A Kiwis Series 3

[danny]

Wouldn't risk it like that! If a broken-off piece of metal get jammed in the steering collom.... ,

[ian65]

just drop the steering lock / ignition barrel off Jesse and have a look at it, you'll see if it's broken or damaged.

[Hobbawobba]

Thanks guys. Yeah I wasn't keen on driving it with it broken. I got back to the car yesterday and the lock had started working again.. Weird. I'll be keeping an eye on it while I get my coilovers sort out. An impact gun would definitely come in handy with this job

[Hobbawobba]

Okay. Update time. I'm not sure what happened that day with my steering lock. But it was fine next time I got in the car and has been fine since. haha

So I got all my wheels sanded down on the lathe. I probably should have started with a more coarse grit sandpaper. But I'm pleased with how they came out. Borrowed a small bench grinder from one of the guys I work with and got to work with various compounds and mops! What I like about polishing is with each step you progress, the quicker each step takes to complete . A beefier bench grinder would have helped also - but this one done the job just fine.



I got some genuine SSR valves (and caps) from RHDJapan to go on the wheels. Along with some custom delrin centres caps and stickers that came with the 2nd set of Longchamps I bought. Done some research on the limited amount of 14" tyres that are currently available. I wanted something pretty sticky to keep the power down. I don't plan to be driving in the wet very often and I'm sure a lot of you are the same. This allows me to go for more track orientated tyres. Came to a choice of either Toyo R88R which is the best tyre and very track focused - but was about £100 per tyre . Or Nankang NS2R's which seemed to be geared a touch more toward the road side. These cost £60 a tyre from a few big retailers Ebay stores. Both come in 185/60/14. I went with the Nankangs as I had read pretty good things about this particular tyre and it works out to be a lot cheaper than the R88R's! Very pleased wit how they sit on my 7 inch wide wheels! Having covered a few miles I highly recommend them - they feel super sticky. Good price too. I did get caught in the rain which had a few scary moments going the national speed limit . That's expected though. They should be fine for just pottering about in the rain.

I always knew the wheels would be a tight squeeze under the arches. Especially the rears. 14x7 +11 fronts, 14x7 +-0 rear! Steve-A had mentioned a few times about the front arches rolling and pulling quite easily so that was no worries. The rears being double skinned on the other hand . Bought myself an arch roller off eBay and got to it.

Before




After



The rears were bloody difficult, but I managed to roll the lip and pull the arches a touch. Could do with a tiny bit more really. The drivers side arch probably sticks out a touch more than the passengers, but it shouldn't really be noticeable. Turns out the passengers side was a little rusty too and I ended up making a rust hole while I was rolling away . Fronts were easy. Probably rolled the drivers side more than I should have

By this point I had taken my front suspension apart and cut the strut tube while leaving approx 20mm of tube leftover. This picture was just rough cut.



I had the coilovers welded up by the same friend who done my engine mounting bracket and modified my swirl pot. Rears were already on as previously posted. I believe I got one of the first sets ACBRON made for these cars (at least internationally anyway ). They were a very long wait as he was still designing them. I'm stoked as with how they came out though. POR15 on the dust shields and bottom parts of the coilovers. New sway bar end links while I was there too! I should get some new discs really









Got the ride height set to a point where I'm pretty happy with it. There is probably a few MM difference between sides but it's cool for now. The arches have all rolled/pulled slightly different so it'll be difficult to tell anyway . Driving on the coilovers is pretty nice! I only have them set 2 clicks from their softest at the moment as UK roads aren't very great aye. I'll have a play around with different settings soon though. Obviously being coilovers, they will be more stiff than standard lowering springs. Which means I have to be one of those guys avoiding manholes and slowing right down for speedbumps now

My nearside front guard had rusted off down on the sill during the engine swap so that was one more thing to sort out! Not the most pretty of repairs but it does the job. Getting that seam sealer off was a ballache! Didn't seem to be any hidden issues behind the wing at all. I looks like I have only taken pictures of a cut up piece of bodywork and not the final result


I bought a few goodies a while ago from back home in NZ (https://franklineng.co.nz/collections/mazda). Replaced my side mount alternator bracket with their one. I also got around to installing their short oil filler neck, filler cap and billet dip stick which cleaned that area up quite a lot. Reasonable pricing too! The standard filler neck was filling up with white crap from not breathing properly. Thankfully this new one has a -10AN tapped hole for me to eventually install a catch can




My boost controller had a broken cable right at the terminal/plug that goes to the display unit. Steve tried helping me by soldering it back on but that only lasted a brief amount of time. Something more had to be done. After researching online for hours I finally managed to find out the terminal and plug type! Only a few pounds for a bunch of terminals off eBay which was good. It was no easy task to crimp these on as the cable was so small and I don't have a crimping tool for this small a terminal!! Finally managed it though . The picture will show just how small these things are haha.



It fixed the issue where the display unit was cutting out. But the controller can sometimes be a bit dodgy. The plug from the solenoid is missing part of the plastic connector so will have to try and find exactly what they are now. It can hold on properly if it's positioned correctly


My radiator hasn't had any overheating issues. But I did notice is was getting quite a bit of crap inside it. I bought a bunch of white wine vinegar to try and clean it out with. It did help get a bunch of stuff out (I flushed/reverse flushed it also). Ideally I want to buy a nice 3 row aluminium radiator and get my EWP adapter on. But this will cost quite a lot so can wait for the moment. Filled with some fresh Bluecol and distilled water.



Stolen a few FDOC meet pics from my thread I posted. Along with some 7's day pictures I snapped on my phone at Caffiene & Machine where I met up with Dave







The car is FAST. It's surprised a few people so far who cut me up and whatnot . A C63 AMG in particular hahaha. Still debating my rear end LSD options. Think I'm swinging towards an OS Giken diff and billet axles. As if I get a beefier rear end then I'll still have to buy an LSD for it? I dunno. It's a tough decision

I think that's all for now. Thanks for reading

[KiwiDave]

That's a good progREss update and nice work with the wheel polishing

With the sort of horsepowers that you are trying to transfer to the tarmac, you'll definitely be needing that LSD, especially when you are channelling your inner Mad Mike with those drift angles

[Hobbawobba]

Hahaha I'll get there at some point.

Took the 7 for a very short drive last night. Goes around town quite easily. Was mainly testing out to find a good position for mounting the camera

[ian65]

that sounds really sweet, what camera are you using, looks pretty stable

[JamieR]

Only got through a few pages atmo "youngling"

I dunno what impresses me more, the crazy HP in a car that weighs as much as a bag of paperclips, or the powerplant and box in the back of your Toyota hahaha

Ill tackle the rest of the pages laters when the dragon has durge on the TV !

[Hobbawobba]

Hahaha the mighty Yaris does well! Good to meet you guys the other night aye!

[JamieR]

Great thread Jesse

Great car! Im really jealous of your FB.

I'd be glad of an FB with bicycle pedals.......

Can't wait to see it again but close up this time

Ditto for Friday night..... You're one of the nicest guys anyone could meet