Post Wedding Work!

So I was a little distracted for the last couple of months getting MARRIED and didn't have much time to devote to the ol' spit. (keep the applause to a minimum) After a wonderful wedding in Lake Tahoe and a fantastic honeymoon in Mexico it was time to get back to work. I used rattle cans to finish off the trunk in black in preparation for padding and carpet. As I said before...I felt there was more value in luggage space. I'm also thinking of sourcing a similar sized space saver spare for emergency use.

With the floors coming together it was time to start sorting out the Miata seats. I've really only come across one article on the installation of Miata seats in a Spit where the owner constructed custom brackets to compensate for the Miata seats' angled legs. Although this seemed like a reasonable solution it also sounded complex. The seat rails are straight with simple bends on each end to mount to the Miata's floors. I simply flipped the seats over and using some leverage straightened these angled portions of the seat rails. With straight rails it was simply a matter of finding hardware to mount to the floor. When it comes to seats, safety is a concern so I opted for grade 8 zinc plated 1/2" bolts.

Using a combo of the 'eyeball' method and measuring the seat rail's length and distance from the sides of the frame - I was able to position the seats where they fit inside the vehicle and also operated in both tilt and front/back planes. The seats weren't quite high enough with the bracket resting on the pan so I ran the 1/2" bolt through the pan, into a 1/2" nut, through the bracket, and then secured by another 1/2" nut. This essentially raised the seat by the height of the one large 1/2" nut which was just enough clearance to position the seats perfectly. I was also concerned with the strength of the pan in a being secured by large nuts so used approx. 2 1/2" diameter washers to sandwich the pan, thereby distributing some of the load in the event of an accident. The seats were tight but having high back comfortable seats was a saving grace.

My birthday was also over the summer and Mandy was nice enough to 'gift' me a steering wheel of my selection for the Spit. I really wanted something classic like a woodgrain steering wheel which I plan on matching to the shifter trim and dash trim that I plan on constructing. Looking at new wood wheels was kiling me as they were approximately half of what I paid for the WHOLE car. Hard to justify on the first pass. I finally settled on a wheel in ebay located on Japan. Alhtough skeptical about overseas shipping the guy had impeccible reviews and so I locked in a Nardi 13" wheel and horn button for a decent price. It's in great shape and I love the color of the wood. It's gonna be a great addition - although I now realize I didn't source the hub at the same time. Ack. Oh well...add another task to the list.

Mandy and I have been keeping an eye out for houses in Marin to purchase and surprisingly ..RIGHT after we were married...we found a great deal and -lo and behold- we're buying a house. Although I'm super excited this also means I need to get this thing running in order to make the 20 mile trek up to San Rafael when we move. Some time ago I pulled off the carbs and linkage because the whole thing looked like a rat's nest, not to mention it was running super rich and stunk up the area while running. There were wires holding the linkage together, stripped screws, springs running from the linkage down to the suspension components...it was a mess. I pulled the whole thing apart and rebuilt the carbs with new floats, gaskets, and valves, cleaned the throttle bodies and interior to remove all the old gunk and carbon, and even took a shot at polishing the SU housings although I ran out of time and effort towards the end. I was also really disappointed in the way the linkage was set up...it seems ridiculous that there is not a set screw to synchronize the two carbs at an open throttle position so I used some of my old Datsun 240Z knowledge to fab up a set screw to achieve this. I also replaced all the old linkage bolts with stainless hex head bolts that are easier to tighten without interfering with the linkage itself. While doing this I also drilled a small notch in one face of both the mixture adjusting nuts so I can count how many rotations they have been adjusted. Seems basic but it was a great help on the Datsun. I now have the ability to synchronize the SU's at idle and also at an open throttle positon via the set screws which will hopefully keep brain damage to a minimal when setting the carbs. While firing up the car I noticed the rear carb is not getting fuel adequately...so I'll have to tackle that shortly. I have a feeling the float may be binding in the chamber. I should have a couple more pretty quick updates since we'll be moving this sucker by Feb 1. Whew!