshield. This sparked a few thoughts and considerations.

I haven't decided where I will ultimately park the wiper at rest. Straight up the middle is an appealing option. That's simply a matter of adjusting the position of the wiper motor arm.
I want as much sweep as possible, but 180 really isn't necessary. From my driving position, the bottom few inches of windshield on each side only offers a view of the car's hood. So, if I can't get the wiper to sweep that far, it won't be limiting my view of the road.
Adjustable wiper arm:

I need the wiper to reach higher. The stock wiper arm and 18" blade leaves too much untouched glass in the upper left corner of the windshield. It doesn't obscure my view enough to be dangerous, but it is annoying. I could simply go with a longer blade (20-22"), but that might extend too far down. So, I'm looking at adjustable length wiper arms that would allow me to extend the coverage at the tip of the wiper without needing to have too much wiper blade at the bottom.
The adjustable arms also allow for adjusting the angle of wiper blade to the rest of the arm. That would be handy for fine tuning the fit.
Several of the adjustable arms I'm looking at come with a "wet kit." The would be a hose and squirt nozzle that attaches to the arm itself. This might be a nice supplement to the hood mounted squirts and get more water exactly where it is needed.

I'm trying really hard to ignore that fact that the "center" wiper arm is not actually centered, but is offset to one side a bit. To "fix" that issue is probably more work than I'm willing to put into this project. :bang:

[Warhammer]

However... The project took a turn when I came across this today:

AFI 33090 Premier Stainless Steel Pantographic Adjustable Marine Wiper Arm (12" to 17", Silver)
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/21DnaM72lML.jpg

It's just such a nice looking piece of kit that I couldn't resist trying to add it to my Miata. It calls for 80 degrees of sweep, so I'm going to hold off on further modifications to the wiper transmission until I receive the new wiper arm on Monday.

[Agent☣Orange]

Eighty degrees is a pretty limited arc plus added resistance. I like where you’re going with this though.

[Warhammer]

Yeah, I'm not sure if I can make it work, but I'm going to give it a try anyway. We'll see what happens...

[Warhammer]

Well, the pantographic wiper arm was a no-go. I would need the pivot point to be much lower in order for the sweep to work with the Miata windshield. Also, the marine wiper blade I bought is designed for a much larger diameter pivot shaft. So, I'm back to the OEM wiper arm for now. I'm looking at adjustable length singl arms now, to fine tune the reach and sweep of my mono wiper.

Since that project is on hold for a few days, I decided to work on a few other things. With Cars & Coffee at COTA coming this Saturday, I put the wiper and cowl back together and then worked on this:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/925/28466878317_951a643b32_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Knwc9R)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1806/43285794892_464a2b0025_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28X21Lu)
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/840/42431991145_63942f0db7_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27Dz3Ee)

And this:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1789/42431991305_a6f33c93e0_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27Dz3GZ)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1830/42431991245_15efbb359c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27Dz3FX)

It took me about 2 hours and half of a bottle of Rapid-Tac to get the stripes done to my liking. I feel like these turned out better than the old offset double stripes I put on a few years ago.

The "EUNOS" lettering is 1/8" thick matte black acrylic that was laser cut in "911 Porsha" font. I had to apply the 3M tape to the back myself, but these things are NOT going to fall off! They cost me about $35 from Woodland Manufacturing. They were a great bunch of folks to work with and the price was pretty reasonable for custom work, imo. If anyone else wants a set, PM me and I'll give you their contact info and my order number so they can duplicate it for you. (they can do just about any color you want.)

Now I need to decide what I'm going to do with the 2 badge locations on either side of the license plate. I'm thinking about "Roadster" on one side and "GT" on the other.

[Warhammer]

A couple of small things today: I got tired if the worn finish on my wiper, so I shot it with some black paint. I also replaced the 18' blade with a new 22" blade.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/920/29505618178_a9692b123c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LXj1jN)

I'm still planning on getting a new wiper arm and working on increasing the sweep. Just waiting until after Cars & Coffee on Saturday. I want an arm without the right hand offset of the OEM arm. I'm also thinking about adding a wiper arm mounted washer jet.

[Warhammer]

Been pretty busy for a while. Work, life, etc... keeping me away from the Miata. I finally got he parts I need to finish the AC work. (Except a new belt, which I'm waiting for right now. The shop said it should be in with the hour.) So, by the end of the day, I'll have the AC all buttoned up and I'll drop it at my mechanic's shop, so they can refill the system tomorrow.

In the mean time, I ordered a wheel coating kit from Superwrap.com, which just arrived today. Superwrap is similar to Plastidip, but is a spray-on vinyl rather than rubber. It is glossy, right out of the can. I currently have Plastidip on my mirrors, but I've never really been happy with the look. It just looks like... Plastidip. I'm hoping that the Superwrap will look more smooth and glossy, similar to powder coating.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1842/44718766652_accd217a73_k.jpg

The kit I ordered is for 18"-19" wheels. It comes with a bottle of prep spray, 3 cans of Arctic White for a base coat, 3 cans of Maranello Red and a can of clear top coat. I only need 2 cans of white and 2 of red, but I wanted the extra cans so that I can paint my mirrors to match the wheels. I'll start working on the mirrors and wheels next week.

This whole thing stems from my desire to have red wheels. When Konig came out with the Helix in red, I loved them! But I dragged my feet and, before I knew it, they were out of production and you couldn't find them anymore. So, I settled on my silver Advanti Storms, but I kept wishing they were red. I looked into having them powder coated, but the cost to have all 4 wheels done was as much as the wheel cost in the first place! Then I found some red wheels I liked on eBay, but they were considerably heavier, came from a no-name vendor AND I would have lost a bunch of money switching my tires over reselling my brand new Advanti Storms. By chance, I came across Superwrap.com, and figured it was worth a try. If I don't like the result, I can peel it off and try something else, and I'm only out $80 for the attempt.


Other modifications in the near future (parts are ordered!) are a new spoiler, hood vents and new tail lights.

The spoiler is going to be the SARD style adjustable spoiler made for the BRZ/FR-S. I saw this wing adapted to a ND and loved the look! After taking some measurements, I decided doing the same for an NB shouldn't be too hard. After I get it mounted, I plan to have it painted white to match my car.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0a/27/6c/0a276c3948ad0fdc4f20ab5946106e18.jpg

The hood vents are Focus RS vents, painted matte black. I'll figure out exactly where on the hood they will be mounted after I get them in hand.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/8r4AAOSw7I5a6v2G/s-l500.jpg

Finally, the tail lights will be clear tails that I will modify a bit.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/uh8AAOSwTLxZfN4E/s-l500.jpg

I'm still undecided what exactly I'll be doing to them.

What I know I will do is:

Fill them with LED bulbs
Reverse the location of the brake and signal lights (signals on the outside, brakes in the middle)

On the maybe list:

Tint - either red or smoke
Bake them open and ad LED rings
Add sequential LED rings to the turn signals
Completely gut them and design my own tail lights from scratch


So, that ought to keep me busy for a while! After all that, I still need to get the body kit (and the new wing) to paint so that it all matches.

[Warhammer]

Had some parts arrive much faster than I expect! All the way from China in less than a week!

Hood vents:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1950/44131645744_c5564863b1_k.jpg

I just have to figure put exactly where I want to mount them. Then take a deep breath and cut two big holes in my hood!

And my SARD wing:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1864/43041359590_a9f94b0f05_k.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1934/44131645484_eec6879a1a_k.jpg

This one is going to take quite a bit of modding. The mounts are angled for the BRZ trunk, which angles down at the sides. The Miata trunk is flat. So, I'll have to either modify the existing mounts or fabricate new ones.

[lucmor444]

That SARD wing looks the business.

[Warhammer]

That SARD wing looks the business.

Yeah, I'm really excited about it! I thinks it's going to look awesome once I either modify the existing brackets or make new ones.

[MiataQuest]

Do you have plans to fill-up the wheel wells with wider wheels & tires along with some offsetting? I love everything else.

[Warhammer]

I'm going to be installing some height-adjustable coilovers soon. I wan t to get that done before I change anything else with the wheels. I'm pretty satisfied with the width/offset of my current wheels. After the coilovers lower the car a bit, I can fine tune with different spacers, if I decide I need to.

I think 17" wheels would look really good with this widebody kit, but I don't want to add that much unsprung weight.

[Warhammer]

Alrighty! Been a while since any updates, so... My foot has healed up enough that I can get back out in the garage and do some work (play) on the car.

This week I worked on the spoiler, but it turned out to be a flop. I was going to machine some new mounting blocks out of aluminum stock using my drill press and some end mills, buuuuut it turns out that all the guys who said you really can't get good results using a drill press as a mill were right. So I ordered some pre-made spoiler supports that will bolt to the trunk lid, rather than clamp on the edge of the trunk. As soon as those arrive, setting up the spoiler should go quickly.

The next projects are:
- Hood vents: I already have the vents. I just need to (work up the nerve to) cut the holes in the hood and mount them. I might get that project done tomorrow.

- LED fog lights: I just read a really complete test that was done by "crashnburn80" on TacomaWorld. He tested multiple SAE J583 fog lights and posted his findings. SAE J583 is the standard that tells you the lights are approved for use on the road in conjunction with low beams. That means they shoot a low, wide "fog" beam that will not blind oncoming traffic. Anything marketed is a "driving" beam is usually intend to be used as a high beam and should not be used when around other traffic. I decided to get the OffRoadTown lights from Amazon for about $120.

- LED rebuild of the tail lights: I ordered a new set of tail lights from the UK, but they shipped me the wrong lights (after a 2 month wait!). Then they screwed me on return shipping, so I lost $80 on the deal. Anyway, lesson learned. So, rather than install new, aftermarket tail lights, I'm going to do a complete custom rebuild of the OEM lights. I just placed a $90 order from Superbrightleds. 120mm COB rings, LED turn and reverse bulbs, and some 17 LED tail lights that I'm going to try to integrate into the lights, inside the LED rings. I also ordered some bulb bases with pig tails attached, so I don't have to butcher the OEM wiring harness. After the LEDs are installed, I plan to tint the entire tail lights, either red or smoke, to give them a seamless, single-piece look. The new LEDs should be more than bright enough to compensate for the tint.

So, that's what's in store over the next few weeks. I'll post pics as I work on each project.

[Warhammer]

I've been fiddling around with the LED fog lights for a few hours. Think I have a mounting solution figured out. Since I no longer have a stick bumper, I really don't have fog light mounting holes. So I'm making some brackets to affix the lights to the subframe and, hopefully, locate them centrally in lower the openings in the front bumper. I'm trying not to overcomplicate it. (I'm quite talented at overcomplicating things!) I'll post pics when I'm done.

Now, for the other end of the car...

I got a box o' happiness in the mail from Superbrightleds.com.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4838/32553692118_b101b1495a_k.jpg

2ea 120mm COB rings in red
2ea 4", 17 LED red running/brake lights
2ea straight and 90 degree plugs for the brake lights
2ea 7440 cool white LED reverse bulbs
2ea 7440 red LED turn signal bulbs

I already swapped out the reverse and turn signal bulbs, and they're a great improvement. I'm really looking forward to getting the last few things I need to get started on my complete tail light rebuild. Being the patient guy that I am, I immediately installed the LED bulbs to see the difference.

Here are the standard reverse bulb on the right and the LED reverse on the right:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4846/44608611320_f5e3af17b8_k.jpg

Huge difference in color and brightness! I really like these! The turn signal bulbs are harder to show in a picture. First, I'm changing from yellow to red, so comparing is hard. Second, red LEDs tend to look pink and washed out in pictures, which they are not when seen in person. Third, since these are the turn signals, it's difficult to catch them "on" with a still picture. Anyway, here's what I was able to capture:

This is a pic of both bulbs "on". Yellow incandescent on the left, red LED on the right.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7840/45512626455_ad83d9a82e_k.jpg

This next two shots are interesting. LEDs turn on and off much quicker than incandescent bulbs. I don't mean that I have hyperflash with the LEDs; I already fixed that issue with an electronic flasher relay. I mean the time they take to go from full off to full on, and vice versa, is much shorter. In comparison, incandescent bulbs kind of fade on and fade off slowly. The cleaner cutoff of the LEDs makes for a much more noticeable, attention grabbing flash.

Here, you can see that the LED bulb is already on, while the incandescent is still warming up:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4865/31485650497_0c69688074_k.jpg

And here the LED is already off while the incandescent is fading off:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4805/31485650657_c7aaf0e3dc_k.jpg

It's quite noticeable in person, but I thought the pics that showed it were kind of cool. That's all academic anyway, because I wont be using the stock locations a turn signals anyway. My plan is to move the turn signals to the far outside of the lights, which is currently the running/brake lights. Then I'm going to mount the 120mm rings in the round reflectors as running lights and the 4" lights behind the clear lenses as brake lights, something like this:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4885/45702381214_6f66b70c90_k.jpg

I'm hoping the round lights will fit inside the housings pretty easily, but I have a strong feeling that I'll have to do some cutting to reduce their OD to make them fit. Oh well, figuring out how to make reality match your vision is half the fun of doing custom work!

Also, I debating on whether I want to set up the lights as:
1. Rings only as running lights, with the centers illuminating on bright for brakes.
2. Rings on, and centers on dim for running lights, then the centers switch to bright for brakes.

The only thing holding me up right now is waiting for a second one of these to arrive:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7848/46425288581_8878463b4e_k.jpg
It's a wedge base bulb adapter. This way, I can do all the conversion work to my lights without having to cut into the original wiring harness on the car. Just wire up the adapters and plug into the original sockets. Unfortunately, only half of my order got shipped, so I won't get the other adapter until after Christmas.

So tomorrow, I'll do the hood vents or the LED fog lights (or both) since I'm not waiting for parts to arrive for either of those projects.

[Warhammer]

The dash and carpet was a week long project:

I started with installing a single din stereo and moving the AC controls up in the center stack.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/932/40689691435_8d029a1845_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24ZBiE4)

Then the demolition began:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/930/41582238481_521caf09ba_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26mtQNe)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/787/40689719815_97c66738c8_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24ZBs6n)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/850/40871135504_e604c67c8c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25gDfE5)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/868/40871134914_2c1fd1d506_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25gDftU)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/861/41582238271_eb2f2bac27_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26mtQJB)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/825/41582238211_def9d6b7af_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26mtQHz)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/804/40689718855_caaf532b6f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24ZBrNP)

[Warhammer]

Sound and heat barriers:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/886/41582238051_884f808669_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26mtQEP)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/850/39774246780_0745158f96_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23AHpRw)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/901/39774246650_0eb8d5731e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23AHpPh)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/892/40871133474_95a9a06f9c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25gDf45)

Carpet. Lots of put it in, take it out, put it in... fitting in this step.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/867/27712534018_d0f7a92403_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JdRYSE)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/853/40871133234_ece942033c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25gDeYW)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/812/40871133044_b6d0242115_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25gDeVE)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/860/41582237851_b0be715c8e_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26mtQBn)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/876/27712533708_9d1d25a193_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JdRYMj)

Npw parking brake.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/828/39774222810_f0e6e30e3f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23AHhJf)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/792/40689716315_4c72c32b27_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24ZBr42)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/800/41582237371_8a0005ff20_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26mtQt6)

[Warhammer]

Time to start cutting up a perfectly good dash.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/832/39774222270_cec66741b3_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23AHhyW)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/885/41582237071_a972d0f792_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26mtQnV)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/929/41541427642_6fb8bcd79c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hSFa5)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/833/41541427512_76c653d6ba_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hSF7Q)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/871/27712532408_5edfd9a4b1_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JdRYoU)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/918/27712532288_a5bc72e348_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JdRYmQ)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/913/39774222110_56b111be64_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23AHhwb)

Enter the ABS. I love working with this stuff!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/799/41541397692_d40c650b71_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hSwfG)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/901/27712532058_5565a1fcb8_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JdRYhS)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/925/39774221740_b19c0ee228_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23AHhpN)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/798/41541426602_2d40a8f548_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hSER9)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/794/41541397422_5dfe61c9b1_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hSwb3)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/838/40689714395_319aa2fdab_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24ZBqtV)

[Warhammer]

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/875/40689714145_2be8659edf_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24ZBqpB)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/816/41541397332_97d4618554_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hSw9u)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/860/41541396882_b79c40e3d0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hSw1J)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/839/40689713335_84290ebc33_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24ZBqaD)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/830/41541397012_1731144f5e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hSw3Y)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/852/27712531408_c885ea1e7d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JdRY6E)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/816/26713995207_696083f106_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GGCd5g)


Wrapping the dash. Not a lot of pics of this. Just lots of fabric, spray glue and patience.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/850/26713995087_44595af6e1_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GGCd3c)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/847/26713994977_696083f106_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GGCd1i)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/808/41541396772_8409c1c2e0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hSvYQ)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/933/26713994907_6edac3a971_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GGCcZ6)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/894/26713994217_b975cdefd1_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GGCcMc)

The window switches are just lying on the trans tunnel. It took me forever to get around to mounting them.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/847/26713994057_2e519c6be9_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GGCcJr)

Mounting red/white LEDs under the dash:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/917/27712530508_76b748af0a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JdRXQ9)

White turns on with the dome light:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/880/41582235151_d720ee19e3_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26mtPNP)

Red with the dash lights:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/830/26746119937_e5df023a71_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GKsRCV)

[Warhammer]

Finally mounted the window switches last weekend. I canted them toward the driver for an easy, natural reach.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/908/26746125577_6909258a3e_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GKsTja)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/941/27745124668_3a14d9d4c9_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JgK1Wq)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/844/39806110240_39083b4b54_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23DwHKw)

[TheJackel2013]

Beautiful job. Details on the fabric?

[Warhammer]

Beautiful job. Details on the fabric?

The fabric is called "spacer mesh." It's widely available in a bunch of diffferent colors.

[Warhammer]

I've been fiddling around with the LED fog lights for a few hours. Think I have a mounting solution figured out. Since I no longer have a stick bumper, I really don't have fog light mounting holes. So I'm making some brackets to affix the lights to the subframe and, hopefully, locate them centrally in lower the openings in the front bumper. I'm trying not to overcomplicate it. (I'm quite talented at overcomplicating things!) I'll post pics when I'm done.

Now, for the other end of the car...

I received a box of goodies from Superbrightleds today!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7827/32553506708_fea11aeaec_k.jpg

I got a pair of 120mm COB rings, a pair of 4" 17 LED red running/brake lights, assorted connectors, red LED turn signal bulbs and white LED reverse bulbs. Being the patient guy that I am, I immediately installed the LED bulbs to see the difference.

Here are the standard reverse bulb on the right and the LED reverse on the right:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4846/44608611320_f5e3af17b8_k.jpg

Huge difference in color and brightness! I really like these! The turn signal bulbs are harder to show in a picture. First, I'm changing from yellow to red, so comparing is hard. Second, red LEDs tend to look pink and washed out in pictures, which they are not when seen in person. Third, since these are the turn signals, it's difficult to catch them "on" with a still picture. Anyway, here's what I was able to capture:

This is a pic of both bulbs "on". Yellow incandescent on the left, red LED on the right.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7840/45512626455_ad83d9a82e_k.jpg

This next two shots are interesting. LEDs turn on and off much quicker than incandescent bulbs. I don't mean that I have hyperflash with the LEDs; I already fixed that issue with an electronic flasher relay. I mean the time they take to go from full off to full on, and vice versa, is much shorter. In comparison, incandescent bulbs kind of fade on and fade off slowly. The cleaner cutoff of the LEDs makes for a much more noticeable, attention grabbing flash.

Here, you can see that the LED bulb is already on, while the incandescent is still warming up:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4865/31485650497_0c69688074_k.jpg

And here the LED is already off while the incandescent is fading off:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4805/31485650657_c7aaf0e3dc_k.jpg

It's quite noticeable in person, but I thought the pics that showed it were kind of cool. That's all academic anyway, because I wont be using the stock locations a turn signals anyway. My plan is to move the turn signals to the far outside of the lights, which is currently the running/brake lights. Then I'm going to mount the 120mm rings in the round reflectors as running lights and the 4" lights behind the clear lenses as brake lights, something like this:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4885/45702381214_6f66b70c90_k.jpg

I'm hoping the round lights will fit inside the housings pretty easily, but I have a strong feeling that I'll have to do some cutting to reduce their OD to make them fit. Oh well, figuring out how to make reality match your vision is half the fun of doing custom work!

Also, I debating on whether I want to set up the lights as:
1. Rings only as running lights, with the centers illuminating on bright for brakes.
2. Rings on, and centers on dim for running lights, then the centers switch to bright for brakes.

The only thing holding me up right now is waiting for a second one of these to arrive:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7848/46425288581_8878463b4e_k.jpg
It's a wedge base bulb adapter. This way, I can do all the conversion work to my lights without having to cut into the original wiring harness on the car. Just wire up the adapters and plug into the original sockets. Unfortunately, only half of my order got shipped, so I won't get the other adapter until after Christmas.

So tomorrow, I'll do the hood vents or the LED fog lights (or both) since I'm not waiting for parts to arrive for either of those projects.

[Warhammer]

It's cold and rainy today, so I decided to work on the tail lights, since most of th work can be done inside. I got great how-to advice from the YouTube videos from TheTightShirts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh7HoJ_tVkc) and BoostedMiata (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JX_7E2m9dM), as well as Chad's (GreaseMonkey2000) build thread on MisF1re. (https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=637745) No need to rehash all of the basics, but here's what I did.



Remove the wiring and the small Torx screws on the back of each light.
Bake the lights (do this one at a time) at 200* F for 20 minutes and then carefully pry them open. TIP: When you separate the two pieces, keep the inside on your work bench and pull the lens straight up. This will keep the chewing gum-like strings of adhesive from getting inside the lens. (If you get some inside the lens like I did, some Goof Off and a paper towel will clean it right up.)
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4815/44757773280_24126e2435_k.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7847/44757773530_302ce30eb3_z.jpg

Carefully police up the strings of adhesive and press them into place on the edges so they won't contaminate your work.
Let the lens cool then fill the ring with clear RTV. (Having a box of disposable latex gloves will make this part much easier and cleaner.) I used a 120mm COB ring from SuperBrightLEDs. Since the ring is round and the reflector lens is oval, you have to play around with placement. If you try to center it from the back, it will look wrong. I pushed the ring as far as it would go to the inside and it looks fairly centered from the outside. Regular (non-COB ring have a larger ID and give you less room to adjust the ring's fitment. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4819/31634657877_9c3dce655e_k.jpg


With nothing to do but wait 24 hours for the RTV to cure, I'm planning what work I'll have to do to fit the new turn signals in place.

The 4" LED trailer lights were too big to fit with the lenses on. A little work with a wood chisel got the lenses off, and the dropped right in! Actually, they are almost a perfect fit!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4828/44757776720_eac5396877_k.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7884/44757773740_4b9c65b371_k.jpg
I had to cut a small notch in the light housing to fit the tab that is molded into the lens.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7924/44757773480_26a27d6683_k.jpg
My plan is to epoxy the lights into the lens after the RTV is cured, then I'll need to cut a 3.85" hole in the light bucket to make room for the new lights. This will definitely be an irreversible mod, lol!

[Warhammer]

You might want to turn your head if you're a bit squeamish.

I chucked a 4" hole saw into my drill press and...
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7849/31667197097_40df9bb69d_k.jpg

The little further Dremeling.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4910/46556278842_0ab60977b2_k.jpg

After some clean up and reassembly, I sealed the backs with more RTV silicone.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4837/31667196437_92127aaf31_k.jpg

Some chopping and splicing on the wiring harnesses, then I had to wait overnight for the RTV to cure.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7883/31667196987_b44eb1445b_k.jpg

[Warhammer]

And here's a gratuitous shot of my dog looking ridiculously cute as he begs for me to pet him. His name is Disco. Apparently, I spent too much time on the tail lights and not enough time paying attention to him!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7888/39643254483_1caf8cc33f_k.jpg

[Warhammer]

The next morning, the RTV was set enough for me to install the lights.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7884/31667197637_11d4250123_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/QfjEAa)IMG_20190104_075645449 (https://flic.kr/p/QfjEAa) by Rex Keely (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156683230@N04/), on Flickr

Running lights only:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7865/39643254153_ac8f882099_z.jpg

Turn signals only (hazards):
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4847/46556279092_9dca5f31ed_z.jpg

Running lights and signals:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7813/46556279532_ec30cb2cc1_z.jpg

I was solo, so no pics of the brake lights yet. I'll post some tomorrow.

[Warhammer]

The wing project is coming along slowly. First, I had to make new angle brackets to get the mounting points narrow enough to line up with the uprights. Then I had to decide which uprights to use. I've been going back and forth between trying to modify and use the original uprights that came with the spoiler or using the "universal" uprights that I bought. I finally decided that I wouldn't be able to use the originals, so I went with the universal ones. However, the angle brackets I made were really intended for the original uprights, so I had to use some link pieces that came with the universal kit to make them work together.

Aaaaand... I really don't like the results.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4808/39792886833_c1984d9f71_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7886/45843062545_6f6cb4d9dd_k.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4874/45843062715_37a9af8153_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7850/45843062965_e546312c15_k.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4895/32882714198_dc7981caa2_k.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4877/45843063065_29242b0ca8_k.jpg


So, the wing is now mounted, but definitely not in its final configuration. The universal brackets, combined with the links hold the wing both too high and too far to the rear, imo. Also, I really don't like the modular, universal look of the bracketry. The uprights that came with the wing are much better looking. So, I'm going to redesign the uprights to look like the originals, but have bottoms that are compatible with the mounting feet that I've already mounted on my trunk lid. (The holes are drilled, so there's no going back from there!) Then I'll have them cut from aluminum stock at a local water jet shop. The new uprights should move the wing down 1" and forward 2.5", which will make it look much better, IMO.

Coming soon, I'll be removing the stripes and doing a complete revamp of the graphics. After the graphics are done, the tan top is going to look REALLY out of place, so I'll be replacing it with a black cloth top this summer. The new graphics design also changed my original idea on the hood vents. I'll most likely be going with some Singular Motorsports hood vents (but just the side vents without the center piece). Also, I still have wheel coating to do, but that's on hold due to the colder weather. In the mean time, I need to finish installing the LED fog lights. I also will be swapping out the steering wheel and installing a dash-mounted rear view mirror. So much to do!

[Warhammer]

What about the room under the wheel? Going from a 330mm wheel to 350mm, which is very close to the OEM diameter, I was a little worried that things would feel cramped. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the D-shape actually overcompensates for the larger diameter.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7833/32944199178_58d36e7860_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7811/46767440852_e86d2bd787_k.jpg

I haven't measured it yet, but the Momo seems to be on the small side of 350mm, which is a good thing in my book. I took the car for a spin and the new shape will take a little getting used to, but the wheel is very comfortable in the hand. It looks good, IMO, and the space it gives and better view of the gauge cluster are exactly what I was looking for. Heck, the more I look at the matte black Momo horn button, the more I'm beginning to like it. So, it looks like I'll have a Nardi Deep Corn up for sale in a few days!

[Warhammer]

Here's a better pic of the result:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7856/45918979345_376877b0e3_k.jpg



I love the space the D-shape gives! Only one day of driving it so far, but it's a marked improvement. I've never tracked my car, but in tight maneuvers in the lot behind my store, I like the way this wheel feels.

[Warhammer]

I don't know if anyone noticed how low my rear view mirror is in the pic above. I've been wanting to install a dash-mounted mirror for a while. I've run with the mirror adjusted normally, adjusted really high and with no mirror at all. This was a suction cup mounted mirror that I mounted really low on the windshield to approximate where a dash-mounted mirror would be. Sort of a proof of concept to see how much it would improve/block the view out of the windshield. After much fiddling with adjustments, I got it to a point where the view out of the rear window is acceptable with the top up and great with the top down. It is in my line of sight up front, but blocks very little other than my view off the car's hood. A smaller mirror (up next) would be even less obtrusive. Overall, I like the mirror this way and I REALLY like the way the view out of the front is opened up by taking out of the OEM position.

I have decide the test was a success and am moving on to the next phase with this:
http://www.aerostraight.com/Picture/Compact_DM_Features.jpghttp://racemirrors.net/Picture/Compact_DM_Measure.jpg

Those pictures don't really give an appreciation for how compact the mirror really is.
At 4.5" wide, it is truly diminutive. Here's a shot of the mirror in hand:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4874/31919382937_90c38646a2_k.jpg

When I first opened the box, I thought, "this is way too small! I'm going to have to return it and get the 8.25" version." I mean, it looks like a toy! Then I tried it in the car and changed my mind. The convex mirror is just wide enough to show everything I need to see between the headrests of the two seats. Anything wider would just show me more of the interior of the car, not more of what's behind me. The 3.25" stem holds the mirror up high enough that it is in my line of sight the in front, but the mirror is so small that little bit of sight it blocks isn't annoying. Even so, once I have it mounted, I'll take some measurements and order a shorter stem to fine tune the position. I'll have to drill 2 holes in the dash to mount the mirror. Since the entire mirror assembly only weighs 4.5 ounces, I'm not worried about the dash's ability to support the mirror. I guess the only real pill to swallow about this mirror is the price. At $115, it's certainly not a cheap option, but there really aren't many options out there for dash-mounted mirrors. That's a fair chunk of change for no compass, no thermometer, no self-dimming, no day/night switch... Just a cool looking (imo), well built, dash mounted "racing" mirror. Oh well, it's not like I haven't spent more for less before. :dunno:

Removing the mirror from the windshield leaves the black tombstone-shaped area on the glass where the mirror used to be. That will disappear when I replace my front glass in a few months. The current windshield has some pretty bad stone chips and hazing, so I was going to replace it anyway. I already called Safelite, and they told me their replacement glass does not have the black shaded area where the mirror would mount, so I'll get a clear, unobstructed view.

[Agent☣Orange]

I would never have done all that but I admire those with the guts to do so.

[Warhammer]

I received my Eunos "V" horn button from RevLimiter love br.com today. Typical of Adam's work, it's top notch. Unfortunately, it was not a drop-in installation for my steering wheel. The outer diameter of the horn button was too large to fit my Momo wheel with the 6-bolt trim ring. So, I opened up the original horn button and the RevLimiter unit and swapped around some of the parts. The plastic RevLimiter Eunos tmiter button is a bit thicker than the original stamped metal Momo button. So the final button works, but the amount of movement when you press it is very small. Not really a big deal, just know that if you even rest your hand on the button, it'll likely sound.

On to the eye candy!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7811/32072240667_f6dac54812_k.jpg

The gold and silver foil of the "V" logo looks great with the "brushed titanium" finish of the Momo wheel, which is kind of between silver and gold itself. I really like bringing the Eunos theme in to the interior of the car.

[Warhammer]

I finally got around to installing my LED fog lights. Most of the project was making brackets to hold the lights in the correct location. After trying some angle iron, I figured out that using some 1" square steel bar worked just right. I drilled holes in both ends of a 2.5" piece of bar stock; a smaller hole that is the diameter of the bolt and a larger hole for the bolt head on each end.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4872/32072241027_96ba9ddbe4_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7820/32072241177_d8a0a9df18_k.jpg

There were already some convenient threaded hols just inside the bumper openings. The brackets I made move the lights 1" down and 1" forward from these holes. Then the light mounts give me enough side-to-side adjustment to center the lights in the openings.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4915/32072241017_0b436b2db8_k.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4918/32072240587_af1542c3ff_k.jpg

[Warhammer]

All bolted up! I'm pretty happy with the positioning of the light in the bumper openings.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7876/32072241367_ec96fdc677_k.jpg

The fogs lights are super focused and have a razor sharp cut off line. Here you can see how little glare they throw.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7803/32072241157_13f78f82b0_k.jpg


I'll get some pics of how they pattern against a wall and post them later.

I was going to wire them to operate off of the original fog light switch, but I ran into a snag there. Something is not working in the fog light circuit, so until I can track it down, I just hooked them up to turn on with the driving lights. That'll do until I get a chance to figure out what's going on with the switch.

[Warhammer]

I installed a Clark & Clark trunk lift kit a few months ago.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7808/46298845414_dd12696bb4_k.jpg
I really like being able to push the trunk button on my remote and watch the trunk lid slowly open on its own. (Yes, I know I'm just a big kid.) When I installed my rear wing, the trunk lid was too heavy for the single gas strut to lift it. Luckily, Clark & Clark offer a right-hand lift kit (to be used with the original left-hand kit) for just such circumstances. Right strut require just a little bit of trimming on the trunk liner.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4804/46109105145_91e33ed7b6_k.jpg
So now I have a matched set of trunks lifts and the lid pops up as smooth as you please.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4881/46109105255_31ea0cb84e_k.jpg

[Warhammer]

I had some time to play around today, so I made some cosmetic changes to the rear of my car. Here's the "Before" picture.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4858/45843062215_1e09dabf6a_k.jpg

I've been trying to decide what to do with the rear badging on the car. Originally, there were three badges. The Mazda "M" on the trunk lid, and the "Mazda" and "Miata" badges on either side of the license plate. I don't wnat to go through the work to fill the holes and paint the rear of the car, but I also don't want to use the original badges (I gotta be me!), so what to do? I had added this little GT badge a few months ago.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7923/33200737308_4d3c0242e8_k.jpg

I like the color scheme of flat black with white lettering. But I was having a hard time finding something I liked for the left side that matched that color scheme. Finally, I decided that I would just have to make something myself. So, I ordered a chrome "Roadster" badge with white lettering from Carbon Miata. I scuffed up the chrome with some fine sandpaper. Then I sharpened a crayon and scribbled all over the white lettering, leaving a nice waxy layer that paint would have a hard time sticking to. After a few coats of flat black paint, I waited for the paint to set up but not dry completely (about an hour). Then, using a toothpick, I carefully scraped out all of the paint from the white lettering. It wasn't difficult, just tedious. After about and hour of detail work, I ended up with this:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7927/33200737418_57412d408a_k.jpg

I think it's a nice match to the black and white GT badge. And, I love having something that can't just be bought off the shelf. (You'd never guess by looking at the rest of my car, would you?)

Next, I cleaned up a little detail that has always bugged me a little bit. The hole for the trunk lock has always looked ugly to me. Especially on a white care, it just looks like a big dark hole. So, I decided to plug the hole. I found some of these online:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7820/46162315085_2d92b0601e_k.jpg

I ground a slight taper on the back of a cap to help it sit more flush against the lock. Then I used a leftover AC o-ring to give it a little bit of a tighter fit.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7884/33200737558_313ae11255_k.jpg

Popped into the lock hole, you get this:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7905/46162315025_f3cb70e391_k.jpg


Now for the trunk lid. I've been through a few iterations on this one. First, I used cut vinyl in the "911 Porsha" font to add "Eunos" to the lid. I tried it in red, then in flat black, and with a few different spacings between the letters. Second, I had acrylic letters laser cut to replace the vinyl. That's where things were when I started this morning. Off came the "Eunos" letters and the tape residue got cleaned up. Then, on went a Eunos "V" from RevLimiter, to match the Vs on the hood and horn button. As always, Adam's work is top quality and looks beautiful.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7860/46162314975_37abbcb89a_k.jpg

Finally, I got out the vinyl cutter and played with adding "Eunos" to the rear bumper. I started with 3" tall letters and normal spacing:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7892/46162314915_9b6dc950cb_k.jpg

But I thought the spacing needed to be wider. So, I pulled them off and tried them with about 3 times the space.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7915/33200737068_d0c0ec8b07_k.jpg

The wider spacing definitely works better. I'm just not so sure about the 3.5" letters. I'm think I'm going to try them somewhat flattened, so that the are the same width, but about an inch shorter.

[Warhammer]

Ok, I'm stopping here for the night. I think this looks pretty good. Same width and letter spacing, but only 2" tall. For some reason, the lettering looks larger in the pictures than it does in person. (Does this picture make my butt look big?!?) I'll post up a before/after comparison.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4858/45843062215_1e09dabf6a_k.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7900/47077175901_93ea8678c9_k.jpg

[Warhammer]

Can't... leave... well... enough.. alone!!!

I took another 1/2 inch off the letter height. I'm finally happy with the look of the letters. I'll leave it alone for a while.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7835/40113003053_c13f297d00_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7917/46164438495_16b9d5f785_k.jpg

Time to clean up the mess I made in the garage.

[CollinMB]

To each their own, but it kinda reminds me of early 2000's mustangs with the stamped bumpers and the ricers would paint in the lettering with a contrasting color.

[Warhammer]

To each their own, but it kinda reminds me of early 2000's mustangs with the stamped bumpers and the ricers would paint in the lettering with a contrasting color.

Yeah, I always liked that look! :mrgreen:

[Agent☣Orange]

19950

In my humble opinion.

[Phatmiata]

looks good! I'm sure the guys on the street are gonna test you with that wing now. Those LED fogs look insanely bright

[lucmor444]

I preferred the lettering on the boot lid - but it's your car:)!

[Warhammer]

The Miata got a good washing (well overdue) today and I started working on the new graphics.

First, the red and black Ferrari stripes came off.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7852/46308909085_db69cc9a2f_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7916/40258329833_c4a026a127_k.jpg

Kinda looked cool with the red middle stripe removed and the black spears still there!

After the stripes were off, I polished the area with some Maguire's liquid polishing compound. It's amazing how quickly stripes will leave a ghost image behind. These stripes were only on for a few months.

[Warhammer]

Then it was time to start with the new graphics. My inspiration are the Academy Motorsports Aston Martins from the British GT3 race series.

Her are a few pics. Just imagine them without all the sponsorship stickers and the numbers on the doors.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7860/47171312312_e37532d83f_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7850/33347844108_dd8f78021b_b.jpg

Of course, I'll be sticking with red and black, to match my interior. I'll have to figure out what to do about the nose, since the grille openings are so different between the two cars. I have a few ideas already.

[Warhammer]

I started with the red stripe around the sides and back. This was more difficult than you would think. Since the edges of the different pieces of weather stripping and mouldings don't line up, I had to do some bending and trimming to keep the outer edge of the stripe looking right. The Astons look to have used 2" tape. Since the Miata is so much smaller, I went with 1" tape. I had to do each piece about 3 times to get them right, but I'm liking the results so far. (I have a few bubbles on the drivers door, so Ill probably have to re-do it tomorrow.)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7828/46308909355_e95387d0b1_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7900/40258329763_13e46ffdd6_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7803/46308909185_a6800fe608_k.jpg

Tomorrow, I'll be working on the flat black parts of the hood and the windshield frame.

[Warhammer]

I came across this Razo RA68 shift knob while aimlessly surfing the 'net one day. It's a leather wrapped shift knob that weighs in at a hefty 400 grams. The shape is that of a .... um.... banana? But I've found many reviews on other forums that say the grip feels great even if it looks a bit odd. Hey, ergonomic designs don't always look "normal." Anyway, at only $38 on Amazon, I thought it might be worth a try.

So, here it is:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7843/47251205492_c649154cb6_k.jpg

Inside the package you get instructions (in Japanese, of course), the knob itself, 3 plastic thread adapters, 1 spacer to adjust the overall height, a short and a long screw (with loctite) to hold the adapter in the knob, and some shiny stickers.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7847/46388687485_b419ff37a5_k.jpg

A quick test of the three adapters showed that the gray one was the correct size. Now, these adapters are not pre-threaded. Instead they are tapered to grip the shift lever and the threads are cut as you screw the knob on tight. The knob has quite a deep counterbore. You can stack the thread adapter with the blue spacer and use the long screw if yo want the knob to sit up high.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7901/40338882013_0bf14efb6d_k.jpg

I prefer the knob to be as low as possible, so I used the short screw without the spacer.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7807/46388687365_7344fd3a49_k.jpg

To install, insert the tread adapter, then the screw with loctite into the knob and snug it all together with a Phillips head screwdriver. The twist the knob onto the shift lever. Once it feels good and snug, it will turn for 2 more full rotations. Since the plastic thread adapter is tapered on the inside, it grips the threads VERY tightly. There's no worry about the knob spinning when you don't want it to.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7807/40338882763_02167124cb_k.jpg

Here it is next to my Raceseng knob. The Raceseng is 495 grams, versus the Razo's 400 grams.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7853/40338882353_32a5d0a090_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7878/46388687225_40d1e2b5a2_k.jpg

Pros:

Weight - A nice, heavy 400 grams
Leather - Feels much better to the touch than a metal knob, especially in the cold or heat
Shape - Looks weird but fits the hand really nicely
Installation - Easy and secure
Looks - Totally subjective, but the back with red stitching matches my interior well.
Price - Pretty reasonable at $38


Cons:

Finish - The leather on the knob I received has a few wrinkles near the seams. (Amazon is sending me a second one, so I'll see if the next one is any better."
Looks - I'm not a big fan of the little metal "Razo" badge at the base of the knob. From what I've read, its just a sticker and can easily be removed, which I'll probably do once I'm 100% sure I'm keeping it.
Shape - looks weird but fits the hand really nicely


Well, that's about it. I've never seen this option on the forum before. If you're looking for a heavyweight, leather wrapped shift knob, this one might be the ticket.

[Warhammer]

Well, this new graphics project has turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. (Story of my life, lol!) I decided that the 1" red stripes I used were too narrow, so I stripped them off to replace them with 2" stripes. Now, the condition of the paint on my car has always been a bit dodgy. So, when I pulled off the 1" stripes, there were two areas, the passenger door and the quarter panel behind it that the clear coat stripped right off with the tape. Well, crap. Oh well, I've been planning on a repaint in the next few years. :dunno: Not going to freak out about something I can't change.

Back to the stripes! Bending 2" tape around curves is a LOT harder than doing the same with 1" tape! It took multiple tries to get it done, but I stuck with it (insert rim shot) and got the back and sides done.

I really like how it looks with the windows down. The red stripes and the red door bolsters look really cool together.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7923/32527118797_20c10dec03_k.jpg

You can see the clear coat damage through the tape on the two areas, but it passes the 10 foot test, so I'm not going to stress about it.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7836/40502789303_1b76de3aa9_k.jpg

This is the transition from the door to the hood up by the windshield frame. I used matte black vinyl to cover the white between the red strip and the windshield frame. This is one of my first tries at using knifless cutting tape. It turned out pretty good, but I ended up having to strip it off. More abou that later.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7910/32527119277_2ac6ac5fbf_z.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7869/32527119397_61db19a410_k.jpg

My goal with that little bit of striping was to curve it so that the door would transition smoothly to the hood stripes. I accomplished that, but then I had to curve the stripes on the hood as well. The hard part was getting the curve on both stripes to be mirror images of each other. After a couple of attempts, I scrapped that idea and laid the hood stripes out as straight lines instead.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7835/32527120057_a861438e9b_k.jpg

But that makes the transition pieces a little more complicated. Here, you can see the issue.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7800/40502788863_1a768cccb0_k.jpg
Now, I'll have to make transition pieces from the hood to the doors, instead of just using 2" tape. That will entail using the knifeless tape to make a short piece off red strip that is slightly wider on the end that meets the door than on the end that meets the hood. I have some 3" tape on order to use for that little detail. I can't do anything with that until I get the new tape, so I decided to move on to the hood.

[Warhammer]

Now for the big piece of vinyl!
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7891/32527119107_271de76f5d_k.jpg

This is the biggest single piece of vinyl that I've ever worked with, and the first time I've installed vinyl with the dry method. Pre-cut strips are easy to float into place and squeegee down, but big stuff like this is best installed dry so you can stretch it. I watch a BUNCH of videos on Youtube to learn how to wrap a large panel like this. One thing that makes this job a little easier is that I only have to worry about two edges, the front and back, since I used cutting tap for the taper on the sides. It took me quite a while and lots of lift-stretch-lower-squeegee-repeat to get the results I wanted, but eventually, I had this:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7921/32527119967_27a3a55f37_k.jpg

[Warhammer]

After pulling the cutting tape:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7924/40502789193_f90d590f8f_k.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7863/32527119857_3c40903515_k.jpg

But wait! What happened to the red stripes you already put on the hood?!?

I had actually already laid down the red stripes on the hood and used them as a guide for the cutting tape. However, the gaps between the black and the red were too large for my preference, so i stripped off the red and re-applied it, snugging the edges together. After that, it looked better, but not perfect. One tip I read online is to apply a pinstripe over the seam, which will cover any gaps and give protection to the seam as well. I considered a white stripe and a gloss black stripe, but I think the black will look best. Si I'll pick up a roll of glass black pinstripe tape after work tomorrow.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7891/32527118987_968a5aa886_k.jpg

[Warhammer]

The next step was the front bumper. A much smaller piece, but with more complex curves. This time I didn't bother to remove and reapply the red stripes, since I decided that I'm going to use the pinstriping trick anyway.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7864/32527119817_25f6c10109_k.jpg

You can see a little bit of white between the red and black on the left side of the bumper and at the leading edge of the hood on the right side.

[Warhammer]

Of course, she wouldn't be complete without her Eunos nose badge from Revlimiter.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7866/32527118917_bf41d4f478_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7821/32527119587_4834803487_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7827/32527119447_0b438251eb_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7851/32527119417_e289985cd3_k.jpg

I still need to wrap the windshield frame and take care of the hood/door transitions. Then the gloss black pinstripe. I'll also be adding a black/red stripe to each mirror and some details to the front bumper and side skirts.

[Warhammer]

Oh, I almost forgot! I got new pair of Continental Extremecontact Sports to replace my completely shot rear tires. Looks like somebody likes to slide around turns, lol!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7893/40502789073_bee9f1acbc_k.jpg

[m00se]

that is awesome wear on the tires, I never accomplished to wear a set to zero this evenly :D I like the stripes, too!

[Warhammer]

that is awesome wear on the tires, I never accomplished to wear a set to zero this evenly :D I like the stripes, too!

You know, I hadn't really thought of that. You're right! The tread wear was about as even as it could get.

[turboedpickup]

I didn't know where you were going with the vinyl...but man - it looks great! Liking how the red wraps around the black. Hell...that pattern changes the lines on the hood - makes it almost s2000like...which is NOT an issue in my book ;)

[Warhammer]

I didn't know where you were going with the vinyl...but man - it looks great! Liking how the red wraps around the black. Hell...that pattern changes the lines on the hood - makes it almost s2000like...which is NOT an issue in my book ;)

I actually followed the existing contours of the hood. I was surprised at how much the graphics visually change the shape of the front end.It looks much more aggressive. I agree that it looks S2K-esque. I'm liking the way it's turning out even more than I expected!

[Warhammer]

I did a little more work on the stripes today. I closed up the gaps between the red and black on the bumper, then I covered the joints with a 1/8" gloss black pinstripe. I really like how it turned out! It's a subtle, but noticeable difference. It's easier to see in person, but here are my attempts to capture it with my camera.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7822/33599298528_751a9105c3_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7822/33599298658_40bf0b5f18_z.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7853/40509625523_5b8887f8d8_k.jpg

I continued the pinstripe all the way around the car, edging the red stripe where it touches the weather stripping. I can't wait to get in the last of the red vinyl I need to finish the hood/door transitions! I'll probably wrap the windshield frame tomorrow after work. That should make a really big difference in the overall look.

[Warhammer]

More vinyl!

She started the day with a white windshield frame:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7855/47482674441_1fbaa7aa76_k.jpg

And ended the day with a matte black frame:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7826/47429833752_71585e475e_k.jpg

The windshield frame turned out to be easier than the hood. (Or maybe I'm just learning how to handle this material better as I do more.) It only took me about 30-45 mins to get it completed. I think it turned out really well.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7848/47429833792_9d756f83a0_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7919/47429833832_01f908b85d_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7804/47482674371_b87d3750a9_k.jpg

The black windshield frame really makes the tan top stand out, and not in a good way. So, I'll be replacing my perfectly good tan top with a black cloth top this summer. :rolleyes: It's going to look awesome with the whole top area of the car black, then the red border, then the white.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7818/47482674671_fc2634329a_k.jpg

At least it looks good with the top down! (But then, ALL Miatas look best with the top down!)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7919/47429833492_d482bd69cd_k.jpg

Those little gaps in the red line at the top of the front fenders will be driving me crazy until I get more red vinyl so I can finish them!!!

[Agent☣Orange]

IMO, you may be overdoing it. Instead of filling in the gap on front fenders, I would remove the red around the cockpit. Problem solved. Just my opinion though.

[chanathon]

less playing with stickers and more suspension/wheel/power mods to support this widebody pls

[Warhammer]

IMO, you may be overdoing it. Instead of filling in the gap on front fenders, I would remove the red around the cockpit. Problem solved. Just my opinion though.

That would leave a weird transition, or lack thereof, between the hood and the windshield frame. The idea is for the black to flow from the hood, up the windshield frame to the top.

[Greasemonkey2000]

I actually think the vinyl looks good, to my pleasant surprise.:teehee:

[CollinMB]

I like the vinyl. And yes, that tan top sticks out like a sore thumb now...

...but what you should really do is get the CCP fastback to go with the rest of the kit

[Warhammer]

I like the vinyl. And yes, that tan top sticks out like a sore thumb now...

...but what you should really do is get the CCP fastback to go with the rest of the kit

Part of me agrees (the CCP fastback looks awesome), but I like top-down driving too much to go with a hard top.

[Warhammer]

I received my order of 3" red tape and finished the two gaps on the top of the fenders. The transitions from the hood to the doors took a tiny piece of flat black vinyl at the forward, top tips of the doors, then I used cutting tape to make the small black and tapered red bits on the fenders, then I finished the seams with gloss black pinstriping.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7874/47496579421_7b4256b52a_k.jpg

So now the red stripe runs continuously from the bumper, around the cabin and back to the bumper.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7814/46581133275_555e334977_k.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7890/47443615172_4609c5ab23_k.jpg

I'm pretty happy with how this part of my project has turned out.

[tsingson]

Great job on the vinyl! It looks amazing.

[Warhammer]

I installed new rear rotors and pads today. The left side had wore much more than the right, so I think that side may have been dragging. I followed a tip I saw on Youtube and removed the slide pins, then chucked them in my drill press and polished them smooth with some fine sandpaper. Hopefully that and a liberal layer of grease will keep everything moving smoothly.

[Warhammer]

Amazon sent me another Razo shift knob, and the gaps in the leather around the stitching were just as bad as the first one. So, back to Amazon they both went.

The replacement came in the form of a Superklasse "Runabout" shift knob. It's wrapped a nice combo of smooth and perforated leather; really nice, soft, high-quality leather. The stitching (I chose red) is much nicer than the Razo, and is on par with a Nardi or Momo wheel. It weighs in at 350 grams, which is not the heaviest out there, but certainly not a light-weight. The shape feels really nice in the hand. It's kind of a modified ball/mushroom/pistol grip shape. It came with a thread adapter to fit the Miata. At $59, it's not cheap, but not crazy expensive, either.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7810/46617630695_f3572c45b6_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7842/46617630755_c18c876ae2_k.jpg

[Warhammer]

I did a couple of small projects this morning. First, I wrapped the mirror pedestals in red like Mirage775 suggested. I think it helps with the continuity of the red stripe. With the mirrors all white, they break the line where they mount to the doors.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7801/47483447612_91a9d37cd2_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7917/33659384078_25aab21cb0_z.jpg

Next, I did a little bit of work on the air dam on the front bumper.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7807/46812520434_b2c4780649_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7905/33659383768_c99afde3ee_k.jpg

[MaRcOp01o]

OK now I am really seeing an S2000. It isn't my style but I really dig how even and perfect you've put the vinyl on.

[HarryB]

I am not a huge fan of widebody kits, vinyls or any of this, but I have to admit that overall I like it very much! And I really admire your creativity, passion and craftsmanship.

The bits I do not really like are the bumper vinyl and the tan roof which IMO look out of place. Also the car needs wider wheels/tires or spacers to fill in the arches better.

[Warhammer]

I am not a huge fan of widebody kits, vinyls or any of this, but I have to admit that overall I like it very much! And I really admire your creativity, passion and craftsmanship.

The bits I do not really like are the bumper vinyl and the tan roof which IMO look out of place. Also the car needs wider wheels/tires or spacers to fill in the arches better.

I agree. I don't like how the bumper turned out. I'm going to strip that off and try something different. The tan roof will be replaced this summer with a black cloth one. I'm waiting to finalize wheel fitment until I've installed coilovers and finalized the ride height.

[Warhammer]

Too much work and a shoulder injury have kept me form doing any work on the car lately. Hopefully, I'll get to the suspension next week on my days off.

After a wait one month shorter than expected, I received the Jet Stream bumper diffuser I ordered through Rev9! I'm really excited about this piece. I
have tom compliment Rev9. Their communication was great from start to finish. I was fun following the shipment tracker as my part shipped, passed Customs and then came to my door.

Now, because we all like pics...

I got home from work and found a nicely made box with "Fragile" labels in English and Japanese.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47938238416_51b5d10199_k.jpg

Inside, the part was wrapped in copious amounts of bubble wrap and tapped to the bottom of the box to prevent shifting.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47938225773_393a14a909_k.jpg


Inside the bubble wrap: bumper diffuser, hardware & instructions (in Japanese), Rev9 thank you card, and heart-shaped grape gummies.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47938214557_955fcf403c_k.jpg

Proof of authenticity. Also, you can see the tabs that hold the screen in. If I can make it work to my satisfaction, the screen will go bye-bye in favor of a center exit exhaust port.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47938225658_2679d2aaa7_k.jpg

It's a very nicely made part. There's only one small spot that will need a skim of filler to smooth out before painting. From previous experience with fiberglass parts, this is among the best I've seen.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47938225928_0c3fea4445_k.jpg

While part of me wants to rush out and bolt it on, I'm going to wait a bit. I just ordered the bottom diffuser to match this part. Plus, I'm going to work on the center exhaust idea. If I can get the exit port and exhaust routing to work right, then I'll need to do some fiberglass work to do away with the original exhaust cutout on the right side of the bumper so the right ans left sides match. Plus I'll have to cut out the little divider in the center vent and then fill and finish the cuts there.

[Warhammer]

To further exacerbate my need for a few days to get into the garage, this arrived today from China:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47975821041_4f5bd3553e_k.jpg

It's the matching under-diffuser to my Jet Stream bumper diffuser.

Err.. well... kind of.

While my Jet Stream upper bumper diffuser is the real-Made-in-Japan-deal, the lower is a "Jet Stream Style" diffuser that I bought on AliExpress. I know I'm bound to take some flak for buying a "Chinese knock-off", but for a price difference of $562, I was willing to take a chance. Yep, $926 vs $364 including shipping. Jet Stream offers their diffuser without the four internal fins, then you can choose to add either two or all four fins for and additional $100 or $250 respectively. This version came with all 4 fins. My CCP widebody kit was clearly based on the NoPro kit, and I also like several models of Rota and Konig wheels that look suspiciously similar ;) to Work wheels. More options in the marketplace are better.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47975757987_58b1808865_k.jpg

Anyhow, the order got here much faster than I expected; only 6 days from placing the order to having it in my hands! Quality-wise, I'd say the fiberglass work easily stands up to the Jet Stream part to which it will be mated. No voids or soft spots, nice smooth gel coat, no excess flashing... equal to or better than any other aftermarket fiberglass part I've purchased. This is about the 6th time I've ordered something through AliExpress and I've had a good experience every time.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47975814511_4ecf63fbe3_k.jpg

It's actually the NA version, which is why it comes with the bracket piece for installation. I don't know if I'll be able to use NA bracket as intended. If not, I'll have to buy a pair of long bolts and some lock nuts, which is how the NB version installs. I didn't receive any installation hardware or instructions, but the needed bolts are cheap and the installation isn't rocket surgery, so NBD. The other negative is that the trailing edge of this piece has a more pronounced, rolled edge NB version, which is flat. So, I'm going to have to do a little bit of trimming to make it fit just right. I knew that was a possibility, but for the money saved I find that quite acceptable.

So now I just need to get my butt moving on painting and installing of all these cool parts I've collected. Hopefully, I'll have in-process and completed pics to post soon.

[Warhammer]

Alrighty then! A little bit of fun time in the garage today before work.

One of the challenges of this install is that I bought the NB rear bumper garnish from Jetstream in Japan, but the NA diffuser from who-knows-who-made-it in China. Fot the several hundred dollar difference, I'm willing to do extra work (and take a chance it won't work at all).

Here's what I'm up against:
1) The rear edge of the diffuser has a curved lip that needs to be flat.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067030597_3f972b5ad2_k.jpg

2) The rear contour is too curved to mate up with the bumper garnish.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067030632_11f99e78be_k.jpg

Now, I have somewhere between zero ad very little experience working with fiberglass, so this is going to be an adventure.

[Warhammer]

The cutting and grinding is pretty much done. I got a pretty firm but not perfect fit. I was limited by how much I could cut off the rear end before I started to shorten the piece to the point that it might not fit anymore. I'll post pics of that later. In the mean time, I decided to do a quick and dirt test fit of the bumper garnish. I didn't want the white bumper showing through the mesh area, so I slapped a piece of black vinyl on that area to cover it up.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067030347_46206a1e6b_k.jpg
As for the garnish piece itself, I just stuck it on with a few pieces of tape, so it's definitely not going to be driven anywhere like this.

Before:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48066976478_3a851764fe_z.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48066976383_b0736c3dd2_k.jpg
After:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48066923651_e8a731a523_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48066923341_8fcf59f242_k.jpg

Out in the sun to see it better:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48066924836_ed857c9a11_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067031212_21ecd00815_k.jpg

[Warhammer]

The "Eunos" lettering across the bumper doesn't really work with this on, so I peeled it off and cleaned up and sticker residue.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48066976628_72f9d574b3_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48066977003_f051adf170_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48066924561_e5553f1088_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067030937_b07a70efeb_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48066924226_011976387d_k.jpg

[tsingson]

I agree with the letters. It didn't look right with them on but now, the rear end looks amazing!

[Warhammer]

Catching up with some overdue updates:

My Miata has been down for a few weeks, waiting for me to get a chance to replace the dead fuel pump. I finally got time off with no other plans to get in the way, so I got it done today. I went with a Deatschworks DW200 fuel pump. The installation was pretty easy, with the only extra step being that I had to splice the two power wires for the pump.

I also installed a new battery from Battery Mart along with a quick disconnect. My alst battery went completely flat while the car was sitting in the garage for a few weeks. I obviously have some parasitic draw that I need to track down, but the quick disconnect is an easy stop-gap fix until I find the time to do it right.

After the pump and battery, she fired right up and I took her for a test drive. It could be my imagination, but the car seems to have more power than before. I wonder if it's possible that the failing fuel pump had been robbing me of power for some time before it finally died altogether. After my test drive, I gave her a much needed bath to wash off all the garage dust that had settled on her during her slumber. (Of course, about 20 minutes later, the Texas weather broke it's several weeks of 100+ degree heat to rain on my freshly washed car!)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48714149248_607211b8ad_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48714479141_5345fdc1fc_k.jpg

The final project for the day was to set up for tomorrow. I pulled her into the garage and laid out my shiny new MeisterR coilovers. I'm watching a few installation videos on Youtube to get ready for tomorrow's festivities.

[Warhammer]

Well, nothing ever seems to go as easy as it should...

I got into installing my MeisterR coilovers and hit a few snags. I started with the left rear and everything went pretty smoothly. Then I moved on to the right rear... One of the 14mm nuts in the trunk was rounded off, so I had to get a nut extractor set to finished removing the original shock. Then I cross-threaded the nut on the sway bar end link. At that point, it started raining sideways so I stopped working and closed up the garage. I need to order new endlinks... So, what should have been a few hour's work has turned into something that will take several days.

Oh well. I'm going to order some adjustable endlinks, since these coilovers are going to lower the car quite a bit. In retrospect, I should have ordered them earlier and planned on replacing the OEM end links anyway. I just need to decide which end links to buy.

[Warhammer]

Well, the Supermiata end links are on the way. Hopefully they'll get here by my next day off, Friday, so I can get the car back on the road.

Busy day in the Warhammer Garage! Today, I finished up everything on the MeisterR coilover install except for the missing endlinks. When those arrive from Supermiata, it should be pretty quick to get the car finished up and back on the ground.

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I also got a new engine splash guard. I ordered a fastener kit from Amazon for $10 to replace all of the screws, so the splash guard will get installed tomorrow.
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After reaching a stopping point on the coilovers, I decided to fix something that had been bugging me for a while. When I installed the SARD LSR (Subaru BRZ) wing, I had to fabricate my own mounting brackets. I copied the brackets that came with the wing, but I didn't like the resulting angle of attack. So, I grabbed some aluminum angle stock and fabbed up new pair. I extended the length of the brackets, brought the wing a bit more forward and increases the angle. I like this version much better. The hardest part (at least for me) of making custom brackets from scratch like this is getting the two, mirror image brackets to be reasonably similar, if not identical. My metalworking skills and tools are rudimentary at best, so no pretty CNC machined parts here, lol. Anyway, here's what I came up with:
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I can't get a good picture of the wing angle while the car is in the garage, so that'll have to wait until I have the wheels back on. I still need to clean off the marker lines I drew as reference marks. While I have the brackets off to do that, I may elongate the three rear holes into a single curved slot to give greater flexibility of adjustment.

Other goodness coming to my little rice burner soon:

Finally painting and installing my Jet Stream rear bumper diffuser.
Installing my Chinese knock-off Jet Stream under-diffuser.
APR GT3 carbon fiber mirrors mounted with a Slick Auto adapter kit.
Extended gas lifts for my Clark & Clark dual trunk lift kit (have to fabricate new brackets for this)
Replace rear sub-frame that I bent when I did and 80 mph spin off of the Austin Tollway
New alignment (due to new subframe and coilovers) and finalize wheel/spacer set up
Open up the front and rear side vents on my widebody kit

[Warhammer]

I received my bolt kit from Amazon today, so I got the new splash guard all bolted up. I've been without it for a while and have experienced a few times when engine temps got a little high. I've read that that the splash guard directs air and can make a difference in cooling, so I'm glad to have a new one in place.

While I was under the car, I installed modified front fender liners. I had to remove the full liners when I cut the fenders, so I cut off the front part that fits under the headlights and reinstalled them. This gives me some protection from the front wheels slinging water and crud up into the engine compartment, particularly into the headlight area.

I should be receiving my Supermiata end links on Friday, and I can get the car back on terra firma.

[Warhammer]

I received my mirror adapter kit from Slick Auto today.

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The kit includes base plates with gaskets, new mirror stems and all of the bolts and allen wrenches to put it all together. The base plates will adapt the APR GT3 mirrors to the Miata bolt holes. The stems will make it so that the mirrors will sit parallel to the ground, instead of cocked at a weird angle.

I need to decide what I'm going to do about the color of the base plates. I don't think I want a big black oval straddling the red of the tape stripe and the white of the door. I'm going to play around with either making the entire base plate red, or trying to paint it white (I already have some color-matched paint) then applying a red stripe to match the car. The smaller oval of the actual mirror base I will probably leave black.

[Warhammer]

I mounted one of the adapter plates and, to my surprise, I kind of like how it looks in black.
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The oval doesn't overlap onto the white nearly as much as I expected. Also, since the plate is so thin, it doesn't interrupt the view of the red stripe as much as the original mirrors did. I'll have to wait until I get the new mirrors mounted and see if the actual mirror bases are large enough to change my mind. But for now, I'm thinking black will look good. One thing I definitely want to change however are the bright silver stainless steel bolts. I'll need to either source black bolts or paint the heads of these bolts.

Edit: Some black screw caps might do the job.

[Warhammer]

I received the end links and gt them installed this afternoon. You're supposed too adjust the length with the weight of the car on the hubs. To do this you either need to have hub stands (which I don't) or you have to put on the wheels and drop the car off the jack stands.

So, I installed the links but left them loose and lowered the car... only to find that the new lower ride height wouldn't let me get the jack out from under the car, lol! I had to toss a length of 2x6 under the rear wheels to give me enough clearance. With the car like that, I was able to adjust and tighten up the rear links.

The front links, not so much. I had to jack up the front wheels and put a 2x6 under each. With the weight back on the wheels, I was able to adjust them, but I couldn't reach them with two wrenches to tighten them up. So up goes the front again to tighten the links, then back down again. Finally, I have new coilovers and end links installed!

I completely forgot to take "before" measurements, so I can't say exactly how much the car is lowered. My estimated is about 1.5 - 2 inches.

Here's how she sits now:

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[Warhammer]

Before:

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[Warhammer]

The MeisterR Zeta CRD coilovers feel great! Granted, my old shocks were the originals with over 100,000 miles on them and they were pretty tapped out. With the new coilovers, I have no bottoming out and much less roll in turns. It feels very smooth and confidence inspiring. Not harsh at all. I haven't driven them enough to start playing with adjustments yet, so they are set as they came out of the box.

A bonus (I was hoping for this) is that lowering the car makes my widebody fit better. Before, my front tires would rub on the body kit at full lock. The new coilovers have dropped the car right into a sweet spot where the wheels and tires now fit with no rubbing.

[HarryB]

Wow, bunch of updates! New ride height has improved the looks dramatically. I think that some 1" spacers would improve things even further. Regarding the wing brackets, what I usually do is use cardboard as a template; cereal boxes are ideal for this. So you make one in aluminum, trace it on cardboard, then fold it the other way round and transfer to aluminum for the opposite side, works a charm once you get hold of it. I would not make the holes to a slot though, as then you will have to rely purely on friction to keep things in position.

[Warhammer]

Wow, bunch of updates! New ride height has improved the looks dramatically. I think that some 1" spacers would improve things even further. Regarding the wing brackets, what I usually do is use cardboard as a template; cereal boxes are ideal for this. So you make one in aluminum, trace it on cardboard, then fold it the other way round and transfer to aluminum for the opposite side, works a charm once you get hold of it. I would not make the holes to a slot though, as then you will have to rely purely on friction to keep things in position.

Good point about the slot. I really don't need the added adjustment. Probably better to leave them as is.

I already have some spacers, but I'll probably adjust them. I've just been waiting to get this done before making final decisions. I still need to replace my rear subframe before I finalize the spacers. The current subframe is bent due to spinning off of the Austin tollway at 80 mph.

[Warhammer]

I got my APR carbon fiber GT3 mirrors installed and adjusted today.

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The good:

Beautiful carbon fibery goodness!
Light weight (probably compensates for about 1/1000th of the widebody kit, lol!)
Blue tint for reduced glare.
Wide angle glass for both sides.
Looks better with my widebody (eye of the beholder and all that)


The bad:

The view of the passenger mirror is limited. It's better than the last picture suggests, but it isn't as clear as the original mirror.
Adjusting the mirrors is a PITA. Plus, obviously, no more power mirrors. But I rarely change the adjustment of my mirrors anyway.
Now I have to worry about some asshat stealing my mirrors.
I haven't even gotten my dash mirror installed and I already want to upgrade it to the carbon fiber version.

[Warhammer]

I started painting my Jet Stream rear bumper diffuser. I got the color-matched paint from AutomotiveTouchup.com. Today was mostly prep and primer. I sanded the gel coat on the entire part, then degreased, wiped off the dust and went to town with a bunch of painter's tape.

I taped off the outside part so I can paint the center to match the car; the outside will be matte black. In order to get a good demarcation line, I used some 1/4" pinstriping tape in the bottom of the groove between the two sections. Then I used automotive masking tape "for curves" to extend the stripe. Finally, I used good ol' blue tape to cover the larger areas.

I did several light coats of primer, sanded it down and then a final wet coat of primer. Tomorrow morning, I plan to get out there before it gets too hot and shoot the top color and clear coats.

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[Warhammer]

More progress on the paint. I finished up with primer, color coat and 4 coats of clear. With the masking off, you get an idea of how it will look. Now I have to let the color cure for a few days before I can mask it off and shoot the flat black. I'm thinking of running a 1/4" red pinstrip between the black and white portions. That would continue the black/red/white color scheme from the rest of the car. It would also cover the transition line from white to black, which is really hard to get perfectly straight, especially as it is down inside a groove.

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[Warhammer]

Black paint this morning:

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[Warhammer]

And all unwrapped:

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Next is applying the red pinstripe between the black and white and then installation.

[Warhammer]

And here are a whole bunch of pics of the bumper diffuser installed:

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Next I need to paint and install the lower diffuser.

[Warhammer]

I also did a test install of my dash-mount mirror from RaceMirrors. I just mounted to the dash with double-sided tape so I can get a feel for it. The original aluminum stem was way too long, and ordering a custom length stem was too expensive. So, I bought a 6mm ID carbon fiber tube and made my own. I can cut the tube to any length I want to get the mirror height just right. After I finalize the stem length, I'll drill into the dash to mount the mirror permanently.

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The mirror is really small, but the glass is convex, so you can see quite a lot in it. Being mounted to the dash keeps it completely out of the forward view, so it get in the way like the original mirror. I've been wanting a dash-mounted mirror for quite a while, so I'm hoping the is the solution I've been looking for. I'm planning on getting a new windshield soon because this one has a few rock chips and a lot of scratches. The new windshield won't have the black tombstone where the OEM mirror used to mount.

[Warhammer]

Front splitter in the works today.

I still have most of a 4x8 sheet of ABS that I bought for my dash board project a few years ago. Most say to use a piece of cardboard to make a template, but I figured the bumper itself would be easier to use.

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My CCP front bumper already has a splitter integrated, so this project is really just for the purpose of protecting the front edge from road rash.

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I grabbed an appropriately sized hole saw and a Sharpie. I followed the contour of the bumper to draw a line 1" out front of the bumper. At the sides, I'm gong to cut the splitter so that it ends flush with the trailing edge of the bumper.

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Straight lines are easy to cut in ABS; just score with a knife and snap. So I started buy cutting the straight edges at the sides and back, then roughing out the front contour.

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Time for a lunch break, then I'll finish up.

[Warhammer]

On with the work...

After the rough cuts (and lunch) I used my bench mounted disc sander to remove the ABS down to the Sharpie mark. A quick pass with a box knofe cut off any melted flashing and here's where this were.

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It extended out about 3/4" from the front of the bumper. To me, it was a little too understated. So, I tried moving it forward 1" and really liked the result.
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So now it was time to mount that bad boy to the bumper. Having the bumper off the car made this step SO much easier that it would have been? I tossed the bumper up on a folding table and was able to work with it comfortably.

But before I bolted the splitter on, I decided to take a small detour and ad a bit of color to the project. Anyone who's read a few pages of my build thread knows my love of vinyl graphics. So, a little knifeless cutting tape and some Ferrari red vinyl, and...

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Finally, on to bolting things together. With the help of a few clamps and some 3M tape to hold things were I wanted them, I drilled 14 holes and used stainless steel screws, washers and lock bolts to attach the splitter. Possible overkill, but it's certainly not going anywhere.

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I finished the edges with some black edge trim and the bumper is ready to reinstall.

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[Warhammer]

So here it is all back together and on the ground:

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I really like how it looks. Aggressive without being too outlandish. I don't think it's large enough that I need any turnbuckles to tied the spoiler into the car's frame. The TDR "radical" splitter comes with turnbuckles, but that thin sticks out 2.5" in front of the bumper. However, if I decide I want to add them just "because racecar", I think there's enough room for me to do it.

While I had the car up on jack stands, I added a red stripe to the bottom edge of each side, too. It's not a lot of color and looks pretty subtle in the pics, but it's more noticeable in person.

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More pics, just because!

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