The Miata experience: his and hers.

On Monday we hung around town in Ouray to avoid being on the highways.  We had lunch at the local Thai restaurant... although I can't say the food was all that spectacular, the view from the rooftop dining 'room' was!

While in town, I spotted a cool JDM Pajero...

And a heavily loaded Porsche...

On Tuesday, we went back to Silverton, and over Cinnamon Pass.  We had wanted to do Engineer Pass from the West side (we did it from the East previously), but the local scuttlebutt was that several miles of the road on the West side were in extremely poor condition.  We had reports of 2+ hours to traverse a one mile section, and a high likelihood of vehicle damage unless you were driving a very high clearance 4x4.  Which we weren't...  So we decided to go over Cinnamon, which is a pretty easy drive and into Lake City for lunch.

After the pass, we took a side trip up American Basin

And to the Carson Ghost town... a steep and windy road that isn't particularly difficult but very narrow.  On our way into Lake City we saw more local fauna.

And all too soon it was time to weigh anchor and head for home.  Coming home we took CO 145 over Lizard Head Pass into Cortez.  One of my favorite roads, but not so much pushing 43k gross combined... LOL.

I did stop at the top for an obligatory picture.

Over the decades, I've made that stop many times...  here's just a few.

We originally intended an overnight stop in Flagstaff, but with 6"+ of rain in the forecast from hurricane Lorena, we decided we should try to get home before it hit.  So we made the near 800 mile run home from Ouray in one day... about 13 hours of travel.  It was a long day, but I wasn't as wiped out as I expected I would be from driving the motorhome that far.

Anyway, another great trip in the books.  And of course, Lorena made a left off of Baja and we didn't get a drop of rain!

Now that we're back, it's time to get back to work.  First priority is swapping the 6 speed in the NA out for the 5 speed I picked up a couple months back before our next track weekend at the end of the month.

The 6 speed is out, now I need to prep the 5 speed for installation, but had a bunch of other stuff to do today and tomorrow, so it will wait until Thursday.

I had a trip planned to Ouray with my dual sport in the middle of August, then found out my son had a soccer tournament that same weekend in Ft Collins.  So once again I wasn't able to ride down there.  Maybe next season...

In reply to docwyte :

Lots of fantastic dual sport riding all over the San Juans!

Cut the 5 speed to clear the K24 starter...

...and got the 5 speed installed.  Need to fill fluids (waiting on a couple quarts of the Motorcraft unicorn tears), install the exhaust and shifter.  ... and remember the 5 speed shift pattern! 

Since I'm still waiting on the transmission fluid for the NA, I got into a project for the truck today.

The 2500 has been a big improvement over the dually in comfort and driveability.  As a result, it's getting driven more, and will likely be our go-to road tripper.  The combination of comfort and range is the best in our fleet for long-distance travel.  I wanted to add some storage that was more secure than simply locking things in the cab or bed, so I drug out an old truck box that I had mounted on a hitch carrier a few years back.  Today's project was to build a mounting frame that would raise it off the bed floor so I could at least use the full length of the 6.5ft bed for items a few inches tall (lumber, plywood, steel stock).  Frame bolts to the bed, box bolts to the frame.

I know that these boxes aren't all that secure, but combined with the locking cap it should be enough to defeat the lazy thieves.  IME, most thieves are lazy, and the ones who aren't are probably going to get in regardless of your efforts.  

Paint is drying on the frame, but installation will have to wait until I have time to pull the cap off the truck...  I don't think I can maneuver the box into place without dropping it straight in from the top.

In other news, the truck also got some new wheels.  The stockers were just a little too much chrome.  New tires (larger, and A/T) will have to wait until I burn some more miles off the perfectly good tires it had when we bought it.

That's a great color on 4th gens. Also wheels are nice! 

Does it ride better than the dually and that's why it's more comfortable?

In reply to docwyte :

Short answer is yes.  Longer answer:  the dually was actually pretty comfortable.  Roomy, great seats, but the ride wasn't that pleasant over rough pavement when empty.  The 2500 is exactly the same cab/interior, but the suspension is a little softer, so it rides better.  The 2500 also has taller tires, which also provide more compliance.  The other factor is gearing... I bought the dually configured for heavy towing with short gears.  The 2500 has longer gears, and effectively has a higher cruise speed on the highway.  The dually got 17mpg running 70mph, and the 2500 will get 19-20 running 75-78mph... makes it a much better road tripper.

Made some good progress in the shop today.

First, I got the NA transmission swap buttoned up, and took it for a test drive.  All is good, and definitely not as much frantic shifting...  looking forward to some track time.  I do need to go back and look at how I configured the gear display, because that's now off.  I don't remember if it was a math channel in the ECU, or if I did it in the PDM.  When I got back I rearranged the shop to do some work on the Capri.  That update will be in my Capri thread.

Next up was finishing up the toolbox install in the truck.

I got the mounting frame painted and installed, in the process discovering I didn't need to remove the cap.  I just had to pull the clamps that secure it and I was able to maneuver the box into position.  Frame installed:

The box went in without any problem, but I need to make a hardware store run for some proper mounting bolts.  I found enough in my nut/bolt jars to get it secured, but they aren't really the right sizes.

Still have room to slide a 2x4 under the box with the rubber mat in place, and I can remove the mat to gain another 3/4" of height if necessary.

NA Miata is pre-flighted and ready to go for the track day this weekend.  I had to go into the ECU and figure out how to change the gear signal to reflect the 5 speed that's now in the car, but I think I got it figured out and the dash displayed the correct gear on a quick test drive.

Also moved some trailer that was still in the stacker from our last trip to the single trailer, and cleaned it out.  If you're considering what kind of floor to put in your enclosed trailer, get a 'coin' floor, not a 'diamond plate' floor.  The diamond plate is much less cooperative when sweeping and requires a vacuum to really get it clean.

Well... E36 M3.

Trackday canceled due to Flood Watch announced by the NWS.   If their predictions hold to pattern, we'll get .1" of rain....

I've been trying to get on a mailing list for a local, private cars n coffee for over a year now.  Went to one with some friends awhile back and loved it.  Finally got on the mailing list, last cars n coffee for the season this Saturday.  At the exact same time as my sons soccer game!  Doh!

Although some areas of AZ did get significant rain and flooding out of the storm, neither our area nor the track got much.  And of course the day of our track day it was 75* and sunny... perfect weather.  I get it though... there are several water crossings (when it's wet) on the road to the track that could have been an issue.  It was the right decision to cancel.  We (and the track) just happened to be in a band between storm cells that didn't get much.

So, anyway, I'm planning to AutoX the NA on Sunday.  It should be a little better with the 5 speed, but I won't get any useful data until I can run it at a track where I have 6 speed data.  At least the car is already prepped... LOL.

I spend the last several days doing some work on my Capri, and with that finished, the NA moves back to the front of the shop.

Since we didn't get to race last weekend, I took the NA to AutoX again yesterday. 
It turned out to be a pretty good day. Weather was nice, in the mid-80s with a bit of a breeze, so not as unpleasant as our last AutoX. I ran in the A group again, so had the disadvantage of cleaning the course off for the B group. The whole course was 2nd gear except for the start. With the 6 speed, I would have been on the limiter at the end of the slalom, but I don't think the trans was a factor either way for this course. Even with the longer gearing of 2nd in the 5 speed, I could light the tires anywhere I wanted. The good news was the all-conquering CAM-C C5 'Vette that usually dominates wasn't present, so I figured I had a shot... and I took it and ended up with FTD. 

No pics, but here's the video. The AiM camera restarted itself halfway through the run again, so I think I'm just going to have to turn off the auto start/stop for AutoX.
 

The run looks pretty sloppy, and it was, but it was what the car wanted yesterday.  My smooth runs were all slower than being super aggressive and over driving the car...  which is the opposite of what I usually see.  

Finally uploaded some pics from last weekend.  NA and NC ready for AutoX

Cool Midget that showed up for AutoX

Wanted to take the Interceptor for a ride the other day and found a puddle underneath.  Turns out the clutch master was leaking.  At first I thought it was the piston seal, but the diaphragm that seals the lid was torn and leaking from the top.  Fortunately the fluid didn't damage the paint, because that would have been a near impossible fix...

 Local Honda dealer didn't have the parts, so they're inbound...

Tomorrow is one of the 2 big car shows here each year.  I have the Capri all cleaned up and prepped, because that's what I planned to drive this year.  Even bought it some fresh 110 to top off the tank.

Unfortunately, the current forecast is for rain... and the Capri doesn't have wipers.  I'm keeping a close eye on the forecast, but I got the BMW ready to pinch hit if necessary.

Well, I took the Capri to the car show... and got rained on.  LOL  Not a big deal.

Today it was back to work on the Interceptor, since my parts arrived early.  Comparing the new master cylinder seal to the old one, you can see just how much it swelled over 18 years...

It was also obvious that there was quite a bit of moisture in the master.  I sucked out the fluid in the master, cleaned it and filled with new fluid.  Out of an abundance of caution, I did the same for the front brake master.  The seal wasn't as swollen as the clutch side (and it wasn't leaking), but it was on its way...

The fluid that I pulled from the masters was pretty bad.

I'm going to plan a full flush and bleed for both systems, but I didn't want to get into pulling bodywork, and the brakes are a complex job so I'm going to come back to it later.   Right now I'm 50/50 whether I'm going to de-link* the brakes anyway so I might as well wait until I make that decision.  And I'm starting a project on the truck that needs to get done, so I don't really have the time available now.

*The Interceptor has 'linked' brakes, ie. when you apply the front brake you get 2/3s of the front and 1/3 of the rear, and when you apply rear brake you get 2/3 rear and 1/3 front, roughly.  Not one of Honda's better ideas, IMHO.  I like my motorcycle brakes completely separate.  De-linking the brakes separates the two like a normal bike, and has the added bonus of greatly simplifying the brake bleeding procedure and removing weight.   It's not a difficult job, but involved and requires sourcing brake calipers and fork lowers from other bikes.  Fortunately, it's almost entirely bolt-on, but if the forks are coming apart, that's a great time to go through the valve stack and respring.  And if you're doing the forks, you really should do the shock... so it's a project that will snowball.

Been working on a truck project for a few days.  I installed a grille/brush guard on my dually a while back, mostly to provide a way to mount some good LED driving lights, a very nice thing to have here on the rural highways and interstates.  I loved the lights, but didn't really care for the brush guard.  It made cleaning the front end and servicing the headlights difficult, and I thought it would look overly clunky on the 2500.  So I've been looking for ways to mount a set of lights.  Most of the aftermarket bumpers for this generation RAM are way too brodozer for me (not to mention absurdly expen$ive!).  I found a light bar that mounted behind the factory tow hooks that wasn't bad, but it was nearly as expensive as a front hitch I was also looking at.  A front hitch can be handy for a lot of things, so I ultimately decided on the front hitch, and then I would fabricate a 'bull bar' for mounting lights.

The front hitch is a nice piece made by Torklift, and it's mostly concealed in the bumper when mounted.  It mounts directly in place of the factory tow hooks, so no fabrication is needed, and it's easily removed.

First up was figuring out how to handle a near 50lb hitch by myself, while using both hands to deal with mounting bolts, when I knew it was going to have to come on/off the truck several times during the fabrication process.  Low profile transmission jack to the rescue.  A few 2x4s, a couple feet of 2x2 square tube and a couple c-clamps later, I had a hitch jack.

Next up was pulling the factory tow hooks, and test mounting the hitch.

Are you going to make the bar mount to the hitch? I like it! Take a look at how some bike racks wedge into place, you could make it pretty solid.

I like push bars over bull bars myself. 

Next up was figuring out the light mounting bar.

I had started by roughing in a bar with 1.5" round tube and bending it to a profile that would work.  My plan was to weld in some 1/4" plate inboard of the tow hooks as a base to mount the tube so I did the first mock up with the factory tow hooks in place.

Once I had the height and light locations figured out, I added mounting tabs for the lights.

Now that the mounting bar was ready, it was time for a place to mount it.  I did some CAD work to pattern the pieces of 1/4" flat stock I would use, and then cut those out with the band saw and welded them onto the hitch.

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With the mounting perches welded it went back on the truck for final fitting of the bar.

With the bar tacked in place, it came back off the truck for final welding and painting.

Once the paint is dry, the hitch will go back on the truck, and it will be time to start working on wiring.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Ha, you got me while I was typing part 2.  

Bar is permanently mounted.  I wanted to keep the hitch clear.

I nearly went for a full push bar mounted off the hitch (the brush guard on my dually was mounted to the same tow hook points), but decided to be a little more minimalist this time.