Mitosis!

Reading other people's build diaries, this is often referred to as the "Oh Dear Lord! What have I gotten myself in to?" phase of the replicar build. Really, a 1992 Miata is not an electronically complex car by today's standards. But this is still a heck of a wiring tangle. Much of this mess is unnecessary for the DBReplicar build. This is one reason why I'm very tempted to use aftermarket fuel injection and engine management systems, and wire the whole thing myself from scratch. 

However there are also some interesting looking YouTube videos titled something along the lines of "clean up your wiring harness" that are probably worth a look.

I do find satisfaction in neat and tidy wiring, which is the essential ingredient of one of my other DIY build hobbies (below):

Mitosis: the process by which one cell divides to become two cells

Later today, with the help of my Miata friend John, I got through the much more exciting Mitosis stage of the build: when the donor car body shell is removed from its running gear.

Here we are, rolling the donor Miata body around on a wheeled shop crane (above). Lifting from a chain bolted into the Miata's seat belt mounting bosses, the body was just ever so slightly nose-heavy so I'm up front carrying the (estimated) 50 pound difference between the front and rear.

What we're left with is the "skate" - the engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential, suspension, and front and rear subframes (below). This feels like a fairly major milestone.