This is the beginning of a long project. Right now, I'm working on the suspension.

I went to Flyin' Miata not long ago, and came back with this stuff


I also bought these new rubber bushings. This is primarily a track car, so comfort is not in the picture at all. My original plan was for Delrin, Aluminum, or spherical bearings.

But Keith Tanner talked me into these rubber bushings. They are 30% stiffer than stock bushings. This is what FM uses on their Targa car. This is going to be a very light weight car. If the suspension is too harsh, it will bounce the car around.

I'll try them out and see how it goes. If it's too compliant, I'll try something else.


Flyin' Miata : Chassis : Bushings : Complete high performance rubber bushing set

The first order of business is to remove all the old bushings. I removed two of them with a sledgehammer and a couple of sockets. Two of them. Took me about 35-40 minutes.

After that, I went over to Harbor Freight and bought a 12 ton press for about $120. I got the rest of them out in about 30 minutes, and no sweating.

 

I left the parts in the basement for a while, and there was a magical transformation! The Miata gnomes were busy, and turned all the parts clean and shiny, and even with a new color. Great! Saves me some work.

Anyway, time to install the new bushings. Not nearly as easy as removing them. This part too me a few hours.


And here's the finished product. All new bushings everywhere.


I think the next step will be install the new wheel studs in the HD hubs.

When I get some warmer weather, I'll work on the rear sub frame. It's only 4* outside now, so I'll wait until next week end.

 

Bob, thanks for the post. I've been meaning to build a press for 20 years,,,,really nothing much to em,,,I keep saying. I see a trip to the Communist Chinese tool outlet in the near future. Man for $120 how can you go wrong. And I'm on the verge of doing a new front sub-frame that'll mean new bushings so I actually have a justifiable reason to give the CFO.