|
|
Post by dnr on Jul 30, 2017 1:20:11 GMT
Figured I'd start a build thread since my kit will hopefully be arriving soon. This is my first kit car build and my first Miata. Timing belts and clutch replacements are the toughest jobs I've done on a car. I picked up a 2003 Miata Base with 127k miles at salvage auction for $2257. Seemed to run great except for a large oil leak, small radiator leak and dent in the passenger side door and quarter panel. Replaced the radiator with an all aluminum one and the valve cover gasket thinking it was the source of the oil leak. It wasn't. I still haven't found the leak but I've cleaned the engine and am hoping it becomes obvious once I get it running again. Took it to autocross and did poorly  it was a ton of fun though. Losing 700 lbs, coilovers, and non all season tires should help a lot.   Hoping the Exocet provides a little more rollover protection. Haha Obligatory before and after picture:   Virtually no rust. California car. Still selling all the parts on eBay and craigslist. I think I've broken even on gross receipts but it sure does take a lot of time to list and ship everything. My long term plan is to get it running and street legal (sb100) with the stock engine then add Megasquirt, E85, and turbo. |
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Jul 30, 2017 1:30:46 GMT
My donor came with an open diff so I replaced it with an OS Giken unit. Replaced the axle seals and bearings. Had to go to the local Miata shop to get the bearings pressed in. The owner said he always sends diffs out to an expert get built. Hopefully I did it right! Not replacing the ring and pinion makes it a little simpler so there aren't as many things I could screw up.  Removing the diff was a pain. Would have been much easier to do with the car on a lift after the subframe was already bolted to the chassis. I ended up using shop crane to lower the subframe onto the diff to put it back together. |
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Jul 30, 2017 1:36:50 GMT
While it's still a skateboard I figured I'd replace the clutch with the Flyin' Miata happy meal kit. Also replaced all the accessible seals and slave cylinder. Who knows maybe one is the source of my oil leak?  Everything is so filthy. Is there supposed to be this much caked on grime in the bell housing? I cleaned it all out. |
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Jul 30, 2017 1:52:50 GMT
Depowered the steering using the Flyin' Miata instructions. NB is a little different but it's all pretty simple.   I used loctite 680 to remove the flex from the hydraulic thingy (technical term) instead of welding it. Very interesting to see how a power steering system works. Filled all the hose connections with RTV. |
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Jul 30, 2017 1:55:25 GMT
Rebuilt the shifter today. Took me a while to find out that you have press one of the pins out to insert the lower bushing on my car. Most of the videos and writeups I found were for an older model.
Still to do before kit arrives:
I plan on running the PTFE fuel lines along the PPF near the top. Is this a good idea?
I'm thinking I should remove the oil pan and tap it for turbo oil return while it's easy. I know most people do it without removing it but that seems a little scary.
Was going to do the coolant reroute but after reading about the head gasket change in 01+ models I decided against it. I've still got to do the heater core bypass.
Anything else I should do while everything is accessible?
|
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Oct 13, 2017 5:30:40 GMT
Kit finally arrived last Tuesday! About a month ago I redid the oil pan seal (RTV) and welded in a bung for turbo oil return while I was at it:  My first time welding aluminum... |
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Oct 13, 2017 6:17:42 GMT
I towed the kit straight from UPS to the powdercoater:  Once I unpacked the rest of the kit I realized that I should have had the steering column mounting plates and windshield done at the same time... Powdercoating turned out great. Gunmetal grey, and went with carmine red for the panels. First step after getting it back home was putting on the floors. I used a power drill riveter attachment I bought off eBay. I had to do about a dozen rivets by hand that I couldn't reach with the drill and I think I'd still be riveting if I had done them all that way! All the aluminum panels fits perfectly. I'm very impressed with the quality of the kit so far. I put heat shield on the tunnel and firewall, did the rear brake line and installed an adjustable proportioning valve:    Basically done! haha  Had to use a ratchet strap to get the rear subframe holes to line up. Also one of the front mounting brackets seems to be slightly off. I was still able to get a bolt through though.  I have run into to a couple problems so far. The rear brake junction is about 1/2 inch from the rear aluminum panel. I've done a bit of searching and I haven't seen how everyone is routing the rear brake line?  Getting a bit ahead of myself but I've started looking at how I'm going to mount the seats. I'm 6'3" so I'm going to need to mount the seat as close to the floor as possible and pretty far back. I also plan on putting in sliders so others can drive too. I picked up a pair of medium Sparco Ergo seats on sale a few months ago. It looks like even with seat as close to the tunnel as it will go it's still going to be a bit off center of the steering if I'm measuring correctly. Also the side of the seat hits the upper side tube. Looking at the seat I'm thinking that I will just cut a notch in it.  I'm going to mock up some mounts with wood and L brackets before I try to fabricate anything. For the passenger side I'm just going to use a fixed mount. I'm having trouble finding side mount brackets that are long enough to span the two cross beams. I found these: Sabelt Z200045B but I'd have to get them shipped from the UK. Anyone found any others? |
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Oct 14, 2017 23:54:32 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by pokeyhokie on Oct 16, 2017 15:54:33 GMT
Depowered the steering using the Flyin' Miata instructions. NB is a little different but it's all pretty simple. I used loctite 680 to remove the flex from the hydraulic thingy (technical term) instead of welding it. Very interesting to see how a power steering system works. Filled all the hose connections with RTV. Did you remove the rubber seal and washer that are between the pin and bearing in your first photo? Just cut them off I assume? I also have an NB rack and was going to have this joint welded. I don't see how the washer and seal would serve any purpose with this rack depowered. |
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Oct 16, 2017 17:51:31 GMT
Did you remove the rubber seal and washer that are between the pin and bearing in your first photo? Just cut them off I assume? I also have an NB rack and was going to have this joint welded. I don't see how the washer and seal would serve any purpose with this rack depowered. Yeah. I think I did. I figured it wasn't necessary since there is no longer any power steering fluid. I packed everything with plenty of grease. There a bunch of discussion here about the safety of welding: forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=335874&page=2Using the bearing retention compound was super easy. I've never depowered a Miata steering rack before so I'm not sure I'll be able to tell whether it worked or not though... |
|
|
|
Post by pokeyhokie on Oct 16, 2017 20:26:34 GMT
Did you remove the rubber seal and washer that are between the pin and bearing in your first photo? Just cut them off I assume? I also have an NB rack and was going to have this joint welded. I don't see how the washer and seal would serve any purpose with this rack depowered. Yeah. I think I did. I figured it wasn't necessary since there is no longer any power steering fluid. I packed everything with plenty of grease. There a bunch of discussion here about the safety of welding: forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=335874&page=2Using the bearing retention compound was super easy. I've never depowered a Miata steering rack before so I'm not sure I'll be able to tell whether it worked or not though... Thanks! I'm considering something like the Loctite route (maybe a metallized epoxy?). I've also got access to heat treating equipment at work, so a post-weld heat treat is an option. I'll be curious to hear how the loctite works for you -- the only thing that made we wary was the diametral clearance, which looks to be about 2-3x the 0.01 inches that loctite 680 is rated for. |
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Oct 16, 2017 20:35:37 GMT
Yeah. I think I did. I figured it wasn't necessary since there is no longer any power steering fluid. I packed everything with plenty of grease. There a bunch of discussion here about the safety of welding: forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=335874&page=2Using the bearing retention compound was super easy. I've never depowered a Miata steering rack before so I'm not sure I'll be able to tell whether it worked or not though... Thanks! I'm considering something like the Loctite route (maybe a metallized epoxy?). I've also got access to heat treating equipment at work, so a post-weld heat treat is an option. I'll be curious to hear how the loctite works for you -- the only thing that made we wary was the diametral clearance, which looks to be about 2-3x the 0.01 inches that loctite 680 is rated for. It's rated for .38mm. It guess it's a bit more than that on the torsion spring part. I also glued it the outer sleeve which was definitely tighter than that. It really wicked right in to both spots. I think it might be tricky to get epoxy in there. |
|
|
|
Post by pokeyhokie on Oct 17, 2017 14:32:06 GMT
Well whaddya know... you're right. I misread the TDS. I guess there's not much to lose by trying it. Did you twist it in a vise at all before/after?
|
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Oct 17, 2017 16:57:21 GMT
Well whaddya know... you're right. I misread the TDS. I guess there's not much to lose by trying it. Did you twist it in a vise at all before/after? Nope. We'll see! I bought the loctite on eBay for $8 from Hong Kong so it may not even be the real stuff. |
|
|
|
Post by dnr on Oct 17, 2017 17:03:12 GMT
So it looks like I'm going to have to fabricate some bracket for the front brake lines. Seems tricky to get them in a position where you can turn the wheels lock to lock and have them not hit the A-arms. It looks like the chassis tubes aren't very close to the factory position? It seems like Exomotive should really include brackets in the kit. Getting the wrong position could sever the brake lines. I wish I had cut the brackets off the body before I got rid of the chassis.  |
|
it was a ton of fun though. Losing 700 lbs, coilovers, and non all season tires should help a lot. 
