[clynch9145]

I have been lurking for a few years now and finally decided to start a build thread. Here is what I have done with the car since I bough it four years ago.

Here is where it started. I was in college and my subaru had broken down one too many times so I was ready for a new project. I had always wanted a miata and so I started looking around and found this 95 1.8 project haha. It ran and drove great but needed some TLC to get it to where I wanted it to be.

The first thing that I wanted todo was install a roll bar. I knew it would add some safety and also you just cant beat the look of a miata with a rollbar. Everyone has the Hard Dog double diagonal so I decided to go the route less traveled and get the X-Brace. I was still living in the dorm at this point so it made for a fun project in the parking lot.

I knew that in order for the rollbar to be most effective my head needed to be under the bar. Im 6.2 and even with a foamectomy my head was still over the bar. I did some research and came across a set of 914 seats. I was able to get them for a good deal and this is where the vintage roaster idea all started.

Once I got the seats in I wanted to start fixing up other parts of the interior. The door panels were in rough shape so I took the opportunity to make quilted door cards and then got carried away and did the whole interior.

I was in the market to get new tires and so I took the opportunity to buy new wheels. I love Enkie 92s and found a good deal on a local forum. It was nice to have good tires in this freak snow storm in Alabama.

I took advantage of a black friday deal and picked up a set of Fortune Auto coilovers. It was worth the wait. I have been running them for about two years now and they are holding up great and have amazing ride quality.

As most miata owners searching craigslist for miata parts was a daily ritual and one day I stumbled upon a post for a NA with a hardtop for $1500. I offered him $500 for the top the same day and I was a hardtop owner. The paint was in rough shape but I with some spray paint and a bit of time I was able to get amazing results.

 

[Andy]

I like those 914 seats. Were you able to reuse the stock sliders or are they hardmounted? I want to know more about the seats.

 

[C.L.ZinnII]

Very Nice!!! Thank You for sharing.

 

[CollinMB]

Good start, keep it up

 

[clynch9145]

I like those 914 seats. Were you able to reuse the stock sliders or are they hardmounted? I want to know more about the seats.

I just hard mounted them, I was able to drop the seats like 2in that way.

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[clynch9145]

I was in the process or posting the whole build last night but was limited to 20 photos per upload so here is the rest.

I love the zoom engineering tombstone but didin't want to spend the cash so I decided to try my hand an fabricating my own. To go with the vintage style and make it a bit different I decided to give it a dark wood finish. It was a long process of lots of test fitting and then sanding but it came out better than I could have hoped. It still is not finished, I plan on warping the abs with the same black vinyl I used on the top of my door cards but thats a project for another time. I also plan to replace the gauges once I can find some I like that match the stirling gauges I got from Adam at RevLimiter.

There was no way I was going to install a traditional single din radio and I could not justify the price of the retrosound radios and am not a big fan of the digital display they have. I found an old analog AM radio, gutted it and installed a small class-D amplifier with a new POT that was the same size as the old one so I could control the volume with the old dial. I wanted to have some additional control over the radio and found a small Bluetooth receiver that also had controls that fit in the blank next to my cabin light dimmer. It is subtle enough it does not take away from the rest of the interior.

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[clynch9145]

I'm not a huge fan of the way the softop looks when folded down and had some free time on the weekend and leftover quilted fabric so I made a boot cover. I sewed rather strong magnets into the trim so it is held down without issued with regular driving. It is also nice to cover the softop when I have the hardtop on the car.

Most of this time I have been working on fixing the interior of the car while neglecting the exterior. I weighed my options and decided to wrap the car. I chose this ivory color which looks great on the miata! Also picked up a new license plate at the DMV!

Wrapping a car is much harder than I had anticipated and since this is still my only car I was having to wrap a panel every night so I could drive to work the next day. I eventually finished the whole car and the hardtop.

I love the way the NA MazdaSpeed skirts look so I picked up a set from Carbon Miata. The shipping took forever but the fit and quality was amazing.

As you make how noticed there is a crack in the 1.6 dash I have so once again I used leftover quilted fabric to solve the problem.

The most recent project I tackled was a KGworks style cluster. I actually started this project two years ago but gave up since it was harder that I expected. Last weekend I decided to give it another shot. I ended up attempting it four times before I was able to get it right without cracking the thin wood. Here was the process.

This is where the car is at currently. I have some more projects in mind and will keep this build thread up to date as I go. Hope you all enjoy!

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[CollinMB]

This is some of the most impressive work I've seen in a while.

 

[Bryan]

Looking good, dude!

 

[100percentjake]

Wow, that's gorgeous. Reminds me of tube-era hi-fi equipment. Lovely work.

 

[clynch9145]

This is some of the most impressive work I've seen in a while.

Thank You!

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[GreaseMonkey2000]

Great looking Roadster sir! Love the DIY gauge cluster, tombstone and tonneau cover! :icon_cheers: I may have to borrow the magnet idea! Looking forward to seeing updates!

 

[big pete]

Killer job! Do you have more pics of the dash cover? I've been thinking about making one for a while

 

[clynch9145]

Killer job! Do you have more pics of the dash cover? I've been thinking about making one for a while

I got the shape for it by laying down some paper and getting the outline. The fitment is pretty good, could have done better with the vent cutouts. The fabric kinda stretched when I attached it to the dash.

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[CollinMB]

For what it's worth, it's still probably better than some aftermarket options. Can't beat DIY.

 

[revlimiter]

This is FANTASTIC!! Not just saying that because you have so much of my stuff. That wood cluster came out amazing.

(and thank you for your repeat business, it's hugely appreciated)

 

[adam777]

Wow. Great build! Was not sure where it was going but LOVE where it is ending up.

 

[big pete]

I got the shape for it by laying down some paper and getting the outline. The fitment is pretty good, could have done better with the vent cutouts. The fabric kinda stretched when I attached it to the dash.

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:icon_cheers: Thanks!

 

[clynch9145]

This is FANTASTIC!! Not just saying that because you have so much of my stuff. That wood cluster came out amazing.

(and thank you for your repeat business, it's hugely appreciated)

Thanks Adam, your stuff does go great with what Im doing.

 

[clynch9145]

Starting the next little project today since this long awaited package finally arrived today! Can't wait to get it all assembled and see how it looks on the car!

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