1996 NA MX-5 Build Thread

[stephen8512]

*continuing on from the above post*

So as mentioned before, the metal shroud covering the fuel lines fouled on the BeatRush strut bar so I decided to cut away at a section to make it fit. It also had a few bits of surface rust here and there too so I figured I'd sand and dremel it off and give the whole shroud a black paintjob.

Marked up and ready to be cut.



Cut section. Had to trial an error and cut bits away until eventually it cleared without fouling.



Scrap.



Sanded bits of the surface rust.



Same can of satin black I used on my wiper blades.



6 light coats with 2 thicker coats of black.



Result.



Installed.



Didn't bother with the carpet as I think it looks good as is. Might put it back in later but for now, pretty happy with how everything turned out

[stephen8512]

In other news, recently sold my MK6 Golf R. Sad, but it's going to a good home and the money I get from it will be used to invest plus buy more bits and pieces for the MX5

It will be missed!

[stephen8512]

21/05/2016

Photoshoot with Joseph Hui
Met up with Joe who took photos of my car when I first picked it up last year in December 2015 and when it was still bone stock. Fast forward five months and he said he's surprised that it's evolved so much since he had last seen it. Decided to take a few quick shots during the day. I think they turned out great.

Just needs a front and rear lip, baby teeth removed, JDM Eunos fog lights and maybe just a touch lower, then exterior wise it'll be complete.

[stephen8512]

Changed out the generic 5mm spacers for 5mm spacers which fit the Miata's 54.1 center bore. It seemed to have eliminated a lot of the steering wheel shake at 65mph.



Also finally got around to removing the baby teeth. Will be installing the JDM Eunos fog lights soon.



Finally, bought some reflect-a-gold sheets in 12x24 measurement for the underside of the bonnet to keep heat down. Will be measuring and cutting down and will be installing it over the next few days.

[stephen8512]

20/06/2016

RevLimiter NA Retro Window Switch
Received the retro switches from Adam (thanks again mate!). The part is again, very nicely put together. Promptly installed them. Installation didn't take more than 10 minutes or so. Very simple, very easy, very nice. Retro interior coming along one mod at a time.

Ordered the black version of the retro switches.



Installed.



Interior coming along, slowly but surely.



Also received this in the mail today, all the way from Osaka Japan. Toda Sports Clutch and Toda Lightened Flywheel (4.5kg / 10lbs).



This also came in today. RacingBeat NA Sway Bar End Links. Two sets for both front and rear sways to relieve preload.

[stephen8512]

24/06/2016

Zeromotive M2-1002 Style Pedals
Received some more interior dress up bits. M2-1002 style pedals by Zeromotive. The install was pretty straight forward. In fact, Adam from RevLimiter did a pretty good write up and DIY but even if you did not have his guide, it's not that hard to figure out. I think it compliments the interior quite nicely. Should look even better once I get the Nakamae interior bits.

M2-1002 Pedals with mounting bolts.



Installed.



Another delivery received today, this time from Dixcel Japan. These are my front and rear slotted rotors which will be installed when I get the clutch/flywheel done and the minor service.



I have a set of front and rear OEM Brembo pads but I'm looking for some Carbotech pads, however I'm just concerned whether they will squeal at low speed braking. Don't need a crazy compound as the car isn't going to be tracked any time soon and squealing brakes on a non-track car is one of my pet peeves.

Anyone have any experience with Carbotechs on their cars?

[stephen8512]

The last Sunday morning drive I went to was back in April and back then, the car was still on stock suspension and stock wheels. Now that the wheels have been swapped over to the RS Watanabe's, the suspension sitting on Ohlin DFV's, the car receiving a full alignment and camber/caster/toe being dialled to spec, it was a great opportunity to go for a drive and stretch its legs.

Yesterdays drive was through the Royal National Park which is a popular destination for car and bike enthusiasts alike. Some great winding roads and scenery to match. I'm very happy to report that the car simply ate up the corners and felt solid and planted every step of the way. I'm really enjoying the car and happy with how it handles right now. I wonder how much of an improvement installing the frame rails and butterfly brace will be?

Here are some rolling shots.













My friend Daniel decided to vlog and record our Sunday Morning Drive through the Royal National Park. Some great footage was captured with the use of multiple GoPros, DSLRs and even a drone. I also did a car swap with him let him drive the MX-5 for a bit while I got to drive his cool little Renault Clio RS.

Check out his YouTube videos on his channel for more awesome creative content.

[stephen8512]

I contacted Adam from RevLimiter a while ago to ask him if he could make me a custom set of gauge faces as I wanted something which would make the cluster fit the retro theme. I decided to go with the RS-Products Type RS gauge faces but with a little bit of customisation, such as higher red line on the tach and green backlit on the faces. As always, workmanship is second to none and the end result looks fantastic! Always a pleasure dealing with Adam.

Also grabbed the RevLimiter low reflective/low glare lenses for my RS-Products cluster. The glass, as nice as it is, reflects too much with the top down on a sunny day and makes it hard to see the gauge cluster. Hopefully by replacing them with these it will improve it.

RevLimiter Type-RS Gauges + Revlimiter low glare lenses.

[stephen8512]

02/08/2016

Mazdaspeed Induction Box + Mazdaspeed Panel Air Filter
I was extremely lucky to have scored this Mazdaspeed Induction Box from Yahoo Japan. I've wanted one ever since a friend showed me a picture of it. Given the fact that it's a pretty rare item made it that much more appealing. I still have the ARC Induction Chamber and the ARC Induction Box too and they are very nice items as well. I decided to hold on to these items for the time being in case I decide to get another MX-5 in the future. Who knows, right?

Mazdaspeed Induction Box.



ARC Induction Box VS Mazdaspeed Induction Box.



ARC Panel Filter VS Mazdaspeed Panel Filter





Before.



After. Goes well with the rest of the gold/green bits in the engine bay.






OEM Panasonic Battery Replacement
The car wasn't starting as well as it used to and I was pretty certain the culprit was the battery. It came with the car when I received it so I have no idea how long it's been in there for. However, I was able to score a genuine OEM Panasonic battery and proceeded to swap it out.

Old battery.



Genuine OEM Battery Part number.



Old vs New comparison.



Installed.



What I used to get the bolt off from the negative terminal. 10mm deep socket and a longass extension haha!




Also, I received this from Japan. BeatRush aluminium under panel tray. The box was massive! Will be installing this when the car goes in for its next service. It's blue because it hasn't had the wrapping film peeled off it yet.

[stephen8512]

Couple of photos from the CITR hoodies meet. Reflection thread here







My little MX-5 being overshadowed by Roland's awesome "5ENNA" widebody NSX

[stephen8512]

13/08/2016

Depo Clear Front Indicator Lamps
I noticed that my passenger side front indicator lamp (driver side for you folks in the US) was getting condensation quite badly and it wasn't going away any time soon. I do have a spare set of OEM lamps I picked up for cheap second hand but I managed to get my hands on a set of these Depo clear front indicators. They look OEM and instead of using an orange reflector inside the lamp, these use an orange bulb. These came with a set of chrome bulbs which blink orange when activated.

Condensation building up on the OEM lamp.



OEM and Depo comparison.



Before.



After.





I didn't take any photos of this step but it did require me to do a bit of soldering as the OEM parker light wires needed to be cut and the Depo parker wires needed to be soldered mainly because the fittings were not transferrable.

Overall, I think it looks fantastic. Still has the OEM look without the orange reflectors.

[stephen8512]

26/08/2016

Engine bay is coming along nicely but the overall look is let down by the tired looking valve cover and intake manifold. I managed to score a second hand NA8 cover and intake manifold for under $100.00 with plans to get them both polished up nice and shiny. However, after thinking about it for a while and getting a second opinion I decided to just go with a boring yet clean matte black look. This way it should make the engine bay look nice and stealth.

I know I could have done this myself with some sandpaper, wax and grease remover and some cans of VHT (as I had done before) but instead I decided to get it done professionally. The valve cover and manifold were stripped, sanded back and then painted in matte black. Many thanks to Chris at Craved Coatings. He's quite well known in the Skylines Australia community as he caters for a lot of GTR owners who get their RB26 covers and plenums painted and recoated. He does other bits and pieces too. In the past he ceramic coated my exhaust and downpipe on my old Golf R so I know the quality of his work and knew I was in good hands. As expected, he did a fantastic job and these came out amazing.

I'll be putting these on after the car goes in for its next service, which will also see a new clutch and lightened flywheel upgrade, lightened water pump and alternator pulleys and some new brake pads with slotted rotors all round.

Before.



After.

[Alex_Walker]

Wow. Attention to detail. Looks great

[Grant@Honed]

Really nice car and great photos too. Thanks for sharing!

[eskimo_firefighter]

Great attention to detail! Looks like you're having a lot of fun with this car. Keep it up! Great selection of quality parts too.