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The revitalization of my 21 year old car (sorry, not Audi content)
Castle:
Being in my 30s it saddens me to refer to something only 21 years old as in need of revitalization but alas, my poor Miata just doesn't take the turns like she used to. Truth be told its not just the turns anymore either. There are groans, creeks, squeals, a smidge of clattering and the occasional clunk. It is therefore time I do what any grease loving car guy would do and embark on a project the size and scale of which the Miata has never seen before.
I often refer to myself as a "Self Proclaimed Professional Driver" (TM) and as such I have never shied away from the challenge of driving anything. My fiancé however does not refer to her as such and does shy away…far, far away from the Miata. Once hallowed back in the day as the epitome of sports-car'iness, my 1990 lost that trait a few years ago. A couple weeks ago the weather broke just long enough for me to pull the car from her winters nest and as excited as I was to cruise the few curvy streets that suburban Michigan offers, I was reminded of the need to undergo this massive project. The Michigan pot holes were not only annoying to the touch but offered another remarkable result, an unwanted lane change.
I have been planning for a while now the suspension upgrade event as this is not a recent problem but in the past I was limited as to how I could make the repairs, I had neither a garage nor a driveway to call my own. There are wonderful people out there that have offered up the use of their garages and driveways in the past but a fix of this scale was much too extreme, labor intensive and time consuming. I was finally given the last piece of the puzzle mid 2010 when, through prayer to the car gods, I found a new living space complete with a garage suitable for most mechanical efforts.
And so it begins. I now race the weather in hopes to complete my task and take my first top down drive in 2011 on that first 60 degree sunny day. In my way lies a path never travelled before on my Miata which assuredly means I will encounter rust, rust and more rust. Armed with little more than my will to win and an army of rust combatants (the blue tipped torch and PB Blaster), let the games begin!
A couple days after I first got her....darn near 4 years ago
This was the last cruise we took and I don't mean in the daily driving sense. It was a beautiful day and a drive up Jefferson Avenue from St Clair Shores to Port Huron was the perfect way to spend it.
In the garage, up on stands. The first corner of disassembly (front passenger) is always the easiest. Nothing broke, a little heat and a healthy dose of PB Blaster got everything loose. From here I'll take the parts, clean them, remove the old bushings and replace them with brand new OEM (not going crazy on these, didn't want to buy poly bushings and deal with squeaks, I have enough of those).
On to the driver's side and here's where the fun starts. To get the lower ball joint out you have to remove the lower shock bolt. Seized. Got the nut of all right but the bolt had fused itself within the bushing. Couldn't use the torch to try and break it loose because the bushing would catch on fire. Thanks to my Audi brethren for advice and tools to borrow cause the sawzall fixed the issue.
Sadly the ordeal is not over. The rear camber adjusting bolt is locked by rust as well. Sawzall to the rescue for the second time. (I plan on replacing all the camber bolts anyways so I'm not loosing too much sleep over this one)
I've found a good use for those DTE Energy Music Theater chairs!
Starting on the rears now. They are worse than the fronts. Lets just say, some engineer thought it was a good idea to use an 8 inch bolt to hold the lower control arm to the hub. They obviously have never dealt with salty winter roads cause this thing is STUCK! Pics to come.
francois:
Wow nice progress Jeff.
When everything else fails, a big hammer always works!!!
ken:
You'll need to buy that Miata a beer when you're done with it- after all, it's old enough.
My Miata isn't exactly so great either, but I think it's mostly chassis flex causes a lot of the shaking. I replaced the shocks soon after I bought the car, and it actually went OK. The suspension in general on mine is really soft, and there is a lot of body roll, but even so it's amazing how quickly it changes directions compared to the GTI or A4.
I don't know if you follow Edmund's Inside line, but they bought a '97 M project car. Actually 2 since the first '94 was rear ended by an SUV and totaled. So far they've supercharged it, and put some coilovers and summer tires on. It recently pulled over 1G on the skid pad- #2 between the ZR1 and Z06.
The really ratty '94 with 175K for $1700- http://www.insideline.com/mazda/mx-5-miata/1994/long-term-test-1994-mazda-mx-5-miata-project-car.html
And the nicer '97 M with 125K for only $2000. http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2010/11/1997-mazda-mx-5-miata-project-miata-lives.html#more
Castle:
Very cool Ken. Wish I had the $$ to buy some of the parts they are using. I'm going with stock bushings which work really well for OEM, I had them in the Spec Miata I raced and they worked well there.
I did have one major setback that I think will turn into the best decision I've made for the car so far. I had originally ordered a set of Koni STR.T shocks to accompany the stock springs but those turned out to be on intergalactic back order. The result of this is that I manned up and bought the KYB AGX with the 7 point adjustable dampening rate. Makes me all tingly feeling just thinking about it.
I know what some of you are thinking, yes I did say stock springs. I was not dropped on my head as a child (at least not that I can remember), it was a decision based on a few problems. The first problem is $$. A new set of springs puts me back a buck and a half, money which need to go toward ball joints and tie rods. I considered selling a kidney to help fund the project but I may need that avenue down the road a bit when forced induction comes into play. The second problem is my driveway. The day the construction crew set about pouring my drive must have been a Friday, the day after St. Patty's day and they were all still hungover and partially drunk. The good news is that I have a driveway, the bad news is the angle they set is damn near verticle and nothing short of a 4x4 makes it in or out without a tooth cringing metal on concrete scrape. And the third reason is a Michigan favorite....the potholes (nuff said).
jaustin:
excited to see more... even with the thought of mine going for sale soon.
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