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A very astute suggestion! I considered that, but due to 1/4" thick bar, 3/4" thick-wall tubing and Tom's excellent welds, the brackets turned out to be unbelievably strong and I didn't think that gussets would even be necessary. I had read several stories about brackets cracking, bending or failing, and I feel certain that I solved those dilemmas!

After passing the DMV inspection, I took a good, long break from working on Kate. But after 6 weeks, I decided to finish the gauge project. (They looked pretty for a couple months, but were not wired up!)

I built a little wiring harness for the four VDO gauges with 16 ground connections, 4 power connections, 6 lighting connections and 4 sender connections! (That's why I put it off so long!!)I seem to do best when I draw things out, so I made my own little schematic:So I finish the gauge wiring harness, added the VeeThree GPS Receiver (for the VDO Speedometer) and install everything in the scuttle:I added quick disconnect plugs so, in the future, I could easily pop the plugs off to remove the scuttle.

I put a new VDO water temp sensor in along with a VDO oil pressure sensor (that was fun...I had to remove the starter in the Miata to get to the stock oil pressure sending unit!) After programming the speedometer, I tested everything out and all is good! All gauges not only LOOK pretty...they WORK!!!

I dropped my newly installed Amsoil synthetic 10W-30 and put in some Shell Rotella T6 synthetic 5W-40 that I got at Walmart any Miata owners rave about it. I also bought a ECU Water Temperature Sensor for $15.97 and popped it in. That stopped the little stuttering I had - can it be that easy??

The last project I have to "complete" the car is the grill. I have a CADD drawing, but need to tweek it before I have a grill water-jet cut. I like the look of it without the grill, so I'm not sure I'll even put one on Kate!

Usually low rpm stutter is a dirty IAC valve. It's easy to clean and reinstall.

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

Yessir, they do look good, and that's some quality work wirin' all that stuff together! Good on ya, Gar!

It sounds as though you might have cured the "stutters"... I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I'm bettin' it's fixed. Keep us posted!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
JDK

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

i think that the tapping has gone away due to the 5 in 5w-40 as opposed to the 10 in 10w-30, most modern engines need more oil flow at idle and start up which the 5 gives.

yes i am a believer in rotella and use it in everything i own, the high detergent keeps it clean inside and the zinc content is higher than conventional oil.

the water temp sender was probably causing mixture fluctuations resulting in the stuttering.

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this story shall the good man teach his son,
and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

Well thanks, y'all! and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone!

I am so VERY pleased with the all the little projects I've done this month. I am super happy with the fender brackets and love having the front fenders on the car! The wiring/connecting up of the gauges was a bit of work, but it's nice to have all the information at a glance instead of guessing : - P

Dang, I can't believe how quiet the motor is now after something so simple as changing from a 30 to a 40 weight oil!! But hearing is believing! (Glad to hear you're a Shell Rotella fan, John. There are many prophets preaching the values of this oil.)

I took my buddy (and bro-in-law), Paul, out for a short jaunt today and we drove thru the local "Leu Gardens S curves" at a high rate of speed and he was all laughs and giggles. In my town, there are no end of Lambos, Ferraris, Maseratis and other exotics. I'd love to have one of them try to stay with me thru these corners! Our cars corner like they're on rails, don't they?? Now that it's corner weighted and aligned, I need some auto-x and track time to get comfortable with the handling characteristics and cornering abilities before I go any faster. (And I am flying now!!)

I must admit...I so enjoy all the nice comments I've been getting EVERYWHERE I go. I get surrounded every time I go to the hardware store, the grocery store, out to eat, etc. I've had so many fun conversations with such cool people...people that I would never have met or talked with had it not been for little Kate. Linda and I had lunch uptown last week and enjoyed watching group after group surround my car parked across the street...watching them take pictures...kneel down and have their pictures taken with Kate, laugh and smile. I categorize all of this as "fruits of my labor!" I was both amused and embarrassed the other day by about seven little 10 year-old girls screaming repetitively at full volume, "WE LOVE YOUR CAR!!!" Every time I venture out of the garage, I have people honk at me, wave, give me the thumbs up and yell, "Nice car!". How flattering that so many people like what I built from scratch. A friend asked if I'd ever get tired of all the attention I get. I said, "No...I don't think so!"

Merry Christmas, and +1 on the attention from people. I love driving my Locost 7.

Larry O.

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Larry from Burien

Over the years, I've put STONE GUARDS on many of my of my British sport cars...for some reason, I've always loved the look! (And I've never really been worried about stones breaking my headlights!)

I bought my stone guards six months ago from Mini Mania for $22.66/pair. After searching the internet for ways to mount them, I figured out a way all by myself! The regular mounting clips don't work with the 7" headlights I purchased, so I borrowed a spool of .025 diameter aircraft stainless safety wire and a pair of safety wire pliers from Tom, my build partner.I placed the stone guards in place on the headlight and used a magic marker to mark three drill locations (at 10:00, 2:00 and 5:30) on the trim rings just outside the ring of the stone guards.I happened to have a tiny "hobby drill" (that I use with my R/C airplanes) that has an assortment of very small drill bits. I used a .032 bit in the hobby drill and stuck the whole thing in my drill. It worked great!The holes are so tiny, you can barely see them! After waxing the headlight glass, stone guards and trim rings, I cut 3 pieces of wire 4" long, folded them in half and ran one side through the trim ring and the other around the outside of the stone guard. I only tied down the top two, spun the wire tight, clipped it to about 1/2" long and stuck both on the inside of the trim ring. I then put the bottom wire so it came on the outside of the trim ring (so I could spread the trim ring out and get them mounted on the headlight.)Once I screwed the headlight trim rings tight, I spun the bottom wire, clipped it to 1/2" and folded it under the bottom of the headlight. The safety wires are so darn small, you have to look hard to see them!
I hope this may help other builders wanting to add stone guards...I'm VERY happy with these small additions!!

Yo Garman!
That is one tiny little bitt itsy bitsy teeny weeny drill bit! (It's small too...)

Nice work on the stone guards! I'd steal your idea if the Slotus had headlights.


JDK

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

Looking good. Nice to see what you did with the headlight covers. Also sure you're glad to see working gauges. Still love the black/polished look.

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30 years old, not sure what I want to be when I grow up…

I bought two 2'x4' rolls of "Diamond Dek" black rubber floor runners from American Floor Mats.I made templates out of thin cardboard and am cutting each piece to size for all the floorboards (except underneath the seats.)I like the look and the mats will cut down on the wear and tear on the paint!

BUT THINK OF ALL THE WEIGHT YOU'RE ADDING!!

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

The mats only add 2 pounds to the weight, so I decided to exercise daily until I loose 5 pounds. Then I can add 3 more pounds of stuff like electric windows, power door locks, power mirrors, a heater, a radio and windshield wipers. Just think! If I loose another 25 pounds, I'll be able to justify adding air conditioning!!

That all sounds good for you to be doing instead of me but let me pull out my slide rule and I can show you definitively that unless you do both the car will fly off the edge of the world and end up in a dragon's maw.

Let's see the Pie are square times the hypotenuese of the drop dangle divided by some strange greek character then multiply that times something that sounds like it's Latin, but it's not, and then we've got to get some fractions in there and put some parenthesis's around it and then once I run it through the slide rule and swing a dead cat by it's tale in the middle of a cemetery during the dark of the moon you see that I know have proof you've got to lose 30 lbs and then you get to keep the mats.

The main reason is that you get to ditch the ear plugs due to the mats deadening some of the sound coming from the bare metal floor.

See aren't you glad you've got smart fellers, or is it fart smellers, like me around to keep you straight?

_________________
mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.