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February 10, 2007 - I've added a guestbook to the site.
It's always good to hear from other people who are watching the race effort. So if you have a question, a comment, a warning or just want to say hi, have a look.
entry 49 - tags: announcements |
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 | February 11, 2007 - Before the hardtop can be used, it needs to be prepped.
Step one is to remove the remains of the rear window. It's possible to do this without breaking the window if you're careful. If you're dealing with a broken window like I did, eye and hand protection is a must!
entry 50 |
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 | February 11, 2007 - We'll bolt the hardtop on.
This means the very heavy latches need to be removed. These are held in with some industrial threadlocker. You have to be very careful not to let the screwdriver slip or you can easily round out the screw heads. A previous owner did just that on the screw closest to the camera. Some careful screwdriver work and I got it out - I've learned some good lessons about recalcitrant and damaged fasteners from my old Land Rover.
entry 51 - tags: weight loss |
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 | February 11, 2007 - Who would have thought there were so many parts in a hardtop?
By the time all the latches, weatherstripping, gaskets and brackets are removed, the hardtop is significantly lighter.
entry 52 |
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February 12, 2007 - The guestbook actually works now.
Whoops. Sorry to anyone who tried to sign it and wasn't able to - it's working now. Sign or read it.
entry 53 - tags: announcements |
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February 13, 2007 - Those with sharp eyes will notice some navigation changes to the site.
You can now read the updates in reverse chronological order - in other words, with the newest updates at the top. Click on the link at the top or bottom of the page that reads "Show newest first". The site will remember your preference. Feedback is appreciated!
entry 54 - tags: announcements |
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February 13, 2007 - We would like to welcome Corbeau as a sponsor of the Targa Miata team.
Corbeau will be supplying the seats and harnesses for the car. We approached them because we found their seats were the most comfortable of all the ones we've tried - and we've tried quite a few.
The FX1 Pro seat is also a very compact one that will fit well in our small car while providing us the comfort and support we'll need for a full week of racing.
entry 55 - tags: announcements, seats |
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 | February 16, 2007 - It's time to paint, so how do you move a chassis with no wheels or suspension to another part of the garage?
With these handy dollies, loaned to us by Flyin' Miata. It's kinda fun driving the car around on these, one person can easily maneuver it around the shop with one hand.
entry 56 |
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 | February 16, 2007 - In the temporary paint booth.
Some inexpensive plastic sheeting is used to contain the overspray and the fumes. The floor has been swept, vacuumed and mopped and still the plastic picks up dust with static electricity. Oh well, maybe it will hold it instead of letting it into the air. The car's awaiting one final degrease and then it's ready to start shooting paint!
The goal is to have the chassis painted by the end of the weekend. The other body parts will be done later, as it's the chassis that's holding everything else up at this point.
entry 57 - tags: paint |
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 | February 17, 2007 - Tah-daaah!
A white Miata. Okay, it's just the primer coat and there's still a whole lot to learn before we can lay down a good paint job, but this is a major hurdle. Tomorrow the top coat goes on.
I'm using HVLP equipment to spray - the lack of overspray is dramatic. This is good.
entry 58 - tags: paint |
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 | February 17, 2007 - This is the first car I've painted.
At first, I figured that changing the color of a complete car was a tough way to start - but really, it's a pretty good one. I can easily see where I've missed a spot or where coverage is uneven. Also, since the car is totally stripped, there are very few exterior panels where the finish is important. Most of the work is figuring out how to get paint into all the nooks and crannies. The engine bay is a pain.
entry 59 - tags: paint |
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 | February 17, 2007 - While the engine bay was a pain to paint, the roll cage was truly difficult.
First, I kept painting myself into a corner and making it difficult to access the next tricky spot. Then there's the problem of trying to get all sides of all tubes. It's not going to be fun shooting the final coat on this. Still, it looks just as cool as I'd hoped it would, as if the whole car was just dipped in a big vat of paint.
entry 60 - tags: paint |
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 | February 17, 2007 - The biggest problem is the paint on the rear fenders.
It's, umm, textured. Obviously more time learning the spray gun is required, and I've had some good advice on solving the problem. I'll sand this down before the top coat goes on. Oh well, if I didn't want to learn I would have paid someone else to do the work instead.
entry 61 - tags: paint |
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 | February 18, 2007 - Hi Mom!
entry 62 - tags: paint |
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 | February 18, 2007 - The finish coat is on now.
It's much glossier than the primer although of course it didn't cover up the orange peel. I didn't bother sanding it down.
That peel came from a total misunderstanding of how to set up the paint gun. I've got that sorted out now, only to discover that my grades in high school chemistry don't apply to the real world - I forgot to mix in the reducer! Doofus. This meant the paint went on fairly thick. Exactly what it means to the finish I'll find out.
It's not a big deal, however. There are only two exterior panels on the chassis, the two rear fenders. When it comes time to paint the other body panels, I'll take the lessons learned here and apply them. I'll also sand down these rear fenders and shoot them again. Of course, they'll be covered in stripes and sponsor stickers anyhow so it's not a big deal. In the sunlight, being white, the surface imperfections won't show up all that much.
And the most important thing is that I can now start bolting parts on to the chassis and building it all up. From here on I'm in familiar territory - I might not have built a rally Miata before, but I've built cars!
entry 63 - tags: paint |
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 | February 18, 2007 - The plastic I hung for the "paint booth" had a useful secondary purpose - the static charge on the plastic trapped all the overspray dust!
If I wanted to sound high-tech, I'd say that I painted the car in a custom-made booth with heat lamps (those halogens are hot!) and electrostatic dust traps.
A happy side note is that almost no fumes ended up in the house. This is good for domestic peace, as that windshield is still in the spare bedroom...
entry 64 - tags: paint |
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February 19, 2007 - There's a small change in how the site's set up.
The diary entries now indicate who's written them and we're not going to use the third person anymore. This will probably be less confusing and certainly easier to write!
Eric's doing a bunch of research into rally computers, maybe he'll chime in with a few notes.
entry 65 - tags: announcements |
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 | February 19, 2007 - While looking at the pictures of the painting, I realized I hadn't put up any shots of the overall car with the final coat.
It's a very white car. I have a few factory "Crystal White" body parts to compare it with and this one is much brighter. Are the old (repainted) parts the wrong color, or did the paint shop give me something a little extra spicy? It's supposed to be the standard color.
There's one good way to tell - I have a factory white 1991 hardtop that's in as-new condition. I'll have to see how it matches the car.
entry 66 - tags: paint |
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 | February 19, 2007 - The best paint finish on the car is on the roll bar.
This is probably because I had my little detail gun set up better than the larger panel gun at first, so the tight areas got a better primer coat. Or it could be a reflection of how much time I spent on each section! Regardless of my talk earlier, the paint on the fenders isn't all that much worse than some other paint jobs that I've paid for.
For those who are wondering, the materials for the paint job came out to about $230. This includes a gallon of reducer (which is, umm, untouched), solvent for cleanup (lots left), the mask (read up on isocyanates to freak yourself out), lint-free towels, 2 quarts of paint (half gone) along with hardener and a quart of primer (all gone) with its hardener. I think that's about it. The guns were a couple of inexpensive Harbor Freight units that had received good reviews. The compressor was a 60 gallon 3.2hp Porter Cable that can move about 14 scfm at 40 psi and is completely unfazed by the amount of air used for the painting.
entry 67 - tags: paint |
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 | February 19, 2007 - If you paint with HVLP, this is the overspray you can expect.
That's from the engine bay and I think it's mostly primer from when I was trying to figure out how to lay the stuff down. I used the engine bay as my primary practice area.
entry 68 - tags: paint |
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THE DIARY