Tree's V8 Roadster

Re: Tree's Roadster

Well, I removed the soft top from the car. Took all of 10 minutes. Good to see there was no rust between the body and the rain rail.
Soft Top Removed by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

The rain rail drains were really clogged...
Clogged Rain Rail Drain by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

I vacuumed the area, cleaned out the drains and then picked up a bottle of Simple Green. I love this stuff.
Simple Green by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

I went to town with the Simple Green. :lol:
Cleaned the rear shelf up as well as behind the seats.
Quick Clean by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Cleaned out both door jambs as well as the transmission tunnel.
Dirty Door Jamb by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Clean Door Jamb by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

The sill under the dash/behind the wind shield.
Dirty Sill by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Clean Sill by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

And the area behind both fenders.
Dirty by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Clean by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Re: Tree's Roadster

This morning I got quite a bit done in preparation for removing the engine and transmission.

Getting ready to take the shifter out. I removed the old boot, gave it a quick wipe down and then removed the shifter. Once the shifter was removed I sealed it up to prevent dirt from getting inside.
Time to Remove the Shifter by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Old, Rotted Boot by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Quick Wipe Down by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Shifter Out and Sealed by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Then I started to undo all the connections on the engine. I came across this bracket between the oil filter and starter. It only has 1 bolt holding it in and it's not attached to anything. Does anyone know what it's for?
No Idea what this Bracket is for by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Engine Harness Undone by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Engine Harness Undone by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

I have class 2-5. After class I will continue where I left off. I'll drain the coolant and remove the rad.

To be continued...

Re: Tree's Roadster

humming said:

Looks like the intake manifold bracket to me, hard to see for sure in that picture. I took mine out and called it "weight savings".

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The way the bracket sits under the intake manifold made it a very difficult thing to photograph. It cant be too important if you didn't notice a difference. It's not like mine is doing anything the way it is.

[email protected] said:

I think it's awesome that you finally got your Miata. Sorry to hear about the unknown damage you found. What a shock that must have been. Sounds like you've made up your mind to "keep truckin'" which I think is a great decision. Bravo on the cleanliness, once my Camaro is gone my Miata is going into my garage for some serious deep cleaning, maybe even as much as you've been doing! That powder really made the carpet look new! Great find!

Subscribing so I can watch your progress!

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Thanks for the subscription! Finding the damage was the most devastating thing that could have happened other than getting in an accident and writing the car off. Like I said early on, I was almost in tears thinking I just wasted all my money. Working on the car and seeing how nicely it's been cleaning up is a huge relief. Other than the rocker rust, and the tiny bit under the e-brake I haven't found any. That doesn't include the spot under the master cylinders which will be removed by the tube front. Hopefully it stays that way. :smile:

If you do end up cleaning yours as much as I am make sure you have a room set aside for all the parts you will be removing. My bedroom is being overrun... It's a lot of work, but it doesn't cost anything other than time and makes a huge difference in the overall appearance of the car.


After class I removed the rad and coolant hoses. I placed a bucket under the drain plug and accidentally let the drain plug fall into the bucket. The coolant was filling up the bucket very quickly! With no signs of it stopping I started frantically searching for another bucket with no success.
The first thing that comes into my head is this:

I run into the house to find something to use, and I couldn't find anything. So then I go back into the garage to see that it stopped. The bucket was JUST large enough.
Almost Spilled by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Rad and hoses are out now.
Top Side is Ready by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Unless I'm forgetting something everything in the engine bay is done minus the exhaust manifold. All I have to do now is unbolt the slave cylinder from the transmission, remove 2 PPF bolts and take the driveshaft out. Hopefully it's nice outside tomorrow so I can push the car out of the garage and get it on jackstands. I tried squeezing under the car, but quickly gave up on that. :lol: Once I'm ready to remove them I will undo the motor mounts.

Re: Tree's Roadster

humming said:

My old 4runner was so awesome to work on because I never had to put it on stands. I even did the clutch without raising the car any. I do miss that some days.

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I wish! Our jack is getting old, and I think the seal is going out on it, it doesn't go up too high. I went to my work and bought a set of jack stands, jacked the car up and got to work. When I say the jack doesn't go up high, I mean it. Floor to pinch weld is 13 inches. :suicide: It's really tight under the car, but I don't want to spend $100+ on a new jack if I don't absolutely need it. I need to save all my money for fabrication.
I still need to remove the driveshaft and slave, but that'll need to happen tomorrow since I have photography club tonight then need to study for a big test I have tomorrow morning.
I spent quite a bit of time looking under the car for any damage and rust. I didn't see anything other than light surface rust that should come off with a wire wheel Even then it's very scarce. hillyb: The only place I couldn't see was above heat shields. Transmission is drained, speedometer cable is removed, all electrical connections are undone, and 2 out of 4 driveshaft bolts are cracked loose.
Jack Stands by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Re: Tree's Roadster

Thank you! I'm really surprised how nice the carpets turned out.

I was hoping to have everything done so I can have the engine out tomorrow after school. I was trying to squeeze as much work in as possible on the car, but of course you run into set backs. Everything is undone now except the mounts and the darn exhaust. One of the 2 previous owners had new sections welded in ( new cat, and muffler for sure). There's a U-bolt that is on, but the slip joint is welded! Completely defeats the purpose of that U-bolt! I was going to remove the bracket that holds the exhaust to the bell housing, but one bolt head is rounded a bit. I'd rather leave it until it's out of the car to prevent it from rounding any more. I'm going to see if I can borrow an angle grinder with a cut off wheel from school to cut the stupid exhaust out because I can't think of any other way of getting it undone.

Oh and to summarize the drivetrain:
Meme by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Re: Tree's Roadster

AccentedBlack said:

Stop it Tree. Tree stahp. Staaaaahhhhp. You're making me feel like I've been half-assing my miata so far. J/k, the progress looks great so far. Great attention to detail. I'll have to take a page from your book next time I do something to the interior and really tear it down to get a good scrub going. I'd love to get into the HVAC system and clean it up, you never really know whats caked up in there after 20+ years. Keep up the good work man. Definitely subbed to keep up with the progress.

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If your HVAC system was anything like mine I would recommend cleaning it. The amount of dirt I removed from the blower motor and all the vents running through the dashboard was disgusting. I wish I got pictures of it.
Thank you for the subscription by the way! I'm surprised how supportive people have been so far. I was expecting to get flak and to be told to throw the car away after the damage post.

No "fancy" pictures today. Just iPhone 4s pictures/screenshots
Today was a pretty fun day. I bought the airbag to school and blew it up with some friends. We blew it up bagside-down.
Boom by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
A friend of mine lent me a diegrinder with a cut off wheel so I could remove the exhaust.
Cutting Off Exhaust by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

I also removed the driveshaft and both heat shields on the car to find no rust under them :mrgreen:
Removed by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Everything is now ready for the engine to come out. I was hoping my Dad wasn't busy tonight so he could help guide me, but he had sidejobs planned. So I'm just waiting for a day when were both free so we can guide it out of the car.

Re: Tree's Roadster

[email protected] said:

It's like a little cloud, flying in the sky... hee hee.

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It went much higher than I expected. It went higher than that screenshot, but I wasn't able to pause it at the right time.

I picked a few things up today. Grease and snap ring pliers to depower the steering rack.
New Purchases by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

So much oil.... :smile1:
Oil Leaks by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Rack out.
Rack Removed by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

I gave the subframe crossmember a quick wipe down. There is so much dirt under the car.
Cleaner Subframe by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

I also gave the rack a quick cleaning to help reduce the chance of dirt getting inside it. It's still pretty dirty, but a huge improvement. (Look back to when I looped it). I went to remove the lock ring off the rack only to find I don't have a wrench or adjustable big enough at home. I'll bring it to school one day this week to do it.
Cleaner Rack by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

I wasn't quite ready to stop working on the car yet, so I just did some quick cleaning. Nothing drastic, but progress is progress. The more I clean this car the dirtier it feels.
Dirty by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Slightly Cleaner by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Dirty by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Slightly Cleaner by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Oh and I also bought an auto darkening welding helmet and a set of gloves. Why you might ask? I'm pricing out and researching to possibly purchase a TIG welder. hillyb:
Welding Stuffs by Austin Rajki, on Flickr