Project Miata: Build Thread

So out at the meet tonight i realized that i hadn't post a build thread over here yet. Well here it is.

So I've finally got our new site up and running, so I have a place to post all the pics I've been taking of the build up on Project Miata. So far I'm making good progress. Here's a bit of an introduction to the first project for Car Care 101.

http://www.carcare101.info/project-m...odern-classic/

She's a 1991 Mazda Miata sporting no options other that power steering and a/c. Still rocking the original 1.6L motor with 200K miles. The motor, trans, and body are solid. The rest of the car... not so much.

When we picked up Project Miata it was doing duty as the quintessential girls car ferrying a high school cheerleader to and from school. her daddy was tired of fixing the car every time she broke it so we got it for a cheep $2100.

Added bonus was that it came with the hard dog duce bar I was planning on buying anyway.

Penalty points for having one hell of an obnoxious exhaust

Even more penalty points for the heavy as hades 17x7 enkie rse's it came with (note these were already changed out to 15x7 oz superleggera's before the pics were taken)

So that's the car in a nutshell. Stay tuned for some very through step by step guides for everything we are doing to the car. First up will be new brakes.

Here's a few pics for those of you too lazy to click the link

http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...07-300x201.jpg

http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...01-300x201.jpg

http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...06-300x201.jpg

if you want to see more or bigger photos check out the link at the top of the post.

so far i've dropped in an 8lbs aluminum flywheel (not so good for boost from what i hear), 6 puck clutch, complete refreshed the stock brakes with new rotors, hp+ pads, ss brake lines, and motul brake fluid.

next major mods are complete suspension upgrade. springs shocks, bushings, everything. followed by a head light upgrade. then i'll be diving in to the interior.

so let me know what you guys think.

thanks in advance,

charlie

Nice meeting you tonight Charlie. Best of luck with the new website and build.


Link is 404.

there fixed it. good meeting you too.

I love my light flywheel on my boosted 1.6 - I'm still thinking about getting an even lighter one next time I'm in there (I have the old school FM Fidanza that they added weight to, so it's ~9lbs). I've had lightweight flywheels on every single boosted car I've had (5 to date) and I wouldn't have it any other way.

And good luck on the build - car looks clean in the few pics you posted here.

Good to see you again Charlie... I'm following you guys on the Twitter now (as the kids say), so maybe I can catch the live show on Friday.

hey rick thanks for the follow. forgot add this in the original post

first thing we did to the car (besides changing all the sensors that had gone out over the years) was to get start a complete brake overhaul by prepping a new set of oem rotors with a couple of coats of dupli - color ceramic caliper paint on the rotor hats and edges to help prevent rust. because there's nothing worse than looking behind a shiny new set of wheels and seeing rusty worn out brakes.

http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...03-300x201.jpg

you guys can see the step by step in the link below

http://www.carcare101.info/project-m...-brake-rotors/

Charlie, Just watched my first episode of Burnout Radio. :burnrubr:

I'm a fan! I subscribed to your podcast (It only goes up to Episode 95 on iTunes though) ::Shrug::

I will also check out carcare101. Maybe I can be a Guest Tech. ;)

I'll take the seats and dash when you "dig into the interior".

Exatorq is supposed to be hot shit for LSx tuning.

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Originally Posted by mr brg

I'll take the seats and dash when you "dig into the interior".

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I don't think you want them unless you like your parts extra crispy. ::Blowup::

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Originally Posted by black roadster

I don't think you want them unless you like your parts extra crispy. ::Blowup::

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What? Was it consumed by fire?

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Originally Posted by modernbeat

What? Was it consumed by fire?

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Linkie...

yes project miata went up in a ball of fire. we'll have the full story with pics on monday. our followers have started the "save project miata" foundation of which we've already received several cash donation and many more have pledged to help out with parts, time, tools, ectera. A couple of them are already scouting out replacement cars.

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Originally Posted by offsprg01

yes project miata went up in a ball of fire. we'll have the full story with pics on monday. our followers have started the "save project miata" foundation of which we've already received several cash donation and many more have pledged to help out with parts, time, tools, ectera. A couple of them are already scouting out replacement cars.

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just buy an NB and forget that NA.

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Originally Posted by jeff_man

just buy an NB and forget that NA.

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Don't be biased.. HA! We could easily suggest he just go for Pedigree. :)

nb's have one problem... the lack of pop up heads lights. everyone know pop up head lights are worth +1,000,000 horsepower.

Or at least nostalgia points. Why is it most NB owners don't see this? NB's may be a better platform but those damn ugly headlights... Ugh. The 01-05 are a bit better looking but then you have the VVT bullshit. ::StirTheP

NB are stiffer and work better with the V8 swap, 01+ are the best chassis before the NC redesign but 99 are cheaper and almost as good but still better then NAs. VVT is not a bad thing, it only sucks when your trying to run piggy back ecu. when using a real ecu with vvt control you can do very sexy things with it.

vvt is awesome, and no arguing the nb is a better chasis, but i love the na. it quirky and kind of odd, but i dig it. it's also got the add value of being dirt cheep, which leaves me with more cash to spend on parts. a little seam welding, and some after market bracing will make the na plenty stiff for the v8 swap.

http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...02-300x179.jpg

well here's the story i promised you guys on my car catching fire. blow by blow, complete with pics. http://bit.ly/kkrDcr

Wow - sorry to hear! Might be putting a kill switch in mine sooner than later just for this instance. Suxa! Glad to see you're still in the game, and doing it the Steve Austin route... Better, stronger, and faster! Cheers!

oh yeah we'll be rebuilding project miata. we will probably have to start with a new chasis, but we'll be salvaging everything we can off of project miata: extra crispy edition doesn't look like we'll be able to salvage much though.

http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...02-300x201.jpg

here's the photos from the aftermath of the inferno. take take a look at the rest of the photos and tell me if you thinbk we might be able to salvage anything.

http://www.carcare101.info/project-m...f-the-inferno/

so this is how awesome out followers are. they've started donating all kinds of stuff to help us rebuild project miata. cash, time, parts, and even tools! we've got a couple of guys who are out looking for the perfect lipstick red na miata to replace the one that burnt. i didn't realize the project was so popular!

the guys over at www.motoramalive.com even started a fund raising program and had us guest host their show tonight! how cool is that!

http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...jectMiata1.png

:1Place: Winning!

here's a whole bunch of fail! i went to pick up the police report for the car fire. WOW. it couldn't be more wrong. check it out.http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...rt-300x178.jpgfor starters, i'm quite obviously not a woman.

got police report fixed meeting with the insurance guys tomorrow. hoping to have a check before the week is out so i can spend the weekend driving all over the country to find the next project miata.anybody looking to sell? ;)

so two months later i finally settle things up with my insurance company. took much longer than expected on account of the aftermarket goodies and all the "restoration work" (those were the insurance companies words not mine, i was just fixing broken things) in the end they cut me a check for a touch over seven grand, for my busted old wore out girls car. :jump:


they ended up pricing the car for the fully restored NADA value, minus $400 salvage value since i kept the burnt ruins of the car. and that same afternoon i replaced project miata with project maita 2.0, a red 1990, which cost me a whole whopping 2 grand with the hard top. so that leaves me when a pile of cash to start fixing the laundry list of things wrong with this car. :bang: (though its not near the list that needed to be fixed on the original project miata)


http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=1&theater




(more pics to follow trying to fix some issues with the site currently before i can upload them)


anyway so question for all you hard top owners. omg they get HOT. i don't mean it gets a tad warm in there. i mean "holy crap my bald head is going to blister being so damned close to the thing" hot. now granted it was 110 outside today in the wonderful summer heat wave we are having in texas, but there's no way i can live with a hard top if i can't find a way to cool it down. there was 30 degrees diff in temp between 4 inches from the top and level with the ac vents. unacceptable.


so i guess in short what to you do to insulate a hardtop?

Beginning in 1992, the OEM hardtops were insulated and came with a defroster.

Yep my Hardtop has headliner and insulated don't get hot at all...and I don't even run ac in my car

turns out the early oem hard tops did no come with headliner or defroster. previous owner claimed the hard top came with the car when new. the only other owner the car had was his brother who bought it new.

http://www.miata.net/garage/hardtop/

after a quick trip to lowes i put together my usual sound deadening / heat shield kit. (couple rolls of peal and seal, dap spray foam, some roll out foam drawer liner and refleticx) i just finished up layering the center of the roof. i'll cover it with some head liner material in the near future. we'll see tomorrow how much of a diff it makes.

for now da roof is all shiny ;)

Try tinting the real window, they are a lot larger and are domed like a magnifying glass. The hardtop seams to get hotter on mine when parked, but it cools down faster and stays cool longer. Right now, it is just friggin hot, so unless you tint or otherwise keep the sun outta there, you are gunna have issue.

well just did the 1.5 hour commute to work this morning and well, let's just say i sweated my balls off. damn ac was blowing hot air. looks like i got snookered with the old charge and leak trick. good news is my head was only as hot as the rest of me ;). looks like i'll be trying to figure out how to fix an a/c this week juts in time for that 110 degree august heat. got to love texas...

so it's time to start the suspension build up for project miata 2.0. my goal is a capable budget build that will be mainly used as a street rod but will see the occasional track day. this is what i've come up with.

first order is coming from flyin' miata

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FM V-Maxx Stage 2 suspension kit = $849(comes with fm sways, mounts & nb top hats + bump stops)
energy suspension kit from flyin miata. = $189
Super Pro Steering Rack Bushings = $28.95
Alignment Bolts set of 8 = $70.00

Total = $1136.95

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I'll be picking up the following from Track Dog Racing Tomorrow as well.

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Heim Jointed Sway Bar End Link (x2 Sets) = $178

Total = $178

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V8 Roadster Order

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Front Upper Ball Joint x2 = $150

Total = $150

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Parts Geeks Order

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Inner Tie Rod End = $41.88
Outer Tie Rod End = $43.88
Rack and Pinion Bellows = 21.96
Lower Ball Joints = 45.50

Total = $153.22

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So the total will be $1618.17


you guys can read along as see how i came up with this set up over on the m.net.

will also be picking up zerk fittings to add when i install the bushings so i can grease them as needed. SAY NO TO SQUEAKS ;)


I already have the fm butterfly brace and frame rails as well as a strut tower bar. i'm also going to be fabbing up a set of door bars and i'm thinking about either purchasing or making a set of frog arms.


so what do you guys think? solid budget build, or am i just pissing up a rope?

More build pics are up! Finally getting around to posting all the pics from the suspension and brake build up. So here's first round of the pics. These are a step by step on removing Project Miata's brakes. Look how gnarly that under carriage is! I'm so glad Project Miata 2.0 is no where near that nasty.


http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...01-300x201.jpg


Project Miata: Removing the Brakes

Salvaging the Harddog Duce Roll Bar from the crispy car.


http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...03-300x201.jpg
Project Miata: Salvaging the Harddog Duce Roll Bar

so been meaning to get this posted for a while now. but here's the build pics from us tearing down the old suspension. :thumbs:


http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...02-300x201.jpg


Project Maita: Suspension Tear Down


i should have the rest of the pics edited and on the site later today. (you know the ones with all the hot new suspension components ;))

Alright got the old bushings pressed out, and the new prothane bushings installed with zerk fittings to keep everything nice a squeak free. check the link below to see the step by step


http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...07-300x201.jpg


Project Miata: Prothane Poly Bushing Install

and with this our control arm restoration is complete. next time we'll see if we can put humpty dumpty back together agian.


http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...03-300x201.jpg
V8 Roadsters Rebuildable Upper Ball Joint Installation

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Originally Posted by offsprg01

and with this our control arm restoration is complete. next time we'll see if we can put humpty dumpty back together agian.


http://www.carcare101.info/wp-conten...03-300x201.jpg
V8 Roadsters Rebuildable Upper Ball Joint Installation

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How tough were those to press out? Imay install those soon.

super easy with a hydraulic press ;). i'm sure you could do it with a bfh. may take awhile though. or if you're in for a drive you're welcome to borrow mine. with a press it might take 3 minutes to swap the old one out with the new ones.