Obelisk's Garage - Daihatsu Midget II, Mazda MX5 (NC2), racing mower
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Obelisk
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You see that dirty, mucky filter on the left?
Yeah. That was the air filter inside the Midget. It looks like it's the original one that the car was sold with. The more I find, the more annoyed I get with the prior owner of the Midget.
Took me a few days of experimenting, and finally caving in to a $7 app, but I got the carb retuned to account for the new air filter and the vastly improved airflow.
The annoying thing is that despite everything being dialed in and verified with the app, the Midget still:
- sounds like a riding mower
- sounds like it's fast idling
Some things you just can't change, I guess.
Obelisk
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Put the Midget to work today, had some stuff to take down/move ahead of the winter season.
This was the third and final load the little old lady hauled for us today. After that was a quick errand and a much needed car wash. I'll be heading to a Cars and Coffee / Toys for Tots event tomorrow a few towns over.
Figured the toy truck would be appropriate for the toy drive!
Obelisk
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Very quick, small update:
Picked up a set of 16x6.5 steel wheels for the Miata. The plan is to run it on the steel wheels + 205/50r16 all seasons and save the factory alloys for autocross/track tires. Then in the spring of 2025 will be an LSD swap, sourced from from a manual NC.
Then finally, some small power mods (Manifolds, rest of the exhaust) later on once things clear up.
For now, I've rotated the tires on Mimi so I can get through the winter and collect the things I need for the spring.
Daishō has been parked for the winter and won't come back out unless I have a sudden need for cargo/pickup shenanigans.
Picked up a set of 16x6.5 steel wheels for the Miata. The plan is to run it on the steel wheels + 205/50r16 all seasons and save the factory alloys for autocross/track tires. Then in the spring of 2025 will be an LSD swap, sourced from from a manual NC.
Then finally, some small power mods (Manifolds, rest of the exhaust) later on once things clear up.
For now, I've rotated the tires on Mimi so I can get through the winter and collect the things I need for the spring.
Daishō has been parked for the winter and won't come back out unless I have a sudden need for cargo/pickup shenanigans.
Obelisk
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I have an actual update for the Midget instead of a small 'this that' kinda post. I took it out for a long drive to Burlington for an impromptu car meet with special guest WayBeforeTheFame. I'd like to think we hit it off - he seemed especially interested in my Midget.
While looking over the truck with him, he pointed out that I didn't actually have a floor mat like I thought I did. ...Turns out the prior owner tossed the floor mat and used/cut up the rubber mat from the bed in order to have a floor mat in the Midget. I've put in a bid for an authentic second hand Midget II carpet that would have been on this vehicle, and I'm waiting to hear back on the results of that. If all works out, I should have the new carpet in by the end of December.
I feel like my thread motto is going to be "The more I learn about Midgets, the more annoyed I am at the prior owner" (or more simply: "My Midget's prior owner is an idiot.") because of how many truly bone-headed decisions apparently went down with regards to this car. As if the 28 year old air filter wasn't already stupid enough...
No photos this time - will share the car meet photos elsewhere on GTP tomorrow.
While looking over the truck with him, he pointed out that I didn't actually have a floor mat like I thought I did. ...Turns out the prior owner tossed the floor mat and used/cut up the rubber mat from the bed in order to have a floor mat in the Midget. I've put in a bid for an authentic second hand Midget II carpet that would have been on this vehicle, and I'm waiting to hear back on the results of that. If all works out, I should have the new carpet in by the end of December.
I feel like my thread motto is going to be "The more I learn about Midgets, the more annoyed I am at the prior owner" (or more simply: "My Midget's prior owner is an idiot.") because of how many truly bone-headed decisions apparently went down with regards to this car. As if the 28 year old air filter wasn't already stupid enough...
No photos this time - will share the car meet photos elsewhere on GTP tomorrow.
Obelisk
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He actually featured my Midget and I in his video about the car meet! Time stamp 11:25.I have an actual update for the Midget instead of a small 'this that' kinda post. I took it out for a long drive to Burlington for an impromptu car meet with special guest WayBeforeTheFame. I'd like to think we hit it off - he seemed especially interested in my Midget.
While looking over the truck with him, he pointed out that I didn't actually have a floor mat like I thought I did. ...Turns out the prior owner tossed the floor mat and used/cut up the rubber mat from the bed in order to have a floor mat in the Midget. I've put in a bid for an authentic second hand Midget II carpet that would have been on this vehicle, and I'm waiting to hear back on the results of that. If all works out, I should have the new carpet in by the end of December.
I feel like my thread motto is going to be "The more I learn about Midgets, the more annoyed I am at the prior owner" (or more simply: "My Midget's prior owner is an idiot.") because of how many truly bone-headed decisions apparently went down with regards to this car. As if the 28 year old air filter wasn't already stupid enough...
No photos this time - will share the car meet photos elsewhere on GTP tomorrow.
Last edited:
Obelisk
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So couple of things are happening over the next few weeks.
First, I ordered a set of tires to go on the steel wheels I'd gotten for the Miata. Figured I'd take advantage of the winter season and get the tires done sooner rather than later. Since I got a set of 16" wheels fitted to OEM spec (downsized from 17" OE alloys to give myself a little more sidewall), the next step was to pick up the OEM tire size for 16" - 205/50R16. The tires I settled on were the Falken ZIEX ZE960 A/S. I went with grand touring all seasons instead of dedicated winter tires as a logistics compromise, as I do not have the room, time or ability (yet) to manage summer/winter sets and a set dedicated to Autocross.
So for now, it's all seasons on steels and autox on the alloys. I'll be getting the tires mounted about halfway into the month, then putting them on myself.
Second, the floor mat for the Midget arrives Monday. In anticipation of that, I pulled the original "mat" from the truck to check the condition of the interior.
First: this really never was a floor mat.
Second: Eugh. This was a little neglected.
I went over all of this a few times with the shop vac, a screwdriver (to dislodge stuck dirt) and a sanding block to get it all sorted out. It doesn't look like much improvement in the photo, but it was an improvement. Also took the opportunity to sand something on the footwell as there was a spot that needed to be painted.
Then came the Rustoleum primer coat.
And finally - A fresh, generous coat of Bright Jade Metallic.
The only casualty of this impromptu/newbie restoration was the throttle pedal getting a small patch of jade.
I'd like to think I did a solid job for a first time restoration/proper touchup and rust clean up...
Now to wait for the rug to arrive so I can deep clean that and throw it in the little old lady. She deserves a bit of period correct flair.
FYI - This is the floor mat Midgets came with. This example is the one I purchased and has a lot of age/dirt on it.
First, I ordered a set of tires to go on the steel wheels I'd gotten for the Miata. Figured I'd take advantage of the winter season and get the tires done sooner rather than later. Since I got a set of 16" wheels fitted to OEM spec (downsized from 17" OE alloys to give myself a little more sidewall), the next step was to pick up the OEM tire size for 16" - 205/50R16. The tires I settled on were the Falken ZIEX ZE960 A/S. I went with grand touring all seasons instead of dedicated winter tires as a logistics compromise, as I do not have the room, time or ability (yet) to manage summer/winter sets and a set dedicated to Autocross.
So for now, it's all seasons on steels and autox on the alloys. I'll be getting the tires mounted about halfway into the month, then putting them on myself.
Second, the floor mat for the Midget arrives Monday. In anticipation of that, I pulled the original "mat" from the truck to check the condition of the interior.
First: this really never was a floor mat.
Second: Eugh. This was a little neglected.
I went over all of this a few times with the shop vac, a screwdriver (to dislodge stuck dirt) and a sanding block to get it all sorted out. It doesn't look like much improvement in the photo, but it was an improvement. Also took the opportunity to sand something on the footwell as there was a spot that needed to be painted.
Then came the Rustoleum primer coat.
And finally - A fresh, generous coat of Bright Jade Metallic.
The only casualty of this impromptu/newbie restoration was the throttle pedal getting a small patch of jade.
I'd like to think I did a solid job for a first time restoration/proper touchup and rust clean up...
Now to wait for the rug to arrive so I can deep clean that and throw it in the little old lady. She deserves a bit of period correct flair.
FYI - This is the floor mat Midgets came with. This example is the one I purchased and has a lot of age/dirt on it.
