First step is to buy a car. So, I found some Russians and they sold me a 96. It's currently completely stock. Won't stay that way for long.







Next step is to order a Megasquirt II and learn to tune with it. Still researching turbo sizes. Power goal is a modest 200whp.

 

Second-hand Flying Miata intercooler setup has arrived, thanks to wrengel.

 

Appropriately Christmas colored goodies arrived.
Tein Flex coilovers and Eibach swaybars. Gaz seems to approve.

Anybody want to sell me some second-hand adjustable endlinks?

 

Make some. 3/8" rod ends off McMastercarr, 3/8-24 threaded rod, couple 3/8" bolts and some 3/8" quick pins and washers and bob's your uncle. Mine have lasted 2 full autocross seasons and about 16,000 miles so far.

 

More stuff. A lightly used LC-1 wideband setup from CoralDoc.



Placed an order for a DIYPNP from DIY Autotune. Time to dust off the soldering iron...

 

Props awarded for photo of cat and suspension components.

You'll do well here.

(Ditch the rear swaybar. I ran none at all, some prefer to run the stock rear and aftermarket front. Miatas are slightly tail-happy to begin with, and become downright unpredictable on the street when a turbo and a stiffer rear swaybar are installed.)

 

Nice thread.

Your radiator is near death (based on the color).

Location? (Cali I presume).

 

You can tell based on the color? Dang, well that gives me an excuse to buy a Koyo or Mishimoto. I guess that'd be a good time to do a re-route, too.

I'm up near Santa Rosa.

 

Yeah, I missed it at first glance.

The plastic tank on the top starts out black when its new. As it ages (due to heat), the color begins to lighten into a sort of greyish-brown, which accompanies the material becoming brittle. When it gets to the point yours is at, it's quite likely going to crack soon.

 

I'll place an order for an aluminum radiator today and start gathering parts for a coolant re-route.

Any reason to upgrade OEM radiator hoses to silicone pieces? I've not really heard one way or the other about the durability of the stock stuff.

 

PM Sent

 

None at all. OEM-style rubber hoses are extremely durable and long-lasting. I'd go ahead and replace them while you have the radiator out, but only with stock-style parts.

My preference is the Gates brand which NAPA sells. Never had a problem with one of those, and they're cheap.

 

Great, thanks. That was my intention, to replace all the associated hoses while I have the rad out.

I see a couple options as far as thermo spacers in the classifieds here; any opinions on which direction to go as far as re-route kits?

 

I've always done the Kia waterneck/GM truck hose reroutes myself. The best spacer is this one:

https://www.miataturbo.net/miata-par...fitment-82451/

It has fully-supported bolt holes. I've used BEGI spacers in the past, and went through several waternecks as a result.

 

Looks nice. What do you use for blocking off the front outlet?

 

front outlet block off plate

 

You can just drive a freeze plug into the hole left when the thermostat housing is removed. Can't remember the exact size, but it's a common one that the auto parts stores all carry.

Or if you need a threaded hole in that area (such as for a 1.6 fan switch), you can get some flat aluminum plate from the hardware store and drill a few holes in it.

Blocking the front is the easy part.

 

A freeze plug sounds like the most simple solution. As I'm not planning on racing on a track, can I safely re-use the OEM shroud and fan? Again, I'm not too well versed on the stock miata's fan operation and reliability.

 

Stock fans will not fit a fat radiator and a swaybar at the same time, especially with ac condenser in there.

 

I have a non-AC model. Should I grab the Mishimoto shroud, or would you suggest a different option?