Mmm, I can't wait to see this at SS!

The cage is FINITO!

...and I think I've overused my girlfriend points with the boyfriend :/








...who wants to help me install the oil coolers now? (kidding. ....sorta.)

WOW I gotta see this FD @ SS!!

More pics please :)

Luving that roll bar!

I feel you pain on the Raceshop Rollbar Carol. See what I mean :D
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...X7Parts152.jpg




Car looks great!!

Sounds like you need to upgrade!

cage is in.
steering wheel is in.
i tried out the works bell quick release, but im so dang small that any distance closer that the wheel is brought in is...far too close, so i pulled that off and decided to use just the short hub alone (quick release for sale! ^_^ )
headlights are aimed and leveled.

hankook vs-2 tires arrived by ups.

you'd think i'd be ready to go to bring it back to Makito (the painter) to touch up, and finish the hood.

alas...my power steering rack took a dump.
it's spitting out royal purple power steering fluid like it ate a bad oyster, and i'm hearing an odd high pitched sound when i turn the steering wheel left.



....i don't know if the car will make it to sevenstock at all this year. i'm scrambling. we'll see :(



more pictures up of the interior all put together when i get my internet working again so i can get back on the desktop instead of using my work laptop.

Wish you luck! Should go with a manual rack :)

yeah - ive been trying to get ahold of Jon at Atomic Rex to see if I can get one of his billet racks...but he's not responded. Trying to find someone with a Skype account to try and ring him up for me now :/ hahaha.

Or just rig up a rude goldberg-esque steering system, using rope and pulleys attacked to your wheel knuckles :P

Hahahah. Maybe I'd be desperate enough to attempt a million pulleys and line to rig me up in another life where I've got two good shoulders, very little between the ears, and a thirst for amusement :D

update: More pictures I've been too lazy to post. The car has been put back together for the last week and a half...but I discovered that my power steering rack was spraying fluid - passenger side, right below the turbos, from the boot.
I'm trying to order an Atomic Rex manual rack for replacement, but no progress there. So...no car for Sevenstock....!!! Ah well, there's always next year, and hopefully it'll be more "Done" by then.

more cage pictures.
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sB/2001.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sB/2002.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sB/2003.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sB/2004.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sB/2005.jpg


interior:
I had a Works Bell quick release w/ the flip collar, but it brought the steering wheel in a bit closer. When you're short like me, you really don't need the wheel any closer than it already is, so I removed the quick release and ran with just the short hub and the adapter collar. Added in a suede Personal wheel (please excuse the yellow stitching...I got it for dirt cheap last year when Autobacs was liquidating hahah), a Mazdaspeed titanium ebrake handle, RE-Amemiya short shifter (did wonders for the shifter, the old oem one I had was shot), and some new bolster protectors for the seats.

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sB/2006.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sB/2007.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sB/2008.jpg

I also picked up some of the Hankook Ventus-2 tires that were on sale on tirerack. Good buy! Now hopefully, they fit. Hahahaha.

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sB/2009.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sB/2010.jpg


An overall expensive month it's been, between all the misc trips to McMaster-Carr picking up random hardware, getting some new tools that I needed to make life easier, tires, and picking up a set of the old N-Tech AP Racing bbk w/ stainless steel pistons, brake lines, and.....lots of going out for lunch and dinner.

hey! im running the same tires. just smaller.

YES. 315's FTW! Go meat or go home!

Whew! Who thought I'd have so much to update on in the last three weeks. Test drove the car today (pre-alignment). Definitely makes the S2000 feel like a Rolls Royce in comparison. Palms definitely feel like they're reading the road. It's a pain to turn sub 3 mph, but once I can get it inching, its a heckuvalotta fun.

1. Car is assembled again. Everything in the front half of the engine bay has been scrubbed clean.
2. Rewired my R-magic headlights one last time with a fire retardent loom
3. removed A/C
4. removed P/S
5. installed Atomic Rex rack (had a heckuva time trying to get it to align decently enough to drive off to get a full alignment and corner balance. Test run maybe this weekend before it rains?)
6. pulled off the driver seat again, undid the rails...and figured out how to move my seat up an additional 1 inch. Oh man, unbelievable bliss for my short self. Now its finally like heaven in the driver's seat. I don't know why I didn't do that originally. Maybe I was too lazy and eager to put the seat in and leave it there (over a year ago)
7. took off all the hardware for the supernow sway bar stuff and redid with threadlock - noticed it had backed out since the first time it was installed
8. washed a lot of bolts in Simple Green to clean up.
9. Warmed up the car once two weeks ago. Fans sound GREAT. None of that terrible broken bearing whine from before. I don't know why all the mechanics I used to go to sucked so bad that they couldn't foresee or diagnose a lot of these blatant issues like the leaking rack and the fan noise.


A few things I want to backdate to:
- well worth my money, the RS Engineering anti-surge tank cover, which turns the factory fuel control baffle into a sealed surge tank. Very well made, easy to install, with a viton seal.
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sfd/100.jpg

- Chadwick's idler pulley. Helps add contact surface to the water pump pulley, which becomes an issue after removing the air pump. Well put together kit, and when I noticed the initial bearing provided seemed faulty, they changed it out asap and warrantied it. Great service! Waiting to put this on, because I'm not sure if I want to yank my engine out first for a rebuild in preparation for the single turbo..... spoke too prematurely? Maybe.
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sfd/101.jpg

- maintenance item, new clutch switch courtesy of Ray from Malloy Mazda and his great prices
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sfd/102.jpg

- My secret santa Elfster exchange w/ my friends scored me a much more sensitive Air Temp Sensor for me
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sfd/103.jpg

- lastly, I've been eyeing this for a while...a braided stainless clutch line upgrade from Japan2LA on the forums
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jrsch22a/fd3sfd/104.jpg