use stock na8 ignition system?

LS coils or bust.

pull the pump already.

This. With ebay used coils and diy bracket it cost me about the same as a junky stock replacement from the parts store.

Forrest, there are a ton of junkyards etc in this area. I'm sure we could find LS coils around here when you're in the area. Otherwise, ebay!

I'll pull the pan and pump tomorrow, it's hard to find time to work on my own shit which sucks. I got caught up in building an MS for a friend that he later sold and left me to deal with the install

So I tore into the motor today, remove the pan, water pump, timing belt, oil pump, and water neck.
Everything came out smoothly until I hit the crank assembly. PO took out the 4 or 6? (looked like there were 2 small bolt holes besides the main 4 for the harmonic damper which were not included) The main bolt required some heat, but then the timing cog sucked to get out, I broke pretty much all the outer material out, so it looks like a need a new one of those. I could not for the life of me get the damn thing to come out, I barred the crank where the main seal goes twice, although I think I can take some sand paper and get away with it, I also hit the front of the oil pump housing pretty bad, does this even matter because nothing contacts it?



Maybe this was the cause of the low oil pressure issue? No idea where the other piece of gasket went....
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...68cbed551a.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cba74a4fa8.jpg
Gear wear
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1b66969624.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7450f19efa.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4a1bc7ed4d.jpg

how do the surfaces on the inside and outsides fo the gears look? can you catch your fingernails on the housing scratches?

No deep scratches. Am I crazy or could the broken gasket be the pressure issue?

That gasket would not leak enough to drop the pressure that low. I would keep looking, check main/rod bearing clearances.

Also do rings as mentioned/linked, I skipped them once, it burned more oil than gas.

pull and check the relief valve. Because it was getting appropriate amounts of oil pressure at higher rpm, i would guess the relief valve may be getting stuck open. just a thought.

Haven't fiddled the vvt motor in a long while.
Took the car to autox this weekend and had an absolute blast. I learned I will need a catch can because I was getting some mean clouds of oil during rapid de-accel, even with the 323 gtx valve.
It got worse when I started to hot lap the car at the end, I ran about 4 laps with maybe 1 minute cool down time in between each lap, popped my hood and there was oil everywhere out of the breather filter.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c4acd37f73.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5830181998.jpg

fastest lap was a 1:32, slowest was a 1:50 something. The embarrassing thing is my fastest lap was with leach riding along.
Also picked up a 1995 montego to fix and possible DD, measly sum of $500 and I've made almost all of it back from selling the aftermarket parts off of it
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b93a461c8a.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...04a581a347.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1f197ea80e.jpg

I vote NA build on the daily!

clean it up and sell it. use profits to build VVT motor!!!

^^ me likey ^^

still undecided on what I want to do with the vvt motor, I definitely want it into the purple car, but at what level? Half of me doesn't want to open up the short block, just because of how low mileage it is and how small this turbo is, tops out at around 230 whp, which is a little above what the car is at right now. I plan on doing a BE pump for sure, still undecided on engine managment. Also I have college to think about for the next 2 years, and it's 4 hours away, not a trip I want to do in a turbo autox miata every weekend. And the purple car is starting to become non-daily friendly with 5 points and all, so I figured a cheap miata would be a fun daily. I think Lars daily's an older miata too IIRC

Give Alex and gang a high five for me next time you see them.

will do, I'd love to see your car in person sometime!

Photos from last month's autox, going back the 28th for the next event. Getting the car aligned this weekend and new rubber, I need to install my catch can and figure out a mounting system, also the car needs to have the downpipe re welded again, seems to be leaking from the flange.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...64839f629b.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...91154eb302.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...18b6f45bd8.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fc6c416195.jpg

Got this heap running, sounds like the diff has coins rolling around in it, at first I thought it was a loose driveshaft but all the bolts are tight, maybe the diff is starting to go?
Fit 4 tires and 4 wheels in the car, getting new toyo ra1's put on for the fast car
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...95d5748a42.jpg

Have you put new fluid in the diff yet? I hope you don't find surprises in the fluid when you do that... I'd probably start with the fluid to see if that helps anything. Odds are that it's never been changed.