Cars, Coffee and California...

[oldgrayleather]

brushed ild matches perfect with the brushed airfoil. id considered polishing my airfoil to match the fuel lid, but didnt want to kill the og finish

Thanks Bo and yet again for your help! xo

[— Madaboutmx5s —]

Looks great Pete. Top quality work as usual. I like the centre panel as is.

i guess the question is what next?

[oldgrayleather]

i guess the question is what next?

Thanks my friend. As I think you know, always still dreaming of a set of Hayashi headlights ;).

I do have some more parts coming in a container that hasn’t left Japan yet and no fixed date. Not in a major rush as there’s three things in particular I’ve been searching for a while now so a matter of a couple more months isn’t that big a deal. Expecting that’s when an actual repaint is needed so everything matches.

[lucmor444]

Great new addition. Looking forward to seeing what else is coming,

If you tire of the spoiler happy to be placed on the wait list

[MiataQuest]

Hello Pete,
Looks great and it appears to be in excellent condition!

I was the other forum member that bought the spoiler with the Dunlop sticker.
Originally I wanted an APR wing but I thought the A-Spec Type II wing was the perfect compromise to have a wing that would look good with the hardtop off.

On the Ecotec Facebook page one of the guys had a MazdaSpeed wing on his car and said that it would bow in the center during high speed runs at the track. (He sent me a picture) This causes cracks near the base. He suggested that I add a support in the middle to improve functionality and to protect it from cracks if I drove my car at serious speeds. He also stated that the MazdaSpeed wing was very functional.

Love your build!

[oldgrayleather]

Mrs. R is still trying to see if there are any aftermarket wheels that could coax her into veering off her strict OEM only approach. You never know, that *could* just be the first crack in the dam. The fact she thinks wheels could improve the looks is a huge step from where she’s been. Now don’t get me wrong, I truly love our Sunburst but it really was in need of something. Even just a little something…



Thanks to a posting from JK (vote4pedro) I was able to turn an idea into an action plan! Still 100% OEM (atleast in Japan) but a chance to add a really nice detail to the stock daisies…



On top of that, the paint wasn’t in great shape on the front driver’s side wheel so I had to replace atleast one already, right?




Honestly? I really love the difference these make. Now just need to decide if I should take that one extra step and add some 25mm spacers just to enhance the fitment. I mean, if you can’t see it at all, it could still effectively represent OEM, right?


I hope you’re all gearing up for a fantastic Memorial day long weekend!

[Greasemonkey2000]

I like the center caps, Pete! I personally think a flush wheel setup is always the right answer with a tad amount of poke being acceptable on most cars.

[speedypenguin]

Leave as-is with the Eunos daisy caps. Think a full set of Eunos badging would complement the Eunos daisy caps perfectly.

[MaRcOp01o]

Well Mazdaspeed parts are technically factory. *cough*

[— Madaboutmx5s —]

Looks good Pete, colour code and fit a front lip too!

[Cxmoney]

this build really inspires me. just went through every page from beginning to end. all i can hope for is that my new build will be half as good as this one!!

[oldgrayleather]

this build really inspires me. just went through every page from beginning to end. all i can hope for is that my new build will be half as good as this one!!

And glad to see you're back in an NA and watching your build come together. Looks like you have plenty of boxes that I'm sure are filled with fantastic things!

[oldgrayleather]

Just like clockwork.. another Friday, another great KINOD gathering. Such a fantastic group of people and a most excellent way to start a long weekend. Then some time on Saturday night Kevin sent out a text thread to organize a Labor Day morning cruise up “GMR”. I’d never driven that route but the chance for an early morning drive with some fellow Roadsters sounded like an inspired idea. The road also looked like it had enough corners to ensure some fun!



I left home at 6:30 and we met for a caffeine fuel up at a Starbucks on Route 66..



12 cars made it.. I particularly loved that Shinobu brought his dad with his new RF after he passed down his NB (and no, not because I have any aversion to being one of the only older guys ;).




Taking Glendora Mountain Road up we took it easy as we were sharing the road with a ton of cyclists tackling their own hill climbs before the day’s heat set in. Far too reckless to drive hard with that many bikes and blind corners and besides, the track is really the only place I’d ever push it.

The views were spectacular…


Met up with some other petrolheads of the more “straight line” variety ;)



I didn’t really get many pics as usual but I always appreciate looking at Vu’s immaculately clean NB…



Ended with a fill up ahead of another week at the zoo but being thankful there had been a healthy dose of Roadster over the Labor Day weekend…

[MaRcOp01o]

Man looks like some cool cars and people made it! Also that road has been added to my list for when I visit.

[oldgrayleather]

At the end of August I had the true pleasure of yet another face to face encounter with an MRNet connection as Roadster7, Mrs. Roadster7 and wee Roadster7-ette were holidaying in Southern California. Beyond a couple meals and a delightful sunset stroll along the beach of course one of the priorities was making the pilgrimage to KINOD. I always delight seeing fellow MRNetters meeting for the first time and given Garrett and JonB’s post count (check it out if you haven’t already, truly is quite astonishing) they along with others have built some real connections over the years.

I can’t recount all the great Roadster and life conversations we had and once I get off my lazy arse I should have some other exciting Roadster7 related news to share. For now, I do have some of his amazing pictures to share since he brought along his old school camera with real film in it and everything…











Yes Bill, it is a functional exhaust port, honest…




I also had to take a couple potato pics of Domo’s 13” Sharks. I actually think this spec and color combo would be exquisite on the Sunburst. Two sets of Sharks may sound a bit greedy and even too much of a good thing but we shall see. Its not like these come up all that often in 4x100…



And to close, an interior pic that captures the depth and power of Adam’s DJR tribute gauges. The closest I’ve seen to the impact they have on me each and every time I’m behind the wheel…