[Bryan]

The Tick's windblocker has been part of the picture for over a decade: this was the picture I submitted way back for the 2011-2012 ClubRoadster calendar!

I can count on my fingers the number of times this thing has come off the car, and the years took their toll:

I started the process of taking the old one off and of course because a freaking idiot, managed to shear a bolt head...had to twist the thing out one turn at a time with a pair of pliers.

This is why I HATE working on my car.

The new windblocker in its ancestral home:

For those who are curious, the rollbar pretty much forces the windblocker into this position:

 

[Bryan]

Took in one of the local Cars and Coffee events today with the boy. Got one good shot of the car.

More stuff here

 

[Bryan]

Got the little guy to help me change the oil in The Tick today. The shop had the filter (whose brand I didn't recognize...first time I ever remember the filter o-ring coming off of the filter when it came off the car...) on so tight that I finally had to use a pair of oil filter pliers to wrench it loose. That said, there didn't appear to be any leaks and the drain plug didn't appear to have damaged threads, so I guess it's all good.

One thing I did notice that I was a little concerned about: the forward ignition coil has a crack in it.

13 years ago when I brought the car home, I changed the plugs and managed to shear off one of the two bolts that holds the coil in.

What do you think? Should I be concerned? I'm planning to change plugs again soon.

 

[Bryan]

Did plugs, wires, and air filter today with the little dude. Glad I bought wires and new ignition coils, too, but more on that later.

Since we were trying to squeeze in the job in the 45min or so I had to spare on Mother's Day, I opted to not do the valve cover gasket or extract the broken bolt holding the forward coil in place. Shame on me, but it'll have to wait. I probably should've replaced the PCV valve as well, but that can be done on a different day.

Anyway, here's what I bought:

WIX Air Filter
NGK Blue Wires
NGK FR5BHK Ruthenium Plugs
NGK U4013 Ignition Coils

Glad I bought both the wires and coils because that crack in the forward coil turned out to be a bit more...terminal (see what I did there?) than I thought.

20210509_151959 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
20210509_152002 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

Try as I might, that part of the coil that was still attached to the plug wire was not coming out. Oh well. At least the other coil and wire were good, so in the Spares box they go.

20210509_152012 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

New and Old plugs. Top to bottom is Cylinder 1, 2, etc. To be honest, I don't remember when I replaced these (I am pretty sure they haven't been in there since 2008 when I bought the car and snapped the coil bolt, buuuuuuuuuut...sigh).

20210509_144704 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
20210509_144822 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
20210509_145101 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

Comparing #3 to #4, it's interesting how much cleaner the #4 plug looked. Also there was a lot more electrode material left on it (relatively):

20210509_145106 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
20210509_145238 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

Got a pic of the little dude while he was getting the plugs out and finger tightening them back in:

20210509_144642 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
20210509_150125 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

I ended up having to zip-tie the OEM harness to the coil because it wouldn't click in place on the forward coil. Not sure why. Clicked in place just fine on the rear one.

Started up the car and butt/ear dyno says it sounds smoother, which aside from long replacement time for the plugs is really all I wanted. It was good to have the little guy out to work with me on the car!

 

[Bryan]

Not much to report. Miatas at the Gap XXV was SUPER busy. Other than driving up and down from my cabin, the only times I was in the car the entire weekend was on Wednesday on my way in, one run to Robbinsville for lunch, then on my way out on Sunday. Killboy's crew caught me during the latter:

MATG XXV Killboy Shot by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

 

[Crazyblackman]

Glad you’re out there driving this thing around! Now more than ever!

 

[Bryan]

The car still has problems, but it's drivable.

On a positive, I finally scheduled it for paint.

 

[sdemo45]

On a positive, I finally scheduled it for paint.

Woo!

 

[Crazyblackman]

The car still has problems, but it's drivable.

On a positive, I finally scheduled it for paint.

Fair enough on the car having problems but being driveable.

The paint thing is something I long for!!!

 

[Bryan]

I'm nervous to see how it comes out, but being cautiously optimistic.

 

[Bryan]

Welp, car's officially "at the shop".

 

[sdemo45]

I hacked your doorbell and saw that your car is home from the body shop…………

 

[Bryan]

Need to get some more proper pics, but here's the car as I picked it up today.

 

[capitalcrew]

Looks fantastic Bryan! Congrats man. I know you've been waiting for that for a long time

 

[berrie]

that looks amazing!

 

[Bryan]

DSC_0012 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0014 (2) by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0016 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0017 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0019 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0020_LI by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0025 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0033 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0040 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

This has been a long time coming. I honestly never thought I'd get to this point. I had spent so much time and energy in fixes, anxiety, dealing with shop issues, and trying to just enjoy The Tick for what it had become that actually getting the car painted became a whiff of smoke. People would ask and I'd only answer "eventually". I finally realized that I was just putting it off. It would never happen if I didn't just do it. I'm glad I did.

Now...this is, of course, not the end. The Tick is still far from perfect. The suspension creaks, there's a clunk in the steering I can't get rid of, and I'm not entirely sure this is the suspension the car will wear for the rest of its days, among other things. That said, looking at these pictures...this is where I always wanted the car to be. All of the basic I ever intended it to have from the very beginning are there. This car, for all its scrapes, scars, and flaws, is my interpretation of what a factory Roadster should and could be. I love it.

 

[deprogram]

Looks fantastic, man. Glad you took the leap and got it painted.

 

[Bryan]

Wanna see something?

How it started...

How it got going...

Hitting his stride...

Mistakes were made and setbacks happened...

With the help of my friends, the rebuild began...

Back on the scene...

Putting off paint...

You now know the rest

 

[Bryan]

If you don't follow any of my social media stuff, you missed this.

Weather seems to be finally taking the turn for the winter soon, so I wanted to take the car out to one of my favorite photo spots. Managed to talk my son into going after dinner. Also borrowed my wife's cellphone tripod because I didn't feel like lugging the D7000 and my Vietnam War-era tripod (no joke).

Long story short, we drove 40+ minutes to take three photos (that I kept):

20211117_192309 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
20211117_192632 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
20211117_192735 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

 

[Bryan]

Another nice day today means I took the car out for the day's errands: