NB MX-5 Hey, it's Minnie!

Did some prep work for installing my hard top. Cut the trim panels for the side strikers and put those on, along with my F-bolts. Went to my storage, dug the top out and put it on. When I got home I looked at installing the Beatrush latches. I thought they used the factory striker plates but they don't. So those came back off. Got the Beatrush parts installed, also replaced the rubber isolater on the right side rear latch (that fits over the F-bolt). Those are side specific and when I first ordered replacements I was sent two of the same. The JIS screwdrivers I bought from Revlimiter proved their worth yet again, as the screw holding the top cover on the rear latch gave me a hard time the last go-around when I used a standard size Philip's. Everything is all fitted up and secure.

I didn't take any pictures of the Beatrush install as there are plenty of those floating around. I'll get a picture of the hard top in place with my present configuration soon.
 
Pictures as promised:

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If you have been following along, I was back to work so you know what that means. I purchased a used Racing Beat Power Pulse dual exit muffler. I loved how my system sounded with the top down, but with it up (or the hard top on) it was a little annoying. Since the RB is supposed to be one of the quietest around I'll see how it plays with the MS header and RS midpipe. I also picked up some spare center caps for my Flatouts from someone on another forum.
 
Muffler showed up. I also bought a PS delete pulley. Not 100% sure if I will go manual but it will sure be good to have that if I do.
 
Got home. Went out and hooked the battery charger up in the morning, not sure the last time she has been started. Looked the muffler over, I may have to move one of the hangers. The PS delete pulley was as advertised, just needed to put it away so I could find it again.
 
Drove the snot out of her that weekend (and washed her dirty butt). Did some cleaning of the RB muffler with metal polish and a cooktop scrub pad (the red one), there was a band of discoloration completely around the center of the muffler. Looks weird, I can't imagine what caused it. Also found a couple of dings on the bottom, not a big deal although I am a little disappointed that I didn't see them before I bought it. I stopped at Ace and picked up some fine steel wool to work on it some more. That was all I got done as I was stuck in the house all day for a carpet install. Pictures once I get it all spruced up.
 
When I was coming home from some errands, I had to wait on a school bus that was ahead of me on the street. I heard a noise that didn't sound familiar, at first I thought it might be something on the song I was listening to but the noise remained after turning the volume down. Once I got in the garage I opened the hood and started her up to find out what was happening. The noise was coming from the supercharger so she got shut off quickly. This morning I removed the drive belt and pulled the outlet manifold to inspect the rotors and do some checking. It doesn't feel like the nose coupler is loose but there is definitely what appears to be backlash. I would expect some but reading on-line I found that this is also indicative of a failing coupler. I've pulled and prodded on the rotors to see if the bearings have any plan but there is none discernible. Given all that I decided to buy a replacement coupler and oil from TDR. Hopefully it will get here soon so I can get her going.
 
Picked up the stock exhaust hangers I ordered the other day. Went out in the afternoon and cleaned some more on the RB muffler, and then went to put in this weekend. I had to finish up paint in the master closet and then put it all back together before the wife got home. Priorities, don't 'cha know.
 
Took the muffler outside and hit it a lick with the steel wool and some more of the polish. Didn't really do anything to remove the discoloration so I'll either live with it or find some decent paint that will stick to the stainless and cover it up.
 
I received the nose coupler and oil. Took the 'charger off and pulled it apart. There was zero oil in the gear housing, and some metal shavings/pieces. None of the bearings felt rough, but I can't take the chance something isn't damaged and just put the oil in and run it. I'm going to see about sending it off to one of the rebuild places.
 
Took me a few days, but pictures of the 'charger as promised:

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In this one you will see the large metal pieces I took out of the gear housing (they look like pieces of a bearing cage):

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I picked up some pink styrofoam sheets for packing, no one had any heavy duty boxes of the size I needed so I had to order those on line. They'll be here in a couple of days, then I can ship the unit off for repair.

Finally, it hadn't been a totally crap week. Picked these up from a local guy for nothing.

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Lightly used Hoosier A6s, for some fun next autocross. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do on a set of slicks.
 
Finally received the double-wall boxes I ordered, but too late to get it packed up and shipped. Did that first thing the next morning. I cut the styrofoam to fit and layered it in the box to give a nice, solid holder all the way around the 'charger:

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Cutting it was messy but made a lot easier using my weapon of choice:

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It is due to arrive at the rebuilder's on Monday, I'm hoping they don't have too much of a backlog and will be able to tear into it right away.
 
I bought a new driver's side brake shield, I had to cut the original a little bit for clearance when I tried to fit the BBK I had and it bothers me despite not being visible. Also, today was a good day:

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Thought I had missed out on this one but luckily they had extras (although not the usual heavy duty shirts I buy).
 
Since I had some time on my hands while waiting on the supercharger to get rebuilt, I decided I would try putting the Feal top hats on again but not use the rubber cushion on the top. I don't want the spring to contact the top hat with nothing between so I picked up everyone's favorite rubberized coating:

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A little cleaning with denatured alcohol, taping and spraying later, I had this:

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Peeling the tape off removed a little of the coating as you can see but nothing to worry about.

I also received the following that day:

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The second picture is of a switch housing that replaces the air bag switch in US cars. At some point I will likely install seat heaters so this will give me a place for the switches.

I was expecting another delivery that didn't happen. All I will say is it is going to make my life much easier when working on cars.
 
I had a good day. I picked up or received what's in the picture:

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Horns are actual Fiamms from '90's Mazdas, they are brand new from the same place I got my ashtray from. They are a little smaller than the horns I currently have, and since they are actual Mazda parts that's a plus. The cubby and head gasket I got from the local dealer. After thinking about things a little more, I decided now would be a good time to install the ported/polished head I have along with the JDM intake cam. The cubby was for another little project I was contemplating.

The icing on the cake came when I finally heard from the freight company and arranged delivery of my large package the following day. All curiosity will soon be satisfied.
 
Once I had it all together and operating, here are the money shots:

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This thing is slick. I got the 120v version, it's plenty fast enough for me so I can't imagine how much faster the 12v version is.

If you get one, you do have to assemble it a little. This means putting fittings on the air and hydraulic cylinder as well as the hoses, filling the reservoir with 2 quarts of ATF and then bleeding the system. I had a slight problem with one of the Schrader valves on the air cylinder, it wasn't holding at all. After pulling it apart a couple of times I found the valve stem wasn't tight. Took care of that and all was well. Here is the ATF I used:

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You will also need 17/19mm wrenches, 5/6mm Allen wrenches, a couple of Crescent wrenches and some Teflon tape. I performed the bleeding of the hydraulic cylinders per the instructions, but what really did the job was putting a load on the unit by raising and lowering the car a few times. You do want to raise/lower the ramps a couple of times with no weight on it as they will move unevenly due to air in the system. One thing to note, due to the movement of the lift as it raises the car will move to the rear of where it starts out (or to the front depending upon how you orient the ramps).

I didn't know if I was responsible for this or not, but Flyin' Miata started listing how many of this model lift were available (I was a little nervous when I didn't hear anything for nearly a business week). You could get it delivered to your home but it cost extra. Despite mine being delivered to the freight terminal Monday it took me until today to receive it. My life working on any of our cars got a lot easier.
 
Someone asked me if this would go high enough to do a clutch job. I took these pictures to show it is possible. This first one shows the lift in the lowest position, with one of the jack stands I used for my clutch jobs in its highest position as I used it.

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This second picture shows the lift in its highest position. The point I used to place the jack stand is about 4 1/2" higher than what it was on the jack stand.

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Despite it being cold, I decided to make up for my sloughing off that week and swap out mufflers. I didn't have any real problems, one thing to note is the NB1 has four hangers on the muffler, while the NB2 only has three. It is perfectly secure on mine with just the three. I also took the opportunity to replace the urethane hanger I put on last year for a new factory rubber one in the interest of reducing some noise transmission into the cabin. I do have some contact now between the rear section of the exhaust and my 949 rear subframe brace so when it warms up I'll pull that off again and do some clearancing with my grinder like I did before. I also found that some roadkill I ran over a while back left more residue than I thought on the underside, so I got rid of all that.

I mentioned before that the car will travel some horizontally as the QuickJack raises. In the interest of general knowledge I took some measurements to see how far it moves. The car will move 3 1/4" when putting it into the low position, that is with the locks in place. Add 1/2" of travel for those to clear to pull them out. For the high position, the car will move 10 3/8" with the locks in place. Add 1 3/4" to that when you take the locks off.

Finally, I measured 18 1/4" clearance from the bottom of my FM frame rails to the floor in the highest position. That is using the thinner rubber blocks, the thicker ones are 3" thick so will add around 1 1/2" of additional clearance.
 
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