Ok, I've got the car ordered, about to start stripping the donor, a '90 model with an '01 drivetrain, 6 speed & 3.90 torsen. Looking at the XP3 build, I'm thinking about taking off the control arms and getting them powder coated. I've looked at some of the tubular aftermarket, but haven't found a justification for spending the extra money (unless someone convinces me otherwise 
) I'm planning on redoing all of the bushings, Koni yellows with Ground Control coilovers. 1.8 brakes, will do new hydraulics on brake & clutch. There is already a custom header on the car, but thinking about intake and other options that I can be looking at before I get the car and be planning ahead. I'll be using the car as a hill climb/time trials car, and occasional street terror. Looking for input on things that I should address while doing this, and ways to get a little extra power out of it. Not interested in forced induction, I figure it's going to be plenty of fun normally aspirated, but a few extra horses won't hurt. One of the areas I'm thinking about is the V8 Roadsters balljoint swap. Anyone on here done it? Curious about the tack weld statement on their website Ball Joint
Plan is brilliant red for the body, crushed silver for the frame
Hey Hoser,
Welcome to the pack of crazies. You've got a few options on the upper control arms. The easiest option is to simply powdercoat the subframe bits glossy black and then rattle-can the upper control arms with the upper ball joint taped up. If you prep the UCA nicely and spray thin coats, the final result will be near-indistinguishable from the other powdercoated parts. We've seen a few customer cars like this, and we only knew because they told us.
We used those V8R ball joints on XP-3, and they have not given us any problems. The weld recommendation is new for that particular part, but is familiar to those that press the originals in and out. It's not a bad idea, but obviously it requires welding two parts with nice finishes, which kind of defeats the whole point of the adventure. The upper ball joint sees very little pullout load in a Miata, and obviously you're putting it in a car that's ~900 lbs lighter. I won't tell you to ignore the weld recommendation, but I will say there are many dozens of Exocets in the UK running around with the original UBJs that were pressed out and then back in.
Warren,
Thanks for the feedback. I like the thought of having a serviceable ball joint without having to replace the entire arm, that was part of the appeal of the V8R ball joints. It would be nice to have new ball joints with no question of age/wear going into this build, so I'll probably go that way. I like your idea, I think the gloss black subframes & crushed silver will look good together. I'd like a little pop on this, detail out the suspension and everything to make it blend and tie in together.
Have y'all thought about putting in a mount for a receiver hitch to allow for towing a tire trailer? With that set-up, this would be perfect for being able to drive to the autocrosses & be able to swap to slicks there instead of settling for street rubber. Also, that way it could be powder coated instead of having to grind & weld one on or figuring out a way to bolt something up.
Oh, and I just ordered a steam cleaner after seeing the pics in y'all's build thread
Ben at DIYAutoTune is currently building one with a custom trailer hitch. I'll point him to this thread. As for a factory option, I'd like to make it happen, but the reality of the situation is that our sales are exploding, we're moving to a new building, and I'm 100% focused on getting production up to speed and perfecting the quality of the basic kit. Gimme a couple months. There are packaging difficulties with most exhaust options that make a factory-option more challenging than a one-off.
A little bird (okay, spreadsheet) told me you're local, so you have the option of picking it up bare and then bringing it back to get powdercoated after you make your mods.
Now, all that said, there's another option. A certain board member here has transported tires on his by ratchet-strapping them to the curved outer tubes (with towels as padding). Seemed to work very well, and has the added benefit of looking sick.
Warren v wrote:
Now, all that said, there's another option. A certain board member here has transported tires on his by ratchet-strapping them to the curved outer tubes (with towels as padding). Seemed to work very well, and has the added benefit of looking sick.
Pics or it didn't happen!
Cool! Yep, I'm just up the road from y'all That would be cool! I'd love to see what Ben comes up with, also like to talk to him about what DIY can do with an '01 to up power/improve response.
Well, considering he's using an '01 in his personal Exocet with the exact same goals, I think you guys will make good friends. I suspect the words "squirt" and "mega" are in order.
Of course poly bushings in the control arms as well. Quality coilovers (AFCO, XIDA, HVT). I'd be tempted to do the water pump/TB, seals, etc while the engine is out.
Remember for NASA TT, a tube-frame car immediately puts you at the front of the line. IE, you go into the TOP class. So if you want to be competitive, count on big Hoosiers, lots of Aero, and lots of HP.
HoserRacing wrote:
Oh, and I just ordered a steam cleaner after seeing the pics in y'all's build thread
Like... for carpets?
Or is there some awesome cleaning tool for oil, dirt, and grime that i didn't know existed that i need?
The car just had a TB installed before I got it, going to check water pump and seals while it's out. Planning on taking out the old bushings, powder coating the control arms, then putting the new ones in. Not worried about NASA TT, too expensive for me 
SCCA in SEDIV is great, about 1/2 the price, all the track time I want (3-4 20 min. sessions per day), and they do hill climbs. With their flexibility, I can find a class I'm happy in. Not as worried about winning the class as I am about having fun and seeing where I stack up against people/cars I know. I tell everyone it's like going to a family reunion, but you like everybody This is about fun, reliability, and being inexpensive. It will be a step up from the current Miata I'm running, but all the pieces are still familiar and I've got a ton of spares. I've run a nicely prepped SC Miata before, but at this point, I'm more interested in learning to drive smoothly and accurately than just point and shoot like I used to do.
Swank - Steam Cleaner Warren had a nice pic of what the steering rack looked like after cleaning it up. I'm thinking it will be very nice to have something without 100K miles of gunk on it while I'm working on it
That's not a steam cleaner.
This is a steam cleaner 
LOL! Love it Keith! Unfortunately, that would would raise an eyebrow from SWMBO when the credit card bill came in 
Started reading your book that I got from JJ the other day, like the tips for getting the bushings out of the control arms. I want to do as much of this as possible on my own, and tips like that keep me from having to buy a press I looked at some engine options from FM last night when I was too tired to read, but all of them kill the budget Would love to do a port & polish on the head, but I've got to stay cheap unless someone decides to buy my V8 Miata. That would definitely help the budget! Any suggestions for an '01 to pick up a few ponies? Already have header, test pipe & cat-back, not sure what the final exhaust solution will be, curious on how best to route the intake for an NA application. Heck, anything bolt on would hopefully be in the budget, just want to make sure return is worth $$. Thanks!
Awesome thank you for the link!
z31maniac wrote:
Remember for NASA TT, a tube-frame car immediately puts you at the front of the line. IE, you go into the TOP class. So if you want to be competitive, count on big Hoosiers, lots of Aero, and lots of HP.
WRONG SIR! Exocets have been classed as STR3, not SU.
Actually, you have to thank Warren, he put it in the original XP3 build thread, so I followed it. Love it when people make things so easy!!!
Warren v wrote:
z31maniac wrote:
Remember for NASA TT, a tube-frame car immediately puts you at the front of the line. IE, you go into the TOP class. So if you want to be competitive, count on big Hoosiers, lots of Aero, and lots of HP.
WRONG SIR! Exocets have been classed as STR3, not SU.
Interesting, didn't realize they had been "homologated" according to the TT rules. The rulebook says,
All sports racers, Radicals, tube-frame chassis, and prototypes will run in the TTU (unlimited) class unless otherwise specified in these rules, or granted a specific waiver by the National TT Director. (Note: Beginning in 2013, racecars legal for Super Touring R3 (STR3) will be permitted to compete in TT2.)
Yep. We got Homo'd. Kevin is working out the official waiver bits.
HoserRacing wrote:
LOL! Love it Keith! Unfortunately, that would would raise an eyebrow from SWMBO when the credit card bill came in Started reading your book that I got from JJ the other day, like the tips for getting the bushings out of the control arms. I want to do as much of this as possible on my own, and tips like that keep me from having to buy a press I looked at some engine options from FM last night when I was too tired to read, but all of them kill the budget Would love to do a port & polish on the head, but I've got to stay cheap unless someone decides to buy my V8 Miata. That would definitely help the budget! Any suggestions for an '01 to pick up a few ponies? Already have header, test pipe & cat-back, not sure what the final exhaust solution will be, curious on how best to route the intake for an NA application. Heck, anything bolt on would hopefully be in the budget, just want to make sure return is worth $$. Thanks!
Ah, the mythical cheap 20 hp.
About all you can do right now without opening the motor is to just get it the coldest air you can.
lol Ok, that's what I thought. In your opinion, next step up - engine management or head work? Biggest return for $$ investment? I know I figure I'm only looking at a few horsepower in either case most likely, but I don't feel the need to reinvent the wheel if someone else has done the homework, learn from them, do it smarter the first time
Headwork is a one-time job, engine management opens you up to much more. But it will also open you up to much more, so you're ready if you decide to go with forced induction. And seriously, you can get 15 hp from a good standalone. Just make sure your ECU can handle the VVT engine, that means a Megasquirt with an extra box or a Hydra.
Standalone, deck head to add compression, add E85, enjoy 20-30whp?
"add E85" has a few implications 
Dang, so now I'm thinking while I've got the motor out of the car, I might as well............I love this group!
