2009 Updates
December 2nd, 2009
Today I finished the GarageStar radiator cooling panel and installed it along with a custom antenna. I cut the stock one down to just over 10.5" and put a 'cap' on it from my Mazda 3's stock antenna. Looks better. I also tried to remove the dimples in the front bumper from the license plate bracket... It looks better but not perfect.
I would put pics of the antenna but everytime I upload them, Cardomain shows them sideways. I'll see if I can get some good daylight pics in the next few days.
November 22nd, 2009
Plugs, wires and wheels are done. I went ahead and removed the mud/rock guards for now till I decide to keep them or not after paint. I finished just after dark so pictures will have to wait till sometime in the next couple days. I still need to figure out the odd temp guage problem I'm having and see if the idle issue is truely solved with the new plugs and wires.
November 19th, 2009
Looks like motor mounts are going to have to wait. Flyin' Miata is out of stock and the other sites I've found seem to be empty as well. I may wind up buying OEM mounts if I don't find a good source for the aftermarket set. I'm going to have the dings and chips fixed up next week and may go ahead with painting in the next month or so. Still playing around with a few color ideas but can't quite decide just yet. New pictures will be up once I get the wheels on...hopefully this weekend. Oh yeah, I'm going to be picking up some KONI Yellows with stock springs too. I may just wait till I pick up a set of lowering springs before I put them in so I don't have to do it twice. We'll see...
November 15th, 2009
Tonight I purchased a set of 15" Konig Heliums with tires from a really cool guy and a fellow Miata enthusiast. He hooked me up with a radiator cooling panel and some great ideas for future mods. I'm going to be going out of town for a few days starting tomorrow morning but I'll update with pics once I get back. Also, I'll tackle the idle control valve thing and plugs/wires. Hopefully I'll hear from Flyin' Miata about my mounts too. :D
November 9th, 2009
While pondering more paint ideas, I decided to use some rubbing compound on the stained original white paint. I'll admit, I've never used rubbing compound before and I am impressed. Took all the stains and dirt right out of the paint. Unfortunately the chips are still there. Haha. I'm about half way done cleaning and will finish tomorrow then I'll look into removing the dents and filling in the chips. Here you can see how bad the paint is/was. I only finished the upper half of the rear fender in this picture...
November 8th, 2009
I now have a new rear seal (source of the leak), clutch, slave cylinder, valve cover gasket, oil drain plug (wasn't sealing properly) and a clean bill of health on the timing belt and differential. I'll need struts in the near future but will need tires before that. I'm not too keen on buying brand new 14" tires so I'll either hold off till I can find the right wheels to put on or throw on a spare set of Civic steelies with good tires to get me by. The Miata isn't a daily driver so no worries on time there. Also, the 'Roadster' badge arrived and the competition motor mounts should be here within the next week or so. I'll be trying to clean up the stains on the paint and seeing if I can't paint and blend in the chipped areas since a full repaint will be a bit further down the line.
November 5th, 2009
I've decided to hold off on paint for now and wait till there are a few body additions to give me more time to tweak with design idea. Also, I ordered a 'Roadster' emblem and am awaiting a pair of Flyin' Miata competition motor mounts to install. Tomorrow I'm going to have the rear engine seal, front transmission seal and clutch checked out due to an oil leak coming from the fork boot and then we'll be ready for some more fun.
November 3nd, 2009
My new toy...a 1992 1.6l Miata. I've been wanting one of these first generation Miatas for quite a while now, well before my Saturn SC2 actually, and thanks to a friend of mine I finally have one.
Aside from the paint it is a very clean little low mileage roadster with the only 'mod' being a Hard Dog Extreme roll bar and a Pioneer stereo. I picked it up last night and have already swapped out the stereo with the Kenwood ez500 from my 380SL and took it in for an alignment. I'm debating whether or not to go ahead and paint it now or hold off till I can get a little more modding done. Whenever I do have it painted I'm trying to decide between a deep metallic (almost black) purple, Mazda's 'Phantom Blue Mica' that is offered on the Mazda 3 or a gun metal metallic. Purple? Yes, purple. Haha, why not?
The goal is to build something to cruise through twisty mountain roads with and not have to worry about easily losing control but be somewhat drift capable. I don't have many specific plans just yet since I have only had it for 2 days but my list of 'possibilities' is pretty long already. That's it for now. I have a feeling paint will be the next item on the agenda then we'll go from there. To be continued....
