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Thread: HarryB's Strato blue NB2

  1. #301
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    '04 Strato Blue NB2
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    Not a lot going on at the moment, as it is one of these crazy busy periods at work. AC compressor gave up the ghost, replaced it with a used one from a friend which works really well, meaning that mine was half-broken for the last 5 years without me knowing. Thankfully, it is a newer scroll-type compressor, so it is quite efficient. Want to properly refresh the system at some point, maybe using a more modern compressor; we shall see.

    Also freaked out yesterday (after 14hrs of work), took a drill brush attachment, and went to town with the engine block (one side only for now), before painting with a direct-to-rust paint. Potato-quality content:







    Not too worried about the water and oil pump as they will be replaced, and the sump will get soda blasted. Quite happy how it turned out, although I would prefer a less glossy finish (that one was supposed to dry on a satin finish)
    Last edited by HarryB; 07-08-2021 at 11:15 AM.

  2. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to HarryB For This Useful Post:

    Agent☣Orange (07-16-2021),kung fu jesus (07-08-2021),MiataQuest (07-14-2021),MikeA (07-09-2021)

  3. #302
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power atlex's Avatar
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    blue, white and two-tone
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    Always love the look of a 'japanned' engine :-)

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to atlex For This Useful Post:

    HarryB (07-09-2021)

  5. #303
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here!
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    Miata Classic Red 1997 w/Tan interior
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    Haven't been on much. You car sure does look OUTSTANDING Harry!!! GOD BLESS

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to CLZinn2 For This Useful Post:

    HarryB (07-09-2021)

  7. #304
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    '04 Strato Blue NB2
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    Had an unfortunate incident with the driver's side window regulator last Sunday when traveling back from visiting my parents. Stopped in a toll station (yes, these are a thing), tried to roll the window up, heard a bang and it went. That left me with the window rolled down, on a highway 80 miles from home, with 100+F outside...

    Upon removal and inspection, I noticed that the plastic clip holding the top cable on the regulator mechanism had sheared off. The cable then moved and broke the plastic pulley, which is riveted on the frame/rail. This also dislodged the cables in the electric motor drum, which became jammed...great! At that time I thought it was a total loss.

    Talked with a friend who had a spare regulator rail, so that I could use the pulley. Got hold of it, cleaned it really well, and re-greased it. I then pried back the motor assembly cover, and managed to free up the jammed pulley and cables (something that both professionals I talked to advised against as they said it could not be put back properly). Mazda's FSM says otherwise, so I decided to give it a go.



    I managed to straighten the cables (fortunately they have not frayed), lubed them up with silicone grease, and put them back together. I have no pics of this, as it was a really messy procedure with all the grease. The last piece of the puzzle was the clip that caused all that mess in the first place. It is not available as a spare part anywhere, you can only buy a complete regulator assembly. I would definitely do so if said assembly was available anywhere in Greece, but that was not the case, and in the meantime, the car would have been inoperable, so time to fire up the 3D printer.





    These are basically sleeves, with the original clip captured inside. Printed in carbon fiber infused polycarbonate, which is plenty strong. I also cleaned up dried grease from the window guide rail (which was the root cause of the failure, as the window was incredibly hard to move), replaced the rollers with brand new OEM ones I have had for over a year, and reassembled the whole thing.



    Before putting the lot back in the door, I also decided to add some soundproofing (sound dampening basically), which I have meant to do for years. The door skin is bonded to the door cross-bar using some sort of adhesive, but I have found mine to have perished.



    I decided to use some butyl tape to re-attach it. Then I used 2 strips of aluminum-butyl sheet (Dodo hex mat) and stuck them in the skin, after thoroughly cleaning it with water/IPA solution. The strips were 60x10cm (which gives 25% coverage) and were placed on either side of the cross-bar, in the middle of the panel. The goal was to dampen some of the skin vibrations, without adding unnecessary weight (full coverage). Quick before/after with the sound analyzer app.





    My finely calibrated ear also noticed a significant difference, but now I need to do the rest of the car as well

    TL;DR: Clean and grease your window guides, and replace your rollers as preventative maintenance, as it can save you a pain in the ass!!

  8. The Following 8 Users Say Thank You to HarryB For This Useful Post:

    Agent☣Orange (07-29-2021),atlex (07-29-2021),Bryan (07-29-2021),Greasemonkey2000 (04-24-2023),kung fu jesus (07-29-2021),Martin (07-29-2021),MiataQuest (07-29-2021),vote4pedro (07-29-2021)

  9. #305
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    '04 Strato Blue NB2
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    Did the same on the passenger side; as preventative maintenance this time. A ton of crap came out as expected. Also replaced the battery, as the old one perished after 11 years. Wanted to go to a LiFePo unit (was looking at Shorai), however could not find one locally (or in Europe for that matter).

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to HarryB For This Useful Post:

    kung fu jesus (08-08-2021)

  11. #306
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power MLambert19's Avatar
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    Hey Harry, your Private Message Inbox is full, bud! (It saves copies of sent messages, too, delete those and free up some space!).

  12. #307
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    '04 Strato Blue NB2
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    Project still alive and kicking! Not much happening lately, and I even drive this less than what I would really like to. Combination of me being busy with work, studying, and DCBE (which is growing nicely thanks to all the love from this wonderful community!). Been restoring smaller items (engine is getting a nut and bolt restoration, all small brackets powdercoated, bolts plated etc.) and buying some stuff in between. Got the first Supermiata 863 bushing kit I know of in the country (which is yet to be installed) and spent an awful lot of time measuring suspension travel to put together a custom set of coilovers. Then Tecnas happened, so contemplating going this route now.

  13. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to HarryB For This Useful Post:

    Bryan (04-18-2023),oldgrayleather (04-18-2023)

  14. #308
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Meanwhile, a combination of Matthew's PM above and some posts at miataturbo led to an order for a pair of Afco F88 4-piston calipers. Allegedly these were made by StopTech (and are almost identical in dimensions and construction to ST42 calipers). AFCO is being shut down as a brand, and with these calipers now being stupid cheap (45$ each), I bought a set. Will be running the weak sauce 0.810" thick discs cause street car with narrow wheels. Hopefully they will fit under my Watanabes; quick CAD based on (allegedly similarly sized) ST42 and Wilwood Suprlites says so. Waiting for them to get here before machining my own adapters. Wondering if Supermiata (or any other available and reasonably priced) hats will work with these and Wilwood UL32 rotors (that are dirt cheap); otherwise I have a source for 6061 forgings and going to machine my own hats as well. So much for telling everyone that OEM sport brakes are more than enough for a street car

  15. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to HarryB For This Useful Post:

    Greasemonkey2000 (04-24-2023),oldgrayleather (04-18-2023)

  16. #309
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    It's so nice to be getting into the details of what you're getting up to!

  17. The Following User Says Thank You to oldgrayleather For This Useful Post:

    HarryB (04-19-2023)

  18. #310
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power druz's Avatar
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    Yay updates! The ST42 are big but since you're making your own adapters you should be able to use whichever hats fit your rotors and build the offset into your adapters. I think FM has them for 6x6.25 (rotor bolt circle) rotors and supermiata and V8R for the 8x7 rotors.

    I just ran into a problem where my V8R stoptech kit was not fitting with my 15" SSR reverse barrels due to interference radially. Usually the problem is with the face of the calipers hitting the back of the wheel face but this was with the barrel. The RS8 use a full face reverse barrel though so that should give you some extra room to not have to deal with that issue.

  19. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to druz For This Useful Post:

    HarryB (04-23-2023),oldgrayleather (04-24-2023)

  20. #311
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Yeah, from measurements/guesstimates the radial clearance should be spot on. Most likely will machine my own hats; found some guys that sell 6061 forgings in the correct overall shape/dimensions that need a final machining, so looking into that now.

  21. The Following User Says Thank You to HarryB For This Useful Post:

    Greasemonkey2000 (04-24-2023)

  22. #312
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by druz View Post
    Yay updates!
    Funny how updates brings back so many great memories, right?

  23. #313
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Where were we?

    Seems like SuperMiata jumped on board and are offering an F88-based BBK, which makes my idea obsolete. In parallel, I got the calipers and rotors here, 3D printed placeholders for rotor hats and brackets and tested everything off the car. I have also designed (what I think to be) a pretty cool ducted dust shield, pointing cool air directly to the inside of the hat. Sadly, while close, these will not fit my current wheel setup; on to the shelf they go for now.

    Meanwhile, my rear driver damper started leaking, so I need a new suspension setup. Tecnas would be the easy button (and the sensible option given the use of the car), but I like doing things differently and making my life miserable, so I will probably go for a custom 1-piece setup from AST. Goal is a road rally kind of spec (compliant, lots of travel), that will get paired with a set of Supermiata 863 bushings I bought last year.

    Engine build is also progressing (slowly), as I am getting super distracted with every small bit. The last one was building a removable timing belt cover, so I can play around with exhaust cam timing without needing to remove the valve cover (which is already a pain, and even more so in VVT cars due to the VVT mechanism and oil feed line). This turned better than expected; will be test fitting it next week, so pictures will have to wait.

  24. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to HarryB For This Useful Post:

    atlex (02-26-2024),oldgrayleather (02-28-2024)

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