Jumping back a ways, since I think I may have misunderstood you.

Is this referring to the hood clearance only, or are these clearances to other bits of the car? Those sound way too close to allow for any sort of normal engine movement.

Why would you allow the engine to move?

Engines do move a bit- it's normal- the stock Miata engine really moves quite a bit! The engine mounts are rubber so that the vibration/ harness is dampened.

V8r's engine mounts are MUCH more solid than a stock Miata. Poly bushings will only allow the engine to move slightly. I think it will be fine.

I believe Full Tilt Boogie was being facetious.

But yeah, the V8R mounts will reduce movement a good bit.

-Ryan

The car is now drivable. I still have to figure out why the coolant is not circulating- I expect that I've still got air in the block, but I did drive it down the driveway and back up- everything is working! I can tell already that the car will be RAW and FAST. Pretty much all of the rubber isolation stuff and sound proofing is gone, so she's very racy.
Still have some minor sorting to do- connect CAN lines to dash, wire fuel level sending unit and brake lights, alignment and scale but she's alive!
Click for video:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psnwzj9egg.mp4

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1429963974

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1429963974

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1429963974

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1429963974

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pstdttf6ua.jpg

Unf. That last picture.


I need a moment.

Good lord that's sexy. Time to give my flip ups an eviction notice.

Any plans to relocate the lighting elsewhere?

Yours looks good, can't wait for a video.

mines getting there, just working on getting some mock up motor/trani brackets

What the update...

Earth to Carnut.

Yeah, I'm here.

Driven the car roughly 100 miles now. Doing The Jzilla Track day at Road Atlanta on the 8th.

I added a header tank to help bleed the system and now its fine- stays around 180'. Also got the dash up and working using the OBD2 protocol from AIM. Veracity built a gizmo that will allow me to display fuel level on the MXL which is neat.

The power steering pump was also an issue- it only lasted about 25m without fluid. However, I found a Dorman pulley (with a bearing) that fir right over the factory ps spline which is threaded, so that's been working great.

I also installed a Vitesse Throttle controller which eliminates the ECU's delays in opening/ closing the throttle. Way more responsive.

I will definitely take some more video on the 8th!

Did you ever get the hood clearance figured out?

Did you happen to save/note the part #? AFAIK V8R doesn't yet have a solution for de-powering.

And now that you're on the road with it, what is your feeling on the getrag 3.42 ratio? That MV5 6 speed has a really short 1st/2nd and a really long 3rd, does the 3.42 make quick work of 3rd gear or does it drag on a bit?

-Ryan

Also in for the lighting situation. I have no interest in putting the barn doors back in, and would love to hear your thoughts.

Extremely jelly of this build. Absolutely proper. Hat tipped to you sir.

Kinda. I've got 2 hood pins and 2 aerolatches securing the hood. It touches. V8R will have a FG hood available soon that solves this with a larger bubble. I'm just going to wait for that.

I ordered the Dorman HELP AC Bypass Pulley 34157

The PS shaft is threaded with something normal- picked up a bolt at ACE. Its spaced with washers and I used red lock tight on the bolt and so far it has not moved.

I *think* the 3.42 will be a good ratio for the track, but for a street car the 3.2x the V8R used would be better. The ratios used in the AY6 trans are a little odd. 1st is a stump puller. Great for burnouts! 4th to 5th is almost the same but 6th is a good bit taller. We'll see...

Lighting solution? Run during the day! Seriously, I may add some LED light strips.

I used (amazon link) for my mini v-mount set up. The lighting is adequate at night...not great but it gets the job done and I don't get flashed by other drivers.

The light mounts upside down onto the bracket.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433193440

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433193440

To mount the lenses I had to cut the ends of the housing off in order to get proper spacing.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433193440

Light output at night:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8686/1...b386e899_b.jpg

Mmmmm... This is pretty much what I've been thinking as well. Thank you good sir.

You wouldn't happen to have a drawing/model of that fancy bracket you've got would you? :)

ThePass helped me make these, that would be a question for him. It is essentially a z-bend and it uses one of the bolt holes for the factory bumper to mount. As it sits the lights could be aimed a bit higher but they bleed enough light to really make street signs pop without blinding everyone.

What are your impressions of the 3.42 and the MV5? For the tracks out here, the MV5 actually seemed like a better choice given the gobs of torque, but bench racing and reality are often at opposite ends of the spectrum.