So disregarding the heat issue (although the new solution looks good) could you match the interior with the martini theme on the floors at all? Assuming no carpet... Also, really enjoyed the Hoonigan videos, I'm also surprised there isn't a separate thread for them.
In regard to tunnel heat, how much would a heat extractor hood vent gain you? (and could one be worked in with the paint design?)
Being that its you, I would bet you could lay hands on a spare hood fairly easially to test...
Is there a decent low pressure area somewhere on the hood? I know the base of the windshield would be a high pressure area.
I'm trying not to go too far with the Martini theme. It's set up the way that Lancia would have done it on a race car - livery on the outside, all business on the inside. It would be easy to go overboard and end up with stripes everywhere. I'm a little uneasy about the Martini-themed gauges. They look cool, but this is a function-driven car. I am considering carpet on the tunnel so it hides the existing insulation and adds a little more comfort, but haven't come up with a plan I like yet.
The hood is about 50% hole already :) The vents are well placed but not perfectly placed, this is driven by existing holes as it's been through a couple of iterations.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
i do prefer my pictures moving. but i'm a warrior for the modern day.
AngryCorvair: Modern Warrior
Gotcha on the hood, just hadnt seen a picture of the hood on your car for a long time.
As far as the tunnel, you need to invoke the 1970's material of choice... no, not shag carpeting. Velour. White velour.
Just read this whole thing. Oh the joys of turning a race car back into a street car.
No pictures, but I did get the drivetrain back in the car yesterday. Fairly drama-free, actually. So right now I'm in the buttoning-up stage. I'm taking my time with that, making sure that all the wire routing is good, clamps are rotated so they're accessible but protected and everything is properly located and secured. It's relaxing work. The car will not be going back to the Targa Newfoundland anytime soon, but I'm still building it with that mindset. I told myself I'd get the powertrain back in ASAP, so I'm happy to say that I'm doing that.
Progress!
A thought somewhere in between bed liner and carpet:
Simple cover for trans tunnel, and some for floorboards, still showing plenty of white?
I picked up a 3'X5' roll at the FLAPS for maybe $25.
I'm enjoying the latest chapter. Carry on.
Since the engine is out is it time to ceramic coat the headers and exhaust tubes? Keep more heat in the exhaust. Mission creep...
In reply to noddaz :
If you read the whole thread you would see that the headers are already Swain coated. That is the best, and it is failing in places.
If I were doing it again, I would probably go Jet Hot. From what I understand, Swain is a layer of aluminum with ceramic over top. Jet Hot is thick ceramic.
Keith Tanner said:...and for those who prefer the more carefully considered written word instead of me babbling on with no idea of how bored my audience might be, here's the latest poop.
I've spent some time thinking about that dash bar. It has two things that make it wobbly - it's got a bend in the middle to clear the vents, and it's attached to a fairly thin plate at each end that's bolted to the structure of the car and cantilevered out. I have some spare roll bar tubing so I've decided to run a straight bar from side to side and weld it to some decent structure. I'll have to do some bracketry work to attach the steering column and provide mounting points for the dash skin, but that's not too bad. I will be deleting those central vents so I don't need the clearance there.
Here it is cut to length and just stuck in place. You can see the brackets I'll have to duplicate.
It will be welded on here. If it's not stiff enough, I'll add a brace that runs forward to the tunnel. The steering column actually has a second set of mounting holes that line up nicely with the new tube.
Keith, What is the duct in the passenger foot well?
In reply to NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) :
That's where the fresh air intake is for the HVAC so I assume it's just for extra air in the cabin.
Although I think I remember him putting a bilge blower there with the ducting to defrost the windshield?
Yup. That's a fresh air duct that used to be attached to a defroster. When the car moved to more of a track role I used it to blow cool air on the driver :) It has now been removed. I'll get a picture of the inlet, it's the finest in Home Depot Race Parts.
Today was dashboard day.
I pulled a spare Miata out of the trailer. Seriously, there are 5 NAs on my property right now. This car has an interesting history and will be used for trolling certain people in the racing community in the future. But it won't need a dash to do that.
40 minutes to pull the dash. Then I stripped the cover off it so I could reinstall the dash bar so the steering column was supported. Also grabbed the door panels, some speakers and a couple of other things.
Putting it back in the trailer was fun. Pulled it up the hill with the XJ and parked the trailer downhill, then did a banzai gravity run into my 7' wide trailer. Oh, and the brakes don't work at all...
Anyhow, after the shenanigans it was time to work on the dash.
Pulled the crash pads off both the donor dash and the race dash. The former is, surprisingly, in much better shape. The goal is to fill this hole.
Turns out the easy way to cut this is with a knife. Then I finished the fitment on the belt sander.
Still working on the final fitment. I took about 2mm too much off at one edge (oops) but I think I can make that work. The plan is to cover it anyhow.
Meanwhile, in the car, I welded in a new cross bar. It's nice and solid, but I have to build the column bracket first and make sure there's absolutely no movement before I sign off on it.
Enough for today...
In reply to Keith Tanner :
So, uh, how did you stop?
It was time for food!
Keith Tanner said:It was time for food!
I think he meant going hot downhill into the trailer..
That makes more sense.
Parking brake plus a wheel stop that I mounted in the trailer years ago that just happens to be in the perfect spot for a Miata. I was ready to drop the clutch and use the engine to stop the car if I had to.
So, I'm reluctant to have my first post in this thread be something that could be construed as a criticism but this picture made me cringe. Please don't leave creepers sitting on the floor like that. In my 40 plus years of messing about with cars I've seen that situation result in countless pratfalls and two really serious injuries (a broken hip and a traumatic brain injury). Try and get in the habit of leaning it against something every time you get up off of it.
Having gotten my cautious old man bit out of the way I do want to say that I'm enjoying watching the process of this iconic car being converted back to street use and I'm hoping that it'll get used more often once that happens.
"This car has an interesting history and will be used for trolling certain people in the racing community in the future."
Not so fast.... Is this top secret or will you elaborate? 
That's a good point, APEowner. The shop is currently a festival of hazards.
I won't elaborate. It's not my prank, and I don't want word getting to the target. It needs to go to CA and get converted into a race car first, I'm just an intermediate stop. I'll give a hint though - if you've been in the Miata world for more than 20 years, take a look at the color of the windshield surround and see if that helps ID the car.
Ha! When it's finished, let us know when to start looking for it in action.
Keith Tanner said:Parking brake plus a wheel stop that I mounted in the trailer years ago that just happens to be in the perfect spot for a Miata. I was ready to drop the clutch and use the engine to stop the car if I had to.
Time for a winch in the trailer? :)
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