El_Diablo's MSM

El_Diablo

Member
:
2011 MS3 w/ Tech
Picked this up on 11/29/13 with 26,312 miles from Chicago. Its a 2004, build number 3142, originally purchased in Georgia before being purchased by the second owner in Minnesota where it was pretty much only used in the summer to pick up other guys with. (eekdance)

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Picking up the MSM, I actually had the top down until we hit the first toll booth. It was a great day to go pick the car up.

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The car was completely stock aside from the aftermarket grill which has now been removed. I've already done a foamectomy, muffler delete (until I get a catless DP) and added a spiffy "zoom-zoom" stickers thanks to my buddy Marlon. Also reppin' a JBR front plate thanks to James kind donation towards our Ohio QSL meet/raffle that benefited cancer research.

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I also ran into my first issue, a blown fuse which was replaced and then blew again. Luckily the issue was quite obvious and in the first place I looked.

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Snow tires are here. Just waiting on the Konig Feather wheels from Good Win Racing. Tiny tires are tiny...

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Foamectomy How To

There are no real detailed "Foamectomy" posts on the MSM style seats so I figured I would take it upon myself to make a little write up.


With the top down and the seat slid all the way back, remove the two 14mm bolts at the front of the seat rails circled below.
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Slide the seat all the way to the front and flip the back of the seat all the way forward, then remove the two 14mm bolts at the rear of the seat rails circled below.
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With the bolts removed you can now lift the front of the seat straight up (note the locating pins in the first picture below) and rest the bottom of the seat against the steering wheel as shown below.
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With the front of the seat raised you now have access to the seat belt sensor wiring. Un-clip the connector circled below and you can now remove the seat from the car.
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Now is the perfect time to clean under the seats.
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Now that you have the seat out find a nice warm (or cool) place to work on it because you'll be at it for a while. Make sure that you put something under the seat if you're concerned about scratching the surface you're working on. In my case the dining room table worked perfectly.

Start off with the seat back still in the seat full forward position and the recline handle in the up position.
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Lay the seat on it's side and insert a small flat head screwdriver in between the plastic recliner handle and the metal lever on the side closest to the seat. Once you have you're screwdriver wedged in the handle it should pull straight off with a good amount of force. You may need to wiggle the plastic handle back and forth to remove it.
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Remove the screw under the lever and push slightly up on the cover near the seat back to pop it off of its retainer then slide it over the lever.

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Now is a good time to untuck the zippers on the seat back as they may interfere with seat back removal. Now is also the time to remove the seat belt sensor clips (or cut the electrical tape as the clips will likely break) from the bottom of the seat and pull the wire through the fabric loop at the back of the seat.
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Remove the two 14mm bolts.
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Flip the seat over and remove the 8mm bolt circled in red. The seat back will now be free. Set it aside and remove the two 14mm bolts circled in yellow.
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Using a flat head screwdriver or trim tool, pry out the seat back bolt bushing and slide the plastic cover off of the bracket.
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Flip the seat base over and remove the rear 10mm seat track bolts on either side, then slide both tracks forward and remove the front 10mm bolts.
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You have now arrived at the part of this mod that is a complete PITA. If you think about it before hand and don't mind the investment, pick up some hog rings and a set of hog ring pliers and cut the hog rings off. If you're cheap or doing this last minute, grab a pair of needle nose pliers and regular pliers and they'll do the job. Some guys will cut the rings and use zip-ties but I'm not a fan of them for upholstery work which is saying a lot for a guy whose wife considers him an avid zip-tie hoarder.

Starting from one end (I prefer to start at the back), take your needle nose pliers and pry the hog rings apart.
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Once all of the hog rings are removed from the seat bottom you are left with two options. Remove the seat cover completely or just tuck it out of the way. I chose to remove mine completely so that I didn't have to worry about foam getting stuck everywhere and it also allowed me the chance to clean the leather more thoroughly. If you choose to leave yours attached skip these next steps and go straight to shaving down the foam.

To remove the seat cover, lift the foam from the base and remove the remaining hog rings.
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Once that is done here is what you're left with.
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You're now ready to perform a seat base "Foamectomy". You can see the foam hump that will be removed during this procedure as well as my main tool of choice in the second picture.
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Take it slow and make clean cuts so that you can reuse the foam if you decide you don't like it shaved. Keep in mind, you want to make a slightly concaved shape.
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In the end, being a 6ft tall male weighing in about 220lbs I like this mod though I do think I'll eventually go back and remove some more foam from where the hump slopes down in the front of the seat.




Now that you've gotten the seat base out of the way, if you're somewhat "leg tall" or if you just want the improved bolstering you can now move to the seat back.


Start by unzipping the back flap.
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Remove all of the hog rings while carefully peeling the upholstery back and eventually sliding it off.
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This is what you'll end up with.
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Now you can shave and shape as you desire. I recommend keeping at least some of the curve in the back rest. Once the main cuts were made, dragging the blade across the foam smoothed it out a great deal. I ended up with this basic shape but without the lumps. Either way you wont be able to feel them even if its as lumpy as this.
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You can now use your pliers to crimp the hog rings back on and reverse the disassembly process. Thats all there is to it!

Congratulations, you've now completed a double foamectomy. (drinks)
 
Thanks! Looking forward to building this car. I can't wait to get this thing on megasquirt. I hate not being able to tune a car.
 
Haha, thanks but we all know spicy is your first by a long shot.


Side note, this car still has the plastic from the factory to protect the Mazdaspeed door sill plates.... not sure if I should remove it or leave it.
 
Snow tires mounted and balanced on the new wheels. I'll be installing them tomorrow if my daughter cooperates and takes a decent nap.

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New wheels & tires mounted up, the first picture is before suspension had a chance to settle (lifted one side at a time)-

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Not sure if someone's told you, but you shouldn't put the top down when its below 45. You will risk tearing it. There is a bigger problem with plastic windows, but I don't like that chance (its expensive to replace).
 
Not sure if someone's told you, but you shouldn't put the top down when its below 45. You will risk tearing it. There is a bigger problem with plastic windows, but I don't like that chance (its expensive to replace).

+1.

Plus it's a son of a b**** to put back up. The material kind of gets frozen in place and you can't get the top to where it needs to be to latch.
 
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