Three things:
Did you edit post #448 and change the first pic?

I think the black trim on the white S5 looks great.

Holy crap! That's amazingly useful, I've been wondering how I was going to drill for the mounts.
Thank you so much.

 

As far as the mirrors go, mine are plasti-dipped so I don't get any of the sandblast effect. At least I haven't noticed any yet. And I think they look good.

 

My bad, I kept posting humongous pictures and went back to fix them. I was studying for a final last night so I was looking for any available excuse to take a break Here is the original picture (the seats are from a convertible FC):


I'm glad the mounting picture helps! Whenever I see anyone talking about installing a duckbill spoiler I try to post it up, I hacked up my first FC bad when I installed mine. One warning though- I've never verified the measurements as someone else created that picture. I wish I would have when I owned a true 'sport' model FC.

 

Denver has a problem with dust, what with the semi-arid climate, droughts and such.
The nose (obviously) and the mirrors are grit blasted all the time.
That's annoying, what's worse though is windshields.
Mine was only two years old and really needed some sort of remedial polishing.
Wouldn't hurt this car either.

I installed new Silverstar headlights, everything works.
Filled the windshield washer reservoir and had my first leak.
The output tube (not currently connected to the hood) had fallen down and was draining the tank as fast as I was filling.
Oh how we laughed about that.

That got me wondering...
What do we think is the over/under on number and severity of leaks I'll have?
Every single thing that contains or moves fluid/air/vacuum has been fucked with, so the number of failure points is high.
I'm very confident of the brake hydraulics although they have yet to experience boost assist, so I'll check them again later.
Cooling and lubrication are a mystery, as is the vacuum spider.
Of course, this assumes she'll start.

And speaking of ignition...
All I need now are the oil cooler lines and exhaust manifold.
Both of which have been sourced locally and I await details on picking them up.
With those in hand, I'm only hours from startup.
In a perfect world, all this happens in the next few days.
We'll see how it goes.

 

Ah, I was thrown by the shape of the headrest, which looks OEM but not standard FC.
That's how I noticed the edit...the revised pic doesn't show the seats as much and I wondered if I'd hallucinated the profiles before.

I'll confirm your dimensions as best as I can and then you should see about getting that little dollop of info stickied.

 

Somebody should re-draw that. Are those measurements Center to Center or edge of hole to edge of hole? Sorry, **** Architecture experiences coming out in me. Maybe I should re-draw it; I would if I knew the answer, lol.

 

I'd assume center to center but it's a distinction worth clarifying.

I think the flaw in the layout is the lack of a distance between the first two studs in the center.
Using the edge of the brake light as a reference point is extremely vague, you could double check the layout if overall span between those two studs was specified.

 

Yea, that would make things easier. Seems to me the center keyhole would have been a better reference point, but hey you get what you get.

That said, after thinking about it I'm going to agree with going black on all the trim. Yeeeeeaaaaaaa.

 

Things moved forward at a rapid pace lately, first ignition is scheduled for tomorrow.
I have the stock exhaust parts to complete the system.
I bought a very nice set of braided oil cooler lines but they require fittings that I don't have (nor did the seller).
Accordingly, the original stock hoses will go back on for the nonce.
I was replacing those hoses as a preventative measure, not out of necessity anyway.

Mounted the front license plate...I figure a bit of disfigurement was a fair trade for deleting a "Hey, look at me, Officer!" trigger.
To minimize paint damage (kind of silly given the condition of the paint), the plate is mounted on two of those rubber standoff dealies (official factory term) and the plate itself has a closed cell foam backing about 5/8" thick.




Cycled through my steering wheel collection and decided to try the Miata Momo wheel.


Finally got some semi-retina friendly pics of the bay:






Depending on my tolerance of the cold (because of course! the temp plummeted when I'm ready to hit the garage again...), she could fire up tomorrow afternoon.

 

Woot! Good luck! Looking at the bright side... Cold air is denser and up there your car needs all the oxygen it can get! The engine bay looks really good. I think you have almost made it servicable for non-contorsionist!

 

I still employ teenage Chinese gymnasts to change fuses in the footwell.
What with the recession and all it seemed dickish to lay them off.

I'm pretty sure that the oil cooler hoses I bought yesterday are the Mazdatrix version. If so, the adaptors I'm missing for the engine side are available from them.
That's nice but doesn't help me today.

I can either install the old hoses, order the fittings on Monday and swap them out next weekend or, wait for the fittings to install the hoses and start the car.

The first option allows for immediate startup.
The second delays start but is much cleaner as there's no oil to drain.

Don't think I'm patient enough to wait but there might be a slim chance the fittings are available locally, so I'll explore that first.

 

Oil is cheap and cleaning out the oiling system isnt a bad thing. I'd buy a cheap Fram filter, put the existing lines on, put cheap Walmart dino oil and start that puppy up!

Oh, and there are American gymnast who can use the work now that the Olympics are over. Of course instead of the adoration you're used to on the forums you'll get this...



when she looks at your car.

 

first, i really like your license plate thingee, foam is a great idea! (why didn't i think of that?)

second, that streering wheel is perfect. looks great.

third, engine bay looks great too, except you really NEED a black oil filter, and you know the airbox looks out of place somehow, it doesn't match the intake or sumthin...

 

I normally just use Mazda filters and they are black.
This Wix, besides being a respected name, is reputedly the largest filter that will fit the pedestal, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.
The airbox, eh?

What is it that irks you...the shape the size, the Mazda logo?

I installed the exhaust, which only took about ten times longer than it should have.
So much easier when the LIM is off.

Fortune beamed upon me and a Hail Mary run to 3R Racing provided the required adaptors to make the braided hoses work.
They were more expensive than from Mazdatrix but I was so impressed they actually had them on the shelf that the price seemed fair.

Can't say I'm impressed with the fit (both hoses seem a bit long) but they're not a danger, so I figure they're better than what I had.
Pics will follow eventually.

She was ready for fluids and then I pulled the EGI fuse and hit the starter to prime the oil pump.
Starter seemed healthy enough.

Reinstalled the fuse and decided to go for the big one.





And she started right up, first try.
No ****, just started like nothing had happened.
Went through the cold start routine, dropped down to 1200 rpm, then finally down to a steady 750.

Smoked like a sumbitch for about five minutes, then damped down to nothing.
Not a wisp since.
Smelled hideous from the ancient gas in the tank.

Shut her down and started checking for leaks, nothing apparent yet but I don't think the thermostat has opened.

Decide to risk a trip to a nearby gas station and fill her up.
Trip goes off fine, return home and leave idling with hood up.
Stand and stare at it till the efan kicks on and after a minute or so, cycles off.
Check for leaks again, still nothing obvious.

Decide on a longer trip to pick up a celebratory Ben & Jerrys and went about 12 miles in mostly suburban traffic.
Nothing fell off and outside of the smell of paint being first exposed to heat, nothing smells funny.

There are a few glitches.
The hatch light in the warning cluster is always on. I'll check the wiring when I'm back there installing the (greatly anticipated) wing.
The steering column surround rattles.

So far, that's it.
Seriously, she's driving very well, especially given the depth of disassembly.
Going to rebleed the brakes now that they've gotten a little use and need to execute the Hawk bedding procedure (which I'll need to look up again).

Transmission/shifting is tight and precise.
Tracks straight hands off.
Revs to 7k with no hesitation, no hot start problem.

May be some exhaust leaks, will check that (and everything else underneath) as the brakes are bled.

Frankly, I'm as stunned as I am pleased.

 

I don't know about him, but for me it's the cold air scoop being hacked down to a 1/4 of it's size and enlarged as if you've got some sort of ram air scoop on the hood funneling down into it...What's that all about? If that's the case, pics from outside? If not, Why? I'd imagine where mazda put it originally was about as good as it was going to get, unless you modified something else somewhere (like the hood). Unless, looking at it again, you just did it so you could still get some form of coldish air into the stock airbox but not have a massive intake dangling over open-ness, seeing as how you don't have a fan shroud on it. (Well you do, but not the stock one...)

 

CONGRATS!!!!! Proves the point that taking your time and not hacking **** pays off Enjoy it man, you deserve it!

 

i'm sure the filter is fine, it just the wrong color, ultimately it doesn't matter

the airbox, i think is the wrong color? i'm not sure.

its weird when you have a car that far apart and upon startup it just works perfectly, i expect SOMETHING to be off! (flat tire, idle needs adjustment, etc etc)

my P port car was like that too, it took a while to get the carb jetted right, but aside from that its run like a stock car, its eerily docile

congrats!

 

It was cut down because the original shape did not clear the efan (see post #63).

It's a work in progress, a first step in a multi-stage concept.
To date my prime directive has been getting her running, niceties like the intake are not a priority yet. Given the seasonal temps (i.e., chilly), I could dispense with the snorkel and just suck air from the bay and probably not see much affect.

Believe me, I'd much rather be blue skying the intake but cannot be distracted yet.
I need a few more miles and then a stem to stern fastener check and general visual inspection.
There will be a wing to mount and fluid levels to monitor.

Long as the intake isn't hurting me, it can wait.

Of course, now y'all have me rethinking the airbox altogether, damn it.

 

 

I figured that's probably what it was. I've been trying to think of what i could do with mine but from what I've read around, unless you're turbo small changes like that won't affect power to a noticeable amount.. so for now I'm just running an open element filter. I like the throaty growl it gives off

 

the FUNCTION of it seems totally fine, its an aesthetic thing, and it might just be the camera

 

Damnit, damnit, damnit.
OK, I'm thinking about it.

Meanwhile:


Spent a fair amount of time under the chassis again, rechecked all the bolts, inspected for leaks...a general lookover.
Bled the brakes, got just a few microbubbles, calling them good.

Cleaned up and installed the undertray:


She performed well on two short trips, no weirdness, no glitches.
Idle is a little high (825-850 rpm) but steady.
Should probably check the thermowax and TPS.
Still need to bed the brake pads.

Speed racer is GO!

 

I've succumbed to peer pressure and while making coffee this morning, stared at the airbox with a more critical eye.
There are two objections to removing it, not coincidentally, the very reasons it's on there now:
-Everything fits and bolts in nicely. The MAF, the filtered feed to the airpump...even the little molded in clip that routes the MAF harness...it's all there.

-Once removed, what's left is an oddly convoluted set of hoses, their shapes contorted to fit around the very component just removed.
Admit it, when looking at a stripped bay, the upper radiator hose is screaming stupid as it bends and wends it's way around the now missing fan shroud and intake snorkel. The intake tube takes an inexplicable dive towards the framerail, etc.

It all makes sense if the layout remains complete but remove a major piece (like say, the airbox) and the logic falls apart.

If the objections are primarily aesthetic, I can see two options.
Remove the somewhat garish Mazda logo decal and hit the bare cover with some satin black paint.
Those should minimize the visual impact and bring the color in line with the rest of the bay.

I've mentioned before that there is a second iteration of the intake already on the burner.
While working on my Dad's LS400, I noticed the intake snorkel is much like ours. The remarkable aspect is that there is already a pocket molded into the underside that fits the Taurus fan shroud perfectly.
A little quality time with a hacksaw and that baby would be perfect.

Adding such a snorkel will also significantly alter the overall visual, it's a large (about the same width as the airbox cover) flat, black plastic piece that will extend the width of the radiator.
I'd planned on making a new panel for the upper nose section that extends over the top of the rad and would meet the snorkel. Because the passenger side of the front would be filled with the airbox, I'd extend the panel on the driver side all the way to the strut tower fusebox.
In fact, I've been thinking of this for a long time and the eagle eyed might notice that I've already added brackets to bolt this extension into.


(Although exaggerated , this is a general idea of the snorkel shape/size to show the visual weight it carries.)

Until this second step is executed, I can entertain ideas about finish but the airbox has to stay.

On Friday I had the pleasure of meeting ScrapFC up in Ft. Collins to get exhaust parts.
He's quite knowledgeable and a real enthusiast.
He has a RB dual header on his car and it sounded very nice compared to the stock setup I have, which sounds tinny to me.
My friend Sigfrid thought it was fine, so maybe it's just me.
I'll get some more thoughts when I run her to Precision to show off my work.

Oh yeah, about the hatch warning light...I opened the hatch and closed it with a bit more authority and the light went off.
So, the wiring is fine but I should check the switch alignment on the latches.
Easy enough.

 

When closing the hatch you might want to press downward once again over the latching areas to see if you hear an additional click. If so, then you've realized one didn't catch properly. If it does this then it doesn't necessarily mean you must readjust the latch, but until then it means you must recheck to see if both latched properly. If either of the latches doesn't close properly then the warning light will turn on as both latches must work as designed to prevent the light from activating.

 

I honestly do think the setup you have going on with the airbox is perfectly okay. I didn't understand why the intake was cut down in size, but after you explained it to me it makes sense and doesn't bother me anymore.

However, if you're worried about aesthetics, I'd take a black paint that matches the intake tube and scoop and all the other black parts, and tape off the mazda logo and paint the airbox. IMO, i think taking the mazda sticker off just leaves you with a big empty boring space that's recessed as if something should be there. But freshen up the paint on the airbox and you'll have it looking A+ again.