Finally putting my ass in gear to put everything down into a thread for the car
Most recent pics (early this year):
Backtracking a bit...it looked like this when I first took ownership in late 2006
It was really quite purty...with a custom leather retrim and immaculate paint. The previous owner intended it to be sorta like a boulevard cruiser and that's what I did in the first couple of months owning it...just cruising around. Until I started noticing a few things:
1. The suspension was shot
2. I couldn't corner in it
3. The chromies must weigh as much as the car
So I slowly got to work on it...
April 2007
Clubman Bilsteins taken out...probably the best mod I've done so far as they were pretty much shot
KYB AGX adjustables with el cheapo King springs (mud from skidpan available seperately)
Then came wheels. I was pretty much broke after paying for the car so in went a set of Black Racing replica something or rather...along with some Toyo Proxes 4's in 205/50/15. I also added on a lip spoiler which gave it a bit more front on presence.
Oran Park skidpan day with Aaron McGill (July 2007)
Weeeee!
Captain Absurd Entry Angle = failll
You won't believe how 2 months after that skidpan I was still discovering mud on some random part of the car that I needed to clean off....
August 2007
Mods to the interior was the next thing I did (yes I took out all that leather! But sometimes I miss their plushness...) then some chassis bracing front and rear, and finally a BD rollbar and hardtop. Some interior bits and pieces were also added in.
New H4 headlights with angel eye low beam and LED parkers ($30 bucks from Yahoo auctions! Plus 3 hours of silly time extending, welding, connecting wires...testing and retesting lol)
Momo Competition put in...as well as APX Titanium knob
Sparco Ultra installed...no more leather = no more butt sliding. Stock NA passenger seat also installed
Engine shot...nothing special here, Cusco strut brace w/ brake master cylinder stopper
Daytime pics (outside dodgy RSL pub)
September 2007
HKS headers, X-Force hiflow cat, and K1 Racing catback happiness
David and Daniel @ MX5Mania...welding on the flanges at the cat
By god this setup was LOUD. It took a while to get used to but the result was great. It gave the car a noticeable kick at 4500rpm and you would see the revs build much quicker past that point. Low-end improvement was negligible.
November 2007
sh*t happened. I was driving home in Summer weather from the city, all was fine, but then just as I was pulling up my driveway the engine seized, and died. I mustn't have paid attention at all, as the temp gauge had skyrocketed to its maximum. Getting out of the car quickly, I opened the hood, and sure enough....smoke and steam poured out.
Worriedly, I let it sit there with the hood open for a while....until it was cool to open the radiator cap. Lo and behold, the car had some point in time during my drive home emptied itself of coolant
I filled it back up , checked the levels again in the morning and drove it a bit more, but the engine has had it. Into the shop it went again for some major, major work...- Engine came out
- VRS head gasket kit rebuild
- Repalced engine rings
- Replaced water pump, timing belt, idler bearings, all fluids
- Replaced radiator hoses
- NB 40mm Cooling Pro radiator fitted
- Replaced rear main seal
- Replaced heater hoses
- Head shaved 10 thou
But thankfully after all that, it's now running quite well, with noticeably more torque down low and faster throttle pickup/response. A big thanks also to David and Daniel for all their work on this.
July 2008
Things have been pretty uneventful (phew!) since the engine rebuild. Front rubber suspension top mounts replaced. Sorry no pics! The car feels lot more planted and solid than before...when the top metal plate had separated from the rubber on the mount by almost a whole finger width!
Specs as of July 2008
Engine
MX5 Mania cold air intake
Timing advanced (10->14)
NGK iridium sparkplugs
Head machined and shaved 10 thou
HKS headers
K1 Racing catback exhaust
X-Force hi-flow cat
Suspension/brakes
KYB AGX adjustables
King springs
Fat Cat Motorsports 46mm linear bumpstop kit
Bendix Ultimate pads
Cusco strut brace w/ brake master cylinder stopper
Unknown JDM front sway bar (it's red?)
Stock rear sway bar
Chassis
Brown Davis rollbar (CAMS approved)
MX5 Mania front lower arm brace
MX5 Mania rear lower arm brace
Wheels
El cheapo Black Racing replica 15x7's
Toyo Proxes 4's in 205/50/15
Exterior
Factory front lip spoiler
Factory black hardtop (crinkle black finish w/ no demister lines)
IL Motorsport clear side indicators w/ clear side reflectors
Zoom Engineering fuel cover
Short antenna
7\" H4 headlamps w/ angel eye low beam
LED parkers
Rear mudguards deleted
Front badge deleted
Interior
Sparco Ultra driver's seat
Sparco lumbar cushion
350mm Momo Competition steering wheel
APX Titanium gearknob
Generic brushed aluminium handbrake lever
Generic drilled aluminium pedals
JVC HU
Pioneer splits
Alpine amp
Coming plans
Finally take this thing to the track!
Thanks for reading guys. Comments/suggestions welcome
love the car man, looks tough.
