This & That.
Been stuck in bed with the cold most of this week, so spent my time doing a few small jobs for the Mazda.
First off I sanded my APR carbon fibre mirrors so that they could be sprayed with a clear coat, the original finish was ageing pretty bad. I used a combination of 400, 600 and 800 grit sand paper
Gave the transmission a quick clean and replaced the front seal and gasket on that front cover.
Couple weeks ago I bought myself a dial gauge and mount, decided I'll degree the camshafts myself this time around. And I have a degree wheel I purchased a few years back. Since I wasn't able to do much work today, I decided to have a play around with the tools π
Mounted the degree wheel and dial gauge set up with the magnetic mount.
A quick exercise was to find true Top-Dead-Centre. I'll do it using the piston-stop-method but with a dial gauge instead of a piston stop tool. Basically.... on the upstroke to TDC, roughly 10mm before it reachs TDC, take note of the dial gauge measurement and the reading on your degree wheel in reference to a single point. Than take it past TDC and on the downstrok stop as soon as you reach the same measurement on your dial gauge, now take note of the degree on your degree wheel.
Mine happen to be 180deg and 108deg. To calculate the true TDC, simply take the average of those two readings. This happens to be 144deg on my degree wheel. From that you can loosen the degree wheel and zero it with your marker line.
Do this a few time to double and triple check your work, and just a quick visual inspection to confirm.
Paint Shop Update 3
Hell yeah another update! The guys finished all the repairs and high build primer has been applied. This will need to cure for a few days to let the solvents evaporate. So about mid next week they'll start blocking the primer to get everything flat and make sure there are no imperfections.
Both doors, I had them remove the factory "stone guard".
So happy seeing the car in primer, a sign of progress π
The guys at the shop made the decision to paint the door jams too.
The area just in front of the boot had a lot of dents, probably from dropping the hardtop.
Repairs to a rusted area in the pillar.
Another before and after of rust repairs.
Paint Shop Update 2
Quick visit today π A lot of work has been done, the guys have stripped most of the panels and are now finishing off repairs. The next update will probably see the car in etch primer.
The guys started taking panels back to bare metal because the factory paint was so bad, just part way through getting everything smooth and flat. There were a few dents here and there.
I also chose to have the factory "stone guard" removed. Never liked it too much.
So bare.
The front quarters, bonnet, front and rear bars have received primer and just waiting to be blocked back.
Lots and lots of repairs and prep to go...
A few common rust areas on the MX-5 getting repaired.
Paint Shop Update 1
Dropped by J&D Quality Smash this afternoon and gave the boys a visit to see how everything was going π Very happy with their progress and quality of work.
In the final process of stripping.
Engine bay cleaned, prep and primer will be next.
Front windscreen and hardtop glass removed.
I purchased 2nd hand bonnet to replace my hail damaged one, the paint on this was in great condition so it'll be sanded and primered. Same goes with the boot lid.
The front bar getting a bit of love and in final stages of prep before primer.
Powder Coating
Last week I dropped off some brackets, head-light assembly and sway bar at the powder coaters, got them back today and everything looks awesome!
Before:
After...
ff
Off To Body & Paint!
Today was a good day π my Mazda was towed off to J&D Quality Smash Repairs.
Everything all set aside and ready to picked up.
Looks tough without the rear bar!
Tow drive arrived around 8.30AM and had her loaded up for a 30mins drive.
Sort of weird seeing your car get towed away, good weird though.
Once arrived at the shop, we continued removing a few more bits and pieces from the car. Things like rubber seals and everything in the door jams.
Quickly cleaned up one side of the engine bay using wax & grease remover with 3M Scotch Brite pads. Cleaned up really well and gets the surface some what ready for primer and paint.
Decided on the engine bay colour, this is Audi's Aviator Grey. Clear coats will be applied on top of this too.
More updates next week!
Ready To Be Towed!
The final stretch before the Mazda gets towed away, engine came out pretty fast since I did all the prep work earlier this week.
Engine out! Head will be removed and sent away for inspection before it gets bolted onto the rebuilt spare block I have.
Engine bay will get a quick scrub before the body shop does a proper clean and sand.
Every bolt that was removed has been bagged and tagged.
A friend hooked me up with these 31-pin Deutsch connectors, ordered new pins and extraction tool so just waiting for those to arrive. These will be used so I can quickly unplug the engine from the car.
More Stripping.
OK another small update before everything is ready to be towed off to the panel/paint shop.
Fuel lines were disconnected and capped off, fuel rail was also removed. Wiring was also pulled back into the cabin. Engine bay starting to look really bare. Next will be engine, brake booster, clutch master and all the hard lines.
Since I was sending out the headlight assemblies out for blasting and powder coating, I removed the sway bar mounts to get them done too. Involved drilled out a few spot wells but whatever. They'll be powder coated black with the other bits.
Door handles, window seals and antenna were removed. Still have to remove the seals around the front windscreen, and all the trims/seals on the hardtop.
Front and rear bars off, rear garnish and rear tail lights out too. Forgot to remove the third brake light π
My Nardi 330mm Deep Corn wheel arrived, also ordered an awesome wireless dongle so I can have remote boot release. I love the remote so much! Has fake wood grain, a red button and a telescopic antenna! I may ditch this kit and go with a 3/4-way kit so I can have keyless entry too.
Respray Preparations.
As some of you may know, the MX-5 is booked in for a re-spray and engine bay colour change. Body will be painted factory Crystal White and the engine bay will be Battleship Grey. Now the stripping and preparations begin!
Seats were removed to make it easier to pull the dash out. Dash came out so I could pull the wiring harness completely back in to the cabin.
Rest of the parts being stored away. The ARP CF mirrors getting sanded back and a new coat of clear too.
Pop-up headlight assemblies will be disassembled and sand blasted, they'll be painted same colour as the engine bay.
Part way through the long and slow process of removing everything from the engine bay.
Jass Performance Interior Light Install
The MX-5's interior is known for it's minimalist nature, and with that comes the poorly lit interior. Vlad from Jass Performance has come up with a neat solution and below is my installation, with a slight difference.
Jass Performance Interior Light.
The kit comes supplied with instructions and is plug and play.
Firstly, you'll need to remove the visor and roof latch. This'll allow you to mount the light and tuck the wires away.
The passenger and driver side lights mounted up and wires tucked away. It's a little bit tricky to do, try have someone else around to help out.
The black wire has a small ring terminal which screws into your existing courtesy light, this just allows it to turn on with the doors and still give you the ability to switch them on/off whenever you please. My install is a little different to the standard instructions, I've added a plug and soldered the red wire directly to the factory light. So please note that soldering is NOT required.
Lights working.
And a quick photo to show how much coverage it has. Photo was taken without flash and in complete darkness.
Second photo below was takenΒ using a higher ISO setting on the camera, again no flash and in complete darkness.