Forever MX-5 Magazine

Racing a $500 Miata

2010-02-13T19:06:55Z

Introduction to the sport of “Crap-Can Racing.” Driving Sports takes the plunge at the inaugural ChumpCar 24-hour race in Portland, Oregon on Halloween, along with AR Auto Service and the team Produnk Miata. Lots of Miatas in the grid, including several ex-Cup racers. Can you spot them all?

Forever MX-5 #4: North to Newfoundland

2010-02-15T17:55:22Z

In this issue: The best dam tour of the South, Keith Tanner’s Targa Newfoundland adventure, Club News, Jessica’s Sleeping Beauty, Miata-powered Ginetta G20, Miatas at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 2009, Publisher Letter, and praise for the PRHT from our Editor, Jeff Zurschmeide.

This issue is available only as a Digital Edition. If you are a subscriber and didn’t receive your download code, or you are having issues downloading, please contact our support department.

Mazda Plans 25 Drivers in a 25-Hour Endurance Race!

2009-11-30T23:43:10Z

Rick Weldon (who organized this spring’s Miatas at MRLS event) has options for the longest endurance race in America. More than he wants to count. Actually, Rick crunched the numbers to realize that he has over a trillion driver combinations…. in just the first nine hours!

Weldon will be managing the driver rotation for the Mazda “25 in 25” team. Mazda, which has the largest pool of road racers in the country, and quite likely the largest percentage of OEM employees with competition licenses, has assembled a very special team to cap off the 2009 season. 25 drivers will take a turn at the wheel of the same car, the largest driving team ever assembled for the annual NASA season ender.

The “25 in 25” team will be racing a Mazda MX-5 Miata that has competed in the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup series with a few modifications for the endurance race. The car and team was assembled with help from Mazda partners at BP, BFGoodrich Tires, and Mothers. This was an “after-hours” project where many of the employee drivers also contributed elbow grease to the car preparation.

The drivers range from Lyn St James, who has multiple class wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona to drag racer turned road racer Ed Bergenholtz who has never raced at night or in an endurance race. Open wheel aces John Edwards, Simona De Silvestro, Dane Cameron and Frankie Muniz will be sharing the seat with sports car veterans Eric Foss, Todd Lamb, Justin Piscitell, Patrick Dempsey, and Jason Saini. The team will also include a few journalists who have competition licenses and experience. It’s a diverse team like no other.

“The idea was generated by so many of our racers hearing about the Thunderhill race and simply wanting to come out and have fun. Make no mistake, the on-track action is very serious, but the atmosphere here is on the sport and having a good time” noted John Doonan, the MAZDASPEED business development manager who spent a great deal of his personal time helping to assemble the team. “It’s the Mazda way to help each other succeed. We’re happy to have so many Mazda employees as well as our partners at BP, BFG, and Mother’s collaborating together.”

The “25 in 25” team will be one of many Mazda MX-5s and RX-8s in the field. 19 of the 72 cars entered will be Mazdas including the defending overall race winners from Team MER.

The MAZDASPEED “25 in 25” Driver Lineup:

Mazda employees: John Doonan, Jim Jordan, Randy Miller, Weldon Munsey, Truman Pollard, and Ken Saward. Jeremy Barnes will be the “super-sub” in case anyone misses their flight to Sacramento.

Mazda racers from other series: Ed Bergenholtz, Simona De Silvestro, Patrick Dempsey, Brothers Mark & Mike Jenkins, and Frankie Muniz.

MAZDASPEED Ladder Alums: Dane Cameron, John Edwards, Eric Foss, Todd Lamb, Justin Piscitell, and Jason Saini.

Media Guests: Dan Edmunds from Edmunds.com, David Pratte from Modified magazine, and Aaron Robinson from Car and Driver magazine

Special guest racers: Deanna Brooks, Jim Holloway, & Lyn St. James.

Mazda Dealer and motorsports supporter: Richard Fisher

Remembering Those We’ve Lost

In a special tribute, the car will also be carrying the names of four MAZDASPEED family members whom we lost in the past year; Carol Tremblay, Neil Warrior, Tom Thrash, and Takayoshi Ohashi.

1,600 Miatas Converge for 20th Anniversary Celebration

2009-10-21T21:54:49Z

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Mazda Roadster (known overseas as the Mazda MX-5 Miata), Mazda Motor Corporation hosted a special commemorative event on September 20, 2009, at its Miyoshi Proving Ground in western Japan.

First launched in 1989, Mazda’s two-seat lightweight open-top sports car is celebrating its 20th birthday this year. To commemorate the milestone, over 1,600 Roadsters and their owners made their way to the car’s birthplace at the Miyoshi Proving Ground.

When the proving ground gates opened at 6:30 a.m., the arriving Roadsters were welcomed home by attending staff. Approximately 2,600 owners and fans had journeyed from all over Japan and overseas to join in the celebration. The event was officially launched with a toast from a 20-year old Roadster owner, who had been born the same year as the iconic vehicle was launched.

During the event, members of the development team and MX-5 owners from abroad delivered congratulatory speeches; Roadster owners’ clubs from every region of Japan were introduced; and guests were invited to take part in a Roadster quiz. To bring the celebration to a close, Mazda’s director and senior managing executive officer in charge of vehicle development, Seita Kanai, stood up to address the crowd. His cry of, “The Roadster is forever!” was greeted by thunderous applause from the spectators.

To end with a Zoom-Zoom flourish, all 1,600 Roadsters formed up to parade around the track before leaving the Miyoshi Proving Ground with a fond farewell from the Mazda staff.

Mazda Roadster 20th Anniversary Web Site (currently available in Japanese only):
http://www.mazda.co.jp/roadster_20th/

Information about the official Mazda MX-5 community is available in English at:
http://www.mx-5.com/

Miatas in Moab IV Coming Up - May 2010

2009-08-13T00:21:38Z

By Mike Bailey

“Red Rock Miatas, Rock” is our slogan for the Utah Miata Club’s fourth edition of Miatas In Moab. The event will be held on May 14-16, 2010, in beautiful Moab, Utah. This event is free to attend. There is no fee or participation charge so make your reservations now and save this date for a great event and lots of fun to enjoy with other Miata enthusiasts.

Our last event in 2007 attracted 300 cars from all over the United States and Canada. We will feature Scenic Drives in beautiful Red Rock Country, visit many famous State & National Parks, enjoy fabulous meals, a Group Photo Shoot with your cars, Club Pin Exchange, swap Goodie Bags with other clubs, have parties and play games. We have a contest planned called “Where’s Wilson” featuring our Utah Club Mascot where you can win great prizes.

Southeastern Utah has beautiful scenery, lots of twisty roads and excellent dry, warm weather for top-down driving. The host Hotel is the Best Western Canyonlands Inn located in downtown Moab. We will feature optional events and meals at Red Cliffs Lodge where you can book accomodations in a rustic cabin by the river. Enjoy the Winery there or river rafting or horseback riding or other activities there, if you wish. You can also find lodging at www.moablodging.com.

Please go to our website and register for the event: www.utahmiataclub.com. Click on the Miatas in Moab link and register. Order your Commemorative T-shirts and hats for $15.00 each on our website link. We will also have other collectibles for sale such as car magnets and lightweight jackets. Socialize and make lots of new Miata Friends and have a wonderful time, in a laid-back atmosphere. Mark your calendar now for the event of the year.

Detailing and Dressing Up Your Miata’s Engine Bay

2009-08-10T16:19:13Z

Words and photos by Spencer Lynn of SOCALM

If a hundred members of your club lined up their Miatas on any given Saturday, you would probably find ninety-eight of them detailed and glossy. What would you discover if they popped their hoods?

I posted a thread about engine bays on the Miata.net forum and one particular post got my attention.

Gene Mallard, a moderator on the forum, wrote:

“You do it once when you buy the car, and from there on it’s easy to maintain. For example when I changed the radiator on my last Miata, I took an extra two hours or so cleaning, polishing and/or waxing all the parts that are inaccessible with the radiator in place. It applies when I do any work under the hood. Part of any job includes cleaning all the areas that are accessible once the part is removed, cruise control, clutch master, coolant overflow tank, whatever. Wax or paint protection is just as essential to protect and preserve the paint under the hood as it is anywhere else on the car, since it helps prevent the start of rust situations caused by sitting moisture. I always make sure that water beads up under my headlights, just as well as it does on my hood.”

Several owners asked how I began with my engine bay, so I wrote the following primer.

To begin detailing your motor:

First, use masking or painter’s tape to protect electrical connections from spray cleaners and water spray (masking or painter’s tape do not leave adhesive residue behind). Take your time and do a thorough job to avoid headaches later. Seal off the air intake snorkel or air filter with a plastic bag and a rubber band or a bungee cord. Be sure to seal around the spark plug cable openings in the valve cover because you do not want water collecting down in your spark plug’s wells. Then use a spray degreaser like “GUNK ENGINE BRITE” and, liberally, treat the whole engine and compartment.

One owner swears by a bathroom spray cleaner called “Scrubbing Bubbles” that you coat the whole engine and compartment with, then flood it off with ample amounts of water without a nozzle. Other owners report positive results with it, however, I prefer something that degreases. A small brush helps in stubborn nooks and crannies. Plan to use an entire can or two for ”grunged” out bays. After that, you need a sprayer attachment or nozzle on your hose to clean and flush the cleaner and residue from your motor.

When you’re done, start the motor to run for a few minutes while removing the protective measures and use an air compressor (if you have one) to expel water traces. Use some clean cloths and a general-purpose, spray cleaner like “Simple Green” to take care of leftover spots. That should put it in good condition. There are a number of excellent spray-on waxes available, and they are perfect for under the hood applications. Spray the wax onto those painted surfaces you can’t really get to with a cloth to wipe. You will feel better knowing those hard to reach areas will have a coating of protection.

Six years ago when the motor was being rebuilt, I found a machine shop owner willing to polish my valve cover while I had it off. That little machine shop has long since gone away, but there are others out there if you do a little looking. I liked the results of the polished valve cover so much that I planned on doing the intake manifold and exhaust heat shield. I located a used manifold and heat shield from a salvage company and found another machine shop that polished them to a beautiful shine. I swapped them out for my existing parts and put them up for sale for the next owner who wanted to do the same thing without suffering extra downtime for his car. The heat shield discolored once it heated up, but the results were not objectionable and it still looks good.

Moss sells a kit of silicone tubing in blue, red and black, but you can find similar kits at parts stores. They sell split loom covering in blue, black, red and simulated chrome. It comes in different diameters and is simple to cut and install. Split loom works well covering bundles of wiring and metal tubing or wire cables. NGK and Cobalt make blue spark plug cables and Jackson Racing and Magnecor make red ones. They add a nice touch if you use those colors for accent.

My pal and fellow SOCALM member, Dave Davis, has an intake manifold with a natural finish that is rough and almost appears “crinkle” textured. It looks great just as it is, next to his polished and highlight painted valve cover. Some owners carry a theme color throughout their engine bay, and mine is blue. I changed hoses and vacuum lines with the blue silicone tubing and split loom.

Dave’s Miata is black and he chose red as an accent. He was more conservative in his use of the red silicone tubing. His motor looks great, especially with the beefy, “Cobalt”, chrome, shock tower brace that center mounts on the firewall and gives the effect of framing his motor. He masked the raised, cross section at the front of the valve cover, and painted it red, leaving a Miata “M” script logo of polished metal exposed. It really has a classy look and I have never seen one just like it. He also fabricated and polished some diamond plate stock to fit that area just in front of the radiator. He slipped a section of red silicone tubing over his dipstick loop, for a nice touch.

I use a multi-metal, polishing paste on my intake, valve cover and heat shield to keep them freshly shined. Occasionally, I will treat all of the rubber, silicone and plastic with “Armor All Ultra Shine” spray, because I prefer the appearance it gives to those surfaces. That brand also makes a similar product that leaves a semi-gloss result.

I bought a pair of salvaged coolant overflow and windshield washer tanks and painted them “Krylon” silver. By itself, the painted plastic is vulnerable to marring of the finish. I treated them to three coats of “Krylon” clear and that gave them durability, but darkened the color to an aluminum shade. It was different and I had never seen the tanks painted before, but they looked good.

I recently posted a thread in the forum titled, “Show us your detailed engine bay.” It got a great response and quite a few Miata owners posted photos of their engines. They were in various stages of improvement from clean but stock to really tricked out with turbo-charger set-ups. Some valve covers were painted or powder coated in striking colors but polishing them was most prevalent and I saw one that was chrome plated. Some ambitious souls polished their own.

There were a couple of grungy looking examples from some curmudgeons, making the point that they could care less what it looks like under their hood. One who responded said looking at my motor revealed its’ appearance was “obviously the product of a sick mind.” Well, I am perfectly sound in mind but maybe a little picky at times and definitely not obsessive-compulsive, like someone else joked. Some non-owners who see my Miata think it looks like a new car. It is definitely a daily driver with 152,000 miles and shows the small dings and dimples from parking lots, but it is always clean and polished. That includes the engine bay, which gets a little attention when I wash the car.

I think that detailing your motor and engine bay is not really “going over the top”, it just shows pride of ownership for those of us who actually make this car their hobby. It may bear the original paint but its’ age and blemishes should not keep you from lovingly waxing, polishing and detailing it inside and out, what you readily see and what you don’t. It makes you feel good when you are finished and you climb in for a drive. I do not expect every owner to be as enthusiastic as I am about it, but I certainly take notice when I have found another Miata-phite, like Dave Davis with the same pride and passion for his roadster. We pop our hoods and enjoy exchanging ideas and admiring the other’s work. It is great fun owning and sharing with these cars.

Mazda Announces 20th Anniversary MX-5 and Superlight MX-5 Concept

2009-08-05T15:21:25Z

To commemorate 20 years of the MX-5, Mazda has released a special edition version of its best-selling sports car, but sadly, it’s a limited edition for the Japanese market only.

Celebrating the start of its third decade this year, the MX-5 is currently sold in approximately 60 countries. The MX-5 was certified as the world’s most produced two-seat, open-top sports cars by Guinness World Records when production reached 800,000 cars. Total production of the MX-5 now stands in excess of 860,000 cars.

The Roadster 20th Anniversary is based on the JDM Roadster RS soft-top model with a six-speed manual transmission, and the VS Power Retractable Hard Top (PRHT) hard-top model with a six-speed automatic transmission. Special equipment includes unique red and black Recaro sport seats, exclusive ‘20th Anniversary’ badges, and clear front fog lights. Japanese buyers also get a factory strut tower bar, cloth top with glass window, and heated seats.

Of course, we’ve already configured our Survivor project car with a fabric soft top with glass window, courtesy of ezsofttops.com, so there’s no need to feel left out.

All 20th Anniversary models come in Crystal White Pearl Mica, used for the first time on the MX-5. It looks nice!

For fans of modified Miatas, the Mazda MX-5 Superlight version, a show car capturing the pure essence of the world’s most popular roadster, will make its world premiere at the 63rd Frankfurt Motor Show, which will be held from September 15 through 27, 2009.

At Frankfurt, Mazda will present a new take on its affordable roadster with this modified MX-5, designed at Mazda’s studio in Frankfurt, Germany. A pure show car, it takes the lightweight technology that Mazda is famous for to a new level, improving driving performance, handling, fuel economy and CO2 emissions. This is combined with a radical exterior design requiring no windshield, and sporty chassis settings for pure roadster driving fun.

If you ask us, it kinda reminds us of an old racing Jag D-type or Ginetta. It’s a pity Mazda probably won’t build these for real.

The Mouse That Roared: Dave Bouldin’s Ginetta Miata

2009-08-02T22:32:16Z

By Tiffany Flynn

I am a huge car enthusiast, and I am also very much a movie fanatic. So before my interview with Dave Bouldin of Haslett, Michigan, I happened to see Speed Racer at the movie theater. My timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Riding with Dave in his Ginetta G20, with my hair was blown back and gripping the pavement on every turn, I couldn’t stop thinking how much I felt like I had landed in the passenger seat of Speed’s “Mach 5” with Speed Racer himself behind the wheel.

Now you’re probably saying to yourself, “Wait a minute, I know my Mazdas and I’ve never heard of a Ginetta G20!” You’re right, the Ginetta G20 is part of a racing series in Europe, and it’s not a Mazda. But the reason Dave’s is so cool is because it’s street legal, and it runs on a 1995 Miata engine, and it even looks a bit like a Miata!

Dave has the Ginetta weighing in down at 1,300 pounds. If it was an everyday car he would need at least a rag top, air conditioning, and doors, but as a dedicated toy he has been able to cut weight everywhere. Dave says he would love to see Mazda incorporate key concept ideas from the G20 into the new Miata and to reduce the weight by at least 1,000 lbs in a limited production lightweight special edition. I was skeptical about the reduced weight. Wouldn’t he lose some measure of control? Dave answered me with a simple test drive, showing the cornering limits of the G20. The little car sticks to the road like paint, much like a Miata.

The Ginetta has changed a lot over the lifetime of the racing series. One obvious similarity between all Ginettas is the headlight design. The Ginetta started off with fixed stand-up headlights, but to achieve better aerodynamics for racing the stand-ups were replaced with the Miata units, creating an even greater resemblance to the Miata. On its way up from Florida in 2003 when Dave bought the car, he said he was swarmed by people asking if it was the new Mazda MX-5.

The standard racing engine of a Ginetta in Europe is the Ford Zetec. But the Zetec isn’t street legal in the US, and Dave decided he wanted to change that. He brought the G20 in as a rolling chassis with everything included except the engine. Charlie Shatzen of MazCare in Marietta, Georgia built the engine. Dave swears “it screams like a Formula 1” and I can attest to the truth of that statement.

To get Miata power into the Ginetta, Charlie started with a stock 1995 Miata 1.8-liter engine. To reach his claimed 175 horsepower, he cleaned up the intake and exhaust, seriously tuned the header system, and oversized the fuel injectors. After reprogramming the ECU, Bouldin claims that the G20 can go 0 to 60 in the 3 second range, with top speeds at about 150 mph before the back end starts to lift. But while all that sounds amazing, hold on to your hats for this part: the Ginetta gets 28 MPG during a race and up to 40 MPG during regular driving!

After 3 years of racing and track days the car is now completely restored. With about 6 months of bodywork spent smoothing out the panels and about 3 months of reassembly, Dave’s masterpiece is finally finished. He started taking it to shows and races, bringing home first or second almost every time. His latest win was at the Battle of the Brits, a judged British car show located in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Dave entered his G20 in the vintage race car category and took home first place and Best in Class.

Now a friend of Dave’s named Steve TerMeer has caught the “bug” as Dave calls it, and bought his own G20. Not long after both cars were made street legal, they began noticing a few additional stop signs popping up in their area. Now they both take their Ginettas around and are spreading the word one race track and show at a time. This year Dave plans to attend about a dozen different competitions, including his favorite Sunday drive: autocross.

The only question now is when or if Mazda will make their very own Mach 5? They already have several variations of the MX-5 Miata on sale. As a Miata enthusiast, I know the specs that I’d like to see are the same ones that the G20 would inspire. While power has always been important for sports cars, it’s all relative. The movie Iron Man provides the perfect moral for this story: bigger isn’t always better and more power isn’t always the answer. Sometimes a lightweight alternative can be much more effective.

Dave’s Ginetta - Critical Specifications:

Weight: 1,300 lbs
Base Engine: 1995 1.8-liter BP-ZE
Engine Work: Polished intake, custom tuned exhaust, oversized fuel injectors, and reprogrammed ECU
Fuel Economy: 28-40 MPG
Dave’s Daily Driver: 1997 Miata w/AC

Club Event Report: Hitting Route 66 in Illinois

2009-07-17T16:28:21Z

By Marcy Hotz, Don & Linda McCann

Don McCann of the Badgerland Miata Club of Wisconsin knew Route 66 was a trip he wanted to share with his Miata Club friends. So it came to pass that the McCanns led a colorful parade of 22 Miatas on a three day tour of Route 66 in Illinois, from Joilet to St.Louis, Missouri, and back to Springfield.

The weather was near perfect as we left Joliet, heading south on Route 66, through Wilmington and past the 1950’s Launch Pad Drive-In. We lunched at the Polk-a-Dot Drive-In (1956) in Braidwood famous for its chili cheese fries. We wound our way through many small towns, driving slowly past various Route 66 historic sites: gas stations, motels, diners, drive-in theaters. Paralleling our route much of the time were railroad tracks on one side and the Interstate on the other, imparting an eerie feeling of driving into a time and place long gone.

“Hello!” announced Don on the CB. “Our next stop is the old Ambler/Becker Texaco Station in Dwight.“ The sky was still clear, but the air was getting muggy and warmer. As we drove through Odell, “A Small Town with a Big Heart Where Everybody Is Somebody,” a priest coming out of St. James School shouted a hearty “Welcome to Odell!” Signs along the road as we departed the town encouraged us to stop at the Route 66 Hall of Fame in Pontiac, which we did.

One couldn’t help but think, “This IS America,” as we drove into Pontiac. The neatly clipped green lawns, modest homes, gas stations, churches and taverns made us feel right at home. The Route 66 Hall of Fame was a welcome air-conditioned stop. The museum had photos, road and store signs, and all kinds of Route 66 memorabilia.

Day two began with a quick jaunt to the Beer Nuts factory in Bloomington. Then we made a pit stop in Atlanta, at Casey’s Country Store; it was good to get into the air conditioning, as the heat and humidity were already mounting.

Pressing on to Springfield, we stopped at Shea’s Garage, now a museum. Bill Shea, a WWII D-Day survivor, told a lot of stories about the former gas station. The museum was filled with old gas pumps, signs (Burma Shave, S&H Green Stamps, Phillips 66, etc).

Two-tenths of a mile off Route 66 near Staunton, about half the group stopped to visit Classic Country Cars – a collection of huge auto-filled garages surrounded by an enormous circle of unrestored classics. On display were over 600 classics or just very old cars. A few of them were true classics, and all were for sale, as is.

Some of us who were old enough to remember these cars, or even actually owned or drove them, wondered just how in the heck we managed to maneuver these boat-sized autos in-and-out of traffic.

Day three found us caravanning from downtown St. Louis to the west end of the Chain of Rocks Bridge. This bridge was the route used by Route 66 to cross over the Mississippi. Originally a motor route, it now carries walking and biking trails over the river. Don had arranged for the bridge to be opened up for our group to traverse, and we are grateful to have had this opportunity.

Our next stop was Girard, Missouri for dessert. Turns out Girard has a Route 66 drive-in that goes back to 1956 that offers 50 flavors of ice cream!. A young man with a shocked expression was at the back door of the small restaurant on his cell phone. “You gotta see this!” he exclaimed to the person on the other end, watching a rainbow parade of 22 Miatas winding their way down their driveway and into the parking lot! While we got in line to order, the owner drove up and helped the young lady inside take orders and dish out ice cream. As we devoured this awesome treat, the wind blew the temperature and humidity down to a much more comfortable level. The sky was darkly clouded, but it didn’t start to rain until we reached our hotel back in Springfield.

Following a quick shower and welcome change of clothes, we joined up with members of the Abe Lincoln Miata Club and the Windy City Miata Club. With their 15 cars added to our 22, we were an awesome parade to Mario’s Italian Grill for dinner. A lively discussion followed with plans for another get together between the clubs. Everyone enjoyed the tour, and some are looking forward to driving the rest of old Route 66 to California. Long live The Mother Road!

Build Your Own NA Subframe Brace for $5

2009-07-13T19:26:36Z

The following tech project found its way into Editor Jeff Zurschmeide’s book “Automotive Welding: A Practical Guide” just out from CarTech Books. But the project was so much fun, we thought we’d give you all a sneak peek.

Miatas need some lower suspension and chassis bracing. Mazda realized this by 1991 and included a rear subframe brace starting with the 1992 model year. They added a front brace under the transmission starting with the 1994 model year. The factory braces are stamped tubes, and numerous aftermarket solutions have also been developed. (See Forever MX-5 Issue 2 for installation details on our fabulous set of Cusco braces on the Survivor.)

This summer, I was working on a manuscript for a book on automotive welding with Russell Nyberg of Acme Customs in Portland, Oregon. Russell also created the roll bar in the Forever MX-5 Time Attack Miata. We needed a project that would showcase the uses of tube aluminum and the TIG welding process, and our Lifestyle Editor Scott Fisher was in need of some cool stuff for his 1996 Brilliant Black car, so we decided to get crazy and see what we could do.

Russell had never created a subframe brace for a Miata before, so we asked him to look at the problem and design a custom brace for us. This brace uses about $5 worth of scrapyard aluminum tubing and 16-gauge sheet aluminum. It took us about 4 hours to complete the project. That makes an exciting story, but it also doesn’t account for Russ’s design savvy, fabrication skills, and TIG-welding setup. But if you’ve got the skills and access to a TIG welder, our work is your gain!

Here’s what Russ came up with, and how you can repeat this project:

1. The NA Miata has two box-section parts in its undercarriage that support the lower A-arms of the front suspension and two transmission support mount points. These will form the rectangle of the frame brace. NB and NC models have slightly different undercarriage configurations but there are always four (or more) points to conveniently bolt on some kind of brace without drilling extra holes in your floorpan.

2. Measure the distances between each of the four holes and draw your base figure on a piece of scrap cardboard or plywood as a template. Check and recheck your measurements to make sure they’re accurate. Note that the convenient mount holes do not define a perfect rectangle! That’s important because your finished piece has to line up with the mounting holes.

3. Based on your mount points, you can design a basic brace that relies on arches or triangles for support. We decided to create a lightweight brace with one arched and one straight beam, tied together only with a lightened and stressed skin.

4. Use your template to create a jig before you begin welding. Depending on the materials and method you choose, You may warp or shrink your parts out of true when you weld. One way to create a jig from your template is to copy your base figure on a sheet of thick plywood and drill holes at the locations of the mounting points. Then attach your first pieces to the plywood as you tack your work together. As you weld each part into place, the jig holds the dimensions for you. If you plan to produce several similar pieces, create your jig out of steel and you can weld right on it without fear of lighting it on fire.

5. Start with large pieces for the mount points. We used 2-inch lengths of 1.75-inch .120 wall aluminum tube. Then we cut some discs with a 1.875-inch hole saw to make cups out of our short sections of tube. Weld the discs to the ends of the tubes and then bolt the resulting cups to your jig. We used the TIG welder at 110 amps with 1/16-inch aluminum rod for this part, using the TIG’s foot pedal control to modulate welding power.

6. Now measure your distances and cut your aluminum tubes. We used 7/8-inch .120 wall aluminum tube that we picked up from the scrap bin at the metal yard. Make one brace straight and bend the other one on your bender to make a pointed arch. The two pieces may touch, and you may choose to weld them together, but we didn’t. Weld the tubes to the cups all the way around. Aluminum warps very easily, so keep the cups bolted to the template as much as possible to hold everything in place. We left the TIG welder at 110 amps and continued to use 1/16-inch aluminum rod.

7. When the tubes are welded to their cups all the way around, use some cardboard to make a template for the skin. You can make this skin from one piece of sheet metal and fold it around the straight tube, but it works just as well to cut two sides. We used 16 gauge sheet aluminum for this material.

8. If you choose, you can use a hole saw and lighten the skin by taking a few holes out of it. This is already a very lightweight piece, but the holes give it a very sporting look. We also recessed the holes with a special clamp made just for the purpose. These are available through metalworking supply houses.

9. Weld the skins to each side of the brace using 1-inch stitch welds with 1-inch gaps between stitches. We switched to 1/8-inch rod for this part of the process, as it requires more filler material. The stitch pattern helps avoid warping the part and is almost as strong under tension as an uninterrupted bead. Keep the piece bolted to the template as you install the first skin, then unbolt the piece and clamp it to the table as you weld on the second skin. When you’re done, try to flex it – you’ll find that it’s strong!

10. Bolting your brace to the Miata’s A-arm support boxes requires backing plates and the easiest way to make those is to weld a nut to a backing plate. For the Miata, the plates must be 2-inches square. We cut squares of 1/8-inch mild steel, and we welded a 5/16 nut to the back of the plates with a MIG welder.

11. To install the brace, we took along our best power drill with a reaming bit. No matter how carefully you measure, template, and build, you’re likely to be off a little bit when you go to install. So we found the best mounting alignment, and “adjusted” our mounting holes on the brace to get everything installed snugly.

So there you have it - $5 worth of materials, 4 hours of labor. What could be easier?

OK, before you head to the computer to send us e-mail, here’s the point: We know that not everyone happens to be friends with a skilled fabricator who will donate an afternoon to make a brace, and we know that if you paid a shop for its time and tools and materials, the cost would far exceed the retail price of a proven subframe brace.

The point is twofold – first to show you how, with a little thought and a little welding practice, you can design and make your own custom parts. Second, we thought Russ’s design and execution was just too cool to let it stay hidden underneath Scott’s car.

If you would like custom work done for your car, you can contact Russell Nyberg through www.acmecustoms.com.