Yeah, I fell behind on my updates, but I have a good excuse: things didn’t go quite to plan, there was an autocross, and I nearly pulled an all-nighter.

July 8 was a day discovery. I discovered that air hammers require really big air compressors with immense tanks. I learned that because such compressors aren’t terribly easy to move, they aren’t typical rental units, which means air hammers aren’t either. I then learned that I had no interest in starting the diff bushings and running the risk of having an undrivable car that I can’t fix. The diff bushing and the engine mounts will wait until I can afford to have them done at a shop or until I can get access to the hoist and tools at my brother’s work. Anyway, I completed the downpipe and exhaust that afternoon, and thankfully it went on much more easily than the stock bits came off.

By this point, Pedwar had left in Zhaan for an overnighter at her friend’s cottage, so I seized the moment (a car that can run) to grab some food and take a test drive. The exhaust note is great — deep and bassy at idle, and assertive and smooth, but not too loud, when driving.

condor888000 came over for a bit to continue work on his camber link, finally getting the whole bushing out with my dremel… (too bad this means he will have to remove the passenger side link, too). I decided to start the throttle body inlet pipe and got it done relatively quickly, only to discover that I had gone too far… I had a vac line with nowhere to stick it unless I did the intake, too. Of course, doing the intake would remove the MAF, which would necessitate the Hydra, which has a map for 550cc injectors. Sigh. So I started the intake. It was easier than the TB inlet despite the number of tubes and clamps, and then I decided to call it a night. I figured I’d hit the sack and get started early on the injectors.

Despite it being after midnight, I couldn’t sleep, so I got up around 1AM, looked up the injector instructions and started dismantling the intake manifold to get at the injectors. It was late so it was hand tools only, as I live in a townhouse and I like my neighbours. About 3:00AM, when I could no longer remember where I was putting down my wrenches, I took a shower, socked back a shot of scotch, and hit the sack. I slept through the 5:30AM alarm and woke on my own at 7:04AM…

… which brings us to July 9th. I completed the injector change, which was initally scary then became tedious, and will be remembered as relatively straightforward. I crossed my fingers that nothing got pinched and that I wouldn’t have a fuel leak. I had to call it a day at this stage because condor888000 was picking me up and we were heading for an autocross at Shannonville Motorsports Park, where Pedwar was going to meet us.

Since it was on the way, we swung into Ogdensburg to grab some oil filters. With a car full of stuff and being two guys, US Customs and Border Protection checked the car and let us go. On the way back into Canada, we got interrogated separately by the CBSA officer who was suspicious of our story, particularly given my two camcorders, my DSLR gear, and the helmets, which still look new. We convinced her we were OK, and she let us go, with no tax paid on the filters, which had been declared.

Despite the delays and condor’s angst about being late, we still made it to the track by 5PM and were ready to go well in advance of the 6PM start time. condor is now officially a “drama llama“, but he’s a great guy and I can’t thank him enough for letting me run his car.

condor888000

The event was fun and felt more like a solo I than a solo II, as there were only a few gates and the rest was following the line of the track. As usual, the crowd (especially Pedwar) was great and the apres-autox dinner at the Loyal Oarsman in Kingston (Bath Road, a couple blocks west of Gardiners Road) was nice, too. Got home about 1AM and fell asleep very quickly.

July 10th: My last day of vacation saw me complete the wiring for the hydra’s wide-band and MAP sensor. I followed the directions and got the throttle position sensor calibrated… and then came the moment of truth — the first start. She cranked to life on the first try and settled into a normal idle. Everything was louder because of the intake and exhaust, but the Hydra’s read-outs looked normal. I completed the wide-band calibration and then took a drive around the block at creeping speeds before parking her again. She seemed a little more prone to stalling, but I’m sure that can be tweaked. I was relieved and elated… remember a year ago, the most I had ever done was change spark plugs and change tires. After dinner, when the car had cooled, I put the O2 sensor into the downpipe and called it a day.

Left to do? Calibrate timing (learning by doing, as usual), clean up interior and install passenger seat, drive and data log. I hope to do all that tomorrow. Auto-tuning won’t work until I get an activation code from Flyin’ Miata, and I don’t expect that before Monday.

Will she run in the autox on Sunday? I don’t know… will have to see how she drives tomorrow.