Alex's white NA8 build.

[Alex 2550]

Last thing I have done recently was paint the brake callipers. I only did this to tidy the car up not highlight the brakes so a very boring gloss black was chosen.
I am currently looking at brake upgrades as the pads and rotors are getting towards the end of their life but I pulled the callipers off and apart, painted them, cleaned the slides and re greased them with pbr rubber grease.
I also painted the outside edge of the rotors and centre to tidy them up as well. But a couple quick before and after.

Image1467613972.793505.jpg

And no I didn't paint brake pads just the outside backing plate .
It actually did clean up the look of the car a fair bit which is a bonus but gave me the opportunity to measure the rotor thickness, check pads and wheel bearings and just get to look over and know the car more so it was worth it just for that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Alex 2550]

thanks Bruce, i wish i didn't have to use the join but hey it is what it is, all in all im happy with the way it looks for what it cost.
yer the tape was from engine master Aus and it cost $40 plus $10 freight and the filter was $55 so without the tape the whole thing could be done for under $100 but i think that on the track the tape would be a worthwhile addition. for the record i did try to get the simota filter off mania as i like to support them but AJ was out of stock and very helpful but there filters are $50 so $5 cheaper than what i paid but i didn't want to wait.

[speed]

I'm happy that you like the intake.
I went all out and cut a 100 mm oval in my firewall so that the pipe didn't reduce anywhere before the filter. Downside was that I hated the sound so now have a hole to fill.
Your car is coming along and the stuff you do is neat, so good work!

[Alex 2550]

Thanks heaps Steve,
Yer yours would of been crazy.... Hook your turbo Intake to it. I'm pretty happy just need an exhaust to compliment it.

[Alex 2550]

SORRY MISSED A STEP IN COWL INTAKE!!.
hey everyone for those who checked out the cowl intake i left a step out in the build.
After i made the lip in the pipe that goes to the end of the filter housing i actually put two blind alloy rivets on either side so the tube is permanently attached to the housing.
i basically slid the hose down on filter housing, made sure the pipe was perfectly positioned drilled through both the pipe and housing and inserted rivet (just sitting in hole) to hold it all while i drilled other side, i then pulled the rivet out and again used the blue silicone to seal the pipe to the housing then properly inserted rivet so the whole intake is properly sealed and wont twist on the filter.
i didn't take any pics of this but if this doesn't make sense or you need to ask any questions pop them up.

[Alex 2550]

Hey everyone, well the car went great recently on the brass monkey run with the mx5 club. good turnout of MX-5's, a few Cobras and a Daimler thrown in for some spice. I'll get some photos up when I get a chance.
I ended up doing just over 1,300km that weekend. Headed up through kangaroo valley and the back way through Mulgoa to the blue mountains on the Saturday.
Sunday morning we (fiancée and I) were up at 4am and got outside to be greeted by a drizzly rain (brass monkey is a roof down event).
Regardless we headed down the mountains to meet everyone at eastern creek.
We set out from eastern creek at 6am and everyone was in good spirit even with the weather, the drive was great with MX's as far as the eyes can see.
Anyway after a great breakfast and a good amount of money raised for Careflight we headed up to MT Panorama and most headed our seperate ways.
Me and the other half stayed there for a while and got some photos before heading back to the blue mountains to catch up with my dad then headed home Monday, the car averaged 8L per 100km fuel consumption.
In summary it was a great day but more importantly I really am starting to love this little car and really enjoying the "roadster life". As I mostly drive with the hardtop on I guess I have been in a false feeling of security but with this being my longest run with the top off I must say I felt a little exposed so I will very shortly be getting a roll bar and I'm leaning towards an mx5+ tall boy diagonal. This was always high on the list of priorities just a little more so now.

As mentioned originally I really like retro NA's and what would a retro NA build be without a set of these

I wasn't really looking with roll bar coming but I got them off eBay UK for an absolute bargain (insert nearly stolen at the price I got ) and are in very very good complete condition (pics don't do justice) they have all the backing plates, speaker mesh un-dented, the rubber seal right around the edges, all front dress screws and even all the genuine back screws that actually mount it. Couple small scratches and a very small dent which I'm thinking came from a rock on drivers shoe pushed against door getting out. All in all very happy with them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Alex 2550]

small update.
So managed to catch up with Manga_blue on the weekend which was great as he hadn't seen my NA8 before and i wanted him to look over it, drive it ect and let me know what it needs. he is also a wealth of knowledge and great to talk with.
his car is an earlier (very well set up record breaking) 1995 NA8 and mine is a 12/1995 NA8 but sold in Aus as a 96 so not even a year between them.
there is a few cosmetic interior differences between the 2 such as indicator stalks, mine are like the US and are bent his are straight like JDM, my doors have different pockets and arm rests and i don't have the floor well lights just the top one like an NB.
When Phil drove my car he noticed that it basically went too well for a standard (plus intake) NA8 and said he wanted to look at the computer.
anyway on inspection my computer has a completely different loom plug set up and Phil said that there was a decent computer upgrade done in the S2 NA8. as a side note megasquirt list two models for the PNP on NA8 but they say from 96 so really these changes must of been from late 95. My mazda computer number is BPU3 if people wish to compare.
in short my NA8 is a S2 so a nice little surprise there.
He also calculated that i had aftermarket springs somewhere around the 7kg front 5 kg rear range, after he experienced the firm ride i had spoken about previously. another win.
i also spoke to phil about bumping the timing to 14 and that my understanding of the method was correct however my timing light has a busted globe (or another issue) so i hadn't done this yet. Phil kindly hooked his up (with the 10 and ground bridge) and i am already running at 14 degrees. it just gets better
ill try get a post up later of a little project i knocked over last night as well as a few new goodies that have arrived some are go fast bits others are cosmetic\tuner friendly parts either way all are in the engine bay

[Alex 2550]

So I have wanted to mount my 1kg extinguisher for safety both at the track and on the street. Always handy to have for your safety and others.
I have a 1kg and a 2kg mounted in my remote area touring Nissan Patrol.
Anyway there was a write up on here where someone used a replacement floor scraper blade however I couldn't find one anywhere, Bunnings could special order it but I wanted to see it first.
So I visited the local metal fabricators and they gave me yes gave me a sheet nearly 400mm x 700mm x 4mm alloy. Yer a little big for this project but handy to have leftovers anyway.
I had an idea how I wanted it to look so figured last night I would have a play and make it up. First cut and I broke my only metal jigsaw blade grrr so did the rest with the grinder.
I'll try get some good pics up when I get a chance but here is some from last night.
the alloy had some marks so i gave it a polish and drilled some holes for a bit of a feature wasn't sure how many to do so i figured 5 was a good number .
i also plan to get carbon miata airstream handles and thought this would tie in well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[smy0003]

Looks great!
I like the speed holes and the shiney.

Can confirm that my Oct '95 is a two plug ECU, so we must both be a hair either side of the model update.

[Alex 2550]

Looks great!
I like the speed holes and the shiney.

Can confirm that my Oct '95 is a two plug ECU, so we must both be a hair either side of the model update.

Thanks mate unlike Gregory I need all the speed holes I can get lol. Just thought it's a little nicer than flat plate and I think will only add to the final interior finish..... Even if that is a long ways away.
Hope your still loving Gregs new power. I really do like your build.

[Alex 2550]

So as I said earlier I have a few new goodies here.
All along the plan has been to build a retro roadster that can be taken for a weekend away and still put some good numbers down at the track.
I do plan to stay n/a and eventually have a balanced streetable, cammed, high compression engine that can rev. So I figure I will probably end up with adjustable cam gears so because of that and a little bit more retro styling I now have this.

Picked all the rocker and timing gear up for $30! I was lucky a guy was selling a BP head on gumtree with the square ford rocker and mentioned he could supply it with the Mazda cover if needed as he had both. so I messaged and asked if he had the timing covers and if he would sell me them with the Mazda rocker.
Luck would have it they were meant to go to scrap that day but the weather stopped the scrap metal guy showing up.
Those pics are the ones the seller who was awesomely helpful sent me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Alex 2550]

Now being that I want an engine with a hot street cam and I want it to rev both those goals are going to be hard without the use of these

Mazdaspeed shim under buckets, Supertech double light valve springs and titanium retainers.
The SUB's are heaps lighter than the HLA's.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[smy0003]

Where'd you get your hands the lifters (and how much of you don't mind me asking)?
Been thinking about it for a while but have no idea how much I'm looking at to do it.

Really liking what your doing with some well thought out ideas and materials, I'll be copying that extinguisher bracket because it matches my steering wheel

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

[StanTheMan]

Someone's been busy..... Are you going to install it all at once?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Alex 2550]

Where'd you get your hands the lifters (and how much of you don't mind me asking)?
Been thinking about it for a while but have no idea how much I'm looking at to do it.

Really liking what your doing with some well thought out ideas and materials, I'll be copying that extinguisher bracket because it matches my steering wheel

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

I'll PM you about the lifters mate but there around $290au plus freight from 949 racing but I believe you will need 6mm lash caps to set clearances and get shims from a guy in Melbourne I believe, I'll clarify that when possible as i saved them last night on my computer. Obviously it will vary car to car and with what cams are fitted ect.

Copy away on the bracket mate if I spent a couple hours more polishing it would come up better but it looks older as it is which will only add to the build the alloy had a couple marks that didn't come out but you have to look for them closely when in the car. I'm also not after the chrome look but very easy to achieve with an orbital but I polished it by hand while watching some documentary on discovery lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk