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Small Stuff
Posted by
Adax
,
08-05-2013
·
3,933 views
There are lots, and lots of little things in this build that aren't really worth an entire blog entry but that take up a lot of time and are important. I'll document a few here now and may add more later.
Some have argued that the OEM calipers are better than remanufactured ones. This donor had the large brakes but I sourced some regular (legal) ones from another donor. MMD sells rebuild kits that include all soft parts (one kit does two calipers BTW) so I decided to rebuild these rather than roll the dice on some remans. The details of the process are easily found, along with a thread regarding removing the parking brake and rear adjuster so I won't go into great detail. They looked good inside, I polished the sliding bits and reassembled. I will likely succumb to the urge to paint them even though I think painting sliding calipers is silly.
Even more info and controversy can be found if you search hubs/bearings. I repacked a new set (NSK) of front and rears with Neo Synthetic. No pic, they look remarkably like new bearings. Excellent instructions can be found here.
Attaching the quick-release for the steering wheel is something probably best not saved until the end, especially if you are welding it it. After suffering through the last 5 years with a crappy one (play, randon unintended disconnection) this was an area I planned to upgrade. Most drivers have their favorites and I wasn't able to find a clear internet forum winner. After a lot of looking I decided on a Krontec QR. It's the bomb. It snaps in with authority and has zero play in any direction. At that price it should but it will get a lot of use and I'll smile each time I use it. It is a weld-in unit and the Miata coulumn is too small. Rather than make a critical mistake here I let Trevor weld this as well. He machined an adapter to thread onto the stock column with the correct taper for the Krontec piece, then welded it all together. Looks beautiful.
At my SCCA driver's school Tom Fowler said (paraphrasing) "This lever activates the fire system. It's NOT there for you to use to put out a fire. That's what the corner workers do. It's there because the rules say it has to be there. Don't pull that lever." A reasonable disclaimer. I suspect a first-time race car driver immediately thinks he is about to burst into flame after hitting a tire wall and pulls the lever. That aside, I decided to purchase a well-designed fire system. After wavering a lot I pulled the trigger on the Saferaft unit. Like the Krontec, it's beautifully engineered and makes me smile when I look at it. It has stock provision for two pulls and three nozzles on the head plus a guage. If you choose to go this route, you will want the RS5 SFI circle track unit. (circle track has Al lines, drag has steel lines). I had about an inch of line to spare after installation.
No good justification for this last project. I just wanted a trick way to relase the fuel flap and trunk other than pulling on a bare cable. Since the cool Tesla Model S door handle mechanisms are not yet common in the salvage market this was the best I could come up with. I purchased a set of Aerocatch 2 latches and modified them to pull the release cables. Took a while to figure out how to adapt them but they work great.
Some have argued that the OEM calipers are better than remanufactured ones. This donor had the large brakes but I sourced some regular (legal) ones from another donor. MMD sells rebuild kits that include all soft parts (one kit does two calipers BTW) so I decided to rebuild these rather than roll the dice on some remans. The details of the process are easily found, along with a thread regarding removing the parking brake and rear adjuster so I won't go into great detail. They looked good inside, I polished the sliding bits and reassembled. I will likely succumb to the urge to paint them even though I think painting sliding calipers is silly.
Even more info and controversy can be found if you search hubs/bearings. I repacked a new set (NSK) of front and rears with Neo Synthetic. No pic, they look remarkably like new bearings. Excellent instructions can be found here.
Attaching the quick-release for the steering wheel is something probably best not saved until the end, especially if you are welding it it. After suffering through the last 5 years with a crappy one (play, randon unintended disconnection) this was an area I planned to upgrade. Most drivers have their favorites and I wasn't able to find a clear internet forum winner. After a lot of looking I decided on a Krontec QR. It's the bomb. It snaps in with authority and has zero play in any direction. At that price it should but it will get a lot of use and I'll smile each time I use it. It is a weld-in unit and the Miata coulumn is too small. Rather than make a critical mistake here I let Trevor weld this as well. He machined an adapter to thread onto the stock column with the correct taper for the Krontec piece, then welded it all together. Looks beautiful.
At my SCCA driver's school Tom Fowler said (paraphrasing) "This lever activates the fire system. It's NOT there for you to use to put out a fire. That's what the corner workers do. It's there because the rules say it has to be there. Don't pull that lever." A reasonable disclaimer. I suspect a first-time race car driver immediately thinks he is about to burst into flame after hitting a tire wall and pulls the lever. That aside, I decided to purchase a well-designed fire system. After wavering a lot I pulled the trigger on the Saferaft unit. Like the Krontec, it's beautifully engineered and makes me smile when I look at it. It has stock provision for two pulls and three nozzles on the head plus a guage. If you choose to go this route, you will want the RS5 SFI circle track unit. (circle track has Al lines, drag has steel lines). I had about an inch of line to spare after installation.
No good justification for this last project. I just wanted a trick way to relase the fuel flap and trunk other than pulling on a bare cable. Since the cool Tesla Model S door handle mechanisms are not yet common in the salvage market this was the best I could come up with. I purchased a set of Aerocatch 2 latches and modified them to pull the release cables. Took a while to figure out how to adapt them but they work great.
