Vjf915's NA Miata

[vjf915]

Okay so here's the details. It's not finished yet, and won't be back on the road for a couple days. Here's why:

That's the fuel pump cover. It's not that bad, only surface rust. But I don't want that to get worse. So I bought a new one on ebay for $28 shipped. When it gets here, I'm going to primer/paint it so that doesn't happen again. I'm also going to paint another cover that's underneath the top in that picture, as well as the package tray. That's not shown in the picture, but all three are pieces of bare aluminum, they're just open to corrosion. I also figured that while I have the fuel pump cover off, I might as well replace the fuel filter. That, and a shift boot have already been ordered. Not the leather shift boot, but it's one underneath the leather one that protects the turret. Mine is ripped. So I'm replacing that, as well as replacing the turret oil. Smoother shifts, here I come

Anyway. That's what's holding me up. But the bar is mounted. All I need to do tomorrow is modify the ECU bracket, clean up the interior, and put the interior back in (sans the rear deck carpet, and rear speaker box). I'm going to take my time with it, and clean everything up right since it won't be back on the road for about a week. Driving my boat of a Civic FTL

 

[vjf915]

I haven't been able to get much done because it's been raining like crazy here, but after work I got some more done.

Here's a picture of the ECU bracket modified, and ECU mounted back on.

All the wires have been tied up and tucked into the proper places. The ONLY thing I need to do is put the interior back in, should be able to get it done after work. Everything goes back in the way it came out, except the rear trim panels need to be trimmed a little bit to accommodate the roll bar. Can't wait to get this finished.

 

[mymmeryloss]

Nice rollbar

 

[vjf915]

Nice rollbar

Thanks. I chose the M2 Sport without any diagonals because it seemed to fit what I needed. I did want protection in case of a rollover, and this one offers four mounting points. I didn't want to get one with two mounting points because I was afraid of it mouse-trapping (folding either to the front or back) in a rollover, and it's just plain ugly as f*ck. But without any diagonals, it doesn't really effect rearward visibility as much, because this car is predominantly a daily driver so that IS important.

Overall, the installation wasn't THAT bad. It was pretty time consuming, and there is some thinking involved...but I'd definitely do it again given the opportunity.

 

[Hecz]

Nice rollbar

x2

 

[vjf915]

Thanks guys! I'm itching to get it back together though...hoping that this roll bar also reduces some of the cowl shake, and that 70mph "shimmy" these cars are known for.

 

[MistahJuice]

Coming along very nicely, get rid of the damn em2 so u can really get this thing going haha.

 

[vjf915]

Coming along very nicely, get rid of the damn em2 so u can really get this thing going haha.

Unless I can sell the EM2 for a decent price, it's going to be an even trade to pay off the Miata. BUT, insurance will be cheaper, so I'll have a little more free cash.

 

[emerican]

At least you wont have the payment either way.

 

[vjf915]

I've actually had it back together since Sunday, just not enough time to get a decent picture of it. I love it. I think it looks great, and it definitely helps stiffen up the body. Cowl shake is greatly reduced too.

 

[anfrey]

looks great!

 

[vjf915]

Thanks Anf. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

 

[anfrey]

Thanks Anf. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

does it feel much stiffer now? gonna set up a camera mount on it?

[SGH-T989/Tapatalk]

 

[MistahJuice]

lookin good man

 

[vjf915]

does it feel much stiffer now? gonna set up a camera mount on it?

[SGH-T989/Tapatalk]

Yes, a lot of the cowl shake is gone, along with other rattles. For now, no on the camera mount. All the money will be going into the actual car itself.

 

[mymmeryloss]

Did i mention i love tan interior?

 

[vjf915]

Did i mention i love tan interior?

Don't think so. I'm really not a fan, I'd rather have black interior. But I don't want triple black, which would mean painting the car (which would without a doubt be Laguna Blue). But unfortunately this car isn't in need of a paint job, and I'm not rolling in cash...so I'm just going to stick with the black and tan for now.

 

[mymmeryloss]

Snakebite...

 

[vjf915]

I don't know what you're talking about...

 

[vjf915]

Lost a little bit of momentum because the roll bar was a big project, and got pretty busy with work. But I came home from work today and started tearing in again. Guess who's got a true roadster now!!!

I'm going to spend what little spare time I have the next couple days replacing the top. It's just easier to do with the frame off, so I got the frame off today. Tomorrow after work I'm going to remove the old top from the frame, and possibly start putting the new top on. Saturday is going to be a BIG day, I'm going to put the new top on. I'll be filling my weatherstripping with caulk backing to get a tighter seal (this is actually a common practice for Miata's). I'm also going to replace my old plastic window guides with some new teflon guides, clean the tracks, and lightly grease them, as well as adjust the windows up some to get an even tighter seal. If I have time after all that, I'm going to start cutting up the rear deck to mount my subs back in after I repair them.

Just for comparison, the picture below is what the rear deck used to look like. A new access panel and some paint helped clean it up a lot.