What have you done to your Miata today?

Dipstick showed up yesterday. I pulled out the old one and inserted the new one. Easy-peasy.

I found out, wholly by accident, that there are at least 2 different length of dipstick for the various engines that were in the Miata, with one of them being about an inch shorter than the other. Not sure if the cutoff is Year Model, chassis code, or engine specific. So, I'd check just to make sure that they're both the same.
 
Thanks for looking out. I knew that the dipsticks were different between NA and NB models. According to what the local dealer looked up it's the same for all NBs. Plus it has a nice BP4W cast into the plastic top which makes a nice reference. Given past experience though, I did compare them side by side before putting the new one in.
 
Drove my MSM for the first time in 6 months, timing belt, front main seal, water pump...all went well, on to my first autox this sat! Yahoo!
 
Drove my MSM for the first time in 6 months, timing belt, front main seal, water pump...all went well, on to my first autox this sat! Yahoo!
Nice Mark. How did you do? What class are you running in?

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Did some welding on the prototype today :)

Pro tip if you want to sand something small and metal, and keep your fingers:





 
ssm, lucky me! [emoji51]

You and me both! Depending upon the venue, I can rely on running against highly prepared Corvettes etc. Makes for some depressing in-class results, but I have fun.

The supercharger is finally on its way back to me. As UPS is showing it being out for delivery I decided to do some prep work so once it shows I can slot it back in. The prep work consisted of pulling my N/A setup back off, as well as cleaning out the charge pipes and intercooler. There was some oil residue inside everything downstream of the 'charger. After looking at clearances my masochistic side flared up and I figured I could pull the intercooler without removing the front bumper etc. I was successful but it was extremely tight.

34222673836_d72a9b9067_c.jpg


Here's a shot of the passenger side bolt holding the intercooler to the mounting bracket:

34222673236_e4ca955e28_c.jpg


I had a wee bit more room on the driver's side so it wasn't as hard getting that bolt out. Once the intercooler was removed I cleaned it and the pipes with brake cleaner until they were clean. After airing out I put the intercooler back in. When I removed it I noticed that passenger side bolt had been impacting the A/C dryer. It hadn't worn through yet but it wasn't pretty (couldn't really get a picture). The mounting bracket holes are slotted so I made sure to move it towards the driver's side to give some clearance. Not sure how good you can see it in this picture, but there is room now.

33452882453_aee8eb7e7f_c.jpg


Now I just have to wait on delivery of the supercharger.
 
You and me both! Depending upon the venue, I can rely on running against highly prepared Corvettes etc. Makes for some depressing in-class results, but I have fun.

The supercharger is finally on its way back to me. As UPS is showing it being out for delivery I decided to do some prep work so once it shows I can slot it back in. The prep work consisted of pulling my N/A setup back off, as well as cleaning out the charge pipes and intercooler. There was some oil residue inside everything downstream of the 'charger. After looking at clearances my masochistic side flared up and I figured I could pull the intercooler without removing the front bumper etc. I was successful but it was extremely tight.

34222673836_d72a9b9067_c.jpg


Here's a shot of the passenger side bolt holding the intercooler to the mounting bracket:

34222673236_e4ca955e28_c.jpg


I had a wee bit more room on the driver's side so it wasn't as hard getting that bolt out. Once the intercooler was removed I cleaned it and the pipes with brake cleaner until they were clean. After airing out I put the intercooler back in. When I removed it I noticed that passenger side bolt had been impacting the A/C dryer. It hadn't worn through yet but it wasn't pretty (couldn't really get a picture). The mounting bracket holes are slotted so I made sure to move it towards the driver's side to give some clearance. Not sure how good you can see it in this picture, but there is room now.

33452882453_aee8eb7e7f_c.jpg


Now I just have to wait on delivery of the supercharger.

Ya, same boat (no pun intended) for me! But I wasn't having any fun with the 6 speed, now with the 5 speed I hope to enjoy some more speed, and less rev limiter!!! [emoji106]


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'charger showed up. I heard the UPS truck so went out to save the guy some steps. He's blabbing on the phone in the back of the truck. I wanted to go in and b**** slap him. He finally remembered he was supposed to be working and I got the package. Opened it up, there was nothing written to say what they had found. I did get a call from them last week after they opened it up, they said then they did see it was leaking from the snout but didn't find any physical cause for it. They said it might have been that the belt was too tight (I told them I had an auto-tensioner) or that the pulley didn't have well-defined ribs. Sounded like reaching to me. Based on the parts I got in the box they did go ahead and replace the seals and all the front bearings, so they do stand behind their warranty. I did buy the next larger size belt just in case the one I was using was too tight.

Got everything installed the way it should be. Fired her up and the new belt moved off center. Shut her off and installed the original 4-rib belt I got with the 'charger to see what would happen. Started her again and the belt stayed put, go figure. Just got back from a shake-down run and everything is the way it should be. I can't really explain it, but when I am running with the 'charger she feels lighter on her feet, like she is floating just above the ground. Feels more eager too, like let's go! The belt stayed where it should have so once things cool down a bit I'll try putting the 6-rib back on.
 
'charger showed up. I heard the UPS truck so went out to save the guy some steps. He's blabbing on the phone in the back of the truck. I wanted to go in and b**** slap him. He finally remembered he was supposed to be working and I got the package. Opened it up, there was nothing written to say what they had found. I did get a call from them last week after they opened it up, they said then they did see it was leaking from the snout but didn't find any physical cause for it. They said it might have been that the belt was too tight (I told them I had an auto-tensioner) or that the pulley didn't have well-defined ribs. Sounded like reaching to me. Based on the parts I got in the box they did go ahead and replace the seals and all the front bearings, so they do stand behind their warranty. I did buy the next larger size belt just in case the one I was using was too tight.

Got everything installed the way it should be. Fired her up and the new belt moved off center. Shut her off and installed the original 4-rib belt I got with the 'charger to see what would happen. Started her again and the belt stayed put, go figure. Just got back from a shake-down run and everything is the way it should be. I can't really explain it, but when I am running with the 'charger she feels lighter on her feet, like she is floating just above the ground. Feels more eager too, like let's go! The belt stayed where it should have so once things cool down a bit I'll try putting the 6-rib back on.

Nice mike!!
 
Glad to hear it's back up and running Chief!

Frame v1.0 complete, and lots of lessons have been learned :)
The rolloff pad is next, then a pair of wheel stops and a notch for the scale cable to pass through.
Thankfully the next 3 will go much faster as a whole, as I'll be able to do each step x3, instead of 1 at a time making this single one.



 
Boom!

All put together, this looks way more proper, and less slap dash than I was expecting
Needs a coat of paint for sure, but I've gotta say I'm pleased. Taller than what I had before, level-able, and strong. They've got some gravity to them for sure, but given the capabilities I have (few) and the distance they'll travel (none), I'll take it :D


I realized today that I only had 4 of the countersunk bolts I need. More should be here tomorrow :)




All put together:




Just enough room to make it nice & level with some cheapie grease plates.




Strength test, dropped the car right on the weakest part (the middle). Yeah, no, it didn't sag at all lol



 
That is incredibly slick.

Especially considering that the full set will cost me <$150, and if I were to go out and buy a set (that wouldn't be tall enough for me to get under the car to adjust stuff), this is what I'd be looking at.

 
Tried finding the solution to my overheating issue, can't get the air out of the system.....
 
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