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ebruner
04-05-2012, 09:53 AM
This is my first miata... and I love the g-damn thing. In the past I've owned a lot of what I thought were fun cars. In retrospect it's not that I didn't love them... it's more that they were fairly one sided relationships. Enough of where I've been... time for where I'm going.

The miata breaks that cycle. Every time I feel like I'm losing interest or motivation all it takes is a quick spin in the car and my lust is renewed. I have a feeling that I will own this car until the day it is merely a pile of rubble... Here's to hoping that's in the distant future. :slayer:

Onto the progression.

4/9/11 - The search for a miata took me roughly 1 month of driving several candidates. I drove na's, sto's, r package, ls etc etc. I loved them all but all of them had at least something off... whether it was the PO or the condition none of them spoke to me. And then I found this 10ae in San Diego. A quick spin later and it was mine.

Day I brought it home.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5303/5604929116_38e0d939b2_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5068/5604929032_825ef211da_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5188/5604928720_95bdac8edd_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/5604928942_af8a9c2bf1_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5604343489_d2795da505_b.jpg

Gonna spend the next 10-15 posts catching this build thread up. :domo:

ebruner
04-05-2012, 10:03 AM
First order of business was a head and tail light restoration. Passenger side headlight was oxidized (driver side got replaced in a parking lot fender bender).

before
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/Miata%20Stuff/MiataHeadlightPolishing-2.jpg

after
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/Miata%20Stuff/MiataHeadlightPolishing-6.jpg

ebruner
04-05-2012, 10:06 AM
4-28-11 - Got some nitty gritty work done next. timing belt, water pump, ngk oem plug wires, new oem ngk plugs, all drive belts, idler pullies, new coolant, fresh oil, new cas seal, now valve cover gasket, engine steam cleaned

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5186/5663374506_b9e07820ff_z.jpg

Removed the front plate and baby teeth and put the 10ae driver seat back in.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5301/5662806931_dcda4aa5f4_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5108/5662805575_585d075b76_z.jpg

ebruner
04-05-2012, 10:08 AM
The headlights and tail lights on this car were some what of a sticking point. They seemed to portray of a dated more mid life crisis convertible than a performance oriented track car. So I pealed the headlights apart and painted them gunmetal metal flake and added some red vinyl to the turn signals.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_9673.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_9674.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_9671.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_9675.jpg

ebruner
04-05-2012, 10:11 AM
Time for more maintenance. Overhauled the shifter. These pictures are mostly worthless because it's nothing exciting but w/e... all threads are useless without pix.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_0003Small.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_0007Small.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_0008Small.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_0009Small.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/DSC05566Small.jpg

before
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/DSC05567Small.jpg

after
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/DSC05568Small.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/DSC05569Small.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/DSC05570Small.jpg

ebruner
04-05-2012, 10:14 AM
6-27-11 - Time for some custom stuff!!! I'm a tall guy with broad shoulders and this car does not have enough room for me. The first order of business is to modify the door cards to give room for my tubby ass and also some door bars by a well known local fabricator.

Also overhauled the windows while I was there and installed front vent windows. Windows go up and down all fast and smooth now.

Progress Pix:
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/Miata%20Stuff/DSC05609.jpg?t=1309142388

quite a bit more shoulder room
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/Miata%20Stuff/DSC05613.jpg

Completed Door Cards:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/5956060167_2a079fcc0b_z.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6029/5991490953_48406c3961_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6007/5992047890_8419bd48af_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6010/5992048066_3a9fe33509_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6129/5992047814_4b1ca30efa_b.jpg

While I was milling about the passenger compartment I painted these jobbies.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/Miata%20Stuff/DSC05615.jpg
after
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/Miata%20Stuff/DSC05625.jpg

ebruner
04-05-2012, 10:15 AM
Scooped up a smokin deal on some RPF-1's with good condition falken 912's. Too bad these tires suck ass. All in due time I guess.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/10AEWheelsForSale-1.jpg

ebruner
04-05-2012, 10:19 AM
9-28-11 - 100k mile brakes suck. So they got replaced. Also replaced the slave cyl and clutch line with SS while I was in there.

Rotors
Carbotech XP8 pads
Stainless Braided Lines
949 Forged Lugs
Motul Brake Fluid
Stainless Clutch Line
Clutch Slave Cyl

All got done last weekend. Car feels great. Just got my 03 NB2 header to install in the mail. Also going to order up some mazda competition motormounts and put those in while I do the header.

Been working on a set of custom gauge faces too that are ready to cut out and install. Can't wait.

A few snaps from along the way. More to come soon.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6171/6190717910_c4be8609a0_z.jpg

post bead in dirt.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6003/6190200233_5e43e27bbe_z.jpg

gauges
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6173/6190717960_323827ccab_z.jpg

ebruner
04-05-2012, 10:23 AM
12-10-11 - No pictures but the stock header and cat got replaced with an 01+ unit. Also replaced the motor mounts with mazda comp units while I was in there. Love the sound now with the cheap ebay volt exhaust.

---------------------------------------------
1-3-12 - Wife got me a works bell 75mm hub and momo competition steering wheel for christmas. I love it.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6624319005_2e8b51e5e5_b.jpg

ebruner
04-05-2012, 10:24 AM
2-24-12

The whole goal of this car is to be a sort of club sport version of the nb1. To that end having a full beefy stereo is some what pointless. The weight penalty just isn't worth it for the few times that I'd want music. Most of the music use will be just having tunes going while working on the car, sitting in the pits waiting for the next round or while en-route to the track or canyons. While perusing build threads I stumbled on an interesting solution by jakeordie (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=52540) on clubroadster. He used a single din stereo and amp for a light weight low power stereo setup. Perfect for what I need. So I made my own little setup and kept it cheap.

Got an pyle amp and center channel speaker for 35 bucks off ebay. It's really no better than laptop speakers and has pretty minimal bass. However it gets loud enough without distortion to hear cruising @ 75 with the top up. So I hid the amp behind the dash and fabricated a block off plate. The amp is wired into the hot 12v lead off the head unit harness. I added a little rocker switch with an LED for a touch of class and to ensure I can kill it in case it provides feedback while nothing is plugged in.

Enough of babbling... onto the pics.

soldering up the switch.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/MiataStereo-1.jpg

Installed. Still need to do a bit of touch up work on the block off plate.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/MiataStereo-2.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/MiataStereo-3.jpg

oh I almost forgot. I've also got some coil overs on order. \o/

ebruner
04-05-2012, 10:36 AM
So that pretty much brings the car up to speed. You're probably wondering why I started a build thread for a car that really does nothing but more of the same... Well I've got big plans for this car which will begin directly on my 1 year anniversary of ownership. The plans involved a full stem to stearn overhaul of the interior by Moti and a few other fun bits.

Don't have any pictures but I threw some coil overs on the car this last weekend, a NRG v2.5 quick release and a set of two hooks. The car is almost track ready and I couldn't be more excited.

Pictures to come soon. Thanks for looking.

psulja
04-05-2012, 10:48 AM
Great looking car! Love the headlights, the gunmetal finish looks great in there.

ebruner
04-05-2012, 06:53 PM
Great looking car! Love the headlights, the gunmetal finish looks great in there.

Thanks man. It's a work in progress, but aren't they all?

Been working on a few things lately... These pictures were taken just an hour ago.

Custom center console. I cut the other one down and reformed it with a pencil torch. I then plastiwelded the seams. It actually looks better on the car than it does in this photo. Eventually I'll need to bondo it and repaint it but I have bigger fish to fry for now.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_6366.jpg

NRG gen 2.5 quick release. This thing puts the steering wheel in a perfect position for my arms. I get great leverage on the wheel and it moves it the perfect amount away from the dash to give my knees ample room to move. Prior to adding this the only way I could properly heal toe was barefoot... and even then I could only use the tip of my toe.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_6369.jpg

The coils are a first batch of a adjustable vmaxx's sourced through flyin miata. I'm not sure if they are the end game solution yet... They are more of a calculated risk item than anything. First impressions are surprisingly good. The really good thing is that because of flyin miata's reputation they are a safe bet to use and resell if I decide to move on. I have a feeling I will be replacing these this time next year with a set of xida s or cs from 949racing. However for now the stock 100k mile bilstiens had to go. I'd have gone all out right now except I'm about to drop a bomb on the interior make over and I have a feeling I'm going to need a clutch soon. Also notice that the roll bar and mud flaps have been removed.

Ride height right now is 13.5" rear and 12.75" front. I'm going to let it settle and see where it ends up when 45lbs of roll bar go back into the car. Ideal ride heights are about 12" front 12.5" rear
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z65/orlyerin/EBB_6372.jpg

Sorry about the bad pictures. I've been working way too much lately.