Impressive! Well done, looking forward to the coming updates ...

 

pos cat provided for making "lots of noise" to keep motivation alive!

That turbo manifold is a CHONKY BOI. Looks to be a nice cast stainless 5-1 collector?

 

So friggin cool.

 

When can we expect the other half of the Lambo V10 in the Miata?

 

That will be in the 2028 re-boot...

 

Yup, cast stainless 321, five to one collector from Race3. Fabricator said it welded up nicely, along with the LPS 5 cylinder flange.
Don't put that evil on me ricky bobby

During initial fireups(i.e, the clips above) the engine didn't sound quite right to me. It sounded eerily like a 4 cylinder with a dead spot. This was confirmed by grabbing the #5 runner and noting it was only lightly warm, when the other runners made me go "ahh ohh that's hot ouch" x4 when grabbed. I swapped around coil packs and rang wiring... everything checked out... oh weird, the brand new #5 injector wasn't clicking when manually triggered though the ECU... which was when I realized I hadn't switched the #5 injector from "not used" (lol K series things) to "enabled". Engine started and ran much smoother after that.

I also received the flashing equipment for the transmission, needed to enable control though the Maxx. Maxx apparently reverse engineered and modified the Dodge Demon software, and has you flash their own version of it to the TCU that the Maxx then recognizes and controls over canbuss. Very nifty.


However after flashing, I couldn't get the ECU to communicate with the TCU. I, once again, checked all the canbuss/wakeup/power wiring, checked the software settings, pinged the TCU though the flashing software to confirm the flash had taken, and everything checked out. But still no response. After a few days of messing with it and banging my head against the wall, I realized the transmission connector could be "moved" from something resembling a pinning/service configuration, to an "install" position. Which allows the pins to penetrate much deeper into the transmission and actually make contact. Whoops. Worked first try after properly installing that.




To allow me to run the car for more then 20 seconds at a time I knocked out an exhaust and the rest of the cooling system. Exhaust is super simple, even compared to last, simply dumping out behind the front passenger wheel. At some point in the future I'll add a fancy aesthetically cut tip here, but in the current interest of time, it just gets a simple T U B E. Short and sweet to let the world hear those turbo 5 cylinder noises.


I had gotten the motor to fire up by throwing random numbers at the crank/ignition offset till it coughed though the exhaust, but when I went to dial this in and set base timing with an ignition light, I was baffled when it showed me being close to 70* off. wtf? Ain't no way it would run that far off... and when trying to adjust the offset to line everything up, the motor would unhappily cough and die. Something was hella wack here. I dug though a bunch of OE manuals, and found VW doesn't have a process for setting ignition timing. Why would you need it? Install zee motor in zee factory configuration with zee factory ECU, turn key, scan for codes or error messages, volia! Not really helpful. Oh, and while there is *a* notch on the front timing cover, and *a* notch on the crank pulley, it doesn't indicate 10* offset. Just TDC for... wait wtf VW, its FOR CYLINDER #5 INSTEAD OF #1???

Ok, well at least this:
Makes more sense at least. VW apparently decided #5 was so special all timing/TDC references should be based of it instead of the conventional #1. Get VW'ed.

And this mark is only TDC. Fairly hard to keep a motor alive running at 0* timing, so I did some math and cut a new timing mark into the crank pulley, at 10* past TDC for cylinder #5 for ignition timing purposes. How you like them apples VW?


I played around with a few exhaust options, but due to the position of the wastegate, the easiest thing to do would be dump it right out the hood again. So I built a new screamer pipe, riveted a patch over the old screamer pipe hole, and while I was in the mood patched up the no longer needed K-hole.




Transmission cooler was installed and lines plumbed for it, along with a thermostat. I don't really know how much cooling capacity will be required for it- consensus online is anything from "temps are fine towing with OE cooler in OE application"(dodge ram) to "I don't run a cooler"(drifters). So I selected a smaller sized generic 10ish row cooler and stuck it infront of the rear wheel to grab some air from the underbody. I don't know if this will be sufficient, overkill, or wildly ineffective, so mounting was the uglyist concoction of selftappers, zipites and a half-baked prayer.


Does the proximity of these stainless lines, carrying transmission fluid, fuel, and water/meth, to my spinney driveshaft give me the warm and fuzzies? Absolutely not. In the *very unlikely* event of a driveshaft snappage, these exposed lines are getting shredded. Ideally I'll add a sturdy shield/driveshaft loop at some point, but till then I'm taking solace in the fact that my previous, thinner, "weaker" driveshaft never showed any issues despite getting shock loaded many, many times.
Oh and yes, the black/blue filter is the new location of the fuel filter. I'm running a proper, some amount of microns, cleanable filter, instead of the factory filter, due to the constant use of pump E85. Required, probably not, but does give me some warm and fuzzies when I'm dumping mystery E85 from all over the eastern seaboard into the tank. The fueling system will be revisited for sure at some point in the future, as this car *does* need some form of a surge tank, judging from last year's experiences.

With the car now running on 5 cylinders, the transmission properly plumbed and engine cooling operational, I ran it though a few heatcycles and roughed out an OK startup/idle map. Setting up/tuning the DBW was an interesting learning experience, and doing so while adjusting the 18 other things happening at once on a fresh startup kept me busy. But eventually I worked though it all and got to testing out the transmission on jack stands. And... it worked. Wheels turned. However, I found using the canbuss keypad as a shiftier/drive mode selector to be extremely clunky. Not only is just pressing a button to select PRND extremely unsatisfying and disconnected, I ran into difficulties trying to change modes. Basically to select say... drive, while currently in park, I would have to de-select park, wait for gearbox status to change, then select drive. If I then wanted reverse, I would have to deselect drive, then select park. Good possibility I had something incorrectly configured or not setup right, but overall didn't enjoy the experience, and having 5 of the 12 buttons on the keypad taken up for transmission functions(Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, and Manually shifted mode) really cut into the capabilities. Good news, Maxx has BMW and Dodge shifter compatibility options, so I ran to the junkyard, grabbed a 3 series something BMW shifter for $34, added 5 wires, changed one setting in Maxx, and boom, I now have 5 extra buttons on the keypad for fun things and a fully tactile shifter with built in indications. Extremely satisfying to use.



Ran though all the drive modes/gears on jackstands without issue. One big step closer to this car moving under its own power again. Which I really want to happen very, very soon. Seems every time I cross one item off my list I have to add two more, or get sidetracked into something that needed done, but wasn't even on the list/had been "left for later" and then forgotten about. Yay.
Goal is to have the car moving and driving by end of this week, finish up the half dozen critical items, get a basic street tune in, and be testing on the track in... 10 days. Big yikes, but Gridlife CMP, which I want very, VERY badly to be at this year, is exactly one month away, and I MUST have at least one shakedown day that doesn't result in a fully crippled car, as well as a dyno session in, before I'm committing to that big an event.

 

The more time I spend in the garage and in product development, the more I realize this is a reality for basically everyone. It used to make me want to over-think and over-plan everything, now it's just a reality that I accept.

 

I was hanging out in the backyard yesterday and got some email notifications about this thread. I mentioned it to my buddy, "Oh yeah, there's this crazy guy building a time attack Miata with a 5 cylinder VW engine and a 8 speed auto with paddles and such... The K series was giving him grief"

He responds something along the lines of, "Why would anyone think a VW 5 cylinder is going to be a better platform than a K series? Unless it's that Audi 5 cylinder. It's half of a V10 from a lambo..."

Cool to see that the trans, ECU, keypad and everything are talking nicely. Are there other options for that shifter? I've seen that in a few cars and always thought they looked out of place, not that I would expect aesthetics to be a priority right now.

 

I'd put up a poll and take bets on whether everyone thinks your timeframe is reasonable or not, but I think we all unanimously agree that you're probably gonna make it happen.

Great stuff. The fact that the ECU and TCU jived with each other first try after fully seating that connector is amazing to me.

 

Once again, Phillip's ambition makes me fall deeper into sadness on the progress/status of my build haha. Keep it up man!

 

I think the better poll would be "how many hours of sleep does Wingman get in the week before the event?"

As I've aged, I've had to make that number larger and larger.

 

Maxx supports the BMW shifter, the Dodge 8HP shifter, and their "Sequential style" shifter. The sequential shifter retails for north of $600(wtf, it's a glorified sim shifter), and I really hate the "T-handle" look of the Dodge shifter. So BMW shifter it is.
You have an optimism I am currently not feeling lol, even a week later.
Not enough. I need a redbull sponsorship


With the shifter installed and drive on jackstands confirmed, I sat the car on the ground and... whoa, IT DRIVES.
Did a few *very tentative* laps around the block, just going up and down the gears as much as I was able, making sure nothing fell off or vomited fluids. Tuning the 8HP was a learning curve that took me a few hours and lots of very jerky shifting to wrap my head around, especially having to retune the 1st gear clutch engagement to account for an idle 4-500 RPM higher then the factory torque converter was expecting.


Brought it back into the garage, checked everything over, then did some little baby test pulls. Holy freaking moley this sounds SOOOO GOOD, the K24 could NEVER dream of sounding anything like this. The instant shifts just add to the magic. At this point in time, I am NOT missing any aspect of the manual transmission.
I had plumbed my wastegate backwards, so that second clip with all the EGT alarms going off was the motor getting slapped with 30psi at 50% throttle. Whoops. Rods remained inside the block, but shortly afterwards a new noise started... a very faint pinging noise from inside the bellhousing that continued to get worse the more I drove it. So I brought it back home, let it cool for awhile, started it up... noise gone! sweet! Drove it some more and noise comes back! Not sweet!

The good news, I had a fairly good idea what the pinging noise was, and it wasn't a big deal. The bad news, driveline would have to come out to address it.

I'd put a lot of thought into how to making the removal and installation of this driveline easier. Pulling the K wasn't hard, but there was a lot of.. fiddly bits to the removal that really ate up time. Things like the intake manifold needing to be removed, radiator mounting being bolts in shear, always having to hunt down AN plugs to cap fuel lines, the turbo/manifold needing to come off, having to drop the swaybar, ect. I think the best I ever did pulling the full turbo K assembly was just over an hour and a half, with lots of aggravation involved. Well the good news is, my forsight in this swap payed off. Drybreaks on every fluid system(except for coolant, that's still hose clamps because -20AN is $$$$), a relocated swaybar that doesn't need dropped out, a heat exchanger stack that slides off in seconds after removal of one bolt, and a perfectly balanced lift point means this pulls out in... less than an hour. 54min start to finish, to be exact. Man, drybreaks really are the bee's knees, doing this with spilling a single drop of transmission fluid or fuel is a godsend. The hardest part of the entire thing is driveshaft removal, as its tight access to hex headed bolts I have to install/remove with an allen key due to space constraints.


I didn't have to go as far as this photo to find the issue, I confirmed it as soon as I removed the starter to access the torque converter bolts.


Mike(ChathamCNC, the builder of this 07K to 8HP adapter) provided 6 ARP bolts to go from flex plate to torque converter. ARP sells the bolt with washers, and Mike didn't fully account for this when machining the adapter plate(as in, the plate was machined, then the bolts with unexpected washers showed up the same day he delivered the finished product to me). He had done the rough maths and said there was probably enough clearance with the washers installed. And it seems there was... until someone was putting power through the fully warmed assembly, and the bolt heads juuuuuust kissed the adapter ever so slightly.



Good news is this was an easy fix, just ditched the washers, and now there was plenty of clearance. The interference area isn't load bearing whatsoever and is essentially a dust shield, so I could have let these self clearance as well, but the pinging noise was getting annoying.

Its also a good thing I pulled the driveline, as I also found the main starter/alternator lead had melted the snakeskin off of it.. how odd... it looked like it was in the path of an exhaust leak, but I couldn't find any leak marks around the header... Oh.


THERE'S A ******* EGR PORT RIGHT THERE JUST CHILLIN
Don't know how I missed that the entire time. Or maybe it's all coked up, and only vents during high backpressure events... anyway, I plugged it up


And aside from the alternator belt making a few bids for freedom(one successful), have not had any hardware related issues after this(more on this issue later).


Well... IRONICALLY... aesthetics are the #1 priority, and are currently the biggest item on my to-do list to make it to a test and tune day.

 

So the extra observant may have noticed the lack of fenders on this car for awhile. This wasn't due just to ease of access, but a whole front end re-do.

Back in October of last year, on my way back from Pittrace towing a broken car, I made a stop and picked up a 3D printed lower bumper from a friend. Think stereotypical vertical trashcan bumper everyone runs, but minus the "gawdamm that looks like absolute ***" aspect. The plan had been to turn this very rough piece of plastic into a useable bumper over the winter.



Well the whole "Hey lets build an entire new engine swap for this car" happened, so after roughly placing it on the car with the OE NA bumper top, this project got shelved for a few months. And also, this project is 100% body work, and I HATE body work. So it was much easier to kick this down the road when I had fun stuff to do, like chopping out my transmission tunnel, welding thin aluminum, or having teeth pulled. All of which are things I'd rather do over body work. Ulgh.

Anyway, this print was developed off an NB front bumper. So it didn't really fit... at all. Curves are all wrong, height is too tall, and nothing lined up.


I'd have to bridge all these gaps and join the print to the NA bumper with fiberglass. So I started with everyone's favorite construction material, spray foam.
Since the print didn't fit the bumper at all, I "extended" its lines to the fenders and added flares to them as well to actually cover a 275 tire.




After lots of cutting and sanding, this rough outline got a few layers of omnidirectional fiberglass fiber mats(its like chopped carbon, but less cool because it's fiberglass) and wet laid epoxy to join the print to the bumper and provide something better then sprayfoam to work off of.


More sanding, and then two layers of actual fiberglass weave to create a smoother, more even surface, which is where this project currently sits at.




The initial plan had been to sand these fenders/bumper down to perfection, create molds off of them, then turn those into proper carbon body panels à la, a much more poorly executed version of Passy's astounding work. Due to time constraints, I'm probably going to end up running these fiberglass'ed fenders/bumper as is for an event or two, then creating fiberglass casts off of them and turning THOSE in to the "final", fiberglass product. Which is more body work then I even want to think about currently...

But that's currently the biggest hurdle between me and getting this car on track for a shakedown. The engine is roughly tuned on 8psi with a suspiciously retarded spark map I "borrowed" from another 07K owner(he says it's a tune from a reputable shop, it had 12* of timing in it at 10psi of boost. Its a 9.5:1 iron block engine, AIN'T NO WAY its anywhere near MBT with 12*. I threw 14* at it but don't want to add more until I can put it on a dyno), the transmission is shifting crispy as crisps, and overall the car is behaving itself suspiciously well during street testing.

 

Holy ****, faster AND BETTER LOOKING? This is crazy talk!

Those AFRs seemed a bit lean on the top end in that video, no? I gotta say, just from watching the video it seems so under-stressed compared to the K24. So smooth and powerful. It rips already man, it's gonna be so sick.

 

The miata looks so happy again with the new non-trashcan bumper!

 

Lol at the EGR port, but with the amount of changes that have happened recently that seems like a very successful first drive. Sounds great, and I'm excited to see what she ends up looking like.

 

Yeah, I think I had missed a cell in that row so it dipped a bit. It's been corrected, not to worried about it at those low boost levels. To be fair to the K, at its peak I was shoving a sustained 28psi through it, so far the 07K(not counting that one oopsie pull to 30psi) hasn't seen north of 10psi. I will note that all the hellish vibrations that have plagued the car for the last several years are gone. Just, gone. No more interior buzzing, no more "***** ***** chick..." of bolts falling out while driving, no more mirrors buzzing so bad I can't see through them. Just buttery smooth lambo noises.

 

Freaking awesome stuff you're doing here. I did not expect you to be at this point so fast for such an ambitious project. Well done! The car sounds awesome and I'm sure you'll be ripping soon at this pace of work.

A few other thoughts:

Everyone talks about how willing to rev the K24 is and it's sort of nuts to me. If it was any other engine, people would say you're nuts revving them to 8-9k regularly. The 99mm stroke is longer than a 427 Hemi and even a Ford 460. Combine that with 4 pistons stopping at once every half a rotation, no balance shafts, plus throw boost at it, and you've got massive crank whip and a recipe for the Bolt Remover 2400.

Which leads me to another thing...

Preface: I know almost nothing about liquid cooled VWs.

I'd be willing to bet that the ignition offset you need corresponds to TDC of cylinder 5. The general reason for the rear mounted timing chain is to get more stability in the cam drive. The transmission side of the crank is damped/stabilized by the load of the vehicle, and has a more consistent rotational speed. The accessory side of the crank will be where most of the flexing happens. It seems VW matched the rear mounted timing setup with a rear #1 cylinder from a timing perspective. Throw out established convention every mechanic intrinsically understands so you can more closely match the theory behind your incremental improvement. That's Germans.

Given the number of NB lower front bumpers I've seen bonded to NA top halves, I have to guess the curvature is more related to thin 3d prints warping and being bonded together, but that's a SWAG based on my own experience with how finicky 3d printing can be.

It's going to look so, so much better! Also, glad to see you've addressed the crash damage. Like others have said, I'd suggest you box in those sway bar mounts as well while you've got the welder set up.

Keep it up!

 

I've always loved this car but now that you've removed the giant ***** from the engine bay and added this operatic-sounding lump i like it SO MUCH BETTER

 

The front bumper update was not on my Wingman bingo card this week. Form and function is crazy. Can't wait to see it finished.