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Made a little progress last week with some help from my junior fabricator..







He seemed to have some fun filing on the bracket and checking progress on his work.

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

Been finally getting back to the locost build lately- have a couple more of the redesigned front suspension mount brackets fabricated. Going to work on a fixture to locate them a little better before tacking them in place.

I have also been working on the front lower control arms- have the inner tubes cut and the weld bung fitted, the outer rectangular tubes are fabricated and the weld fixture has been started. I plan to cut two slices in the end of each tube where the weld bungs fit to give some more weld area.



I ordered the front control arm pivot rod ends on Friday but learned on Monday that they are backordered until Christmas time. Plan B was McMaster Carr...these should be here this week but not as 'lowcost' as the QA1 parts..

I also moved the K3/K4 tubes out an inch per side so these line up with the A1/A2 tubes. I was never sure why these were inset the inch on the plans but with the IRS, this should be fine.

The N1/N2 tubes were fit and tacked in- these are not level but slope down an inch in the rear for some extra elbow room.

The M1/M2 tubes were cut and are just sitting there- probably will wait to finish welding the B1 to K3/K4 joints before installing the M1/M2 tubes when the time comes.





Feels good to keep fabricating new parts and not re-doing older work...

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

Spent some time in the garage this afternoon and made some progress on the front lower control arms.





Need to wait until the rod end jam nuts arrive before tacking these together- should be this week. I will have to tweak the cross tube a little to fit up with the front arm better- I fabbed the cross tube first since I was not sure where the front tube would hit the threaded tube with the angle. Did the old chop saw ( or horizontal band saw) mitering trick on the cross tubes but the saw would not go to a large enough angle for the other tubes so had to break out the jig saw and customize them more with the grinder and file.

The cross tube should help maintain the width so the welding heat won't distort width.

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

Made some progress on the rear of the chassis before Christmas.





Also picked up the steel for the rear suspension pivots but I need to finalize the rear differential location with some better measurements of the diff.

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

Got one of the front lower control arms tacked together, mostly. The weld bung welds turned out fairly well.






The welds don't look the greatest but I think they will hold. I will probably touch them up with the sander before too long.







The arm seems pretty straight and flat so far and the rod ends seem to still be at the same width but I will still put the tube between them to maintain the spacing.

Also officially started to dismantle the donor- baby steps. The rear exhaust is loose so the rear subframe can come out next week, hopefully.

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

Nice progress! I remember removing my car's exhaust--was lying directly underneath the dirty, dirty catalytic converter when I got it out. Let's just say that I wasn't tasting things for a few days afterwards.

I like the high-misalignment rod ends--I bet that makes installation a cinch.

It looks like you're preparing to use the Miata ball joints for your LCAs--and they're mounting fairly low. If you're planning on having the tie rods in the stock orientation, Have you made sure that your tie rods will clear the LCAs during articulation? Or are you inverting the tie rod to be on top?

I had a lot of fun designing the rear differential box and suspension pickups -- Mine's a +442, but if it'd help to noodle on, I can send you a CAD model of my rear frame.

Welds look ok but stay away from the grinder!!!

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When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting -- Steve McQueen from LeMans

My build log viewtopic.php?f=36&t=10658&start=0 NOW NAMED =The Wycked 7

My other build log viewtopic.php?f=18&t=15162 The Skayt'R6

Matt- I would love to see how you mounted the Miata diff. I have an idea but need to be some better measurements of the diff once I get it out of the donor..

I wont be grinding much of the welds and would only touch up the welds connecting the weld bungs to the tubes they are in. I only need to take off a little so the cross tubes will fit better to hold the width on the arms.

I think there should be plenty of clearance between the LCA and tie rod. I am going for a firmer suspension so should not need too much suspension travel.

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

Had some help getting the donor stripped....



Got some interior bits removed



And then the entire rear subframe...



Need to pull the PPF from the rear diff and then the rear shocks and then get the car flipped around to get to the engine.

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

Sweet progress. Dismantling the donor is always satisfying work. If you've started taking electrical things off, you'll want to label wires and connectors as you go. It'll take an extra half an hour now, but it'll save you 15 hours in a few months. Ask me how I know!

The radio bezel "tombstone" that your son is holding in his right hand is something that apparently breaks often. If yours is in good condition, it's worth about $50 to a Miata owner that needs one.

Will definitely label the wiring connectors when I start pulling the electrical and engine bits apart.

I got the rear shocks, park brake assy and a couple other small bits out of the rear of the car tonight. Now I need to switch the car around in the garage to get access to the front so the engine, trans, and front suspension can come out. Then the dash and harness and then the chassis can go bye-bye!!!

I did also get the other front LCA tacked together last week so am anxious to get the miata apart to get the ball joints out and into the LCAs.

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

The engine is out. Had to completely remove the engine mounts as I could not raise the engine high enough to get off the two studs without the ignition coils hitting the firewall... oh well, it is out.



Even got the mess contained enough to get both daily drivers back in for the night...

Now to pull the front sub-frame, harness and dash.

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

The dashboard is out.......but not really visible from behind the engine hoist.



The front subframe came out tonight!!



Now to finish pulling the harness and then the donor chassis can disappear!!

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

Got the most of the harness out today- just need to pull the section from the battery to the power distribution block under the hood..


Does not look that serious when it is in a pile on the floor. An empty passenger compartment and found $1.15 that can go back into the budget!!



Need to pull the brake and clutch master cylinders yet but both will come out in a couple minutes.





Need to sort through the pile to figure out what of this I want to keep and what gets sold. As fun as the disassembly process is, I am looking forward to getting back to the new chassis!!

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946

So the miata and all the large bits are gone and it is time to get back to building....

Been working on the rear diff mount and have a the plates roughed out and the cross tubes tacked into the rear of the chassis...




The sheet metal brackets are not ready for prime time yet but hopefully soon.

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build log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11946