Refinishing the 1993 LE dash

The colored Miata dashboards came with the top painted, and many got nasty and sticky over the years, so I cleaned it all off with carb cleaner (which may have been bad - it started cracking afterwords but I repaired that during the refinishing process) and resprayed it.






all done

Out with the old interior

to get the new stuff in, the old has got to go!

Look Ma, No carpet! I actually drove like this a bit before the engine came out...





dash is out!







it gets worse, before it gets better

1993 LE interior arrives...

will for this Miata project a new engine was just not enough. While the car sat in the garage mice got in and ruined the tan carpet, so thanks to Tom at Partsgroup I got a great LE interior at a very nice price.

look what showed up!

Wire Tuck, Engine goes in!

The new engine deserved a great looking engine bay, so I began the process of a wire tuck, running everything I could through the fenders for a clean look.

'

looking good...

One afternoon my Dad agreed to come over and help put the engine in. He was two hours late, and by the time he got there it was already in...

Engine assembled!

After a quick trip home, assembly and few coats of paint... we have a shiny new engine with
-10:1 compression pistons from '01 miata, cryo treated, ceramic and moly coated
-ETD racing rods
-shaved 99 head
-fully balanced
-decked, "squared up" block
-SI Stainless steel valves, oversized on intake
-SOHC protege cast crank
-01' oil pan and MBSP
-Fidanza cam gears
-new oil pump
-ARP studs throughout
-'00 diy ported intake manifold with VICS (not shown here)

And the engine comes together...

I had the machine work done by Chastain Racing Engines

99 head with oversize valves






block with '01 pistons


ETD rods and lighweight protege crankshaft, notice the missing counterweights, thats worth approximately 12 lbs!

Jumping to 2006

Well, I've decided If I don't jump ahead a couple years this thing is never going to get moving. In the next two years, a lot of things happened...

Got a new set of wheels, Chapparals from Rspeed:


Thanks to poor engine management, the rings toasted, so it was time to go all-motor. No more boost, just reliable, fun power fitting of the roadsters character.

uh oh..


99 head. Better ports, better cam, more power!



various goods, ARP studs, gaskets, mounts, crap, etc


lightweight flywheel



10:1 compression pistons, Cryo'd, moly and ceramic coated



ETD Racing rods


Next it all comes together.. as the beast sits and waits. Pissing off the HOA despite doing nothing at all.

Fresh Paint!

I know I'm updating this blog at a snails pace, but please bear with me while I'm getting everything up to date. So far, we are still in 2004! Here is the car just out of paint, before assembly.

mmm check that shine out!

Wrecked!

Sometime, in 2004 I was involved in a not at fault accident. A young lady in a Ford Focus decided she needed to be in my lane more than I did. I wanted a fresh paint job anyway, so I decided to do the bodywork on my own, (along with some customization) and use the insurance money to have the car painted. The car would remain black, but I chose to fill in the antenna hole, trunk keyhole, and the windshield sprayer holes. I considered shaving the door handles as well, but decided to keep them as the Miata handles are so unique already. I also shaved the textured rock guard below the bodyline. Fortunately, I have all of these pics.

The damage... ouch

tearing it down

Sanding it down and sanding off the rock guard. Check out that pile of crap under the fender! it was an ant farm.

What you see here is a piece of JDM fiberglass greatness from the motherland; behold the RS Aizawa Cold Air Induction bumper, less than 10 in the US. Purchased from Rspeed.
Fenders back on and primed. Hotness. Straight hotness.

filling in the antenna hole... Car PC, don't need it...
Filling in sprayers, don't be needing them either...

working into the wee hours here. The rock guard fills in some nasty seams where the car was welded together at the factory. Filling them in.

the butt
murdererd out


Next, its off to the paint shop...