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Post by ImprobableConstruct on Apr 11, 2015 23:42:17 GMT
Took her out for some shake down miles today. I had to tighten up the parking brake because the arms on the caliper were too loose and just barely hitting on the rim. I also have a click somewhere in the front left wheel that I have yet to find. It goes away when braking so that will be my first place to look.
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Post by ImprobableConstruct on Apr 14, 2015 0:00:26 GMT
The rain finally stopped this evening so I rolled the car out to take some current pictures. As I was doing so I noticed the engine looked shiny.  OIL dang it. It seems to have blown all over the place but I think I tracked it down to the one thing I didn't replace. The plug on the back of the exhaust cam.  Its held in with that piece of metal and is just a press fit. It popped right out with a bit of prying and a small screwdriver. Some Google-fu and it was recommended to replace it or to just smear a bit of RTV on it and push it back in. So I went that route. Hopefully it will hold and quit leaking. Otherwise I will have to replace it and clean the RTV out too. If you have your NB engine out you might as well replace it with the other seals. Super easy and only an $9 part. KLG4-12-603 |
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Post by greg on Apr 14, 2015 2:21:47 GMT
How old is the PCV?
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Post by ImprobableConstruct on Apr 14, 2015 3:05:37 GMT
Probably original to the car. Do you think it could be causing excessive valve cover pressure?
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Post by einy on Apr 14, 2015 11:27:08 GMT
Good chance of that ... I had the same issue with my previous '99, and replacing the PCV valve plus the RTV 'fix' that you did cured it.
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Post by ImprobableConstruct on Apr 14, 2015 19:09:43 GMT
Here is a couple shots of my temporary tail light solution. Its a piece of 2" aluminum angle. I bolted it on using the gas tank bolts and supported the filler on one end. Lights are screwed in to the aluminum using two screws each and the wiring is all stuffed in behind the licence plate.   |
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Post by ImprobableConstruct on Apr 22, 2015 20:46:13 GMT
I have about 100 miles on the car now so this morning I put it back up on the jack stands and went through it checking for leaks and re-torquing any bolts I could get to.  Everything checked out and looked good so that is a win. Then I took the shell to the scrap yard.  and as my son would say "bye bye car". I got $20.00 for the shell in scrap value. Woo. Then later in the day I saw a green 2000 Miata parked at the auto parts store and took this picture:  Its a nice before and after shot. |
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Post by einy on Apr 23, 2015 0:08:01 GMT
Man, your car looks great! Love the side view shot, and also the thought (on mine, anyway) of FM's upper side panels.
Question on your seats. Do they sit with the bottom rail parallel to the floor pan, or did you tilt the front up at all to get some backwards lean? I set mine in my chassis tonight (temporarily) on a small piece of plywood to bring them up 1/2" or so, and the lack of any tilt back felt odd. When I slid a 2x2 under the front, it felt more natural. Thought / experiences in this area ?
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Post by dietcoke on Apr 23, 2015 1:26:39 GMT
Tilt them. 18 degrees at the seatback is about right
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Post by einy on Apr 23, 2015 10:53:33 GMT
That's about what I was thinking also. Probably means fabricating some angled spacers 'up front', as I'm using Corbeau seats in conjunction with their double locking universal sliders. Initial thought is put the angled spacers between the seat bottom and the top of the slider rails on the front side, keeping the sliders parallel to the floor pan.
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Post by ImprobableConstruct on Apr 23, 2015 16:31:13 GMT
My seats are on sliders and 1" square tubes. The bottoms are parallel to the floor. Corbeau Forza Sports have a built in 18 degree seat back lean. They seem to be just about perfect for me. The only complaint I have is that the seat bottom could use some stiffer foam.
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Post by einy on Apr 23, 2015 22:26:35 GMT
My seats are on sliders and 1" square tubes. The bottoms are parallel to the floor. Corbeau Forza Sports have a built in 18 degree seat back lean. They seem to be just about perfect for me. The only complaint I have is that the seat bottom could use some stiffer foam. From what I can tell by sitting in them on a flat floor, the Forza's (non Sport in my case) seem to have no tilt back at all. Same observation ony seats' bottom cushions as noted above. |
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Post by ImprobableConstruct on Apr 26, 2015 15:06:12 GMT
A couple of minor updates. After fixing the plug on the back of the cam I still had some oil leaking out of the oil cap. The seal on the cap is as hard as a rock so I started looking at options. The seal can be replaced or the whole oil cap can be replaced. I started looking for a red oil cap and ran across this sketchy looking site: Automotive Candy Store. I figured for 20 bucks I would give it a try and if it went bad, paypal would refund my money. There was zero communication from the seller but a week later the oil cap showed up. Its billet aluminum with a replaceable o-ring.  The red matched just about perfectly so that was a bonus. I also wrapped the wiring tray with what the seller claims is 5D carbon fiber wrap. I do have to say it looks pretty realistic even up close. I had originally planed to cut a replacement lid out of real carbon fiber sheet but I am having trouble finding a piece big enough at a reasonable price.  I bought enough of the vinyl so I can wrap the transmission tunnel, but that might be too much of a good thing. |
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Post by greg on Apr 26, 2015 21:03:10 GMT
Looks good. Does it lay easily or did you have trouble with wrinkles?
Might copy your idea for the rear plate and light mounts. Need to get out of my garage by the end of May and I'm loosing faith my body panels will be ready in time for me to get thru the registration proces.
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Post by ImprobableConstruct on Apr 26, 2015 23:57:28 GMT
My first attempt was a disaster. I tried to fix bubbles with heat and well, that didn't work. Second try went great. I took it slow and used just a bit of heat.
The 2" angle aluminum is working out great as a temporary solution for the filler support and lighting bracket. I may send it off to somebody else to use once my bodywork is installed.
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