Tim
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Post by Tim on Feb 25, 2016 14:35:18 GMT
A long time ago, in a London borough not that far away, i used to have a little red RS. Then i went on a track day... Then my little red RS wasn't so great any more... Love was lost, my box of canoes ran dry, and i decided the best solution was to start again, because foxtrot uniform wallet! Enter, The Berg ( original names are not my forte, deal with it...)    1839cc of Mazda's finest dohc 4 banging goodness, with a mere 40-something-thousand miles on the clock ( or 70-something-thousand kilometers for you metrically impared peoples). It was exactly what i wanted, a clean honest little NA8, in BRG, with a solid body and mechanically sound *enough* to serve as a daily rolling project. So the build began... |
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Post by Horney on Feb 25, 2016 16:34:28 GMT
I <3 BRG.
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Tim
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Posts: 79
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Post by Tim on Feb 25, 2016 16:44:12 GMT
Many many moons ago, i owned ruined this little NA6 which was my gateway drug:  LOW Loader #2 by Tim White, on Flickr It was that car that made me want another NA in BRG if one was available! Tho this time i'm hoping to keep away from the #stancelyfe... |
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Tim
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Posts: 79
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Post by Tim on Feb 25, 2016 17:14:21 GMT
So, yeah, bought the NA8 which after some deliberation was named The Berg. Got home, and the fun began! First issue, whilst i'm a fan of the OEM Hollowspokes, the lack of legal tread on the supplied tyres meant i had to sling the MS01s from my RS onto The Berg...  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr Pottered around like that for a few days, orchestrating the sale of the RS and figuring out what parts i was going to keep and what would go with the RS. Set myself a rule about not modifying too much until the RS had gone, else i could be tempted to do something stupid like keep both. I figured the best option would be to allow myself one or two little bits to "tide me over", so leafed through the system at work to see what was cheap and actually worthwhile, and subsequently settled on this, and the all-important Moss sticker!  Track Dog Racing Radiator Shield by Tim White, on Flickr  Representing... by Tim White, on Flickr A couple weeks passed, and a deal was set with a good friend to buy the RS minus a couple of parts. Namely the roof, wheels, wideband, and bucket. First gap in the bad weather, myself and White Robert attacked the roof swap...  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr Couple days later, the RS was collected...  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr |
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Tim
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Posts: 79
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Post by Tim on Feb 26, 2016 9:39:38 GMT
And then there was one...With the RS gone, my abitrary and silly rules about not modifying finally went out the window...which was for the best given the state of my desk... 
The stockpile grows... by Tim White, on Flickr 
(Don't) let me sway... by Tim White, on Flickr But the first thing to address, was the exhaust which really wasn't to my taste, and did nothing for the epic bumper cut that'd be carried out on the car by the previous owner... 
How to fix a monster bumper cut... by Tim White, on Flickr 
Freshly fitted by Tim White, on Flickr 
Twins in daylight by Tim White, on Flickr Quickly followed by having the dire lighting situation addressed with some nice new Wipac bowls, some amber LED sidelights, and some ebay-special 3000k bulbs ( i like...gooooooold)... 
Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr 
Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr 
Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr
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Tim
New Here
Your local friendly corporate shill!
Posts: 79
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Post by Tim on Feb 26, 2016 10:24:31 GMT
So, zaust on, i can see where i'm going in the dark, but it doesn't drive great, and looks a little high still. Decided to ignore those two items for a few more days, and bought a Safety21/Cusco half-cage/roll-bar thing the other side of the New Forrest. So we went for a drive and played a little "dodge the wildlife"  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr Then Robert made a friend...  Robert makes a friend by Tim White, on Flickr Then even more!  Robert makes even more friends! by Tim White, on Flickr This isn't very car orientated all of a sudden is it.... well, uh, here's a pic of the as-yet-still-unfitted Cusco/Safety21 Cage/Roll/Thing...  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr |
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Tom
Chats A Bit
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Post by Tom on Feb 26, 2016 13:18:38 GMT
Very cool, the RS was really nice as well. I have a secret soft spot for NBs (not the facelift though!)
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Tim
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Post by Tim on Feb 26, 2016 15:07:55 GMT
Very cool, the RS was really nice as well. I have a secret soft spot for NBs (not the facelift though!)  I think the NBFL is lovely, but i think there's something softer and more aesthetically pleasing about a well modified NB which is what i was trying to go with until our little friend got involved!  S = slam here  But hay, onwards and downwards... So eager to learn the errors of my ways, i decided getting decent rubber sorted on the wheels i'd be keeping long term ( by this point, i had orchestrated an arranged marridge between a good friend, and my MS01Rs clad in yet more NS2Rs). So 20 minutes of being drunk on the internet + 48 hours for delivery, and i was the proud owner of yet another set of ditchfinders Nankang NS2-Rs in medium compound ( because i'm not a total nutter, i swear)  Thought you said an MX5 wasn't practical? by Tim White, on Flickr Which a couple of days later found their way onto my Hollowspokes  Fresh rubber by Tim White, on Flickr Then subsequently onto the car  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr As the keen-eyed will no doubt spot, the ole girl doesn't exactly sit badly on whatever random concoction of suspension had been man-handled onto the car during the de-track-ify-ing that occured over the course of the previous 1 or 2 owners ( actually, thinking back, i think it turned out to be a set of MK2 Bilsteins with lowering springs up front, and stock springs at the rear!). At this point, the car drove pretty well, had tyres i could happily abuse. But everybody knows you can't truly abuse an MX5 when it's on factory standard random suspension! [img src=" ![]() farm2.staticflickr.com/1485/24631005983_45d22be016_b.jpg" src="" style="max-width:100%;" alt=""] Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr *** Note: Ignore the prescense of the aforementioned Cusco/Safety21 roll bar/hoop/thing, it was positioned there (unbolted) for "storage" purposes until i got pissed off with it twatting me in the back of the head every 5 minutes***
So coilovers went on without much trouble. The advantage of a previously-worked-on car, is that all the bolts came out with ease, and no questionable tactics were needed for removal! Whilst we were in there, it was only logical we throw the ARBs and some shiny new Cobalt adjustable rose-jointed droplinks in ( yes, i know they're not gonna last as well as they could if they had boots, or weren't rose jointed, now ask if i care!)  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr Everything was slung on in either with factory presets ( coils) or softest settings ( ARBs), then left to settle for a few days to see how it all panned out. It panned out rather well!  Sitting moderatly pretty by Tim White, on Flickr |
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Tim
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Posts: 79
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Post by Tim on Feb 26, 2016 15:30:37 GMT
The final slog...So, coilovers and arbs were on, along with decent tyres and wheels, and from the feel of it, the tracking setup on the car was pretty close to perfect! Only problem was, at this point i couldn't really push the car without falling out of the seat. So sourced some 1.6 seatbelt buckles to bolt to the tunnel, and slung my SprintV in.  Double up for safety! by Tim White, on Flickr  The Office by Tim White, on Flickr Oh, yeah, more keen-eye'd people will spot the snap-off that appeared ( thank you FFS Corders ), which i paired up with my spare Nardi Deepcorn 330mm dished wheel  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr A couple of slow days at work meant i started browsing FB groups again looking for funtime racekor parts, and ended up grabbing a couple more quality braces  Carbing Type 1 Rear Brace by Tim White, on Flickr  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr Was quite chuffed to find the Cusco front brace that incorporated the brake stopper. Between the ATE super blue, braided lines that the car came with, and that stopper, the ONLY movement that occurs now, is piston pushing pad onto disc. I love how much feedback and precision my brakes now have. And that'll only get more psychotic once i replace the * adequate* stock rotors and pads with some DBAs and Hawk HPP! That'll be fun! Oh, and this past weekend we replaced the OEM 42 mile long clutch line with a new unit i got made up by Think ( can ya guess the colour of the fluid i'ma use in it?), as well as a new slave cylinder because the pedal " didn't feel right". Sadly the only picture i have is of the line itself. Which tbf, is handsome a.f.  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr So yah, there we go, up to date now! Plans are simple; decide on a cage/roll-bar/thing setup, replace seatbelt with quality harness, and drive. Hard. 
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Tim
New Here
Your local friendly corporate shill!
Posts: 79
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Post by Tim on Feb 26, 2016 16:11:44 GMT
LIVE modifications; went out for a vape, and was overcome with the need to slap some of the freshly made Moss stickers my and Rob had comissioned recently:  Fresh stickers! by Tim White, on Flickr |
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Post by Dweenimus on Feb 26, 2016 17:00:21 GMT
Are you forgetting that awesome freebie you got from me? That's a crucial mod you know!
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Post by NurseHolliday on Feb 26, 2016 17:37:12 GMT
LOL @ Live modifications
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Post by FFS Corders on Feb 27, 2016 12:13:14 GMT
Yay snap off
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Tim
New Here
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Posts: 79
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Post by Tim on Mar 1, 2016 7:52:26 GMT
Are you forgetting that awesome freebie you got from me? That's a crucial mod you know! ^^ this guy is an awesome guy. One of the bits of interior trim missing on the car was the kickplate/trim-panel under the steering column. And because epic Dean is epic, and did a mk2 dash swap, his was going spare, which he gave me!  The joys of working somewhere where eyebrows aren't raised when you head out for a vape with screwdrivers, stickers, or other generic car parts! Yay snap off! Minor, boring, but aesthetically pleasing update!
So. The car has the usual door cards with the horrible over-sized door handle/arm-rest thing of sin which dug into my leg good and proper. So on the way home from buying it, the drivers-side armrest was very quickly and brutally removed. As a temporary solution a set of Jass door pulls were attached incorrectly to at least give me something to pull the door shut easily with, until such times as i could find a decent solution. Then a solution appeared on ebay for £12 delivered!  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr Which after a little faffing around trying not to break my old door cards too badly, became this:  Untitled by Tim White, on Flickr Just need to source some little blanks for the holes where the winders would be, but otherwise i'm delighted with the transformation it makes to the interior, as well as the extra storage space for hair curlers and vape stuff! |
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Tim
New Here
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Posts: 79
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Post by Tim on Jul 29, 2016 15:20:45 GMT
I should updated this. I did do a few buys since Murica too...  |
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le sigh