mylesofsmyles

Well, 2.5 years is long enough, without a Miata...

I've since been plagued with an affinity for 4-cylinder Swedish Iron...

Oh what to do???





Here's my growing spec's list...

1995 Mazda Miata

Exterior
Hard Dog Single-Diagonal Roll Bar
14x5.5" Steelies

Interior

LE Red Leather Seats
LE Red Carpet
Revlimiter F1 Gauge Faces
DDMWorks 3-Gauge/Radio Mount
MOMO/SAAB Steering Wheel
eBay Steering Wheel Hub
Black 1.6L Dash Board
Black 1.6L Door Cards
Black Plastic Panels
LE Stainless Steel Door Sills

Revisions

Non-ABS Brake Hard Lines & Hardware
Non-ABS Brake Booster/MC/Prop. Valve
Isolated Chassis Harness (optimized)Volvo E-FanBattery Cable RerouteLH2.2 Stand-Alone Harness

Engine

B23F Motor
B20 Oil Pan
B20 Oil Pump
140 Motor Mount Brackets
Yoshifab Vintage Mount Adapters

Drivetrain

Mustang V8 WC T5 Transmission, 2.95/.63
M46 Hydraulic Bellhousing
SACHS 8.5" Turbo Pressure Plate
Flat 8.5" Cast-Iron Flywheel

Suspension

SuperPro Adjustable Polyurethane Bushings
GAB Front Strut Tower Brace

Brakes

EBC Green-Stuff Pads




Found a rolling chassis to start with....







With the current offerings of V8roadsters, a Mustang T5 transmission would nearly bolt right in...



It's a simple steel framerail reinforcement and transmission x-member, for use with a 'Stang T5...

Is it so unreasonable to think I can't reverse build the car into running a Volvo Redblock?

Well, we shall soon find out...

John suggested I take a measuring tape to the old Miata motor, to see just how much bigger the B230F will be, but it can't be much bigger than a Ford 2.3...

Looks like I'm not the first, with a brilliant idea...




Someone was crazy to strap a Ford 2.3L Turbo in his Miata...

And another with a Volvo 16v head...





I think my new Miata would SCREAM with a high compression B230, 16v head, PZ Boat cams and IRTB's, in front of a 5.0L Mustang T5 tranny and 4.10 gears...

For now though, I've got a trusty, B23F, to get me started.





Wish me luck!

Myles

mylesofsmyles

Two Rivals Compete for Garage Space...

A known good 1.6L Miata motor, awaits a new owner,

The new '84 B23F Volvo motor, awaits it's prep for mock-up!





Stripped down the old accessory pumps, mounts and studs...

This motor came with my favorite type IAC mount, Block Mount is cleanest!

Mounted up my Yoshifab Vintage Motor Mount Adapters & 140 Aluminum Mounts...

Still need some 164 Isolators...





Installed my compact, Denso 100a alternator...

Would you believe it, the Miata Oil Pressure Sender fits the Volvo Block...

I used my VDO 5-Bar though, to make better use of an Oil Pressure Gauge...




I don't think I just want to stuff an oily motor in my Miata, so it's due for some careful scrubbing.

Also have to pick up a new B20 oil pump & oil pan gasket, to swap in, along with my B20 oil pan, to make the vertical mount transformation complete!

Now, if I could just find a garage to start working in...


It's gotta go here...

mylesofsmyles

One Piece at a Time...

Well, that's the pace I'm keeping.




Harvested some parts from my garage, a parts car & a little bro-dealin'

A roller is what it is, and I am happy to have gotten such a great deal on one man's trash.

It was in need of a few essential pieces, some of which I pulled from my parts car...




The parts car was a '93 LE, so it's unique red leather seats & carpet had my interest,

Though the P.O. had his go at the dash board, door cards and rear shelf carpet.

I've filled the gaps with parts from a 1.6L black interior...looks sharp!





This aggressive looking strut tower brace was left in the parts car as well....I found it a great addition.

Notice all the wiring and accessories that have been deleted from my engine bay...





All of the original Mazda Engine Management stuff has been deleted,

ABS has been deleted, and all components have been replaced with Non-ABS parts.

When it came down to it, there were only 4-wires left to my Under-Hood Fuse/Power Panel, all getting direct 12v from the battery,

So I traced the wires down, and re-routed them, driver side, using a compact Power Distribution Block from a Volvo 240...tucks neatly with the relays..






Original Fan relay and it's wiring has disappeared,

I'm using a 2-Speed Fan Relay from a Volvo 850...

Low speed is wired to a temp sensor, set for my lower radiator hose,

High speed goes to my A/C switch on the dash panel...

It'll look right at home on a bracket, on the driver headlight assembly




Harvested what was left of the passenger headlight assembly & got the overflow tank

Put a light back together for my ride...

Just needs a Red Cover & a driver side mate.




Interior goes back together, with out A/C
That dash is just for mock up...mine should be here this weekend.
1.6L dashboard looks cleanest, IMHO
Setup with Revlimiter F1 Gauge Faces
VDO 52mm gauges (Volts & Oil Temperature)

That's a MOMO steering wheel from a SAAB 9000 Turbo...to top it all off!




Looks like the position of the heater hoses will work with either the Miata or Volvo 240 Hoses...nice to have options...

I reused the hole in the firewall, from the Cruise Control, to route my 7-leads to the Engine Harness...

I'll reuse a Volvo 240 Firewall Connector, to house coil power, tach signal, oil pressure, oil temperature, volts, water temperature & starter trigger.

Miata throttle cable stays put, for future modification

mylesofsmyles

Those Revlimiter F1 gauge faces are sharp!

I really dig the graduation on the gauges...rather than a vague range.




I was stoked that I got a perfect pair of Tail Lights off the parts car...

And glad I found that Red Rear Finish Panel, in my garage.

What got me more excited, was remembering I had a complete rear bumper from the parts car,

Which was perfect, when Mike gave me a Red Rear Bumper Skin.

Parts car came with a lovely "Miata" License Plate Frame!




I didn't see the red carpet as sell-able, with the wear & tear

So I vacuumed & shampooed it, and decided to let it be what it is...








With the initial plan being a somewhat stock EMS,

I brought my LH2.2/EZK-117 harness, I recently made, for a N/A 242 project.

It's a combination of a 240 LH2.2 Fuel Injection Harness & a 740 EZK-117 Ignition Harness,

With my own blend of subtle enhancements and revisions.

Now to cleanly pass it through the firewall...




The upper hole, from the A/C system is perfect for my starter cable...

Which leaves that lower one, which'd be perfect...




There's a considerable difference in diameter of the hole, and the firewall plug for the 240 LH2.2 harness...

Oh, grind away, we shall.

The half-round hand file, and a few minutes, was all I needed...




Looks clean, as it should.

The harness fits neatly in the engine bay..

I think I can reuse a certain firewall stud, to mount the igniter...

I'm thinking about Engine-Mounting the Coil.

mylesofsmyles

So many riddling puzzle pieces, to keep track of...

Glad I kept this one by my keyboard, for such time.

It's the pivot ball for a Volvo M46 Bell Housing, for use with a Hydraulic clutch fork.

740's have them, and this one was passed along to me.

My 240's use a cable clutch, but I'm hoping to reuse a Volvo 740 clutch slave & fork, to work with the Miata master cylinder & pedal.




And here's the beast...

The illusive Volvo B23F, Vertical Mount Motor.

9.5:1 compression — 111 horsepower

I've got a "B" Cam upstairs, to help wake her up, too...




Now sports a B20 Oil Pump & Delivery Tube,

Sealed it up with fresh "O" Rings, pan gasket and a B20 Oil Pan, for the Vertical Conversion.






I found a throttle spool to install

Checked part numbers, to confirm the early LH2.0/2.1 distributor will work with my LH2.2 setup...It appears to be the same.

The flywheel was already installed, on the B23F, from the P.O. so I put on my 9-Month Old SACHS Turbo Pressure Plate and a spare M46 bell housing, to finish her off.

Still need a few pieces to bolt on that T5 and go, go go!

mylesofsmyles

Hot off the press...

DDMWorks 52mm Gauge/Radio Plate.




Loaded it up with some of the 52mm VDO gauges, from various Volvo Cars...

Includes a Volts, Oil Temperature & Turbo Boost Gauge.

Since I'll be going the way of Megasquirt, soon enough, I'm plumbing my vacuum line now, and will just run it to the boost gauge...

Until I add a Wideband AFR gauge and MS1v3

Just some old JVC Tape Deck Radio, from some old Volvo....it'll work just fine, for the little bit of Radio I may ever listen to. A tape deck adapter to my iPod, will work just fine too.

owenwilliams

Good to see something different on here

mylesofsmyles

Well, before we get carried away with the go fast...

Or, go, at all...

First take care of head...





Ken & I hacked it in, pretty good, eh?

mylesofsmyles

Maybe, I'll consider a 4.3 Torsen, instead of that 4.10...





Just discovered what I bought!

1352-065 Ford 1984 Mustang/Capri 5.0 V8 2.95 1.94 1.34 1.00 0.63





Might get the shift stick up, a couple inches from stock, which could be cool.





Now, if I can just find a T5 adapter...

Scrappy Jack

iTrader: (2)

What is going on in here? I'm so confused.

curly

iTrader: (25)

Ford derived Volvo engine is going in a miata.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Trailerparks ain't bad if they got double wides.

mylesofsmyles

Wow, this is going to be close!

Spoke with the folks at V8Roadsters, again, today. This time, to get some dimensions on their components.

Since the goal is to use their Frame Rail Reinforcements & T5 X-member, I had to see if their configuration, using their own bell housing & LSX motor, would work, or be close enough, for my Volvo Redblock. Worst, case, I can get the pieces in the raw, and weld the tabs for the X-member in the correct location, for my application.


So, V8Roadsters straps 'Stang T5 gearboxes to LSX motors, via their own bell housing...

It's about 6.75", Engine-to-Gearbox. Which is just about the same as my M46+Bell Housing Adapter!




I'm still waiting on the other dimensions, but I don't think I'll be able to position it any further back, in the car. With the LSX, there's about 1/4" clearance, behind the Passenger Cylinder Head-to-Firewall. I think, as is, my Redblock is going to be as far back, in that engine bay, as can be.

Less is more, I guess, so less fab work for me might be a good thing.

There might still be hope for my Engine Mount Adapter Plate Idea.

We shall see.

Still need my bell housing adapter, before I start test fitting.

mylesofsmyles

.

Full_Tilt_Boogie

iTrader: (1)

Can't these things make like 500hp on the stock bottom end?

mylesofsmyles

The early gen OHC motors, like my B23, and the B21's, have all forged internals, and are super strong, but revs are limited because of the weight of the rotating mass.

But it was good enough for them, for their Group-A 242, a 350hp turbo beast, that put the hurt on the BMW 635csi, at Bathhurst, in 1983.

A healthy, stock B230FT, from your average 1995 940 Turbo, with stock 13mm rods, will live happily, at around 300-340 whp. Then rods start warping.

H-Beams from JVAB and you're good, into the 500 whp mark, yes.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

You are over-using commas.

StarletRick

Sean

iTrader: (12)

I'm in for a sweet new build!!!

mylesofsmyles

So, there was a break in this week's rain storm. Just about a 20-minute window, of sunlight and dry sky's.

We decided it the perfect window of opportunity to recover the Roadster and bring it to the Tree House!

Looks Like Honey-D's got a room mate!




Had to make some room in the garage, so that B23 has to go in...

Clearance is okay...but there is some work to do...




Damn, it looks inspiring!