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Thread: My 1995 Brilliant Black NA8C Build Thread

  1. #1
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    My 1995 Brilliant Black NA8C Build Thread

    Many of you already know my other car : 96-BRG.
    https://mazdaroadster.net/showthread...C-Build-Thread

    I've recently been lucky enough to acquire another NA8. This time, it's a 1995 NA8C in brilliant black. Funnily enough, this is the same car that my friend purchased when I went with him back in 2016. Skip to 9:15 in the video to see the car



    When he purchased it back in October 2016, the car had 170,000kms on the dot. The previous owner had looked after it and it was very clean, with all original paint, no rust and it drove quite well. Fast forward to today and the car has only traveled another 3,000kms in just over 3 years. The car simply wasn't getting driven and it got to a point where my friend just decided to sell it. He had a few plans for it but things such as planning for a wedding and life in general got in the way before his vision came to fruition. I decided to buy it from him.

    He did do some things though, the car came with the following:

    - Upgraded headlamps to Cibie Headlamps
    - OEM soft top removed (in storage)
    - OEM hard top with demister, professionally resprayed in brilliant black with all new rubbers
    - 14" Enkei RPF1 (14x7 +19)
    - Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec Tyres (185/60/R14)
    - 949 Racing Forged Lug Nuts
    - Pioneer Headunit with Bluetooth
    - Garage Vary Front Lip (never put on car, still brand new)

    The rest is all stock standard, including the motor. The engine is still 100% factory with zero modifications done. And IT HAS A/C! If you know what our summers are like here in Australia, A/C is very much a necessity. I love 96-BRG but I do wish sometimes it had A/C. Now, I can drive this instead for those crazy hot Australian summer days!

    The car itself still needs a bit of love. It's not perfect. Shifter needs a rebuild, power windows are slow, the dash isn't 100%, the centre console has a tacky leather wrap on the lid, the stock seats have been re-covered with some cheap (and very grippy) leather which doesn't feel very nice, and a few other things. In all honesty, it just requires a tidy up with a bit of elbow grease.

    My intentions at this stage is to restore the car with all brand new OEM everything, trying to mimic the Japanese restoration program they have for the MX-5's in Japan, where they refresh all the old parts with brand new OEM parts. However, parts such as wheels, suspension and brakes/brakepads I will still opt to get from specialists rather than going OEM pads, OEM brake discs etc etc. It just doesn't make sense to me doing that. The interior though will be kept OEM, refreshing parts with brand new Mazda OEM bits.


    1995 NA8C sitting on Enkei RPF1's in 14x7+19, wrapped in Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec tyres in 185/60/R14.







    Getting used to her new home.



    Engine bay. Stock as a rock.



    New shoes coming out of storage. Still torn on which set to rock. Both look great on the Black NA8 and I like the look of both too...




    A new project for 2020. Can't wait to see how this is going to turn out! Should be fun!
    Last edited by BRGNA8; 01-20-2020 at 05:49 PM.

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    dnaha (02-04-2020),Greasemonkey2000 (01-20-2020),HarryB (01-20-2020),JamieH (01-20-2020),MaRcOp01o (01-20-2020),MikeA (03-13-2020),oldgrayleather (02-04-2020),tsingson (01-20-2020),vote4pedro (01-20-2020)

  3. #2
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    I was scanning through the post without really reading and I was like "Whoa! Those wheels are really wide!" Then I read the post.

    Awesome wheels! I would trade my RPFs for a set of those in a heartbeat.

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    BRGNA8 (01-21-2020)

  5. #3
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! MaRcOp01o's Avatar
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    Well hell yeah man!! so happy to see you got another Roadster I know this will be a great build!!!

    Best part is my Eunos is an S-Special and I also have the BRG so now I have inspiration for both.
    Follow the Builds
    1993 Eunos Roadster B-spec by Mazdaspeed
    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....819#post222819
    1993 Mazda Miata LE
    https://mazdaroadster.net/showthread...233#post244233

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  7. #4
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! LagBlu's Avatar
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    Congratulations and good luck with the car. It looks clean in the pictures.
    Love the look with both wheels. I'm looking forward to the next posts.

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    BRGNA8 (01-21-2020)

  9. #5
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Looking forward to this one. I'm biased towards black NAs.

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    BRGNA8 (01-21-2020)

  11. #6
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tsingson View Post
    I was scanning through the post without really reading and I was like "Whoa! Those wheels are really wide!" Then I read the post.

    Awesome wheels! I would trade my RPFs for a set of those in a heartbeat.
    Hahaha I'm guilty of doing that too LOL! Thing is, I have RS Watanabe's already on 96-BRG so might keep the RPF1's on for a little bit just to mix it up a bit, but yes, agreed. I'm a massive fan of Watanabe's if you havent already noticed

    Quote Originally Posted by MaRcOp01o View Post
    Well hell yeah man!! so happy to see you got another Roadster I know this will be a great build!!!

    Best part is my Eunos is an S-Special and I also have the BRG so now I have inspiration for both.
    Thanks man!

    Quote Originally Posted by LagBlu View Post
    Congratulations and good luck with the car. It looks clean in the pictures.
    Love the look with both wheels. I'm looking forward to the next posts.
    Cheers mate. Its clean. Body is straight and paintwork just needs a good detail. Clay bar, wax and polish and it should come out a million bucks. I have a love/hate relationship with the colour black. When it's clean and shiny, it's probably one of the sexiest, sometimes classiest of colours, however, as soon as there's even a tiny dust storm or a light drizzle of rain, it looks like ass

    Quote Originally Posted by JamieH View Post
    Looking forward to this one. I'm biased towards black NAs.
    I'm using your build thread as inspiration too Jamie! Part of the reason why I bought this one if I'm totally honest!

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    JamieH (01-21-2020)

  13. #7
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BRGNA8 View Post
    I'm using your build thread as inspiration too Jamie! Part of the reason why I bought this one if I'm totally honest!
    Aww gee, thanks!



    I hope I inspire good things then!

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    BRGNA8 (02-07-2020)

  15. #8
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! dnaha's Avatar
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    Absolutely love you BRG build (a huge inspiration for my 97 M-Edition build) and now I can't wait to see how this one goes. The detail you go into is amazing!
    Follow My Build Thread!
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    1997 Mazda Miata M-Edition
    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....1997-M-Edition
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    On Instagram: @97NA8M

  16. #9
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift oldgrayleather's Avatar
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    Very glad this roadster has found the right custodian.. cannot wait to see where this build goes!

  17. #10
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    ...and so it begins...

    I've been updating on my Instagram page (IG handle : 95NA8C) but its always better to give a proper, more comprehensive review on a platform such as MazdaRoadster as this will not only serve as a tool for others who may be looking to go down the same path as I am with my roadster, but also a log of what has been done with a timestamp of sorts.

    The car came with an aftermarket alarm which I was determined to get rid of. Not only was it not working anymore, but it was an absolute eyesore in the engine bay, along with that charcoal canister. Out they came.




    All the crap that came out. I removed the auto door lock mechanism from inside the door and also decided to remove the OEM speakers which was great back in 1995 but doesnt quite cut it in 2020.




    It was now time to install the Tein Flex Z coilovers. The car needed a drop badly and I managed to get these off Zico as he was getting rid of these to make way for his Tein Monosports. This car probably won't ever get tracked so a nice, simple street coilover such as this would do the trick.




    Car jacked up, ready for its new suspension. I decided to fit the Watanabe's and put them on the car. I also had a visitor come by to give me a hand installing the coilovers. Hi Zico!



    [


    New hardware was also going to be installed. Brand new OEM NB Camber bolts, lower suspension bolts with washer, nut and top mount nuts.









    Last edited by BRGNA8; 03-13-2020 at 08:27 AM.

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  19. #11
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Time to remove the dashboard. Ever since Zico did a full HVAC overhaul on his NA8, it inspired me to basically do the same (and I've earmarked to do this to 96BRG as well). So, with that, out comes the dash. Needed to remove the tombstone and everything associated with it.




    Dash out. Look at all that dirt!






    I was surprised that when I took the doorcard off on both doors to remove the central locking module, the driver side door did not have the plastic sheet and it was just covered in the sticky, black goo which usually holds the plastic in place.



    Passenger side was still intact.




    Slowly piling up...



    Organising the parts for later.


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  21. #12
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Cleaning time!

    I don't know about you, but for me cleaning is something which I find quite therapeutic. It sucks while you're doing it (especially if theres a lot of it to get through), but afterwards there's a sense of accomplishment knowing that the years of built up dirt and crap is now gone and really does become a clean, blank slate.

    The door cards were removed and the sticky residue holding the plastic was still there. I read somewhere that WD40 is the best for removing this goo. Sure enough, it did the trick. It wasn't easy though, as it took almost an hour or so per door to remove everything and to have it completely removed. The results speak for themselves.

    Before:





    After:






    The rear garnish is an area which always had buildup of dirt inside. Not only that, I suspected that the rear tail lamp gaskets had never been replaced. Sure enough, it looked like I was right. So whilst in the process of cleaning all this, decided to take it off and properly give a good once over and replace the tail lamp gaskets.



    Gasket had seen much better days.



    Result.



    New gasket installed.




    The boot got the same treatment. There was dirt and dust buildup everywhere. Decided to take everything out of the boot (battery included) and give everything a wipe down.





    The battery metal brackets appeared to have oxidised and rusted in some parts.



    Small surface rust. Will need to fix this ASAP...



    One clean boot.




    Carpets also got a full steam clean and vacuum. Back to being minty fresh! The main heater unit will be replaced soon with an NB unit and aluminium heater core. I'll also need to take off the blower and give that a proper refresh with new foam and as I will be keeping the A/C in this car, I'll need to have it de-gassed so that I can take the blower out, then re-gassed with R134A refrigerant.


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  23. #13
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Whilst I intend on having this be a majority OEM build, I'm not going too far to the point where I'm using OEM Mazda ignition leads for example, or OEM Mazda brakepads or discs etc. There are certain things which I feel aftermarket is better than OEM. Things like coilovers, ignition leads, spark plugs, etc. You can be as anal as you want when you do these kinds of restorations but for me, I don't need to be that crazy.

    I realised just how much stuff I have hoarded whilst building up 96BRG. There were a surplus of parts/spares that I had so these came in handy. Now that I have a second NA to play with, I can put these parts to use.


    Whilst the dash was out, I decided to take off the full AC unit and give the AC panel a refresh.



    New panel.





    New A/C Button.






    Brand new black RS-Watanabe lug nuts to match the 14x6.5 +14.5 RS-Watanabe wheels.






    Brand new OEM Mazda door plastics.




    Spare set of Mazdaspeed green ignition leads. I have not tried these out yet so not sure how good they will be, but quietly confident they should be ok.






    Brand new OEM coolant hoses with Maruha stainless lower radiator pipe. These will come in handy once I do a cooling system overhaul.




    ARC air intake. I also have a spare ARRIVE intake pipe somewhere but couldn't find it. Plan is to run this ARC air intake and then have the ARRIVE intake pipe powercoated in black.




    Royal Clover Pole Position key along with a brand new OEM Mazda key. Once I put everything back together and it's working, I'll cut these.




    NGK Iridium Spark Plugs. First service part of many to come.




    Brand new OEM crashpad, thanks to Zico.




    OEM parts!



    More OEM parts!


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  25. #14
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! MaRcOp01o's Avatar
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    This was so so satisfying to read through I didn't want it to end.

    The Eunos needs this, when I get some time and save up a little I will be sure to follow in your foot steps haha.
    Follow the Builds
    1993 Eunos Roadster B-spec by Mazdaspeed
    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....819#post222819
    1993 Mazda Miata LE
    https://mazdaroadster.net/showthread...233#post244233

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  27. #15
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    I am so happy to see that black goo gone. I have been looking for something to clean it off and now I know something that works for sure. I will be doing mine soon now. I can't wait to read what is coming next!

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    BRGNA8 (03-14-2020)

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