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I Have No Idea What I'm Doing™
Hi all, I've finally made the first steps in my master plan (which seems to change every time I think about it) and want to share with everyone. Here's my intro thread to give you more info on my car and my goals for it.
https://www.miataturbo.net/meet-gree...ro-post-93516/ But here are the basics. The car is a 1990 that I've owned for about ten years now. I'm not planning to do anything special, this is just going to be a plain old turbo build. Right now I'm thinking it's gonna be a FMII kit with megasquirt. So anyway I got the motor out two weekends ago, and then because of work/personal commitments I wan't able to touch the car until this week. I took the whole week off work to get shit done. Well here we go... |
ms is a good choice.
fm2, meh, much better alternatives out these days. but it's not bad. at least it's not bottom of the barrel begi lol |
Untouched...and dirty. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fc4e093393.jpg
Pulling the motor went pretty smoothly. Had it out in about three hours maybe. The only thing that cause a problem really was the exhaust studs at the end of the manifold. Had to heat those bastards up real good, and I managed to destroy one of them. Didn't get a pic of them. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...42de7f64e7.jpg There was a lot of gear oil around the shifter turret even though the small boot looks intact. Not sure how it all leaked out, I'm guessing that when I did the shifter rebuild a few years back I put a bit too much oil in the turret? https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...137390d847.jpghttps://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f59b9f33fc.jpg I saw a version of this neat little trick to hold the trans up with the PPF out in someones build thread a while back. Shoutout to whoever it was! Also, PROTIP: Take the shifter out of the trans before you try to pull the whole engine/trans out. I didn't and it dragged on the trans tunnel, which made it a bit harder than it should have been to get the motor/trans out. I was a bit worried I might have damaged the shift forks or something but it still seems to row through the gears fine. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...475c3a2aa1.jpg As you can see, the bottom end of this motor and the trans were absolutely filthy. My valve cover leaked for a long time and it really made a mess of the whole engine. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...94ad14b76e.jpg While I was fighting with the shifter not clearing the trans tunnel, the engine oil pan nicked my headlight panel. I was a little more than mildy annoyed by this. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...422e080865.jpg Next up was cleaning the shit out of everything... |
Is that corvette a '73? Looks good, any mods?
my dad has a '79 we wedged a 502 into. |
Sorry about the monstrous pictures. It wont let me resize them when I edit the post for some reason.
Didnt get too many pictures unfortunately, it was a pretty dirty job and I wasnt able to get my phone out to take pics too often. As you can see I also pulled all the AC stuff out and removed the windshield washer tank https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2c879882b1.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a9e77c0cde.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...51f236ffc7.jpg Here's a close up of my looped PS lines. I used an air saw to cut the lines, messy but effective. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b7ef7e1460.jpg To plug the rack I took the stock fittings and cut the lines then crushed them closed in a vice. Cleaned them up a bit on the grinder. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...78ddb4dd44.jpg |
The Vette is '70 I believe. It's mostly stock from what I've seen. The shop that I'm borrowing space from is a corvette specialty shop that my dad started about 12 years ago. I worked there while I was in high school. That is a customers car.
Funny, there is actually a 502 crate motor sitting in another corner of the shop that is destined to go into a '57 chevy. Guy is having the car resto-modded frame up. You can actually see the frame for it leaning behind that corvette. |
Next up: Timing belt, water pump, and coolant reroute.
This picture doesn't accurately show how filthy the front of this engine was... https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...99b947419d.jpg I didnt have two crescent wrenches so I had to very gently grip the exhaust cam with a some flat-jaw vice grips. They worked just as good. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9c85ade8ca.jpg Comparison of the original water pump and the new Gates pump I bought from 949 Racing. Notice the beefy cast impeller on the Gates unit compared to the stamped steel original. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7334b2099b.jpg The new Gates timing belt, which I also got from 949, was super tight and it was rather difficult to get it over all the pulleys. Took me a few tries to get the timing right. I bought a new crank bolt but I elected not to remove the original. It has never been removed from the factory and I dont want to open that can of worms. The way I see it, either the crank is fine, which I think it is, and in that case, why touch it? Or the crank is fucked, in which case, I've already lost. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0a3af974a3.jpg |
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...288d2d952d.jpg
Reroute was very simple, though I'm glad I had the engine out to do it. The included instructions were very thorough, but weren't really need for the most part. I used the supplied stick-on gaskets and applied a thin coat of Right Stuff to the other side of them. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...76262d4743.jpg I'm not sure why my "M-Tuned" reroute says K-Tuned on it, but it all went together fine so :dunno: https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...53f6875003.jpg Dont question the donkey. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5a907a8836.jpg As you can see the old powdercoat on my valve cover hasn't fared too well. I did it myself years ago. Our shop actually has a semi-legit powdercoating setup, completely with huge pizza oven. Besides the big flakes that came off, the whole cover is flaking and I think a good power wash might strip it all off, but I'm thinking I'm going to try to find another cover and have a professional shop redo the powder coat. That's a project for another time though...I want my car back! |
So that's where I'm at so far. What's left is a few small items before the motor is ready. I've got to get a replacement exhaust stud for the one I had to cut, find some caps for the AC lines going into the cabin, and do a bit more engine bay cleaning. Then the clutch, put the motor back in, and radiator. I'm hoping to have the car back on the road by the end of this weekend.
One thing I found out today is that the axle nuts are different for the 99 torsen I got. I can't use the nuts that came off the 1.6 axles. I've havent been able to find the part number anywhere online, but I need to get these ASAP. Anyone know if Autozone, NAPA, etc. carries these? I'll have to call around tomorrow. |
Originally Posted by 18psi
(Post 1438077)
ms is a good choice.
fm2, meh, much better alternatives out these days. but it's not bad. at least it's not bottom of the barrel begi lol As the thread title suggests, I have no idea what I'm doing. |
May I ask why elected to not do front main seal, cam seals, and rear main seal while everything is out and apart?
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Because I'm a fool and I didn't think to order them with the rest of the parts I bought. I did buy a rear main seal which I will replace before the new clutch goes on.
In hindsight, I would have waited until winter to do all this so I would have all the time in the world to go through every seal and hose and what have you in the engine bay |
Originally Posted by Mecon90
(Post 1438099)
I'm not sure why my "M-Tuned" reroute says K-Tuned on it, but it all went together fine so :dunno:
Originally Posted by Mecon90
(Post 1438105)
My next priority once I get the car back on the road is to figure out all this megasquirt nonsense. By the time I get to where I'm ready for the turbo, things might be different. Right now though the completeness of the FM kit is looking very appealing to me.
As the thread title suggests, I have no idea what I'm doing. |
^ true dat. I'm working on an MKTurbo setup right now, and so far I've been very impressed with everything.
I would also replace that cursed water plug on the back of the head while you've got the motor out. Cheap insurance. |
I'd go MKturbo over FM without a doubt
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Originally Posted by Mecon90
(Post 1438174)
Because I'm a fool and I didn't think to order them with the rest of the parts I bought. I did buy a rear main seal which I will replace before the new clutch goes on.
In hindsight, I would have waited until winter to do all this so I would have all the time in the world to go through every seal and hose and what have you in the engine bay |
Originally Posted by 18psi
(Post 1438193)
I'd go MKturbo over FM without a doubt
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Small update:
I've decided to a slightly different route, sorry to disappoint you turbo fanbois :skid: https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...512994b031.jpg Seriously though, didn't get too much done today, couldn't stay at the shop very long. When I previously removed the VLSD from the car, one of the halfshafts got stuck in the hub, but I got it out today with the help of a puller and an impact gun. Speaking of impact guns, to get the axle nuts off the shaft I had to bring out the monstrous 3/4in impact gun. I had previously tried a 1/2in impact, and a breaker bar with a five foot long jack handle on it and it was actually rolling the car over the wheel chocks with the handbrake on. Then the 3/4in impact got them off like they were hand tight. Thing is a beast. I did a little weighing of my clutch components as well. I'm sure it's been done before but I figured I'd pull out my trusty fish scale. FM Level I Happy Meal Kit: https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...63301f71e6.jpg Stock 1.6L Clutch Assembly: https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1347a07ac3.jpg FM I pressure plate is a bit heavier than the stock 1.6, but the lightened flywheel obviously makes up for it. FM pressure plate+flywheel = 22.25lbs Stock 1.6 pressure plate + flywheel = 25.78lbs The new friction plate is a full pound heavier than the stock 1.6. I wonder if I will be able to notice the difference shifting. I also found some new axle nuts to fit the 99 halfshafts, so that's cool. I had to go to two different Autozones because they both only had one in stock. Hopefully the motor with be back in tomorrow. I still need to try and get that exhaust stud out. I tried today by heating up the manifold until it was glowing and grabbing the stud with vice grips, but I started to twist the stud. I'm almost certain it's going to snap if I try again. Might have to drill it out... |
Originally Posted by Mecon90
(Post 1438383)
Interesting. I know the MKturbo kit is like the go-to budget setup, but how does it compare to the FMII performance wise, not taking money into account? Both can reach my power goals no problem, but how does the T3 turbo do against say the 2554 in terms of spool, response etc?
If money was no issue, then a TSE is the setup you want. If money is a concern then MKTurbo is a much better bang for the buck then FMII. |
Originally Posted by shuiend
(Post 1438404)
There are a lot of variables that can affect this comparison. For reference I started 10 years ago with a Begi S1 2554 setup. It is close to a FII setup. When I first built my MKTurbo test setup I was trying to mimic my old setup as closely as possible, but for much cheaper. Overall the 2554 will have slightly better lowend response once you mate it with a 3" exhaust. Once you get past 3500rpms or so, the differences start to go away and they become much more even. One thing you have to take into consideration is FMII performance out of the box is not that great, since the stock exhaust will limit you.
If money was no issue, then a TSE is the setup you want. If money is a concern then MKTurbo is a much better bang for the buck then FMII. Anyway, my car is back on the road! |
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