[Grumbles]

Re: Tree's Roadster

This is going to sound weird, but could you take a picture looking down the driver's side of the steering rack? I cannot find a picture of it all over the internet, and I don't have a rack to compare mine to.

The car is looking fucking fantastic, honestly. I have fairly high hopes for it. Keep it up!

 

[treeafodo]

Re: Tree's Roadster

I'll take some pictures for you in the morning.

Thank you for the compliment. I have big plans for it.


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[treeafodo]

Tree's Roadster

Hopefully these will help you out.

 

[Grumbles]

Re: Tree's Roadster

yes, thank you!

this is a weird question, and it would be a huge favor to me, but when I was tightening my tie rods, I noticed that when I rotate the rack, it moves in the direction of the blue arrow.

if you have your tie rods handy, could you try to tighten them down for me? and see if it moves like that?

I know this sounds really stupid, but my steering doesn't feel sloppy or have any other play in it, its only when I crank down on the tie rod end that it does that.

 

[treeafodo]

Re: Tree's Roadster

Mine doesn't have any of that movement.

 

[Grumbles]

Re: Tree's Roadster

Hm. That concerns me. Looks like I need a new rack or a rebuild. Thanks for the info!

 

[treeafodo]

Re: Tree's Roadster

Sorry to hear that. I found an OEM rack for $90 here if you were going to buy a new one.

Speaking of steering racks I brought mine to school today to depower.
Disassembled by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

The seal to be cut
Ready Cut the Seal by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Weight Reduction
Seal Removed by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Parts by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Greasing everything up and reassembling.
Lubed Up by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Reassembled with everything torqued to OEM spec.
Assembled by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

I removed the lines and crimped them shut for the mean time. I will be buying the MiataRoadster plugging kit for some bling factor. Also to remove the super sharp ends. haha
Lines Cut and Crimped by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Then I reinstalled the rack in the car.

 

[treeafodo]

Re: Tree's Roadster

Not a whole lot of progress.

This is that random bracket I was talking about earlier. It was held on by one very loose nut on the starter. I removed it since it was just flopping around anyways.
Random Bracket by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Today I bought 10 lbs of this
Dry Ice by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Dry Ice by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

To remove this
Sound Deadning by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Sound Deadning by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Apply by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Apply by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

If you're wondering, I did turn the Hobo around as well as undoing the fuel lines, removing the PPF and motor mount bolts. Psulja is coming over tomorrow morning to help me guide the engine and tranny out. My dad was going to help me, but ended up hurting his back at work. Loading the cherry picker in and out of the truck by myself was NOT fun...
Ready for the Morning by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

 

[chinchilla]

Re: Tree's Roadster

ice? hoes that work?

 

[psulja]

Re: Tree's Roadster

Dry ice freezes the sound deadening to a point that it becomes brittle so you just hit it with a hammer and it all shatters and comes off the car.

 

[treeafodo]

Re: Tree's Roadster

Dry ice freezes the sound deadening to a point that it becomes brittle so you just hit it with a hammer and it all shatters and comes off the car.

What he said. Almost all of it came off, but I still have a bit of residue kicking around that I need to remove.






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[treeafodo]

Re: Tree's Roadster

When Paul arrived this morning we chained the engine to the cherry picker and pulled it out. Took about 10-15 minutes total. Engine was out by 8:06 am. Huge shoutout to him for the help! :icon_cheers:

Remember when I posted this?

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

Well it's covered.
Oily Trans by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Finally Removed by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

Now that the engine is out I have more stuff to clean.
Empty Bay by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Empty Bay by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

I seperated the tranny and the engine and gave the transmission a quick clean to remove most of the grease.
On my way to school today I picked this up. One day I will be buying car parts rather than tools. I swear.
Engine Stand by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

 

[Pedro'z]

Re: Tree's Roadster

Much progress in a short time! Always happy when you post!

 

[humming]

Re: Tree's Roadster

One day I will be buying car parts rather than tools. I swear.

NEVAAAARRRRRRRRR

I love working on my car because its an excuse to buy tools lol.

 

[treeafodo]

Re: Tree's Roadster

Thank you Pedro'z, it means a lot

NEVAAAARRRRRRRRR



I love working on my car because its an excuse to buy tools lol.

I have no problem buying tools, but lately I've been buying so many tools and no car parts. I just want to install something on the car. :lol:





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[psulja]

Re: Tree's Roadster

Welcome to the world of working on cars where your first couple years you'll spend more on tools than parts. It gets expensive but is worth just buying the right stuff the first time around. If you need it once early on you can bet you'll need it later.

 

[treeafodo]

Re: Tree's Roadster

My next purchase will be pretty expensive. Just saving up for it right now.


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[treeafodo]

Re: Tree's Roadster

Today was the first time I touched the car since the last update. My Grandpa suddenly passed away on the 20th so my family was very busy with funeral related events and emptying out his apartment. Family stuff>cars.

In other news, I BOUGHT A CAR PART! After work yesterday I ordered a custom set of Revlimiter gauges for the Sharksgiving sale. I won't be posting any teasers for them, only Adam and I know what they'll look like. Hopefully they turn out as good as I think they will. To top it off this afternoon I took a break from studying to check my email only to see that I have an email from Adam and a Paypal refund. I was the lucky order of the day to get the gauges for free! Super excited about that!

With today being the first day back wrenching on the car, I had quite a bit to do. I returned the cherry picker to the shop, took the tires off the rims and switched them for the Integra tires. Now my Integra has new tires for the winter.
Wheels Removed by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
I also put the engine to the side. I decided not to use the engine stand for the 1.6. I'm going to save it for the engine I will be getting shortly.
Engine Put Aside by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

I'm sure some of you guys have noticed that my white balance is all over the place during this build. The lighting in the garage is a mix of florescent, incandescent and natural light. Getting proper white balance is tricky, even with some post work.

After the tires were switched over and the cherry picker returned I reinstalled the wheels on the car and started to remove the wiring harness.
Wiring Undone by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
Wiring pulled through by Austin Rajki, on Flickr
No More Wiring by Austin Rajki, on Flickr

 

[treeafodo]

Re: Tree's Roadster

My next purchase will be pretty expensive. Just saving up for it right now.


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Well, I took advantage of Cyber Monday sales and bought something I've wanted just as long as I've wanted a Miata. The package is coming from Japan and should be here in 20 days or less. I'm super pumped, my wallet? Not so much... :lol:

 

[treeafodo]

Tree's Roadster

I finally worked up the motivation and finished removing the wiring harness last night, I also adjusted the trunk. The previous owner made it so it latched super tight. You had to slam it to close and push down when you turn the key to open it. Now it opens and closes freely.


I decided to gather all the exterior and bracing parts I'll need before fabrication to try to reduce the time the car is sitting with bare metal waiting for paint, plus all the body parts will match perfectly this way. I ordered the following parts this past week:
Jubiride fender flares
APR GT3 carbon fiber mirrors
Slick auto APR mounts
Custom set of Revlimiter gauges (these were free since I won)