While working on the steering, I decided to incorporate the self-cancelling turn signal mod. Update to current design The kit includes a VW turn signal lever. It has the self-cancelling mechanism built into it, it only needs an actuating cam to make it happen. But whoa, little buddy, it requires a little more attention than that. The cancelling cam is a 3/4″ shaft collar, with a couple bumps on it. I placed two welds, 135º apart and then sanded the profile. The PDF file shows the finished dimensions. You need to be fairly accurate in making this. Too small and it won’t cancel properly, tooRead More →

S/C  or Street model dash? Maybe a combination of the two Carpeting Wiring, the bain of many builders. This is really the nervous system of the car. It’s not that complicated if you have a plan WiringRead More →

Finishing up all the little details. Car essentially done, appointment made for State Police inspection Sill moldingDifferent designs offer different methods of placing a trim piece. The trick is how do you transition from painted metal(fiberglass) to carpet and cover the raw edge. I learned from some buddy’s of an aluminum extrusion, traditionally used for edging on tile counters. M-D Products part number A813 gives a smooth aluminum extruded finish with a small lip to cover the edge of the carpet and screw holes to attach to the body. The molding is easily formed to the shape of the door opening.Read More →

Sound and Heat ProofingWe road-trip in an air conditioned Miata – and the footbox on it gets warm. I am paranoid about footbox heat and I don’t think this puppy is going to play nice. To counter the heat, I have gone overboard. I am optimistic it will do the trick. Firewall/FootboxThe exposed portion of the firewall is aluminum. Below it is a layer of Frost King Duct Insulation. (3/16″ dense adhesive foam with a few mil aluminum cover. Next is a layer of heat barrier film that came with the kit. Finally we get to the 3/16″ fiberglass foot tub. On the inside ofRead More →

Body on, final assembly begins. Rear Body Mount mod The Hurricane kit comes with the body “hard-mounted” on the rear. The quickjack mounts and tubes sandwich the fiberglass body to clamp it to position. I was concerned this was a long term failure point. I chose to modify the mounting to incorporate rubber bushings. Once the hole location was verified, I opened the hole thru the body to 5/8″ diameter. I then fabricated rubber bushings to make up the space between the 3/8″ bolt and this new hole size. The bushing was 1″ diameter on the outside and held into position with stainless washers. I’veRead More →

Everyone warns you of the temperatures of the footbox. We’ve done roadtrips in our Miata and know how warm it can become – and it’s only four cylinders. I fabricated vent valves to resemble the original units. Unfortunately, after I completed them, I realized the footbox on a Hurricane kit is about 6″ taller than the original cars, required by the overhead brake pedals. Time to make set #2. Local owners recommend the use of blowers to assist in moving air. These were purchased from the local BassPro superstore. I welded a couple brackets to the cowl frame. I didn’t want to mount them onRead More →

Posted info on pedal modification to fit AC style pedals onto Wilwood clutch/brake assembly. The Hurricane kit comes with Wilwood brake and clutch pedals. One of the first mod’s everyone goes to is to incorporate the AC pedal into your car. Just makes it look better. Pedals purchased from Finishline Accessories come “un-machined” on the back boss. It is approximately 3/4″ thick. I mounted mine by machining a 3/16″ slot thru this boss, cutting the pedal arms on the Wilwood assembly to make a lever end, then cross-drilled for a 1/4″ bolt and nut. Hopefully the pictures will show how it was done When IRead More →

garage is not heated and it’s 5 degrees outside 🙁 Positioned and installed heater and glovebox shell. I’ve begun the wiring process. Heater Install – or – NOTHING goes easily I found a heater kit for a BackDraft kit and jumped on it, being able to save some money over the kit from my manufacturer. I was in tall cotton, or so I thought. When I studied the kit, it was designed to be mounted in the engine compartment on the passenger side footbox. Not exactly period correct. No big deal, I’ll use the parts and put it behind the dash. Famous last words. TwiceRead More →

Foot Box Drop Frame Mod Cutting the drivers side footbox on an angle not only adds additional room for your left foot, it helps transition the carpet nicely to the sidewall. This seemed so minute but every inch counts when you are trying to get your feet into the footbox. Cut the top (1″) and inner side (2″) on a slight angle to accomodate a new piece of 10 ga. that will run on a diagonal. Box the ends closed with scrap and tack weld the diagonal filler. Add a piece of 1″ x 1″ x 1/8″ angle from the front of the box backRead More →