Obelisk's Garage - Daihatsu Midget II, Mazda MX5 (NC2), racing mower

[Obelisk]

Hi folks! For those of you that are following for the Daihatsu Midget II, I have great news!

The shipping line was finally able to secure space for it, and the official expected arrival date is August 6. The car will be rolled on the ship next week.

I've also gotten the paperwork sorted out with a broker, so I should be all set to simply ship the car up here once it arrives in port.

Edit: I've also ordered a set of Bridgestone K370s and a set of Inter Milano AZ sport RC-10 rims. Photos of that later this week!

 

[Obelisk]

Hi folks! For those of you that are following for the Daihatsu Midget II, I have great news!

The shipping line was finally able to secure space for it, and the official expected arrival date is August 6. The car will be rolled on the ship next week.

I've also gotten the paperwork sorted out with a broker, so I should be all set to simply ship the car up here once it arrives in port.

Edit: I've also ordered a set of Bridgestone K370s and a set of Inter Milano AZ sport RC-10 rims. Photos of that later this week!

THE VERY NEXT DAY. (Link has a profanity in it)

I'm still going to have the car. I'm just going to need to figure out what to do about this. There's still no legislation, and this all seems somewhat unconfirmed. I'll be calling the RMV Ombudsman tomorrow and talking with him about this.

 

[Obelisk]

I meant to provide photos sooner of the rims, and time got away from me.

Here's one that I pulled out to inspect.

These wheels are a lot nicer to look at in person and I'm glad I went for these. I'll be getting them mounted to the tires and balanced this week.

As for the MX5, I've installed a Madness Autoworks GoPedal Plus and updated the decals on it (added the Madness sticker, removed one of the two FM Yacht Club stickers). The GoPedal is brilliant and breathes a lot of life into the car! No pictures of the actual mod, sorry.

As for the Midget II, it is being loaded on the ship tomorrow to start its long journey over to my part of the world. I have multiple options lined up for it if the RMV gives me trouble with the registration.

 

[Obelisk]

Welcome home, little dude. She needs a fair bit of work but is running smoothly.

 

[Chris30]

"Mimi", 2011 Mazda MX-5 Grand Touring (NC2, 6AT PHRT)

Spoiler: Mod list

Cosmetic/Exterior/Interior:
ModeloDrive Carbon Fiber XTR rear wing
Carbon Miata polyurethane diffuser (cosmetic)

Platform/Handling:
BF Goodrich gForce Sport COMP-2 tires, 205/45R17
Flyin' Miata Sway Bars

Engine/Performance:
MagnaFlow Street Series Catback Exhaust
K&N Performance Air Filter
Cobalt Cold Air Induction
Madness Autoworks GOPedal Plus

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Coming soon: "Daishō", 1996 Daihatsu Midget II R Type

Wow, that ride looks really attractive. Nice. We own a 1999 Toyota Camry, but we need to do another paint job on it. We bought it from someone in 2015, he sold it to us for $5000.

 

[Jordan]

Welcome home, little dude. She needs a fair bit of work but is running smoothly.View attachment 1381867View attachment 1381868View attachment 1381869

 

[Chris30]

That's what I was thinking, it's a hot looking Mazda MX-5!! That's all I can say.

 

[TumeK5]

That's what I was thinking, it's a hot looking Miata!! That's all I can say.

This is not a Miata.

 

[Chris30]

This is not a Miata.

I changed my post and corrected it.

Whatever, it's still a nice car, don't you think?

 

[TumeK5]

I changed my post and corrected it.

Whatever, it's still a nice car, don't you think?

You quoted Jordan's reaction to the Midget; the Midget is not a Miata, but the MX-5 is.

Pay attention Chris.

 

[Obelisk]

Don't get into this on my thread, please.

 

[Chris30]

Don't get into this on my thread, please.

We're not, trust me. Sorry, I was just giving a positive review on the car you initially posted on this thread.

 

[Obelisk]

We're not, trust me. Sorry, I was just giving a positive review on the car you initially posted on this thread.

Cheers. And I appreciate the kind words on the MX5. It's been a great daily driver and I look forward to improving it further.

 

[Chris30]

Cheers. And I appreciate the kind words on the MX5. It's been a great daily driver and I look forward to improving it further.

Well, let us know what you plan to do in the future with your cars/projects. I think you would be a good seller to anyone that wanted to buy one. And that green thing is cool too, I can't describe what it looks like. Good luck with improving your rides, take care.

 

[Obelisk]

As is expected from a car of this age and price, my new Midget has given me quite a bit of work to do. My to-do is as follows:

• Repair the non-functioning lock on the left side door and the broken lock on the gas panel
• Install a tachometer (I am deaf, and going by feel is not going to work for long)
• Get a replacement head unit to address the missing unit in the cabin
• Replace the missing light cover for the interior light - was previously loose and had the cover, but the cover is so old it crumbled apart. Replacement nuts solved the loose light issue
• Replace the antenna immediately - top 1/3 was cut off for some reason, and the remaining metal is dangerous.
• Figure out how to fix the slight warp/indentation in the roof towards the left/rear
• Look at and address rust patches across the body of the car - very few on the actual car, but more on the underside
• Look into repairing/replacing left side panel for bed - snapped in the middle of the panel
• Replace all missing bolts and fasteners in the bed/rear area
• Thoroughly clean the interior/address interior rust/damage
• Repair damage/wear on exterior parts
• Brakes may be weaker than intended - need this addressed too

Less immediate but still needing to be addressed:

• Buy a steering wheel immobilizer
• Get new rustproofing on underside
• Get car detailed
• Get car ready for inspection + registration thru Mass RMV (dear God please let this go through without hassle)
• Swap on the new alloy wheels (doing this tonight/tomorrow)

Want to try doing later:

• Full refresh of paint on interior/exterior
• Brighter headlights

Mechanically, sounding and feeling very solid so far. Very peppy for something that had a mere 31 HP when new.

The new stablemates:

 

[INEEDNAWZZZ]

It’s time to enter this:

 

[ScottPuss20]

This is not a Miata.

Well Chris quoted a post of Obelisk's Miata, Jordan posted a GIF and Chris obviously didn't read the quoted post, thinking that Jordan was reacting to the Miata, not the Midget.

 

[Chris30]

Well Chris quoted a post of Obelisk's Miata, Jordan posted a GIF and Chris obviously didn't read the quoted post, thinking that Jordan was reacting to the Miata, not the Midget.

It's all right, we settled it, I wonder how far the Midget and the MX-5 can go in terms of mileage and power. I've never owned any Madza cars in the past, only Toyota, Honda and Nissan. My dad owned one Mazda car but he crashed it in 2010.

 

[Obelisk]

It's all right, we settled it, I wonder how far the Midget and the MX-5 can go in terms of mileage and power. I've never owned any Madza cars in the past, only Toyota, Honda and Nissan. My dad owned one Mazda car but he crashed it in 2010.

My intention with the Midget is to refresh it as much as I can, so it won't ever really see anything more than 35 HP.

Miata probably won't see more than 200 HP. My priority with that is platform & handling - my next step with it is to get the LSD from a manual example and replace the current open diff with it.

 

[Obelisk]

Oops. Was trying to fix some rust on the driver side window frame. had some tape on to block the paint from getting everywhere.

Paint rolled down and dripped on the door. Tried to get it off...

Pain. I'm going to locate the paint code later and address this when I can.

In the meanwhile: I've ordered a radio unit for the Midget as, well...

It does not have a radio.

I also put a cork on the broken antenna to make it less dangerous for now.

Had to mount the spare tire as well, as the rear right tire's sidewall got compromised somehow. Had to let the air out of that tire so it didn't turn into a grenade too.

 

[Obelisk]

Welp.

Something went while I was running the car today. Alternator or starter has gone out today. Adding that to the to-do list.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Hope you get the Midget back to working order again. I couldn't quite believe it after liking your post on here the day before, the next morning I see this as suggested for me at the top on Instagram as the first post:



Quite creepy / impressive how good social media algorithms are. Maybe it was just a coincidence...

 

[Obelisk]

Welp.

Something went while I was running the car today. Alternator or starter has gone out today. Adding that to the to-do list.

[loud sigh]

I decided to check on the car one last time just now.

It started right up.

I swear, this little troublemaker is going to wind up frustrating me every now and then.

 

[Chris30]

Well, I hope everything works out for you with your cars/garage.

 

[Obelisk]

Hope you get the Midget back to working order again. I couldn't quite believe it after liking your post on here the day before, the next morning I see this as suggested for me at the top on Instagram as the first post:



Quite creepy / impressive how good social media algorithms are. Maybe it was just a coincidence...

This is not a coincidence. My friend got the post, and about 4-5 other people in the Discord servers where I shared my Midget also got recommended that post.

====

Good morning all, another short update.
I've ordered the new paint (Bright Jade Metallic, as indicated on the car's info plate) and will be fixing that discolored spot when it gets here. I'll also be attempting to remove the antenna today so I don't have that flapping around where people can touch it/hit it.

I also have some small carbon fiber trim parts coming in for the MX5. Once my finances stabilize and I can get both of these cars fully paid off, then I can really start working on refreshing the Midget II. The primary goal at the moment is to just get it plated, on the road and inspected.

Will be going a bit quiet on this thread as I focus on getting everything in place, as well as working on a small side project.
Cheers!

 

[Obelisk]

Figured a whole week (as I was planning) would be too long in between updates right now. Once a day or once every 2 days is reasonable until things slow down, methinks.

Monday
- Attempted to remove antenna. Failed horribly, as something is stuck on inside. Accidentally went unga bunga (got a little angry) and the metal around the stuck screw is a little distorted now. Need a pro to handle this one - antenna tenatively taped to car for now.

Tuesday

• Put the Midget on the trickle charger. Failure to start issue on Sun/Mon was identified as as a flat battery.
• Removed side panels for repair effort. I was able to rejoin the snapped pieces of the left bed panel. The back of that panel and the right bed panel need a lot of TLC to address the cracking. Planning to get whatever good Bondo is out there and seal up those areas. This particular truck doesn't have a rear bumper panel so it doesn't need those attachment points exposed.
• Finally removed the paint on the left window and front windshield.
• Yanked more of the leftover adhesive off the left door frame with a plastic scraper. Hitting it with goo gone later in the day (written at 16:09 EST)
• Got insurance through Hagerty of all places... The Midget II is an edge case my normal insurance refused to underwrite for LOL
• Awaiting RTA from Hagerty. Planning to register the boi at the AAA that has an RMV branch in it.
• Ordered JDM to US plate adapters. ETA next Monday.

Images for past 2 days:

 

[SVX]

For that lens cover, you can find a replacement part number via Partsouq diagrams, then recommend a website like Amayama. Let me know if you need a hand finding it.

 

[Obelisk]

Another quick 2-day recap:

Wednesday

• Bought plastic epoxy (good timing, the battery cover experienced a failure and cracked at the mounting point) and epoxied the side panels and battery cover cracks.
• Took a vacuum to the bed and the interior.
• Got and installed new bolts and washers for the panels that mount to the bed. Almost every single bolt on this truck is an M6x1.0. Odd.
• Got a bungee cord set so I can secure cargo to the bed should I need to use the Midget II as a, you know, pickup truck.
• Got the wheel immobilizer.
• New head unit arrived early. Turns out my Midget is missing the plastic surrounding trim for the head unit. Stereo will need connector repinning. Will be talking to a radio shop about a custom solution for this.

Thursday
Mostly a bye day (guest over)

• Insurance papers arrived, and I am now awaiting the RTA from Hagerty to register the Midget II.

Images in this set: the repaired area on the cover panel + the Midget II turnaround with panels epoxied, pending touchup paint. Not pretty, but should be passable after paint. I am doing my best until I can have everything properly redone/painted down the road.

 

[Chris30]

Another quick 2-day recap:

Wednesday

• Bought plastic epoxy (good timing, the battery cover experienced a failure and cracked at the mounting point) and epoxied the side panels and battery cover cracks.
• Took a vacuum to the bed and the interior.
• Got and installed new bolts and washers for the panels that mount to the bed. Almost every single bolt on this truck is an M6x1.0. Odd.
• Got a bungee cord set so I can secure cargo to the bed should I need to use the Midget II as a, you know, pickup truck.
• Got the wheel immobilizer.
• New head unit arrived early. Turns out my Midget is missing the plastic surrounding trim for the head unit. Stereo will need connector repinning. Will be talking to a radio shop about a custom solution for this.

Thursday
Mostly a bye day (guest over)

• Insurance papers arrived, and I am now awaiting the RTA from Hagerty to register the Midget II.

Images in this set: the repaired area on the cover panel + the Midget II turnaround with panels epoxied, pending touchup paint. Not pretty, but should be passable after paint. I am doing my best until I can have everything properly redone/painted down the road.

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That's a beauty right there, perfect for any garden!

 

[Obelisk]

Bad news:
The Massachusetts RMV turned me away when I tried to register the Midget II.

Good news:
I was referred to a service that exists specifically for situations like this. I should be able to get plates and get the Midget II on the road in no time.