build diary

April 17, 2005:
I've been doing a lot of thinking about future upgrades to the Seven.
It needs some work to fulfill its potential. The first step will be to fix the exhaust (whoops), but what's after that? I'm going to add some roll stiffness to the suspension through a combination of stiffer springs and a front sway bar. The actual sizes are still very much a mystery of course. I'm thinking 30-50% more spring rate would be a good start although it will be a shame to lose that supple ride. A bit too supple, though - I'm bottoming out the rear suspension on hard cornering. I'm pretty much going to have to just make a semi-educated guess on this one. Time for a little more research.

Another thought is to replace the Miata gauges with some new ones. The Miata speedometer isn't working due to the broken cable. The oil pressure and tachometer needles get blown around by the wind as the glass isn't completely sealed against the dash. Then again, it wouldn't be that hard to seal things up and I just might be able to put a 1999+ Miata speedometer in the gauge cluster. It's electrically driven. Hmm, that might be a possibility. Regardless, my LED strip tach is going to be added. New harnesses are coming so they can be adjusted once the seats are in - this isn't a problem for me, but currently my passengers are having to deal with ill-fitting belts and that's not safe.

Right now, I'm simply in the planning stages. I'm back in California (the Los Angeles area this time) to work on Miata things and spending all my spare time trying to wrap up the Seven book. Lots of time to think - this can be dangerous.
entry 844

April 23, 2005:
No work done on the car, I've been in California!
Well, almost no work. I've ordered some new harnesses with pull-down lap belts. This will make it easier for my passengers to be properly strapped in. I should have done this earlier.

A Locost builder who lives in the same town as CMC has reported that the building is up for rent. It sounds as if the company may finally be giving up. There has been a long stretch with little or no communication with customers. This could be why.
entry 845

April 27, 2005:
The book is done!
Or at least, it's moved on to the editors at Motorbooks. I am filled with much relief. So now I can get back to working on the car instead of writing about it. The first job? Replace the muffler with a new one that's coming in from Thermal R&D. This one is a nice stainless piece although I declined the polishing. No point as I'll just hit it with some black paint anyhow. Hopefully the sound will still be reasonable. I guess I'll find out...
entry 846

Coming soon to a bookstore near you!
entry 847

May 7, 2005:
I've been enjoying myself doing things that aren't the Seven.
My 323 GTX is up and running now and I'm spending more time biking. But does this mean the Seven is being ignored? Nope. It's hopefully going to a big Miata meet in Moab next weekend so I had a few things to fix.

First up was the muffler. I cut out the old one and welded in a nice new one from Thermal. It's looking good and as soon as it stops raining I'll fire up the car and see how it sounds. I also replaced the rear view mirrors with some that are designed for formula cars, a gift from my friend Rick Weldon. Finally, a broken front fender stay was welded up. I didn't know about this one until I got to the shop. I think I'll probably redo the fender stays because they never hold the fenders straight anyhow and keep shifting around.

It's easy to see how people become serial car builders. I'm starting to realise that some time in the future I'm going to make some rather significant changes to the car. Part of this is fix various little things that could be done better such as the fender stays and cooling, partly to address more significant things such as handling and the rear diff mounting. I'm not going to start over! The car is also developing a patina at a remarkable rate, with damage to the rear fender shields, various paint chips, dirt stuck between the tubes and the panels and bugs embedded in the windshield. I'll have to work to get it nice and clean again.
entry 848

Time for a new muffler.
entry 849
Whoops, a broken fender stay.
Is this from being pushed around to make it sit correctly over the wheel, vibration from the long tow or something else? Hard to say.
entry 850
A new rear view mirror.
entry 851

May 10, 2005:
Well, the exhaust isn't subtle.
It has a much deeper sound than the old one and gets pretty vocal under full throttle. Hopefully it'll be okay during the track day at the Open House this summer where I'll have to deal with the draconian sound levels again. Maybe we can run the track backwards for a bit of fun. There are a few corners that might be pretty interesting in that direction actually.

The exhaust will get a run this weekend as I head down to Miatas in Moab. The weather forecast looks good so it's time to go for an overnight trip. Janel will be coming along with her Miata as a support vehicle and also because she's not a big fan of long trips in the Seven. So it won't be a harsh test but it should be fun.
entry 852

May 11, 2005:
I accidentally spent a bit of time working on the car last night.
Since I'll have the opportunity for some nice photographs and I'm hoping to be showing the car off, I figured I'd make it look good. The panels were polished, partly to get the old adhesive from the track duct tape off the car. The foam around the hood was replaced with fresh stuff that wasn't soaked in oil (long story there) and a line of black tape was added to hide the chips in the paint from the hood chewing away. This actually really looks good. The freshly painted exhaust was installed. A long-overdue change was made to the fan wiring to stop a problem that's been around for a while. Naturally this only took about 5 minutes. Then I made my favourite change of all - I put the plastic cover for the gauges underneath the dash instead of over top. I've never liked the shape of that piece and this looks far better. The big question is - why did it take so long for me to realise this would work?
entry 853

Much better looking instruments with the plastic sandwitched between the dash and the gauges.
It should seal better as well and stop the tacho from being bounced around by the wind. Why didn't I think of this months ago? It's so obvious. I'm still trying to decide about the badging.
entry 854
Hmm.
This Miata badge is shaped perfectly to fit on the nose. I'm not sure if I should stick it on or not.
entry 855
Gettin' shined up for the Miata meet.
I didn't bother doing this for the track, but then again that tow through the rain to California would have ruined my best efforts regardless. This is simply the result of a bit of work with Nevr Dull.
entry 856

May 16, 2005:
If I didn't listen to the voices in my head, maybe I would have driven the Seven home from Moab.
Sigh. The CMC curse has finally struck.

The weekend started off a bit rough. While preparing Janel's Miata for the trip (new springs, shock mounts, exhaust - you know, little stuff) I noticed her supercharger belt was making dust. So I tightened it. That broke on Friday night so Saturday morning was spent putting on a new one. Finally, a couple of hours late, we took off to Utah. The belt broke again about 75 miles later - it seems I have some investigation to do into the superchager. I was happy and unaware of this problem as we zipped down the interstate and then on to the classic 128 into Moab. On the highway, the Seven is remarkably comfortable. The suspension eats up all bumps and undulations. I had earbud headphones on to listen to music so the exhaust noise wasn't bad, and other than high pressure air trying to inflate my left nostril the aerodynamics were good. Without some sort of earplugs the exhaust is loud, though. The new muffler is not as effective as the previous one, particularly at full throttle. On the twisty bits I felt as if we were almost walking although Jeremy and I did get a chance to play for a bit. I also found out that I should not lead a group without a working speedometer, as my estimated 45 mph turned out to be closer to 65. The police officer going the other way merely flickered his lights and gestured for us to slow down. Whew!

The event itself was fun. Lots of shiny cars and the new 2006 Miata was in attendance. I crawled all over that one as you might imagine and managed to take some photos with the Seven. The average attendee at the event was older and more interested in cruising and scenery than performance, but once I took the hood off the Seven so they could see the Miata engine I was a little more accepted. In the evening we took a run up to Fisher Towers and a few miles down a rough dirt road. It's a great place for taking photos of cars near sunset and I availed myself of the opportunity to fire off quite a few frames. I also rattled the exhaust pipes free of the collector and popped an exhaust hanger. Not such a good plan and very noisy although it was easy to fix. Jeremy and I then headed for a campsite as Janel went back home due to her brother's graduation.

The next day, we were lining up to go on a tour with a group going into the Canyonlands park. I stalled the cold Seven in the parking lot in front of everyone. This got me some teasing about a "poor first impression" - so I decided to give a different one by offering a taste of some tire spin. Nothing major (less than I've used in an autocross start)...but when I was done there was a ticking from the rear end. It sounded like a flange hitting as the differential turned. Uhoh. Nothing was visible so I backed the car up on to some trailer ramps. The diff had shifted a bit and some feeling around indicated that perhaps I'd ripped the diff mount off the frame. With a bit of prying I could drive the car without noise, but the diff was definitely moving up and down. My car lasted longer than any of the other CMC "Miata" frames without this failure but it's my turn now.

Lucky for me, Joe Portas (the Knobmeister - if you need custom engraving, shift knobs or other bits talk to him!) was just packing up to head home to Littleton and trailer his Miata. He offered the use of the trailer to get me home to Grand Junction. His wife Mary was quite happy with the arrangement as that meant she got to drive the Miata instead of riding in the tow vehicle. I had a comfy ride home with good company as Joe and I have been seeing each other for years at Miata meets all over the world. It all worked out well.

So, what now? The Seven was almost ready for some relatively major work anyhow. I'll put it back up in the air and sort out the differential mount. I'm not sure if I'll do the pseudo-PPF as CMC ended up as I don't think any of those cars have ever actually run. The solution that BSI worked out for the GRM car is tempting and easier to reach. Regardless, the seats are coming out. I'll make a new transmission tunnel cover, add some switches for wipers, fit an electronic speedometer driver, reroute a front brake line, make a better headlight mounting system, add a master power switch and generally do a number of jobs that have been accumulating. I have quite a list.
entry 857

On the way in to Moab for the Miata meet.
This is on route 128 along the Colorado River. Janel and her beloved blue Miata (the support car!) are getting ready for the warm weather and beautiful scenery. There are some snow covered mountains in the background but I overexposed the sky.
entry 858
I don't take many photos of the back of the car.
I'm not sure why.
entry 859
The 2006 Miata was at the meet.
During a brief lull (it was usually covered in Miata owners and the accompanying drool) I managed to park the Seven next to it. Very different cars.
entry 860
Camping in Moab with Jeremy from Flyin' Miata.
It was a challenge to get the Seven in to this campsite. It's not a great off-roader.
entry 861
The morning sun on our campsite.
entry 862
Artsy night shot!
While taking this, the hazard flashers came on. Why? Perhaps the Seven felt it would have more artistic merit that way.
entry 863
Offroading in Moab can be pretty.
And fun - the Seven does pretty good handbrake turns.
entry 864
I took a lot of photos of the car with the rocks in the background.
I'm not even going to try to justify it.
entry 865
Fisher Tower and the Seven.
entry 866
Small car, big country.
entry 867
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