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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:18 pm
by HRH
That looks super sweet! I like the widening. Custom back glass and windshield is going to be spendy though.

Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 10:02 am
by Indy510
Most 510 race-cars just use a flat sheet of lexan for the back window and it bends to the stock shape. The only reason they don't use it on the front is cause it gets scratched up too often, but I'm going to use it for all 6 windows.

I didn't like how small the front windshield looked widened and chopped ... so I decided to "un-chop" the front of the roof:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 10:07 am
by Indy510
I did a quick photoshop of how I want it to look, before cutting up the roof... not quite a full "coupe" roofline:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 10:11 am
by noflers
Hey cool, almost to a coupe though. What are you having to do to the miata tub to make the 510 metal fit? I dont imagine much, will the body be removable, easily?

One of those headlight polish balls on a drill will the buff the window out good if it gets scratched.

Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 5:27 pm
by Indy510
I've hacked up the Miata a lot, but nothing too structural. I want the body removable, because the motor is up under the wiper cowl area. It will also make welding the roll cage easier if the body is removable.

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 5:35 pm
by Indy510
I raised the front of the roof almost back to stock 510 height, because coupe's have slightly smaller windshields:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 5:54 pm
by Indy510
I raised the back part of the roof less than the front, to get the reverse raked roof line:

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Then cut off the C-pillars:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 5:58 pm
by Indy510
Then started mocking up what looked right:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:07 pm
by Indy510
I set the back window frame lower and more forward than it used to be.. the tombstone shape was needed to bend the roof down:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:10 pm
by Indy510
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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:16 pm
by Indy510
It took forever to figure out the shape of the C-pillars:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:27 pm
by Indy510
I bent a piece of 1/2"x1/2" 0.65 square tubing, then cut it in half for the back window channel:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:28 pm
by Indy510
And bent this piece to match the shortened trunk and support the window frame:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:38 pm
by Indy510
and all welded up:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:48 pm
by Indy510
I had to lift the "car" up high enough to roll my chair under the back:

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to weld on the tailight panel:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:56 pm
by Indy510
I warped the front of the shortened trunk really bad, so I cut it out:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:00 pm
by Indy510
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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:04 pm
by Indy510
I set this piece on a soft foam pad and lightly hit it a few hundred times with a mini sledge, to get the compound curve:

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and made a new trunk gutter:

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Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 11:17 pm
by Laecaon
That is a serious amount of work. It's looking pretty good! This is a lot of fun to watch.

Re: Really Ratty Rusty Ruby 510/miata

Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2018 6:20 am
by DRIVEN
^^Everything he said^^