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Having been a full on German car guy for the last decade, I didn't think id ever be doing this one, but sometimes you must step outside of the box. Well I pushed back the dinner table, and said no more Jello for me mom. What?
I wanted to build something that wasn't me, just to gain more knowledge and open my mind a bit, and I'm having a lot of fun doing this one.
So, I bring you, my new 96 Mazda Miata 1.8l with 108k, 5 speed! Its been abused, neglected, and needs some tlc. And that's why it was perfect for me. The motor runs awesome, heat works great, the seats are more comfortable than any seat I've ever taken, and its plainly simple as could be. The first noticable issues were the huge dents in the fender and quarter on the pass side. Here is a pic from day 1.
So I took the front bumper off, and then the fender and started taking some aggression out on it... almost new again!
Then I took the end of a baseball bat to the qauarter panel via the trunk and massaged that back into a somewhat roundish shape as well
A pinch of bondo to take the hammer marks away and a touch of sanding to prep for paint
Door jam prep
And I hathe removethe some more parts, more sanding, and more prep. The best thing about this car is no warning lights in the dash. I took out some exterior illumination bulbs and I got no annoying dash indicaters. So I shaved the fender lights on all four corners while I was at it.
The only pain in the ass has been the 'truck bed liner' crap they put on the lower half of the car, kinda like bmw e30's have on the very bottom. It was a bitch to get it all scrapped off and sanded, but now its done.
Tomorrow ill remove the fenders again and all other parts that I can remove, and start painting next week. I didn't totally abandon German engineering, I bought a VW color to coat this car, one of a kind Miata paint job when I'm through.
A lot More to come.
Any hints, C&C, and advise is welcome as this is all new to me. Cheers.
I wanted to build something that wasn't me, just to gain more knowledge and open my mind a bit, and I'm having a lot of fun doing this one.
So, I bring you, my new 96 Mazda Miata 1.8l with 108k, 5 speed! Its been abused, neglected, and needs some tlc. And that's why it was perfect for me. The motor runs awesome, heat works great, the seats are more comfortable than any seat I've ever taken, and its plainly simple as could be. The first noticable issues were the huge dents in the fender and quarter on the pass side. Here is a pic from day 1.
So I took the front bumper off, and then the fender and started taking some aggression out on it... almost new again!
Then I took the end of a baseball bat to the qauarter panel via the trunk and massaged that back into a somewhat roundish shape as well
A pinch of bondo to take the hammer marks away and a touch of sanding to prep for paint
Door jam prep
And I hathe removethe some more parts, more sanding, and more prep. The best thing about this car is no warning lights in the dash. I took out some exterior illumination bulbs and I got no annoying dash indicaters. So I shaved the fender lights on all four corners while I was at it.
The only pain in the ass has been the 'truck bed liner' crap they put on the lower half of the car, kinda like bmw e30's have on the very bottom. It was a bitch to get it all scrapped off and sanded, but now its done.
Tomorrow ill remove the fenders again and all other parts that I can remove, and start painting next week. I didn't totally abandon German engineering, I bought a VW color to coat this car, one of a kind Miata paint job when I'm through.
A lot More to come.
Any hints, C&C, and advise is welcome as this is all new to me. Cheers.
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