Ben Sale's white 1990 NA6

bensale · Postby **bensale** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 3:22 pm

Thanks for the compliments guys, much appreciated! :mrgreen:

I love the look with the bar, wheels, low etc. For me it is the right balance as far as originality and what makes the car so great to start with and a more aggressive, racy modified look.

And lol, I guess it could quite easily be read that way and disappoint people...

-alex · Postby **-alex** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 7:53 pm

I know of some good roads.
Car is looking great =) . . .

bensale · Postby **bensale** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 8:34 pm

Funny that. . .

Thanks Alex. . . :mrgreen:

I took my Alfa to the Alfa club's Spettacolo show and shine today. Great day, great company, great cars! Stucky's tyres had a stand there, I was chatting to Russel Stucky and the Dunlop DZZ1 Star Specs aren't as pricey as I thought they were... With the club discount I can get them in 14'' for around $175ea or in 15'' for around $215ea... The price for14'' is directly comparable with the 15'' price for the KU36 or R1R so I'm thinking Iog going with the DZZ1's, just need to decide what size to go for... 185/60/14. 195/60/14, 195/50/15 or 205/50/15... Decisions, decisions...

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 9:12 pm

Wow! That's a great price on the Star Specs. Best I've been quoted up here is $200 for 185/60R14. Admittedly that was in January this year and the exchange rate has strengthened since then which should help. BTW, Tire Rack have them for US$97 each plus shipping. I'll be getting a set of Star Specs next, provided that Mike OKs them for standard class in NSW.

bensale · Postby **bensale** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 9:31 pm

I was surprised too! That does include a 10% discount I get as a member of the Vic MX-5 club. Whats the shipping cost like from the US? I imagine that in the end the cost would be fairly similar.

I'm currently running the re001s like you, apparently the Star Specs are a good couple of seconds a lap quicker than them... :mrgreen:

The whole debate of what tyres should be allowed in a standard/limited modified (clubman) class is such a can of worms... A lot of crap down here about it lately... IMO these are much closer to semi's than road tyres... But whats legal is legal and these are considered a road tyre so therefore legal in my class... Pretty much all the competitive guys in standard/clubman in Vic run these so I guess i'll get on board

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 10:26 pm

I think shipping 4 tyres from the US costs around $200. So add in fitting and balancing and you're probably only saving about $50. Probably not worth the hassle if you can get them locally for $175.

I know what you mean about the debate over tyres in standard classes. So many different opinions, each valid in their own way. Like you say, if S-specs are approved in standard class then you're only hurting your own times if you don't use them. I expect there will be a lot of discussion on this subject at the interstate challenge!

bensale · Postby **bensale** » Mon Nov 15, 2010 10:16 am

Hmm, it does sound like a lot of hassle for not much gain...
I agree, if they're permitted you're only hurting times by not using them. The interstate challenge will be interesting. I can't believe how many cars are coming down... Neither can the Alfa club... Should be good fun!

bensale · Postby **bensale** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:10 pm

I fitted a sabelt harness to the car today... Quite interesting. First impressions were good, I was amazed by how well it held me in the car. But took me quite a while to get comfortable, it was actually painful to start with due to the tightness of it and a bit hard to drive... I hated it. I decided to try it again when I went out this afternoon, after a bit of tinkering I got the driving position and the way I sat in the seat right all I can say is WOW! It's quite amazing how different the car feels to drive, you're much more a part of it, you get more feel for what the car is doing and can drive it better due to the added feel and not moving about. Massively impressed and highly recommended.

I also dropped my nb roof off to have the new window sewed in :mrgreen:

bensale · Postby **bensale** » Thu Nov 25, 2010 5:24 pm

I got the roof back and installed it last night finishing it off this morning. Changing over soft tops is not what I would describe as a fun job... Not that it's terribly hard, it's just that you have to take half the car apart (I also removed the roll bar to do it) to get access to the things you have to unbolt. I remember changing over a top for Cheyne in the rain a while ago and swearing that I'd never do it again... Hmm, remember why now

Admittedly doing it in a garage with all tools at my disposal it wasn't so bad.

Anyway, the roof is fantastic, thanks again to Fattima for giving me the frame and canvas and Bigdog for the rear window, thank you so much guys! The NB roof it much nicer than the NA roof (even overlooking the holes my na roof had) the operation is very nice, rear visibility is so much better with the glass window, and I was glad that my roll bar fitted well with it. It also doesn't rattle like my na roof did and insulates a lot more road noise and rain noise. Overall I'm very happy and consider it to be a very worthwhile mod for an NA.

I'll take some better pics with a proper camera when I get the chance.

-alex · Postby **-alex** » Fri Nov 26, 2010 12:03 am

Looking great. . .

bensale · Postby **bensale** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:52 pm

=) Thanks. . .

Better pics

The last months mod's in one picture =)

I also made up my grill yesterday. I've always thought it was a bit of a design oversight having the radiator so exposed to rocks, bugs etc. The whole potential locust thing in Vic and knowing that I have a bit of country driving coming up prompted me to make this. Thanks to deBounce for giving me the mesh! =)

It's very well hidden (which i wanted as I'm not really a fan of the look of a mesh grill) so to show it i had to way over expose in post.

lee · Postby **lee** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 3:46 pm

*drools*

That front mesh thing looks great! I'm planning on getting something similar when I eventually get my 5

de Bounce · Postby **de Bounce** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 7:11 pm

Looking good Ben.

Love the white with the NB8B rims and new soft top.

Belies it's age

bensale · Postby **bensale** » Sun Nov 28, 2010 12:15 am

Thanks guys, much appreciated! I agree, it certainly doesn't look like a 20 year old car, I'm really pleased with the look it's got.

Lee, the grill cost me a total of $7 to make (although I did have the free mesh thanks to de Bounce) I actually have enough mesh left over to make one more grill...

ave · Postby **ave** » Sun Nov 28, 2010 3:27 am

Hey Ben, car is looking super. I like what you have done to the car, specially the roll bar.
Invisible grill is a great idea too, should put one on my car. Is the one in the photo the one you made yourself, or the other one? It looks like it has some rubber around the perimeter.