Igor

The big brake kit comes with an adjustable proportioning valve so that we can fine-tune the brake balance.

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:14:45 -0400

This can make a dramatic difference in the braking ability of the car if it's set up right, so it's an inexpensive way to improve the stopping power of almost any Miata.

Igor had a good weekend.

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:37:56 -0400

He made his track debut at a local track day and set the fastest time of the day. All of the drivers enjoyed the car. He's pretty nicely set up and fun to drive - with one problem.
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Roaming free on the streets at last!

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:51:57 -0400

We're doing the initial shakedown, preparing for a track day on Saturday. He's an eye-catching car.

Igor is running on our new V-Maxx suspension.

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:15:23 -0400

In fact, he was actually the main development car for the setup. That's why it took us so long to get started on everything else!

A Lava Orange stripe!

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:48:04 -0400

Both bumpers, the trunk and the hood came off a salvage car. He's still a bit patchworkey, but Igor now has a bit of visual attitude to match what's hidden underneath.

We went overboard on the interior modifications for Igor.

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:46:59 -0400

If we can find a cool shift knob, we'll install that too.

One complete butterfly brace!

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:45:21 -0400

Lots of clearance below the big 3" exhaust too. This should make Igor one solid car.

Igor's frame rails were pretty badly hammered, so we had to do some hammering of our own before installing the frame rails and butterfly brace.

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:32:16 -0400

We're making progress on poor rusty Igor - remember the broken-off bolt from the rear subframe?

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:31:42 -0400

It's out now. There's one broken one left and we have to replace a missing nut, but progress IS being made.

Igor got a nose job.

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:31:34 -0400

We figured he deserved a little more visual aggression. This is part of a Master Plan to make him look better - he's still going to have oddball panels, but we think it'll be a cool look shortly.
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The Hydra is stashed away behind the glovebox.

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:29:41 -0400

We have a special clip that we designed to do this. But could any of the FM techs remember how to install it without going to the instructions? Of course not. Whoops.

Progress continues, although most of it isn't visible.

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:53:55 -0400

We're not really sure what the hammer is for.

The view from Teri's window.

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:32:19 -0400

M-Tuned reroute hose is sticking out.

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:30:55 -0400

Just waiting for a new race radiator and fan shroud.

Igor is starting to look a little healthier, with most of his FMII installed.

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:28:41 -0400

With the maintenance complete, it's time to keep going on building up Igor's muscles.

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:55:25 -0400

You can see the hard lines for the turbo system in this photo, and the thermostat neck has been removed due to the upcoming coolant reroute. A bit of spray paint makes all the difference to that valve cover, too!

Looks as if we replaced that water pump just in time.

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:54:17 -0400

Igor sure isn't pretty underneath.

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:23:05 -0400

When the rear subframe brace was removed at some time in the past, two of the six bolts snapped. More work is ahead to solve this problem.

It's not all shiny new stuff for Igor, though.

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:22:16 -0400

He's still a used car that's had a rough life, so we decided to do a quick timing belt change. Good thing, too - look at how loose that belt is!
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Because Igor will be seeing much track use - including two days at Laguna Seca in a few weeks - and it's hot around here, we added one of our oil cooler kits. Everything we're installing is right out of our catalog.

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:14:35 -0400

No prototypes, no secret parts - it's all stuff customers can do to their own cars. Well, they're in the next issue of the catalog anyhow...