build diary

February 10, 2004:
Steve at CMC is going to send another rear control arm to replace the one that's off.
As someone who deals in complex, essentially hand-made turbo kits I'm not surprised to find small problems like this - particularly in an early version of a product. So far, none of the problems have stopped me from working on the car.

A componentry update. Miatas use the same steering column splines as Subarus. A co-worker gave me an unneeded steering column adaptor from a Subaru steering wheel (he put the wheel in his Corrado) and it fits perfectly. I'll have to make a plate to adapt the OEM Subaru flange to my Mountney wheel, but that's simple. It will also give me the ability to space the wheel forward and back depending on the thickness of the plate. The Miata brake flex lines aren't going to work with the frame so I'll have to get some custom ones made. There's a decision on the "OEM vs stainless steel" quandary and another few bucks for cost. When working on the wiring harness last night, I also realized that I'll need to get a set of coils from a 1.8 Miata instead of the 1.6 ones I have. The 1.8 ECU won't drive those 1.6 coils. Yes, it would be easier to use the 1.6 ECU. But I have plans for down the road. Oh, and that mystery bracket is for the steering shaft. Fair enough, I'll make that work!
entry 105

February 11, 2004:
While I didn't make much real progress last night, it sure looks like it!
I brought home a bunch of engine parts to test-fit the drivetrain. Nothing actually works - I brought home a broken transmission, an empty block with an oil pan on it, a damaged head and a contaminated intake manifold - but it's all fairly grime-free and therefore looks nice. I'm trying to get a feel for the driving position before I mount the steering column. This all stems from the pedal locations. Once I've got that, I'll have an idea of how far back I sit. Then I can place the steering column and the shifter. There are several inches of adjustibility in the motor mounts.

I've also been looking at seats. There aren't a lot of options for such a narrow (17.25") tunnel. Cobra makes one called the Roadster 7 that is built for 7-esqe cars and I'll have to find a price for them in the US. Otherwise, I might just modify a stock Miata seat fairly heavily.
entry 106

I dropped in some spare drivetrain parts to help set up the driving position.
entry 107
The engine sits a long way back in the car.
entry 108
There's lots of room to access the front of the engine.
Service will be easy. As you can see, there are a few parts missing here.
entry 109
Not much clearance for the intake manifold here.
entry 110
Yes, the driveshaft does need to be shortened a bit.
entry 111
A motor mount close-up.
entry 112
The Subaru steering wheel adaptor.
entry 113
Test-fitting the throttle pedal.
entry 114

February 12, 2004:
Oooh, that was a fun evening.
I disassembled a spare Miata seat (not mine, I'll have to find another to use permanently) and wedged it into the Seven. I like the way it looks and feels, so I think this will be my seat setup. Nice and affordable, too! This allowed me to confirm that the shifter position was good. I'll need a fairly deep spacer to make that steering wheel fit, but that's quite easy. All I need to do is check measurements for brake and clutch pedals to ensure they're not going to end up in some bizarre location. It's looking like a car right now!

I also looked at my steering column a little more. I've got an extra u-joint and it looks like I'll have to use it. I might be able to avoid that but the column would sit further away from the frame. I'm not completely decided yet. I need to get a welder into my garage so I can tack these things into place. On another note, it appears the shift mechanism for my transmission is wrecked. That's too bad, as it's a fairly low-mileage tranny. There's a 200k mile one sitting around our shop right now. Hmm..
entry 115

I got ready to re-assemble my donor transmission and whoops!
Bent shaft and a broken housing. Good thing I have access to lots of dead transmission parts.
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Seat test fit! This is going to work well.
entry 117
A side view.
Obviously this car could deal with a much taller driver.
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In order to fit the seat into place, I had to remove the recline mechanism.
I'll have to make a bracket to fix the seat in place.
entry 119
Steering shaft cam!
The shaft will go from the rack at the bottom of the photo, through a rod end then on to the firewall. I'll need three u-joints.
entry 120
My new throttle body in place.
I'll have to make an adaptor to put this 1.8 piece on a 1.6 intake manifold.
entry 121

February 13, 2004:
With a bit of unexpected free time (from the amount of work I do on this car, you might think I have nothing BUT free time), I puttered around with the car a bit more.
I'm not 100% sure what (if anything) I accomplished but it was fun enough. The throttle pedal and steering column are ready to bolt into place but I'm going to hold off on the pedal until I have my other pedals in place. The motor mounts are ready to be installed and I'm making progress in hunting down some donor seats. It helps having Miata friends all over the place. Of course, if my donor car hadn't been so comprehensively stripped I wouldn't be looking. One other small problem is that the reverse switch on the transmission is going to interfere with the bodywork. Not a huge problem really - I can probably light up the reverse lights with a dash switch.

GRM has discovered a problem with their car. The diff moves under acceleration and hits the frame. It turns out that CMC has added a front mounting point for the diff on my frame and that should hopefully avoid the problem. The stiffer, Shoe-Goo'd bushings should also help.
entry 122

February 14, 2004:
The transmission is fixed up and ready to go now.
I've got a working engine ready to drop in with the tranny. It's not the "real" engine for the car but it will allow me to troubleshoot the wiring, etc. I haven't decided exactly what engine will be going in the car, but both of the likely candidates are currently powering Miatas so it'll be a little while before I pull one out.

I've managed to find a driver's seat from a 1995, so there's that problem solved. The steering column is bolted into place and the motor mounts are drilled and ready to go. The next big job will probably be the wiring while I wait for my fuel cell, tie rods and other bits to arrive.
entry 123

Found my driver's seat!
entry 124
In order to fix the transmission, I need to pull off the extension.
Interesting stuff - I've never been inside a tranny before.
entry 125
Putting some undamaged parts in the extension housing.
I have to keep the same housing because the VIN is on it, and I need a paper trail for the tranny to show it's not stolen.
entry 126
The tranmission is ready to be installed.
It took a lot of cleaning!
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The steering column is bolted into place.
I did a little cutting to let the wheel sit slightly higher. It's not enough to cause strength problems with the bracket.
entry 128
A stock-size steering wheel in the Seven cockpit.
That's a big wheel! It's originally out of a Canadian-spec 1990 Miata.
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There's going to be loads of room available to work on the engine.
I think I'll put the ECU on this shelf to keep all the wires in the engine bay. The hole is for the stock Miata wiring harness so I'll probably plug it.
entry 130
The new diff mount that was not on the GRM car.
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