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Before After raising 1" Subtle but significant look to the stance and feel to driving. The spacer does not affect rear travel or pre-load since it is between the body and the top of the shock mount. I can actually feel the changed stance from the Driver's seat. Next stop is the wipers. The motor for the aftermarket wipers wants 12 power signals to control the various speeds. The Miata used ground signals to control the factory wiper motor. If I want to keep the Miata column stalks as the control for the wipers ( I do) then I have to contrive a relay based circuit to reverse the signal polarity. How hard can that be? Pete
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Y'all going to have to wait and see with the bumper as it is a bit further down the list of priorities. So I had a rub on big bumps and figured a bit more rear ride height would be a good idea anyways, So up some 1" spacers for the rear struts. Got those mounted and it made a huge difference. Will post pic after a few laps around the block to settle the suspension. The rubbing turned out to be non related to ride height; was a flex line touching the LH tire when hitting a bump.
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I'm in the add the front bumper camp. I do like the custom grill, but I also like the original. If I remember right there's two types of bumpers on the p1800. Horn like and flat. Maybe two half horn type bumpers? As an alternative a la escort and often mimicked on capris? Hey it's your car remember so do what you like! The budget would dictate that I use the new flat bumper on the shelf. Spending another 1k for the cow horns would not go over well with the person overseeing the war fund. Besides, the rear is a flat bumper.
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Reminds me, I have a headliner to do on the Molvo and it has been sitting folded for many a year. Last headliner I experienced had the exact same over-center issue on the ribs when stretched, so not looking forward to this task.
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Cool! Is the front bumper somewhere on the list? Good question! It is on the shelf. Much debate in the shop about if it stays on the shelf or it goes on the car. It needs mounts fabricated so it will be a little bit of work. Thing is, the car (debatable) looks better without a front bumper. Kinda Cobra-like, so the alternate thought is do I make up some nerf bars and call it a day? The grill selection also has to be addressed. I made this nice mesh grill, only to find that it could not mount the way it is in the picture. So, a task would be to re-design the mesh, or just capitulate and go with the stock grill that I also have on the shelf.
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Progress and good news. The good news is that the wife-unit is adapting to driving a manual gearbox without too much effort. The ridiculous amount of torque from the 302 makes stalling the engine on take-off a non-thing. On the progress front, there is a list of about 50 things that I want sorted or finished. The rear glass hatch was a big one because it required that I source some parts unique to the P1800 wagon. I was missing some hardware for the lift cylinders and the latch piece that bolts to the tub. The good news is that the trip to the club event bore fruit and parts were secured. Result There are about 50 items on the list, some trivial and decorative and some kinda important. I think I will look at the rear ride height next and then the wipers. The rear needs to come up an inch to level the pinch weld and give me some tire clearance. The wipers work fine mechanically, but electrically, the kit is controlled by positive voltage and the Miata stalks send ground signals to control operation/speed of the motor. Interestingly enough, the ground signal controls are unique to Canadian Miata, the USA cars would have been plug and play.
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Last Edit: Aug 7, 2019 10:57:11 GMT by bjornagn
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Jul 30, 2019 11:21:32 GMT
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What he said. If you must hand panels with the car supported, put the stands under the rear axle and front suspension points so as to mimic the car being on the ground. This especially goes for welding on structural panels.
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Jul 29, 2019 17:56:09 GMT
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I literally cannot fathom the effort and mental discipline required to do this kind of detail... I can do pretty much anything on a car, but polishing a paint job is a barrier that I can not cross; kinda like parachuting, when push comes to shove, I can always think of something else I would rather do and go off to do that. While I admire the results, I could never pick up the fine grit and buffer to do this. "Out of the gun" is as good as I get. It certainly takes a dedicated & determined discipline to achieve the results - personally I cant understand that if you have gone to all the trouble of correcting the panels, cutting out the rot, straightening the dents, removing the rust, making any modifications as required, rebuilding the drive train, sorting the trim, rechroming, along with adding all the details that make the difference - then why the hell would you put up with a gun finish - each to their own etc but for me its the equivalent of eating my Sunday roast without the gravy I think it is because I am project driven and that is where I am happy to set the "finish line" where I can then move on to the next project or even the next stage of the project. It might also be because I am not known among my friends as anyone who has ever been seen to wash a car, so to my own self be true...¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I appreciate a perfect paint job the way I appreciate art and music, I just cant do them!
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Jul 29, 2019 16:08:25 GMT
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Most of us would be more than happy with the stage one polish. I literally cannot fathom the effort and mental discipline required to do this kind of detail... I can do pretty much anything on a car, but polishing a paint job is a barrier that I can not cross; kinda like parachuting, when push comes to shove, I can always think of something else I would rather do and go off to do that. While I admire the results, I could never pick up the fine grit and buffer to do this. "Out of the gun" is as good as I get.
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Last Edit: Jul 29, 2019 16:12:37 GMT by bjornagn
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Jul 28, 2019 21:26:41 GMT
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Made it to the Volvo meet today. Car was well received by the collective; no pitchforks to report. The black car next to it is another V8 transplant that is going to be used for the Grassroots Motorsports Challenge in October.
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Jul 27, 2019 11:29:09 GMT
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aside from chris' total artisanship , i think pete should be commended for going balls to the wall with this one. how often do you see worthy old things that arent nessecarily "high end" in the majority of peoples eyes getting work completed to this degree of attention? There is an unspoken dance going on here that has fascinated me since I started following. I keep saying to myself "As if it were his own car" The only time I see this level of detail is when some psychiatrist- deprived OCD owner is doing the work himself. I have not encountered an owner who was willing to cover the cost of this kind of detail To have a vendor execute this level of detail is rare because it cost SOMEONE money. I am still not sure who is scratching their OCD itch with this project, Grumpy or Peter?
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Jul 24, 2019 11:12:36 GMT
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Last might was the first real road test where I took the car for a run out of the hood. Put maybe 20 miles on it and pushed the loud-pedal hard several times. Lordy is this thing quick! My new favourite game is to amble along at around the speed limit and when someone encroaches on the rear of the car, stand on the pedal in 4th gear and watch them disappear as if in reverse. This game is not good for my driver's license.
It drives like a big Miata. While there are a few rattly bits here and there that need to be screwed on tighter, for the most part the chassis is very well behaved and rock solid. The depowered steering is exactly what I want it to be and it is only when doing a three point turn that I pay a penalty. I think I will keep an eye out for a proper manual rack and do a conversion. Temp goes to 194 and stays there.
Big breakthrough with the Fitech when I found that the front and rear throttles were not synchronized. Fixing that got rid of a lot if not all of the off throttle bog. It cut out on me twice coming off the pedal hard, but I thing that adjusting the Decel fuel cuttoff has resolved it. Making a left hand turn at the busiest local intersection is not something that I will take for granted and I still kind of plan my drive based on roads having a breakdown lane if you know the feeling. Oddly enough, both times that the engine cut off due to the decel fuel cut-off, it would nor refire until I pulled over and turned the key. Like I said, the Fitech is not easy to love. Not ready to turn Mrs NOHOME loose on her own just yet. At this point, while I am sure she can and will drive it, I suspect that it will only be with me riding shotgun,
The T5 is ok, does not encourage shifting the way a Miata shifter does, but then, with this much excess torque, who needs to shift anyways? First gear is not quite useless, but you could live with 2nd 4th and 5th . Makes me wonder how I would drive an LSx Miata with a 6 speed? 3rd and 6th?
The rear suspension needs to be an inch higher. Not sure how I am going to do that yet. It does NOT need to be stiffer. Currently the springs are the ones that used to reside on the front of the car. The Bilstein sports with the Monster Miata springs are just about perfect for the front.
Did I mention it is loud? Fun for the immediate future and really awesome when heard from outside, but driving the Challenge V8 Volvo with the Borla exhaust is more what I think I will gravitate to.
It is not wife-ready yet. I need to pretty up a few trim pieces. Make the wipers work off the Miata stalk, add squirters. Put the headliner in and fix a fuel smell. The door latches are annoying from inside and outside. More brakes would not hurt; no worse than the MGB for sure, but I do drive a modern sports car everyday and it is obvious that they are not as good. I would not track the car as is.
Volvo show on Sunday. Looks like I will be there.
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Jul 22, 2019 18:58:13 GMT
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Been driving the car a bit further afield. The T5 gears are all reporting for duty, but 3rd does require an educated and sympathetic touch to engage. Think bad synchro. The good news is that there is enough torque on-tap that 1st-2nd-4th is not a hardship. Honestly, a 2 speed power-glide might be the easy button for this thing! Who needs gears when you have torque? A major breakthrough in Fitech driveability was made when it was observed that the front and rear throttles were not opening at the same time. Some fiddly adjustments of the linkage later, and a reset to base-tune, and the off idle stumble is gone. Knock on wood, I should be at the Volvo show on the 28th with both of my V8 powered Volvos.
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Jul 16, 2019 14:37:47 GMT
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As a matter of fact, I think this thing could live in third gear alone. It's not. But will live with it for now. When you have this much torque, who needs third gear? Make your mind up! Sounds good either way. Yeah, I do recall saying that. And the car must have read the post because on the next go-round it decided that third gear was not in the deck. The thing will shift into third just fine if the car is not moving and it will drive in third if I pull away in third. Like I said, you could drive this thing in third all day including pulling away. So the gear is not missing, and the linkage links, and there is no damage to the actual gear. It is a mystery. Kinda hope it comes back the same way it went away. At this point I have moved on and am trying to figure out the Fitech. It is not a product I would recommend to anyone who does not like to gamble or was not planning on taking a deep dive into EFI theory and application. It seems to work well enough out of the box for 75% of the users. The other 25% will need to learn why the system would work in the first place, and work back to any particular issue, be it Fitech or Engine related. Got my finger poised on the buy button for the Holley Street Avenger fuel mixer.
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Last Edit: Jul 16, 2019 14:42:58 GMT by bjornagn
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Jul 16, 2019 11:10:30 GMT
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Looks good on the road, lets hope that's the end of all the gearbox woes! It's not. But will live with it for now. When you have this much torque, who needs third gear?
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Jul 14, 2019 23:12:46 GMT
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Jul 14, 2019 13:17:42 GMT
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Projects are like boats, I love the day they arrive in the shop and I love the day they go home to their owners.
Thanks for documenting the build. Learned a few tricks to add to the toolbox.
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I have heard of a method where you make a shallow bead in one direction then flip the panel and make the bead right over the shallow “wrong way” bead. Basically pre stretching..
Was thinking maybe you were using the method and could confirm
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Jul 12, 2019 15:11:26 GMT
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What are your tricks to keep panels flat when you bead-roll them?
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First non-eventfull test drive today. Still just in the hood streets, but nothing bad happened. Not gone past third gear. As a matter of fact, I think this thing could live in third gear alone.
Still want to raise the rear ride height by an inch or so but no rubbing with the rolled fender lips. Took the Mrs around the block to make sure that two people in the car did not cause any wheel rub, all good. Punched the gas in second and the Mrs make a squeaky sound. All good.
Final details are going to have to wait till I get the challenge car on the road. I want to take two V8 Volvos to the show on the 29th
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