The Long Road Back

[—Bryan—]

I love the FFD DTC reps :-)

ATS DTC Comp Lites were all but unobtanium even in 2008 when the FFD's first went on the market. The first Miata I ever thought of as a muse wore a set. If I could've found a set in 15x8 without the worry that a wreck would leave me with the inability to replace a busted wheel, I'd have gone with the DTC's. As it was, I learned the hard way with my old 5Zigen FN01R-C's that if you're going to have wheels, you should make sure that they're still in production so that you can replace one or more.

[—Bryan—]

Took a long drive last night and snapped this one (with the help of a tripod and my phone's flashlight):

Quick Exposure Edit by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

[—Bryan—]

Not much has happened lately. Just been driving it mainly.

Only mods have been ripping the lower seam on the boot cover so that it will fit around the rear supports of the roll bar (looks a lot better now!) and putting in some RAAMmat that Mike (chiefmg) was nice enough to give me. We'll see if it worked once it stops raining.

Sometimes once the car is warm and has been driven for a while, I'll notice at stops an almost rattle-sound that goes away when the clutch pedal is pushed down. I notice something similar when the AC is engaged. I'm hoping it's not the stupid throw-out bearing. I honestly have no idea, but this thing is on its third clutch and the shop famously screwed up the last one (pretty sure the same shop is the reason the second clutch made it about 5-6 years). I REALLY don't want to have to tear this thing open again.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Glad you are putting miles on it.

The rattle, see if the push rod is lubed where it meets the clutch arm. If it’s dry, put a dab of grease on it.

[—Bryan—]

The rattle, see if the push rod is lubed where it meets the clutch arm. If it’s dry, put a dab of grease on it.

I'll lube it again. Only seems to be an issue after the car is warm (also when the AC is running).

Also invested a few hours and installed some RAAMmat Mike (chiefmg) had given me. Was pleasantly surprised.

[—Bryan—]

Had help from my son this afternoon. We replaced the wiper blades (because my son is NOT gonna be the guy who asks the parts desk guy to put them in, dammit) and then replaced the beltline molding on the doors. The body shop fudged the front of the molding on the driver's door, which they had partially painted to match the fender.

20220703_142031 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

I should've held that clip a little tighter...when it popped off the door, it slipped off my fingers and into the door. Ugh.

20220703_142412 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

So, I got to teach my son how to take the door panel off (I need to replace my clips...), peeled back the vapor barrier, put the window back up, and he picked the clip back out from the bottom of the door.

Job done.

20220703_144224 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

You can see how bent the original molding was. It's on the left.

20220703_144139 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

[—Bryan—]

Parts hounds...anyone know what the part number for the gasket that goes at the flange between the rear midpipe and the muffler? I'm planning to take the muffler off to do a mod (stay tuned) and need to replace the gasket while I'm in there.

[—Bryan—]

Kiddo and I tore open the car again to put RAAMmat on the floor and the package shelf. I don't have a roller, so we just used the back end of a big screwdriver.

20220709_130643 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

We cleaned out the car while we were in there, something I didn't do last time.

20220709_130652 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

Put a piece on the floor forward and aft of the seat mounts:

20220709_142513 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

Then turned our attention to the package shelf:

20220709_144721 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

We put strips on the front and top of the package shelf and on top of the fuel tank panel.

(And before anyone asks, I'm pretty sure either I or someone helping me with my rollbar install 6 years ago cut the package shelf plate. It somehow made the install easier. I don't remember why, and hadn't seen the panel in 6 years.)

I also pulled one of my wiper blade caps and replaced the sink drain cover I'd been using to cover the antenna hole:

20220709_163649 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

[HarryB]

Kudos on you Bryan. I am certain your son will really cherish these moments you spend together wrenching; I know I do.

[— Agent☣Orange —]

Same here. I'd give anything to work on cars again with my dad.

[—Bryan—]

Reflectix and foil tape just showed up.

The only thing I'm not sure about is lifting the carpet up far enough without either taking the dash out or cutting the carpet at the console.

Thoughts?

[— Agent☣Orange —]

There is one plastic pin under the heater core box that makes things more difficult but the carpet can still be pulled out by force without removing the dash. I've always cut the carpet right up the middle because it makes everything easier. I do use a few zip ties afterward and everything gets covered by the center console so the split is undetectable. Don't be afraid to double layer the insulation on the tunnel and triple the reflectix or use foam pad the driver-side floor/tunnel wall where the cat is.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Personally, I would pull the dash.

If you are taping it, don’t completely seal all the edges so any moisture can escape and not get trapped.

The best insulation I have done to all my Miatas is that sticky back DEI stuff on the underside of the trans tunnel.

You can fit it up there over the trans, with a piece of string taped to back to peel it away and press in place.

Position it more towards the driver side to shield the part where the downpipe passes near the pedal box.

I prefer to use 2 of DEI kits to cover more area. My “I did a thing” thread should have pics of that, so would my “NA6CE” thread.

I use aluminum tape on the leading edges for underside insulation, and to cover seams where the insulation is pieced in.

[—Bryan—]

I'm going to try the Reflectix and see how it works. I don't want to try sticking stuff in the tranny tunnel yet mostly because a.) I hate getting the car up that high, b.) don't look forward to trying to get stuff around the transmission because I sure as heck ain't droppin it in my garage, lol, and c.) I've got less than a week before MATG and I'll be struggling to get the interior apart for the third time before I leave.

Also: I removed the under-trunk muffler heat shield and put some DEI Reflect-A-Cool and foil tape on it. We'll see how that helps trunk temps. Top tip: if you want to remove that stupid thing, take the muffler off. Otherwise, you're gonna have to undo at least two of the hangers and shove the exhaust down enough to access the recessed bolt above the muffler.

[—Bryan—]

Pics of the heat shield job.

20220723_113157 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

Like I said that recessed bolt hole at the lower right is an absolute b**** to get to. Wish I'd have just replaced the muffler gasket and taken the exhaust completely off.

Onward!

20220723_113332 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

I didn't use this whole sheet.

20220723_115156 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

I was worried the adhesive on the sheet wouldn't be enough, so I added foil tape to the edges.

20220723_120023 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

Because I didn't get the sheet completely pressed into the recess, I just made some relief cuts and folded the stuff back into the sides. It sticks down just fine, and the small bit of open metal won't make much difference.

20220723_120640 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

Finished product. I ended up cutting the sheet roughly in half, then cutting out the portion that was scalloped out for the exhaust.

Thankfully, reinstalling the heat shield and muffler hangers was a LOT easier than getting them off!

20220725_170036 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

I'm happy to say this made an alarming difference in temps in the trunk. When I went to hockey on Monday, I was shocked to find at the rink that the trunk floor was almost cold to the touch after driving halfway across town!