Obelisk's Garage - Daihatsu Midget II, Mazda MX5 (NC2), Suzuki Alto Works (HB11S)

[Obelisk]

Updates:

No word back on Daishō / the Midget II yet. Not surprised.

On Mimi/the NC2 Miata:
I'd been pretty unhappy with the steelies/spacer situation and finally hit the eject button. I bought a set of brand new alloys - 16" wheels intended as OEM on the 3rd generation Mazda3.

Spacers are gone now and the new wheels are in perfect. Just need to figure out where I can source center caps for these.

They actually look pretty freaking good on an NC2...

p.s... Does this qualify for that "Wrong OEM wheels" thread?

 

[Edax 76]

Updates:

No word back on Daishō / the Midget II yet. Not surprised.

On Mimi/the NC2 Miata:
I'd been pretty unhappy with the steelies/spacer situation and finally hit the eject button. I bought a set of brand new alloys - 16" wheels intended as OEM on the 3rd generation Mazda3.

Spacers are gone now and the new wheels are in perfect. Just need to figure out where I can source center caps for these.
View attachment 1436795
View attachment 1436796
They actually look pretty freaking good on an NC2...

p.s... Does this qualify for that "Wrong OEM wheels" thread?

She looks stunning bud

 

[05XR8]

Just posted in another member’s post about a car like theirs racing in the first Super Taikyu race of the 2025 season. Then this gem gets some air time a few moments ago. Good stuff!

 

[Chris30]

Updates:

No word back on Daishō / the Midget II yet. Not surprised.

On Mimi/the NC2 Miata:
I'd been pretty unhappy with the steelies/spacer situation and finally hit the eject button. I bought a set of brand new alloys - 16" wheels intended as OEM on the 3rd generation Mazda3.

Spacers are gone now and the new wheels are in perfect. Just need to figure out where I can source center caps for these.
View attachment 1436795
View attachment 1436796
They actually look pretty freaking good on an NC2...

p.s... Does this qualify for that "Wrong OEM wheels" thread?

Wow, that car looks shiny and clean. Fantastic work!! Keep it up mate. Have a great safe weekend.

 

[Obelisk]

Grumbling about needing to clean my NC2 yet again. It's picked up a bit of dirt from everyday driving.

(excuse my ugly mug getting reflected in the panels, btw)


I mean, look at how mucky this reflection on the driver's side door is.

Just posted in another member’s post about a car like theirs racing in the first Super Taikyu race of the 2025 season. Then this gem gets some air time a few moments ago. Good stuff!

View attachment 1437842View attachment 1437843View attachment 1437844View attachment 1437845

That thing is an absolute beaut - thanks for sharing that.

 

[TB]

I mean, look at how mucky this reflection on the driver's side door is.

As a fellow black vehicle owner, mine was WAAAAAAAY filthier than that. Even after a run through the car wash it probably still is.

 

[Obelisk]

As a fellow black vehicle owner, mine was WAAAAAAAY filthier than that. Even after a run through the car wash it probably still is.

I may or may not be a little obsessed with how good the reflection is when the NC is squeaky clean.

 

[Chris30]

Don't worry about the quality of the car, it's great just the way it is, maybe one day you can take it to the car wash and clean it up. It will being shiny and sparkly after the job is done. Good luck. It's almost April soon, maybe a rain shower will clean up the mud.

 

[Obelisk]

Was trying to tease this yesterday, and maybe made it too vague.

Meet car #3 and the final addition to my garage:
"Hakoga" (translation: "The Box"), my new 1998 Suzuki Alto Works.

This Alto Works is an HB11S chassis, meaning it's the all-wheel drive variant of the Works. It has the turbocharged SOHC F6A engine with multipoint fuel injection and the original 3 speed automatic transmission.

About 65,000 miles on it, and actually came with a service history so I know it's in pretty good shape. In fact, I was able to drive it home.

That being said, despite being absolutely thorough in reviewing the service history of the car and inspecting it at the import dealer's lot, one of the cylinders started missing a mile from my house. So...Got a wee bit of diagnostic and maintenance work to do on it while I work on the plates.

I'm starting with the spark plugs to see if it's just a dud plug in one of the cylinders.

I also finally heard back on the Midget - I will know for sure what the status of the car is later this week.

(for those of you who remember the can of beans proof on the Midget - don'tcha worry, I'll post the beans proof for this Alto when I get a few minutes. Crazy weekend.)

 

[TB]

Was trying to tease this yesterday, and maybe made it too vague.

I see it now.

 

[Chris30]

Was trying to tease this yesterday, and maybe made it too vague.

Meet car #3 and the final addition to my garage:
"Hakoga" (translation: "The Box"), my new 1998 Suzuki Alto Works.
View attachment 1439940View attachment 1439941View attachment 1439942View attachment 1439943View attachment 1439944

This Alto Works is an HB11S chassis, meaning it's the all-wheel drive variant of the Works. It has the turbocharged SOHC F6A engine with multipoint fuel injection and the original 3 speed automatic transmission.

About 65,000 miles on it, and actually came with a service history so I know it's in pretty good shape. In fact, I was able to drive it home.

That being said, despite being absolutely thorough in reviewing the service history of the car and inspecting it at the import dealer's lot, one of the cylinders started missing a mile from my house. So...Got a wee bit of diagnostic and maintenance work to do on it while I work on the plates.

I'm starting with the spark plugs to see if it's just a dud plug in one of the cylinders.

I also finally heard back on the Midget - I will know for sure what the status of the car is later this week.

(for those of you who remember the can of beans proof on the Midget - don'tcha worry, I'll post the beans proof for this Alto when I get a few minutes. Crazy weekend.)

Thanks for the update, keep us posted later this week if you can. Take care and good luck with your cars. I have faith that you can manage them indefinitely for as long as possible. Good luck!!

 

[Obelisk]

I'm starting with the spark plugs to see if it's just a dud plug in one of the cylinders.

This was the right call. Not a dud plug, though. I'm gonna start with the #2 (center) and #3 (side closest to intake) plugs:

And the problem child that caused the cylinder to miss:

Because this happened while the car was miles from home and had to limp home on two semi-okay cylinders, the porcelain debris in cylinder #1 got pulverized into dust. I was able to kludge together a vacuum end to get into that cylinder and pull the major debris off the cylinder head, but the remaining dust is probably in the oil by now.

I've got new OEM spark plugs on the way soon. I'm gonna check the gapping, install those and then once the function check is good and the car is registered, I'm gonna run it to the closest mechanic and get an oil change done.