Meierznutz

I got tinkering with the tail lights again. The housing from the 69 Trans Am is REALLY thick.... like 4-5" deep. On a car with a trunk it isn't an issue. On one where I am fighting for inches I had to do something and fast.... major components are on their way and I'm trying to stay ahead while continuing to make progress.
I ended up removing the red lens from the housing, masking off where I wanted the light to shine through, and painting the inside of it black. Surprisingly it took several coats to block the light from shining through.
I pealed off the tape and then sent some sheet aluminum through the new HF bead roller. After bending the sides of the pieces down, I glued the LED strips I have into the bead. Next I applied Ultra Grey silicone to the lens and fit the aluminum over the back side. The RTV holds everything in place and seals the LED from moisture. The lights work well and because of the black there is no cross contamination when only one lamp is lit.
All I have to do is have my body guy cut the holes for the lens to stick through the body and bond in a couple bolts. I have 2 strips of aluminum 1/4" x 1/2" to hold the lens into place. Wiring is easy and I already have a LED compatible flasher to get the blinkers to flash at the correct rate.
The entire light assembly is now only about 1 1/2" thick. I should have more than enough room between it and the fuel cell.

Meierznutz

The big push to have the car running for Father's Day has begun.
The Painless harness and ECU arrived today. The diff will be final mounted this week and the driveshaft and axles measurements will be taken and sent to DSS for construction.
The engine can then be pulled to go to my Nephew's shop where we will install the LS6 oil pump and re-seal the long block. Once I bring it home the trans will get the new clutch and TO bearing and they can be mated and final installed.
The subframes will be removed while the engine is out and the entire floor and trans tunnel coated in sound and heat barrier. Then Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again!
My headers are due to ship from BF any moment so once they are here the exhaust can be built and then she is out for initial testing and then her debut!

5.0MX5

By Gosh, if you're not careful you'll be buying insurance and licence in the very near future!!

Great job and Good Luck!!!

RR

Meierznutz

Funny.... the car never lost registration or insurance, but I could need to buy my way back into a license soon!

Meierznutz

I need to thank Dave Tibbits for this.... cast aluminum emblem with powder coated lettering in my color!
It's details like this that will make the car stand out in the crowd....

Meierznutz

Headers arrived from Boss Frog Saturday at 630am.... at 3 am they were in the car (I don't sleep like normal people). I have to massage the down tube to clear the steering shaft but that is no fault of theirs. Don't worry about performance as Hot Rod did a test and with all but completely crushing a tube closed their engine had NO CHANGE on the dyno!.... See... Hot Rod Certified mods coming up!

Meierznutz

With only two weeks to a Father's Day debut I am under the gun here.
Life has a way of getting in the way of projects and this one is no exception. Cash flow was looking to be the biggest road block but selling off another car has me in good shape again.
I made a final mod to the steering by cutting off the clamp and bolt to the upper half of the steering knuckle. Then I had the shaft welded into the knuckle. Now the unit clears the block side of the header tube without issue.
I am building the fuel cell mount. It will be made form 3/16" flat stock and then bolted into the rear tubes. A lot of folks are complaining of the built in mounts being flimsy when used with the stock tank, and the fact that you need to raise the rear of the stock tank 5-7" in order to have it work properly. Since I had an internal fuel pump picked out for the stock tank I will need to sell that off and then have an external one and a filter sent ASAP. The good news is that I have enough fuel line back there already to make it all fit without issue.
I am also ordering the V8R diff mount. Mine is ready to finish weld but I am not completely confident as to the location being right. I don't want to wait for axles and a driveshaft specific to THIS car to be made so I am hoping that V8R can grab one "off the shelf" and get it to me in time.

Meierznutz

V8R mount should be here in a day or so. The only thing is DSS does not stock the axles and they say it will be three weeks to ship. Shandell has a call into them to make it a Rush Job but it's out of his hands now.
The fuel cell mount came today as well as the Deatschwerks 350IL fuel pump. What a nice piece! Even the mounting clamps are cool... should look great with all the braided hose and AN fittings, when the cover is open anyway!
Next up is the exhaust. The guy I had lined up flaked out but I will find someone quick. Its a Y pipe to a single muffler....how hard can it be????

Meierznutz

Ok so it was a busy weekend.... had to travel but the good news was that FedEx loves me! They delivered the aluminum drive shaft and axles from DSS and V8R. I'm waiting on the mount and it should be here Tuesday.
I got the fuel cell mounted and the Pump and filter laid out. Of course I am one fitting short but it should be here in a day or so. In the mean time I can paint the mount and get it back in place. The return line is done and this fitting cures the feed.
Last hurdle is the trans mount. The cross member is a little too narrow to fit the frame. I may cut it and sleeve it to fit, or make an adapter to get it in place. I have to see what works best/is easier/looks cleaner.

Meierznutz

OMG! last post was 2016...... Update for those that were wondering what happened to the car. Its all good news/bad news....
First bad news, I got divorced. The car got sold to a gentleman from New York that invested in me and not the car.... He bought it at an agreed price and then gave me two years to buy it back.
Good news, I bought it back at that price plus interest and storage and it is now in my nephew's barn.
Bad news, I thought about selling/trading it last year but.... Good news, there is room in the barn to walk again, and I have been out of the Miata game long enough that I am interested in them again.
I had a few people come look at the car and that forced me to pull all the parts out and lay them out. I have everything but the exhaust for this car. I just need the time to reseal the engine and get her wired. I'm going to get the trans cross member in and then trailer it to the shop for the tubes to be bent, then I will wire and fire this little beast.
Best news..... the "One that got away" 30+ years ago and I are getting married. Bad news is we had to delay the wedding a year from COVID..... but the date is coming and be it hell or high water we are getting hitched this May. I really want the car done in time for the event. Then she goes to Lime Rock Park for some auto-X events and then I want to sell her off.... time to fund a car that is just for me and Amy. We are thinking of a Factory 5 '33. Her Dad has an intake that hold 4 Stromberg 97's and my nephew is lending me his '69 Camaro DZ block code Chevy 302. It should scream!