Because I have not been raped enough by my MS6 ...

[redneck4Christ]

A ceiling fan for the garage? I need to get one of those.

[Neverlift]

Originally Posted by redneck4Christ A ceiling fan for the garage? I need to get one of those.

Looks like a bedroom. Carpet was a dead give away.

+1 to increasing chassis rigidity.

[Code Monkey]

Yeah, that's the guest bedroom.

[SpICeZ]

Bed sheets meet the HT color almost perfectly

[Easter Bunny]

Originally Posted by Code Monkey Yeah, that's the guest bedroom.

i thought you had taken it in there to make love to the hard top

[Code Monkey]

Originally Posted by Easter Bunny i thought you had taken it in there to make love to the hard top

Thanks for an idea, I can be a little spoon.

[Code Monkey]

Getting close to being back on the road. Today, I did the suspension on the driver side, and finished the brakes on all 4 corners including bleeding.

The only thing left is end links and then I am ready to roll the car and tighten up all the bushings under load. No idea if I will have time to do it tomorrow, if not Monday or Tuesday should be fine.

[Code Monkey]

All right, the car is finally on all 4 wheels. I already rolled it back and forth and pushed down hard a few times on each corner; it is gonna chill overnight like that, then another set of rolls and pushes, then set the ride heights, and finally under the car to tighten everything up and do the end links. I am gonna bed in the brakes and then put about 50 miles on the car and then re-check all the bolts and go for an alignment.

After that, back to the shop to weld the hole in the transmission tunnel and mount the seats and harnesses.

Oh yeah, and I will be able to finally clean up the fucking garage, just looking at it makes me positively sick.

[redneck4Christ]

I know the feeling. My wife's NB has been torn apart and taking up the garage since November. And all I'm doing is a head gasket and going back together stock.

[Code Monkey]

Yeah, I am a little bit nervous, the car should be completely transformed handling-wise.

Hopefully there are no brake fluid leaks.

[Code Monkey]

And she is alive, muahahahaha!!!!

Test drive #1 lasted only 30 seconds as there was a horrible rattle from rear exhaust hitting the left axle, I went back to an old rubber hanger on the muffler so it was not pulling the connecting pipe as high and the rattle was gone.

Test drive #2 lasted probably around 30 minutes and all went smoothly. Manual steering is a blast, the feedback is incredible -- combined with no alignment, one corded tire, no parking brake, no seatbelts, a mocked up seat, a heat shield stuffed between the seat and the hole in the transmission tunnel, made it an unforgettable drive. Some uneven roads were super sketchy, and after about 15 minutes my seat started heating up from the exhaust, by the time I got back home the seat was quite toasty.

I am taking the car to the shop tomorrow to have the transmission tunnel welded and should be taking the car to the track in May.

Some fun pictures:

"This should stop exhaust heat from entering the cabin" Note how the seat is bolted to the floor, there are two bolts total for now.



"Racecar or not, my ass must be comfy"



"Yes officer, I was wearing the seatbelt"

[Code Monkey]

I adjusted the ride height and holy shit, what a difference!!!! I measured center of the hub up to the fender lip and aimed at the following:

12.25"	12.00"
12.75"	12.50"

I found that setting the height about 1/4" lower on the passenger side is "pretty close to corner-weighted according to Shaikh." At least this is what the Internet told me.

I think I dropped the car about 2" compared to the previous post. The car sits pretty low and there is no way I can sneak the jack in the front, I will have to use plates or ramps.

[Neverlift]

Since all Miatas run 15s, ground to pinch weld would be the only measurement I can relate to lol. I believe Harbor Freight has a low profile jack (3 ton) that should get under there... that's what I used when I was 4.25"F, 4.5"R ground to pinch weld. I still have it, it even worked on my full size 4wd truck (2.5 tons) when I was checking wheel bearings.

[Code Monkey]

Yeah, I will be looking for another jack, right now I have an aluminum racing jack from HF, I think it might be a low profile one, but obviously not the lowest it can be....

[Chief_Wiggum]

Originally Posted by Neverlift Since all Miatas run 15s, ground to pinch weld would be the only measurement I can relate to lol. I believe Harbor Freight has a low profile jack (3 ton) that should get under there... that's what I used when I was 4.25"F, 4.5"R ground to pinch weld. I still have it, it even worked on my full size 4wd truck (2.5 tons) when I was checking wheel bearings.

That's the one I bought a couple of weeks ago for about $85 or so (with coupon). It fits under mine which I didn't think was possible.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[Code Monkey]

Got the car back from the shop with the transmission tunnel welded and the seat mounted, shit looks tits.

Now onto mounting the seat back brace and harnesses.

[aaronc7]

I just got the same jack a few months ago...I still have to drive the vette up on to wood blocks to get under the car, but it's better than the whole ordeal I had to do previously.

[MSP6]

I just slide my crotch underneath and think of MSF..

instant 3 inch lift.

[Code Monkey]

Finally installed a seat back brace, the fitment is tight, pain in the ass. Later this week I will tackle the harness, and after that get an alignment and hit the track.

Also rolled the front fenders and raised the front maybe an 1/8".

[Code Monkey]

Got the harness in, now alignment on Tuesday, then slap on the hard top, and I am ready to roll.

The helmet does not clear the roll bar -- I think once the padding is a bit worn down and squished and I am strapped in, it should be pretty close. But there is no fucking way I will have a slightest of clearance, lol.

[Code Monkey]

Got an alignment so the steering wheel is finally straight.

I was planning to go with the recommended 949Racing dual duty alignment (-2.0/-1.7 camber, 0 toe) but because the car is sitting low, the minimum camber in the rear the shop could do was -2.4 so I ended up going -2.7/-2.4.

The car is chilling overnight on makeshift boxes, tomorrow I will crawl under and tighten the remaining suspension bolts, install the end links, put the skid tray back on, and I am ready to rock.

Hard top will be bolted on whenever the mounts arrive, hopefully by the weekend.

I have five road racing days left at the Texas World Speedway and hope to drive the Miata two of those days.

[Neverlift]

Ugh, that alignment sucks.

Sincerely,

Me

[Code Monkey]

Originally Posted by Neverlift Ugh, that alignment sucks.

Camber is right between 949Racing's dual duty and race specs.

[Neverlift]

Why is the caster so low?

[Code Monkey]

Close enough to 4, I will not cry over that. With a 350mm steering wheel I have no troubles turning the wheels. Will most likely get a second alignment after a track day so do not consider this final numbers.

[Code Monkey]

Buttoned up everything today and took her for a first drive with a hard top.



Here's some pictures. There is less than a finger width between the roll hoop and the hardtop, everything fits perfectly. I was able to keep most of the interior trim. The parking brake is working too.

I need to bleed the brakes and the clutch and we both should be ready for next Saturday.

[Code Monkey]

Ok, so I checked my pinch weld height. Per 949Racing, "Take measurement from forward most and rearmost straight area of lower unit body pinch weld at it's lowermost edge." So I guess this would be at the blue line here (not my Miata):



Here is how my car is sitting.

This is approximately 4":



Front left:



Rear left:



Front right:



Rear right:



This is with no driver in the car, so when I put my fat ass in, front left will come down a bit to hopefully match front right.

No idea if this is a tad too low, 949Racing recommends 3.75"-4.5" in front for their race alignment (and about .25" higher in the rear). The car feels fine and I do not scrape anything driving around town, I think I will not worry about it and just go and have fun.

[Code Monkey]

Took the Miata to the track, details, including a video, here.

[Code Monkey]

Dynoed the Miata today. The only "power" mod is the exhaust system: Raceland header, 2.25" test pipe, 2.25" Cobalt exhaust. Still on the stock intake and stock ECU.

Previous dyno (stock car) is here, the best run was 98.5 whp / 96.9 wtq.

Today the best run was 103.9 whp / 101.9 wtq, trolololol. The AFR goes pig rich in the upper rpms, to about 10.5, in a couple months I will be paging @Lex; for a Megasquirt, if I target 12 AFR or so at WOT, I may get closer to 110/110.

[Code Monkey]

Drove to Dallas today to pick up a spare long block -- $200, 177k, brand new OEM clutch, new water pump and timing belt. No valve cover, but I ordered it separately for $70 shipped. I need to replace the crank seal and need to source cam gears and I should have a whole spare engine. But why not build it first, right?

The little shit is pretty heavy, carrying it from the truck to the garage was not that bad, but lowering it onto the tire was a bitch, it sucks getting old and weak. Now I need an engine stand.

The F-350 averaged 14.125 mpg, ouch.

[JasonNorin]

Now that's a lot of hard work..

[Code Monkey]

Put 10th anniversary rims on the yellow Miata, pimptastic! And that wheel gap compared to the red one!

[Code Monkey]

Finally installed the passenger seat. This side did not require cutting the transmission tunnel so the install was more straightforward. I had my shop fab the front brackets and did the rest myself. Tomorrow I will reinstall the interior trim and the car is good to go.

[Code Monkey]

Got the Miata on the track again. Previous best lap was 2:10.931. Today I hit a 2.08.595 and had many 2:09 laps.



I think this is the best I can do on this setup, IIRC, most spec Miatas run consistent 2:06-2:07's so I am not complaining. I need a few more hp to keep up with them. New crate 1.6 motors put down about 111 hp, I think, mine dynoed 103.

Overcooked the tires last session, spun, and hit the curbing pretty bad, bent front passenger rim, surprisingly the tire is still holding air, I still need to crawl underneath the car and assess damage, but it drove straight on my way home, so hopefully I just need a new rim.

Edit: Yep, just a new rim.

[Neverlift]

That's a wheel, but imma let you have a pass on this one....

Why do you not heel toe?

[Easter Bunny]

wheel may be repairable

[Code Monkey]

Originally Posted by Easter Bunny wheel may be repairable

Not worth it. It is cheap made in China shit. I already got a used one for $70 and ordered a new one for $120 so I will have a spare for future misadventures.

[Easter Bunny]

I would still spend 50 to fix it and have another spare.

[Neverlift]

Originally Posted by Neverlift Why do you not heel toe?

^ this. I am really curious.

[Code Monkey]

I rev match in my speed6 so I naturally do it in the Miata.