Roland....the Beer Can Miata

Ok, update time! 

daylan has had some time to dig into the car the past few days. 

found a little recoup in the interior. 

looks solid under the hood.

anyone know anything about the strut bar that's on the car? 

Daylan hooked up another battery and got the car powered on. headlights work.. but one of the motors fried itself we think so now it winks and only the passenger side goes down.. it's kinda funny.. 

daylan also fought and got the trans out. 

and upon getting it loose 

"the roasted clutch smell was undeniable" 

before we picked the car up Ranger told me he powershifted his wat to a pretty decent drag time for a 100hp car... but the clutch is done..

flywheel looks ok though... 

so I decided to load up the parts cannon. 

and the day before I bought these.

so budget total so far... 

Car purchased for $600

parts spending so far including shipping $210.28

$810.28 spent so far.. $0.35 recoup so far.. 

Drivers side headlight has an offending piece of sheetmetal keeping the light up. Once you look at it it's obvious.

Thank you thank you. I could have probably knocked another second off that time with more than guessing at how to drive it.

In reply to Ranger50 :

I found that bit already. I'll bend the bent bit back the other way eventually. 

it's not clear, and maybe it came up in the back channel... but have we taken notice of what I believe to be non-standard miata engine bay decoration?

In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :

That's a standard southern decoration for when something sits for longer than one hour.

Every time I see this thread I get Warren Zevon's Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner stuck in my head. 

I know that's not helpful, but it is a favorite of mine, so thanks to you guys and of course David. 

spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:

 

Having pulled the transmission out of my Miata four or five times, it does not get any more enjoyable. Mine's a real treat now, because to pull the transmission you have to pull the header, and to pull the header you have to yank the supercharger and supercharger drive off, and to get the one bolt out of the blower drive requires pulling the radiator fans. And then the one pipe that goes into the back of the water pump inevitably pops out when you pull the header and dumps coolant all over the ground. 

In reply to NickD :

It's always the reinstallation part where I'm wresting the damn thing trying to get it lined up into the pilot bearing that pisses me off. At least gravity is on your side when removing the trans. 

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to NickD :

It's always the reinstallation part where I'm wresting the damn thing trying to get it lined up into the pilot bearing that pisses me off. At least gravity is on your side when removing the trans. 

I found that most of the plastic clutch tool are absolute garbage. I fought with my 6-speed for 2 and half hours trying to get it into the pilot bearing. Finally I got pissed off and torched the input shaft out of my blown-up 5-speed and inserted that through the clutch disc and found it wouldn't even remotely start in the pilot bearing. Just way too much play with the plastic tool. Lined it all up with the old input shaft, bench-pressed the transmission up and slammed it home in under 5 minutes after that.

In reply to NickD :

thats an interesting tool idea... Brian gave us the old busted trans with Roland..... 

spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to NickD :

thats an interesting tool idea... Brian gave us the old busted trans with Roland..... 

It makes life sooooo much easier.

In reply to NickD :

That's sweet! I wonder if anyone makes/sells something like that?

Damn people. It only took me 30 minutes to go from trans on the ground, to trans on crappy HF jack, to under the car, to having bellhousing bolts started.

And tech tip time, if the trans is not going in that last 1" or so, make sure the clutch cable/hydraulics are assembled and press the damn clutch! It'll slide right in after that. Don't try to force it together with the bolts. You'll just end up with a broken case or disc.

Trans is back in. It starts, idles and the clutch is working. I should be doing the first drive by the end of the day. 

Pretty sure a partially seized caliper is going to stop that attempt but I'll try it anyway. 

In reply to Daylan C (Forum Supporter) :

Nice work, man.  Way to do the heavy lifting on this project!

First drive wasn't a failure. 

In reply to Daylan C (Forum Supporter) :

Noice!  Congrats!

TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Daylan C (Forum Supporter) :

Nice work, man.  Way to do the heavy lifting on this project!

Something something... I'd be there helping if I didn't live 1000 miles away... 

spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:

Something something... I'd be there helping if I didn't live 1000 miles away... 

You'll get your turn - I have no doubt of that!

I am happy that you've got the new job and have landed on your feet.  Everything in due time.

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to NickD :

It's always the reinstallation part where I'm wresting the damn thing trying to get it lined up into the pilot bearing that pisses me off. At least gravity is on your side when removing the trans. 

The BEST $100 I have ever spent on tools was a transmission jack. I've wrestled lots of trans and transaxles out and into vehicles over the years. Bought one about 5 years ago for dad's 4L60 change and Oh Em Gee. Seriously.... installs are a one handed affair and it's awesome. 

In reply to bobzilla :

Well they are if the trans  isn't slightly wider than the hole it has to go through, requiring you to use tactics similar to those used when a couch won't fit through the door of your house.

In reply to Daylan C (Forum Supporter) :

you are a hero among men, and i applaud your efforts.

also, the bit about getting a couch through a doorway made me LOL

So after a lot of surprises that resulted in new calipers at all 4 corners and accidentally swapping on bigger rear brakes because we had the wrong parts sent to me and decided to roll with it. The car is now a driver.

<slow clap>

Just in time to drive itself onto my trailer! I'm glad I do t have to push yet another car on it.