#1289 - A story of rebirth

[OThree.5]

I hate that illanosietv sold you his caps. Mine look terrible and he didn't offer lol

Idk why he didn't sell them to you.. I was about to tear my hair out just finding the caps

I have two extra now that aren't in the picture for a reason.. You want them? I ****** with the worst one just to see how they are held together.. lol. Its surprisingly cheap (an epoxy covered piece of laminate, thats been adhered to the cap with unknown goopy stuff.

 

[ZealoustheEnder]

Idk why he didn't sell them to you.. I was about to tear my hair out just finding the caps

I have two extra now that aren't in the picture for a reason.. You want them? I ****** with the worst one just to see how they are held together.. lol. Its surprisingly cheap (an epoxy covered piece of laminate, thats been adhered to the cap with unknown goopy stuff.

No it's okay cars a wreak

 

[OThree.5]

No it's okay cars a wreak ��

Good cause I already changed my mind.. lol I'd like to have one that looks OK, and one to play with / scanned for CAD / etc..

 

[ZealoustheEnder]

Lol

 

[OThree.5]

Wow.. I am "not buying" stuff right now.

Except I just bought some stuff. I guess FB (and talking to people) has its benefits.

I got my Samco hoses from this guy on FB.. He posted a FS for these



I asked if we could get them with a MS logo, with Mazdaspeed lettering under it..

Long story short... no. LOL

BUT Since my gauge rings didn't come out right apparently, the dude from Hydra is gonna etch "MSP #1289" on the bottom part of these. So TRUE 1 off stuff now. I am pretty stoked about it... even though its little.. and not expensive. Its something with the production number on it.

 

[googoo1oo]

that'll be a nice touch is he going to have more do you know?

 

[OThree.5]

that'll be a nice touch is he going to have more do you know?

The guy selling these and the guy that is custom etching them for me are different people. I have done business with both of them in the past, and they do business with each other.. so this is kind of my first "sweetheart deal" as far as this build is concerned. Basically I am buying them from Bryan Smith and then I set it up to ship to Beau Pauley over at Hydra Motorsports The site is best for pics, but contact is easier through Beau or Hydra-Motorsports Facebook

IDK.. you might be able to get the same deal. Bryan asks $14 for them. I gave him $20. If you wanna ask them, Tell them you want what Mike France got, but with your number, and offer $20. If you want the $14 ones, don't use my name and don't ask for the extra etching. lmao.


But to finally answer your question, 30 minutes ago he had 4 more..

 

[fuadmsp]

Wow.. I am "not buying" stuff right now.

Except I just bought some stuff. I guess FB (and talking to people) has its benefits.

I got my Samco hoses from this guy on FB.. He posted a FS for these



I asked if we could get them with a MS logo, with Mazdaspeed lettering under it..

Long story short... no. LOL

BUT Since my gauge rings didn't come out right apparently, the dude from Hydra is gonna etch "MSP #1289" on the bottom part of these. So TRUE 1 off stuff now. I am pretty stoked about it... even though its little.. and not expensive. Its something with the production number on it.

would this work on a 96 na miata

 

[OThree.5]

would this work on a 96 na miata

I have no idea about non protege fitment. I think so??? Ask Bryan

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000085047081&fref=ufi

 

[ZealoustheEnder]

There are plenty of places that do etching.

 

[OThree.5]

Alright. I made some progress last night. I went ahead and mounted the replacement bumper and routed pipes with the bumper on. I ended up having to adjust the mounting holes in the crash bar so the whole thing will sit in there straight.

It was a b****, but easier than pulling the bumper off, back on, off, etc. etc. etc.

Cold pipe rerouting is done
Radiator filled and holding (cold)
Addressed a very half assed coolant reservoir mounting

Pre-fixing the half assed bracket


I made the L bracket. The other piece is a 3" Pump mounting bracket from silicone intakes http://www.siliconeintakes.com/liquid-air-adapter/automotive-pump-mounting-bracket-p-715.html

Here is the much more rigid install





If I said I was 100% happy with the finished product, I'd be lying. Most of this stuff won't be very easy to see though, with the intake routed directly over it. That being said, I will be looking for a cleaner L bracket in the future.

Heres the measured and (forever) fussed over placement under the new bumper



When I finish the hot side (hopefully tonight), the unpainted bumpers is coming off. I will put the cut up one back on (with the hydra motorsports SAP brackets) for the time being.. hopefully the brackets help make everything line up better. specifically the passenger side by the headlight area. We'll see.

 

[hornsfan10609]

I think you misunderstood me. I am talking about taking the actuator apart and taking out the gear thingy that broke.. swapping it over INTO the other actuator, that's on the car. When I looked into fixing it a while ago, there was only 1 gear thingy.. there wasn't a specific gear for specific actuators. I think its the same gear in all of the actuators... no?




I'm confused about this comment.. specifically what you mean.. but also why this would apply to me



I'm hearing "yes your leaning towards the TEIN is probably the best move" lol

Also, I cannot think of another color that would look better, without looking like too much or being completely understated (yellow, or black/silver.. respectively)
I think blue would look alright, but I think a nice red caliper, with wheels that don't hide it, never goes out of style. But thats me..



This is good to know. I am tired of waiting and I didn't want to JB weld this thing if I was gonna have to send it back. To wait or not to wait... I could get this welded and make a couple bucks..

I didn't harass or berate them.. I just "stayed on them". I was nice.. but also thorough with the follow up. They shipped me a new one, but it was definitely NOT "no questions asked". Maybe they've changed some policies..

You can change out the gears in the actuator but they are only about $50 new. For the trouble it takes to replace those bastards I would rather not risk putting 13 year old plastic parts in there that will fail again, but that's my opinion. The door frames just look better with paint IMO and a lot of people don't seem to be aware there is fresh paint underneath. Thought I would share some knowledge and as Zealous mentioned it is a good way to see what the paint looks like new, but you can also see that under the hood and inside the car/jambs. My car has been repainted a couple different times, an Ex keyed the entire side of the car when I first bought it, the rear bumper was re-sprayed after being swiped, the front bumper and right front fender were replaced and all repainted along with the hood. And all of the paint matches really well except the rear bumper because the shop used water-based paint and it doesn't match the factory oil-based quite as well. For the calipers I say black, gray or the stock silver. It's not a ferrari or a new corvette and it doesn't have pretty brembo calipers or anything. I think the red clashes with the gray, but it is better than blue or yellow for sure.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

The black tape can only be removed on 2003.5 models FYI. On earlier ones it was painted on. There was a gal on here that removed the tape on her titanium, and it looked stupid. Might want to find her thread and see if it's worth it.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Also, the factory paint isn't "oil based." It's solvent based acrylic enamel.

 

[OThree.5]

The black tape can only be removed on 2003.5 models FYI. On earlier ones it was painted on. There was a gal on here that removed the tape on her titanium, and it looked stupid. Might want to find her thread and see if it's worth it.

Where is this black tape? You guys lost me...

Hornes, are you saying to GET the door frames painted?

I guess I am just confused at how we went from getting my bumper painted to black tape and door frames.... ????

 

[OThree.5]

Oh yeah.. so it would appear I am holding water, finally. Repair job on the leak seems to be holding up. Test drove last night.. and drove to work today.. got up to temp for at least 20 minutes.. just checked the rad, and its still full..

Now I have to detail the entire car again though.. :/

And I got "the clunk" now..

..but good times, right? lol

 

[OThree.5]

So quick update:

Got the new Mishimoto.. now that its confirmed I am holding water in the 1st one. LMAO.

I have P0455? if I am not mistaken. Its the code that says large evap leak. I think I was a dumbass and didn't put the gas cap on tight.. I'll find out here in a few. Also been meaning to hook up power to my boost gauge, so it looks like another night of working on the beast.

 

[OThree.5]

So the engine light was the gas cap. I got the boost gauge wired to the dimmer switch and dimming with the dash.. I had been watching a set of control arms.. last night I noticed the seller was down to 2 sets and slashed the price on them. I picked those up immediately. I think I need rear sway bar end links too.. Gonna paint some calipers asap and finally replace that missing wheel stud. Looking to do the 626 intake and at some point a 1.8 coil pack conversion Zealous has the parts for. Buying hold is lifted, but with extreme prejudice. lol.. Started to 2nd question fabricating a 3" DP... I think I might just save for it and get it from Pope.

if anyone has one used they wanna get rid of. Let me know...

 

[ZealoustheEnder]

So the engine light was the gas cap. I got the boost gauge wired to the dimmer switch and dimming with the dash.. I had been watching a set of control arms.. last night I noticed the seller was down to 2 sets and slashed the price on them. I picked those up immediately. I think I need rear sway bar end links too.. Gonna paint some calipers asap and finally replace that missing wheel stud. Looking to do the 626 intake and at some point a 1.8 coil pack conversion Zealous has the parts for. Buying hold is lifted, but with extreme prejudice. lol.. Started to 2nd question fabricating a 3" DP... I think I might just save for it and get it from Pope.

if anyone has one used they wanna get rid of. Let me know...

Everyone that has the Pope downpipe can speak for it it is amazing
Save up and get the manifold and downpipe together I believe you get a discount

 

[OThree.5]

Pics are overdue and someone needs to post SOMETHING in the MSP section.. lol its been quiet this week.

I never showed this.. When I bought the car, my MS emblem looked HORRIFIC. I was having a lot of other problems and was so caught up in freaking out over that, I totally never showed this before/after. I first had tried to tape off around the edges and sand it down to clear it up, but after some vigorous sanding, it heated up and the corner started coming up. I spent WAY too long, with my thumbnail just chipping away at that crap until I had basically chipped off the entire clear/amber laminate (or whatever the hell it is) When I was completely done.. I took 1000 grit, and a small block.. then I carefully gave it a horizontal "brushed" aluminum look around the edges and on the lettering.

The before and after is pretty staggering in my opinion for a "restore" that was completely free.

This is the only "before" that exists.. i wish I would have gotten closer to show how gross it really looked


"after" - if it wasn't for that tiny little bottom right corner issue, this thing would actually look almost mint




Lets see.. what else.. OH.. yeah. Here's the DOOR I've been waiting on for almost 3 weeks. It looks really nice, now if I could just get the person I bought it off of to SHIP IT, that would be great



OH YEAH! my shifter issues are OVER. It is PERFECT now. I got a stainless steel, 3.5" extension.. using the factory shifter now.. and I used these pieces of hard foam, with holes in it (packaging from those hood struts) to fab a spacer under there. Got it pretty damn flush if I do say so myself. (and it stays there)



Need a new boot though, I know.

Lets do a walk around on these wheels, since this stuff is getting attention next.

From the passengers side walking around the back of the car:









The good news (if you noticed) is I have a complete set of center caps now. You undoubtedly noticed that I am driving around like an idiot with 1 red caliper, and on that wheel I have a missing wheel stud. At some point, after I got that lock lug off the cross-threaded wheel stud, I lost the lug key. SO I can't actually just easily take the other wheels off... unless I chisel or with other methods, remove those lock nuts. That would be perfectly fine, except that I don't have any extra lugs.

Well.. thats not entirely true. I have 18, 6 notch lugs.. and no lug key for those either. LMAO.


so I have a whole wheel (rash) / lug (missing/matching) / caliper (unpainted) / rotor (pads starting to "cut" in) / brake pad (30%) situation here. I (thank you Jesus for autosave) am gonna get some cross drilled, slotted, and zinc coated rotors and new brake pads. I need to just get 1 MATCHING set of lugs. lol OR 4 new locks and keep the acorns on there. IDK yet. But with fresh drilled/slotted rotors and fresh painted calipers... its gonna be super fresh in there. I am back and forth about the color.. but in order to fix that wheel rash DIY, I need to use a tiny bit of filler and sand. Which means I have to paint. COLOR is a choice I haven't even begun to think about. Opinions are welcome, but keep in mind the rotor will be zinc colored silverish and the calipers red. I might just get a can of matching paint..

Anyone know the paint color code for the 03.5 wheels?

One last one.. this is after the initial spike I get to about 10psi.. It holds here at 8 easily till about 4500 RPM and then it will fade off a little into the 7.5 - 7.0 psi range. Everything else about it feels good though.. so IDK if maybe its the WG starting to think about failing? Either way.. I like seeing 8psi with the mods I've done.