Finally finished school! I can now say I have graduated from college! Been busy for the last couple of weeks, but let's continue the story of Jazz shall we?
After installing the headlight lid and TSIs, the right headlight went out. I thought..."uh oh, did I mess something up?" Nope, the bulb just went out. =P I also happened to had talked with a few friends who suggested eventually upgrading to H4 headlight housings in the future. Hmm...how timely right?
Picked up a set of Hella H4 housings and headlight bulbs.
Hella H4 headlights and bulbs.
Stock on left, H4 on right w/H4 bulb.
Even just the headlights look better.
Comparing light output:
Stock
H4 headlights (taken before I aimed the headlights)
Last edited by speedypenguin; 05-15-2013 at 06:53 PM.
Nice to see that you keep your car waxed which is evident by the beads of water on the bumper cover! Keep it up!
Thanks maharaj! Nothing fancy, just "Wash'n'wax" car wash soap...I have clay barred Jazz a couple of times, but never a full wash-clay bar-polish-wax process. Now that I'm done with school for the near future, hopefully Jazz and I can have some quality catch-up time.
So soon after Jazz got his vented headlight lid and TSIs painted, my friend said he was selling his Sparco seat. Specifically, a Sparco Sprint V. Being 6'0", I had always wanted an aftermarket bucket seat, but they are decently expensive (at least for a college student). I had wanted a Sparco Sprint V because it is FIA-spec approved (not sure of the technical term), but I would have to buy the seat, mount, and slider, and I couldn't afford that.
Well, long story short, there was someone who was selling a Sparco Sprint V in our local forum, but my friend managed to snatch it before I could get to it. Probably a good thing, because I couldn't justify spending that much money at that time. Then...a few months later, my friend let me know that he and his family were expecting another child...so he asked if I would be interested in purchasing the seat...of course I said yes! He offered it to me at a price I could not refuse.
Sparco Sprint V, mounted on Sparco sliders and Good-Win racing seat mount.
Because racecar.
I love this seat. It fits me perfectly (woot for being slim and skinny haha), and I sit a little bit lower than stock. I find the seat perfect for daily driving, both for commuting and occasional spirited canyon runs. Plus the seat looks great too.
Very cool.
Congrats on graduating! I am sure you feel light a weight has been lifted off of your shoulders. Jazz is coming along great man!
Thank you sir. It's been great thus far, people have told me I look much happier after finishing college.
So...continuing with my sporadic updates...
Jazz didn't come up with sill plates, so I picked up some basic sill plates. Little touch, but looks nice.
Before
After
Then, I added a pair of Flyin Miata frame rail reinforcements. I was browsing CL and saw an auto shop post up a crashed NA, and saw these on the bottom of that car. Picked these up for a steal.
And finishing this post with one more pic of Jazz after a quick wash. This was taken back in February...haven't taken pictures of him in a long time. I've since added a few little touches here and there, which I will post in more updates.
I like the sill plates, they work well with your car. Congratulations on graduating! Now comes the fun of 40+ hour work weeks.
Thanks! Yeah...looking for jobs now, but also enjoying the "freedom" of no school/work for a bit...
Been awhile since my last update...main reason I was busy, busy, busy...but! I've finished school and graduated! Since then, I've been enjoying life and also been kinda slow with uploading photos...hehe. Anyways! Last week, my fraternity and I biked down from the SF area to LA. Yes biked. Trip took a week, and I ended up taking my car down as a support car when I wasn't riding. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up: getting the opportunity to go on a mini road trip with my car along Highway 1, which is an amazing stretch of road, especially along the coast (Big Sur area and onwards). It was driving heaven, and Jazz was the perfect companion! Pretty sure he had as much fun, if not more fun zipping up and down along those magnificent twisties.
Since my last post, I decided to get a set of blue Ryoku Rob tow hooks, and boy I'm glad I did. I had a red tow hook, which was nice...but the blue set looks so much nicer...and I've got a sort of "black and blue" theme with the car. Y'know...blue tow hooks, blue shift knob, the blue on the Nardi horn button, and recently Project-G shift/e-brake boots with blue stitching [I'll take pics of the boots for a future post). I've also picked up a set of mudflaps, and love how they look and how functional they are (saves having to clean dirt of the bumper). But here are some pics of my fun drive down the coast with Jazz.
Heading down a great driving road.
Love the mudflaps.
Oh hi there.
Dat bluee.
"The hills are alivee...with the sound of 4-cylinder-ricer-exhaust-noise"
My favorite angle of the car. (Also, for the astute observer, I finally fixed my gas cap! Only took me a year to fix it...No more silly looking, unlocked fuel lid!)
Say cheese.
One of my most favorite shots that I've ever shot, both of Jazz and in general.
All dirty. hehe and double sunshade application ftw (need to, because it gets so hot...)
I'll take pics of the new Project-G shift and e-brake boot that Jazz has now. Since I ended up in SoCal, I also took the opportunity to stop by Project-G. Great guys! And awesome cars...*drool* Also, I decided to fully detail the car by myself this past week: wash, clay bar, polish (rotary buffer), and wax/seal. Paint is all glossy now...will take pics soon. Till next time...
So jealous . . . that is such a beautiful drive. And a road trip with the fraternity brothers? That will be one you will tell your grand kids about (the edited version, of course ). Black with subtle touches of blue . . . that is very cool. I bet you wear your sunglasses inside just to feel cool . . . and get nothing but respect. This is definitely one of my favorite threads. Keep it coming.
I really love the ethos of this build thread. Your mods are mostly simple and humble, but each give a major bit of character to your car. I absolutely love everything about Jazz.
P.s. I'm glad I'm not the only person that's given his Miata a silly name.
Oh and P.s.s. I also do the double sun visor thing. It's stupid hot in Houston Tx.
My build thread and my Instagram.
Wow, I really like this car.. Those five zigen wheels didn't look half bad but this car really pulls off the 6ul's on star specs..
I'll be checking up on this from time to time
Oh you fanccyyyy
99' White NB
96' Black NA
Thanks Dandy. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Thank you for the compliment.
Thank you sir. I think Jazz reflects my personality...seems like he is doing so correctly. Both Jazz and I are humbled by your compliment.
Thanks man! Yeah...I know 6UL's are so "common" on Miatas, and I would like to have another set of wheels to change it up...but you're right. Something about 6ULs is just so...right.
Ooh y'knowwwww.
So it's been awhile since my last update...so here it is! As I mentioned, I acquired a shift boot and e-brake boot from Project-G. Props to Project-G for offering tasteful additions for our cars, and the quality of the material is top notch. Glad I made the decision to install them in Jazz. Little touches, but makes the interior feel classier.
Project-G leather e-brake boot with blue stitching.
Project-G leather shift boot with blue stitching.
Subtle, but classy touches.
I also am fortunate to acquire one of Retromodern's products. Thanks Ken. So...goodbye cigarette lighter.
Retromodern aluminum cigarette lighter plug.
I also was able to find some stainless steel door sill plates. I've always wanted these, so even though the black sill plates looked great...I just had to jump on the opportunity for these new sill plates. And for a really good price!
Since those additions...I also acquired some center wheel caps for my Gen-I 6ULs and Garagestar oil cap from a fellow Bay Area miata owner (he had a MASSIVE garage sale recently, so many rare parts...*drool*). I'll take pics of those soon.
Oh, and also a couple weeks ago, a group of Bay Area miata owners/friends gathered at Treasure Island near San Francisco to have a photoshoot. I'll post pics from that photoshoot soon as well.
Last edited by speedypenguin; 06-30-2013 at 04:16 PM.