Brap-Brap

Oh lord here we go...

The ol' girl decided she didn't like me today. I came out this morning to not 1 but 2 puddles under her...



One tasted sweet so it was for sure coolant, and considering the radiator looked like this, I think it was safe to say I needed a new rad.

The other puddle was indeterminate though...



But as I pulled the car out of the garage to back her in for easier maintenance, I tasted the second puddle and it was acrid and bitter. AKA brake fluid. Time for a new slave cylinder!

Then as I was backing the car into the garage the radiator decided it had enough and the lower tank blew a crack and started spewing coolant. Shut her off and pushed her the rest of the way in.

So step 1 was to break everything down and make room for the work to come. Passenger side wheel off, LRB tray off, etc.

New master and slave cylinder went in, along with a 949 clutch line.



I have to say bleeding the clutch took longer than the install. The most frustrating part was getting the old clutch line out.

The new stuff feels slightly lighter than before but smoother, with better control. No idea why though.

Aaaand since my AC never worked I pulled out the lines and the condenser. with the AC lines removed it gave me a lot of room for a FM lower rad hose.



Pulling this abomination out was certainly fun:



And since everything was going very nicely I decided to do a little nip and tuck on the engine bay. Old washer bottle was cracked so I pulled it and put my Mishimoto coolant res back there, charcoal canister delete and I moved the MAP sensor and evap solenoid to more discrete locations versus the bracket previously there.

I swapped the Rad with an aluminum Yonaka unit, and because it had no weatherstripping on the fan shroud I used some basic stuff from Autozone.



If you need a new upper rad hose, don't go to the parts store for it. The Dayco hose listed is too big of an ID, order one from your dealer or from your favorite online retailer.

As I took her through a heat cycle though I found a leak dripping from the trans tunnel... Definitely coolant. Turns out the oil cooler line on the back of the head was weeping. So I pulled the clamp, pulled the hose and cut the damaged end off and put on a constant tension clamp.

On a long drive today I was blessed with these temperatures:



Previously I was looking at cruising temps of 205*F-210*F Now with the condenser out of the way and a more efficient rad she's running ice cold.

And thanks to the cramped space behind the head not only did this cost me the money for the parts but also the skin on my hands...



I'm heading to Formula Drift Atlanta in 2 weeks, I wanted to swap the rad anyway before she sees 100 degree heat just to be safe.

Until next time!

Brap-Brap

A little quick update,

The Dayco B71638 that AutoZone, Advance, etc will sell you doesn't fit very well. The ID is too big.

Ended up ordering a OEM hose from my local Mazda Dealer



Part number for those who want it:



Aaaand one last bleed before she's ready to go for good.



If you don't have a spillproof funnel, get one. I'll wait.

Brap-Brap

Truly MASSIVE update time.

I missed a couple of things before FDATL, mainly putting on the GV lip I bought and cleaning the car. Little odds and ends you know.



If you've ever seen Akira Nakai-san install an RWB kit, you know he uses black silicone to seal the kit to the car. I took a page out of his book and did the same for my GV lip. The GV lip is from RSpeed, it fits infinitely better than the eBay reps.



All cleaned up and ready to go.



I also hit the headlight bezels with a quick spray of black paint to clean them up and hide the red overspray from the POs paint job.



And a good wash and wax the night before we hit the road.

Formula Drift Atlanta was an absolute blast.



First fillup back in CBUS, right before we hit the road for the long haul. We ended up zip-tieing a bluetooth speaker to the roll bar and daisy chained it with my radio. It worked quite nicely, the door speakers gave us the bass we wanted and the roll bar speaker made it so we could actually hear the music with the top down.



Ended up catching this guy in a S2000 at the Kentucky Border, we convoyed all the way to the Georgia border. He just got back from a race event and was heading down to FDATL as well. It was fun trading drafts and talking at the gas stations.



Ended up averaging around 30MPG even going 80MPH. That's a Miata for ya, and I blame the efficiency on the cooler running temps. I never let her get under 1/4 tank but I suspect she could have done 340 miles to a single tank.

And now I present: the Miatas of FDATL.



This guy came from Texas. He picked up this car in Oklahoma and then drove it all the way to FDATL. Oh, and his grandma drove the GT500 behind it.



Nice little Silverstone



Epic rally NB build



This dude in the NB had a FM2 kit under the hood. Really nice sound.



Back in CBUS, I got my first speeding ticket, 45 in a 35. Super stingy cop.



I started the process of wrapping the car, fuel lid was first. Ended up turning out horribly because I couldn't get it to tuck on the hinge side. I ended up ordering a different lid.



Also started shaving the lights of their lettering. Just cleans up the look.



Sunshade was also a quick and easy thing.



AAAnd at work my heater core hose blew up...





Luckily working at AutoZone we had everything there and I could fix it quickly and easily.



I got the door wrapped and applied the Meatball that morning.

Until next time!

Brap-Brap

So uhhhh this kinda happened...





Don't send it 10/10ths on public roads kids.

RIP Molly the Miata 5-20-17 - 7-14-18

I was sucking a ****ing idiot...





This is after the car was torn down and parted out. I managed to save a decent amount of stuff and sold a bunch of stock parts for a decent chunk of change.







But, this happened back in late July. Since then i've been working hard to save up and buy another one. And just recently I did.



Stay tuned for my 2nd try with this whole Miata thing lol.