Rick in Vegas build

[mazdaracer]

I hope Kevin at Exomotive is not into April fools jokes, Got this from him April 1st. "Fiberglass is done, will ship next week."

[mazdaracer]

Found an affordable(very cheap) wing on craigslist. Looks like the popular ones on ebay. Very lightweight. Never had a car with a wing and I do not have a clue how to set one up. But it sure looks cool!

It started kinda ugly. Had some nice clamps from ebay for 2 for 15 dollars to attach to the roll bar. They are for mounting lights on a ATV. Nice sturdy aluminum. This is where it looked the best, not blocked to bad by the roll bar, and not in the line of rear vision.

Fabricated some links with some old heim joints from another project.

And a little paint and a quick test drive. With the 20-30 mph winds today, it did not fall off on a 80+mph run into the wind on a back road. Might need a support to the upper element as it seems to vibrate a bit a speed. The rest is rock solid. Now to learn what to adjust:)

 

[gwnwar]

One sharp looking car.. With the yellow body panels and silver fenders it is a good look..

[einy]

Will you keep the current metal fenders, or change to the incoming glass ones ?

[mdizz7]

Wing looks great!! I'm considering an aluminum wing myself later on in my build. The brackets and adjusters look like they work well. Time to buy a $5 angle finder Here's an example and play with the angles. This is what we used on wings of a sprint car. Start with it around 0-5 degrees and increase from there. Not sure about street/autocross but it seems too much of an angle would be a little counter intuitive since it would create more drag then downforce.

[mazdaracer]

Apr 6, 2015 0:24:10 GMT einy said:

Will you keep the current metal fenders, or change to the incoming glass ones ?

Not sure, one option I think I will like is to cover the aluminum fenders in a carbon fiber wrap. I picture the fenders blending in and looking like open wheel again? I am amazed at the rock damage to the front of the rear fenders and mirrors in less than 200 miles.

The fiberglass fenders are larger and I do not want to even consider mud flaps???

[mazdaracer]

Okay, a break in life let me go to work on the paperclip today.

Pictures of the parts as they have been for several weeks.

Had this idea in my head for weeks to allow the hood to tilt for tech inspections. So I need a hinge or two. I plan later to drill out the pivots and replace the pins with a quick release. Bolts to the sway bar mounts.

And trim the adjuster housing to keep from poking a hole in the hood.

But the hood hits the top of the valve cover. A quick trip to pile-o-Miata parts and I found this. Cut the ends off and made two angles to bolt it on.

And these to keep things tight from side to side.

And it works! This is as far as it opens on the ground, on jack stands it will open 90 degrees!

7 inches of ground clearance

Now, to add a few latches. Cheapo ebay ones.

And hurray, the hood is now part of the car.

Now to the back!

[mazdaracer]

So, since everyone is having issues with the tank mounted level, I tilted it as far as I could under the cover. About 3 inches of tilt, shy of the stock 7, but it should help?

And after too much time, this is the only way the factory filler would mount flat on the cover. Vent hose is strange, but no dips to act as a trap.

Tail light holes makes it easier to mount the fuel filler and run wires.

Mounted rear cover with brackets supplies by Exomotive using rubber grommets in fiberglass like the side panels attach.

Nothing fell off on the test drive. Everything is good and tight. Now to build some headlight mounts to clear the tilt hood and attach to the frame and not sit above the hood line(whew). Cut out the instrument cover and install it. Install some grille material and then some more tuning! Wonder how to tell when your done?

[mawdo81]

"Wonder how to tell when your done?"

Well the ideal number of mods is N+1, where N is the current number of mods...

[einy]

Looks great, Rick! Staying with the metal fenders afterall?

[Ken]

Rick,

Nicely done! What a great build thread!

[mazdaracer]

A real quickie,

Before

and after (a plumbing trim ring from Lowes and some two face tape)

[mazdaracer]

So, I need to put the headlights back on. The fiberglass is a bit to thin to support the lights, and I do not want to trim the fiberglass if I do not have to plus with the tilting hood, it complicates things.  Cannot connect to the lower bar as it will hit the tire in full lock, so had to attach to the top bar. So, to keep everything the same, its time for some more round bars.

Then add a flat plate, make a mirror copy, and some paint.

Then reinstall the lights

and they even clear the tires in full lock! ( within an inch for the legal height!)

and a side view completed.

With the double bar, they are rock solid, no shaking and should be cone proof to a point!

[greg]

damn! I was hoping the fiberglass would be tough enough to hold the lights.

Maybe I will cut a hole in the side, then use the Exocet mounts to hold a threaded rod which will hold the lights. Will need to be removed every time I need to take the hood off but it should look good with a gromet.

[jgilbert]

Jun 1, 2015 23:35:11 GMT greg said:

d**n! I was hoping the fiberglass would be tough enough to hold the lights.

Maybe I will cut a hole in the side, then use the Exocet mounts to hold a threaded rod which will hold the lights. Will need to be removed every time I need to take the hood off but it should look good with a gromet.

Why not strengthen the fibre glass sides by either adding a few more layers of cloth on the inside. Or bond onto the inside some ally plates to take and spread the weight of the lights?