What have you done to your Miata today?

Started assembling the engine yesterday. Didn't get much further than organizing some stuff and sitting the head on the block simply bolted into place and not torqued. Had an X5 I needed to do some diagnosis work on in the direct sunlight and 97 temperatures. I left the engine on my back patio, exposed to the elements, though somewhat covered. Woke up to a gnarly thunderstorm at 1am and ran downstairs and outside to cover it. Somehow I awoke before the rain started. Luckily.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk
 
Had my youngest help me bleed the brakes and clutch this morning. I also calibrated the O2 sensor and inspected the bottom of the car. Finally, I did some prep for installing the flaps on my radiator fan shroud. I'll have some pictures of that once I get around to doing the job.
 
A job helping a friend of my wife's move got postponed so this afternoon I decided to go ahead and install the fan shroud flaps. First step was to determine how large I wanted to make the opening. I settled on 5 mm less tn the bottom and sides, and 10 mm less at the top. This would give me overlap for sealing, as well as allowing me to bolt it at the top. These flaps come with rubber fingers that are meant to hold the flap in place, but I'm running a Lexan shroud which is a lot thicker than the normal metal shrouds these are used on. Once that was done I cut a template and laid it out:

35327752004_0aaa287d90_c.jpg


35327750574_0bbe771be0_c.jpg


Next step was to drill holes at the corners of the opening, this provides stress relief while cutting the Lexan (and it will also stop any crack from propagating should you do something wrong):

35327749714_1e5bf25e0c_c.jpg


I then started to cut along the lines. Initially I tried using my Dremel with a cut-off wheel, however it was just melting the Lexan. Next I tried this:

35327748634_6efe4ec7aa_c.jpg


That did the trick. There was still some melting but unless you are using some sort of cooling fluid or going exceptionally slow I don't see how you can avoid this. Got both openings cut out and then needed to clean things up.

35997749832_77eda30a2b_c.jpg


I tried using a single-edged razor blade which worked, but at some damage to my fingers. I then figured I'd try my straight cutters:

35997748502_3585c728c8_c.jpg


Those worked great. Once I had the edges trimmed I used a sanding wheel on the Dremel and a file to finish the clean-up.

Since I was going to be bolting the flaps in place I wanted something to spread the load out to avoid cracking of the Lexan and to positively hold the flaps in place. I have some thin aluminum lying around so cut four strips out of that. Drilled three holes in each, located the strips on the shroud and drilled the holes in it. Finally I put it all together with some M4 screws and nyloc nuts. The hardest part of this was getting holes punched in the flaps, the rubber used is pretty tough. When all was said and done, I ended up with this:

35997747332_cfc936305c_c.jpg


It isn't the prettiest thing I've ever done, but I found cracking on the attachment tabs on the shroud so I'm not sure how much more life it has anyway. I doubt anyone will be looking at it that closely in any case given the location of the flaps on the shroud.
 
Very cool! That's something I've thought about doing as well. It's probably best to get the car running and log some coolant temperatures first, though.
 
Nice work "chief"! Never thought of doing that myself!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Not sure I like acrylic for a shroud, but the blowout panels are a good idea.
 
NICE! its functional and probably cheaper than buying the parts so i think it looks awesome!

Thanks.

Very cool! That's something I've thought about doing as well. It's probably best to get the car running and log some coolant temperatures first, though.

It was pretty easy with the tools I have.

Nice work "chief"! Never thought of doing that myself!

I can't take credit for the idea, just the execution. I got the flaps from Summit Racing, they are only a couple of bucks apiece.

Not sure I like acrylic for a shroud, but the blowout panels are a good idea.

I got a good deal on the shroud, some guy had made them and had one sitting around. With as thick as it is I didn't think it would be an issue, but like I said I found stress cracking on the mounts when I pulled it. Now I have to see if one of the folks who sell the complete setup will sell me just a shroud (I have two nice Spal fans so I'm set with that).
 
With as thick as it is I didn't think it would be an issue, but like I said I found stress cracking on the mounts when I pulled it.

Yeah, acrylic can be a pain in the ass. Very brittle. Almost as bad as working with glass. I could potentially see ABS or Lexan working.
 
Yeah, acrylic can be a pain in the ass. Very brittle. Almost as bad as working with glass. I could potentially see ABS or Lexan working.

A job helping a friend of my wife's move got postponed so this afternoon I decided to go ahead and install the fan shroud flaps. First step was to determine how large I wanted to make the opening. I settled on 5 mm less tn the bottom and sides, and 10 mm less at the top. This would give me overlap for sealing, as well as allowing me to bolt it at the top. These flaps come with rubber fingers that are meant to hold the flap in place, but I'm running a Lexan shroud which is a lot thicker than the normal metal shrouds these are used on. Once that was done I cut a template and laid it out:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/35327752004_0aaa287d90_c.jpg

[img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/35327750574_0bbe771be0_c.jpg

Next step was to drill holes at the corners of the opening, this provides stress relief while cutting the Lexan (and it will also stop any crack from propagating should you do something wrong):

[img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/35327749714_1e5bf25e0c_c.jpg

I then started to cut along the lines. Initially I tried using my Dremel with a cut-off wheel, however it was just melting the Lexan. Next I tried this:

[img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/35327748634_6efe4ec7aa_c.jpg

That did the trick. There was still some melting but unless you are using some sort of cooling fluid or going exceptionally slow I don't see how you can avoid this. Got both openings cut out and then needed to clean things up.

[img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/35997749832_77eda30a2b_c.jpg

I tried using a single-edged razor blade which worked, but at some damage to my fingers. I then figured I'd try my straight cutters:

[img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/35997748502_3585c728c8_c.jpg

Those worked great. Once I had the edges trimmed I used a sanding wheel on the Dremel and a file to finish the clean-up.

Since I was going to be bolting the flaps in place I wanted something to spread the load out to avoid cracking of the [B]Lexan [/B]and to positively hold the flaps in place. I have some thin aluminum lying around so cut four strips out of that. Drilled three holes in each, located the strips on the shroud and drilled the holes in it. Finally I put it all together with some M4 screws and nyloc nuts. The hardest part of this was getting holes punched in the flaps, the rubber used is pretty tough. When all was said and done, I ended up with this:

[img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/35997747332_cfc936305c_c.jpg

It isn't the prettiest thing I've ever done, but I found cracking on the attachment tabs on the shroud so I'm not sure how much more life it has anyway. I doubt anyone will be looking at it that closely in any case given the location of the flaps on the shroud.[/QUOTE]


??
 
acrylic ... Lexan


Lucite vs Polycarb. Polycarb (lexan) is fairly malleable without cracking and impact resistant but more prone to scratching, while Lucite (Acrylic) is.....cheaper, really. That's why no sane person uses acrylic to make racecar windshields / window replacements, but lots of race cars use lexan.





At least, I *think* that's what you're asking....
 
No, he was referring to the fact that mine is made out of Lexan (as noted in my narrative). Remember, reading is fundamental...

Got an alignment yesterday. Went with the 949 racing dual duty specs. Of course the front could only be set to -1.8 degrees (spec calls for -2.5). As this is a factor of the suspension geometry, there was nothing else to do for it but buy a set of extended lower ball joints. Those are now headed my way, don't know if I will receive them in time for installation prior to MATG.
 
No, he was referring to the fact that mine is made out of Lexan (as noted in my narrative). Remember, reading is fundamental...

900x900px-LL-99c41a3c_right-on-the-nose.gif


PC's working temperature is ~240F. Should work okay for cooling system duty.

I worry about PC in any long-term car usage because of its UV sensitivity. It might be worth a quick coat of paint to protect it, even a decent clear coat will dramatically improve UV resistance.
 
Where the hell did I get Acrylic from then? weird
Pulled that STRAIGHT out of my ass, apparently...
 
Last edited:
Where the hell did I get Acrylic from then? weird
Pulled that STRAIGHT out of my ass, apparently...

nerd-um-actually.jpg


...the proper phrase is 'rectal plucking.'

#sorrynotsorry

I can't help myself.... It's been a long week... Forgive me.
 
I mentioned calibrating the wideband sensor the other day. Yesterday it was acting worse, I ordered a replacement sensor but decided to try calibrating it again. It is now worse than it was. Cleaning the sensor did nothing. I did notice that the connection cable between the sensor and the gauge had a bulge on the connector that I didn't notice the other day, that is usually a sign of overheating and could be the cause of the problem. Sucks I didn't see that before ordering the sensor as I could have gotten both together and saved some money. In any event the cable is now ordered and I should have everything by Monday. Also got my hard drive today so I'll be seeing if I can change out parts to gain access to my old laptop files (which includes all my Tuner Studio stuff).
 
Found out the new hard drive I bought had smaller Torx head screws than what was in my friend's kit that I borrowed. Today I stopped by Harbor Freight, lo and behold they had a 34 piece screwdriver set with a T4 bit so I'm set for that job now.

My new wideband sensor was delivered today, but there isn't any point in my installing it until I get the cable. As MATG is drawing near i figured I should do another job I have been planning for. When I installed my new soft top I wasn't able to replace the stripping located on the back side of the window weatherstripping channels. I wasn't even sure of what the material was. I ended up using some double-sided tape on two of the three pieces on each side just to have a seal there, however this doesn't work well if you need to make adjustments to the weatherstripping (which I did). I did some searching last week to see what sort of foam tape was available. I found some neoprene tape on Amazon so bought a roll.

36231582225_93d215de0f_c.jpg


Here is the original material on one of the pieces I didn't touch:

36097829151_8b47f12cc8_c.jpg


As you can see this is pretty much neoprene tape. The stuff I bought is 1/16" (1.5 mm) thick which is basically the same thickness as stock. I pulled all the channels off, cleaned off all the old tape, cleaned up the residue with some acetone followed by denatured alcohol. I cut strips of the tape to 19 mm width and then applied them to the channels. A little work with a Exacto knife to open up the screw holes and here is the result:

36097830221_d3fb6a9886_c.jpg


I am very pleased with this. Channels will be installed tomorrow after I clean up the surfaces they rest on.
 
Channels were installed this morning. I used the neoprene tape to make some cushions for the soft top latches. Mine was gone from the passenger side latch so on those rare occasions when I didn't have the boot cover on it would rattle. It was a little hard making a template for them but they get the job done:

36114855301_6b24a82e0a_c.jpg


The O2 sensor cable came in the mail so I jacked her up in the air and proceeded to change out the sensor and cable. Running the cable up the A pillar is a PITA, I used a piece of safety wire as a snake to get it into where I wanted it to go. The new sensor has a longer pigtail so I ran the cable further across the firewall so the connector ended up above the transmission. It is well clear of any hot surfaces and can't rub on anything either. Got it all buttoned up, fired her up and everything is back to normal. Now I have to get some tuning done with the new sensor.

Here is the damage to the cable connector (excuse the blurriness in the second picture, the camera kept focusing on my hand):

36114854611_655e4705ce_c.jpg


35856220310_a2cd05633f_c.jpg


The white stuff inside the connector oozed out of the inside of the connector. Not good.
 
Back