Adam's Very Slow Build NA

BlackR · Postby **BlackR** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:20 pm

Hey All,

Been lurking around here now for six months or so now, and thought I should finally intro myself and my car.

But first, some history, aka my previous automobiles!

Oldest to newest:

My first ride! Great little car. 1988 Honda Civic DX

Next on the list I had a 1997 Honda Prelude VTi-R and then a 1986 Honda Prelude Si but don't have any photos of them.

Then onto this bucket! Not very nice at all.

Quickly got rid of the Celica for this, a 1990 Honda Prelude Si, wonderful vehicle!

Dunno why I sold it but I did, and bought this 2003 Mazda Astina SP20, had it for 10Kms, the g'box blew and Mazda wouldn't cover it, so I fixed it and sold it.

Didn't have a car for a while, then I got this, the love of my life. One owner (60yo), FSH, mint.

Me at Eastern Creek, wasn't that fun!!!!!!!!!!

But then, someone wanted it more then me, and it was gone :cry:

So after getting the insurance money, I bought this...

It was ok...

True story, on my way up to look at my current 5 at a dealership in Waitara, 3kms out the Bimmer blows a belt and overheats. Crawled it to the dealership and traded it on the spot. They even gave me $3K for it. Didn't tell ém it was busted though.

Which brings me to the MX5, not much done yet, and still need to take more shots, but here it is. Bought it on the 28th of Jan 2011.

Great car!!

lee · Postby **lee** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 3:17 pm

That's quite a history there! You seem to have an affinity for Japanese cars

It looks like you've picked out a very nice example of the MX5s as well. Everything looks absolutely immaculate; do you know what it's history is like?

Do you have any plans for modifications, and perhaps a return to the track?

BlackR · Postby **BlackR** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 3:33 pm

Returning to the track is the ultimate plan.

The car had 147,000 kms on it when I got it, but its history is veiled in mystery. So first thing is to get it running to a standard that I am happy with. At 150,000 kms, MX5 mania did a regular service on it and I discussed with Ajay the best way to get it back on track, so in a few weeks at its 160k service, mania will be doing a major service on her.

After that the rough plan is:

Yellow Speed coilovers and a full refreshment of all bushes.
Under body Bracing
Front and Rear way bars, probably white line
MX5 Mania CAI
Port and Machine the Head
Full Exhaust
Brown Davis Roll Bar
Rims will probably be RPF1's, 15x7

See how the car travels after that and then decide whether to FI or not.

Bizi · Postby **Bizi** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 4:56 pm

Very clean car!
Paint and wheels make it look like new. Well bought.

What does MX5 Mania charge for the intake? Presumably it's just a matter of cutting out the right size hole, rustproofing/covering the cut and installing the intake onto the O2 sensor?

Is there more to the job than that? I ask because I'd like to install one myself.

If you're doing the performance mods, will you do a baseline 'before' dyno run and then keep a log of the power/torque changes or is that not worthwhile for these first steps?

I'd be interested to see the intake install pics! Thanks.

Ben

Nemo · Postby **Nemo** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 5:00 pm

Car looks good. I like where this is headed, sounds exactly like mine haha.

BlackR · Postby **BlackR** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:11 pm

Well, finally got around to taking some photos of the little things that I have done to the car.

First off, speakers. When I got the car it looked like it still had the original speakers in it. The drivers side was dead, and the passenger side was following. So, two days into ownership and I got a set of JVC somethings from supercheap. They look like so:

Still not to happy with the sound, so I installed a pair of Alpine Type S 4" Coax Speakers into the doors:

Sounds better now with four speakers. Put brand new wiring throughout as well, just in case! This isn't the all though, when I can get around to it I will be changing all four speakers and putting an amp and sub in as well. Going to try and find a slim line one that fits under the seat.

Next on the list is the number plate mount which i got off ebay. looks ok too. Always wanted to do this to a car, so when I saw it I jumped at the chance!

And my cat who likes to sleep on the roof of the car... :evil:

About three weeks ago the original muffler decided to rust through. God, but it sounded nice. So instead of replacing the muffler I got them to put a straight through pipe in instead. I lasted all of three days. The drone was deafening. So back to the muffler shop (a different one), I went. He put in a sports muffler, sounds ok. But i thought I'd put on a chrome tip to make it look better. It didn't, so after my attempts of getting it off, and failing, here is what it looks like now.

Yes, the tip is upside down :mrgreen:

BlackR · Postby **BlackR** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:19 pm

Lets see, I also bought this on ebay a couple of days ago. Don't know if its genuine or not. But my boot is ripped and gear knob a little worn:

More pics when I get it in.

Postby **NitroDann** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:08 pm

Loving the 4WS!

Dann

BlackR · Postby **BlackR** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:20 pm

NitroDann wrote:Loving the 4WS!

Dann

Yes, it was awesome!

RedMX · Postby **RedMX** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 8:28 pm

Interesting choice with the tip :lol:

I'm sure u'll pry it free..... The sound install looks good

BlackR · Postby **BlackR** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:22 pm

Well, on Saturday I got my car back from Mania after its major service. Some of the things done were:

Front and rear chassis bracing
Advance timing

The braces do settle the car down a bit over bumps, and it also sits flatter through corners, but have yet to give it a really good try out.

Advancing the timing doesn't really seem to make much difference till after 4000rpm. But then it seems to have a touch more urgency.

However, there seems to be a whining sound coming from the engine when you rev it. Not noticeable at idle. Kinda sounds like a supercharger whine. Any ideas on what this could be?

Also, there is now a bad funk of exhaust fumes in the cabin when the car is stationery.

And finally, how do you find out if the car has an LSD. I only ask as a couple of times when I have been a bit to eager on take off and have left two black lines, both lines have been the same length, as both wheels get the same amount of power delivered to them. Was an LSD an option on a NA6?

Cheers guys

Pics to follow!!

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:32 pm

If it is a Eunos Roadster they came with a Viscous LSD. Otherwise someone may have added a LSD before you

Whining noise as you describe it sounds like a belt that's too tight. Perhaps Alternator/Water pump or Air Con/Power steering.

BlackR · Postby **BlackR** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 4:40 pm

Yay, found out today that I need to replace the header gasket. Its like a chimney under the hood of the car.

On a brighter note, my Sparco gear knob came in today. Will take pics and post up!

Hjt · Postby **Hjt** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 8:09 pm

[quote]However, there seems to be a whining sound coming from the engine when you rev it. Not noticeable at idle. Kinda sounds like a supercharger whine. Any ideas on what this could be?/quote]

Not a mechanic, but i'm sure the fuel pump makes a whine

BlackR · Postby **BlackR** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 6:17 pm

Hjt wrote:
However, there seems to be a whining sound coming from the engine when you rev it. Not noticeable at idle. Kinda sounds like a supercharger whine. Any ideas on what this could be?/quote]

Not a mechanic, but i'm sure the fuel pump makes a whine

The whine is definitely coming from the engine bay. Is the fuel pump located in or around the fuel tank?