They go on top, cover that bit of trim seen in the last picture.

They don't cover that rubber piece you just cleaned

Yup what he said ^

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392485341

I was SOOOO going to take a picture to help you out. Got to be quick in this thread though. LOL.

Taking a picture of mine only made me want to paint it...

And I used to think mine were in decent shape :bang:

oof thank you for that. Those drawn part diagrams are hard to see sometimes.

Now I need to track down that unique bolt some where. I can't remember the last time I've seen it.

You can use any m6 bolt, those are just for the soft top cover. That
You're not using, right?

Yeah, those snaps are only for the tonneau. Otherwise, just use a regular interior screw. Same as the ones for the center console.

I am not using the soft top, so that is perfect. I did find the soft top bolts but I'll just sink a screw in instead.

Can you guys get me a shot of the top view? It fits fine when I install the metal bracket on top of the rubber but it is too tight for the bolts to align properly when I try to lay the rubber on top of the metal. Or I should say the rubber won't align properly with the 2 plastic fasteners, and the "grooves" don't seem to snap into place.

Sorry guys, I have been awake for 50 hours so maybe I am just mentally broken.

Jeff,

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392506283

This^^^

Dude! Don't harm yourself. Project will still be there when you wake up. Promise.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392509169

So the sleep thing has not been in regards to the car. I just couldn't sleep.

Here is what has been done today. Decided I wanted to put the seat belts back in the car but I guess is classic me fashion I couldn't just simply put them back in the car.

When I went to put them back in I noticed just how gnarly and dirty the belts were. The rubber boots around the female connectors were scratched to hell, and the male connectors were the same.

Decided to clean 25 years of "laps" out of the belts. This was an exercise in holding back some dry heaving due to how much filth came out of the belt fabric.

All laid out and ready to go. The nice things about 2 cars is you can pick the best parts of the two.

All the "painted picture are after a massive amount of sanding and melting. Plastic sucks to sand.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392509169

Letting the degreaser/plastic cleaner soak in

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392509169

This is just from dipping my brush into some water to create suds. Epic amounts of brown goo came out of the fabric....Mostly due to my steam cleaner. Steam cleaners make these jobs easy.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392509169

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392509169

all clean

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392509169

Cleaned the plastic shrouds up. Top is clean bottom is how they looked

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392509169

Rubber shrouds for female connector.

Before

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392509169

after

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392509169

Female connector repainted. As you can tell from the one on the left, they were pretty bad. I just used a red sharpie to recolor the "press" button. I'll buy some real red paint later when I can find a good red that I like.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392509169

Currently trying to find what fabric dye will adhere to the seat belt fabric. Some parts of the seat belt are pretty faded and puke green in color.

I did a test strip on the seat belts I'm not using and it helped a little but it simply wouldn't penetrate the fibers. Might be due to the fact that it isn't clean at all.

Oh god sleep has never felt so good all 15 hours of it. Time to get this oil pan done and get going on putting the engine in.

Are there any parts you guys would recommend putting in the engine bay before dropping the engine in? Just trying to think of some.

Maybe install the PPF onto the diff?

Jeff will study and research to find the exact perfect red for the buttons on his seatbelt to obtain the proper feng shui in his cabin.

Again -- you're insane man. Also: that seatbelt restoration is beyond epic. They look like new again. Your car is going to be so, so, so, so awesome.

For a little more snugness, you can eliminate those plastic covers and their little metal inserts.

Snugness of what?
*edit* wouldn't that make the female end fall down under the seat without the cover making it stiff.

Not really. On a stock seat at least, the bolster is too close to the tranny tunnel. Even without carpet I tuck mine between there to keep from sitting on it or rattling around in the case of the passenger side.

ahh I see, thanks!

Finished up the seat belts...kinda. The adhesive got too sticky sitting in the sun so it pulled some of the black off the female connector, so I need to redo it. The red turned out great on the button though.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392589556

Took the rust off the seat belt tab.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392589556

And painted the buckle and the seat belt stopper.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392589556

And as far as I will take polishing the oil pan. I hate wire wheeling with a passion.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392589556

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392589556

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392589556

Jeff where did you get the new sealed bearing for the alternator? Mine started squeaking recently and I might try to clean it up before I resort to getting a new one.

I bought mine from O'reillys but I recommend trying to clean yours. It was $30!

Got the carpet put in. Damn that took a lot of massaging with all the sound deadening I put in. Saying that, once I did, it fits and looks great.

I was going to put the seat belts in but the ROLL BAR makes it too narrow to put in its hole.

I really don't want to remove the roll bar to put them in. Laziness makes me want to roll with just my race harness.:crx:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392600021

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392600021

All that work on the seat belt though! Should of warned you about the roll bar, surprised no one caught that...

Oh well. I'll probably see if I can just remove the lower leg bolts and pry it out of the way a little.

Driveshaft sanded to pull the rust off and given a quick lick of paint.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392611443

At this point, laziness is not an option. Let the OCD flow.

I want to let the laziness flow...This OCD hurts after a while!

Well that wasn't fun. I still need to put on the passenger motor mount and then go to the hardware store to find a 14mm flare nut. I cant seem to find one with the right thread pitch and diameter.

Also need to install the PPF, but Ill do that tomorrow.

But it is in, and I did it solo for better or worse. Sorry for no pictures, it was a stress-filled hour trying to get it in with out damaging anything in the process. I should have waited for my brother tomorrow....but, for some reason I wanted to do it by myself. I have done the rest of the car myself, might as well make life harder and do this myself!

First time I dropped it in I didn't realize that it wouldn't fit with both motor mounts still attached to the engine. So after winching it back up and removing the passenger mount, it dropped right in.

So weird that I can't find that other 14mm flare nut.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392634166

I haven't checked this thread in a week and I missed EIGHT pages. Insanity.

Steering wheel: Just refinish the leather yourself. It's extremely easy.

You're going to finish this build, take it out for the maiden voyage, and then stare at the dashboard as you hear a faint rattle that grows louder and louder as you contemplate its source and wonder why could you never find that 14mm flare nut.

So what led you to run water into the mixing manifold rather than block it off and run a straight shot to the cold side?

Honestly? No idea. I haven't looked into his coolant routing very much.

Looking good! Only thing I didn't like was the overflow tank. Just get a nice new white one from the dealer. The painted on looks, well.... painted as opposed to the clean OEM look everything else is.

Who cleans/restores seat belts?

Seriously

Who does this?

I am so utterly impressed every time I open this thread

I've said it before, but this thread has gone from impressive to disgusting. I love you Jeff, but i really don't know how you will even enjoy this car with your level of OCD. Good luck, lol.

In for first start :P

True, I was going to rewrap it but after seeing the results from refinishing your Protipo I'll go that direction. Especially since mine isn't nearly as gnarly as yours. Did you buy a kit with everything all together?

I'll replace it some time later, it works for now and it doesn't bother me that much honestly.

You'd see my point of view if you were standing next to me when all the shit started to ooze out of the seat belts. It was honestly disgusting.

The restoration part? Yeah, that was crazy even for me.

I'm ok with being disgusting.

I've already said it multiple times but I'm only being this OCD once. I'll maintain things and clean them and detail them as I own the car over its life, but I won't go to this detail ever again until something needs to be replaced or fixed.

I was talking to my dad about this earlier this week and he agreed it is better to do it this way when you are "in that mode for restoration and cleaning" since you have no rush to do it, and you might as well do it while you have the part out of the car already.

The problem with restoring a car is you have to pick your baseline. if you start restoring your car at 6/10ths you have room to fluctuate between that and perfection.

When you start at 10/10ths, you have to keep adding to the craziness since the parts that you DON'T do perfect become an eye-sore to otherwise perfect surroundings.

Saying that, as much as I know I have to put the seat belts back in. I really don't want to tear apart the roll bar since it is such an awkward job for one person.

Saying all that, this is how I feel after a session of working on the car.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392663550
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392663474
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392663474

I've been doing the "OCD" cleaning myself, including the washing of the seatbelts so I absolutely understand why you are doing this. You've made much more progress in a much shorter time than I have, that's for sure.

It's good to see someone who hates a dirty piece of equipment as much as I do.

This is officially my favorite thread. :party:

Thanks Diesel, crazy understands crazy. ;)


So I have a question about the timing of the engine. Do I need to worry about timing being off at all, if I have never removed the timing belt? Just want to make sure.

If you never removed the belt, everything should be fine.

mechanical timing should be spot on, BUT i always recommend verifying the timing with MS before you hit big boosts.

Doesn't hurt to check timing at this stage. Do the following:

1. Turn the cranshaft bolt clockwise until the mark on the damper lines up with 0 degrees.
2. Verify that the camshaft sprockets are in the correct relationship to the indentations on the rear, sheet metal shield (I next to I, E next to E). They aren't? Then turn the crankshaft bolt on full turn and look again.
3. Remove the #1 spark plug, stick your dipstick into the hole (i.e., the engine's dipstick into the spark plug hole you perv), and verify the piston is at TDC.

All of the above good? Then proceed with confidence. And, once you're running, double check that MS's timing is correct.

Luke this one is for you.:giggle:

You know how I always say I never go into a project thinking I'm going to fully tear it apart and rebuild it so it is perfect?
.
.
.
This one was on the "list" for a long time but I didn't want to do it until I was ready to install it due to it being scratched up a ton just sitting in the garage.

Wet sanded with 400
Wet sanded with 1000
Copious amounts of aluminum polish
2 layers of Menzerna Powerlock sealant

This is my "bling" for the bottom of the car. I know it will only last a couple drives but it made me happy to do it; so...that is all that matters!

Before

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392679327

After

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392679327

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392679327

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392679327

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392679327

Oh... My... God...

I'm shocked each and every time I see an update!

And I was amazed (and satisfied) with what POR15 degreaser did on my PPF.

That is unreal. I have no patience for such a task.

That is the key thing. If you are satisfied with your project who cares what anyone else does. I went way overboard simply because I have time to, and some stupid drive that makes me do so. Trust me. It is a love/hate relationship I have with my OCD.

*edit* after reading what I wrote it may have come off as condescending or off putting, not my intention at all if so. I am pretty humble about stuff I do so hate it when I come off as an ass.

That PPF.

:jerkit:

This car is turning into something you would see at Barrett Jackson.

LOLOLOL. OMFG!!! A polished PPF!!! Over the top, even for you Jeff.

You go girl!! This is awesome.

You didn't come across as an ass. Not in the least.

That's it Jeff! You will not be allowed to drive the car now. It is a museum piece. You're going to need to park it on mirrors.

Take that PPF and mount it on the wall. It cannot go on a car. Any car.

You polished both sides. Jesus Christ.

n00b of the year award

seriously

You going to clear-coat that PPF?

Yeah yeah, idiot Clubroadster award of the year goes to Jeff!

Here, how about some real work?

I installed the work of art 949Racing adjustable endlinks last night. While I was doing it I installed some zerk fittings in the frame bushings. I really love the zerk fittings in my VW for the sway bars so I wanted to do the same on the Miata.

Get your tools all ready. Deburr bit, drill bit, center punch, and M6X1.0 Tap.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

Drill and deburr the interior of the bracket, and then tap it.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

I used red threadlocker since I can't think of a reason why I'd remove them.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

Mark the area where you will drill with a pin

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

Install the zerk and test to make sure you have good grease penetration

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

Installed

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

The purty endlinks. I'll adjust them perfectly when I get all the crap in the car for the final ride height.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

I also installed the PPF. Talk about a nightmare of a job. I never want to do that again. I just simply could not get the holes to sync up properly so it took a lot of swearing and muscle to get it all aligned. I will not admit how long it took me to install it.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

Throttle linkage installed

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

Deep cleaned the shift boot, removed all the old grease, and regreased the ball joint on it.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392743466

Anyone know where this giant ground cable goes? It has left my memory banks.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...c/IMG_1765.jpg

All in all it was a good night!

I bet it took you longer to polish the ppf then it did to install it...

Today I used some touch up paint on my car and thought of this thread. I got more paint around the rock chips, than in the actual rock chips themselves. I'm okay with this.

Jeff would have stripped my car of paint, polished every panel, then repainted it.




That PPF. I don't even.. I cannot even..

when large images are posted, the system fails hardcore.


that ground doesn't look oem.

Grounding strap of some kind? Strange you had such trouble with the PPF, i've never had an issue and it falls right into place in about 5 minutes.

You can't possibly install that ground cable. The ends aren't polished yet. Get to work!

There is a ground strap somewhere on the PPF, but I think its a braided cable with some cheap plastic covering, like the one you polished earlier in the thread.

Once you wrap your head around all the spacers, splined nuts, and sliding nuts, it goes in a lot easier. Mazda really took out all the stops for their PPF mounting solutions.

The front has two linked nuts that are captured on a plate that slides on some rivets. Then I think there is a sliding spacer that gets pushed up by the shouldered bolt? Although that could only be in the back.

The diff has splined nuts that lock into the PPF, the sliding spacer that gets pushed up with the shouldered bolt, and the removable spacer block that also locks into the diff. Most of which is a giant pain in the ass, until you hammer the splined nuts out of the top with the unshouldered bolt. Sav or Emilio taught me this trick, forget who, but it has saved my ass multiple times.

It did...

;)

Apologies Brain, I was exporting my iphoto library to dropbox and forgot to change the export quality when I uploaded them to photobucket.

Yeah the tolerances were CRAZY tight, I might have been using brawn over brain though.

I just hope I put all the components on and I didn't forget anything! You made my brain explode with that last paragraph, complex subjects are a little beyond my tired brain at the moment.:crx:

Glad you guys enjoyed the PPF insanity. I was laughing my ass off, as I uploaded the pictures know you guys would just close the window browser in ludicrous disgust.

I definitely went plaid on the PPF.:giggle:

Real quick though, I remember someone saying that there may be a spacer I'm missing on the rear swaybar bushing mounts. Does anyone know what this spacer looks like? I just want to make sure I do it right, before I bolt the rear swaybar on.

No idea. But on a related topic, did you drill the sway bar bushing too? Currently your grease zerks are greasing the part of the bushing/bar that doesn't move...

Yeah I drilled through the poly bushing as well. See the part where I mentioned marking the bushing to drill through it.