Finally some progress on the Miata!

[THOR]

Well finally the guy has done some work on it, only took eight weeks and me going out there twice a week for the past 2 weeks to get on his ass about it :mad: On the plus side he is grinding everything down to bare metal and removing all the old bondo and re-doing it, every body panel was fuxed up and needed a lot of work to get right, he is also taking all the body kits parts off and painting under them. The front and rear drivers side fender had a lot of dents and dings and they look really good now, the blue stuff is stuff you put on to get rid of sand marks I guess. He's got the passsenger fender and the hood to do then the car should see some paint. Target finish date is Friday 5/27. Keep your fingers crossed ;) I am checking in on Monday or Tuesday to see where he is at.

[THOR]

Pic #2

[THOR]

Pic #3

[JDaniel]

Hell, just fire that puppy up and drive it now. Forget about paint. Or if you decide later on that's a must have, brush some on yourself - you'll save a ton of $$$. Stand up your CVs in the trunk, put on some Aerosmith, couple of top-down beverages, and hit the road.

C'mon - whatya waitin' for?

JD

[Army]

Hi Chris

Sounds like your body man is doing it right :yes:

Always hate seeing a nice looking car that's had the color changed and around the side mirrors and such you can see the former color :thumbsdn:

So what color have you decided on ?

You probably said one time or another, but I'm too lazy to look for it :D

[THOR]

It's a dark blue metallic pearl.

[bully]

Good for you, Thor. You'll be cruising top down before your know it!

[Army]

It's a dark blue metallic pearl.


Sounds Great :thmbsp:



Had a 68 VW in that color, looks great on a smaller car. :cool:

[RussinOhio]

Thor,

That'll be one sweet lil' convertable when its done! Cool.
If it were mine I'd have it in gloss black.....really set-off those chrome wheels!

Russ

[OvenMaster]

Thor, it's about time. I recall that other thread about the paint hassle. I agree that's a great color, too. I sure do hope that guy gets it painted in time so you could at least drive it some this summer, topless.

The car, I mean.

Tom

[shrinkboy]

thor-- i've been following along here since the beginning, and the thing i keep thinking about is thor fitting into the miata. reason being, i always thought miatas were cool and thought about getting a used one for a long time, until i actually sat in one. at 6'3" and 210, the wheel was against my thighs, my right leg was cocked way up with foot on the gas, no where to put left leg when not on the clutch...i realized it was impossible! not a 'tight fit' but impossible. aren't you a good bit bigger than i am? how ya gonna do it?

once a friend offered me a drive of his brand new lamborghini diablo. really. and i couldn't do it, for the same reason. could not safely operate the controls. ah, well...

[OvenMaster]

...the thing i keep thinking about is thor fitting into the miata. ...at 6'3" and 210, the wheel was against my thighs, my right leg was cocked way up with foot on the gas, no where to put left leg when not on the clutch...i realized it was impossible!
I'm 6' and 215, and I thought I was trying to fit in a thimble when I sat in one at a mall showing. Even with the top down, I bashed the left side of my head against the windshield frame as I got out. :cry: Thor, did you extend the floorpan and firewall forward for legroom? :D
Tom

[Rodzilla]

i used to drive the older miata's all the time,back when they were new and when i worked in the car rental biz...i'm 6'1" and about 190. things got slightly tight and claustrophobic with the top up but i had no problems as long as the top was down.

the miata's were fun little cars...tho some were more fun than others,they seemed pretty variable sample to sample...we had a red one that would simply smoke the other half dozen we had,it felt like it had about 10-20 hp more than all the others,which also varied from each other,but not quite so much...the cars had thier quirks...one thing i do remember,is to always latch the passenger side of the top first,i could never figure out why but if you do the drivers side first you'll have a devil of a time getting the other side latched,if you can do it at all...that was universal with all of em

[THOR]

i used to drive the older miata's all the time,back when they were new and when i worked in the car rental biz...i'm 6'1" and about 190. things got slightly tight and claustrophobic with the top up but i had no problems as long as the top was down.



Like Rod says I am 5'11" and 300 (was 350 4 months ago :thmbsp:) I expect to be around 280 - 290lbs by the time the car is ready.

But even at 350 I found the car more roomy with the top down than my GF's Intrepid but I cannot bear to be in it with the top up. Not really an issue since I only plan on driving it on sunny days. I did make custom door panels which get rid of the molded plastic door handle/elbow rest which frees up even more space.

I originally wanted a pearl black but after getting my new wheel (the old one are still on in the pics) the new wheels are gunmetal with a chrome lip and I didn't think black with dark gray wheels was enough of a contrast. Plus I heard that with black paint the body needs to be perfect since black shows everything, I figured I need all the help I can get and went with a different color. The other reason is that every Miata I see is either black, red, or green, I figured I'd be a little different.

[Rex B]

Hi Chris

Sounds like your body man is doing it right :yes:


No it doesn't. If he's using bondo, he's a moron. That's like watching MTV's "Pimp My Ride". You otta get real metalwork done if you're going to have bodywork done IMO.

[grumpy]

You still need a skim coat of bondo more times then not to smooth it out.

Body shops that use lead are pretty much long gone as well as most of the guys who knew the craft..

[bolly]

keep them pics comin' THOR :yes:

[Fast_Eddie]

That's going to be really sweet when you have it all done. Nothing like getting your baby back with a nice paint job.

I'm right behind you. My '72 Capri (more accurately, one of my '72 Capris) is heading in for paint this summer. I might start taking it apart this afternoon.

Good luck with it,

Ed

[THOR]

He welded metal in to cover the antenna hole and did on a part of the left rear quarter that was rusted out, he will also use metal for covering the washer nozzle holes in the hood. He pulled out dents and used some sort of pinkish fiberglass looking hairy stuff on some of the larger areas needing fill and like Grumps said he is skim coating with the bondo for the final finish where needed. Here is a pic of the TWO things that have kept my car most from being done, the guys two son's (my GF's nephews) stock cars that he built from junkyard cars:

[bolly]

he's been busy THOR :yes:

[Filmboydoug]

Like Rod says I am 5'11" and 300 (was 350 4 months ago :thmbsp:) I expect to be around 280 - 290lbs by the time the car is ready.



Keep it up my twin. Progress is success.

[THOR]

LOL I think this is the first time I have been down to 300 since about 10+ yrs ago ;) More importantly my cholesterol, insulin, heart rate, and blood pressure are all down to those of a healthy adult male that exercises :D

[philo426]

Rex,are you referring to using lead instead of bondo?Or are you recommending that the panels be replaced?

[opt80]

VCongratulations thor on the weight loss,I betcha that will be the best looking car in Maine

Alan