spec.this.miata

I replaced the clutch master cylinder today.

It went smoothly until it came time to bleed the system. I had asked Arti earlier today if she could help me out, to which she agreed. However, when the master cylinder was installed and ready to be bled, Arti was sleeping. Just pumping on the pedal didn’t do anything, so I needed to figure out a way to simulate a partner pumping the pedal. The solution came in the form of a Shop-Vac hose extension — a rigid piece of 3″ diameter pipe. I would put it between the driver’s seat and clutch pedal to keep the pedal depressed. I attached a 2 foot length of vinyl tubing to the clutch slave bleeder valve, and sucked the fluid almost to the end of the tube. I put the tube into a bottle of old brake fluid, and proceeded to pump the pedal with the pipe, locking it into place with the driver’s seat. It was slow, but worked well!

One thing I’ve seen in other Spec Miatas is that they turned the tach so that the redline was when the needle was pointed straight up in the 12 o’clock position. With the instrument cluster out of the car, I thought I’d try my hand at making this change. After a few failed ideas, I finally figured out how to do this.

See this page for step-by-step instructions on how to rotate your tach.

I spent about 30 minutes cleaning the car and removing the airbag electronics (diagnostics module, accelerometer, control module). We’re now down to removing ounces of weight at a time! I ordered some new spark plugs (Denso Iridium IK20) and a K&N Air filter (Model RU-3580). I plan to make an adapter for it to mount on the stock air meter. Any suggestions?

I picked up the suspension arms from Tony, and installed the new suspension with the help of Ffej (Derek was enjoying the warm waters of Belize at the time … I can’t blame him!). With the new suspension in and not aligned, the car is “interesting” to drive. I can’t wait for Tony to put his magic hands on the car.

I manhandled the dash out of the car using some key tips from Joe “The Dashmaster” Coliccio. The most helpful one was when he pointed out the nut under the plastic cover in the center of the dash, just under the windshield. I don’t think I would have ever found that one. It seemed that I’d have to remove the turn signal stalk from the steering column to get the dash out, but the steering column flexes enough so that it’s not necessary. Removing the A-pillar plastic trim, along with the rearview mirror and top-of-the-windshield trim is necessary to remove the dash, and is something that will not go back into the car.To get the heater controls out, it’s easiest to disconnect the control cables from the various devices under the dash, rather than from the control unit itself. Once the cables are disconnected, it will slide out fairly easily.

I also removed the door panels and cleaned up the trunk of the car. There is still some sound-deadening material in the trunk. I’ll need to find a heat gun and spend some time with a putty knife getting it out. It’s really stuck on there…

With the dash out, I could remove the A/C condenser, which used to sit there in the middle of the photo. It will soon be replaced with an accordion hose to connect the blower to the heater core.

On Christmas day, I removed the suspension from the car and cleaned up the suspension arms to take to Tony at TC Design to have new bushings pressed in. I don’t have the necessary 12-ton press to do this job. Disassembling the shocks and springs to get the shock mount off was pretty fun. Normally you would use a spring compressor to remove tension from the shock mount, but I didn’t have any. So I laid the assembly down in the backyard, put my foot on the shock mount, and zipped off the top nut with the cordless impact. TWANG! The shock and spring shot about 10 feet away from me. The shock mount and nut were still underfoot. Success!I assembled the new shocks and springs with the old shock mounts, and bolted them to the car. Now it’s just waiting for the suspension arm bushings, which will be done in the next day or two.

I gave Paul @ Rotorsport the green light to do the timing belt and other stuff, and was pleasantly suprised to have the car back with the power steering, A/C, and cruise control neatly removed. Paul may be more of an enthusiast than me!

The car went to Rotorsport in Santa Clara, CA to get fresh fluids. I’ll do pretty much anything on the car but deal with disposing of oil and other hazardous waste. Paul at Rotorsport has been a pleasure to deal with from the beginning, and his expertise shows. He replaced the engine oil, transmission fluid, and diff oil with high quality synthetics from Royal Purple and Redline. He flushed the coolant and filled it with distilled water and water wetter (no antifreeze on the track!). He recommended a new timing belt, and ancilaries that go along with it (thermostat, water pump, tensioners, idler pulleys, valve cover gaskets, and various seals).

The Sparco Circuit Pro seats I had ordered ended up being too short — my shoulders hit the head protection halo even if I slouched (I’m 6′3, 215 lbs). I learned a good lesson that a seat is like a helmet — you’ve got to try it on before you buy it. I ended up selling the seats to another track junkie, and getting a pair of Recaro SPG XL seats from a friend who had them in his personal inventory (i.e. taking up space).

I was a little concerned if the seats would fit in a tiny Miata. I’ve seen normal (not XL) head-protection seats installed in an SM. A trip over to TC Design eased my nerves. Tony took one look at the seat in the car, and said it would be absolutely no problem getting it in there. He was mostly concerned about the width of the seat base, but that’s an easy fit with more than an inch to spare all around.

Derek and I managed to find some time one Saturday in November to tear into the car. We overhauled the entire braking system (master cylinder, stainless braided lines, rebuild calipers, new pads and rotors, fresh fluid) and replaced the failed clutch slave cylinder. I bought the rotors from overnightautoparts.com in case you were wondering how a full set was only $100. We also removed all of the carpeting and most of the unnecessary interior parts from the car (center console, plastic pieces below seat belts, mudflaps, etc.). That was a fun day!

The Concept

The Birth

I remember driving in the car after Derek had first gotten it. It was fairly new, black with tan interior. It seemed so luxurious at the time — leather seats, power windows, cruise control. Little did we know that 8 years later it would all change. After a short time with the car, Derek gave it to his parents as a gift. They drove it until very recently, when Derek made an eminent domain claim on the car so that it could find its final calling as a track beast.

The Change Begins

Derek and I decided to build the car together, but it was really difficult to find some times when our schedules lined up. The Miata was at my house for a week before I went coocoo wanting to do something to it. I decided to take matters into my own hands. Removing the convertible top would be harmless right? Well, an hour later and that sucker was sitting on the lawn, conquered. I started to learn just how easy this car was to work on. It’s small, and everything is right there in the open. Very few tricks.

This was encouraging. I spent the next several days seeking out the parts that we would need to build the car. Brake pads, suspension, seats, harnesses, wheels, tires. I spent about $6000 in short order acumulating the necessary items to make this thing into a race car. That’s just the beginning.