[miatapasta]

Nope, just plug and play provided one has already done the H4 conversion. As for output, well I'm hoping for the best and expecting the worst, even though the reviews are all favorable.

 

[GreaseMonkey2000]

Interior just keeps getting better, congrats!

 

[miatapasta]

Thanks grease monkey! Glad to have the interior all done. It started to take its own shape after a while.

Today I installed some LED H4 headlights into the H4 housings I retrofitted in favor of the sealed beams. Initial review: very pleased! Here are the details.

Color: pure white, no blue.
Cutoff: downward slope; less sharp than halogen but is still present and acceptable.
Price: $33 apiece on Amazon (will find link later)
Construction: A-...both have beefy heat sinks, a cooling fan, and plug straight in. Three Cree units on one side. A- because I had to modify the dust boot/seal due to the extra hardware on the back of the bulbs.

Pictures!

Low beam cutoff comparison.

No glare at standing level. Had to stoop low to see any glare. Road tested as well - bothered no one, including my friend who I had drive past me a few times.

Low beam after proper adjusting. They initially pointed too low. Had friend verify that they weren't too bright or glare-y after readjusting.

High beam. Not a dramatic difference but it's there and satisfactory.

All in all, I am very pleased and they are a welcome upgrade over the 55/60w halogens I was running. Much, much more light on the road in a nice white color that doesn't strain the eyes. Wholly recommend. If anything goes wrong, I will update, so if no updates assume they are still a-okay.

Now to keep saving up for that supercharger... ha ha.

 

[Cxmoney]

I need to do this mod for my headlights.

 

[miatapasta]

Exciting news today! A local guy here in GA who builds spec Miata racers is building me a fresh new 1.8! Now, the original plan was to buy a low mileage 1.8 and rebuild it myself. But the kicker is that the person doing the work offered to do all the machining, boring, polishing etc whereas I would not have been able to do that by myself. So come August I should have a factory-spec 1.8 sitting in the garage. Then I can continue on with the supercharger plans. So excited!

 

[chorne1787]

Mike is a great guy good on you for getting with him

 

[miatapasta]

Thanks man. Who would've known such a good builder was right here in Georgia?

 

[OnePaintedMan]

Much love for this car. Awesome work.

 

[HELLIONMX5]

Great read. Love this thread And car is Amazing! In for future updates.

 

[miatapasta]

The '95 1.8 engine is done being built at the shop. It's been rebuilt to have essentially zero miles - a blank slate. They're also tossing in a rebuilt 1.6 clutch good for 250 HP. I'm super excited to have it go in this month!

I'm currently in the market for an MP62 supercharger and some form of PNP MS that will fit a 1.6 chassis with a 1.8 engine. I need to be looking for a 1.6 model MS, correct? I'm 95% sure, just double checking.

Meanwhile, a photographer buddy bought a new camera and tested it out on my car a few weeks ago. Here are some of my favorites.

 

[GreaseMonkey2000]

Great pics! Yes, iirc, the MS is chassis specific. MP62 should be fun! I love the whine of a positive displacement supercharger!

 

[lindseyevelyn]

I keep coming back to your build. When I get a spark of inspiration and search for certain things I want to do to my car your build almost always comes back and I realize I like the direction you've taken with this car. I do have to ask; what kind of ducktail/trunk lid do you have? Sorry to ask, I generally like trying to figure it out on my own but I didn't see it anywhere in your thread. Thanks in advance!

 

[miatapasta]

I keep coming back to your build. When I get a spark of inspiration and search for certain things I want to do to my car your build almost always comes back and I realize I like the direction you've taken with this car. I do have to ask; what kind of ducktail/trunk lid do you have? Sorry to ask, I generally like trying to figure it out on my own but I didn't see it anywhere in your thread. Thanks in advance!

Wow, thank you very much! I appreciate the kind words.

The ducktail is one made by a guy named Russel (Vindi) in the UK. It sticks onto the OEM trunk.


Small update to the car: I registered the car as an antique the other day. How cool is that?

I also got a MSPNP 1.3 in the mail the other day. I never thought I'd ever own one of these...kind of weird to think I do now, so props to "7urtle" on here for sending me one my way! I'm still waiting to be able to swap in the 1.8, and then to get the MS tuned to run the new engine N/A. I don't plan on using the stock ECU to power the new engine except for the drive to the tuner's shop, lol. Once I get the SC in it'll power that, of course.

 

[miatapasta]

The 1.8 will be put in next week. I've confirmed a date with the race shop. Super excited!

While it's there, I'm asking to get do the 1.8 brake upgrade with the possibility of SS lines as well. My rear caliper sprung a nasty leak and I've been through almost two cans of brake fluid in a few days. The car's parked with essentially no brake pressure right now. I figure I'll just let him handle it while it's up there.

Lately, I've done a number of small things, like installed a VW 3rd brake light after seeing one mounted on thehoodedreeper's car. I also upgraded to HID 35w bulbs with, of course, proper projectors. I'll get pics up of all of this soon whenever I'm not at work.

I also picked up a mint condition set of 2004 MSM seats from demoniam this weekend. (Thanks for meeting up!) They are cloth so they won't burn you in the summer, freeze in the winter, or be torn up by, say, miniature dachshund toenails. They are super comfy too! This is a nighttime shot of them while the car's still in 'road trip' mode, but I just wanted to mention that if you're thinking of the upgrade, do it. It's worth having a functional set of headrests alone.

 

[miatapasta]

Dropped the car off at Track Minded Performance in Marietta, Ga. the other day. The 'to-do' list is as follows:

-1995 1.8 swap, rebuilt and machined over w/ red powdercoated VC
-Install OBX header w/heat wrap
-Delete AC (it never worked anyways)
-Delete PS, depower rack
-Fix the damn leaky brake caliper, lol
-Once-over for repairs and whatnot

I've also got a pile of parts waiting on its return:

-Custom gauges I'm working on (sorry Rev, wanted to take my stab at it first) :smile:
-DIY stainless gauge panel of sorts
-LED amber arrow indicators for the panel
-New head unit w/ bluetooth and rear-facing aux/USB (Pioneer DEH X8700BS)

I'll have picture updates along the way.

If anybody catches wind of an MP62 supercharger for sale, let me know! :icon_cheers:

 

[GreaseMonkey2000]

Good things to come! :icon_cheers: I HAVEN'T forgotten about the video. Trying to get the weather, my schedule and my wifes schedule to mesh has proved difficult since one person needs to hold my phone while the other operates the various signal indicators. :suicide:

 

[miatapasta]

Good things to come! :icon_cheers: I HAVEN'T forgotten about the video. Trying to get the weather, my schedule and my wifes schedule to mesh has proved difficult since one person needs to hold my phone while the other operates the various signal indicators. :suicide:

No worries! I've actually been meaning to tell you I've gotten another approach ironed out, so don't worry about that. All is well.

 

[miatapasta]

I wanted to make the mention that before I dropped the car off, I installed a set of eBay HID lights. :haiguyths:

Before I get crucified, hear me out - they are a legit, full plug & play 7" housing with proper projector lenses and come with 35W HID H11 bulbs and ballasts. They cost a tad over $100. As of 5/29/16, they are for sale or trade. Looking to go back to H4 halogens because I'm going for a tucked bay look and the ballasts are visible in the bay.


As the kit is a universal 7" unit, you'll have to trim some unneeded wires off of what they give you and run the remaining wires through the dust boot. The remaining wires are pictured below: the thicker ones are the power & ground for lights, and the thinner ones are power & ground for an internal shutter flap that opens and closes within the housing to let out more light for the brights.

Ballasts hide under the fender lip.

Comparison.

Both. Doge is camera shy.

You have to be the height of a miniature dachshund to induce glare, so oncoming drivers are safe, unless you're driving my dog's car, then my apologies.

Cutoff. Very sharp. (Wedding band is brushed tungsten and kicks ass.)

This is the cutoff of one bulb, hence the (relative) dimness. They weren't aimed yet, either.

You'll need a couple of these just 'cause.

I don't have any pics of on-road light output, but they're much brighter than the H4 housings & H4 LED bulbs I installed earlier in this thread.

 

[miatapasta]

So this brings me to present day. Motor's out at the shop. I don't know if I've mentioned the shop's name yet, but the guy doing most of the work is the shop owner, Michael Delaughter, at Track Minded Performance in Marietta, Ga. Any Georgia people should check them out. It's a two hour drive for me from North Macon but totally worth it.

Bonus: he's doing a wire tuck for me while he's in there. Sweet! I had previously done a semi-tuck, but he said while the motor's out he'd just go ahead and finish the job.

Alex Todd (Scratchnsniff) builds depowered steering racks (hot tank, regrease, welding, removing seals...the works). He's got one done up for me and it'll be going in as well.

While it's been out at the shop, I've been working on some smaller projects.



Project 1: Gauge panel. I wanted to see how inexpensively I could do this. I like how they're coming out, but in the far future I'll probably still replace my gauges with some of Rev's.

The black centers are indeed perfect circles cut with a template. They do look a little off in the pictures though.

Parts list:
-Gauge overlay panel. Bought brushed, was sent chrome, seller gave a full refund and I just used some brushed aluminum vinyl I had laying around. Works for me. You can see the 'grain' of the vinyl in the 2nd pic above. ($20)
-White Gauges (company of the same name makes them, $20)
-Transparent red taillight vinyl (already had laying around)
-3M flat black vinyl (free sample size, lol)
-OEM(?) polished rings ($15)
-Total cost (with refund): $35. Not bad.

Project 2: Rebuilding my GV lights. Confession time - they were a bit dim the first time around, and the wiring is...not clean. I'm re-buying all parts and starting from scratch with a redesign of everything.

-I started with the model of C3 Corvette reverse light lenses that mount with screws through the lens. This means I can mount directly to the panel instead of using 20# double sided tape. I cut out the backside so I can have access to the innards, but left the mounting holes in place.

-The LEDs I am using are JDM ASTAR brand. 100% The only LED bulb that does not get washed out by the sunlight. $30 for a pair on Amazon - don't waste money on anything else. Not even superbrightleds sells bulbs this bright.

-I built a holding plate for them. I'm not using sockets and instead soldering directly to the bulb to save space. Left: switchback LED (white reverse, amber turn). Right: red LED (stop).

-Bought a Depot brand Chevy HHR taillight for $10 off eBay and harvested the reflective housing out of it. Pro tip: I have discovered in all of my LED experiments that you can have a mega bright bulb, but without a good reflective housing, it will be a waste of time. Mirrors don't work - you need a cluster of small parabolic reflectors like OEM manufacturers use. Look at any OEM turn signal and you'll see what I mean.

-I enlarged the hole in the back and stuck on my bulb plate. The taillight function will be provided by the 90mm halo/angel eye you see on the outer perimeter of the housing. It is a red COB design. I mounted it face-outwards this time instead of upside down like last time.

-Then the whole assembly goes into the C3 lens. The HHR reflector coincidentally has a perfect friction fit around the inner C3 ring. You can see how I left the C3 mounting screw holes in place. I will cut little tabs into the fiberglass of the GV panel to bolt them down onto.

-My wife and I were gag-gifted a Mikel Knight CD once. "The country rap king." Truly awful music. So what has the exact diameter of a Corvette lens, is easy to cut with normal scissors, and has a reflective surface? Hmmmm.....

-I then went to test firing everything before I resealed and waterproofed it all.

Taillight function (90mm COB LED ring):

Brake function:

Turn function:

Reverse function:

Note: I originally wanted to use a sort of Mosfet P design so the brake light and amber would flash back and forth when the brake and turn lights are both on. However, the amber overpowers the red, so although both lights will be on, it still looks as if it flashes back and forth.

I currently have everything being sealed up by JB weld and drying at the house. Now that I know this method is a success and the lights are blisteringly bright, I'll repeat the process for the other side. I also want to build a clean wiring harness. The idea is to be able to pick the car up from the shop and have a largely plug and play solution to my previous GV rendition. I hope this helps anyone looking to do the same.



Anyways, that's my long-winded update. I guess it's time to stop procrastinating and get some papers graded, lol. Still looking for an MP62, if anyone knows of one.

See you guys later.

 

[CollinMB]

I like all of this