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12/30/07
Happy New Year! Today we pulled the differential, axles and hubs out of the Miata. I think we can safely call it a parts car now, the pictures don't do it justice. Our friend Jake hung out for a bit too, so we had some company today.
We need to align the diff in the Lotus so we can mark where we're drilling the mounting holes, but before we do that we have to set up our rear suspension to use as a point of reference for the diff location. We're hoping to get all of the parts this week, so next week we'll be able to measure properly and finally mount the diff. If we have time, we'll also mount the front suspension and hubs, and maybe get this car in roller form by the end of next week.
Pics of the diff removal are HERE!
12/24/07
We did a bunch of wiring today, frustrating as hell and not much to show for it so no pics. Our friend Josh came over to hang out and help, he definitely picked the least fun day to come to the shop! Next time we work on the car, probably later this week, we'll be pulling the diff out of the miata and measuring the frame to mount it, as well as measuring for the shortened driveshaft, so we'll probably take some picures of that.
12/23/07
Good day today, we managed to pull the transmission out of the miata and mount the motor and trans in the frame. The Miata is out in the shop parking lot, so we worked as fast a possible in the freezing rain to get the trans out and get it back into the freezing, but dry, shop. We measured up where we were going to bolt the trans to the frame, temporarily mounted it and hoisted up the engine and guided it in.
Once it was joined with the trans we got a pretty good idea of where our motor mounts where going to have to go into the frame. We measured and marked everything off, raised the engine back up and drilled holes for our motor mounts, and pretty soon our bare frame started to look like a car!
We also took a look at our pedal assembly today. We are going to try to make the Miata pedals work without too much custom work but we both decided that if money wasn't a concern we'd like to get our hands (feet?) on some sick floor mounted Wilwood pedals.
Pics of the first day of work on the car are HERE
11/27/07
Alright guys it's been a while, but we have another update! We had a long delay getting the die needed for the tube bender used to make our roll cage, but it finally came, so the frame is now being completed. We're way over our estimated delivery date of September/October, but it'll be worth the wait when it's all done. The frame and roll cage will be SCCA certified, which means that we will be able to compete in sanctioned events with no safety regulation problems. We're designing the cage to flow as much as possible with the lines of the car, but as you'll see when it's done, that's not an easy task. Nevertheless, it'll protect us in a rollover, which is why we're spending so much time (and money) to get it done right.
Pics of the cage and frame in progress are HERE
9/5/07
Quick update! We heard from Coveland today, and they gave us somewhat of a schedule for the frame. Here's the email we recieved this morning:
"I will try to call you guys in the next couple of days. The Steel shipment is due in here by friday. We will get started on your frame next week. I was at limerock last weekend looking at Lotus 7 's to get some ideas on the roll cages...Jim"
Probably another month until we see it, but we're getting there!
9/2/07
Well 2 hours on a Labor Day weekend can be productive! Got around to the engine today. Basic plans were to get the head off, change the water pump, timing belt, head gasket and check out the condition of our little 153k mile engine. Turns out it was in pretty awesome shape! No sludge buildup in the typical places around the valvetrain, the cams had no signs of wear, the cylinder walls were in great condition and the pistons and valves were fairly clean for such a high mileage engine. As suspected, the head gasket had seen better days, and was the culprit for our small oil leak at the back of the motor. We cleaned everything up, got the new gasket, water pump and timing belt on there and closed everything back up - she's as good as new!
Other than that, we also need to change out the spark plugs and get a new belt for the alternator and water pump (we're not running A/C or power steering), and the engine is 100% done.
We also took a look at the clutch and flywheel. The flywheel looks like shit - it's glazed over and discolored and will need to be changed eventually, but that's going to be taken care of after the first track day or so. It's still useable while we get used to the car. The clutch will be changed at the same time.
From here we are done working on the Miata until we get our frame and will transfer over all our parts. The only bits that remain on the Miata are the suspension parts and our trans, which we kind of need to keep our roller rolling.
A few pics of the motor are HERE
8/27/07
Just got home, time for an update!
Well we're basically done with the Miata. That's right...done with the Miata. We worked on the car all day today and got nearly everything out of it. It's easier to say what is left on the car at this point, but we might as well say what we got done. The engine is completely out. The master cylinder and brake booster are out. The AC and powersteering is out. The ENTIRE wiring harness is out - there isn't one single wire left in the Miata, that was a nightmare. The interior is non existant. The pedals and entire dashboard are out.
The only things that remain in/on the car is the fuel tank/pump, the trans, the front and rear suspension, and steering column...all of which we are taking off when we get the frame for the seven.
We got in a bit of a silly mood around the halfway point and decided to get a little destructive....we figured we couldn't sell the rear body shell at all so we took out some aggression/got artistic with it (pics and video are HERE)....regardless, the Miata boys are going to HATE us for what we did to the poor little roadster.
It was a good feeling today though, we are basically completely done with the Miata. In only 9 total hours of total work we managed to COMPLETELY take apart the car into nearly every individual component sans the suspension/trans/steering....which is just 2 more hours of work.
Next we will be working on the motor - taking off the cylinder head and changing the head gasket/timing belt and doing some minor exhaust work (wrapping our manifold, attaching a custom cat setup). Other than that, we are eagerly awaiting our frame so we can junk our roller, sell off the remainder of the Miata parts we wont be using and begin to build our race car.
At the rate we are going, if we get the frame by late september we can probably have her road ready well ahead of schedule.
Pictures from today are HERE
8/20/07
Yesterday was a good day! We spent a few hours (roughly 11am-4pm) at the shop, and got alot accomplished. We managed to remove the headlights, tailights, blinkers, hood, doors, seats, gauge cluster, trunklid, radiator, exhaust from the manifold-back, and the motor is disconnected and ready to be removed, just have to hoist it out next time we work on the car. We also began to carefully label and remove the engine/body electrical harnesses that we'll need when we start to wire up the race car. We actually got alot more done than we thought we would, so we must not have been drinking enough. Next weekend we'll probably pull the motor, trans and the rest of the electrical harnesses. Pictures from yesterday are HERE
8/7/07
Today we took a trip to Queens, NY to check out a '96 Miata that we found on Craigslist. We both took a test drive in the car and were similarly impressed by it. This is the current owner's fourth Miata, and he obviously appreciates and takes good care of his cars. The good news is that tons of work was done on it recently, including tires, brakes, timing belt, thermostat, tune up and a brand new soft top. The bad news is that the car has 153,000 miles on it. The high mileage may lead to more repairs down the road, but considering our limited budget, it'll suit us perfectly.
Speaking of budget, at $3600 the price of the car is a little higher than our $3000 budget for a donor car, but because of the condition of the car we'll be able to sell off many of the parts we don't need. This coming Sunday we'll be back in Queens to close the deal, take our new car home and start tearing it apart. We have to say, it's almost a shame to take apart a car in such good condition.
...almost.
Check out the pics of the Miata HERE.
8/4/07
Well today was the first major step forward in our project! We took a trip to Coveland Motorsports around Albany, NY. What an amazing place - an entire farm dedicated to building/restoring British sports cars. We met the owner of the company, as well as the head mechanic/engineer, who were glad to show us around the shop and give us both a test ride in a completed Lotus 7 Miata kit!
If we weren't convinced this was the right car for us before today, we sure as hell are now. The handling capabilities of this car are indisputable - virtually no body roll and nearly perfect handling characteristics make for an unbelievable driving experience.
In other news, we will be the prototype car for a custom integrated SCCA-approved roll cage. The cage will be incorporated into the frame while it's being built by Coveland (as opposed to being designed and added after the car is built). There's not much room for a cage on these cars, and the typical add-on designs that we've seen look just that - added on. We're trying to design our cage to blend in a bit more - it's still being worked out between us and the company, but as soon as we get word that the frame is under construction you know we'll be up there taking pics and posting them to share with you.
For pictures of what the completed car will look like, click HERE
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