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The Blackbird Fabworx Time Attack Build - Creampuff

267K views 1K replies 209 participants last post by  hotrod59 
#1 · (Edited)
Guess it's time for me to start a build log for the new Blackbird Fabworx NB project.

Purpose of the build -
Creating a fun track day car that showcases some of the capabilities of Blackbird Fabworx.
Weapon of choice is a 2002 NB with the VVT, 6 speed, 3.9 Torsen, sport brakes etc..
This car is not intended to be used in competition but may be legal for some series like NASA super touring, instead, it will be remain a two seater to allow fun rides, instructing and possibly test drives for potential BFW customers.

Build plan -
The construction of the car will be broken into a few major phases and constant development on things that don't keep the car from heading out to the track.
Power level will be kept decidedly low, with the potential to have other drivers on board there's no need to increase the level of difficulty of driving the car.

Phase 1 - The initial diet of removing unnecessary stuff from the car includes gutting the interior, ditching the AC, PS, stock exahust from the downpipe back, chopping of select body panels and eliminating all glass from the car.
Then the tub will be partly seam welded.
Major fabrication items for this phase are a full cage, seat mounts, new exhaust system, custom coolant reroute, front panel / wind deflectorand a very minimal interior.
The car will be getting a bit of mechanical refresh - fluids, brake pads, hoses, lightweight flywheel and some more.
New suspension and wheels are of course in the order as well, more about it later.

Phase 1 is scheduled to be concluded in roughly two months and the plan is to hit the track on the beginning of december.

Phase 2 - The secondary diet is about to shed a lot more weight from the car, this will involve cutting good amounts of sheet metal off the car and replacing it with lighter items such as Carbon doors.
Removal of dead weight from wiring, tubular subframes and more.
This is also where aero development will come into play, the car will be getting a full makeover though the details will remain in the dark until there's a car to show, but trust me that this car will not be the standard splitter and wing affair ;)...

Phase 3 - Finally the motor will get some love to increase power levels by many additional ponies, not the kind that eats hay in the field, we're talking about ones that like their steak medium-rare.
Expect insanity at it's finest.

Here are some before shots, taken two days ago -






And here she is as of yesterday -



Stay tuned, this page is about to get exciting :twisted:

Moti @ Blackbird Fabworx
 
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#145 ·
Driver seat is in.
Before someone points out the obvious, yes, the mount is just tack welded, I'll finish weld it tomorrow.

As you'd expect from a seat mount that I built, it is perfectly centered with the steering wheel :cool:
It is also v-e-r-y close to the floor, not that headroom is a problem :lol:
Anti-sub belts eyelets bolt to the center brace, they are located exactly per Schroth's recommendation.





I weighed it before it went in - 3 Lbs.

Moti
 
#153 ·
Such a gorgeous seat. I thought that was going in the Locost since it was sitting in that, but glad to see it is going in this!

What's surprising, Moti, is how far off center the stock seat location must be, given how much you took out of the tranny tunnel...
the tunnel is tapered, the further down you go the further off center the seat will be. I've seen many installations that got the seat low in the car but oh-so very few that are low AND centered.
My DIY mounting of my Sparco Circuit was the sidemounts bolted to a Corbeau bracket bolted to the stock seat mount locations - the result was a good 2" off center and the seat had to be mounted on one slot lower on the side brackets on the right hand side to tilt the seat towards the center of the car to try to make up for that. Yeah, the seat was literally tilted sideways to avoid the tranny tunnel.

Then Moti ripped that out and did it right for me. I could never go back.
 
#159 ·
I fully expect the answer to be anecdotal, but none the less I would appreciate it. It seems like a better option for me than adding door bars or frame rails, but I don't know if it would really be worth it. How much can stitching along the door frame really improve things?
 
#161 ·
door bar > underbracing. Personally, for a street-only miata, I'd choose to seam weld and do a single door bar, and would not mess with underbody bracing at all.
/threadjack ;)

Friday - seam welding the door jams was the first thing I did way back in the day before any roll bar or braces, and it tightened things up noticeably.

-Ryan
 
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