The Breakup (Miata build)

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SevenhundredS
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by SevenhundredS »

Impressive work.
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drummingpariah
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

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SevenhundredS wrote:Impressive work.
Thanks, are we going to see you at Okemo 2 this weekend?
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

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And here's the 'tire rack' I built Friday morning for the little trailer. Other than the ratchet strap failure, it worked beautifully. The hauling box sits in front of the axle, my quik-shade canopy sits in the middle, and the tires sit on the rear. That way, when I get to an event, I can take the tires and canopy off and have all the weight directly on the yoke (which is where I'll add a trailer jack).
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I had limited time, so I didn't go crazy creating fancy mounting tabs. I just cut some square tube at a 45-degree angle on my mini horizontal bandsaw, welded them onto the 'cage', and drilled holes for fasteners. They held up great with some basic countersunk stainless m8 hardware.
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It needs some refinement though, as I've discovered that a bouncy trailer and ratchet straps holding tires on is ineffective. The ratchet strap wriggled loose on the drive home, and one of my tires died a horrible death.
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I considered ordering the 'right' tires for the car, and getting some 13x8's ... but with only two events left, I can't really justify the cost of a full set of tires and wheels when I hope to be driving a different car in the spring. I just ordered a replacement tire, added on heat cycling, and should have that in by next weekend. The wheel has a few scuff marks on it, but I don't think it'll be enough to compromise it.
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

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I'm finally getting back to the car now (even if it's a bit pre-emptive; I really need to clean the garage and start packing for Ascutney), but that's what I had gumption to do today. I started building a new HVAC system, since the old one doesn't bolt in nicely after installing the A pillar bars, then test fit the door bars.

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I'm going to wait 'till this weekend to cut and weld, since it's going to require a little downtime while I pull the passenger's seat. I'm pretty happy with how it's starting to fit up.
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I may end up angling the upper and lower bars a little bit for final fitment, more like this. Any recommendations would be most welcome.
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

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I removed the entire front bumper assembly. Apparently at some point, this car had bumped into a pole or something, and the impact was hard enough that the steel support bent enough that it crimped and started rusting. The plastic outer portion looked fine, but I feel pretty uneasy knowing the front bumper is compromised.

Uneasy enough that I decided that it's time to take out the angle grinder and fix this thing for good. It's dark out now, and I don't want to bother the neighbors too much, so I'm calling it a night here.
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A tube steel bumper seems like it'd be the simplest to manufacture, and I could just make a few to be on the safe side. It'd also be a convenient place to mount some radiator ductwork, and I might be able to add on some stable splitter mounting points to it. Does anyone have any tips for building a tube steel bumper?

Right now, I'm strongly considering something along these lines.
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It looks like it would absorb quite a bit of an impact rather than transferring straight into the chassis, and seems to have pretty good tire/radiator coverage. I would certainly need to build it a bit taller to meet State Inspection requirements, and am very conscious of my limited ground clearance ... and would like to preserve what little I have.
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sdwarf36
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by sdwarf36 »

That looks way too strong to me. Maybe if you made it out of 1". The front of your car isn't that that strong-you definetly want some crush zone.
I have a tube front bumper on my street MK2 Jetta. Mainly for the same reason as you-the original was tweeked + it was easier to make a new one. Mine is 1 1/4" between the frame horns + 1" 90* bends on the ends. The cover is held on with 4 Dzus fasteners. Makes it real easy to take off for service.
Translating road racing to hillclimbing:
Proper tire selection== nothing hooks up on moss or wet leaves.
Staying on the racing line==anything paved is considered good.
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drummingpariah
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

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That sounds perfect. I've looked at dzus fasteners a few times, but there are just too many different options to easily determine what I should order. Some come with backing plates, some don't, there are all kinds of different diameters to choose from, etc. I'm starting to get to the point where quick-release fasteners for the fenders and bumper make sense, especially since I'm digging in to the splitter/underbody panels now.

For now, I think I'll just weld together something basic. If I had a bender available to me, I could get a bit more fancy, but that's not really an option pre-Ascutney2.
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

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I need to get some more photos, but I'm pretty happy with the bumper I came up with just before Ascutney. I just used 1" square tube, but it'll certainly do for now, and I made sure I could unbolt it.

To address the HLA noise that keeps getting worse and worse, I've purchased a spare 1.6 engine off Ian (who drives the 5x Miata), and we'll assemble that next week. Until then, it's just getting stripped and cleaned, and I'm ordering all the parts we'll need to build it nice and fresh. I'm not looking to make anything that anyone would consider 'big power' with this. 100 reliable wheel horsepower would have me pretty satisfied, 110whp would be astounding.

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Once the current engine is out and this engine is in, I can start tearing down the original engine, either for boost or for a rack of ITBs. Or, I may just build it and leave it on a shelf so I have a hot spare in case I explode the new engine.
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

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HVAC

I've been meaning to revisit HVAC, and Philo is the perfect time to address it.

Step 1: Remove the OEM system

The first step was to remove the OEM HVAC system, so I could see what I have to work with and start planning. All I want to re-use is the heater core, and create all new ductwork for it.

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The next step was to decide on a fan, and determine where I wanted to place it. For the first iteration, I went with a simple (4" duct fan). It runs on 12-14v so it's well suited to automotive use, but will have to be set up before the heater core, otherwise the motor will quickly overheat and burn itself out. A simple toggle switch and relay will power it.

Chassis Update

The front end of the car needed a bit of cleanup as well, so I started teardown on it. I've been meaning to finish up my splitter mounting solution, and complete the front bumper for awhile. While I was tearing stuff apart, I remove the rest of the airbag system, which consisted of some surprisingly heavy sensors and a bunch of spare wiring in inconvenient places. I'm planning to add a second horn to the front, and give it a reasonably conveniently-placed button on the dash. I like the air horn and all, but I'd prefer to have that as my 'just-in-case' backup. Not shown are my fancy new bumper support bars, but I'll get to that during final assembly.

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PAINT

$25 worth of rattlecan white apparently goes a long way.

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drummingpariah
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

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A friend is interested in buying my OEM seats, so I finally pulled the passenger seat this week. Unfortunately, all 4 different buckets I have are FAR too wide at the hip/knee area, especially with the sill bars where they are. While I sort out a narrower replacement seat, is a passenger seat required for SP, or do I need to cram the OEM passenger's seat back in for Philo?
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