Low key red and tan build
 

This is my second Miata. The first one was a '95 base model. It was a little too much of a fixer upper, and seemed to have pretty bad luck on the whole. I bailed on it. Sold it and bought a low mileage '94 C-package with no plans to go turbo at the time. It didn't take too long before I started collecting parts for a turbo build.

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This was the beater. '95 base model. Wheels got jacked promptly after moving to a new town. Like I said, it was bad luck.


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The replacement. '94 C-package. 56K miles when purchased. It had a rusted out after market muffler and some terrible, press-on wood dash kit. Peeled the dash kit off and installed the original muffler that the guy just happened to have lying around.

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Blurry picture, but with a flex pipe welded on, the original muffler went back in.


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Scored some BBS wheels from a '95 M edition. Came with some S-drives that still had plenty of life. Ready for some club runs.


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Getting close to 60K and the valve cover gasket was leaking. Changed the timing belt, and painted the valve cover.

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Had a dent in the bumper. A little heat and it popped right out.

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Scored some Konis and FM springs. Came with FCM bumpstops too.

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Fresh coat of paint, and some soap and water cleaned them up pretty well.

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Added some FM sways to the mix.

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New ride height looks a little better.


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Time to pack it up for winter.

Current parts on hand to be installed before spring include:

-BEGi-S kit with a Chinese turbo
-MSPNP
-RX7 550cc injectors
-FM Happy Meal clutch and flywheel

All parts were picked up used as I came across a good deal. Planning to add a 3" exhaust, intercooler, garrett turbo, and misc. turbo bits.

Installed the MSPNP today. I fabbed some aluminum brackets to install using the stock mounting studs. Install went well until I found out my craigslist timing light is a dud. Have to wait to finish setting the timing until I can buy/borrow one. It fired up on the first try though. I was impressed with the plug and play. Very easy.

Anyone live in the lehigh valley and want to lend me their timing light??

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I dig your PNP brackets. Looking good. Super clean car for PA.

Thanks. I didn't want to drill any new holes into the car.

Looks like a good start for a nice car. Props on popping out the bumper dent.

Is that your turbo Forester in the first pic?
Did you buy new Koni stockers for the shocks? They look good.

Thanks for the props. I was surprised at how easily the bumper popped back out. No pushing, just heat.

That was my '05 Forester XT. Awesome ride. It recently lost compression and need some major work. It had almost 190k miles, so I ended up getting rid of it and buying a TDI Jetta. Kind of miss the FXT, but I'm enjoying the turbo diesel for now.

I did buy new Koni stickers. Paint was Platikote brand School Bus Yellow. I hear Duplicolor's School Bus Yellow is also a good match.

Well I suppose it's good to hear that it lasted 190k miles. My '07 FSXT has 133k on it and I plan to keep it until it dies.

The Miata / Forester combo is pretty popular on here for some reason. :giggle:

Sick coilovers bro! I always wondered what they'd look like at max ride height.

Your build plan is coming along nicely. I used to live in central PA - Hershey. Though now I'm a little too far to lend my timing light.

It was solid until about 185k. Then, all of a sudden, the shocks, front axles, turbo, and valve train all went within 5000 miles. I did run it pretty hard though.

Thanks. I like that it still looks pretty stock, but handles like an entirely different car. Why this car didn't come like this from the factory puzzles me.

I ended up snagging a light on amazon. Probably ought to have one anyway.

Looks super clean. You're not too far from me, 30-40 mins

Nice, you ever ride with the lehigh valley or delaware valley clubs?

Project update -- pics from recent garage shenanigans:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1430626358
First chance to get the top down this spring. So glad to say goodbye to the snow. I've got to find somewhere warmer to live.

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Got the FM stage 1 clutch and lightweight flywheel installed. This was a tough job in the driveway with the car on jack stands. I will definitely try to find a lift to use before trying this one again.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1430626358
A new bung welded into the stock exhaust for the wideband O2. This was definitely worth the time. I ran into some issues getting the settings right in TunerStudio which would have been a nightmare if I were installing the turbo at the same time.

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Blasted and painted some of the tubes and pipes from the used BEGI-s kit that were looking a bit worse for wear. Used rustoleum exhaust paint. Surprisingly tough stuff after curing in the oven. I'm looking forward to seeing how it holds up to the heat.

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This was the straw that broke the camel's back for the chinese turbo that came with my kit. A broken stud that doesn't want to come out. I was already hesitant about using a turbo that I didn't know the history of, and I knew I wanted something that would spool more quickly. Time to find an alternative.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1430626358
A SR20 T25 is right on point. Small, cheap, and easy to find. This one came from the classified section here.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1430626358
I finally got a chance to mock everything up. Bought some RX7 studs (part number 9YA921003) and copper locking nuts. The studs had to be trimmed a bit, but what a bargain for inconel studs.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1430626358
I made a new mount for the wastegate actuator. Fabbing things on the fly is what I love about projects like this.

Also installed some RX8 425cc yellow injectors. I had some 550cc RX7 injectors that needed rebuilding, but I stumbled upon the RX8 set brand new for $135. No brainer.

I've started experimenting with adjusting the AFR tables and using autotune. I'm a bit confused about why there are so many different opinions on the appropriate AFR values. I feel like this should be standard for all miatas, within reason. Am I missing something? Is there a master table that many tuners use, or a good reason for so many differing perspectives?

I'm hoping to complete the initial turbo install in the next couple weeks. It will basically be a BEGI-s kit with a SR20 T25. Low boost. No intercooler. Stock exhaust. I'll build from there.

Nice car

Helps a lot that you apparently have quite a bit of skill in that area. Nice brackets.

Thanks. I've been a welder for about 10 years. I usually weld pipe, but a few little pieces of plate are almost as much fun.

Hey I recognize that clutch and flywheel. ;)

Nice car, hope to meet up on an LVMOC run at some point!

Thanks, Tim. I'll be at the CarBQ next Saturday. Looks like a it may be a pretty decent turn out.

I finally got to the turbo install. I was surprised at how long it took, even with two people we spent all last weekend on it. Then I spent several nights this week finishing everything up. Got it out on the road and everything's running great so far. Taking it slow, and letting tunerstudio do its thing. Hopefully I can button up some tuning and get into a little boost soon.

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And all just in time to roll over 60K.