[davew]

Time has come to open up the Alien and see what she is made of.

A week ago, I took a day and did the suspension kit install. This is the Bilstein spring and shock package. Also installed braided steel brake lines.

The springs are definately stiffer. I just guessed on ride height and may have gone to low in the rear as I was hitting the bump stops on every ripple in the road. But huge difference in handling. Since this car is destined for the race track, I don't really care about the comfort of a soft ride.

The kit installed easily without any real hassels.

I also installed the Goodridge brake line kit. Minor fitment problems with the lower end of both rear lines. Nothing a couple minutes with a die grinder cound not fix.

Last Monday, I removed the AC assembly from under the hood, and installed the AC delete kit. Typical quick disconnect hoses, no surprises there. Removal of the condensor was a bit of a pain. The entire front end is held on by 6 bolts and a bunch of clips. Kinda like a jigsaw puzzle, with the last piece bolted in.

Saturday the interior came out. Up to removing the dash, everything was straight forward. Just like the bumper, everything clipped together with just a couple attaching screws.

The dash was a real pain. There are several hidden bolts, like the radio bolt shown in DIY section. 2 bolts are under the hood coming into the car and 2 are from the drivers door jam.

Here are a handfull of pix. More pix will be posted to mz2speed.com

Dave

 

[ZoomZoom]

that looks wicked! thanks for sharing the pic's and write up.

what are some cars you hope to smoke on the track once this green beast is track ready?

please post more pic's here and if you can some DIY's, i know i can make use of those


be-careful with posting links, not sure if the admins will be happy about that.

Best Auto Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

 

[davew]

Did a lot of work on the roll cage. Main hoop is temporarily installed and footings are made. I hope to have the basic cage done this week.

I have a plan for mounting the Sabelt race seat that we are using.

I also put on a set of Lamin-X head and tail lite covers. I think the yellow tint goes well with the green paint. We use these on the Miatas a lot. Once I get the 2 store up and running I will offer them there.

Dave

 

[CommanderBob]

Embedded for ease of use.

I don't like the hidden bolts. Makes things a pain to remove, you aren't sure whether to just pull or if you need to dive in and find something else.

Pretty scary lookin without a dash Nice work!

 

[CommanderBob]

 

[davew]

We are heading to Road America in the morning. We managed to get the basic 6 point roll cage completed. Still have to make door bars and assorted cross braces. But the basic design work is done.

The Sabelt full containment seat is installed with Safecraft 6 point restraints.

As you can see in some of the pix, we are installing the graphix as I type this.

If anyone is coming to Road America for the SCCA Runoffs, stop by and say hi, we will be in the Mazda paddock in turn 14.

Dave