DanM's Westfield Miata

[DanM]

Back to work this week after a couple of weeks off for the holidays.  With all the festivities and entertaining, I didn't get into the garage as much as I'd have liked, but I did manage to get a few little tasks done.  I plan to upload some photos over the coming days.

 

Coolant reservoir return line

One of the tasks I had been meaning to do for a while as I completely forgot the first time around was the coolant reservoir return line.  This also gave me the opportunity to fix a gasket leak in the water pump input and add an extra bolt in the reservoir bracket.

 

Draining the coolant.

 

I bought a 1 1/4 coupler and 1/8 NPT - 5/16 barb adapter

 

Found a nice spot on the coolant reroute hose just after the thermostat and sensor.

 

Spliced it in and connected it all together with 5/16 coolant hose.

 

For the bracket, I added a second rivnut to the scuttle and carefully drilled out a slot in the bracket so that I had a bit more tolerance when bolting it on.

 

[DanM]

Windscreen wipers and spray nozzle

To be honest I found positioning and fitting the wiper motor and mechanicals a little tricky at first. Partly because I had already secured the scuttle so access was tight with poor visibility, and partly because being a left hand drive the motor needed to be installed back to front so positioning was limited to make the angles work. 

 

To make everything fit I has to cut out some of the scuttle air ducting and shorten the cable tubing to the first wheel box.  Thankfully I still had my brake flare tool so was able to create a new flared end for the first wheel box.

 

Once I had settled on the location of the washer jet install was easy as pie.

 

I secured the hose with a zip tie and ran it through the large mazda electrical grommet.

 

 

[DanM]

Side and Front indicators.

I measured and cut the holes for the side indicators a few months ago when I was working on the body.  Now was the time to stick them on and wire them up.  Knowing I only had one chance to stick them I test fitted them first and marked the centre-line on the painters tape. 

 

I then used these as a guide when the time came to peel off the sticky back and gently lower them into position.

 

Once they were wired up I tidied up to loom and bolted it to the footbox panel.

 

Next came the side pods.  When I tested them in the summer, one of the bulbs wasn't lighting up so I took the unit apart to see if it was the bulb or a dodgy connection.  It turned out to be the connection so once I had bent the metal contact back into position it all worked well.

 

 

Measuring the location of pods took a bit of time.  First, I used painters tape to mark the edge of the lower "styling line".  This took multiple attempts to get it right (or as good as I could), looking at it from multiple angles and running my fingers across the profile ensuring the tape was as close to the transition as possible.  Once I was happy with my datum I started measuring the location as per the instructions.

 

Test fitting once drilled.

 

The end result isn't as good as I'd hoped at first glance.  I took some photos from different angles but because the wishbones and headlights lights etc. are not bolted down and the reference angles look weird. The dolly's don't help either.

 

I will revisit once these items have been secured and make any final adjustments I need at that point.   Quick question....How have other builder secured the pod wires to the the inside of the cone?  I don't want to use rivets and the fiberglass surface doesn't seem flat enough to stick cable tie fasteners to it?

[DanM]

I've been back at it over the last couple of weeks so thought I'd post a few photos over the coming days to bring you up to speed on the latest. 

 

I'm coming to towards the end of the build so my strategy going forward is to button up the back of the car, then the front and finally finish the inside.  First up was to protect the underside of the detachable wheel arches before install.  For this I used some spray on bed liner from the local automotive store.  Step 1. protect the arches from over spray,

 

Step 2.scuff the surface and cleaned with acetone. 

 

Step 3. Spray on (without making too much mess! lol)

 

While that was drying I fitted the side panel blanks.  For the LHS I took the time to make up a cardboard cut out and use it to trace and cut the metal before trying to fit. For the RHS I just bent the panel in the vise and trimmed it as I went.  In this instance, doing it by eye worked much better for me.

 

Bending it in the vise.

 

Once happy, I sealed and riveted the panel in place.

 

Then gave the area a quick once over with the bed liner.

[Austin David]

On 1/13/2024 at 8:21 PM, DanM said:

Side and Front indicators.

I measured and cut the holes for the side indicators a few months ago when I was working on the body.  Now was the time to stick them on and wire them up. 

...

Quick question....How have other builder secured the pod wires to the the inside of the cone?  I don't want to use rivets and the fiberglass surface doesn't seem flat enough to stick cable tie fasteners to it?

 

Have you figured this out yet?  If no, maybe VHB tape backing the zip ties?  If it's before the radiator it should stay cool enough, and the tape may be thick enough to handle that rough surface.

[DanM]

Next up was to cover the area behind the seat back where the 12v socket will go.  For this I decided to repurpose the seat belt cover.

 

I wanted a gap between the differential housing and cover, so I trimmed the edges to make it less bulky.

 

It also needed to be shaped, so used a gas torch to heat up the plastic and bend it slightly so it would wrap around the top frame rail. To secure it I tapped a small screw at the top and velcro'ed the sides to the vertical frame rails.

 

It fits nice.

 

With the inside of boot area complete, I moved on to re-installing the boot box and the roll bar stays.  As you may remember I wasn't entirely happy with the quality of the top coat I gave the roll bar and stays.  In this picture you can see how the top layer had scratched off.  In fact it was coming off easily with my finger nails.

 

There was no way that I was going to leave it in that condition, so I once again removed the bar, stripped it (and the says) down and gave it all a respray.

 

 

 

Now I'm ready to reassemble...

[DanM]

23 hours ago, Austin David said:

Have you figured this out yet?

I did. I JB Welded a zip tie holder to the side.  I'll find some photos.

[DanM]

Before installing the bar, I put the boot tub in place drilled through to mark the tube and installed the rivnuts to secure it in place. 

 

 

Then I reinstalled the bar and stays......s**t!!  Can anyone advise on the best way to fix this?

[DanM]

With the boot box secured and the roll bar and stays reinstalled, my next task was the rear arches.  Having read a number of threads I decided to go the plastic screw and nut route to secure them to the tub. 

 

I wasn't sure how much to tighten them in case they broke, so I went as far as I was comfortable.  I'll have to check on them regularly to start with to see if the vibration works them loose.

 

The arches seemed to line up nicely with minimal effort.

 

With the arches in place I decided to drill the holes for my harness loops.  The ones supplied with my schroth harness were too short so I ordered some longer ones.

 

To install I had to drill through the boot box.  I taped up the areas that needed drilling and starting with a small diameter drill bit, slowly made the hole big enough to screw in a harness bolt. Once in position I marked around the edge with a sharpie and carefully dremelled out the rest of the material.

 

Loops now in position ready for the harness.

 

Lastly, with the dremel still out, I trimmed the nose cone to provide some clearance around the upper wish bones.  First I offered up the cone and marked the area to trim on some painters tape.

 

Then I gently took away the material until I achieved the required clearance.

[DanM]

Next up is fitting the grill.

 

As always I read through a number of threads and asked questions be fore deciding how I was going to tackle it.  My approach is to use, JB Weld, Picture frame hangers and zip ties.

 

My plan is to bend each hanger to match the shape of the nose cone mold and JB Weld them in place.  Once dry I would zip tie the grill to the hangers. Here are some of the hangers bent ready to attach.

 

Test fit

 

stuck in place (apologies for the terrible photo, I had JB Weld all over my fingers.

 

Final fit of the grill.

 

...and the front.

 

 

 

[DanM]

With the grill now assembled the last remaining task on the nose cone was levelling the pods.  To do this I wanted to attach the cone to a level(ish) surface so I could get a sense of how far out they were.  First, I bolted the nose to a sheet of chipboard......

 

...and then I clamped it to a table.

 

From there I could find a level and then move each pod up or down to get the position right.

 

Access to the bolts was a bit of a pain with the clamps and chipboard so thankfully it didn't take too long to find the level and get the nose on the car.  It's still looks slightly out in the picture, but it is pretty close...I promise! 😇

 

 

[wdb]

This is coming along handsomely!

[DanM]

5 hours ago, wdb said:

This is coming along handsomely!

Thank You!  So close, yet so far! lol

[DanM]

 More tinkering this evening.  While I am 3D printing some parts I decided to fit the rivnuts for the dash panel.  First I positioned the dash and marked the edge of the crash pad to see how much room I had, then I drilled pilot holes through the dash into the fiberglass.

 

Once all the holes were drilled I temporarily secured the dash with Clecos to ensure everything was aligned before I drilled bigger holes for the rivnuts.

 

Once happy, I drilled out the holes with a 6mm drill bit and installed the rivnuts (some of them twice! 😝)

 

Finally I test fitted the dash with M4 screws.  Looks good to me!

 

Next up is the Arduino and the dash wiring.

[DanM]

Good grief, I cant believe that another month has passed!!  To be honest, a lot of it has been spent faffing around with my 3D printer trying to print with ABS.  I successfully managed to print the EAO switch connectors, but everything else I tried ended up in the bin. 😞 

 

I also spent many hours scratching my head over the cycle wings, especially as the brackets seemed out of shape.   After many attempts using weird and wacky home made measuring devices I settled on a piece of broken driveway marker pole (that had been chewed up by my snow blower during the winter) and the level on my phone to get things symmetrical. 

 

 

I then used some strong vapour barrier tape to hold them in place while I marked the brackets for drilling.

 

Once the initial holes were drilled I held the wings in place with Clecos and painters tape while fettling them into final position.

 

To secure the wings I drilled oversized holes in the fiberglass and stuck foam on the brackets to hopefully reduce the chance of cracking.

 

 

Only time will tell if it is good enough!! 🤞

[DanM]

Now that the front end of the car is close to done up I am turning my attention back inside, specifically the switch illumination.  I am trying to wire and program a small Arduino unit to control the levels of switch illumination of the Horn, Demister and Hazard savage switches (EAO) under various configurations.  I'm still figuring stuff out as I go, but here's where I am so far.

 

I have collected the following items for the set up:

• Arduino Nano Every and screw connection block.
• 12V to 5V Power converter/regulator
• Project Box
• Left over wires and connectors from the MX5 Miata loom

 

Connected together it looks something like this:

 

In summary, the green wires will go back to the relays and the long wires will go to the switches. I have recycled a MX5 Miata connector block so I can remove the Arduino from the car with the dash if necessary.

 

The Arduino pinout are:

 

Next step will be to organize the car end of this circuit.

Edited May 10 by DanM

[Austin David]

by "levels of illumination" are you talking day vs. night vs. ??  I'm curious what you figure out.  I've done "this" a few times and have only gotten as far, reliably, as using "are the lights on" as an indicator for brighter/dimmer.  It's definitely not perfect, but seems to be more reliable that using some other method (like a light sensor).  My current 7 rollbar light uses the running lights on/off to also signal whether to set overall brightness lower or higher.  In my Miata, the headlights on/off signal changes the backlight on the boost gauge.

 

My only other feedback is that the relays need to be pretty robust.  Once you tuck it all in it's gonna be annoying to tuck it back out and troubleshoot a sticky relay.  If you haven't found 'em already, there are 5v/12v octocouplers & 4- , 8-channel boards that make the conversion easy and can take care of driving relays if needed.  Also straight up relay boards which might be easier (3.3 or 5v in, drive a few 10A relays).

 

And honestly, if you've still got a few open channels (A0-7) you could pull in signals from run/brake/turn/backup/rain lamps and drive an LED strip on the rollbar...

[DanM]

@Austin David I'm not looking to do anything too adventurous.  I just want my 3 savage (EAO) switches to illuminate 50% when the headlights are on and brighter when they are active.  I'll definitely share how I manage to do it!

[DanM]

So after a very busy summer I'm finally back with some updates. In general, I didn't get to spend as much time in the garage as I'd hoped, partly cos of the heat and partly cos of work and partly cos I was tired of the build.  I think it was mid to end of June before I went back into the garage and that was to install the four post lift that I bought at the end of the winter.

 

I bought it more for my other car than the Westfield, but its definitely useful none the less.  With the lift installed I wanted to get away from wiring and do something else to get my enthusiasm back. I decided to paly with the dash.

 

The first order of business was to trim the centre section so that it hung down properly. I used my dremel to cut it down from this:

 

To this:

 

Then I assembled it to see what I needed to do next.  I had to hack away quite a lot of the upper steering wheel cowl to fit it in place.

 

and then I could test fit the gauge cluster in place.

 

With very little structure to hold everything together I now had to come up with a plan to hold everything in place and still make it easy to remove the dash without taking the cluster with it.

[IamScotticus]

Please share the brand and model of the lift!