Li'l Stinker (NC Content)

[Johnnie]

Swapped out my Protege 5 in August 09 for a 2006 Sunlight Silver Grand Touring. Totally forgot when i made the deal that I wanted the "suspension package" mainly for the Tochigi Fuji limited slip. Got it home and realized I had bought an open diff car. A little disappointment, but the car was so much fun, I knew I could live with it.
Bone stock--4x4 mode:

2537

Got the Goodwin Racing Roadstersport RACE muffler at some point along the way. Installed it in a few minutes.

Asshat hit the car in the parking lot while the wifey and I were in Chi for thanksgiving that year-- came home to this.

2538

Signed up for my first autocross in December. At the last minute, the car was still in the body shop, so I did my first event in the rental car. I was hooked.

Santa brought this-- Quaife ATB LSD.

2536

Swapped out the stock suspension for Racing Beat springs, Koni Sport adjustable shocks, and Hotchkis bars. Modest drop, but functional--

2539

2540

In the spring of 2010 I finally realized a lifelong dream and got my own garage (2 car with a 3 bedroom house attached) One of the first things I did was go to Harbor Freight and buy a floor jack and a set of jack stands.

Room for two--

2541

Finally, a spot to do my own maintenance!

2542

Stripped some paint and polished some aluminum. First NC with a polished hood? Maybe.

I hesitated for a long time with an open can of paint stripper-- believe!

2543

[Johnnie]

Re-shaped some sheet metal to make room for something a little meatier.

2544

A little. 17x9 / 245-40-17--- Those are 215-45s on 17x7s on the left.

2545

Lost a center cap at the first autocross...

2546

What else? In no particular order: Swapped the too-stiff Hotchkis bars for Racing Beat. Got the AEM/Mazdaspeed CAI and within 3 days ingested water, nearly stalling the car, --destroyed the A/F sensor. Lesson learned, I modded the intake for STR compliance and to get the inlet out of the puddles. New sensor from Mazda turned off the CEL.

I'm sure there's more to the story, but I can't think right now.

$h*t! Li'l Bastard? That's not what I call it. Li'l Bastard was some dead dude's Porsche. I call this one Li'l Stinker. If some kind moderator wanted to allow me to edit my title it would be greatly appreciated.

[Johnnie]

At play.

2547

[morr]

Good to see you're really enjoying it! I love the polished hood :)

[Phatmiata]

...................

$h*t! Li'l Bastard? That's not what I call it. Li'l Bastard was some dead dude's Porsche. I call this one Li'l Stinker. If some kind moderator wanted to allow me to edit my title it would be greatly appreciated.


Done, fixed it for you. :)

Can you post an overhead shot of the polished hood? Hard to see it in the current photos.

[Johnnie]

Thanks for fixing my post, Phatmiata.

Here's a pic from the other day.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6814118982_6782ba4b50_z.jpg

[blackchicken]

I really dig the polished hood. And good to see an NC build thread on here too!

[Johnnie]

What?

2916

[blackchicken]

Sh*t just got real! :)


What?

2916

[I<3flippyheadlights]

ohhhhh maaaaaaan :D

[Grumpy]

Looking good! And good to see *another* NC build thread on here. We are far and few between!
How are the reflections off that hood? I'd be too afraid of blinding folks with it.

[Johnnie]

I guess the reflections are probably not much worse than glossy paint. There is a reason the hood is angled *away* from the driver. :)

[Johnnie]

New tiller--3483
The RPF1s in action--3484

[blackchicken]

Is that the MOMO "Monte Carlo" wheel?

[Johnnie]

Monte Carlo 320 mm.

[blackchicken]

^ best MOMO wheel for driving due to the oval grip profile and the higher spoke position. Good choice.

[Johnnie]

CG Lock.
5368

[treeafodo]

I like the hood like that, it works on your car.

[Johnnie]

5654
I autocross at least once a month. The photographers don't always notice.

[Johnnie]

I just installed Flyin' Miata springs in place of the too-soft Racing Beat springs.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8224/8335804095_f0fd13efa1_c.jpg

The car is completely different. Cornering on springs feels way better than cornering on bumpstops, even FCM's nice ones. Ride quality has improved, as well. I didn't realize how often I was on the stops just scooting around town. I don't see how it won't be faster at autocross, will find out in a few days.

This happened, too:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8495/8335805483_9730bf126a_c.jpg

[I<3flippyheadlights]

Awh, 59k miles; so cute.

[Johnnie]

Here's an ugly cell phone pic brightened in PS Express to illustrate the fender gap with the new ride height.
It's taller in the rear by half an inch now. I'd like it to settle a little lower because I think it would look better, but if it stays like this, I can deal with it. Stiffer springs= better ride-- who'd a thunk it?
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8224/8339862616_2d713267e6_b.jpg

[Johnnie]

Awh, 59k miles; so cute.
I know. Him's just a widdle guy. He's like Amy's grand-nephew or something.

[Ciotti]

LOVE this, how are you doing locally in STR?

[Johnnie]

LOVE this, how are you doing locally in STR?

Thank you!

I have never been to an SCCA event. The local SCCA autocross program apparently shut down after the people that run it got burned out.

I finished third in our local non-affiliated club's modified street tire class last season. The other STR-prepped NC finished first in class.

[Phatmiata]

looking better all the time!!!

[tsingson]

Nice NC man!

[Joker]

Car looks good man!

Are you ready for our duel, good sir!?

[Johnnie]

Car looks good man!

Are you ready for our duel, good sir!?

En garde!

[Heyitsryan]

The car looks awesome, sans the hood.

I wanted to buy an NC so badly, but ended up with an s2k.

[Johnnie]

The car looks awesome, sans the hood.

I wanted to buy an NC so badly, but ended up with an s2k.

Thanks. I go back and forth on the hood. I like it, but I can't be bothered to really commit to getting all the swirl marks out. I'm seriously considering bead blasting it and leaving it raw and letting it patina, finger prints and all.

[Johnnie]

The red decals Enkei supplies with the black RPF1s don't work with my car, so I had these green and orange ones made up.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8347561806_3b1487b29a_b.jpg

[Grip Driver]

Very cool, its all in the small details :)

[Phatmiata]

where did you get the decals made?

[Johnnie]

where did you get the decals made?

OOps. Thought I answered this. The decals were made by an eBay vendor, Global1Graphics. They had the correct curved decal exactly like the ones Enkei supplied. I originally had some made up by the dude at the flea market, but they weren't properly curved-- he just used generic art even though I had brought an original to copy.

[Johnnie]

Installed a very lightweight battery today-- 2.5 lbs!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8231/8458600837_37c12ba1bb_c.jpg

[Johnnie]

Him's just a widdle guy.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8110/8459344923_3d6754eeb4_c.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8245/8459345605_797bd426ae_c.jpg

[beans]

What are the specs and part number for that broski?

[Johnnie]

What are the specs and part number for that broski?

That would be the Ballistic 100-012L. 410 cranking amps, 20 Ah capacity. 2.44 lbs.

[Johnnie]

Got home from Miatapalooza and this was by the front door. Saturday delivery FTW!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8546/8625629035_82d1e55ec8_c.jpg
The box reads

M3S2DH/V
JE
M3 Sport double diagonal harness bar/ vinyl
JE That's me
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8528/8625630061_0d908e994c_c.jpg
Stay tuned!

[Johnnie]

Sneak Preview- still have to drill holes for the back-up plates and figure out how I'm going to trim the interior.
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/35018_553667121340865_1959131100_n.jpg

[I<3flippyheadlights]

How did you install a rollbar? Are you getting rid of the top?

[Phatmiata]

Sounds like an awesome Saturday!

[Johnnie]

It was an excellent Saturday! The Hard Dog M3 sport is designed to work with the NC's z-fold top. More photos soon.

[I<3flippyheadlights]

very cool!!!

[Johnnie]

I forgot about this thread!
Let's see, back in April 2013 I was getting ready to install a roll bar.
Here it in May of 2013.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3702/8897356674_33cd228fef_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/eyehah) Install was easy, but required wedging into the car with the z-fold top up for part of the job. If I had to do it again, I'd just go ahead and remove the soft top to avoid all the extra contortions.

Toward the end of 2014, I got a set of lightweight 17x7.5 +42 Motegi MR125 wheels for street duty.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8561/15817223230_cbf1d1a81b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/q6Hppm)
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7474/15817224510_3b026854b3_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/q6HpMq)

The MR125 is a wheel that only looks good from certain angles and looks awkward from some other angles. I wasn't completely satisfied.

Around that time, I got a deal on a set of used RPF1s in 17x7.5 +48 This had been my first choice for street wheels all along. The Motegis are now stacked up in the garage minus tires.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7587/16599312848_8ce87122fb_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rhPPp7)

Scotty at Spinnywhoosh made me some center cap decals
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7618/16579610097_300296e482_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rg5Qsv)

This spring, I had to do some pretty aggressive cutting (wet-sanding, to tell the truth) to get the cone rash off the car. Cone scuffs come right off if you clean them off promptly. If you let cone scum bake into the paint for months on end in the FL sun, it's a different story.

Shiny again, I went back for the monthly reapplication of cone rash.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8563/16823714641_6c085a0fee_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rCDWex)

I got a tune somewhere along the way, raising the rev limit, which helps squeeze out a few extra mph in second gear.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3943/15496988987_63221976a9_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/pBq7Vi)

Last winter, I had grown tired of looking at the ugliness that is a poorly maintained polished hood, so I painted it flat black. (not pictured, because it really doesn't look very cool) When I can put back a little something extra, I am having the hood returned to its original Sunlight Silver.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3936/15266870640_4af4b94721_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/pg5GKA)

[Johnnie]

Back to stock. After a few years with the 320 mm Momo, it feels somewhat akin to driving a bus. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/361/19511828046_a2df11a80f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/vJcdGo)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/vJcdGo) by John Evans (https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnevans3/), on Flickr

[Phatmiata]

what if you polish the hood and clear coat seal it, would that help keep the shine?

[Johnnie]

what if you polish the hood and clear coat seal it, would that help keep the shine?
Too late. I painted it flat black last year. I'm going to have it returned to body color soon.

[Phatmiata]

http://i.imgur.com/7TVMbAV.jpg

The Devil went down to Florida. He was lookin' for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind. He was willing to make a deal
When he came across this young man autocrossin' his Miata and drivin' it hot.
And the Devil jumped upon a hickory stump and said;

"Boy, let me tell you what."

"I guess you didn't know it, but I'm a auto crosser, too.
And if you'd care to take a dare I'll make a bet with you.
Now you drive a pretty good Miata, boy, but give the Devil his due.
I'll bet a Miata of gold against your soul 'cause I think I'm better than you."

http://www.autofiends.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/miata11.jpg

The boy said, "My name's Johnnie, and it might be a sin,
But I'll take your bet; and you're gonna regret 'cause I'm the best there's ever been."

Johnnie, rev up your engine and drive your Miata hard.
'Cause Hell's broke loose in Florida and the Devil deals it hard.
And if you win you get this shiny Miata made of gold,
But if you lose the devil gets your soul.

The Devil opened up his Miata and he said, "I'll start this show."
And fire flew from his exhaust tips as he revved his Miata to go.
As he pulled the Miata across the starting line it made an evil hiss.
And a band of demons joined in and it sounded something like this.

http://i.imgur.com/CBfcsAMl.jpg


When the Devil finished driving, Johnnie said, "Well, you're pretty good ol' son,
But sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how it's done."

and he drove...

"Fire on the Mountain." Run, boys, run!
The Devil's in the house of the rising sun;
Chicken's in the bread pan picking out dough.
Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, no.

http://i.imgur.com/nDqknw0l.jpg


The Devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat.
And he laid the keys to that golden Miata on the ground near Johnny's feet.
Johnnie said, "Devil, just come on back if you ever wanna try again,
I done told you once—you son of a bitch—I'm the best that's ever been."

http://i.imgur.com/gPjgZmYl.jpg


And he autocrossed again:

"Fire on the Mountain." Run, boys, run!
The Devil's in the house of the rising sun;
The chicken's in the bread pan picking out dough.
Granny, will your dog bite? No, child, no.


http://i.imgur.com/M6S09XM.jpg

[Wesramos]

The best thing I've read all year :frantic::slayer: way to make the song 10x better hahaha

[Phatmiata]

for the guys that don't know what we're talking about, here is a more modern version of the Southern Classic that was animated, pretty funny. I wish they had used the original song by the Charlie Daniels Band though.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9uk9IcoQ0w

[Johnnie]

I lol'd. Good one, Phat!
Edit: The more I think about it the more I like it. Made my day!

[Johnnie]

On the brakes in the finish chute at our club's season finale. I would go on to take out a wall of cones and rip up some plastic under the right front bumper. It'l all zip-tied in place, but I'm going to have to get an order together.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/413/19229897543_99bd4c461c_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/vihfzD)

[Johnnie]

Sanded off the crappy matte black paint and back to bare aluminum. It's not great, but I like it better than the matte black. Not sure what's next. It will do for now.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5794/23413160839_0d0040a913_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/BEWz1T)

[Phatmiata]

It was polished, what happened ???

[Johnnie]

It was polished, what happened ???

I got tired of trying to maintain it and thought I was going to paint it. I put matte black on it. Didn't like it.

Can't afford a proper color-matched paint job right now, so I'm back with bare aluminum.

It's going to patina ugly really quickly, but I'm formulating a plan to get it cleaned up and get some clear on it. I may go just short of full polish and try to work a satin effect. Got to get some abrasive paper for the DA sander and figure out what kind of coating to get.