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2 Miatas = 1 Race Car
I figured it was time to start a build thread as I am waiting on parts with nothing to do. Anyway, this is my car and a few might recognize it from a couple weeks ago.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...18d42905c9.jpg You may of read my intro post here where I show the progression of my car over the past 2 years. Long story short, I bough another Miata already turbocharged and am using it as a donor for my Miata. I also bought a 1.8 off craigslist from who I believe to be Vtechkiller2000, or at least another guy in Iowa with an Ecotec swapped Miata. This motor was built by a local racing shop that specializes in V8's but one of the employees is a 4G63 guy :). Here is my list of go fast parts:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7bb151669b.jpg |
So as mentioned in the last post, I had my engine built. After I picked it up from the machine shop, I went through and painted it and make it look nice.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...de4c41d85b.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...010c90019b.jpg Since the shop dipped all of the metal into a hot tank, the back timing plate was starting to rust. I painted that, and now looking at these photos, I forgot to paint the front of the block between the water pump and oil pump. Next was to clean the nasty intake manifold, which wasn't hot tanked. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a5443eecc1.jpg I used some degreaser and that didn't get all of the carbon out of the inside. So I soaked it in carb cleaner and lit it with a torch, and that worked perfectly. Then I used some VHT Header paint on the intake and throttle body. I just taped off the IAC as the screws holding it on were stripped out :vash:. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...04f61a8886.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...53db53386b.jpg |
So I painted the front of the block since I realized I missed it, and painted the cam gears. The gears were starting to corrode and looked dated. I just wired wheeled them and used my leftover high temp engine paint.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fee935d62e.jpg I got a remote oil filter kit from amazon (Hayden Automotive 291) and it comes with hose barbs, but no rubber hose. So I'm going to get AN lines. I'm also missing one of the plugs for the housing, and I was wondering if it would be okay to use that as a turbo oil feed? (The missing plug is seen in the photo) I had a spare Porsche 944 oil filter that fit perfectly on it, and it's approximately twice the size of the Miata oil filter. So if anyone wants to copy this setup, it's like $70 with rubber lines and a filter :) https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9159b10756.jpg Also, my ATi damper finally came in today from FAB9, now I just need to get AN lines and a manifold. Here's a new vs. old of my dampers. The clear coat of the supermiata damper is peeling off, but the two pieces don't rotate so it technically could be re-used, I just don't want to chance it. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f6b20b46cc.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bbfb48cb65.jpg |
More progress than me in 3 posts. Fuck my life.
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So today I went on the advice of everyone with a recent Boundary pump and replaced the front main seal, the boundary one feels like ABS plastic (Pic below) compared to the OEM one.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...298ba80661.jpg Next I chopped my valve cover. I couldn't find a protege valve cover in any local junk yards so this is the next best thing. I used a table saw and belt grinder to make it pretty flat. I sprayed it with some VHT Wrinkle Black, will gets pics of the results tomorrow. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d9959a6cab.jpg I also ordered a dress up oil cap from retro modern. This one looks pretty and is cheaper than Garage Star's oil cap. The packaging was pretty snazzy :) https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...24c6911f3f.jpg |
So the VHT Wrinkle paint came out very spotty :( I stripped the paint and i'm going to redo it. In the mean time, I finished taking out all of the control arms on the donor Miata, it's just waiting for me to swap the control arms from my Silver car.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5fe4813b59.jpg The driver's rear LCA was mangled and the nut for the shock broke off. Someone tried to fix it before and cut open the arm and tacked the nut on, but did a really shitty job and didn't close up the cut open section. I don't have a welder, so I bought a used LCA. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4d94bb3986.jpg I made the $5 bushing tool to pull out the stock bushings of the used LCA. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b1ffb0cfeb.jpg Then I painted the LCA semigloss like all of the other suspension bits. Now I just have to remove the Energy Suspension bushings from the mangled LCA and put them in the "new" one. I had some leftover Header paint, so I painted the mixing manifold, and pulled the nipple for the water line to front neck. I am going to drill/tap this hole for a 3/8" to -4 or -6 an for turbo water feed. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c988f7d0a6.jpg As shown in the last pic, my incorporation of space age materials. I wrapped the heater core pipe with DEI reflect-a-gold. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5ce8b01376.jpg And a "while I was in there" I painted the dipstick tube BBQ flat black and installed a new dipstick with new o-rings. (I might wrap the dipstick with Reflect-a-Gold too) https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7feb87cf8d.jpg This is my last week of school, so I will get plenty of free time to finish the car over the summer :D |
I went through my list of parts I still need to order, and thought I could just get a new clutch and reuse the flywheel. I took the ACT off and was surprised at how worn it is. Unfortunately, the flywheel is a 200mm 1.6 size and not the 1.8 size I thought it was. So I ordered a FM happy meal after comparing prices/wheel Tq for a 1.6 clutch.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a840096144.jpg As I previously mentioned, I finally received my ATi damper and installed it. They aren't kidding when ATi says this is an interference fit. It looks like I need to trim the lower plastic timing cover to fit over the new damper. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bd4639d19e.jpg Finally, I setup my Harbor Freight Drill Press and borrowed a bandsaw to make EGR block-off plates. I also made a front water neck delete plate, but it came out terrible. I went ahead and ordered a Hawley Performance block off plate. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3046a39ef6.jpg Since I used some mild steel bar, I used my favorite BBQ paint (Dries in 10 sec with heat gun), RTV, and blue loctite to attach the plates. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bab2c8038d.jpg I redid the wrinkle black paint on my valve cover and it someone came out worse. The first time I did it, I had 2 spots that weren't evenly wrinkled, but this is something else. I called around getting quotes from local powder coat shops, and unfortunately the only place to not have a $100 minimum has a 3 week lead time. Let's hope that the third time's a charm for the wrinkle paint. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...184985291e.jpg |
I received my block off plate from Hawley yesterday and installed it to finish up the front of the engine.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d055b1f72f.jpg Finally put the timing belt back on and related covers. I had to trim the bottom timing cover to fit the ATi damper. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ba2bd999c9.jpg I was doing some cleaning, and found my old oil feed line from the 1.6, and had an idea for a turbo water line. My plan was to run the water line from the M-Tuned reroute on the back of block, but I found these fittings from Russell. They convert the barb end on the throttle body to an. Then run the water line behind the back timing plate to the turbo. This way I can keep the stock oil cooler and throttle body cooler without just capping all of the lines off. For the second water line I will go with my original plan of tapping the mixing manifold for a AN fitting. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f82097e97a.jpg Anyone want to give input on this idea? |
Over the past few days I have been working on suspension swapping my silver Miata. To start, all of the bushings in the control arms were re-greased and new ball joints were installed.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f01ffba921.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...af9ddfacb1.jpg Before I install the front suspension, I decided to order R package tie rod ends, as the originals were shot anyways. They should be here tomorrow, so in the meantime I moved on to installing the rear. When installing them, I used anti seize on all of the bolts, and the captive nut for the coilover on the passenger side almost broke. Luckily, only 1 tack weld broke on the nut, so it didn't fall completely out. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2f34725ce9.jpg And a "While I was in there" I painted the edge of the seam with rust reformer on both sides as surface rust was starting. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...23174a10a8.jpg |
I finished up the suspension swap on the front. I installed R package tie rod ends from Priority Mazda. While installing, the passenger inner tie rod boot had a large hole so I ordered new boots and had to wait for those to show up, and then take the tie rods back off to install them.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...df4c993a67.jpg The suspension is now sorted with the exception of new end links. This is the first time the car has been back on the ground in almost 2 weeks. The car is scheduled for an alignment tomorrow. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...de8df460a4.jpg In the meantime I got some more goodies in the mail; FM clutch kit, FM manifold with inconel hardware, and Flowforce injectors. |
The donor Miata is finally back on the ground after sitting on jack stands for ~2 months. This thing is also going to need an alignment after the engine is put back in. This car didn't get the full treatment of cleaned control arms and poly bushings as my main car, but did get new tie rod ends (non r-package) and ball joints.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2fe7341ec7.jpg I also had to track down a manifold stud. Since the car is old and Japanese it uses JIS metric standards, which is M10x1.25 for the studs. Nobody in town except a specialty bolt shop had one, and it's anodized red and technically 2 mm longer than the oem studs (50 mm vs 48 mm). The same place only had 3 nuts for the manifold, so I ordered 9 new nuts from Fastenal. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f65e761a3b.jpg After putting the manifold on, I realized I forgot to order the EGR cap from FM. I found out the EGR is a M22x1.5 bolt and I didn't want to have to order a bolt + shipping from FM, so a drain plug works perfect. I got this from NAPA https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NDP7041048# If anyone wants to delete EGR on a FM manifold or stock manifold that's what to use. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e3e4c7d86f.jpg |
Since it is summer time and I am out of school, I have been ironically busy. I haven't gotten much done in the past couple weeks except install my new wideband. I have an AEM UEGO that works perfectly, and I was going to buy a new face plate/ring for it when I saw the newest AFR gauge from AEM, the X-Series. I ordered one and it is pretty trick. The thing is incredibly thin and light and supports CAN, but I don't have a CAN module for my MS. The main reason why I purchased it is because of the faster response time and 4 digit display.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a02a519522.jpg I 3D printed a gauge panel to sit under the radio, but my printer had other plans and turned the print into spaghetti, so I ended up buying an A pillar piece. *As a side note, make sure to check that your boost gauge light isn't burnt out before installing everything :vash: https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a9c82c9f0c.jpg I need to dial in the idle a little more as I am running about 1 point rich during idle, but the rest of my map looks good. By the end of next weekend I plan on having the 1.6 out :) |
The plan was to pull the 1.6 out of the car, but my nice box of AN fittings came in and it turns out a couple of fittings were wrong. I ordered 3/8 npt instead of 1/8 npt for my water lines and have sent them back to exchange them for the right fittings. I want to make sure the built engine is completely done before I pull the 1.6. The same day I ordered the fittings, I ordered a Cappuccino washer bottle. Why? Because I have changed direction on the build to keep AC and thought I might as well keep the washer. However, the stock bottle is ugly and in the way of a prime location for a remote oil filter. I was honestly surprised that ordering the bottle from rakuten and shipping to Iowa took 4 days. Using Revlimiter's article I made my own brackets to attach the bottle. I bought an assortment of M6 x 1.0 bolts, washers and Nylon lock nuts and a 1/2" spacer, cut into 3/8" and 1/8" pieces.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...59ca196517.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b4a9bf9181.jpg Replaced the bolt on the firewall holding the brake booster hardline with a M6 x 1.0 x 35mm bolt and the 1/8" spacer. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ed94fce6b6.jpg Then flip the washer hoses and extend the washer harness and used zip ties to somewhat hide the wires. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6e90f68fb3.jpg I also pulled off my radiator cowl as it rubbed through the paint and caused some surface rust. I sanded down the area and used some touch up paint. When I put the cowl back on I will use some foam strips on the backside to prevent this from happening again. I also diagnosed my high idle with a small tear on the vacuum line on the megasquirt, and replaced the line. By the end of the week I will get my replacement fittings and finish the engine, then tear the 63k 1.6 to put in a freshly built 1.8 :) |
To finish the engine I received a nice box full of vibrant fittings and hose from JEGS to finish the engine.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...81506df368.jpg I also took the oil pan off as I now want to keep AC and the previous bung would interfere with the compressor. So, I had a -10 AN bung welded on directly under the turbo and the previous bung cut off and welded shut. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5ec1f6fe8f.jpg Next I tapped the mixing manifold for a 1/8 npt for a turbo water line, but thought I can actually keep the "oil cooler" and throttle body cooler by installing a tee fitting. I couldn't find a tee with 1 male and 2 females locally, so I just used a union fitting to attach the tee. Then finished it off with a 1/8 npt to 5/16 barb. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...24fceb3227.jpg Since I ordered the fittings before I had the tee idea, the tee has a 90 degree hose end. I might swap it with a 180 degree end, but this should work. Since this line is very close to the manifold, I will cover it in fire sleeve. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...51db045fc0.jpg I then ran some silicone 5/16 hose from the throttle body to behind the timing plate to the barb. This hose will probably interfere with a power steering belt, but I will delete PS and keep AC. (after eyeballing it, the hose might fit) I wrapped the hose in reflect a gold, but that didn't work well on the hose, so I will swap it for fire sleeve too. To prevent vibrations from cutting a hole in the hose, I used 2 P-Clamps bolted to the backside of the timing plate. If this setup fails, I can remove the hose and tee fitting and just run the AN line, but i'm just trying to experiment. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...204c1e1497.jpg Here is a nice shot of the setup from the front. I used a 45 degree fitting on the oil drain for a nice look and shorter line. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a712048abd.jpg For the second water line I simply used the extra 1/8 npt source on the M-Tuned reroute. I had to gently file the hex base of the fitting down as it hit the coolant sensor. This was only done because I used a -6 to 1/8 npt hose end which has a larger base then a npt to AN flare + hose end. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d7a5015c38.jpg For the oil feed I used a 1/8 bsp male to female with a 1/8 npt tee from Pegasus Auto Racing. Then a -4 line to turbocharger. (I have a oil restrictor fitting if needed) For a way to plug the hole temporarily, I put the 1.8 oil pressure sender in, but will swap to the 1.6 style. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fea0cd0284.jpg |
well shit
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Looks like a fun build. What are your plans with the old SuperMiata damper? I'm putting together a budget NA motor and could use a decent damper.
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Originally Posted by Midtenn
(Post 1430933)
Looks like a fun build. What are your plans with the old SuperMiata damper? I'm putting together a budget NA motor and could use a decent damper.
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Over the past couple days I pulled the 1.6 out of the car. The engine/transmission from my silver Miata had 63,819 miles on it... but now it's getting a newly built 1.8. I learned from the other car's engine that the Harbor Freight 1 Ton engine hoist hits the front bumper, and removed it.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...776fa14df3.jpg And after 2 days, she's out. This is the first time most of the bolts in this car have ever been touched since the factory, and I broke a 3/8" impact socket adapter on a PPF bolt :mad: https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ab8b9fda68.jpg Since this engine is going into another car I plan on selling, I will diagnose the oil leaks, replace gaskets and clean it up. |
I couldn't get my turbine housing on my Garrett to separate from the CHRA, and I used two propane torches and a mini sledge. So I took it to my local machine shop and they heated it up with a proper torch and air chiseled the thing off. As seen in my last couple posts, I used my BEGI Chinacharger to mock up my AN lines while I was trying to get the turbo apart to clock it. I should've gotten a new exhaust housing, but i'm not going to spend any money on this Turbo, as I will either go to a GTX series or EFR later on down the road.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0016dc0a15.jpg The subframe in the car had a lot of nasty oil on it, so I pressure washed it and wiped down the engine bay. Mazda likes to use some ugly seam sealant AFTER the paint job, but I don't want to pull everything out to "shave" the engine bay and then paint it. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...74b8cf44e2.jpg I Also pulled out the power steering rack, and replaced it with the rack out of my second Miata, which has a true manual rack. I know some people will like the steering ratio of a de-powered rack better, but this rack is fine for me. I also took time to cleanup the rack, install new inner boots, and strip/paint the center part of the rack. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...007ac0a196.jpg Next I tried to do some sort of heat insulation on the transmission tunnel. Unfortunately, about half of the material fell off, so i'm left with 1 small piece. I might go the ND miata route with perforated insulation installed with an air gap, but I don't want to drill any holes/rivets. I may end up installing the insulation underneath the carpet in the future. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1d15d32e6e.jpg I also cleaned up my 6 speed and have the turbo clocked where it needs to be, but I need to find/make a new wastegate actuator bracket. |
A little tip I learn from talking with a thermal insulation supplier at work, make sure you seal the edges of the insulation with high temp liquid silicone or a sealing tape (like aluminized tape). The foam/composite materials will absorb moisture and oil and can break down overtime.
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Originally Posted by Midtenn
(Post 1433014)
A little tip I learn from talking with a thermal insulation supplier at work, make sure you seal the edges of the insulation with high temp liquid silicone or a sealing tape (like aluminized tape). The foam/composite materials will absorb moisture and oil and can break down overtime.
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Over the past few days since the last update I have got the engine in the car. Before I got the engine in, I touched up a few things. First I added a P clamp to the water line from the mixing manifold to turbo and covered the upper P clamp in heat insulation.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c354cdb098.jpg Then mounted the alternator, remote oil filter housing, and the oil pressure sender from my 1.6. However, I "broke" my sender unit, and the outer ring broke free of the base of the sender. I'm worried about the electrical connector on the top, seeing as it spins with the outer ring. I don't want to break in a brand new motor with expensive break-in oil with a failed sender, so I ordered a new one. I will try the sender out on my second Miata when it get's it engine put back in, as I know that engine is healthy. Another part of the 1.8 swap is the different TPS, and the connector. The 1.6 is a 3 pin while the 1.8 is a 4 pin. I called a few junkyards and Miata specific junkyards and they either didn't have a Miata or wanted to sell me the entire engine bay harness. So, I took a chance on a Wells 599 connector from Amazon. The connector had a Mopar official parts sticker on it, but seems to work from a test fit. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d40dc64570.jpg Then I put on my FM clutch and flywheel. The old pressure plate bolts I had were actually a different thread pitch, as they came from an ACT flywheel, so I had to go the ACE hardware to get new hardware. Also, I had to get another starter motor bolt as well as another transmission bolt that I lost. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...45d35fc35f.jpg Then, just this evening, I got the engine bolted in. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f2ea3cb334.jpg I'm currently waiting on the new oil pressure sender, an extended clutch line (I have a SS one the replaces only the stock rubber line, but want to delete the curled line too), and new turbo compressor flanges to be able to start it up. |
Quick update, to do the 1.8 swap I need a few wiring mods and a new throttle cable or new bracket. I chose to make a new bracket out of some aluminum bar stock.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bc2577e068.jpg Next, my new OEM oil pressure sender came in from priority Mazda and I got an extended length clutch line from 949. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6f1c868ce0.jpg Now for the wiring mods. The first thing to do since i'm keeping the 1.8 TB is to replace the TPS and IAC connectors. The IAC I was able to find as an assembled pigtail and it went on without a hitch. On the other hand, the TPS I had to assemble, and the wires do not sit in the connector tightly. For now, I wrapped the ends with electrical tape, but I may try to put a dab of hot glue in them. If anyone has any suggestions or has an OEM pigtail, let me know. The second wiring mod is to extend the CAS sensor wiring, and that is pretty straightforward. Lastly, I had to enlarge the ring terminal on the alternator ground. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...55b49694ef.jpg |
Awesome stuff, dude.
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I knew as soon as I put the AC compressor on that my water lines from the mixing manifold would hit the belt. To remedy this, I took off my tee and put in another "failure point", a 90 degree fitting. I still may get a 180 degree hose end, but this works for me.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c1fad16e07.jpg Next, I redid the wiring for my TPS, the smaller gauge wire that came with the kit didn't want to lock into the connector, so I used the larger gauge wire instead. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9419a03c20.jpg The last thing I got done today was mounting the coil pack. In hindsight, I should've made a mount before I put the engine in, but oh well. I made some L brackets to adapt the 1.6 coils to the valve cover of the 1.8, but didn't like it. So naturally, I went ghetto with the mount. I cut up my 1.8 bracket and since I could only get 1 bolt hole to line up, 1 of the coil packs is ziptied on. This setup is only temporary as I am going to a COP setup after I get the engine running. For now I don't want to throw a bunch of new untested parts on, and then have a hell of a time troubleshooting any issues. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...90a7dc4ee2.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...273d5bd742.jpg I have everything except an exhaust setup for this car. So for next week, I get to make one, or give up and order an overpriced FM/Begi one... |
So, I fabbed up a downpipe with some welding help from my dad. He has a MIG welder so the welds aren't as pretty, but a grinder and paint fixes that up. Since the FM manifold places the turbo in the middle of the exhaust runners, I decided to make a 2.5" downpipe that tapers into a 3". To start, I cut the flange off my old 3" downpipe for my 1.6, and got a U-J pipe, flex joint, 2.5" to 3" reducer, and a couple V bands. I also picked up the 22x11x5 Magnaflow muffler that is popular here.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...94641518c9.jpg I ground down the welds on the turbo flange, but I formed a hole in the side where I had a second piece of pipe connect to my "cheater bend". To remedy this, I welded on a reinforcement plate that doesn't look the prettiest, but should hold up. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...03d591684f.jpg Then used the rest of the U-J to make the downpipe. Since I made a cheater bend off of the 5 bolt flange, I had to make the straight section after the second 90 go at an angle to bring the flex joint parallel with the ground. I made sure to keep this downpipe tucked as far up as I could, as my other Miata had a flattened exhaust from being too low. To finish off the pipe, I sprayed it in some VHT black header paint. Next, I will finish the midpipe and hang the muffler, then be able to start the car, and the break in process. :) https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f315ac0817.jpg |
Since the last update I have completed my exhaust setup and have done a few other things. After the downpipe, I went to a full 3 inch with the MT.net approved Magnaflow muffler. I added a fourth exhaust hanger as this thing is big. I didn't want to weld directly to the car, so I made a plate that bolts over the factory rear tow hook for the fourth hanger. After all was said and done, I replace the rubber hanger on the fourth hook with a poly hanger.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...30a1137f48.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6bb5ae41b7.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8a329a845a.jpg Then, to match the downpipe, I painted the mid pipe and side the muffler with VHT header paint. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f36e15aaf1.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...98c4d613f2.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...daf6da7159.jpg While waiting for the paint on the exhaust to dry, I took another shot at the wrinkle paint on my valve cover. It's not perfect, but it's the best wrinkle job yet. To finish it off I sanded down the letters. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...35a4270bd2.jpg I didn't like how my reroute hose touched the throttle body, and was an eyesore, so it was swapped for a GM rad hose. I wish there was a multi-layer silicone version of this rad hose. I also added a FM lower rad hose as my NB hose fitment was really funky. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3625cf6872.jpg Today, I bleed the clutch, filled the car with coolant, and filled it with my fancy Joe Gibbs break-in motor oil. Then, when I went to set the base timing, my timing light wouldn't work. I thought it was because of my Magnacore wires, but even stock wires didn't work. Eventually I found out I have no spark, I didn't blow any fuses and all of my wiring/grounds are good, so i'm going to get another coil pack to try tomorrow. |
Great build, great info - I'll sure use some ideas for the water lines.
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Since the last update I have gotten the car to run. I'm still unsure what exactly was wrong, but reloading the base map and holding the gas pedal to the floor to start the car allowed it to start. Since I didn't have an intercooler pipe setup yet I made a ghetto air intake for the engine break-in process. Furthermore, I calibrated my vTPS, fixed a small coolant leak, fixed a small oil leak (forgot to put the RTV in the corners of the valve cover), and found out my transmission has a small leak :vash:. Its leaking gear oil where the tail shaft casing bolts to the center housing of the transmission. That's gonna be a job for the winter time. Finally, I also had a cam gear jump a tooth, and I scooped up a Garage Star water pump pulley anodized gold.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3ae5450f84.jpg I have now moved on to making my intercooler pipes. I couldn't get a nice routing on the coldside, so I made a bend to clear the rad hose, and have enough room for the IACV hose. If I get a cross-flow rad, I'll redo the coldside, but its fine for now. On the hotside, I had the problem of my turbo's outlet being too long to clock the compressor downwards. For the intercooler mounting, I copied the FM method of aluminum strips bolted between the hood latch running down. The intercooler is a little floppy, but with the pipes on, it is secures fairly well. The intercooler pipes just got welded up today, so I'll get some pics of them all cleaned up and installed later, but here is a pic from the mock-up stage. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d0a2edb171.jpg The last major step is the make a custom bumper to heat exchangers shroud and cut up my undertray to fit. |
Another small update, I have finished my intercooler piping and intake setup. Here is a general overview of the finished setup. I will add a catch can later, but for now I have the valve cover vented back into the intake.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...73bb6dabcc.jpg The cold side pipe hides the IAC hose, so here is what it looks like out of the car. The IAC hose is just a generic 90 degree 3/4" heater core hose cut to fit. Test fitting this has already ruined my quick spray paint job, but oh well. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...54e73c66be.jpg My intercooler is made out of ridiculously thick aluminum, and to avoid heat soak, I placed the IAT in the coldside of the intercooler. Since the intercooler may hit my AC hard lines, I wrapped them in the excess heater core hose from my IAC hose I made. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7bee85fbe1.jpg As mentioned in the previous post, I am waiting on a HDPE panel I ordered from Menards to make a custom undertray and rad/intercooler ducting. It was $30 for a 1/8" x 4' x 8' sheet. I also am waiting on a Compressor housing clamp kit, and I have to modify my wastegate bracket to fit. |
Absolutely LOVE the attention to detail...it is the little things that make the difference in the end!!!
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I have done a few small things since the last update, namely mounting my waste gate actuator with a custom bracket I welded up. I had to get a new compressor housing clamp kit from atp turbo first though, since my previous clamps were hacked up by a previous owner of the turbo. To mount the actuator, I reused the circular mounting bracket off the original mount, and extended it forwards with some steel bar. Then welded that to the only good old compressor clamp. The can of the actuator slightly rubs on the compressor housing, so I drilled two new holes slightly higher up to prevent this. I finished the bracket off with some flat black bbq paint.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b4d867669f.jpg The turbo also came with a HKS actuator, which is rated for .5 to 1 bar (7psi to 14psi). Since I am still under the break-in mileage, I have it set to no pre-load, so ~ 7psi. I am going to add electronic boost control after I get my drive train properly broken in. I also added heat sleeve to the valve cover vent hose while I was in there. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5b66af6268.jpg I also got my HDPE sheet in from Menards, $43 shipped for this giant sheet isn't bad. I have made mock-ups of the sides of my heat exchanger ductwork so far, I need to get a jigsaw tomorrow to start cutting it out. On my passenger side, I am trying to add a removable cover over the IAT sensor, so I can service it if need be, without having to remove the entire ducting. If anyone has suggestions other than a plate with self tappers over a hole, let me know. I don't think a tap will work well on this material to have a removable plate bolted in. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5a08298770.jpg |
The car is now put back together. I bought a jigsaw, made the under tray, and bolted the bumper back on.
First, I made a mock-up with cardboard, and then transferred to the HDPE. I tried to make a one piece tray, but the bending proved to be too difficult. The tray is held together by L shaped brackets riveted on to the sides. Since this left a small gap on either side's bottom, I covered both the top and bottom in aluminum tape. Then I used some foam strip to seal all of the edges, and made a cutout for the radiator drain. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4ad915a35b.jpg When bolted in, the tray was flimsy as it was held in by two bolts, and an overlap of the front splitter. To reinforce it, I took inspiration from Eunos91's undertray and made brackets to connect to my radiator. Since I have A/C, the hard lines are in the way of one would be bracket. To remedy this, I replicated the factory L bracket, and made an extension for a factory P clamp to secure the A/C lines. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e2b821def9.jpg Here is what it looks like all bolted up. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9471bca0f7.jpg The car is able to idle, but needs a proper tune, and does not like hot starts. I am on the lookout for any Dyno tuners experienced in MS and/or Miatas in the Iowa/Illinois region. |
The hot start issue has been fixed with some MAT correction, for some reason the IAT sensor would still heat soak when located in the coldside of the intercooler. Adjusting the MAT correction to 100% all the time fixed it. These past couple morning have been cold, so I have been able to dial in the WUE a bit. It still isn't perfect, and I believe the cranking pulse needs to be adjusted still. Sometimes when cranking I need to give the car a little throttle to get it started. Furthermore, I did the car's first oil change on the new engine this morning as well. Since I'm still under the 500 mile mark, I am using Rotella T4 10W30, because it is a conventional oil. I will switch to T6 when I am able to run full synthetic oil. I am sending out an oil analysis to Blackstone and will see the results of my break-in oil. The Oil had about 30 mins of 2k rpm and ~15 miles of various speeds and coasting in gear to stops for ring seating.
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Awesome stuff going on in this thread. Gonna steal a lot of your routing ideas, for sure.
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Originally Posted by Shibby
(Post 1448930)
Awesome stuff going on in this thread. Gonna steal a lot of your routing ideas, for sure.
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A couple of weeks ago I picked up the Big Brake for sale from another forum member. The kit is a Trackspeed 11.75" front and sport rears, along with a sport booster and 929 master.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c188231824.jpg I have been waiting to install these for awhile, just have been waiting on some ATE to come in, which finally arrived today. I'll snap some pics of these installed later on. EDIT: Forgot to include this small project. I have had a hole under my radio for approximately a year now, since I put a new headunit in that has an aux cable, and it has been really bothering me. I have a bunch of left over HDPE, so I made a quick plate that covers the hole. I didn't want to screw the plate into the back of the tombstone so I used the 2 lower screw holes for the radio and added some nylon spacers to make the plate flush with the opening on the tombstone. The radio structure and tombstone are at different angles, so the top has a small gap, but I can live with that. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a6216aa7ff.jpg Another note, I had a small coolant leak from my M-tuned thermostat housing, and a leak where I sourced a turbo waterline on the M-tuned outlet. A new thermostat O-ring and thread sealant fixed these leaks, but was a pain to get to the turbo waterline. Then, after I burped the cooling system, my radiator cap was not seated all the way and blew off the radiator. Now, 2 days later, I am still finding coolant in my engine bay :vash:. |
Digging your ducting solution.
oh, and everything else in here. |
Well, like a month later, my brakes are finally installed. I had one hell of a time, I broke a brass adapter fitting for my prop valve, UPS almost lost my ATE brake fluid, and UPS also delivered a new rear junction block 3 days late. A one day install turned into a 2 week install. With all of that out of the way, these brakes are pretty awesome. As mentioned in a previous post, the brakes are a Trackspeed 11.75" with Wilwood dynalites on the front and Mazda sport rears. Also included was a sport booster, 929 master cylinder and Wilwood adjustable prop valve.
To start, here are my old crummy 1.6 brakes and booster/master. Pretty boring and ugly stuff, right? https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...dc8c9805d7.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...75d7eeefe7.jpg Now here are the Trackspeed fronts installed. If not already known, 15x7 Kosei K1 with +30 ET fit these monsters. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...26c7f00f95.jpg And the sport rears installed. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...38e1ab4c5c.jpg Now onto the booster/master stuff. As a side note, getting the booster out was a pain due to the top left nut being buried deep under the dash. Anyway, I wanted to do some heat management for the brakes, so I wrapped the "new" master and brake lines in some gold foil. Also note that this is a 929 master cylinder, which has a 1" bore, but only 2 outlets, so a tee fitting is used to connect the font brake lines since I do not have ABS. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...81e92ddb46.jpg However, the factory front left brake line will need to be bent to connect to the tee fitting. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7aa4c607eb.jpg I could've bent the factory line, but it turns out my dad has all of the brake flaring/cutting tools in addition to a collection of random hardline laying around. So, I made a new front brake line instead of bending up the factory line. I also wrapped the upper portion of the new line in gold foil. I ended up having to change out the lower tube nut with a different one as it was the wrong size, but this lines looks a lot cleaner in the engine bay than the factory line. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f4590c83df.jpg Here is the new booster, master and prop valve installed. I'm going to add a support bracket for the prop valve later by either bending the factory one or making a new one. As you may notice in the picture below, I have a remote bias adjuster installed, with the cable running through the firewall in that ever so convenient spot. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ddadc8f6a2.jpg Here's a bonus picture of the carnage from the brass 1/8 npt to m10 adapter that was replaced by the Trackspeed adapters (made from steel :)). https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...216c141a0c.jpg Then, the remote adjuster cable was ran to my under-radio blanking plate. To get the cable to work, I had to add a 1/4" vacuum hose as a sheath along the length of the adjuster cable, otherwise you'd have to turn the about 5 clicks to get the prop valve to adjust. I left some room on the plate for future oil temp and proper water temp gauges. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...027688cc3a.jpg So, after all this time, the car has been broken in and now has brakes to match the power of the car. I'm looking into getting a professional dyno tune to see how much I can get of this turbo, so if anyone has recommendations for the Iowa/Illinois area, let me know. I wouldn't mind having to take the car to Chicago if need be. |
It's been a while since an update on the car, and I've made a few changes and fixes over the past few months.
First, the downpipe had a small leak on the 5 bolt flange connecting to the turbo. My belt sander/RTV fix didn't seal, so I took it to a machine shop and had the flange decked flat. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a095433a69.jpg Another small fix was my passenger headlight, as it has been flopping/vibrating when the headlights are up. The simple fix is a new headlight retractor rod. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4ff0050edf.jpg I have been running an OEM manual rack, but I don't like the steering ratio/feel of the manual rack. So I went back to my power rack, but did a full de-power of the rack. I disassembled the rack to knock out the center seal, and I welded the pinion to be one piece. While I had the rack apart I installed new inner tie rods and dust boots. After I got the rack in, the car went back to the alignment shop but this time the car is running on the 949 racing dual duty alignment. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...954a5573fa.jpg Next, I finally got around to installing my frame rails and butterfly brace that I ordered on black Friday of last year. This definitely took a few years of feeling out of the car and the car feels more planted. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bd87205a10.jpg While installing the frame rails I put a layer of insulating mat between the carpet on the floor and side of the transmission tunnel. This reduced road noise more and has cured the "hot foot" of the exhaust on the trans tunnel all for about $15. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ec6d013645.jpg Lastly, I pulled the soft top out of the car since I never use it, but thats due to the rear plastic window being completely cracked and yellowed. I'll look into replacing the window sometime though. |
Since the last update a lot has changed, for both the car and myself. I'm now a college student at the University of Iowa majoring in computer science, and couldn't be happier. For the car, I stopped working on it after the last update, and drove it all summer. I learned more about tuning and got the car running on a decent map with 15 psi. The car was a blast, until today. After coming home for the weekend, and taking a small joy ride, I blew up the turbo. The bearings make a horrendous noise, car burns oil, and smokes pretty bad. Luckily, the car runs good enough that I was able to limp it back home. I'm unsure of where I will go with car now, as I don't have time or really any money left for it. With that said, my dad and I started on a LS swap into a Volvo 242 with a CD009 and a few other cool bits, linked here: 5.3 + CD009 in 242 - Turbobricks Forums
If anyone has a good deal on a EFR or another gt2560r, send me a PM. |
First thing, I ended up selling my white Miata that was shown earlier in this thread. I put the low mileage drive train from my silver car into and sold it at a $200 profit. All in all I got a "free" turbo (now blown), 6 speed, 3.9 LSD, intercooler, poly suspension, Mishimoto radiator, and a few miscellaneous bits. I really wish I would've taken the glass soft top and the rollbar, but the rollbar didn't fit under a hardtop :td: But here is a 2 month long update with nice HD pictures:
The old turbo failing took out a bunch of other stuff with it, and I had to replace a lot along with it. For the turbo, I ended up purchasing a rebuilt GT2871r with a billet compressor wheel from JDS turbos. The turbo has the gt2560r style compressor housing, but has been machined to fit the larger compressor wheel, this way I don't have to replace intercooler piping. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6cc4805fa7.jpg While installing the new turbo, I found the waterline coming from the back of the head ruptured and was leaking coolant. I replaced the braided line and was able to reuse the fittings. Furthermore, my 45 degree fitting on the oil drain was leaking, so I replaced that fitting with a new Fragola 45 along with new hose. The oil leak made a huge mess all over the subframe, top of the steering rack, and made a small stain on my oil pan. Huge pain in the ass to clean up and while I was in there I added heat wrap to the oil drain line. Getting the car put back together took a few weekends, but when I took the car for a test drive, disaster struck again. The car started to get hot and when I pulled back into my driveway, the turbo manifold was glowing faintly along with a puddle of coolant on the ground. The car ended up sitting for a few more weeks because I had to order a new radiator as there was a hole in the core of my Mishimoto, but I can't complain as it came "free" from my white Miata. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1d1221c281.jpg To replace the radiator I ordered a supermiata crossflow from 949. The thing is a beautiful piece to look at, but I do have 1 complaint, it seems to be missing a tab for the passenger side fan near the upper rad hose barb. I sent 949 an email and they said it "designed" to use 3/4 of the pass side mounts, but the pictures on their website show 4 mounts. Whatever, I didn't want to go through the hassle of returning it and I just wanted to drive my car. I reused my Mishimoto side brackets and fan shroud, but had to cut out the corners for the rad hoses. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7c02a70772.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6626ae24fb.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e45b399a60.jpg As you can see in the last post, I installed my Mishimoto catch can that I've had lying around forever. I first took apart the valve cover and added copper scrubbers inside the baffles. I had previously drilled out and enlarged the inner holes between the chambers as well as adding a hose to center chamber from the intake side baffle. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bda8c9c025.jpg I then drilled and tapped the PCV hole along with the barbed side for some 1/2" fittings. Then routed these lines to the inlets on my can with a spare piece of hose on the outlet leading to atmosphere. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7e054e5f47.jpg The recurring theme in this post is fixes and both cam seals have been leaking for some time now. I went to the dealership and ordered new OEM cam seals. Replacing the seals took less than an hour as I used the method of zip tying the timing belt to the cam gears. I made sure to clean all of the oil off the seal surface and coated the outer ring of the new seal in ultrablack RTV. The timing backplate was coated front and back with oil so it was cleaned and repainted. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8a63ea66ec.jpg Then, when putting the car back together I checked my mechanical timing, it didn't move with the zip ties, but no surprise here the CAS/MS timing was retarded 10 degrees. It turns out my dad was reading the damper marks wrong when I said to set it at 10 degrees. I also threw some new spark plugs in because they look like this: https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0cd307d19c.jpg The are half black, half white and pretty sure that was from the retarded timing, which probably killed all of the stuff on my car. And the final fix was a new valve cover gasket because my rebuilt motor likes to leak oil I guess. Anyway, I have a scheduled appointment to finally bring the car to a dyno in early January. |
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