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Beatnik's 1992 Special Edition

41K views 183 replies 42 participants last post by  Bryan 
#1 ·


So, this is not my first Miata. And not the second, or third, or fourth… It’s my seventh. But, it’s the first one that was slated to be a fun street car. All the others are either competition cars that had to follow a rulebook, beaters that were either parted out or tracked, or kept stock and driven then sold. So, all those fun parts I’ve bought since 2004 and haven’t used are going to find a home on this car.

The theme I’m trying to keep is OEM-Plus. I don’t plan on any radical modifications. No huge body modifications, no turbos, no stripped race like interiors. This is not a JDM build. I’m not a fanboi and will not stick EUNOS badging on just for the sake of being JDM. I want to keep its identity as a Miata while mixing and matching the best of the OEM parts and a few subtle, well built aftermarket parts. Also, I’m not a fashion horse. Name brands for the most part don’t impress me, and I don’t care about them on the car. While there ARE name-brand aftermarket parts on the car, the parts will mostly be chosen because of their quality, utility, aesthetics and sometimes because they were first to market – not strictly because of the label. Another thing I’d like to do is keep the visible parts period appropriate – from ’89 to ’99.

I really started this build on a fair ’91 that I bought a few years ago. This car came from a charity car auction that I attend. It was a Crystal White ’91 with an early hardtop and a Hard Dog Sport rollbar. I won the bidding and took it home for just over $600 including title, registration and taxes.



The white paint was in poor shape and the vinyl stripes had petrified and cracked. The interior was sunbaked, though the aftermarket grey softtop was almost brand new. I started collecting parts for it, including a good white fender, new white mirrors, all the rubber hoses, the hardtop edge and window rubber trim, gauge cowl, radio surround, Murakami M2-1028 trunk lid etc… Then the economy took a dump and when NASA had to make cutbacks, I lost my job at Boeing. I offered the white car and the parts I bought specifically for it up for sale and it left within a month to live a life as a never-street-driven track rat at Motorsports Ranch Houston.

After relocating to Dallas and getting my financial life together, I wanted to finish what I started. This time instead of using whatever car I happened across, like the white car, I was going to find the “right” car – which for me was a ’92 Black and Tan or a NA6 in British Racing Green. I watched the local (Dallas, Austin, Houston) Craigslist posts and even set up an RSS feed for different searches. Eventually a fairly nice ’92 SE showed up for $3000 including a lot of extras and the original hardtop. The hardtop was important, as I’m not really a convertible guy and would rather a coupe. During inspection I noted that the car had sat for a LONG time. And it had sat under an oak tree and had a lot of paint etching and hard water deposits that the seller tried to cover up with a lot of detailing glaze. The front bumper had never seen a license plate and was dent free (good) but the softtop looked like a piece of beef jerky (bad for him). The seller and I haggled over it and I bought it for a very good price.

Here’s the only photo I have of it from that day.



The very first thing I did was get license plates. My pal and I are both pun fanatics, but most of the really good plates I wanted were already taken, or not available. Texas only allows six characters on their plates. I ended up getting “NNNN” which is a pun for “foreign”. I also ordered a custom bent right hand side Garage Star license plate bracket as I didn’t want the plate to be on the same side as the front bumper MAZDA sticker.



Plate jealousy struck my friend, and he also ordered a custom plate. He’s an antique dealer and buys the majority of his stock at estate sales. He selected this plate which reads “You Die – I Buy”. Morbid for some, but everyone we know in the antiques business finds it hilarious.



After that I immediately started looking for black interior parts, as the tan interior was the first thing to go. The dash, kick panels and seatbelt tower panels came in first from Harleybutter on MiataTurbo. Then the main carpet came from a track car build out of Houston. A nice pair of NA6 cloth seats came from a Craigslist ad out of Waco and a couple pair of decent floor mats came in (one for using, the other for showing) from wanted ads. I eventually got the rear carpets from PartsGroup. I bought a pair of one-year-only ’96 black electric-window door panels from Second Chance Roadster.



Oops, got two right side kick panels! Harleybutter took care of it like a pro.



Then I bought another rent house in Houston and was gone for a few months while I remodeled it. I got back to Dallas in January and started on the interior swap.





I got a good deal on a few rolls of Raammat, ensolite padding and spray glue over the holidays. Here’s the tub with about a half roll of deadener in it. The ensolite went in over the deadner, then the original pads went in last.



While the main carpet was in fair condition, it was filthy. I took it down to the car wash and powerwashed it and let it dry for a week before it went in the car. I swear some previous owner must have spilled at least two dozen coffees in the passenger footwell. The powerwasher water ran brown for 30 minutes.



I accidentally ordered the bulkhead carpet from a ’95 and it was moulded to go around the ECU that was behind the seats. I picked up another carpet out of a ’90 my girlfriend bought to make a track rat out of. But, that carpet was filthy, full of cat hair, and was fuzzy. The filth and cat hair came out with a powerwash. I took a heatgun on low setting to the carpet to “erase” all the fuzz sticking up out of the carpet. When I was done it looked nearly new.
 
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#2 ·
While I had the dash out, I was going to remove all the airbag components.



I cut into the harness to use the switched power from the airbag to power an auxiliary fuse box. Here’s the yellow power wire under the HVAC stack and the black radar detector cable under the blower.



The fuse box is going to power a radar detector, an iPod charger and power locks. I ran wire up the windshield to the V1 mount.



Here’s some of the wire I removed from the car. Some airbag stuff and some vintage Autopage alarm stuff. Anyone want the alarm? I’ve got two remotes, stickers and some literature for it.



Turned out the new black dash had two broken tabs that connected it to the corners of the metal brace. I fixed them with epoxy. It doesn’t look like much under the dash, but it’s invisible from inside the car and it will keep the dash from squeaking.



 
#3 · (Edited)
About this time I started working on the gauges. Some of the parts I had bought way back when I had the white car. I wanted an all black dash and to clean up the gauges as much as possible without looking like they were aftermarket. Think Porsche 911 for inspiration. For reference, here’s what the original ’92 gauges looked like.



Here’s the ’90 Canadian gauges that I took the tach face from. The ’96 cover in the background was the only one I had and the clear cover was heavily scratched. I wet sanded it and buffed it until it was nearly perfect.



The scratched ’96 cover.



Here’s the UK market speedometer face that AndyK on MX5Nutz sent me.



And after assembling the parts from four different gauges, this is what I ended up with. The gauge hood is the original painted one, but it’s got paint issues and two broken tabs, so it will be replaced with a new one.



Here’s another thing I wanted to try. When you remove the airbag system, the clock spring remains and it’s got three wires that run through it. One is for the horn and the other two set off the airbag. I crimped spade connectors on all three. One is still for the horn, the other two will lead to a button on the steering wheel to mute the radar detector.



I made the horn female and the two for the radar male to keep them organized.



It was cheaper to buy this mute button kit off ebay than to source the components, have them mailed and assemble it myself.



I cut it into two and crimped connectors on the section that will go into the steering wheel. The other section will go under the dash, spliced into the original airbag wiring and plugged into the Valentine power network.



Here’s the little microswitch that will be adhered to the back of the steering wheel.



So, during all this steering wheel fitting, I felt the wheel was too far away. I purchased a few Nardi spacers from Ej86 on Club4AG. I couldn’t use the bolts, but the spacers were worth it.



I had to cut a groove in one of the spacers for the mute wire to pass through. I could have done this with a file, or a grinder, but used the opportunity to teach a friend of mine how to use a mill.



I bought this ’97 hazard switch back when I had the white car. Here it is in the NA6 radio surround. This surround has a hole in it from the alarm’s LED. I have another good surround on it’s way.



And installed.

 
#4 ·
I spotted this pair of mirrors in a photo of a car on MX5Nutz. Garath, the owner, had bought it to fix up and sell. He was willing to sell me the mirrors, but needed a pair of silver RHD manual mirrors in addition to some cash. I sourced a set of silver mirrors on Ebay.UK and had them shipped to Garath. He then shipped them to me.



Here’s the photos where I spotted the mirrors. I didn’t know if they were GHO or M2 mirrors. But the Garath verified they were Vitaloni tops.





And the silver RHD Ebay.UK mirrors that I partial traded for them.



I sanded and painted the bases and cleaned and conditioned the plastic bits. I’ve got some original style security fasteners coming for them, but until then they are on the car with some Phillips heads.



 
#7 ·
I am excited for this build. I could use one of those larger steering wheel spacers, I just installed my nardi with a cheap hub I found locally and it stills too far away.
 
#8 ·
A build so subtle it might take a connoisseur to really appreciate - for better or worse. I, for one, can appreciate the extra attention to detail and will hopefully be contributing to the parts-gathering process soon.
 
#9 ·
So, somehow I managed to lose the panel out of the top of the combination switch cover. I've looked through all my parts, through the car, and through the discards. I can't find it. Mazda Motorsports sells the entire cover for $12.65, but if someone on CR.net has just the panel, I'd appreciate it.

The part highlighted in red.

 
#10 ·
Ah, missed this by a day... I have one of these, could have put it in with the other item... I'll check out the postage and if its cheap (I guess it will be as it has to weigh nothing) I'll chuck it in the post tomorrow

Nice build by the way!!

Russell.
 
#12 ·
How long did it take to install the raammat? I really want to do that to my interior cause I hate all the noise. Have you noticed any difference with it installed?
 
#14 ·
It was easy since I already had the interior out. I may have spent four lazy hours putting Raammat, ensolite, and some foam edging around the access panels on the deck.

But, I've done it before. If you've NEVER done it, it may take a while to get your groove. I also installed it right. You don't completely cover the car with it. Raammat and Dynamat are dampers, not sound sealant.

It takes about an hour to take ALL the interior out, and about three hours to get it all back in.
 
#15 ·
I really only wanted to cover the bulk head and package shelf as I feel most of the noise is coming from that area.

I have a buddy who installs it professionally and he quoted my the "friend" price of $200 bucks to do the whole car (doors, floor/package tray, trunk, ect) and that included labor. I think he was willing to cut me deal so he could get ride of the extra dynomat he has from other installs.
 
#16 ·
Didn't do anything to the car this last week. Instead prepared for a rally that my best friend and I were competing at in a vintage two-stroke SAAB that we prepared for Historic class rally events. None of the technology on the car is post 1973 except for the required safety equipment. We're even using vintage style tires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O88wAMY1wb4

 
#18 ·
During the interior buying spree I never got a black knee panel for the dash. But, I had two non-airbag panels. One from a Canadian part out I bought years ago that had a couple extra holes in it and one from a UK part out that supplied a number of parts. I took the Canadian one with holes and trimmed it to fit around the US market combo switch cover.



I did the standard foamectomy on the bottom and the back of the black seats I bought. The fabric was in good shape, but faded. I used black fabric spray dye to bring them back, but the dye mostly faded again. I replaced the completely blown up original speakers with a pair of Blaupunkt 3.5 inch full range speakers. These seats were already wired for headrest speakers, so I mapped out the wires and corrected it so the headrest speakers would work correctly.



I bought new covers for the seat rail bolts. As far as I know, these were only used in the Special and Limited editions. They’re just one more piece of trim, but I am trying to minimize the exposed fasteners. (Wow, that seat rail is dirty)



I mentioned the knee panel from the UK partout. An unlucky guy over there had a really nice 1996 Japanese import S-Special. It really was a great looking car until he had an accident and totaled it. During the part out I bought a few items from him.

In addition to the knee panel, I bought a good condition radio surround – which is exactly the same as a US surround, and not worth shipping by itself, but I was buying a decent sized box of stuff, so he sent it along.



This EUNOS rear window protector. Looks blue in the photo, but it’s really black. Not sure if this is going to stay as I’m not a fan of the white logo despite its rarity in the US. It is handy to quickly stash stuff out of view when leaving the car.



The sunglasses holder to replace the ashtray.



And MOST importantly, his seat belts. These are the non-airbag belts I needed. And they were in black, and in great, unfaded condition. He also included all the hardware, as the guide and plastic cover is different between NA6 and NA8 belts.



Here they are installed.

 
#27 ·
I started working on the exterior. I bought an R-lip from Slutz4 during his big partout on CR.net. It was in good shape, but was still in the original Mazda black primer. This primer isn’t really black, but more of a dark grey. So, I sanded it down with 400, then 800, then 1200 grit. Wiped it down with mineral spirits and shot it with Duplicolor Bumper Coating.

Here you can see how the stock front lip looks grey, not black.



The Duplicolor I used.



And the painted lip. The bumper black looks great on the lip.



Next were the wiper arms. Most Miata arms tend to look faded, chipped and rusty where the airfoil attaches to the arm. I don’t have any before photos, but the arms got the same treatment as the lip. Sanded down with 400/800/1200 paper, then mineral spirits, then shot with Duplicolor Trim Paint. It’s got a semi-gloss finish that looks a little better than the flat black some people use. This car was missing the wiper nut covers. I had one new one in my stash of parts and another one was stolen off the track beater. The final touch was a pair of PIAA Silicone wiper blades. I like these blades for their longevity and UV resistance, which is always an issue with rubber blades in Texas.

The paint.



The finished arms.



The door pulls were another project. I originally wanted to use the entire Porsche RS America door pull and ordered the parts. When they came in I realized that the pull was too short and wouldn’t cover both holes in my ’95 door panels. I tried to make the bends more shallow to stretch out the mounting points, but the bezels required some height and no matter what I did with the original parts, I couldn’t get them to fit. So, I went to the local car building supply, Home Depot, and search through the aisles for something the right width and strong enough to make a temporary handle until I can sort out a pair of original looking door pulls. The Gilmour Flat Soaker Hose was the right width and it was a sturdy flat vinyl hose inside a stitched black nylon cloth sheath – AND – it was $7 for 25 feet. I made up the special mounts that the bezel required, cut up the hose and screwed it to the original mounting locations. It looked better than I thought it would and I’ve got all the room my left knee needs.

Here’s the hose.



Here’s what the RS America door pulls look like. This is on a Porsche 914 door.



And the finished product on my Miata door.




Did a wash-buff-wax on it today. Road tripping this weekend, so it had to look good and the pollen has been a hassle around here.





Tidied up the engine a little. It's been a long time since I've had a bone-stock engine bay. Got closer to finishing the RS-Active install. Another thanks to Slutz4 for the headlights. One headlight raises a little higher than the other and the plastic fittings that the shroud screws go into are missing. Both are fixable. Made a list of missing, broken or ugly fasteners and clips that need replacing under the hood.



Changed out the overflow tank. The new one came with a clear top, so I kept the original yellow top.

Old stained brown tank



New clear tank



The new Runabout fuel lid. I like the look of the Zoom lid better, but I've got two issues with it. It's raw cast aluminum and will have to be polished regularly and the well around the lid is exposed and can collect leaves and other crap. The Runabout is stainless steel and closes the fuel cap area just like a stock lid.







Took some new shots.







 
#29 ·
Actually, the paint has LOTS of issues. Before I bought it the previous owner left it under an oak tree for four years and the car was covered by hard water deposits and oak duff. He had a cheapo detailer take 90% of it off, but that guy left a lot of scratches. I've been slowly getting more of the deposits off and filling and sanding some of the deeper scratches. I also keep it coated with Werkstat Acrylic Jett Trigger, an easy to use, good looking and long lasting finishing product. The front of the car has heavy gravel rash like it was once owned by a guy that tailgated on dirt roads.

On the way to take photos a guy in a clean white 2003+ with a HD rollbar and the top dropped pulled up next to me and gave me props for the car. :mrgreen:
 
#30 ·
Here's another one of those little details. The Runabout fuel lid has some adjustment in it. One bolt hole is slotted left-right and the other is slotted up-down. The stock 8mm bolts that hold the stock lid on have very small washers. I wanted larger washers to ensure the Runabout lid was held it tight. So, I dug through the box of bolts I have from previous part-outs and racecar builds and came up with a pair of headlight cover bolts. These are the bolts that hold the headlight lid to the frame. They've got huge washers in comparison to the originals, but the bolt size is exactly the same.

 
#33 ·
I need to find one of these "cheapo detaliers". My car was also sitting under a tree for a good while before I got it. The hood is the only part that is really nasty but I think after a good buff it would look good.

Would the Werkstat Trigger go well over the Klasse combo?
 
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