1/1/09 - Wow, time flies! I've been so busy with the day job & my online business that the car has been neglected. Today I trimmed up the rear deck panel to fit around the roll bar and welded all the carpet fastener holes closed. It's not the most beautiful job, but after grinding them down a bit, it's not too bad for my first time ever welding.
Located a replacement crank pulley. The pulley I had was for a small nose 1.6 and wouldn't fit in place of the bad one.
1/2/09 - Picked up and installed the crank pulley. Used the angle grinder with some 60 grit sanding pads to remove the rust from the ECU cover. Painted the rear deck, 2 fuel tank access panels, and ECU cover.
The Spec Miata requires a fuel test port to be installed but... if you read the rules, it doesn't say where to put it. The rules say to put it outside the engine compartment if you can and since there are hard lines under the car all the way into the engine compartment, the only realistic place left to put it is under the car between the fuel filter and the hardline.
It's NOT an easy installation. First there are 5 plastic fasteners to remove to get access to the fuel filter. Next, crimp the fuel line to keep it from leaking everywhere, cut it, cut it again to remove enough hose to fit the T fitting in, then try to install the T. All this is being done one-handed until the T is in enough to keep the gas from spilling everywhere. Yeah, I couldn't find my needle-nosed Vise Grip pliers so I had to hold the fuel line with one hand and do the install with the other. Once it's in, install worm clamps then put the plastic cover back on to finish the job.
The last thing for the day was to mask off around the roll cage in preparation for painting it.
TO DO LIST:
Paint interior & cage. Install rear deck panels. Install harness & seat. Install Spec cat-back exhaust. Install clutch speed bleeder. Document build, register with Mazdaspeed Motorsports, and order the Spec suspension kit. Beyond that is hail damage repair and a repaint.
I still need to sell off all the extra parts left over! Wow... I have a lot of stuff taken off the car and stuff tht has been purchased but ended up as extras.
