Big long video of how I fixed up the dash and connect the miata dashboard to the bottom of the VW windshield:
Before:
After:
I'm happy with it! I was hoping the vinyl uphostry would be more forgiving, but it was not, at all. But it was good practice for the headliner which I got started on last night.
That was fun to watch. So much similarities to what I need to do. I have a corresponding ga[ between the dash and window, but it is small enough that if I dont point it out people dont seem to notice, so will ignore for now.
Headliner is on the to-do list sooner rather than later. good news is I don't have to remove any windows. Much will depend on how good the headliner fits front to rear.
Keep it fun, I am enjoying the videos.
Pete
thanks Pete!
Love the interior so far!
It is looking better and better!
Put some door panels on and you are pretty much done.
Driving it much?
Pete
Passed the Oregon VIN inspection! Just had to show him the vin plate under the hood and that it matched the vin number on the title. Thankfully he didn't know anything about air-cooled VWs. And he didn't notice the big "MAZDA" brand on the valve cover or any of the many many other signs. But a guy walking buy in the parking lot saw what was under the hood and said "wow nice conversion! Did you do the work?" and he almost blew it for me, haha.
And I got a new video! The thumbnail is a little click-bait-ish but I was doing donuts with some old tires and I'm pretty sure I got it onto two wheels. 
and I found some steel miata NA rims, going to paint them black, add port-a-wall whitewalls, and chrome dome hubcaps. 175-70-14 in the rear which are slightly smaller than the tires on the iQ alloys, and 175-65-14 in the front which will be smaller and nearly the same diameter as the stock miata tire size of 185-60-14.
And then I'll probably want to work on the suspension and get the ride hight a little lower. 1.5" lower might be perfect. That could mean removing the 3" lift, replacing the coil springs with new stock ones, and finding some little spacers or something. idk.
Trying to figure out what to do about the suspension.
I'd really like to remove the 3" lift kit. The original wheels I put on have an overall diameter of 24". However I'm looking for a change and I got the Miata 14" steelies with 22" diameter tires in the front and 23" diameter tires in the rear, and I'll dress them up with white-walls and hub caps. With the smaller tires on, I measure 2.5" between the tires and fender both front and rear. So an overall drop of 1" to 2" would be perfect. Remove the 3" lift kit and add 1" or 1.5" height somehow...
Question #1: The front suspension. a previous owner cut the front springs down from 7 coils to 6 coils. How much of a drop did this create? This will help me understand if new stock front coils be enough to clear the fenders.
Theres about 1 to 1.25" space between coils when measuring under the weight of the car, so does it stand to reason that the cut coils are providing at least 1" drop? Real world results could be different for all I know. If true, then I could remove the 3" lift kit and replace the modified coils with new ones and it would be perfect.
Question #2: The rear suspension. The rear is a different situation. The coils are unmodified, and the new VW body is also a lot heavier than the old Miata body in the rear. I mean, it's a station wagon after all. But I don't think it's more than a few hundred pounds extra. However I haven't weight it yet so IDK.
It's not riding on the bump stops (but they're probably hitting) and, assuming the stock bump stops are still there, it shouldn't be coil binding. But the suspension is also very harsh in the rear of the car. Probably because it's heavier. Right?
What do you recommend for rear suspension? I'm looking for something less than $100. Used shocks+springs off of a compatible and heavier vehicle? Ebay Coilover sleeves and springs? Coil spacers?? If I have to spend a few hundred on heavier springs than that would be acceptable. But $500 GC springs is pushing it.
Ride quality is a bigger concern than handling for me. And I want the ride height in the rear to be level with the front, and then I'll make the tires fit by metal working the fenders.
I guess I'm hoping that there's a silver bullet that is real affordable, like used oem suspension off a compatible but heavier vehicle. The NB springs are slightly bigger and stiffer, should I try those in the rear? Both front and rear?
Thanks!!
I run stock NA front springs in the rear of the Molvo. I would not want to go any stiffer. I also run a 1" spacer that I made out of a block of aluminum. Pretty easy to do.
Pete
You're the man Pete!
You must have also put in longer studs on the top hats? No problems there either?
IIRC you have adjustable coil sleeves so that's how got the front miata springs to work in the rear, right? But you also have a v8! and larger rear axle, and tranny, and everything else.
Alright here's my plan! Get me a gently used set of rear suspension assemblies from a sport package NB. That should both have a higher spring rate and provide maybe 1/2" lift. I'll get the rest of the lift I need with spacers. And the added bonus of improved NVH. I alright bought a set of '90 miata shocks+spring assemblies with only 50k miles on them, but I guess I won't need the rear now. But the fronts will go in and any problem with height can be sorted out with spacers, fender massaging, alignment, or a combo of the above.
God I'm such a tight ass. "Gently used." I just deposited $10k in the bank today because I sold my 4Runner. That's right, the frankenwagon is now my daily driver! But that money is for a house down-payment.
In reply to mannydantyla :
Nope, No perch adjustability for the Molvo. I run stock Bilsteins that I bought used. The Monster Miata vendor sold me new front springs and recommended moving the front springs to the rear, so I did. Seems to work.
Yes, I did extend the perch bolts, the originals just push out and I tacked the new ones in so the bolts don't spin. The chunk of alloy to do both sides was like $30. Band saw to chop into shape, a hole saw to make the middle hole and a flap wheel to sculpt the thing kinda into shape. 3 hour job.
Pete
mannydantyla said:
interior work is not easy
It's been a while since I've checked in on this. Awesome progress! Love this shot.
Car really looks great. And I've enjoyed your write-up and videos.
It does take a bit of courage to show all the world your mistakes and frustrations (window gasket?) and I tip my hat to you there. I've shown a few of my own mistakes in my build thread, but on a lot of it I wait for nicer pics.
Hey guys I'm just stopping in to share my new youtube episode for the build
The video should actually do a good job of filling in this forum on all the things I've done since I've last posted:
At this point its totally road trip worthy! Something that has always been on my life-long bucket list is to go on a multi-day road trip in a classic car. I think it's ready. Honestly, my only worry would be if the seat will be comfy enough.
I have not been around the sheet metal fab world so IDK if that's a common trick, but using a length of TIG rod to fill the gap left by the cutoff wheel is genius and I'm totally going to use that someday!
At this point its totally road trip worthy! Something that has always been on my life-long bucket list is to go on a multi-day road trip in a classic car. I think it's ready. Honestly, my only worry would be if the seat will be comfy enough.
I can vouch for Miata seats and long distances. At least for my anatomy. Done at least half a dozen 1000 mile/ days in the NA and seats were never an issue.
Disclaimer, that was also 25 years ago!
Pete
I gotta be honest, this project turned out a lot better than I expected. Props for persisting and getting this done!
Still haven't painted it. Still haven't finished the interior. In fact I've done nothing to it since March except replace a blown fuse. But I drove it ~400 miles round trip to a VW car show and it did great!
Hanging out with his new friends:
A little after the fact, but I believe you can raise the car a little by using the NA top hats on the NB shocks
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