Kingje's pre-built to re-built thread
 

Some details and pics to get my general build thread started. I picked up my turbo 1995 Miata with a blown head gasket about 10-12 years ago. Some of you older folks may even recognize this car. Anyway, it sat, and sat. I messed with it between projects, and finally had someone (a few of you may have heard of) pick it up to finish the engine rebuild. I got a few parts that were needed, he did most of the work, basically a stock rebuild (requested minor pnp on valves and clutch. Not sure if that was done...) 4 or 5 years and a few thousand dollars later, I picked it up, finished a bunch of stuff, and finally got it running. That was almost 2 years ago. A bit of a headache, all that.

Moving on to now, the car is running very smooth and is ready to become my new backup DD. Or perhaps primary DD, who knows! I still need to re-do the registration. As for my goals, I want to start with a spirited street car. 250hp sounds reasonable, with room to grow. No plans to track it, YET. I still want to get used to it and any future modifications. I've only EVER put about 12 miles on it, so I'm still breaking in the new engine rebuild. Ever owned a car for over 10 years and only put on 12 miles? It's not a LaFerrari... lol

The car came with:
Turbo kit (Original owner thinks FM. Looks like a 300zx. Pics in next post)
Bipes tuning
BOV (not sure what kind)
Tein Flex coilovers with EDFC
16" Enkei's
2.5" TBE (old style FM maybe? Again orig owner couldn't remember. We're getting old)
Corbeau seats and harnesses
Hard top
Hard Dog roll bar
Strut bar (in the trunk for now)
BeatRush skid plate (still no idea how this bolts up. Might be missing hardware)
Steering wheel, shift knob, yada yada.


Since I've owned it I've gotten:
ARP head studs (hoping engine rebuild guy actually used them)
AEM EMS-4 (to be installed)
Boomslang (to be installed)
Sensors for speed density tune (to be installed)
Walbro 255 fuel pump
EV14 injectors w/ caps and o-rings (to be installed. 750cc matched set. Super cheap and are hopefully manageable w/ AEM.)
Falken Azenis
Synapse Synchronic EWG (to be installed)
eBay cast T3 manifold w/ EWG (to be installed)
ATP 3" low profile downpipe (to be installed. Should I have gotten the 2.5"?)
Coolant re-route
Oil filter re-route
Larger IC
T-bolt band clamps on coolant and boost hoses
A bunch of other hoses and fastening bits
OEM valve cover (came with an Escort VC to expose the timing gears)
New timing gears


Still to figure out:
New turbo (More on this later. Much to decide.)
Exhaust (Again, keep it 2.5", upgrade to 3", what to doo...)
Tuning (Thinking of TurboXS for initial)
LSD (Decisions... More on this later)
Belts (sans A/C and power steering)
There's likely more, and I'm sure I'll continue replacing bits here and there. It's a 22 year old car. Damn, I'm getting old...

Next posts, LOTS OF POTATO PICS!!! Be gentle, I know it's dirty but I don't care until it's in my driveway full time. :D

POTATO PICS!!!!
Very dirty car, I know. Anyway, in it's glory...
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7ef295bdc5.jpg


Steering wheel, general interior...

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7fb24843b3.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...661f28f399.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5f22da9840.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8081892247.jpg

What am I missing with this skid plate?!! I can't figure out how it fastens! Meh, that's to worry about later.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9d1f31c00f.jpg

This little thing. It actually still works too. Very cool little gizmo, although I probably wouldn't ever need to use it unless I was seriously tracking the car... Still neat.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...11383806c2.jpg

Obviously very old and weathered. Wondering how long it will hold up or if Tein has a lifetime transferable warranty....


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c7a3b87177.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0d3e724403.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...13c1afd292.jpg

So, whatever turbo that is (300zx?)

Not going to overload with pics of everything...

Next more potato pics of NEW items!!! :D

MORE POTATO PICS!!!
Here's the ATP DP. Should I keep this 3" or revert to the 2.5", which is already the exhaust on the car? Turbo depending, that will be determined soon.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6c8edc23ce.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7a99761fec.jpg

I hope this manifold will work. It is the eBay one, but I've read it's ok as long as it's the cast one. It's T3 with EWG. The price was obviously super right...


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bc4674ce5b.jpg

Synapse Synchronic EWG. Got this for an incredible deal from a dealer bud of mine.



https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cd110d5375.jpg

I hope these injectors will work....




https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...73e895e496.jpg

Here is the rear diff from the FC RX-7 that's sitting on stands in my back yard. Should I yank and rebuild the clutch LSD, or should I splurge on a Torsen. For street driving, I'm reading clutch FTW. I'm strongly leaning towards yanking and rebuilding it to fit....




For the turbo, I know it's an older style but I originally built my plans around the Disco Potato GT2860RS. I'm not opposed to something more modern and improved, but I like the price point of the 2860RS. I can get it now and I'm sure I'd be happy with it. Or I can get something more modern and spend 1.5-2x as much and be happier? More future proof? I'm reading a lot about the GTX and EFR lines. Opinions for what I have?

And then of course, the downpipe is available in a 2.5". I'm thinking of just getting one, selling the 3" I have (or keeping for later), running 2.5" all the way back. Not sure yet on that either....

Anyway, opinions? Anybody recognize the car? lol. It's been around the scene.

Not sure what turbo you are planning to use. No matter what I am doubtful that downpipe works with out major cutting of the rear shelf. It may also hit the steering rack, transmission, and or sub frame. There are no off the shelf down pipes for the ebay t3 manifold. Begi could make you one, but good luck with that.

Gotcha. I've heard of the Begi customer service issues. I got this DP last year or earlier in hopes it would all fit. I'm not afraid of custom fabbing something up, or even cutting this DP down and fabbing to it, but I'm more concerned about 2.5" vs 3". I'm heavily leaning to 2.5" now from all I'm reading here. Don't remember what plans got me in the 3" camp. And v band would be great and convenient. I was pretty sure this one will fit based on visual measurements. It's about 13" and can turn sharply after maybe a couple inches of exhaust pipe at the bottom v band. I'll check again when it's not raining. It's been over a year at least since I've lifted the car.

I guess I'm tied to the manifold and turbine housing. I don't mind trimming the shelf a bit, or buying new parts to fit, and a 2.5" makes it a bit easier all around. Woes of taking on someone elses old project from ages past I guess...

Thanks for the input!

I just looked again at the last pic in my second post. The DP on the car. That, to me, looks like a bad gasket seal and exhaust leak. Funny, I never noticed it before. It must be just sealed enough for the 4-5psi I dare to push on the engine right now because it sounds just fine.

I want it replaced even more now. lol.

leave this turbo kit on the car. upgrade the EMS and injectors. That turbo will make more power than the rods can handle. looks like a t28(2560). just make it run well with the turbo kit you have already. you wont be dissapointed.

Alright, well, that's an option I honestly hadn't really considered. That is a 2560, as far as all the research I can find. I don't mind sitting on spare parts for the future, or next project. PO estimated he was around 200bhp on the Bipes on his best day. I can certainly easily replace a couple gaskets, service the bearings, and install sensors for the EMS. If this little thing will push that hard, then that's an option I'll take into serious consideration.

Thanks for the input! That has me seriously thinking now. Mostly because I have so little experience actually driving the car, let alone pushing it hard with a proper tune.

dont open the turbo up if it is a BB turbo. so long as it isnt beat up, leave it. bipes wont be able to optimize it at all. get your ems and injector installed. replace all the seals and gaskets. then get it properly tuned.

I'll check the piston play again tomorrow, but it was good last year from what I remember. I know Bipes is ancient tech, but can the EMS adjust these 750 injectors down to match that much? Am I just into duty cycles too much?

From the dyno's I've seen and the posts I've read on here, the 2560 should be good for 260-270 with a 2.5 exhaust and a bit over 280ish with a 3 inch setup, if everything else is optimized-ish. I think Jason SBB switched from a 2554 to a 2560 and found that the latter ran out of breath at a little over 15psi and wouldn't even add power to the midrange. He may have seen different results with a 3 inch exhaust, but who knows. There are probably plenty of recent charts out there with FM setups using a 2560 and 3 inch exhaust or from others on here, though comparisons will be hard to make if folks are using different intake manifolds and/or ram style turbo manifolds when you have a log setup.

Here's a thread on that: https://www.miataturbo.net/dynos-tim...-272-hp-60479/

TLDR: Your current stuff should be good for well over the 200 the previous owner claimed.

/end bench racer script

Interesting... I've gotta say, you guys really have me rethinking this. I already have a GM 3bar MAP and IAT sensor, so as long as these injectors can be tamed, it seems I already have almost everything I need to open up the 2560 quite a bit. Nice!

Something I almost forgot about is a wideband O2 sensor and meter. AEM is selling a Bosch on Prime for $77ish, and I'll probably pick up an AutoMeter Phantom gauge to match the boost gauge. Anything else I'm missing other than seals and gaskets, and maybe some wiring?

it doesnt work like that. you cant just buy the sensor and hook it up to any gauge. I personally prefer the innovate mtx-l which can be had from jet.com for around 130 shipped. That is after the 15% discount you get for your first purchase.

For the injectors, the AEM SHOULD be able to manage it but i am really not up to date on the AEM. Megasquirt can for sure.

On the diff, i did the rx7 lsd in mine since i already had an open diff from a 1.8. I rebuilt and shimmed it. it works ok, could have shimmed it more. Not something for a novice to do. are you sure yours does not have a torsen in it already? https://www.miata.net/garage/diffguide/

Get the innovate. The calibration is much better and more consistent than AEM. AEM UEGO is more responsive/accurate from what I've read, but the calibrations in MS/TS are annoying.

Gotcha. I didn't know that about the widebands, but I noticed after I started looking around at gauges and a bunch said "kit", not just a part number. I wish all sites put full details on what items come with. The Innovate looks pretty damn close to the AutoMeter Phantom so it should match my boost gauge close enough. Looks like it comes with a set of faces and bezels to match most setups.

As for the diff, that's an informative writeup. I'm not 100% sure about it because I haven't really driven it yet nor thought about it while lifted, but the PO swears it is open. When the back yard has drained (2-3" flood every damn time it rains) I'll roll it to a flat spot and jack it up to double check. Man, wouldn't that be a pleasant surprise!!! lol

So it's definitely open. Wheels spin opposite when in gear on jacks. Passenger side is really hard to rotate, probably a seized brake rotor. Did about 20mph through the back yard a few times with hard stops to try and break it free with no luck. Hmmm... stop... hammer time *queue music* I'll let myself out

That test doesn't work with a torsen. I'm not sure if the same applies to the rx7 clutch type.

that test does not apply to the torsen but does apply to clutch type like the FC diff. See the info i linked on the torsen.

For the brakes, it is very common for the rear calipers to fail and stick on.

the slim part of the skid plate goes under the subframe, the front part bolts to the factor under shielding which it looks like you are missing. I would leave the turbo set up alone and just change EMS and injectors like everyone else says