My brief hardtop worklog

[Clean_Cookie]

more pics in daylight. did the cheap thing and just took the photo inside the car haha.
looks the goods!

[marcs_sp20]

your hids are green

[Clean_Cookie]

the shop tinting was green!

[Clean_Cookie]

crooked i know but it wasnt peeling of well at all so it was a bit of a battle but happy ive got one now!

[Clean_Cookie]

so an update... finally had its first service. mechanic was really helpful, friendly and did a good job. was cheaper than expected too! well worth the effort of losing the car for 24hrs!

heres what was done.



- comment on the prices please so i know what to look out for in the future, but personally i thought it was good value...not having to do the messy/annoying jobs :P

also ordered a radiator from Greg which will be here tomorrow hopefully... = ill have a fully functioning happy little astina again! kudos to errol (mechanic @ caltex toowong) for tightening up the suspension and getting rid of the strange rattle! it was actually a little weird driving home and not hearing any clunckty clunk noises from anywhere... after the radiators fixed ill tackle the engine seals then start on the interior and seals... (i.e. the expenisive mazda only parts! :-(

[project.r.racing]

remove and replace drive shaft
labour

are they not the same things?

[Clean_Cookie]

a quick copy and paste!

well today i went back to the wreckers as I needed a motor for the drivers door for remote locking... and a relay... SO BLOODY HARD TO FIND A RELAY IN ANY CAR! dunnno who stole them all but eventually found one in a BG which worked so now i have fog lights all wired up and happy as larry.

also completed the drivers window with previous experience and measurements didnt take 1/2 as long especially with the help of my girlfriend having fun making rubber circles!

its still wobbly and dunno exactly why but its heaps better than it was and doesnt stick up liek a shark fin or rattle with it down when shutting it as much

so the rear ones will be done at another stage but for now they can be forgotten about

also replaced the top strips with new ones and now the car looks scmick again (as long as you dont see the dent in the door :P

also received another set of ballasts and 4300's this time which were alot bluer than anyone had led me to believe... so my advice to anyone new getting them go for the 4300's! as they are as i sort of expected - a "cool white".


bought an alarm from jaycar - expected to pay 329 but he obviously screwed it up or the shelf price was wrong but at $180 i was stoked! like tony's...

install will happen on the weekend hopefully... tonnes and tonnes of wires... anyone wanna come help (i.e. the professional amongst us ) hence the trip the the wreckers. need to get the drivers passenger one though as silly me fogot about the whole mirroring trick in Left vs Right sides... and mazda wasnt nice enough to give me a handy dandy bracket to screw the motor too unfortunatly... so yeah productive day with the flu and feeling miserable.

pics as always
















Highbeams, lows and fogs:




Lows and Fogs:


Lows:

[Clean_Cookie]

Well ive lost my car again... this time to tint-a-car @ Milton. Getting my windows re tinted after finally fixing my window rollers... got a few quotes from various convient places and they pricematched. originally quoted $100 to strip + $595 for lluma tint and managed to get it for $100+ $350 without even showing them a quote or evidence... so perhaps not the cheapest but they took it today (11am) and hopefully ill have it completed this arvo

[Clean_Cookie]

Tint isnt as dark as i would have liked/hoped for but its darkest legal so whatever... finally got my alarm installed and working properly after hours of frustration. least i know a bit about the wiring in the car now and peace of mind after discoving how easy it is to steal these wonderful machines!

[Clean_Cookie]

so... some more updates.... began designing brackets for some gas struts i got off a relatively new kia yesterday @ the wreckers for $20... what do ya think!!! i think its pretty awesome. ill remake the brackets in thicker steel once i get it sorted. the steel ones can live on there for now... will spray them black too.











oh and some progress oon the headlights too:



oh also forgot! got my alarm working well, and painted my headers with 3M engine paint and then did the stupid thing of driving about an hr later. basically it burnt it off and looks a charcol colour except on the block where it hasnt gotten as hot and stayed stuck... so ill get the wirebrush and wet and dry onto it on friday and re-do it. Finished my cup holder painting too (first time ever using spray paint on plastic! didnt turn out too well but good enough. for a cup holder. going with the silver and black theme inside the car. pics when its installed. have to swap over the HU and then put it in the top space so its not hitting the gear knob. running out of money.

[mikey_something]

did u take them out to paint them? and did you give them a clean first or just paint?

[Clean_Cookie]

ill upload pics when i get home but i used a green scratchy pad (for washing up) to score the chrome, then sprayed 3M plastic and vinyl primer (its a clear spray) and then regular black/clear paint over the top... turned out quite well.... the little parkers look pretty awesome too...

[Clean_Cookie]

ok update from yesterday. removed the rocker cover, cleaned inside and out, cams were in great condition visually which was good, sanded the cover, degreased it, spent ages removing all the little bits of gasket goo from the edges, painted it in matt black, then after 4hrs picked it up and it was still wet underneath so now it has my finger-prints all over it. nevermind. put it back together, painted the exhaust headers mattblack and looks good. just have to scrape off the paint covering the raised writing and polish it up. also reassembled the dash, sorted out the mess behind the HU- preventing it from going in all the way, butchered my holder to get my cup holders to work, swapped the HU position from top to bottom, put the holders in and now am annoyed i painted them. woulda looked better black - what they were originally! sigh. ill pull them out next weekend and start again!

bought some autosol polish and the MS strut brace came up really nicely.

all in all a pretty productive day.

[Clean_Cookie]

well today i replaced the gearlinkage bushings/bolt, and discovered that one of my rear tyres is wearing(and is now illegal!) on the inside severly. any ideas how to look into this/recommeded settings for a wheel alignment?

thanks.

[RustyKaos]

Take it to a wheel place and get an alignment as this should fix it up.

[Clean_Cookie]

i did last time... when i got 2 new wheels on the front... not real impressed. will get it done again when i buy 4 new tyres in january (by then the fronts will be pretty worn) and will replace them with ku36's

[RustyKaos]

When you got the fronts done did they do a full all round alignment or just the front?

[Clean_Cookie]

all i thought... only cost $40 cause my mates parents own the shop (bob jane taringa) but usually 77 or 90 or something

[project.r.racing]

camber or toe wrong?

settings for street use would be 0mm toe and up to 20'-30' camber.

[Clean_Cookie]

added some blue 8.8mm top gun leads. $124 from supercheap with the usual discounts. stock ones were due for replacement as one had cracked and was arcing ocassionally against the rocker cover... i shall see how it goes when i drive it again...