My 1996 BRG NA8C Build Thread

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Originally Posted by Greasemonkey2000

Keep up the great work Steve! Really enjoying your well written post(great format and makes me have something to aspire to :) ) and great pics! :drinkto:

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Thanks mate! I was half thinking of doing the holes in the wiper like what you did on yours, but I couldn't for the life of me find my step drill bit AKA christmas tree drill bit. I think a friend of mine borrowed it from me :(

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Originally Posted by RustRat

These Raybrigs are sweet! Tasteful mods, overall, great job

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Thank you! Yeah loving the Raybrigs! The light output is brighter and noticeable compared to the OEM Koitos!

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Originally Posted by Paul B

Good stuff! Gotta love Adam's attention to detail in everything he does. I wish i had more miatas so i could utilize more of his items lol

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Yes, Adam's customer service, quality and attention to detail really is exceptional. I love his HVAC and tombstone where he integrated the S2000 start button with the vintage looking clock and power window flip switches. The hazards/lights up+down flip switches and the power window switched will be next on my list! :)

ENGINE & TRANSMISSION


SUSPENSION & HANDLING
- GarageStar Delrin Door Mounts


WHEELS, BRAKES & TYRES


EXTERIOR
- ZOOM Engineering Retro Fuel Lid
- Raybrig Crystal Reflector Headlamps
- NoPro Washer Bottle Relocation
- Mazdaspeed Oil Cap


INTERIOR
- JASS Performance Sun Visor Plugs
- RevLimiter Gloss Black Vent Rings
- Joyfast Chrome Gear Knob (Super Short)
- Joyfast Chrome Handbrake Button


MAINTENANCE/OEM REPLACEMENT/MISC
- OEM Rubber Pedal Replacement
- OEM Third Brake Light Gasket Replacement
- Front Number Plate Mounting Bracket
- Philips 4300K Crystal Vision Headlamp Bulbs
- B1 Hybrid Polarg Light Bulbs
- Bosch Aerotwin Wiper Blades
- Reconditioned Wiper Arms


20/01/2016

NoPro Washer Bottle Relocation
I had purchased the NoPro washer bottle about two weeks ago and there were a few tutorials online about how to go about fitting one of these for those who have LHD, but no tutorial was available for those who had RHD. To be honest, it's not particularly hard and it's probably a lot easier than fitting one on a LHD car, but I thought I'd document it myself on how I went about installing it. Hopefully this will become useful for someone else later on too.

The items included with the NoPro bottle is an instruction guide, some zip ties, extension wire, two plugs and four terminals. The instruction guide is all in Japanese so unless you know how to read it, it's pretty much useless.

Step 1 : Unclip the power going into water pump.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4260/...6e35e24c_o.jpg

Step 2 : Use a socket wrench and 10mm socket to undo the bolts holding the OEM washer bottle to the chassis.

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Step 3 : Empty out water from the OEM bottle.

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Step 4 : Carefully take out the water pump from the OEM washer bottle.

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Step 5 : Fit the washer bottle onto the NoPro. New grommet should be on the NoPro bottle already. It should clip in perfectly.

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Step 6 : Loosly bolt up the NoPro washer bottle to the chassis. There are two holes which are already on the car (one which has a rubber grommet, pictured below on the left, which comes off very easily) and the brackets on the NoPro should line up with the holes perfectly. All that is required is to either use a Philips head or a 10mm socket to hold it in place.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4287/...2b9033e6_o.jpg

Step 7 : Strip back and expose the extension wire that came with the NoPro washer bottle. A wire stripper is handy, but if you don't have one, carefully strip back using a razor or box cutter.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4239/...667f3831_o.jpg

Step 8 : The plugs are basically extensions of the original plug on the water pump and also on the car. Crimp the terminals and insert them into the new plugs provided. Make sure that your wiring colours are matching.

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Step 9 : Connect everything up and test to make sure it's all working. Once you know it's all working, tighten up the bolts holding the NoPro bottle and tidy up and neaten the wiring under the cowl. Zip tie the wires together if necessary.

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Step 10 : Fill up the bottle with water. I've also added about 3/4 bottle of Wurth windscreen cleaner concentrate.

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Mazdaspeed Oil Cap
Scored this rare JDM Mazdaspeed oil cap in Gold. I actually ordered a black one but the seller sent me the wrong one. Doesn't matter though, as I'm going with a BRG/Gold theme on my NA8 so after I get the rocker cover polished, it should go nicely with it.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4260/...b2af1e9d_o.jpg


Joyfast Chrome Gear Knob (Super Short)
The factory shift knob feels very nice but after having a drive in Dan's (91-BRG) MX5, the weighted shift knob he had felt so much nicer and it compliments the short shifter he has too (which I will also be purchasing down the line). Install was pretty easy, however I have read that some shift knobs are quite tight from factory and it caused a few members some grief in getting them off. With mine though, no strength required. It appears it had been taken off before and had been hand tightened afterwards, which was great for me.

OEM gearknob

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4264/...a56f87d8_o.jpg

Joyfast chrome gear knob (super short, 297g)

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OEM knob removed

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Installed

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Joyfast Chrome Handbrake Button
The handbrake buttons was also very easy. It just requires the handbrake to be pulled off, which can be done by gripping the handle and moving side to side while pulling towards the headunit. It should then slide off quite easily. The button needs to be turned counter-clockwise to come out. Be careful as there is a spring so make sure the spring doesn't go flying off when you take the button out. Put the new button on and screw it back into place.

Grip handle off

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Chrome button installed and handle back on

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Result

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/...685961e8_o.jpg

Upgrades move at a steady pace, quality parts too! And great writeup!

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Originally Posted by HarryB

Upgrades move at a steady pace, quality parts too! And great writeup!

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Haha cheers man! Yeah I've only had the car for just over a month and have been going nuts. Gotta remember to calm down and save my $$$ for other big ticket stuff like coilovers and BBS wheels etc!

Having said that, I have a few things I bought that are coming in/already in.


JDM Mazdaspeed Front Strut Brace. Will install after full service has been done.

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JDM Mazdaspeed NA8C Green Ignition Leads

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JDM NA8C 180km/h Cluster showing 166XXX km on the odo. My current cluster is showing 157XXX. Will change it over when it hits the same number. Gives me time to modify it whilst the cluster is not on the car, i.e with RS Product retro face plate and gauges, needles, needle caps etc.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4236/...5554e972_o.jpg


JDM "Roadster" Door Scuff Sills

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4264/...0a60ebdd_o.jpg


Revlimiter "MX-5" Door Sill Inserts (to replace the old "Roadster" sticker)

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KG Works Chrome Washer Nozzle

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Nice work Steve! :drinkto: Things that improve w/o compromise are not common and, imo, the Suzuki Cappuccino washer fluid reservoir is one of them because it cleans up the engine bay and about the same fluid ounce size. Keep the updates coming! :)

ENGINE & TRANSMISSION


SUSPENSION & HANDLING
- GarageStar Delrin Door Mounts


WHEELS, BRAKES & TYRES


EXTERIOR
- ZOOM Engineering Retro Fuel Lid
- Raybrig Crystal Reflector Headlamps
- NoPro Washer Bottle Relocation
- Mazdaspeed Oil Cap


INTERIOR
- JASS Performance Sun Visor Plugs
- RevLimiter Gloss Black Vent Rings
- Joyfast Chrome Gear Knob (Super Short)
- Joyfast Chrome Handbrake Button


MAINTENANCE/OEM REPLACEMENT/MISC
- OEM Rubber Pedal Replacement
- OEM Third Brake Light Gasket Replacement
- Front Number Plate Mounting Bracket
- Philips 4300K Crystal Vision Headlamp Bulbs
- B1 Hybrid Polarg Light Bulbs
- Bosch Aerotwin Wiper Blades
- Reconditioned Wiper Arms
- Carbon Canister Delete


25/01/2016

Carbon Canister Delete
Not really much of an update but decided to delete the carbon canister from the engine bay. Given that my NA8 is now 20 years old, I think the usefulness of this canister has passed its expiry date a long time ago.

Was going to do a detailed write up but I found a very good step-by-step guide online which you can click here to access.


Before...

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...and after

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In the bin you go!

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In the DIY, it says to go to the boot and that there should be a small black hose nipple on one of the bolts on the rear tail lights. I couldn't find any, but I did find this which came off a coathanger. Just a shame it's not black, but it'll do for now.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4238/...ed8e398d_o.jpg


Also got this from Adam (Revlimiter). I love BBS wheels, the RS and LM's in particular. Couldn't find any BBS logo keyrings anywhere, so I decided to get a custom keyring made. Initially I wanted it to be red background with gold lettering, but Adam said he doesn't have any gold material to make it and for him to make it, he'd have to pass the cost down to me which is understandable, and it would have resulted in the keyring being too expensive. Therefore, I opted for the classic black background and silver BBS letters. It came out perfect and I'm very happy with how it turned out! Thanks again Adam!

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A full major service will be done when I drop my car off on the 30th of this month.

- New Gates Racing High Performance Timing Belt (Part Number : T179R)
- New NGK Ignition Leads (Part Number : ZE21)
- New NGK Iridium Spark Plugs (Part Number : BKR5EIX-11)
- New Koyo Hyper-V core 36mm Aluminium Radiator (Part Number : VH060245)
- New Mazdaspeed 1.3bar Radiator Cap
- New CarbonMiata NA8 Black Silicone Cooling Hoses
- New Goodridge Braided Brake Lines (Part Number : SMA0101-4P)
- New Goodridge Braided Clutch Line (Part Number : 25001-CLU)
- New OEM Mazda Camshaft and Crankshaft Seals
- New OEM Mazda Rocker Cover Seals and Gaskets (Part Number : BP05-10-235C)
- New OEM Mazda Oil Filter (Part Number : B6Y1-14-302A)
- New OEM Mazda Fuel Filter (Part Number : B61P-20-490A99)
- New OEM Mazda Timing Tensioner Pulley (Part Number : GMB445-2050)
- New OEM Mazda Water Pump (Part Number : GMBB6BF15010RMF)
- New OEM Mazda Green Coolant
- Liquimoly Leightlauf 10w40 Engine Oil
- Liquimoly 75w90 Gearbox Oil
- Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid
- Motul Dexron III Power Steering Fluid
- Clean Throttle Body and PCV Valve

After this, the mechanical side of things will be all done and should be bulletproof :D


Few more mods I'm eyeing at the moment

- MiataRoadster Short Shifter
- Nardi Classico 360mm Wooden Steering Wheel
- Arrive Mahogany Handbrake Handle
- Maximworks 4-2-1 Headers
- Fujitsubo Catback Exhaust
- Tein Monosport Coilovers

Car is in for its servicing. Will be picking it up next week.

Received my number plates.

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Tried on a set of BBS RS001, 4x100, 15x8.5, Offset +6. These have been rebuilt with 2.5" lips all round. Originally was going to get gold centres and Black BBS cap and ignore the 4WD spec as I don't have coilovers on as yet. However, when I test fit these on, I realised I will need to roll and pull the guards quite a bit to get them to fit nicely. Not only that, will need to respray the centres, get black BBS caps, polish the lip, get new black bolts and hardware. It would have ended up costing too much for this particular set. Ideally I would like a BBS RS001 which hasn't been rebuilt, which in factory spec is 15x7 +25 and then perhaps go a 1.5" or 2" lip and rebuild it myself.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4265/...c14fb306_o.jpg

So, I decided to get Watanabe's instead. 14x6.5 +14.5. Will be repainting the centres Gold and re-polishing the lip. Not my photos but will look like this below.

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Will need to get RS Watanabe centre caps too.

So you got the wheels from the cartalk ad?
Careful with the coat hanger end in the TB. That stuff disintegrates really easily into 100 pieces. I imagine heat would only make it worse.

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Originally Posted by smy0003

So you got the wheels from the cartalk ad?
Careful with the coat hanger end in the TB. That stuff disintegrates really easily into 100 pieces. I imagine heat would only make it worse.

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Yup. Told him I'd buy it :) Just waiting for word back from him regarding how we are going to do this.

Re: Coat hanger end, the car is in for servicing so it won't get driven around. My friend was able to give me a black rubber from the rear tail light on his MX5 so will be putting that on instead once I get it back.

Good to hear about the wheels, I love the bbs but they are a bit 'stance nation' fitment wise.

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Originally Posted by smy0003

Good to hear about the wheels, I love the bbs but they are a bit 'stance nation' fitment wise.

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That particular BBS RS set was, yeah. A tad too aggressive and will be running a lot of camber I suspect once lowered. Watanabe's would be a better choice!

Just went through your build thread re: the LE red interior! Really awesome work and looks very neat! I was planning on re-doing my carpets with fresh tan carpets. Where did you get your carpets from and how much did they set you back roughly?

Thanks mate.
Knox Auto Carpet in Bayswater, VIC (they must not have liked the ring of 'Bayswater auto carpet').
Set me back 240 dollarydoos, but:
1) I picked it up from them because it's resonably local.
2) It doesn't include the parcel shelf carpet, so you'll have to cut one yourself. I took it back to them and they overlocked it for free.
3) I got the regular loop pile carpet. It's a bit thicker than the NA carpet but it is faithful to the NA carpet style.

I think I may have put more info in my cartalk thread since nobody overseas will be interested in our local option.

If you PM me I'd be happy to send you an offcut carpet sample from my leftovers so you can get a feel of it.

Cannot believe I am saying this, but the BBS needed less lip. An inch less and they would be perfect. That being said, I think I prefer the Watanabes.

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Originally Posted by HarryB

Cannot believe I am saying this, but the BBS needed less lip. An inch less and they would be perfect. That being said, I think I prefer the Watanabes.

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I totally agree with you. At 15x8.5 with a +6 offset, it was going to be too aggressive for my liking, hence why I would have liked it if I could get a BBS RS001 in factory spec.

The watanabes in 14x6.5 with a +14.5 offset will be a much better fit, not to mention it being very light :)

ENGINE & TRANSMISSION
- Advanced Cam Timing +14 Degrees
- Gates Racing Performance Timing Belt
- Koyorad 36mm Hyper-V Core Aluminium Radiator
- Koyorad 1.3 Bar Radiator Cap
- NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
- Mazdaspeed Ignition Leads
- Mazdaspeed Oil Cap
- CarbonMiata Black Silicone Cooling Hoses


SUSPENSION & HANDLING
- GarageStar Delrin Door Mounts
- Mazdaspeed Front Strut Brace


WHEELS, BRAKES & TYRES
- Goodridge SS Braided Brake Lines
- Goodridge SS Braided Clutch Line


EXTERIOR
- ZOOM Engineering Retro Fuel Lid
- Raybrig Crystal Reflector Headlamps
- Philips 4300K Crystal Vision Headlamp Bulbs
- B1 Hybrid Polarg Parkers and Tail Lamp Bulbs
- NoPro Washer Bottle Relocation
- Bosch Aerotwin Wiper Blades
- Front Number Plate Mounting Bracket


INTERIOR
- JASS Performance Sun Visor Plugs
- RevLimiter Gloss Black Vent Rings
- Joyfast Chrome Gear Knob (Super Short)
- Joyfast Chrome Handbrake Button
- JDM Chrome Door Sills
- RevLimiter "Type MX-5" Door Sill Inserts
- Vintage Mazda Chrome Cigarette Lighter
- J-F Customs Tan Leather Gearshift Boot
- J-F Customs Tan Leather Handbrake Boot


MAINTENANCE/OEM REPLACEMENT/MISC
- OEM Rubber Pedal Replacement
- OEM Third Brake Light Gasket Replacement
- Reconditioned Wiper Arms
- Carbon Canister Delete
- OEM Waterpump Replacement
- OEM Thermostat Replacement
- OEM Camshaft/Crankshaft Seals Replacement
- OEM External Tensioner Belt/Idler Bearings Replacement
- OEM Rocker Cover Gasket Replacement
- OEM PCV Valve Replacement


06/02/2016

Major Service : Completed
Received the car back from service today. As mentioned previously, with all my cars, whenever I purchase a second hand car I usually do a full service and change out all the fluids with new items as well as tending to other matters which require my attention. Major overhaul has been completed now with fresh oils and all new fluids, new aluminium radiator, oil and fuel filter, spark plugs and leads, silicone hoses, timing belt, water pump, thermostat, PCV valve, tensioner and idler pulleys, rocker cover gaskets, cam and crankshaft seals, brake and clutch lines, and timing advanced to +14 degrees. OEM parts and equipment have been used where possible.

When I was getting a debrief on what was done to the car, it seems as though there were a lot of things which needed changing anyhow and it was a good thing that they were tended to in this service. Basically, ALL the fluids were atrocious, spark plugs were black and definitely needed changing a few thousand km's ago, the leads were misfiring and old (still the original leads from 1996!), fuel filter and water pump weren't installed properly by previous mechanic (who did the work for the previous owner) and the old radiator had a very tiny hairline fracture. If I had driven the car any more than what I had done already, it would have definitely resulted in the plastic end tanks letting go.

Although the previous owner had looked after it as well as he could for 10 years and although he only drove the car 2,000kms in his 10 year ownership and the car "felt" okay every year when he would start the car up and go for a little drive, the component parts were slowly wearing away which isn't good for the health or longevity of the vehicle.

Needless to say, it now feels like a brand new, totally different car. She now idles much smoother with no misfire and driving feel is improved, especially since now that the timing has been advanced to +14 degrees the low down torque is definitely noticeable and there is more useable power.

The new look engine bay!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4210/...8eda6b5e_o.jpg

Silicone hoses.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4259/...df36912b_o.jpg

Koyorad 36mm Hyper-V Aluminium Radiator.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...23595212_o.jpg

Mazdaspeed!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4262/...ca4df4c7_o.jpg


J-F Customs Tan Leather Gearshift + Handbrake Boot
Decided to refresh the gearshift boot and plastic handbrake boot with some nice tan Italian leather stitched items.

OEM plastic handbrake boot removed and replaced with the new leather boot. Much nicer.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4242/...090f47e0_o.jpg

Gearshift Boot ready for install.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4208/...ba0599e4_o.jpg

Took apart the centre console to find that the shifter insulation looks like a pile of shit. OEM replacement already ordered from Mazda to fix the heating issue. Will also be ordering a brand new MiataRoadster short shifter too, so that I can replace the shifter and fix the heating issue in one go.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4284/...6ea51a3f_o.jpg

All done. Goes well with the interior!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4235/...fb068a9e_o.jpg


Vintage Mazda Chrome Cigarette Lighter
Bought this on eBay to replace my tired, rusted old OEM cigarette lighter. Feels very nice and looks quite pretty. Weighted, chromed, and has the oldschool vintage Mazda symbol. Sticks out a tad more than the OEM lighter but nothing intrusive. Although it's not a genuine part, I feel it goes quite nicely with the interior and the rest of the car.

Very nice chrome finish on the cigarette lighter.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4281/...9d18f8a1_o.jpg

Right at home!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4216/...5bf26a4a_o.jpg


JDM Chrome Door Sills + RevLimiter "Type MX-5" Door Sill Inserts
Purchased a second hand set of chrome door sills in very good condition from Yahoo Japan Auctions with the "Roadster" insert. Decided to hit up Adam from RevLimiter again and purchased his "Type MX-5" door sill inserts to replace it. The inserts from Adam are made from an epoxy which is flexible, sticks perfectly to the door sill recess, very durable, will not yellow or pit and should last around 8 years. Again, very happy with his work!

JDM Chrome Door Sills purchased from Yahoo Japan Auctions.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4232/...ccd95f95_o.jpg

RevLimiter "Type MX-5" Door Sill Inserts.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/...555a8582_o.jpg

Ready to mount.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4233/...a64c89c0_o.jpg

Removed the plastic sill. Cleaned the grime and dirt before installing the sills.

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Installed.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4237/...176abfe8_o.jpg


And finally, I was able to take delivery of my RS Watanabe Type-B. Specs are 14 x 6.5 with a +14.5 offset. These also come with tires which still have around 99% of tread left, virtually brand new. Bridgestone Ecopia 185/60/14. Nothing too special but hey, it'll do for now!

Two of the wheels have gutter rashes so I'm going to get that fixed as well as getting the lips polished so they come up brand new. Also, I'll be powdercoating the centres in gold and going to purchase some chrome Watanabe centre caps if I can find some on Yahoo Japan. I was so surprised at how light these are even with the tires on them! It will definitely help reduce unsprung weight, that's for sure.

For now though, I'll be swapping over the rubber from the Watanabe's to my OEM wheels as the tires I have on them currently are Pirelli P6000's which, although when brand new are quite a good rubber, they were put on 10 years ago and albeit only travelling 2,000kms until I picked it up, they're are rock hard! Fresh new rubber will be a welcome change.


Taking delivery of the Watanabe's!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4211/...a7e3d87e_o.jpg

Authenticity.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4238/...646b237b_o.jpg

Time for a bit of a clean.

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All done and ready for a refurb.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4235/...6be48711_o.jpg

Next up :

1) Will be looking at fixing the insulation issue and changing the shifter to a MiataRoadster short shifter (already purchased, awaiting delivery)

2) Nardi Classico 360mm Wooden steering wheel + Arrive Mahogany Handbrake Handle to purchase. Already purchased the HKB Boss Kit, (part number : OR-18)

3) KG Works Chrome washer jets + new 5mm PVC clear plastic hoses to route from washer bottle to nozzle.