Sharka

[—Bryan—]

Does that JoyFast piece actually work?

[★ revlimiter ★]

Moti and I talked at length about the seatbelt thing. He's got a lot of experience with them.

If your seatbelt is grey and feels "dry" then no solution will work for getting it to retract properly. You can fiddle all you want and buy all manner of items (my NB has the Bossfrog seatbelt things and it didn't change much) but nothing will help if the natural lubrication is gone from the belts. You know that sort of sheen that newish belts have? That's what helps them go around a corner and retract.

Getting a set of new belts from Mazda is the best way to make them retract properly. Not to take anything away from the Joyfast seatbelt extenders. Those look fantastic.

[Jeffbucc]

When I had my seat belts out of the car I took my steam cleaner to them and a boars hair brush and washed about 25 years of barf worthy crap out of them. Just gotta extend them all the way and then use some vice grips to keep them from retracting, then lay ehm out on the cement/driveway. They were nice and silky smooth after I was done and retract like new now. Just be careful to dilute your degreaser and not scrub too hard. I was surprised(although I shouldn't have been) how much gunk came pouring out.

[★ revlimiter ★]

I may have to try that! Thanks for the excellent idea.

[★ revlimiter ★]

I have a new shiny part in Sharka's tombstone. Well... some of it is shiny. My new Retro HVAC Plate.


Just shiny enough.


Sharka's tombstone. I've spent far too much time thinking about this particular panel. It's coming together nicely.


Really happy with this.

[treeafodo]

The plate fits in really well with the rest of Sharka's interior.

[— Phatmiata —]

looks fantastic !! This is the true definition of a "Classic" NA Miata

[—atank—]

Very Nice!!!!!!!

[★ revlimiter ★]

What is it the kids say? "Been a minute since my last post"? Something like that.


BOOM. Blackbird appears!!!

I've had this bar installed for nearly 2 months. Sharksgiving and holiday sales kept me from putting a blog post together till now. I am learning to hate and fear the holidays. Sales are nice, but so is not having 2 months of my year evaporate like acetone.

Acetone evaporates quickly for those who didn't know.

Anyways, I've wanted a Blackbird Fabworx bar since forever ago. Since Moti started selling them. Since before then. Hell, since July 2000 when I first drove Sharka home.



I got the NB model with integrated harness bar and relocated belt guide holders. The GT3 with the X brace and gussets was calling to me, chanting "buy me!" Sharka would look over my shoulder as I browsed google pix of Moti's amazing tube-based artwork. He liked the bar. Every time we went for a drive, I'd hear about the rollbar. I'd hear how he NEEDED a new one. All the cool kids had them, apparently. All of his online friends. Sharka didn't want to be left out.

It might come as a surprise, but Sharka isn't especially subtle about anything. I learned that he wanted something other than black when I came out to find the little guy had tried to cover his HD rollbar in duct tape. I was like "WTF Sharka" and was told that he really wanted to try silver and I should be happy that he didn't use up a roll of expensive foil tape. And I should also be happy that he didn't desecrate Bucky's rollbar while he was at it.

One night, I woke up to find a badly hand-crafted rollbar statue made out of straws and ratchets laying on the bedside table. And let me emphasise how badly it was made. Sharka isn't much for crafts, especially what with not having hands.

At least it wasn't a horse head.

The day finally came. I called Moti. I got a bar on order. About 3 weeks later, it arrived. No one was more excited than Sharka. The little guy humped everything that came within 50 feet for a fortnight. I had to park Bucky outside to keep the night antics to a minimum and the green paint as un-scratched as possible.


Out came the old rollbar. I stripped off as many interior panels as I could. That's really the key - not having to work around parts.


The harness bar that started it all.


This little tool is worth buying. I got it at Harbor Freight. They call it a "Panel clip pliers" and charge like $7 for it.


In action.


Zero damage. I’ve used various tools for this over the years – a bent fork, a screwdriver with a slot in it, a pair of screwdrivers twisted together, my fingers, swearing, and teeth. Nothing else is as easy or damage-free as this little carpet pliers.

Even Sharka didn't complain about this tool. No blood sacrifice was required. Usually a new tool seems to require blood before it will work. Or rather, before that tool will be allowed to touch Sharka. He's got standards. He just wants me to bleed before, during, and after wrenching on him. To a Miata, that is apparently a common courtesy like saying thank you or covering your mouth before sneezing.


All bolts exposed.


HD rollbar gone.


Everyone needs air tools. They not only speed any job along, they also help keep the blood sacrifice to a minimum.


The silver bar set in the car for the first time.


None of the holes lined up. 0.0% of them. I didn't expect them to, but I wanted them to.

Fortunately, I have a large collection of uni-bits. I opened up every hole slightly and had no problems getting the bar in. I did trim away a bit more of the rear tray to get the drill into Sharka's dark crevasses.

Sharka was brave about the cutting. The screaming could only be heard a few miles away and the cops only stopped by twice. I call that a win.


Look at these beauties! The Blackbird end plates are rounded on the edges. That limits the blood-letting even further. I actually don't think I bled a single drop on this install.

Seriously. Rounded corners!!! I'm still amazed at small details like this.


Main hoop plate installed


Rear leg plate installed. It TOUCHES the frame on the side. Such perfect tolerances. So awesome.


Look at how tight that is. And the bar is further back than my old HD bar. The stock side latches would probably work with no problem.

Another feature of the Blackbird GT3: Everything was square and lined up perfectly. No leg hovered above the frame a few millimetres. Nothing seemed skewed. The same couldn't be said of the HD bar. The rear leg on the driver's side floated above the frame. I had to take up the space with a little sheet metal. I assumed it was Sharka's fault and he wasn't quite perfect in the frame department. Nope! The GT3 lined up just right.


Look at THAT! The plastic cover fits. The seat belt swivels. It's fantastic.


Installed. Nothing left to do but put the interior panels back in.

Sharka became strangely quiet. I think I heard purring at one point. Nothing like new parts to quiet the raving maniac.

We went out for a photo drive.







Yes. That's the good stuff. I love everything I see here.

As for the silver powdercoat... it's growing on me. I wasn't sure at first, but after seeing it for two months, I'm pretty used to it. Still. It might turn black this summer when it warms up again. I'm undecided. But I'm sure Sharka will tell me what to do about it in no uncertain terms.

I should hide the black tape before he goes through a half dozen rolls...









The rollbar works with the seats quite well. No contact is made anywhere and both seats slide fully. It feels a lot more substantial back there.

It actually weights 11 lbs less than the HDHCDD that it replaced. I did the bathroom scale test. 11 lbs less on the nose. That's pretty sweet.

Also, the whole car feels more solid. There's a marked decrease in NVH. The rearview doesn't shake anymore. I was amazed to notice that. Driving home from work, I was able to spot a cop waaaaaaaaaay back on the road behind me. I've always had to use my side mirrors to make out objects and other cars while driving. Now my rearview is usable again.

I asked Moti about this to see if I was just imagining things. He was not surprised that vibration would be less.


Check out that rear view. It looks like that at 65 also. No shakes.

And sharp eyes might have noticed a lack of padding on the rollbar. I only drove it this once without the padding. I went back home and stuck on the Harddog formed SFI padding. It fits perfect.





I have plans to make a nice leather rollbar cover. Not sure if I'll do a quilted pattern on it. Really, I just want something to cover the main hoop that isn't electrical tape. I had black tape on the HD rollbar for 14 years. It's time for an upgrade.

The Scorecard

Build Quality: Perfect. It fits perfectly. I’m amazed at how well it fits. A+

Kit Completeness: I lacked nothing. Every bolt, every backing plate, and great instructions – I had all of these. A+

Installation: Pretty simple. There weren’t any tricky parts. It’s at least as easy as most rollbars to install, but it’s a lot more involved than a style bar. I’d give it an A for easiness when compared to other rollbars and a C+ for installation ease compared to an average afternoon project.

Function: This is the whole reason I got the bar. I wanted a rollbar with an integrated harness bar. I wanted to not die on the track. I wanted a functional seatbelt retractor. And, while I can’t crash-test this bar without harming my car somewhat, I’m very happy with the function of it so far. It gets an A.

Style: Completely subjective, as always. I chose this model because of the style. And, in person, I think the GT3 looks every bit as good as the photos online. It’s gorgeous, solid, and purposeful. A+

Overall: Well worth an A grade.

[theothersawyer]

I am sitting in class reading this and had to hold back my audible laughter. That was a good read! It looks great!

[— Phatmiata —]

Looks good, thanks for pointing out the rear view vision, those 2 triangles look like they would take away more rear vision. I am guessing since the cross section is lower it does not effect the vision as much.

[★ revlimiter ★]

I am sitting in class reading this and had to hold back my audible laughter. That was a good read! It looks great!

Thanks! I had a good time writing it. I just listened to the voices in my head.

Looks good, thanks for pointing out the rear view vision, those 2 triangles look like they would take away more rear vision. I am guessing since the cross section is lower it does not effect the vision as much.

The center sits a lot lower than I expected. There's a ton of room to see through the top of the X. Pretty awesome.

[— Willywongka —]

So with this rollbar you are able to roll your seats all the way back with no obstruction? I've been looking for other rollbar options that minimizes the seat adjustment.

[★ revlimiter ★]

My Elise seats have no problem with the rollbar. Full travel. But they're fixed back seats and have no recline.

[— Madaboutmx5s —]

Nice work. Only roll bars I know that don't loose you seat travel is the hard dog roll bars, TR Lane bars (UK company) whilst the M2 1001 bar I have in my silver car also works ok. The write up is a interesting read as always.