by "Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
Published 09/03/2017 at 19:23
by "Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
Published 09/03/2017 at 19:23
No Tags
STARS: 0
Spent a good portion of the day today working on the Miata. Still trying to get the transmission out. A lot of people seem to be able to get it out without removing the downpipe but that doesn’t seem to be the case for me. I can’t pull it back enough to get it out without removing it. Unfortunately, 1 rusty part on this car is the exhaust. So for now, it’s PB Blaster and wait. I’m also seeing some holes in it so I’ll need to decide what to do with it. Doesn’t make sense to spend much money since I’ll be redoing the exhaust routing when I exocet.
Soon...
"Khalbali" (khalbali2)
09/03/2017 at 19:42, STARS: 0
I’m sure you’ll be doing plenty of write ups of the build anyways but please continue, I have an NC now which I thought would make a nice all around car and I’ve come to hate it and want another NA plus a Kia Soul or some other box o’wheels for a DD and would definitely consider an Exocet build on a second car. Financial info would be very helpful too if you feel like sharing, no worries if not though.
"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful)
09/03/2017 at 20:39, STARS: 0
Are you trying to drop it without pulling the engine! I assume. I found it pretty easy to pull the engine/tranny as a unit when I swapped out the clutch and flywheel on mine. My father in law and I had it out and back in during a good day’s worth of work.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
09/03/2017 at 21:03, STARS: 0
How much trouble was the top bolt for the trans? Also, is the header a 2-piece manifold+downpipe on the NA as well? You should be able to get one or the other end of it off. Like I imagine you could just disconnect the header from the engine and pull the whole thing out. Although I think I remember that not going well when I tried during my exhaust install..
Worst case, sawzall and then time for a nice Racing Beat header!
"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
09/03/2017 at 21:52, STARS: 0
Not that bad actually. The bolts at 11 and 1 oclock were fairly easily removed without having remove anything at all. I used two bog-standard box-end wrenches in backyard-mechanic mode which actually added the perfect angle to starting those bolts.
Yeah, it’s a two-piece header/downpipe. I really don’t want to cut it off if I don’t have to. Racing beat header would be a nice upgrade though not CARB legal until I re-register as Exocet.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
09/03/2017 at 21:57, STARS: 0
Cool. I’ll definitely keep posting. It will be mostly the trials and tribulations.
So far I’ve spent about $8k (including the car and tools) to get it up to where I want it to be. I rebuilt the suspension (including bushings and control arms / flyin miata classic coilovers & sway bars), upgraded the brake system, new wheels/tires, and started the clutch/flywheel. It’s taken about 100 hours so far but I have no mechanical experience whatsoever. The biggest job I had ever done before this was pads/rotors.
"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
09/03/2017 at 21:59, STARS: 0
Yeah, trying to do it without pulling the engine. The exhaust is the last thing in the way. The trans bolts were fairly easily to get to. The annoying part was how dirty I got. I’m also working alone. This is the first one where a buddy would come in good handy.
"Khalbali" (khalbali2)
09/03/2017 at 22:07, STARS: 1
Ok cool, that’s awesome, I’d love to see a full breakdown of costs at the “end” but yeah, I’m just as interested in the process. I have a couple years of pro experience as a mechanic so while I’m not great by any means I’m sure I could figure it out. Like I said, it’s probably a 5 years out project for me but may be looking for the NA base in the next year or so, so I’m excited to see your process in advance of my own.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
09/04/2017 at 09:08, STARS: 0
Fucking Carb... I will be dealing with that shortly when I get to California. Guess I will be sourcing a stock header every 2 years lol.
"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
09/04/2017 at 11:39, STARS: 2
Don’t move here. It’s a shithole with good weather. Not worth it.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
09/04/2017 at 20:37, STARS: 0
Lol too late, apartment is leased and job has been found. Plus I have a mountain collective ski pass so I need to be located out west to make use of it! I guess I will just have to suffer!
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
09/04/2017 at 20:37, STARS: 0
Lol too late, apartment is leased and job has been found. Plus I have a mountain collective ski pass so I need to be located out west to make use of it! I guess I will just have to suffer!
"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
09/04/2017 at 23:14, STARS: 0
Haha, well I appreciate you lining up a job first. Pretty sick of hearing about people movie here with no job and no money to live in the most expensive place in the US.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
09/05/2017 at 07:47, STARS: 0
Yeah thats just kinda stupid. I mean I could easily go there with no job as an Engineer but it was much better just getting a transfer out there. I definitely have met people out there who did exactly that though. NJ isnt cheap either so I have never really been concerned about cost. But at least theres mountains there and I’d much rather have forest fires and earthquakes than hurricanes and blizzards.
"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
09/05/2017 at 12:54, STARS: 1
Where in California? In the Bay Area, you also inherit rampant homelessness, absurdly high crime, bad air quality, and ungodly traffic. There are days when I WISH there was a blizzard here so I could have a day without other cars on the road.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
09/05/2017 at 13:53, STARS: 0
I’ll be working like 60 miles outside of LA. Just far enough away to avoid some traffic but close enough to still get to do stuff on weekends. Although “outside” of LA is generally a misnomer since technically I will have a los angeles mailing address even though downtown is like 30 miles away. My girlfriend wont be so lucky with her commute but she is used that hell already. At least there are fewer homeless people than where she currently lives in Hollywood.
"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
09/05/2017 at 14:05, STARS: 0
Ah yeah, people totally don’t realize how enormous LA is. It’s apocalyptically large.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
09/05/2017 at 14:49, STARS: 1
I was curious as to why that happened and from some brief searching about “water wars” it actually had something to do with water allocations from the aqueduct. That water was allotted to the City of Los Angeles ONLY and that they couldnt sell it to the surrounding towns. So instead those towns just became part of LA to get water. This of course got out of control and led to what there is now.
But even beyond that out into Orange County and North into the San Fernando Valley, it still “feels” like you are in LA. There is no clear line for “city ends here”. So it just kind of goes on forever until you are in the mountains.