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Thread: Cars, Coffee and California...

  1. #91
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    My birthday is Sept 15th which I totally used as an excuse for the reckless shopping sprees. I took the day off and started it out bringing Benny to Integrated Performance for a pre-MRLS tune up...

    I don’t know how I forgot to post it but for my birthday last year my eldest son drew this for me…


    After dinner my three boys gave me a box to open. Since I’d been getting so many Miata bits I really didn’t expect anything else car related. They remembered me saying that the Nardi was not great on the track given the slick finish so thought that a Prototipo would be a great addition for track days and especially before I took my first trip to MRLS!



    I absolutely love the Nardi…


    But wow, this does feel like it will be much more at home on track!



    It’s hard to pick the one wheel you’ll always have. Now the seal’s been broken but I really feel like I have my bases covered. Mrs. R encouraged me to complete the upgrade by finally ordering a pair of horn buttons so my Momo and Nardi could be perfect! (Yes, she really is the greatest!)

    These arrived, perfect presentation as always given Adam has the best customer service of anyone or company I have ever experienced.



    To me, Racing Mate was perfect for the track…



    With something more classic for the Nardi
    Last edited by oldgrayleather; 11-06-2016 at 05:15 PM.

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  3. #92
    Supporting Member Madaboutmx5s's Avatar
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    Belated Happy Birthday Pete. I hope your keeping well?

    Nice new steering wheel. I used to have a Prototipo on my silver car and it's a cool wheel. Glad your happy. As you say the wooden Mardi wheels don't feel right for track. Great nostalgic roadster feel on open roads though. You have the best of both worlds now.

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  5. #93
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Madaboutmx5s View Post
    Nice new steering wheel. I used to have a Prototipo on my silver car and it's a cool wheel. Glad your happy. As you say the wooden Nardi wheels don't feel right for track. Great nostalgic roadster feel on open roads though. You have the best of both worlds now.
    Thanks James - it's been a brilliant Miati filled fall. Not quite done with my updates but between uploading pics to imgur and reminding myself of the chronology just getting back on top of it all. As you know, your collection inspires me and has made me think it tough to realize my NA dreams with only two cars (if you can count an intentionally 100% stock Sunburst as a project ;). The idea of turning my mariner into a dual purpose car is just starting to take shape. Having adjustable coil-overs was first, then two options for the steering wheels, soon it will be the wheels once I get the new set refurbed. Short of adding a fastback, kind of tough to do too much with the exterior to make it achieve both. I am on the hunt for the narrow Zoom spoiler like this http://d5otzd52uv6zz.cloudfront.net/...bee7c6-800.jpg. That way I could have two trunk lids that support different purposes. I know there was one kicking around the UK on a Mariner a few years back, don't suppose you know what came of it?

  6. #94
    Supporting Member Madaboutmx5s's Avatar
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    I remember seeing a zoom engineering spoiler like that and know a car I think that has one: Russell with the Zoom Engineering kitted car (I think) as sure Russell bought one. Not sure if that's from the car you saw it on or not.

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  7. #95
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Madaboutmx5s View Post
    I remember seeing a zoom engineering spoiler like that and know a car I think that has one: Russell with the Zoom Engineering kitted car (I think) as sure Russell bought one. Not sure if that's from the car you saw it on or not.
    The posts I saw were from back in '12 and '13 from C-Brookie on MX5Nutz (http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.p...end+%2Bwarrior) and on DriftWorks under the name "WeekendWarrior".
    http://i47.tinypic.com/2n6t9gp.jpg

    http://www.driftworks.com/forum/drif...d-warrior.html
    http://www.driftworks.com/forum/drif...waps-only.html

    I'm guessing it's long since been parted and perhaps ended up on Russell's car.

  8. #96
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Have been behind on my updates (MRLS and JCCS Neo Classics) but felt I needed to get up an interim post.

    Friday night Mrs R and I were driving back from Santa Monica on the 90E and stopped in traffic for the onramp to the 405S when we heard tires screeching and then.. WHAM! A CRV didn't stop in time and rammed the back of the NA.




    Luckily neither of us ended up in hospital though both were shaken up and sore. Benny was still drive-able so after exchanging insurance info etc made the sad limp home .

    The trunk buckled and the whole rear end was shoved in. The lock cylinder was completely bent so had to cut my way into the trunk on Saturday to retrieve Jen's bag and my laptop. Dealing with insurance adjusters starts this week...

    Mrs R has definitely figured out the whole Miata thing. Her two comments were "atleast we weren't shunted into the car in front which would have wrecked your RSA's" and "atleast you hadn't got around to painting and installing the GV's"...



    I think "atleast" is my new favorite word.. helps put everything in context.

    Need to figure out what the path forward is but now don't have to feel as much pressure to get the SSR Mark II's refurbed.

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  10. #97
    Supporting Member Madaboutmx5s's Avatar
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    Sorry to hear about this Pete and hope you get it sorted easily enough. Really like the route of your car and modifications chosen.

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  12. #98
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    Sorry to see this. Just need to replace some parts or is there structural damage?

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  14. #99
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Madaboutmx5s View Post
    Sorry to hear about this Pete and hope you get it sorted easily enough. Really like the route of your car and modifications chosen.
    Thanks James. Dealing with insurance has been slow but it looks it's repairable. It's been hard not having the chance to work on him over the break given having the time so very much looking forward to getting back at it in 2017!

    Quote Originally Posted by Martin View Post
    Sorry to see this. Just need to replace some parts or is there structural damage?
    Thanks Martin. It's more than just the rear panel but the shop feels confident they can get what they need to get it back to as good as new. I've asked for the Lee Majors special..

    "Benny, astronaut. A Miata barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic Miata. Benny will be that Miata. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

  15. #100
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    So September started with a pretty massive buying binge probably spurned on by the inspiration of JCCS on Sept 24th. It's one of the first SoCal delights I discovered when we first moved here and have enjoyed making it an annual tradition. So much incredible old school JDM inspiration all in one place!

    Mike's beautiful NA was there to greet my son and I in the parking lot...



    And then onto the show...



    Easy to see a lot of the inspiration for many directions the NA has been taken. And the wheels.. crying shame that 4x100 is not the easiest size to find. Such a great event even if NA's aren't allowed in.. yet.

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  17. #101
    Ninja Messiah kung fu jesus's Avatar
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    Mike is good people. Glad to see him still in that car.

    That FB usually resides in the lobby of Mazda NA R&D building. Nice to see them bring it out for that event.

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  19. #102
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    Pete sorry about the highway incident in Beeny, glad yall are okay and the damage wasn't any too bad. Look forward to seeing Benny fixed and looking even better with the GV panel.
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
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  21. #103
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Next up in an exceptional Miata centric fall was my first trip to MRLS. This was the most amazing car related experience I have ever had. No small feat given early on in my career I worked closely with Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and others which lead to more unbelievable experiences than my young petrolhead brain could handle. The difference? This community.. The fun and comradery of roadtripping 359 miles with the KINOD convoy of fellow Miata nuts and friends was a blast. Part of the crew met at Kirspy Kreme at 4:15am but since it was the wrong direction for me (and damned early) I joined for the traditional breakfast stop at IHOP in Santa Barbara. After fueling up our cars and ourselves we set off on the 101 until San Luis Obispo where we joined the 1 and made our way to Morro bay for a fill up. There were such amazing views of the geography and the sight of a whole gang of Miata’s taking over the freeway. We arrived at the hotel in time for the BBQ where it was fantastic to see some new cars and finally meet some of the Bay Area crew I’d connected with here as well as a group that made the trek down from Oregon and Washington!

    Early the next day we got to the track for the briefing ahead of getting some lap time in. I’d only ever seen Laguna Seca on TV or through GranTurismo/ Forza but being on it with all these other roadsters was unbelievable. Over 900 participants and 700 cars made it this year. Mazda know how to run an amazing event and showed the red NA from the 89 Chicago autoshow as well as the millionth Miata and the ND-RF. There was a dinner the first night and I got to meet and chat with Tom Matano. Finally back to the hotel for drinks and perhaps a bit too much carrying on.

    Given we had the long drive back I didn’t track on Sunday but started the day off with a couple friends for an early morning jaunt on the amazingly scenic 17 mile drive around Pebble Beach before having a fantastic breakfast at The Little Swiss Face in Carmel. We went back to the track for a couple hours of visiting before saying our farewells and setting off. On the way back we took the 101 but three of us cut over onto the 198 for some awesome canyoning before jumping on the 5 for the final stretch. Landed at home, completely spent, and with the biggest smile on my face. I cannot wait for Oct 7th and 8th to come around!

















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  23. #104
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! benpopham's Avatar
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    Wow, what an event!

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  25. #105
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Thinking I'd been thoroughly spoiled on the Roadster front over the last month I was reminded that Mazda's ND drive event was the next weekend in the Orange County great park. I'd seen the car at the LA Auto show and later checked it out at the local dealership. Sadly test drives were only with the slush box so didn't see any point. Besides, am regularly reminded we have too many cars and no space for any more (note to self: start exploring storage options/ reconfiguring the garage to accommodate. hmm, win-win with a stackable lift? ;).

    Anyways, Sunday the 9th I got up early to check it out. Mazda put on a great event - cool to see the 50/50 stock/Race model before the acceleration/ brake testing (goaded on by Mazda's co-pilot to try and spin the tires and see how good the brakes really were), the slalom course (enjoyable but really highlighted how great my Xida's are.. didn't expect them to be so much better than what a 25 year newer car had!!) and then a chance to take it around their autocross track.





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