Wassup's Na6 - Toad

[wassup]

Not long ago i was asked by Neilhr if i was interested in having Toad featured in Club Torque. Both Neil and Tim took some fantastic photos some of which are below, the rest can be seen in the Summer 2013 edition of the magazine.

[wassup]

So the seat restoration has been completed. Overall it was alot easier than i thought it would be. Having the right tools and the various guides on Miata.net certainly helped.
I wont provide a step by step instruction on the process but the following are needed:

Hog Ring pliers
3/4" Hog Rings
Tin Snips - a good pair

The tin snips are essential to removing the existing hog rings. I started off with a pair of wire cutter type pliers in my tool box and it took ages to cut just one ring. A decent pair of tin snips will clip a hog ring in 2 seconds and save you hours. To be honest the hardest part of the whole refurb was cutting all the hog rings and removing the old covers, the rest is really easy.

A note about the tin snips. I went cheap and got a $15 pair from Bunnings - budget permitting stretch for the best quality you can buy as the first pair only lasted one seat before it started to distort necessitating another trip to Bunnings for a replacement that lasted equally as long.

Original seats


Good condition but not great


One of the new covers vs old


Seat separation - with 20 years of grease and dust


Bit and pieces cleaned and ready for reassembly


Old hog rings


Hog Ring pliers and a 3/4" Hog Ring


attaching the cover to the cushion with hog rings


One seat completed.. Neeeext!


Before re-installation i cleaned out the interior. Meg's Quick out and No Vac Professional works wonders


Job done - Seats reinstalled



Next up:
Power window refurb

[wassup]

Power window refurb

So, aside from replacing the guides which smoothed out the action and eliminated the window rattle i bought a tube of Honda Shin-Etsu grease and proceeded to thoroughly clean and re-grease each pair of window guides and the front rubber window channel. I also coated the regulator wires with the grease as well.

A top tip, if you're going to the trouble of re-greasing the guides, run channel and cables dont bother with Q tips - get the grease on your fingers and get it into the guides smooth and evenly, the same for the regulator cables. I found this helpful especially with the front rubber run channel as you can feel the difference between a dry guide and one that is properly lubricated.

Also, whilst Toad's interior was semi stripped i also decided to take a look at the power window switch (as suggested by a number of Miata sources), worth noting that cleaning the switch alone yielded a noticeable improvement so if you cant be bothered getting the proper grease and getting into the doors then cleaning out the switch is a pretty good compromise.

Disassembled Power Window switch. Notice the black soot buildup.




MrRevhead: you wanted to see video of the windows post refurb, here you go (performed without engine running).

[lee]

Wow. Perfect.

[PaulF]

That is probably the first and last time I will ever say "Woah!" at a video of windows being wound up and down. I really should do this; I wind my windows down every time I get in the car.

[MrRevhead]

Thanks so much for remembering my request and going to the effort to record and upload a video of the windows with your kit installed. It is great for comparing against my windows, which doesn't have the teflon kit, but newly installed cables.

Also, seats are looking great! I have also been contemplating buying new tan covers for my seats from the US to reupholster, but have been put off by what looks like a lot of work and something beyond my expertise.

How long did each seat take to reupholster?

[wassup]

Thanks so much for remembering my request and going to the effort to record and upload a video of the windows with your kit installed. It is great for comparing against my windows, which doesn't have the teflon kit, but newly installed cables.

Also, seats are looking great! I have also been contemplating buying new tan covers for my seats from the US to reupholster, but have been put off by what looks like a lot of work and something beyond my expertise.

How long did each seat take to reupholster?

You're welcome.

I would perform the cleaning of the switch first (assuming this has never been done) followed by lubricating of the guides, run channel and cables then the Teflon guides.

I've seen a number of tan interiors and the seats in particular look fantastic when in great condition. In terms of complexity I would rate it no more difficult than replacing the window regulator cables, probably easier.

Effort rather than duration I would say that each seat would take no more than 2 hours. But that's assuming you have everything you need including a decent pair of tin snips for cutting all those hog rings, at least 150 hog rings and a hog ring pliers. Removal and disassembly of the seats and removal of covers took much longer than fitting the new covers.

Good luck!

[Apu]

Damn! Adam...loving your car more and more.

[yem11n]

You know it's up for sale at the right price..


kiddin



Adam,

You prefer the steering wheel with the cover on? Removing cover is still stock and you have the 'Momo' logo..

[CheyneX5]

Hey Mate,

Was just wondering if you had a link to purchase the Teflon Window Guide kit from Miata.net? I'm having a tough time finding it.

Cheers.

Cheyne

[wassup]

Hey Mate,

Was just wondering if you had a link to purchase the Teflon Window Guide kit from Miata.net? I'm having a tough time finding it.

Cheers.

Cheyne

Sorry! I didn't see this post.

Here you go http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1990-2005-Miata-Teflon-Window-Roller-Guide-Kit-NEW-/251296388570?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a826e95da&_uhb=1

[CheyneX5]

Thanks alot ;)

[wassup]

Update:

Toad has continued to provided trouble free motoring over the last few months. Having reupholstered the seats and replaced the foam cushioning it was great to enjoy the feel of fresh new seats... i just had to block out the cost

July and August saw the running of the AHOC Brass Monkey and Iceberg runs. Always a great turn out and alot of fun.

Brass Monkey Run 2013 line honors at Goulburn RSL. 9 out of the top 10 were Mx5's


Mx5 Club Iceberg Run



With these events out of the way i had decided to enter into the clubs Concours at the Presidents Picnic in September so with 3 weeks to the day i started work!


More pictures in my next update.

[wassup]

Following on from my last update The Presidents Picnic was held on the Ebenezer Church grounds in Ebenezer. The weather leading upto the day was awful but at the very last hour things dramatically improved and it turned out to be a very nice day for everyone who attended.

Well written articles by Michael (Midori) and Trevor (cwto24) of the day can be found here:

http://nsw.mx5.com.au/news/president-s-picnic-a-newbie-perspective

http://nsw.mx5.com.au/news/president-s-picnic-and-events

Unfortunately i wasn't successful in my bid for the Concours award missing out by 3 points but i was awarded the Best in show award which was a huge surprise and not an award i had considered capable of winning!




Taking a look at the score sheet the NB Soft top was the biggest handicap losing 10 points for originality.


Interestingly enough i also lost 5 points for a non original steering wheel! Can anyone confirm if what i have is in fact non original? Its badged Mazda and has Momo on the lower part of the horn pad.



Here are some picks of Toad at the Presidents picnic.





A picture i took the day after the event before i started to reinstall parts that i had removed for the concours like the Hollow spokes, R Package lips and LED headlights.


Next update:
Ill go back 3 weeks to when the preparation for concours began!

[PaulF]

Interestingly enough i also lost 5 points for a non original steering wheel! Can anyone confirm if what i have is in fact non original? Its badged Mazda and has Momo on the lower part of the horn pad.

Looks like the original steering wheel to me. Maybe the judges hadn't actually seen one with the original horn pad still fitted before.