Slowly Reaching The Goal

Whew.. I've gotten a lot done the past week or so to the car and just wanted to take a moment to post some quick pictures. Big thanks to Jeff, Mike, Shane and Jordan for all the help in making this project go faster. Started off with the stainless steel brake lines and clutch lines with Jordan. Then, Mike swapped the rear brake calipers to my other ones (painted black), installed the two-piece rear rotors and pads. Then Jeff managed to figure out how to put together the new Ohlins as the instructions for them (with things like the delrin adapters) were less than helpful. Shane mounted the battery in the stock location and drilled holes through the stock battery box, and tied it down tight. We then managed to swap the OEM pulleys to the new SpeedSource pulleys. I can't remove the A/C just yet though unfortunately as I forgot to evacuate the system first.Lastly we patched up the interior again by installing the harnesses and fixing the airbag warning for the steering wheel, as well as getting the horn to work. I'll be writing up a DIY for that very soon.Everything is coming along smoothly though so I'm pretty excited. Once I finish swapping out the rear differential, and get back in the front control arms with the new delrin bushings, we can start putting in all the new suspension, finish up the front brakes, and then a full brake/clutch flush. I'd say this is the only real "big" part of the project, as the rest of the things going on are just small one-offs here and there. Stay tuned.

Interior Touchup

Just wanted to give a couple of quick photos of the interior since I managed to finish it up tonight. I need to figure out how to make the horn work and block out the SRS light, so that will take me a little bit. Once I do though, I'll most likely write up a DIY on doing an aftermarket steering wheel.

Build Progress

It looks like everything is progressing slowly but surely. So far I'm putting in a few hours of work on the car almost every night after work. Next up is stainless steel brake lines, stainless steel clutch line, two piece brake rotors, brake pads, and then a full system flush with ATE Super blue. After that, I should have my Drop Engineering delrin bushings to put in, and then probably rear differential. Still working out details with the upcoming coilover kit.This year I'm aiming for a few SCCA National Tour events as I think that would be a lot of fun, especially getting the rest of Black Halo out there with me to check out the scene. Depending on Shane's schedule, he may also be bringing out my Miata to have some fun in STS at a National Tour here and there. Over everything else though, priority number one is to get this car chasing Evolutions and STI's on the autocross course in BSP!

Blog wise, I'd like to do a build comparisons; more specifically a BSP RX-8 against a STX RX-8. Many people favor STX due to being much cheaper than Street Prepared since you run on street tires, and there are more restrictions on modifications. If I'm going all out with this BSP build, I'd like to get as much data and comparisons as possible to see if competing with the RX-8 in Street Prepared is really worth it, or just a dream I keep chasing. Until then, stay tuned.

Double Trouble

Hey viewers! Many things have been brewing up on my end in the past month as I've recently acquired not only my next project RX-8, but a project Miata as well! I was always juggling the idea of getting a Miata in the first place, and decided that I should just go ahead and pull the trigger on one now, that way I can have a daily driver and secondary autocross car for fun while I work on the RX-8.

Serenity - The RX-8 is a 2005 model, sport trim with no options at all (which is exactly what I wanted!). She was purchased from a dealer in Tennessee, so I flew out there with my teammate, Shane, to go secure the car. On our way back home we stopped at the Tail of the Dragon and had some fun in the mountains there (the new banner being a picture I took before entering the Dragon). A long ride home after that, but it was nice to go on a road trip for once. Needless to say, the moment I arrived home, I was already starting to throw parts I had on hand into the car. Ruby - The Miata is a 1996 model, base model with power steering. A good friend of mine was looking to have this taken of his hands and I was more than happy to oblige. With amazing aftermarket speakers and a nice alpine head unit, coupled with a few other goodies, all that is needed is suspension and wheels for a decent STS car. Ruby won't be mentioned too much in my blog as I want to keep my focus on rotaries, and my racing with the RX-8, parts I've come up with and work with Black Halo, etc. Below are some pictures that were taken during my trip to Tennessee. Be sure to keep an eye on my project page for Serenity as parts that I am planning on using could change anytime! Look forward to seeing progress posts with teaser pictures, DIY's, and more so stay tuned!