Project Black

Hello all and welcome to my first post.

My brand new Mx-5 arrives in 36 days. This is the start of project black and this is where I hope to document in writing, photo and video a passion project a year in the making.

I would like to start at the beginning.

The idea came from when the RF 2.0 Sel based new Sport Black the car (for those who are not aware) had a leather interior a near Sport Nav level of trim in Eternal Blue. The car was great however, I thought Mazda didnā€™t quite go far enough with the car to make it unique. I thought the same of the new Z Sport the cherry roof was beautiful and at the time the only way to get Machine Grey on a soft top. However the old Z sport had really unique BBS alloys a unique plum and gold paint as well as a few other awesome features. This got me on a train of thought. Why not create my own limited edition.Ā 

As the idea originated from the Sport Black I looked at Mazdaā€˜s other Sport Blacks paying attention to the 16 plate Mazda 2-3 Sport Blacks. With alternative wings, interiors and flareā€¦ Project black started to take form.Ā 

One thing I wanted to make sure was the car didnā€™t look like a street racing car just something genuinely different and with a high level of quality and attention to detail. One that Mazda could actually put into production and of course something for me to be proud of while driving.Ā 

Excluding the Rf Sport Black. All of the others throughout the range of Mazdaā€™s cars had an option to buy the cars in white this would be my colour of choice for my ā€œSport Blackā€ and with the understanding of the ā€œblackā€ part of Sport Black referring to the extra garnish added, spoilers and trimmings. Any parts to be added would therefore be in gloss black.

So with a an idea in principle I started trawling the internet for extras I could add and soon came up with a bucket listā€¦

The idea evolved over the course of the year until finally I caved and a few days ago bought the car.

A YouTube channel and an Instagram detailing the process of building the car over the next year will be created soon and parts have already been ordered. This is where this lovely forum comes in. In order to get some proper feedback and what people think I will also be documenting the process in this thread.

Car: Mx-5 2019 ND Sport Nav+ in Arctic White

Upcoming immediate changes: Mazda front and side spoiler kit, lowering springs, Mx-5 Parts duel centre exhaust with diffuser and painted carbon fibre front bumper duct covers from carbon haus.

Future Changes: Interior stitching to be changed to white, new Steering wheel with white stitching matching the rest of the car. Black alloy wheels (Most likely BBS from Mazda accessory base or Oz Itallias ordered from BBR GTI). ISR Delete and higher flow air intake pipes added, filter changes, Calipers Painted White with the name of the car to be added as well. LEDā€™s to replace most standard bulbs in the car,Ā Pin Stripe Kit made by Silk-blazeĀ Japan, and Blitz Rear spoiler and Brake light relocation. Eventually a BBR remap and painting exterior badges black.

I am sure more subtle mods will be added in the future as I do more researchĀ and new things come up.

The car wont be called project black I am sure I will find a suitable name for it soon enough.

I would love to know everyoneā€™sĀ thoughts on the matter.Ā 

A.K.

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P.S Here is the link to the playlist of episodesĀ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHRHdRRwOcd57Ra6Q6VSwscb65FKA-6wsĀ 

Episode 0 (prequel)Ā https://youtu.be/OYUf5G26GaUĀ Ā 

Episode 1 (calipers)Ā https://youtu.be/-55CfQnxvEM

Mx- Parts ND Exhausts ComparisonĀ https://youtu.be/XvF75rg1OSE

Episode 2 (Exhaust)Ā https://youtu.be/CHRWIjs0RMIĀ 

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Car Progress so Far (pictured below) 17/08/19

2 Likes

Well Iā€™m watching with great interest.Iā€™ve always been puzzled that Mazda ā€˜Black editionsā€™ are any colour but black. Starting with a white car takes it to another level. Tell us where the forum ID comes from? That sounds like a great name for this 1 of 1 special edition.

 

Funny you mention thatā€¦ That is Japanese Akari meaning light as in the wave of light the sun gives off or brightness and Kuro means Black or dark/darkness so that will be the name of the car Akari Kuro The brightness being the colour the darkness being the Black trim. Came to me when I realised nearly every part of project black will be only black and white no other colours.;

 

A great idea!Ā  It will obviously be a labour of love, and endurance!!Ā  I wish you every success with your project!!!

1 Like

This is a great idea!Ā Ā Iā€™ve had a dabble myself at making a unique car and Iā€™m currently on car #2. Certainly couldnā€™t afford a brand new car, or the parts that you are going for but absolutely love the ideaĀ 

Mine is AHURA MAZDA (Lord of wisdom) although Iā€™m not sure it applies to me Ā and the seats will have AHURA embroidered in red into the recovered seats ( black with red stitch ) Iā€™ve managed to source somebody to make resin domed wing badges that say AHURA, and a circular one to replace the Mazda badge on front bumper with A and M intertwined.

Ill certainly be following your antics with the new car!

Barrie

Thank you both. I will be posting the links to the Channel where the videos will be posted from itā€™s arrival all the way to the first stone chip haha. Photo will be updated here as soon as it arrives!

 

A.K.

 

If you want something a bit different badge wise there is a guy on eBay selling stainless steel badges. The one I spotted was a stainless version of the ZSport badges. If he can make those Iā€™m sure he could do a script badge with another name. Might have to spray it black for ā€˜Project Blackā€™ though.

Search ā€˜MX-5 ZSport badgesā€™ on eBay.

 

Ideal! The project will be called project black the car will be called something with a bit more Japanese flare! Iā€™m going to check eBay right now though cheers!

 

A.K.

 

Hello All

Updateā€¦ The car is going to be here very soon as in 2 weeks early so I have spent some money getting the exhaust, gas bonnet struts, rear defuser, grille , canards and a shorty arial. Going to get it to fit to the car right away! The You-Tube Channel has been made and first upload will be here in a few days outlining project black and will have a little surprise in it too. I have also designed and created the logo for the car to be added to grilles and stitching on the seats which as one reader guessed is indeed my name see the design below and soon to be in the avatar as well!

Hope you are all enjoying the sun

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A.K.

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Hello All

The first video of creating Project Black is up. The video below explains my channel and what the first series on it will be (project black obviously). The video on there is a prologue (episode 0) of Project Black with me driving the ND explaining my love for the Mx-5 and a little history lesson followed by the outline of the project. If you would like to check it out see below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYUf5G26GaU

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Also my short antenna arrived had a small issue a bit of silver was showing when replacing the oem aerial so my friend drilled a washer and painted it black after sanding and rounding. Went to the local Mazda dealer to see what it look like and bingo! Stubby aerial win!

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A.K.

Hiya, just watched episode 0, very good and interesting. Just one thing, why is the footage lifted from other vids, in reverse? I wondered what a 5XM was at firstĀ Ā well done though (way beyond my video production capabilities) and looking forward to watching future episodes as the car evolvesĀ Ā Hats off to you for taking a brand new high spec model and adding OEM + modifications to improve it further, whilst retaining a ā€œfactoryā€ look. Reminds me of the KAHN Range Roverā€™s. Next thing youā€™ll be offering an upgrade service to owners!Ā 

Barrie

Hello Barrie

So I have worked in the film industry on Youtube for a fair while. I flipped the footage horizontally because even though I am using it as ā€œfair useā€ Youtubes auto copyright system would still flag it as stealing content (which I am not) It does fall under the current fair use laws. If I had not flipped the video and removed the audio. I also resized and changed the speed of it as well then unfortunately Youtube may block it in certain countries.

The hard part of modding this car is not so much the mods themselves I think. The hard part is making every little detail factory look. For example I love the lower zunsport grille and it will go well with the car however I have just spend 5 hours designing and printing a logo exactly the same size which says Akari Kuro so I can get the Zunsport logo off and the cars name on the grille instead without having to tear off the welded metal that the Zunsport logo sits in.

Car will be arriving Wednesday by the way!

A.K.

Hi again

interesting explanation for the video! I guess thereā€™s always a workaround? Keep it coming.

Barrie

Hello All

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So The idea of keeping everything black or white unfortunately has ended there will be one dash of colour in the car. I mocked up a photo of the car with white brake calipers and I figured I would never get the right shade so it hit me. Why do the calipers need to be white? Every other car manufacturer paints their sports car versions of their sports carsā€¦ calipers red, yellow, blue, green etc. So below please see my mock up of the colour I will be going withā€¦

Be honest I want to know what you thinkā€¦ This will be the only tinge of colour in the carā€¦

The photo used was as close as I could get to my colour car and close as I could to the alloys that will be added in a few monthsā€¦

If you were wondering why Greenā€¦ 787B as orange is already taken for the 30th anniversary haha

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A.K.

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At the end of the day, itā€™s your car and partly why I do stuff to mine? Its not everyoneā€™s cup of tea but itā€™s how you want to express yourself. Go with whatever pleases youĀ 

Having said that and followings the rationale of black/white and OEM+ have a look here:

https://www.racingbeateurope.com/goodwin-racingā€“mx5-nd-big-brake-brake-kit-310-mm-wilwood-dynalite-front-brake-kit-2367-p.asp

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Or, you could paint the OEM calipers black.Ā 

Barrie

Hello Barrie

Only problem painting them black is Iā€™m going to have black OZ itallia wheels going on there very soon. After mocking up the white it just did not look right. Red is too generic. Yellow is not to my taste. Blue is very BMW. So I landed on green. I like my mock up if it does not suit I can always paint them againā€¦

I would love a big brake kit but will have to wait a long while for that

A.K

 

 youā€™re right, caliper colour is a personal thing, you can run with the herd, as I do, with silver,  or go for what suits you  as you said, itā€™s a coat of paint away from being changed if you donā€™t like?

Barrie

Hello Barrie

No going back nowā€¦

VHT Brake Caliper Enamel Paint - Green

Rubbing Alcohol Isopropyl

STP Brake Cleaner

Artist Paint Brushes Set

ofoen Drum Sander Set

Amtech F3500 Wire Wheel Brush Set

 

E-Tech XHT Xtremely High Temperature CLEAR LACQUER

Masking tape

Have all just been ordered. Will be painting the calipers before the car goes on the road to minimise brake dust and minimise any rust build up right away so they should last at least!

I will video and document the painting of them to be sureā€¦ for better or worse.

Never having done it before I shall be getting some helpā€¦ Hopefully.

 

A.K

 

Hello all

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Many things have arrived including the car!

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A.K.