Exocet Part 14: Tunnel Mod for Tall & Big Guys & Radiator Install

I apologize in advance in keeping this build log up. We are in the process of a cross country move and getting a house ready to sell is a major time commitment. So sob story behind me back to the Build Log. As most Miata racers find out fitting a proper race seat 16″ or bigger in a Miata can be a task. Often the transmission tunnel kinks over at an angle causing the seat to have to be mounted at an angle pointing away from the steering wheel. Often this leads to difficulty in getting in / out of the car as the bolsters are metal. In addition the taller you are the farther back you have to be so that the seat gets pushed further outboard (towards the cage) making your shoulders much closer to cage making you more uncomfortable. For Miatas it’s an easy fix with a premade tunnel notch out panel you can then have the tunnel cut and have this welded in allowing the seat to move 2″ further inboard. This is good in several ways: much more comfortable as you have more room for shoulders; easier fit a seat; allows more room for “big guys” or “tall guys” or “big, tall guys”; it pushes the driver more inboard to give better center of gravity; and it centers the seat on the steering wheel. Some pics (please note that is not me but a much shorter and thinner professional male model named Derek Zoolander).

As you can tell above, the Exocet being very closely based on the Miata has this same issue with 16″ or wider raceseats. I’m also running a 16″ Kirkey 71 Series Halo seat (I can fit a 15″ with room to spare but I wanted a wider seat for Enduros in case the other driver had wider hips) and after the installation, the seat would have been at the Miata angle and the left side shoulder and head bolsters would actually be outside the cage.  To fix this issue I had a custom notch out panel made for the seat allowing easier fitment and get me further inside the car. And damn the Kirkey 71 Series is a badass seat (go to OGRacing to check it out).

Side from cage – the 71 Series doe not have a flat bottom so requires a custom mount.

From drivers footwell area.

Backseat brace.

Side of drivers area (pre tunnel) and note the bottom from the main cage bar does not have gussetting – may add some for better side protection / intrusion.

Also the radiator needs a support built. There is also a difference in the 90-93 rad, 94-97 rad and the ’99+ rads. Flyin’ Miata will soon have a radiator support kit for earlier NA6 / NA8 radiators but not yet for 99 cars. So I had a custom rad mount created.

Flyin’ Miata Mount for NA6 & NA8 cars. Credit to Keith @ FM.

Flyin’ Miata side. Credit to Keith @ FM.

My mocked up version from front. Made it beefy for possible bumper to bumper contact.

The next stage is wiring in the Megasquirt MS3 Pro and getting it tuned. I also am still waiting on bodywork so not sure fitment with radiator support etc. Also need bodywork and fenders to pass race inspection. This car will be coming to NASA NorthEast region sometime in 2014. Will also get a power upgrade with a 1.8 liter motor with a new supercharger package coming for the Miata (later in 2014).