Wassup's Na6 - Toad

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon May 07, 2012 11:02 pm

wassup wrote:Cheers Cheyne. I really appreciate the feedback from you Bizi and others.

I also enjoy reading the interesting stories others have as they modify their 5's. I've wondered a few times if I should bother continuing my story as I figure a factory resto really wasn't going to be as interesting....

Actually a factory rest IS interesting because it is o different! Even though you have deviated slightly.

wassup · Postby **wassup** » Mon May 07, 2012 11:33 pm

Apu wrote:
wassup wrote:Cheers Cheyne. I really appreciate the feedback from you Bizi and others.

I also enjoy reading the interesting stories others have as they modify their 5's. I've wondered a few times if I should bother continuing my story as I figure a factory resto really wasn't going to be as interesting....

Actually a factory rest IS interesting because it is o different! Even though you have deviated slightly.

Yeah it's gonna be a challenge to stay on the OEM path. Plan has gone from stock to factory. The FM sway bars in this case being factory spec :mrgreen:

the alternative would be to get new sway bars from Mazda...... Yeah no thanks.

Bizi · Postby **Bizi** » Tue May 08, 2012 12:13 am

The feeling's mutual - it's good to see a resto to stock (or better - e.g. all the old Aussie muscle car restos) and if you can reverse the mod, there's no harm in doing the mod, enjoying it, then returning back to stock.

Just enjoy the ownership and driving experience!
The incorporation of OEM rare bits is my favourite part, of course and you've already done a bit of this. Again, it's enhancement and all good as long as you're not butchering the car.

wassup · Postby **wassup** » Fri May 18, 2012 12:59 pm

Update:

Recently had the wheels refurbished. Im very happy with the results.

wassup · Postby **wassup** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:34 am

Wow how time flies when you're simply just enjoying the fun an Mx5 brings!

A few minor changes have taken place over the last few months, the pace has certainly come off a bit, partly because work has been so busy and partly because there simply isnt that much more i can do!

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Back in May there was an offer from forum member ll00st to have a photoshoot. Our resident social organiser BadBong couldn't help himself and organised the day despite not being able to turn up due to an unfortunate event.

http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=52275

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Mid June the wife an i headed off to sunny Koh Samui for my friends wedding. Aside from all the benefits that staying at a tropic island for a week can bring there was an awesome go-kart track across the road from the resort i stayed at. Yes, it was cheap. Yes i went pretty much every day i was there :lol:

During the trip i took the chance to leave Toad with Mania for the week to replace the stock clutch, still going strong after 115,000km but it was one of the few items remaining on my list that i simply wanted out of the way. Clutch changes dont come cheap, well, they dont if you have to get someone else to do it but the result is very pleasing.

Another job i had done by Mania was to remove the suspension spacers that FMC had insisted on to retain stock height when installing Bilsteins with their Shock mount kits and top hats. The spacers resulted in the car sitting higher than stock. Not happy that i had to pay to correct it but Toad looks way better for it!

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July:
This month i decided to sort out the speakers. Theres a never ending debate about whether Polk DB651's will fit without trimming the speaker grill. I can safely say this is NOT required.

Despite being powered by the stock head unit the Polk's are very good. There's actually some mid range compared to the cheap Sony's they replaced.

Next up, the wipers arms! One of the remaining weak spots that ive been reluctant to tackle.

Exhibit A - pitted, weathered and sad

A can of Matt black from Super Cheap ($13), 800grit sand paper (1 sheet @ $2) and plenty of patience is all you need. results below.

Exhibit B - refreshed and looking smart

Till next time.

Thanks for looking!

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:38 am

WOW.. the wipers came out great!!
Looks brand new :DIY:

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:39 am

Niiiiice!

marty085 · Postby **marty085** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:41 am

Wipers look awesome, i'm gonna do mine sometime soon. I actually painted mine 6months ago but with a brush .. temporary fix.. gonna sand them back again and spray them matt black like yours.

P.S. when i was at koh samui 3 yrs ago we travelled all around it but didn't see any go kart track :cry:

where did you stay? we were on the north coast.

PaulF · Postby **PaulF** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 4:07 pm

wassup wrote:there was an awesome go-kart track across the road from the resort i stayed at. Yes, it was cheap. Yes i went pretty much every day i was there

That sounds like my perfect holiday.

wassup · Postby **wassup** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:05 am

marty085 wrote:Wipers look awesome, i'm gonna do mine sometime soon. I actually painted mine 6months ago but with a brush .. temporary fix.. gonna sand them back again and spray them matt black like yours.

P.S. when i was at koh samui 3 yrs ago we travelled all around it but didn't see any go kart track where did you stay? we were on the north coast.

You can see especially with the wind deflector of mine the brushed effect also. Wet sanding is definitely required to remove the uneven finish prior to spraying. The effort will be worth it.

For those who aren't familiar with the rattle can the first 3-4 coats should not even come close to covering the entire surface. Very light misting gives the best results. 30mins between coats is also needed.

The GoKart track is on the north coast opposite Anantara Resort in Bohput. It's called Samui go kart. Every day I went we had the track to ourselves. They even had 4 strokes. But the 2 strokes had way more than enough power and after 6 days of karting I was bruised all over!

wassup · Postby **wassup** » Wed Sep 05, 2012 10:54 pm

Update:

Having discovered a company by the name of Truck Lite created a 7" round headlight utilising LED technology and that both Harley and Jeep drivers in the US raved on about the performance i bit the bullet and ordered a pair. Not cheap but i love a good set of headlights on a car so couldn't pass this up.

Light reading results taken against all three (using a free light meter for iPhone so take results with a grain of salt!)

Original units

Ebay special Crystal clear

Truck Lite Phase 7 LED

Cut off is really nice and defined

Hammer · Postby **Hammer** » Wed Sep 05, 2012 11:48 pm

It's looking good. And well done on the entire upgrades so far.

I like it that you've still kept the classic lines of the NA and IMO have added only tasteful upgrades.

Hjt · Postby **Hjt** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 12:15 am

Very factory! It's probably the best upgrade you can do!

sailaholic · Postby **sailaholic** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 7:20 am

Does the lower part light up for high beam? Or does it just house circuitry?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

yem11n · Postby **yem11n** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:10 am

Looks great.

At first it looked like the lights are upside down with the cut off line. But projected on the wall with a nice cut off line.
I reckon this is a proper upgrade for pop up headlight MX5s.

This way you can have the lights pop up only half way like some NAs have modified and still get full light beam.. what you think?? haha

yem11n