Catfish #1 update...Whiskers gets a rebuild
 

Boy it's been a while since updating this thread! I figured since the engine "dun blowed up" at Streets of Willow and was just put back together, it would be a good time to catch up. Believe it or not the original Catfish -- now dubbed "Whiskers" just like Flyin' Miata's Cat -- was born at the 2012 SEMA show. It took over two years after that debut to actually make all the parts needed to offer these cars for sale. Boy was that a lot of work...

Now we mainly enjoy the car, and use it for testing and updates. Since the engine went boom, I decided to do some upgrades to help it not grenade. Again. The upgrades include:

Completely new engine rebuild:
--polished crank with new bearings
--new con rod bearings
--new +1 SuperTech pistons with a lower compression. This allows a wider tuning window for the turbo
--new valve seals & gaskets
--decked case & head to ensure a flat surface

...and to ensure safety
--Innovate wide band O2 sensor with gauge
--new Flex fuel sensor wired into the MSPNP2 so we can run cooler E85 at the track
--new (old) temp sensor in the Mazda gauge that actually reads temperature--it's not a dummy gauge
--new (old) knock sensor mounted onto the 1997 block
--new custom coolant reroute with swirl pot. This will add more water volume as well as take help take the air out of the system. I'm really happy with this setup.

While the car was on block, the interior came out and was cleaned, and the one-way ball valve found on stock Miata fuel inlets was retrofitted to the Catfish. We've had too many problems with fuel spilling out the gas cap, so hopefully this will solve our issue.

What else? Well the car now runs on Ohlins suspension and the headlights have been upgraded to LED units. A custom Infrared tire temp sensor system was also installed. It reads the tire temperatures at the outside, center and inside of each tire. Testing this is next on the list. A master cutoff switch was added, as were USB 2.0A charging units, for phones and "stuff".
Our own adjustable cam gears and some new Bosch 1000cc injectors were also added, just because. If you haven't seen the car lately, front canards were added (hence the name Whiskers) as well as our own design stainless steel hood vents.

All in all, the car has never been in better shape. Next up may just be a new rear wing setup.

Until then, here are some recent pictures of the changes.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...54bfcded97.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...779197e911.jpg1000cc Bosch injectors will help with the larger volume of fuel that will be used once the car is tuned for E85.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3aeb8d6173.jpgProperly installed, after being installed backwards on the first try. :)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c71bfc7eab.jpgThat's the stock ball valve that is on all Miatas. It's hiding in the galvanized steel gas inlet elbow.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...39f7eb1235.jpgWhiskers! Carbon canards help manage the air up front.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...102d80a93d.jpgHeat and air pressure get sucked out of the vents at speed
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...693c10211c.jpgFun but dusty Qualcomm.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3565a4329e.jpgThe NA8 engine uses dual adjustable cam gears. The new gears in stock have the sensors needed for the NB8.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ae21660f0a.jpgThe Swirl Pot is the highest point of the engine. It's where air bubbles go to die.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...504d3d0460.jpgHot water from the back of the block flows down to the radiator.

glad to see the car is still rockin'

Pics are broke doe.

Hey guess whos looking to get back in a miata?

Pics work. Car looks glorious. How much power on corn juice?

fucking work internet....

would daily.

Daaaang epic build thread. Worth the hour it took to catch up. :drool:

This is just something that everyone needs in their electrical supplies. It just works. Solder seal heat shrink used to be available by mil-spec suppliers only, but now you can get is on eBay and Amazon. The low temp solder circle in the middle melts and perfectly solders two wires, while simultaneously waterproofing the connection. The entire assembly ends up flexible and very small. Magic.

New Rear Wing Progress
 

One item that's always been on the list of to do's is a proper rear wing. We finally had a window of time to work on it and I think we came up with a pretty good solution.

Because the rear bumper is very near the license plate, the decision was made to build the wing spars from the back instead of through the rear deck. Some custom supports and triangulation is being added that could support a Sumo wrestler so this wing won't cause any structural problems.

The wing itself is 48" wide. That's a good size for downforce, and will be widened to the full width of the vehicle for track-only cars. The plan is to sneak up on the best width.

Julien's Catfish is the first wing recipient. He'll be able to fully test the wing next month at Laguna Seca, and we're all really excited to do a little testing.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...185a9e40f4.jpgTested via CAD first
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7658ccfdf0.jpgThese pictures show the new under-wing configuration and the CFR side panels
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2c6d5f76b2.jpgAluminum spars with internal carbon fiber reinforcements.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...355f22664f.jpgThis setup gives zero to 12 degrees of adjustment in 2 degree increments. This is good for first tests.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cbb569d3b0.jpgRaw aluminum will be replaced with powder coated satin black shortly.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2ca2bf1d0.jpegZero degrees
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5dd570c35.jpeg12 degrees
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...87328eac87.jpgTest fit with APR end plates
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1c14f461e8.jpgThe goal is a good street/track setup.

Just when I thought a Catfish couldn't get any cooler...

That's a cool license plate frame!

RIGHT?! That "license plate frame" connects through the bodywork to some steel bracketry and a reinforced bumper in order for it to handle the added stress from the wing.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d85217c9a2.jpgSupport bars tie into the rear subassembly.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0795b92d9f.jpgBumper & bracket installed.

So awesome. My longer-term plan is to rip off my busted ass chassis and drop a Catfish on it. I love the new design. My car was actually originally going to be a Catfish donor and the owner wanted an MSM as a donor instead so I snagged it and rebuilt it (for now).

What model of injectors are those?

Bosch 1000cc. They came with pigtail connectors for a plug n' play fit, but we just cut those off and connected them directly. Fair warning--1000cc injectors are so loud that they sound like a hydraulic lifter is bad.

Well it's official....Catfish #1 has been sold and drove off with its new owner this morning. It's in good hands, as the new owner is just up the road in Thousand Oaks CA. He lost his house--AND his 70 car collection--during last summer's massive fires in California, and now he's rebuilding. For reference, here's one of the cars that was lost in the fire:

https://www.legendarycollectorcars.c...traight-eight/

After he'd driven the Catfish home, I got this text:

Made it home without issue. In 103 miles, I had at least 6 photos taken, got waves or thumbs up an additional 6 times, 1 conversation about what it is while in traffic near LAX, and it took me 15 minutes to fill it up at a gas station near my house because another guy wanted to know what it was. Even driving down the freeway it was a lot of fun. I also just wanted to thank you for everything on behalf of my father and I.


...the end

And he got it for a song. Shoulda brought at least twice the price.