build diary

May 24, 2004:
When I realigned the rear cross bar (I don't know the "official" Locost tube number), one of the vertical supports no longer lined up properly.
It's ugly but it should be hidden. Now my rear body panel will fit and the car will look more symmetrical.
entry 312
The replacement control arm from CMC was sent in two pieces so that I can weld it into the exact alignment for my car.
In order to get everything properly set up, I did have to move the forward rod end (on the left of the picture) out a bit further. But now the arm is nicely centered and everything is in place.
entry 313

May 25, 2004:
I decided to weld up a new upper control arm for the driver's side ret lastar wheel as well, as the existing one was a little crooked in the brackets when installed.
I had a hard time cleaning out one of the threaded tubes for the rod end - it's almost as if it were the wrong thread as it was tough going the entire way down the tube. Still, it fits now. Now that both arms are welded I can put a new coat of POR-15 on everything and get it all reassembled. Hopefully the gas tank will go back in without causing any more damage to the rear bulkhead - there's a small crease where I had to force it on the way out.
entry 314

It's good having motorcycling friends.
Here's a pretty little muffler with a carbon fibre can. It's small but I might give it a try. The price was right!
entry 315

May 26, 2004:
Back into the black paint.
All the welded bits and my new parts are getting the POR treatment. It's about as exciting as watching paint dry. Oh, everyone's a comedian. Anyhow, I also received a CD of photos from Heikki Rinta-Koski. They include a number of closeups of the CMC build at the Walter Mitty last month, a visit to the CMC factory and some detail shots of a Westfield. The Mitty photos will likely be quite handy as I reverse-engineer the parts and show some interesting modifications to the frame design. The CMC factory visits include a number of detail photos of Wade Horwood's factory-built version of the Miata kit. Wade had mentioned his frame was sparkly green - he wasn't kidding!
entry 316

May 28, 2004:
The newly welded suspension arms are back in place and fit nicely.
The brake system is now sealed up and partially full of fluid - although that was not without some excitement. By mistake, I ended up with some British flare nuts and US fittings. The threads are compatible but there's an unthreaded portion at the beginning of the nuts. This makes it very difficult to get everything properly lined up and tight so I've replaced a few of the nuts with spares that I have around. That was not a happy moment as all the parts came from the same hydraulic shop - I don't think they realise that the parts aren't terribly happy together. A Westfield owner emailed me to mention that my vertically mounted brake pressure switch will be a perfect place to trap some air bubbles, so I'll see if I can lay that down.
entry 317

May 29, 2004:
Engine swap time!
Yup, significant things are happening. The engine destined for the Seven was in my Miata street car. Note the past tense - it took me 70 minutes to pull it out this morning. Hey, I literally wrote the book on this one! Actually, if you've seen my book, you'll see this very same engine going in to my Miata. A couple of hours of hunting down parts that had been scavenged from my "new" engine for the Miata and it's ready to go back in. Once I find the clutch alignment tool, anyhow. We've got a new tech at the shop and he's not sure where to put things back yet.

Last night I also reinstalled the fuel cell and bled the brake system. I've got a nice firm pedal now. Things are starting to get exciting!
entry 318

Engines everywhere! The "donor" Miata (in better shape than most) gives up the powerplant for the Seven.
entry 319
Now that's an engine that is worthy of a Seven.
11:1 compression, ported head, cams, all forged and balanced internals...and it's pretty.
entry 320
My trick dual plate Kevlar clutch.
Super light with a smoooooth engagement.
entry 321

May 30, 2004:
The Miata is now up and running with the "new" (original) engine in it.
So I'm ready to have some fun with the one for the Seven. It does have some bad valve stem seals so I'll fix that quickly. I'll probably install the engine in the Seven first simply because there's so much room available to work on it.
entry 322

June 1, 2004:
A bit more puttering around with brake lines and a long-overdue garage cleaning and the frame is ready for the engine!
I also redrilled the rear for the rear body panel and it looks good. The front fender supports were installed and it quickly became obvious that you can't bleed the brakes with them in place. Given the expected use of this car, that's not going to work. I can modify them easily enough to make this possible.
entry 323

June 2, 2004:
Much excitement!
The engine is in! Brian, the new tech at Flyin' Miata, came around to my place after work and we dropped the engine in place. It went in fairly easily but was a tighter fit than I'd expected. Once the front pulley slipped in behind the top of the frame it all went easily. Brian's done a fair bit of fabricating and the motor mounts gave him a bit of a laugh - they're hugely overbuilt. Beats the alternative...

So there we were, standing in the garage. We had a car up on sawhorses and an engine hoist. Time to put the car on the ground! We bolted on some wheels, tossed the seats in and carefully lowered the car to the ground. I got all excited when the front touched down and the suspension compressed - it's like the car came alive! The suspension was set at the lowest point because it made it easier for me to play with it, and this put the car pretty much right into the dirt. We measured about 1.75" between the oil pan and the garage floor. Hmm, maybe I should raise this up a little. Playing with the steering revealed that one of the joints in the column was slipping a little but that was fixed with a bit of welding. The car looks even smaller on the ground. After a bit of fooling around, we lifted it back into the air to make it easier to work on.
entry 324

The braking system is all done.
entry 325
The rear body panel is fitted into place and shaped to fit the round upper bar.
entry 326
Brian came around to help me fit the engine.
Here he's putting the engine and transmission together.
entry 327
The engine going in! Brian didn't do ALL the work, but it certainly would have been more difficult without him! This job would also have been simpler if we'd been able to come in straight from the front.
entry 328
It's a giant bug!
entry 329
Because we had the hoist, we put the car on the ground.
Wouldn't you?
entry 330
Yup, I'm happy.
entry 331
The beastie on the ground.
It looks a lot smaller down there!
entry 332
A weird view of the car.
You can really see how far back the engine sits.
entry 333
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