The minimalist chassis of the Miata Exo Car (aka ‘ghettocet’) makes it the perfect platform to test ideas. Complex designs become relatively easy, like mounting the radiator in the rear. And very early in the build process, I decided on such a rear mount design. As I near the end of the...
The ‘ghettocet’ Miata affords plenty of opportunity to take things back to ‘old school.’ With that in mind, let’s explore hockey puck motor mounts on this project. It’s something I built years ago for the CA18DET swapped 240sx. And something very fitting to...
Remember that two-week window I had to complete the Miata ghettocet before the holidays? Well, those weeks came and went with very little progress. Why, you ask? Because I had to rebuild the engine. Which meant waiting on parts. But after a short delay, I am back on track, and the drivetrain and...
At this time of year, I usually write a farewell to (insert previous year here) message. And that is sort of what this is. But seeing as I did a pretty good job documenting 2024, I want to focus on this new year, 2025, instead. Let me paint a picture. It’s the beginning of January, and...
The internet has a way of making direct answers challenging to find and unnecessarily complicated. Unsurprisingly, removing the power steering from a Mazda Miata is no exception. The back-and-forth on the pros and cons is confusing and somewhat comical. That is why I am here to say resolutely that...
I have been building and racing racecars for a long time, and one of my favorite things is removing unnecessary crap. In a 1.6l equipped Miata that spends its life at wide open throttle, the ISC or Idle Speed Control System just so happens to fall into that category. In this guide, I am going to...
The race season is officially over, and it’s time to finish this. I have significant plans for the 2025 season and about a two-week window during which I can devote considerable time to the exo car build. That said, there are a lot of miscellaneous items to address before the final assembly...
Over two years have passed since my last race in 944 Spec. While I moved on for numerous reasons, the primary catalyst was the shrinking field. More often than not, I would find myself in fields of one or two other drivers, making the races feel like overpriced HPDE events.
Driving at the limit is an art. If you truly understand that, you can drive anything fast. There is a feel to driving a racecar fast that, for some, is innate and, for others, a hard-fought journey to discover. I am fortunate to be a mix of both. But sometimes, as racers, we exceed a limit, whether...
I spent way more time on the fabrication of this project than I intended, forcing myself to have a bit of a reckoning. You see, I tend not to be satisfied with my work and continually strive for improvement. That’s a roundabout way to say I can sometimes be a perfectionist. And that is why I...
The hardtop on the Miata is one of my targets for weight reduction on the Super Touring 6 Miata. During the last round of extreme weight reduction on the racecar, I did some testing to try and determine what effect, aside from an 11-lb weight reduction, running without the rear glass would have...
Getting the Super Touring 6 Miata down another 130 pounds is no simple task. In part 1, I laid out a plan of attack that I started at the most recent Nashville Superspeedway event. I brought my scales to document the weights, and although I may have looked like a maniac with a Sawzall in the...
