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Thread: Cars, Coffee and California...

  1. #496
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Think I may have finally figured out the cause of my slow coolant leak. Since there was a lot of steam around the top, seems the Mazdaspeed radiator cap may not have been sealing well enough so topped up the fluids and put on the original radiator cap from FM. Finished up all the last prep to ensure everything was in order ahead of the Spirit Road/ Nico’s 30th anniversary cruise.


    While the hood was up remembered I hadn’t taken a picture of the shiny suspension top mounts. Small detail but nice to have shiny new nuts (but look how many more there are to replace!!!).


    Also decided while I was at it I might as well put the KINOD/ MRLS magnetic door numbers on for a change and then parked up Benny before heading out to dinner.


    The plan the next morning was to meet for Ramen in DTLA then make our way to Mullholland Highway for the drive. When Mrs. R and I showed up in the parking lot a section was already full with Miata’s spilling over onto other floors. Thankfully the rain didn’t damned anyone’s enthusiasm.




    Before heading to Mulholland we made a short detour to stop by the Toretto House and Bob’s market for a little Fast & Furious nostalgia.



    That was the last pic I took since it started pouring buckets. Enjoyed the twisties which were taken at very conservative speeds given the pools of water probably weren’t best suited for R888’s.

    All in all great to be back in the swing of Miata things…

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  3. #497
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    Great pics as usual, Pete, jelly of all the cruises. How do the R888s do in the wet and or cold(30s-40s)?
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

  4. #498
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    You guys have such an active (and nice) community there! I was wondering, since the roundels are originally destined to make car number more visible by providing a contrasting background, wouldn't it be nice re-making the KINOD/ MRLS magnetic door numbers round so to fit over the roundels themselves? Not that they look bad as is...

  5. #499
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greasemonkey2000 View Post
    Great pics as usual, Pete, jelly of all the cruises. How do the R888s do in the wet and or cold(30s-40s)?
    Well its fair to say they probably aren't the ideal tires for these conditions ;). R888's + the FM kit makes it easy to spin tires in 1st, 2nd and 3rd but that's never my M.O. on the street. This cruise was also taken at a very leisurely pace bolstered by the fact I always take it extra easy when my wife is co-piloting. Her family rolled down a hill end over end in their Jeep Cherokee when she was a kid which inherently gives her more anxiety when driving, especially up on Mulholland.

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  7. #500
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by HarryB View Post
    You guys have such an active (and nice) community there! I was wondering, since the roundels are originally destined to make car number more visible by providing a contrasting background, wouldn't it be nice re-making the KINOD/ MRLS magnetic door numbers round so to fit over the roundels themselves? Not that they look bad as is...
    I truly feel very lucky to have so many active and interested Roadster nuts close by. It's a great addition to the fantastic people I've gotten to know here but am too far away from geographically.

    Totally agree on the magnetic door cards vs utilizing the roundels. The magnets only had one size and were part of an MRLS group buy before I added the roundels. I plan on doing something better/ integrated for this year. I don't think I will go with magnets though since they really don't hold on their own and don't want to try and hold them in place with electrical tape since doing it in a circle would take forever to look decent.

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  9. #501
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Given work has deemed MR.net a site we don’t *need* to access it’s proving harder to get photo’s loaded onto Imgur and posted on to the site during lunch breaks. Finally getting a moment to get the pics up and BBC codes copied so I can update the thread which goes back to the beginning of the month.

    Rev’s custom DJR gauges really are the most special part of my tribute. They’re always in view and all the details that Adam captured are reminders to how my brother was wired. I’ve never once doubted that he wouldn’t have fully agreed with how perfect they are. Always tempting to snap a shot and since someone had specifically asked for a night shot was happy to oblige. They really mean so much to me and I couldn’t be more thankful for Adam’s talent and dedication to getting everything just right…



    A couple weekend’s ago I decided it was time to get some of the other cars out since primarily eldest son and Mrs R are the ones enjoying them regularly. One of the things I appreciate most about Berg is the subtle modifications in contrast to Benny. I’m lucky that when I was torn between the extremes that I could go both directions though I’m starting to be convinced that boost would further take advantage of the uprated handling ;).




    And in further contrast, I still absolutely appreciate the original, completely unmodified platform. I have a spare Sunburst trunk lid that I need to tidy up as the dealer installed rack is the only thing I feel needs changing right now…



    Maksim was offering up a few Road&sters that I needed to complete my collection (and provide reading for some upcoming long haul trips). Hardly surprised to see how meticulously they were (individually) wrapped for their journey to me.


    Given the continued lack of time, dropped Benny off at Integrated to get the FM radiator replaced on warrantee since the coolant leak had been tracked down to some tiny cracks on the original


    I also had a deadline since there was a Panda Project charity cruise organized on St. Patrick’s day. The cause was to raise money for Courtney’s school coach who was battling terminal cancer. Of course that hit too close to home so was excited to show up to support.

    Time for a wash-up/ fuel-up and since the weather had warmed up decided it was time to take the top off before a couple hundred mile relaxed drive. That was actually the first time I’d taken it off since I finally got it back from paint. The 80 degree weather on the day was a good reminder how bad a choice that was since AC and a hardtop’s protection from the sun is such a nice combo in the heat.


    A 5:45 wake-up call got me up and off to the first meeting point in Baldwin Park. Some coffee and donuts and instructions were dolled out and we were off just after seven. Don’t think I’ll ever get over how great it is to see the freeway taken over with a mob of Miati. Kevin and Adrian were among the 17 cars that left the first stop.


    Mike Gaite joined in Orange at the second pick-up and always it was such a pleasure to reconnect with him. His build and specifically his talents have been a huge inspiration over the years. The most exceptional details on Mike’s cars have most likely been completely designed and fabricated by him. From there we made our way down to San Celemente…





    That’s where Jon B, Alex, Vu and some other KINODers’ joined. I think at final count there was north of 30 cars that took over the parking lot.



    The last stop was San Diego but unfortunately I had to turn around to get home since I was flying to SF later Sunday night and needed a bit of time to pack and spend with the family.

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  11. #502
    Forum Sponsor revlimiter's Avatar
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    I'm hurting for a group Miata cruise. HURTING. Not sure if these pix help... but I certainly love seeing them and living vicariously.

    Beautiful as always. <3

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  13. #503
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    Adam, if you are hurting for a group Miata cruise, then I am for sure dead. Typically, the only other Miata that I am "cruising" with is headed in the other direction when we pass each other on the road.

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  15. #504
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power MLambert19's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by oldgrayleather View Post
    And in further contrast, I still absolutely appreciate the original, completely unmodified platform. I have a spare Sunburst trunk lid that I need to tidy up as the dealer installed rack is the only thing I feel needs changing right now…
    I need to find one for my 1991 Crystal White. I agree that a smooth trunk looks much better. Or a removable chrome rack added on for function on darker color cars. At least yours with rack is in nice shape, I guess mine must have had things actually strapped down at some point.

    -Matt

  16. #505
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Fingers crossed that the last of the coolant issues have been addressed. After the radiator was replaced Benny was still taking a lot of topping up after every drive. The last time was over half a liter so brought it back in to Integrated. Pressure test showed a ton of coolant coming out of the water line attached to the turbo.

    Berg passed Smog last weekend but they noted the fuel cap barely made it. Seemed reasonable for a 29 year old car so decided it was best to get a new one of each of them. Oh, and the Jada NA finally came out so was added to the die cast collection…


    With Benny back on the road it gave me the chance to finally bring Berg over to Hermes for some paint work. I’ve been looking forward to this for quite a while now. I’ve had the second Mariner hardtop along with a few other parts sat in the garage for a while waiting for the right time. Cannot wait to see it all together!

    KINOD really felt like a a reunion on Friday. It was a sad farewell to Jeo (bormugundr & Bluejay) who’s heading off on the next chapter of his life. We also had the chance to celebrate David and Nam’s birthdays but work kept me too late to be able to organize a cake. A bunch of us were hassling Woolery to come since we don’t see him often enough. Given the heightened Police sensitivities, he hasn’t been keen on driving his PitCrew so when he has shown up its mostly been in some of his other cars. Such a fantastic surprise to see that stunning PitCrew of his pull up and time pore over the details for the umpteenth time. JonB and I both enjoyed telling some of the newcomers the lengths to which David has go to make his car what it is. Nothing short of an Icon…




    Latest update were these custom center caps though like the rest of us he always says “visually I’m 100% done”… until he finds that one more small detail ;)



    Michael was there with his newly installed targa fastback from Greece which provided ample opportunity for much oogling (the working trunk and drain rails impressed). Will take pictures next time.

    Nico also dialed in my headunit which made the drive home even more enjoyable.

    Such a great night and as I’ve said so many times before, I absolutely love this tribe…

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  18. #506
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    So paint. Its one of those things that seems to take me a ton of planning and a bunch of time before I bite the bullet. I’d had a number of items accumulating for Berg since I wanted to add some more personalization to the other car. There were always choices I made with Benny where other routes were considered even if I didn’t go that direction. Really makes me feel so ridiculously lucky to be in a position to work on a couple different builds…

    A GV vented lid (my other favorite style after the one I got for Benny), a Pentagon Zoom wide view rear mirror, the second non-colour matched Mariner hardtop and a front bumper that I got from Bill Wilner that I think he got from Eddie or one of his friends. It started out as a Racing Beat bumper (have always loved the subtle shape and FD mouth) but had the TSI’s blended in and the lower vents minimized. There’s also mesh that was created for the three lower openings but haven’t decided if I’ll go that route.

    Dropped the car off ahead of a brief trip to the UK and then to Seattle before heading home which meant it would be ready for my return. Loved the updates that came via text while I was away…





    Really pleased with how it turned out. Subtle update which is exactly what I was hoping for…



    A couple days after getting back, Benny sprung another leak. FM(turbo)Life.. I’m starting to feel like my expectations that if I didn’t mess with the kit and FM installed it that it could be trouble free just weren’t realistic. New clamps which replaced the ones that failed and so far seems to be ok.


    Got the car back late last Thursday which was great since Frodo and I had a 5am wake-up call that started out with a triple espresso at a local coffee shop.


    Kevin and Nico had organized a shoot on Friday and did some scouting for local spots that could be interesting. Once I get some pics back will do a dedicated post but Frodo and I had an absolute blast and can’t wait to see some of the rolling shots since I never get to see my car in motion.




    That was a great start to a long weekend since my middle brother flew down from Vancouver so we could hang out and do a ton of driving + visiting. KINOD, Santa Monica, Palos Verdes, Malibu, etc, etc. Covered over 750 miles in the last four days in all the Miati. Since the Sunburst hadn’t been run enough and the battery drained, did a quick jump start and a long drive to get the charge on. Going to get into a better routing of making sure it doesn’t sit for weeks on end.


    So much fun sharing time and drives with loved ones. At the end of the weekend, all three cars got washed up and ready for the week ahead.

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  20. #507
    Idling - Listen to it purr... Exofuji's Avatar
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    Seattle you say?

  21. #508
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Exofuji View Post
    Seattle you say?
    My work trip meant I missed the majority of my kids' spring break so felt it better not to try and steal away any car peeps stuff from the 48 hours I spent with the boys.

    Next time for sure. Miss you cat daddy's!

  22. #509
    Idling - Listen to it purr...
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    Been keeping an eye on your thoughts on the FM CARB kit. Just bad hardware or rushed install?

  23. #510
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chanathon View Post
    Been keeping an eye on your thoughts on the FM CARB kit. Just bad hardware or rushed install?
    I think its likely a number of factors. Now that its been problem free for a while I'm back to absolutely loving it. I can't complain about FM's install. It was probably a bit distracting top have loads of onlookers asking tons of questions. Finger's crossed I hope the work that's been done since means its going to be relatively straight forward again...

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