Josh's Na6

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:37 pm

It's been a while since i've updated. I'll try to be brief.

I've been trying to stick to my plan of getting everything done by last month or whatever I said ages back. I think I'm sort of on track though there have been a few hiccups here and there. Let's say for one, every god damned time I have the money for coilovers I end up having to spend it on something else.
EVERY time!!!!!! From fines to rego, even servicing stuff, uni books blah blah blah. I just sold my Watanabe's so now I've got some more pocket money, in theory I'll be ordering coilovers next Friday from JustJap. In theory communism works too... Turns out I let something go that i should have fixed a long time ago.

The waterpump.

It's at the stage now where the pulley has enough rattle in it to scare me out of driving the car again. I'll say this just to stop people patronising me for it first.
The car has been off the road this past week, I'm not driving it until it gets fixed. Also the reason I haven't fixed it is due to moneys (lack there of).
So my new found cash will be going into doing the waterpump and timing belt etc etc. All associated stuff. This however is good though, I have to take the cam cover off so I'll be able to paint it crinkle black like I'd been planning. So it's not all bad. Plus it's always a great feeling replacing old seals and so on.

I think I may have said this before (I can't be bothered reading back) but the exhaust is finished. I have a new catalytic and a resonated mid pipe. I never realised the difference between busted stock cat and a high flow steel one until I actually bought one. Funny though, when I bought it online they sent me the wrong one... I ended up taking in a ceramic stock cat into the exhaust place but they let me pay the difference and trade for a high flow steel cat. Which was fantastic of them because the difference was huge. Not only did it change my exhaust note, it also gave me a lot of missing torque. I never thought it would be so noticeable. I drove it for two days as is until I folded and had a resonated mid pipe made up. The new cat actually made my exhaust louder!!! I think that was because the stock one was 1.85" or whatever it is where as the whole system now had become 2.25" the whole way. The best part of it was the ability to happily drive without the ugly silencer in the pipe! I hate the look of those things because it makes your exhaust look like a big fake tip over a small stock one.

In other news I also replaced my oem shifter with a short throw. Initially I hated it for the first couple of days but I warmed up to it pretty quick. Especially after using a stock one in a mates car. The stock throw seems massive now. I don't think I could go back even if I had to.

I'm starting to see all the mistakes I've made on the car now. It's making me hate the car. I'm making myself hate the car. It's so easy to get caught up in what you want and not appreciate what you have. I'm seeing that now. I've been so frustrated trying to make the car some idealistic trophy I have in my head that I've started to resent it. I think It's ok now though. since it's been off the road I've become more analytical about it. I know I made the mistake with the extractors. I shouldn't have gone for 4-1's. I lost a lot of low down torque with them. Sure it's increased top end but to be honest it's a street car. It's hard to be revving at the top for power and not get killed by police. Torque and handling are what I should have been going for from day one. Not wasting my money on all sorts of crap. I can't say if I regret what I've done or not. I've had a lot of fun in the car so maybe at the end of the day that's all that matters. I think I'm a little more serious about it now than i was a few months ago.

The plan to order my bc's is still there and yeah I want to stiffen up the chasis. That won't change. But I think in terms of engine mods and power, I'm thinking a little different. I was so set on swapping to a BP 1800 but the more I look at it, is it even worth it? It's a lot of work for 200cc's. More torque yeah, but you can achieve that on a boosted b6 too. So maybe (dare I say it) turbo is the way to go? I really wanted to supercharge or ITB, but ITB makes the car revvier and that's really not usefully unless I track the car all the time. I'd be lucky to see the track once a year. And as for supercharge, it's a huge weigh up between price and performance. I've still got time to think about it. The real question is, do I rebuild the 1600 or buy another 1600 in better shape? time and research will tell.

In other news, I'm in the process of prepping my hard top for a respray. The pillars. too. Monday is spray day so I'm planning to finish the prep work today/tomorrow.

I'll see how I go.

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 5:24 pm

Been a while since I updated here, I've changed a few things on the car lately (pics to come).!!!

After playing with Pamex's gearstick at the garage cafe, I really took a shine to the oem shifter again. I forgot how smooth it was... It seems like a short shifter really is unnecessary in these cars but different strokes for different folks I guess. The next day I put my oem shifter back in, sold my voodoo knob and bought a skunk2 lol.
I'm actually liking the higher shifter, I used to sear by the shorties but I don't know... I guess this just feels more natural. Oh and my awesomest girlfriend ever bought me a chrome fuel cap! It's not a zoom, but it looks exactly the same. I know I know, knock off... Screw you guys, it's gift! I think it's an OBX branded one, it fits perfect and apparently are a decent price so I cannot fault it. I will say that it's got minor rust on it but I haven't cleaned the car in god knows how long and probably spilled petrol on it so I'm sure I can polish it out this week lol.

On another note, my $20 suspension has finally died

Turns out at stock height I can scrape a speed hump! The front is so saggy that when entering the car I feel obese, the whole thing dumps itself on the ground. On the plus side it looks like the car is lowered with two people in it :lol:

So the car is off the road this week.. However this isn't bad news! It's finally time to upgrade. I rang up Mania today and placed an order for a set of Yellow Speed Racing Dynamic Pro whatever coilovers (the street setup with the 6 and 8kg springs). I was contemplating the heavy race version but being a daily driver, and living in Geelong... I decided to go for the less hardcore option.

Among other things, I picked up a bonnet a long time ago off a mate on the forum. I was planning to give it to my brother who works with carbon fiber so he could make a mold out of it and cast a cf one. Turns out he can make me cf stuff but nothing that big. He doesn't have access to a big enough area to do that scale work. So instead he said he could put a carbon fiber skin over it but I declined. I wasn't a fan of wearing a fake carbon bonnet, what's the point... I know it would have been bling anyway, but at least it would have been real bling.
So instead I found some left over matte black pressure packs used to paint my stock wheels and gave the bonnet a sand and spray. It's looking pretty good actually, even though it has hail damage, the matte black seems to mask it a little. I can't wait to put in some silver bonnet pins and man up the car a little.

So the car should be sitting pretty in the next week or so. New suspension new bonnet etc.. Oh and one last thing, I took my hard top to my brother (who is a painter also..) and had him spray it gloss black for me. It's a pretty decent job and has totally gotten rid of the faded gross red look it used to have.
The plan was to do the pillars as well but the weather hasn't worked in our favor. I'm hoping next saturday will be the day to finish it all off.

Looks like I'll be needing a roll bar and some wheels soon!

RawSouth · Postby **RawSouth** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 7:51 pm

Pictures dude! This thread needs some more pictures

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:45 pm

Photo's eh?

It's painting time!
I decided it was time to have some fun

I was worried about over spray so I went a little mental on the masking but hey, better to go too far than not far enough! I think it took me a lot longer than I wanted, around an hour of masking and taping. I was determined to get into the cracks and get a good sharp spray line

After a few coats of white etch primer, this is the what I ended up with

I was pretty happy with my prep work so after about an hour or so I started coating it in gloss black lacquer

Oddly enough though, after several layers it ended up drying matte which was weird because the can clearly says gloss black. I mean, read it for yourself!!!
I'm planning to give it a minor sanding on the weekend and put another couple of coats of black on and get a smoother finish. I think I should be able to polish it up glossy after that. I figure worst case scenario It will polish up to a satin finish and then I can put clear over it and make it glossy. I remember when I painted my Watanabe wheels, I had them satin black but put a clear on top to protect them but it came out looking glossy.
At the end of the day there is still paint left over from the hard top, so I can always sand back the pillars again and spray that on top for a perfect match. Though my brother is in NSW for the next few weeks so it may be a while. This was a quick fix for the now. The pillars had turned to a chalky red so this looks way better.

The outcome? Look for yourself!

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:49 pm

Going to give this baby one more sand and then install it on the weekend

Looking to pick up a set of silver ring bonnet pins on Friday and a few washers. The rough plan is to have the bonnet raised at the rear and silver pins at the front.

I'm not fussed if it looks dodgy, it's just a bit of fun. I got this bonnet for nothing with the intention of learning how to paint. It helped a lot with getting my confidence up to paint the pillars on the car so I'm glad I picked it up. I figure if it looks silly I can always take it off and put my shiny red one back on!

No harm done.

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 5:17 pm

So I got sick of not being able drive with a can of drink in the car. I used Cheyne's awesome advice and modded the ashtray so it opens backwards but after a coffee spill I decided to up the ante a little.
I put a word on the forum about it a while back and got some super advice from a fellow forumite who put me through to looking at these weird boating cup holder things. You can buy them for real low cheap at most boating places and camping stores. I'll give you an idea of how it works.

You'll have to excuse the gross looking carpet. I have to vacuum it, it's looking like a barn yard. I'm not sure how but there is always straw on the floor... I live in a built up urban area so work that little mystery out!

In other news I picked up a set of IL motorsport clear side reflectors! They match my clear repeaters perfectly!

They came with indicator bulbs and actually have a spot in the back to wire them up. I've been planning to put them in for a while now but due to my own procrastination I've not bothered. you can piggy back them to the front indicators but at the moment I don't have enough wire, hence the procrastination.

Lastly, I mentioned a while ago that I ditched my short shifter and sold off my voodoo shift knob. I picked up a Skunk2 off a mate of mine and put the oem shifter back in place. I'm loving the higher shifter. It's far more natural and a little more comfortable. The throw is longer but the gears slide in and out faster so all in all it's a better experience.

If you look under my head unit in that photo you'll see the stupid blanking plate the previous owner put in there. It's cut and modded to fit. I've been dying to throw it in the bin and replace it with an oem cubby hole but i'm having a lot of trouble finding one for a decent price...

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:17 am

Quick photoshop mockup of hopefully how the car will look next week.

Going to need a roll bar and some wider wheels soon I'm thinking :twisted:

RedMX · Postby **RedMX** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 3:14 am

Looking verry nice Josh

Jeo · Postby **Jeo** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:40 am

Leaps and bounds mate, leaps and bounds.

Not totally sold on the black bonnet but presumably you like it, so best of luck.

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 2:05 pm

Cheers guys, I'm not sold on it either but I picked it up for nothing. Just a bit of fun!

Oh and no idea when I'll ever get my coilovers now. Mania didn't have any in stock and said they'd order them in last week. I rang up again yesterday and the day before and both times they assured me they would be in the same day. Spoilers: they weren't.
Both days they also said I get them before Friday and first thing Thursday (today) I'd have them paid off. Well I was about to head to uni and gave them a quick call today only to find out that their distributor 'lost the order'. Apparently ALL the orders for parts they've made lately are getting 'lost'. Not even sure what that means...
Now all I have to go on is "sorry, we have no idea when we will have them in stock anymore".... So thanks a lot Mania, I'm a very happy consumer right now...

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:55 pm

Ok! Got a phonecall later this evening. Apparently whoever I was talking to at Mania was full of crap. I'm not sure who 'Simone' from mx5 mania is but she is awesome! She sorted my problem out in 5mins max. All paid off and mailed out.
It's fantastic to see a business redeem itself so quickly after making a mistake. I owe them a big apology after ranting on my build thread.

Though from this experience i've learned to always ask for Simone hahaha.

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 6:50 pm

Coilovers have now arrived!!!!!!! :mrgreen:

Pics will be up some time on Sunday.

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Sun May 01, 2011 8:30 pm

Well today f**king sucked. I spent the first part of the day trying to take off one of the nuts that hold the struts on the car, only to find all the edges had been completely stripped. I had to drill it off. The nut had completely fused to the threads. It looks like it must have been crossthreaded and done up with a rattle gun. After hours of messing with it I got it out...

Only to find out everything else was stiff as hell. After a world of pain I got the upper control arm off and managed to take out the the shocker.
In goes the coilovers! ... or so you'd think. Sadly the two threaded struts at the top of the coilover that hold it to the car are about 1mm off target on all of them. They're definately the ones for my car but none of them fit. The best I can do it fit one of the studs through a hole but the other just bounces against the lip.
I'm very pissed off because my stock ones are offically dead and I have hit the point of no return as the oem shocker has no threads on of of the studs (since it was fused to the nut).
This is the best I can fit them up. these are test fit shots putting the strut into the holes showing it doesn't line up.

This i only ONE strut too... Have the other three to do yet! I swear to god I'm going to crack it if I have to send these back. I'm contemplating widening the holes with a powerdrill... I don't know what to do and I've hit the point of frustration that I'm on the virge of throwing in the towel and selling everything off..