The Rosie update Thread
 

Well, I figured it was about time for an update seeing as Rosie is dangerously close to being on the road for the first time in a year. To get the car back on the road I need to do the following:

-Finish up the front suspension (eagerly awaiting the Respeed front sway bar)
-Put fuel pump cover back on underneath
-Put some sheet metal back on
-Put fenders back on
-Gas it up
-Tune the engine

Here is a list of everything that is on the car, or that I have done to it that I can remember. It is going to be a whole different animal than I've driven before. My 1985 GS "Ricky" was pretty heavily modified, but I think that Rosie finally has surpassed him.

-Racing beat header into two magnaflows into a OE style muffler
-Rebuilt carb with mechanical secondaries and accelerator pump mod
-Racing beat air cleaner with K&N filter
-Holley FPR & summit pressure gauge
-Rats nest & emissions removal
-Jeff20B channeled manifold trick
-AC removal
-Taurus electric fan conversion
-2nd gen front mount oil cooler
-stainless steel clutch line
-Racing beat light steel flywheel
-New exedy clutch & pressure plate
-New clutch hydraulics
-Miata short shifter
-Grant steering wheel
-2006 Miata seats
-Removed radio, speakers, & wiring
-Added a fire extinguisher
-Tokico shocks & struts
-Racing Beat springs
-New ball bearing idler arm
-Full energy suspension bushing kit
-82 GSL LSD pumpkin swapped in
-Completely new braking system, everywhere
-Working on refinishing some + wheels
-New tie rod ends

Still to do:
-Make triangulated strut bar
-Get tires mounted
-2GDFIS
-Carter fuel pump
-Optima battery & relocation
-Other stuff that I've probably forgotten

I think that pretty much says it all for now. If you guys have any questions fire away. The pictures are worth 1,000 words of my typing though.

More pictures

Even more pictures

Final round of pictures. :bigthumb:

What seats are those hammy

2006 Miata. They fit in the car really well, but I had to make new brackets for them to fit right. I was going to use the Miata brackets, but the seats were off center with them.

spectacular! i really like it

looks like a beast

looks amazing!! i love those seats!!! the car is extremely clean and looks great! this started out as an S model didn't it?

Rosie was originally a GS. Now I guess that you could call her a GS(L). Thanks for the comments guys! I'll keep updating this thread as the project progresses...

Nice! What jet sizes and porting have you done?

Looks very clean Jamie. You'll always appreciate it when you pay that much attention to doing it right the first time. Keep up the good work :D.

so did you have the open diff before? Were you able to swap the LSD pumpkin into the open diff housing?

Jeff, I haven't made any changes to the jets yet. I thought that I'd see what I thought of the current setup first. I'll likely try playing with them though, just to get some experience. I'm sure I'll decide that I want to make some adjustments some time down the road. What sizes have you had success with in the past? Mazdatrix carries replacement jets for the Nikki don't they?

By porting, are you referring to the intake manifold runners or the actual intake ports on the engine? I haven't done either, but was just curious which you were referring to. My engine only has about 85k, so I'm going to run it for a while before I crack her open.

Tallbozo - Yes I had an open diff before. As long as you get a diff that can accomodate your axle size, you can swap it. For instance, my car originally had the small axles and big driveshaft flange. So, I got an 82 GSL diff. It had small axles and a small driveshaft flange. I had to get an 82 driveshaft also, since my 83 driveshaft would no longer work. So basically, make sure your axles match the diff, and get whatever driveshaft you need afterwards.

Jamie

Thanks, that'll save me some money looking for another diff.

Looks sweet, very similar to how my old 82 was. It should scream.

Looks amazing. Love the detail you put into your car. What steering wheel is that by the way?

Steering wheel is a Grant Formula GT if I remember right...

Looking good man! Got any pics of the seat rails you made?
Oh and shame on keeping the drum brakes out back ;)