underdog

iTrader: (6)

Hello All,

I haven't posted on here much, but I've definitely been reading and doing my homework for the past few months. Thanks to all of the contributors of this site, the information that I found here was invaluable.

I am new to the Miata scene, but not to playing with cars. Over the last 9 years or so, I've been pretty heavy into the Mitsubishis and DSMs. I currently own a 1991 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD Turbo and a 1989 Mitsubishi Mirage with a 4G63 swap. (Read all about it at www.TurboMirage.com ) I've also owned a 1991 Eclipse Turbo, 1989 Starion (swapped a 4G63 in that) and a 2003 Lancer Evolution. All of those cars have been tons of fun and have taught me many new things about cars, how to work on them and how to get the performance results that you want by following a well thought out plan with a strict budget.

When spring rolled around this year, I felt like it was time to try something completely new and different with the 'ole car hobby. I wanted a lightweight, reliable sports car that wouldn't break the bank and one car fit the bill more than any other. The Mazda Miata!

I began seriously searching a few months ago, but kept finding the same stuff. "Nice" cars, but with some major quirk that would turn me away. For example, I looked at a great 1991, low mileage, one owner, but the lady let her cat sleep in it every night. I opened the door to take it for a drive and was practically knocked out! The freaking car smelled like a dirty litter box inside! Bummer. I think she thought I was nuts, but I couldn't stomach it.

I looked at a handful of cars with the same result each time. Mostly good but with a major quirk or two that pushed me away.

Just when I was starting to lose faith I came across a gem! I called immediately, went to see it later that evening, and picked it up a couple days later. I've never seen myself as a yellow car guy, but for some reason, it just looks right on a Miata. That and the fact that this was a rare beast with the factory hardtop.

This particular car was owned by a lady who had pampered it from day one. She was a great owner, keeping track of all the maintenance and even threw in the stock wheels/tires, stereo, car cover, tonneau cover and a few other parts. The car currently has a littler over 73,000 miles, is in superb condition inside and out.

Anywho, in the coming days I'll be updating this thread with pics and notes from my Greddy install for those that care to look.

Thanks for reading!

-Tom

underdog

iTrader: (6)

Here's the car when I first brought it home:

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

mmm pretty. Nikon dSLR?

reckless_abandon

iTrader: (1)

thats pretty nice. is that original paint? looks like its in pretty damn good shape.

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

Damn, looks sharp man. Good luck on the install, and keep us updated!

Dont forget to ask questions, the members on this forum are some of the most helpful ive ever met.

Al Hounos

good to see you made it here! (i'm your mother on SCF)

Mimime

iTrader: (1)

Damn... almost gone blind with the bright Yellow! hahaha

Great looking J-limited?

turbopezz

dAMN,LOOKS pretty nice..was never a fan of yellow but yours
looks bad ***.

underdog

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for the comments fellas! I didn't ever think of myself as a yellow car guy, but I like it on this car. The paint is all original, and the owner took excellent care of it. Braineack: These pics were taken with a little old Canon powershot A95.

I've been collecting parts for some time and finally had everything I needed to start the install yesterday. Prior to then, I did all of the stuff that the forum taught me, like cutting the Greddy manifold, getting better bolts, etc.

One hurdle that I had to face was the header that the original owner's husband installed. When he installed it, he removed the cat and had a straight pipe bent and welded between the header and the rest of the exhaust. This was fine, but there were exhaust leaks all around the welds, which made the exhaust whistle, pop and make other unpleasant noises.



Due to this I was forced to modify the Greddy downpipe. While I was going to do that, I figured it would be a great time to fab up a 2.5" exhaust also. Here are the parts that I got together for the install. That pipe on the far left is the factory "mid pipe" from an Evo 8. I think I may use at least the first part and the resonator since its 2.5" and has a nice flange on the end.



Before I started on the exhaust, I wanted to get the header out of there. Here's a shot of the header gone and the oil feed line installed. I also installed some new NGK plug wires as the no-name yellow ones that were on the car didn't even fit into the wells correctly.



After looking at (and being unimpressed with) the length and routing of the stock Greddy oil drain hose, I decided to tap the pan. I hunted around and was able to find a 3/8" NPT to 5/8" hose end fitting from NAPA. I also picked up a 3/8" NPT tap and 37/64" drill bit. The job wasn't too bad, but I did lower the steering rack and let it hang by the tie rod ends. This allowed me to get a straight shot at the pan. All told, the job went smoothly. I'll post a pic of the fitting in the pan later.



Here's a shot of the turbo mounted. For those with keen eyes, you'll see that I chose not to use the Greddy oil drain fitting. Being a hardcore Mitsu-head, I had an oil return line from a DSM lying around that I never used. I used the top part of it to bolt to the turbo and cut off the other flanged end and mated it with the 5/8 oil drain hose. I liked this because it got the hose away from the hot turbo and with the flex-section in the tube, I could angle things how I wanted them.



This also came via UPS yesterday. I'm not sure if I'm going to install this right off the bat, but I wanted to have it to start taking measurements and look at pipe routing options.



Next time I'll cover more on the downpipe modification and exhaust fab/install. Thanks for reading!

Slidin'Miata916

iTrader: (-1)

How much did that heater hose fitting cost ya?

KPLAFIN

iTrader: (1)

I remember when my greddy kit was still that clean....how much did you pay for the car?

underdog

iTrader: (6)

slidin'Miata916: The fitting was $5.69 at NAPA.

KPLAFIN: I got an unbelievable deal on this car. It was about the same price as other 90-93 Miatas were going for here.

-Tom

Harv

iTrader: (4)

That is a great looking car and with the hard-top to boot. Nice. I wish I had taken more time to find one that clean.

tabs604

great thread...lets see some more updates!

weitau

wow your car is unbelievable! Score on a great find!

underdog

iTrader: (6)

Thanks again for the comments fellas. Made a little more progress this weekend, but not much due to a crazy work schedule as of late.

Here's a shot of the Greddy downpipe with a few modifications. As mentioned above, there was no cat on this car, so in order to better accommodate the transition to 2.5" pipe, I changed the angle of the outlet and welded in a 2.5" adapter. I also wrapped it to try and keep the heat down to a minimum.



Here's the finished downpipe with the flex section and 2.5" flange welded in. The pictures do it no justice, but it's tucked up in there good with plenty of clearance all around.



I know that I mentioned above that I may wait and install the intercooler, but given my experience, I just couldn't imagine not doing this while I had the chance. Here's a shot of it in position (more or less) while I fab up some brackets.



Here's another shot of it in position. I trimmed a little bit off of one side of the hood latch support in order to get this puppy tucked up inside the nose.



I've dealt with some tight engine bays, but space is a premium in these cars with air conditioning and power steering. I needed to see some daylight in order to start running the hot side piping, so I removed the driver's side cooling fan and p.s. reservoir. I may relocate the reservoir, but I'm not sure yet. I'll probably end up going with a slimmer aftermarket cooling fan also.



Until next time!

Al Hounos

Looks great, but why not just get a turbo tony DP or build yourself a full 2.5" DP instead of modding the little greddy one?

underdog

iTrader: (6)

I actually planned to get the Begi downpipe last week, but found out that it may take a few weeks (or more) to get one due to a problem with their first batch. Due to that, I decided to go this route for now. This winter I'll either make my own 2.5" or buy the Begi.

jwarriner

Good to see you posting, Tom. Looks like you're moving along quite nicely. Guys, Tom is being modest about the time it's taken him to do all this, I talked to him on the phone 3-4 weeks ago and he hadn't even picked up the car yet.

wildfire0310

iTrader: (1)

Well first welcome to the board and nice list of cars. I miss my 95 TSI AWD sometimes but the miata is just so much fun.

I like the updates on the greddy project. Question, could you take a photo of the oil drain line? I plan to install a 14B turbo I still have on my 91 and I still have a brand new oil drain line that I could mod to save a few bucks.

Thanks