Luke's "I have an EFR but refuse to use it" Build
 

I'm really terrible at making good threads and keeping them updated, so please, have low expectations for this one.

I finally, might, kinda sorta have some time to work on my miata so I figure I'd better start a build thread and maybe it will help motivate me to keep working on it. Unlikely but...

So without further ado, pictures

Here is a picture of my sh*tty '96 when I bought it last November. Completely stock, 120k ish miles, poorly resprayed front right, poorly painted wheels, torn top, wu-tang clan decal imprinted on the dash, etc. etc. I bought it from a guy who "flipped it". Supposedly it was a Tennessee car, which is why I bought it. The body is legitimately rust free which is hard to come around these parts. Oh, and it was fairly cheap. In general, the car is awful though.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816


Then I got an EFR6258.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816


So I told my old turbo to get bent

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816


Then I took my old sh*tty manifold and cut off the T3 flange, and welded a T2 flange on

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816


So I test fit the EFR on the modded manifold and all was hunky dori.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816






Then I got really busy doing this

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816

and this

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816

and this

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816



All that plus having a job (and having another kid) sucked up a good 10+ months and I haven't done sh*t on the miata except fit some VMaxx coilovers and some wheels and tires.

Said suspension and wheels make it look like this now...

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816



Sooooooooooo....... since I have such precious little time to work on the car I decided to shelve the EFR project temporarily. Biggest reason is EFR would require bigger dollar investment (need wastegate actuator and other bits for the turbo, new downpipe, new intake piping, etc.) and bigger time investment.

I've had my old DIY turbo stuff sitting in my garage for years, basically a complete set-up. I figured it would better for me now to just throw on what I have and get it running as a turbo car and enjoy it for a bit.


I've been buying stuff for the last 10 months or so in preparation for turbo'ing this car someday. First purchase was an Enhanced Rev MS2, which has been sitting in my basement, unused, since January. I also picked up some ID1000s which have gone almost completely unused for months. Also have acquired a rollbar and a shitty hardtop. Oh, and some FM frame rails to go over the mushroomed ones on the car, and an Al Ebay radiator. Lastly, I scored a motor out of a '97 with low compression in cyl 3 and a used FM Stage 1 clutch for $100 (for both!). At some point I installed a DW300 fuel pump too.


Now to today (last night really...).

This is where most of the work will take place, you're average suburban smallish 2 car garage.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816


It's messy and cluttered, so you can't even fit a Subaru inside of it.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816


But the miata fit's a bit better.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816


Luckily, while I was in Wisconsin for a week in September, somebody bashed up my perfectly good door while the car was parked in front of my house.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816



Here's the used BP I bought for supah cheap. I had always planned on doing some sort of engine build because of the EFR.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816


I pulled the car into the garage last night (when these pics were taken) to do an oil change and some other minor stuff. I noticed the coolant was looking extra nasty so I drained it. It was mostly chocolate milk, so my plans for building a motor accelerated rather quickly.


SO I ordered these

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816

and I ordered some Ebay rods, and a bunch of stuff off of RockAuto to do a quasi motor rebuild. DNJ Engine gasket kit plus DNJ piston rings. I got some super low mileage stock pistons from ERAT that I'm planning on using. So motor build will be Forged Rods + stock pistons + re-ring. The 18psi method.

After assembling said motor, I will install and run N/A for a bit to break in. Then I will install the MS2 and get comfortable with that. Then I will install the ID1000s (or maybe Ford EV14s...) and get it tuned with those. Then I will throw my old Garret T3 (Super 60 maybe...) set-up back on. Turn the boost to like 18psi and see what it does.

That's the plan, hopefully it doesn't take TOO Long. All of the engine build stuff is on the way so I should be able to get a motor put together fairly quickly. The temperatures here in Ohio are trending down, so my goal is to get most of this stuff done before it's too damn cold to work in the garage.


Here's the engine bay as of right now, for my ref. mostly.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383102816

Ps - the car is mostly awful and I kind of loathe it. It doesn't drive too well and it has a nasty harmonic vibration (driveshaft or just loosey goosey chassis). I'm half tempted to take Tekel up on his offer and pic up his super nice low mileage car... Oh and now that the door is all bashed up I've lost all hope of it ever looking good.

This is my build thread. I'll do my best to keep it updated as I work on it, and to take lots of pictures with my wife's D3100. But, again, keep your expectations low...

Very cool dude. Though I'd still just start with the efr from the get-go and not waste time on the other crappy setup.
Knock it out once and for all because if you're as busy as you say you are, it will be years before you change things up, and what's the point of having the efr if you're never gonna use it.

Good luck

I may be the only one who will suggest this (primarily because I may be the only one who read that far into your post) but I would personally give that a lot of thought.

In fact, with plenty of caveats about me not knowing the financials, I would strongly recommend it.

Logically, this would be the smart thing to do, but well, I'm not smart.

With the EFR I would have to fab a new DP, new cold side piping, new intake, plumb water cooling to the turbo, etc. etc. It's not really that much work for how big of a benefit it would be but considering all the other work I hope to get done to the car in the next few weeks it's just not very feasible.

Though my other setup is defnitely "crappy" the nice thing about it is it's basically complete, and I can install it in a weekend.

That and I don't have tons more money to waste and the EFR would require more $$$, it's missing some parts and I'd have to buy the materials to fab the new downpipe, etc.

Throwing the old setup on is an easy, cheap, cop-out, so I'm going to do that. EFR set-up will be done sometime next spring.

My old set-up is definitely crappy, but it did make like ~240whp on band-aids. Now with MS2, ID1000s, more boost, possibly E85, I should be able to make a bit more than 240 which is more than enough for now.

ALSO, it will be nice to show a comparison between the two turbos on basically the same set-up. My old setup on this car will basically be a baseline to show how much awesome the EFR is even on a poor quality DIY setup.


Again, that would be the smart thing to do, so I probably won't do it.

The money is the main hold up, that and if I'm spending the equivalent of $6k on a miata I'd much rather have a NB. Don't get me wrong, Tekel's car looks amazing, but there's a ton of other things I should be spending money on instead. I should probably PM him and actually talk numbers and see what the deal would actually look like, but



Back to the project at hand...building a motor and rebuilding my current turbo.

Still waiting on parts for the motor. I'm planning on spending some time disassembling the motor tonight, I will take some pics.

Also, the "old" turbo. Back in the day I bought this T3 "Super 60" off of BlaastPerformance (I think). The Super 60 is in qutoes because I paid for a Super 60 but I don't know if that's what I actually got. I've never actually measured the compressor wheel and see if I got what I paid for. The turbo was supposed to be professionally rebuilt but it came from Blaast with a bit more shaft play then one would expect. Well I ran the turbo as it was for tons of track miles and never had any real problems with it, but I figure I might as well rebuild it just to be safe. So, I'm going to order a rebuild kit from G-pop-shop but I'm not sure which kit I need (i.e. one piece carbon seal or 4 piece?) As far as I can tell the turbo is just an old Nissan 300zx turbo, not sure what m/y it's off of though.

If I get some time tonight I'll start pulling the turbo apart too, measure the compressor wheel, and try to figure out which rebuild kit I need.

More pics tonight or tomorrow...

Dam, you actually do own a miata... :)

I do, but it's a shitty one.

Sorry for the lack of updates. Not much has gotten done on the miata, I got sidetracked working on my Sh*tty '00 Civic and my Subaru.

Got the Suby detailed and mostly ready for sale. Took some pics of it yesterday. Will likely make a FS thread here for it.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383590705

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383590705

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383590705

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383590705

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383590705

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383590705

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383590705



Also, I started tearing apart my T3 but couldn't get the turbine housing off, I think I was doing the order wrong or something. Mah, anyway, I measured the compressor wheel and it's definitely a plain jane 60 trim wheel. So yea, kind of got ripped off by Blaastperformance years ago, I paid extra for a super 60 but it's just a plain garret 60 trim wheel.

And the turbine housing has a wastegate crack from H ... E ... double hockey sticks. FTL

Dude. You've got an old sucky turbo with cracked turbine housing and needs a rebuild, and you're seriously going to do that when you have an EFR sitting next to it? Really?

Plus, what will you do with the manifold since you've already replaced the T3 flange with the T2 flange?

I know you're proud of making crappy decisions... but seriously...

Everytime I open this thread I think the same thing.

I'm gonna fly out there and take his EFR away from him, he doesn't deserve it.

Clean fxt, don't sell it lol

Forester boner alert.

Hows the mild built engine coming along?

Awesome Forester.

But would you mount?

Haven't had/made time to do much on it. I've received all the rebuild parts in the mail except the gates timing belt and the tensioner. I'm hoping to continue tearing down the old motor tonight.

Like I should take advice on selling clean FXT's from you? You're mom doesn't deserve this EFR...

Unfortunately, I've already re-replaced the T2 flange with the T3 flange. :fael:

I didn't do a very good job the first time I modded the manifold for the T2 flange, so worst case is I gave myself another opportunity to do a better job of mounting/welding the T2 flange...

Fixing the T3 wouldn't be the end of the world because regardless if I use it on this car, eventually I'll put it on some other car like my B16 Civic. I need to fully disassemble it to see how bad the turbine housing really is.


So yea, currently I'm not 100% sure what the plan is for the turdblow setup. First step is to tear-down and rebuild the spare motor I have. Then install it. Then get the MS2 installed and running well.

That will take basically forever, so it will give me a lot of time to decide WTF to do turbo wise...

:dealwithit::dealwithit::dealwithit:

PS - CoD Ghosts comes out tomorrow so I'll likely not work on this again for five months...

Ugh, such a good looking forester. You should trade me that for my miata...I wish. Good luck with your build sir.

I've received a deposit on the Subaru, so that is tentatively sold. No real turning back on that now...

So, the Suby sale will free up a bunch of cash, so maybe I'll use a little bit of it towards EFR install...

Holy crap another fellow FXT/Miata owner, nice.

Rods only Engine Build - Old Engine TEARDOWN
 

Ok, so I got some time to continue working on tearing down the extra engine I bought. I got the engine with a used FM Stage 1 clutch for $100 so I didn't ask too many questions. After tearing into the motor a litte, I was curious so I asked the guy I bought the engine from for some more details.

Apparently it's a '94 bottom end from a junkyard, <150,000 miles but that's the only info. Cylinder head is from a '97. The previous owner tracked his car (the '97) and ran it a little low on oil and spun a bearing in his original motor. So he bought the '94 engine from a junkyard and threw his '97 head on it. He ran it a few more times on track like that, he said it consumed a little bit of oil but generally ran pretty well. His last time on track it threw a check engine light so he parted his car out....lol

He said he did a leakdown test on it but couldn't remember the numbers or where the leaks were coming from. He said cyl. 3 was the worst for the leakdown, cyl 1 + 4 were really good.

Anyway, here's the pics:

After removing the cams and cam caps
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179



Here's the "Exhaust 1" cam cap. There's a "gouge" on the inner surface, a pretty good nick. Does this look like a problem to you guys? It looks like the gouge is right next to the oil channel. Should I just try to sand it down a bit?
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179


I try to label everything and put them in bags. I've been numbering everything to so I can assemble back in the exact location.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179


So I flipped the head over to see what it looked like:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

What do you guys think of the condition? I think it looks pretty good, much better than I was expecting actually. The head sealing surface looks kind of goofy, like someone took some sand paper to it to get the old gasket material off. Maybe it was just scotchbrite, I dunno. After seeing the surface I asked the previous owner if he'd had the head milled before using it but he said he didn't do anything to it, just threw it on the '94 bottom end.

I'll do the poor mans valve leak testing and see how the valves are sealing. I'd like to tear the head down and give it a good cleaning and maybe do some very minor polishing of the combustion chamber, and maybe the ports. I'll also slap a machinist edge against it and see if the flatness is in spec. I don't really want to spend any money in the head (it's not a 99 head so why?) and I've never replaced valve seals, so I'm not really sure what the exact plan is. First I'll check the valve sealing and flatness, and then go from there.

18psi - can you tech me your hand valve lapping technique / know-how?


On to the block:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1383766179

Impressions? Overall, I think it looks pretty good for 100-150k miles. You can still see the factory cross-hatching, which is pretty common for BP motors, even high mileage ones. The pistons look pretty clean and I couldn't see or feel any vertical "marks" or "gouges" in the cylinder walls. Cylinder two was worst for the TDC "lip" on the cylinder walls. My first impression of the block was it should be a decent candidate for a DIY re-hone with the ball honing tool and a re-ring.

My initial plan was to re-use all of the bearings in the bottom end, obviously that was/is pending inspection. Even if they look decent, I'm a little leary of using ~130k mile bearings that have seen some track running.

Remainder of the block teardown will hopefully happen soon. Does anyone have any recommendations or instructions on how best to clean everything, including the block? I'm planning on doing everything myself but don't have any experience in the proper methods of cleaning a block, crank, pistons, cyl. head, etc. etc. Teach me...

please tell me you labeled each cam cap individually and didn't just toss them all into a bag....

....also definitely have the head machined

...also the poor mans valve leak test sucks, I wouldn't trust it and would still re-seat the valves

....also its not terrible overall. definitely not peachy tho

I mean, they're labeled from the factory so yes?

Why do you say this, because mine looks suspect, or because you always have it done when building something like this? I have access to a seriously good machinist straight, so if it's within flatness spec, why would I have it decked?


It does, but if the valves FAEL the poor mans leak test then I know they're properly bad...


What specifically makes you say that? The head? The block? any specific things you see that I should definitely look into fixing?


Spanks for your input.

hes making shit up because its the internet.

if the head checks out, no need for a rebuild.

Get a copy of a service manual and go through it doing the tests. valve play, deck flatness, etc and you will be fine.

you can get some lapping compound if you like and go over it lightly. replace the valve stem seals and be good.



as for the bottom, cant tell much in pictures. if you take it apart, do the least hone you can and put new rings on it.

-because if you mis-match them when re-installing you're gonna have a bad time.
-because it looks like someone took a sanding disk to it and I seriously wouldn't trust it. I guess if you checked every square millimeter of it though...might be ok...I still wouldn't trust it lol
-mine seemed ok on the test, then I added a tiny bit of pressure (while keeping them pinned closed and found a ton of tiny leaks
-I don't see crosshatching, also there's yellow/brown buildup, also the scoring on the cam cap thing, etc. Nothing major, just not a mint motor. I'm sure it will be fine once you give it some much needed lovin

Again, thanks for the input. Yea I was a little concerned about the "sanding" marks. The pictures aren't very good, but there is definitely cross hatching still evident. I wasn't so concerned with that as much as just general vertical marks or scractches, of which there are basically zero. We'll see how it turns out after the DIY ball hone.

Also, how do you clean all this stuff when you do these motors 18?

Shlammed - I do have a copy of a service manual, unfortunately the Engine Overhaul copy I have is for a VVT motor. I assume it's basically the same minus the VVT system. I'm cross referencing that manual with a couple other references on all of the clearances/specs to make sure it all matches for the earlier 1.8.

Engine looks fine to me. Has less cross hatching than mine, but also less scoring on the walls. I don't see why it wouldn't be fine with a quick ball hone and re-ring.

Lookin good!

soak in degreaser and pressure wash dat hoe

Not sure how much it costs elsewhere to machine a head, but it's like $150 here. I would say that is a pretty good investment to get done and make sure it's good, specially if the engine was already questionable.

I have access to a pretty decent machine shop that has done a fair amount of miata engines, and their prices are pretty decent. However cheap it may be, it still will increase my total rebuild budget by too much.

That is, if I spend $150 at a machine shop, that's a 30% increase in total budget for this engine "rebuild".

I guess I should clarify my expectations/goals for this engine. My plan was to do a "rods only" rebuild for as cheap as possible, and use that motor while I slowly build the other motor properly. The motor that is in the car will be pulled out and built properly, rods, pistons, '99 head, BE oil pump, machine work, etc. etc. My hope for this motor is that it will be just "good enough" to hold me over whilst the other motor is being built over a longer period of time. So as long as this motor can last a year around 270hp, and not have too many leaks, or burn too much oil, I will be happy.

Also, I've never built a motor all on my own, so that's another reason for doing this motor refresh. Hopefully I'll learn something so that next time I have at least some idea of what I'm doing.

Thanks for the input, I'll measure the head for flatness and go from there.

This thread is like watching a car drive toward train tracks as the crossing barrier is descending. You are pretty sure the driver is making a series of really poor choices and that it will end with an explosion or destruction of some type...

... but there is still a chance it all works out okay.

:dealwithit::dealwithit::dealwithit:



















:dealwithit:

Subaru is sold, so now I have some $$$ and more time for this.

Engine teardown will continue today, hopefully I'll post some pics tonight.

Also I pm'd Tekel...

Sooooooooo......

My build thread sucks!

I've done a little bit of work since the last post, but basically none. It's been so damn cold here since Thanksgiving that I would rather pull hair out than spend time in my freezing cold garage.

BUT

It's supposed to be ~50F here the next two days so I'm hoping to get some work done.


Anyway, back to the engine build. I finished the engine tear down and the bearings looked OK, but not great so I bought some new clevite main and rod bearings. I also spent a significant amount of time cleaning the block but still couldn't get it very clean. FAEL.

I'll post some pics and a proper update sometime this weekend. Hopefully I can get the bottom end buttoned up this weekend, and then I should have time to work on the head on Monday.

F*$k the cold!!!

Catching this late, but...

Ive been talking to Larry at the Carquest machine shop off 71 and Silver dr. He said(before seeing it) that he can skim a miata head without removing the valves for $42.99. You could then clean it yourself for the ultimate cheapness. He let me take his jar of dychem home for my porting project last week and did a couple flywheels and stuff for me last year. Pretty cool guy.

With that said, I'll probably have Mike at M&M in Delaware do the work on my bp4w rebuild, which is who I think you're referencing.

"It's hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it's low 80s and not a cloud in the sky," said all the members of Trubo from Florida.

I am actually enjoying the weather immensely. Outdoor activities galore.....when I'm not at the office.

$43 is pretty effing cheap. I have to remove the valves because 3 of the exhaust valves and 2 of the intake valves faeled the poor man's leak test, so I'm going to hand lap all of the valves.

Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't thought of using a place like Carquest, but yes I was speaking of M&M.


Anyway, this weekend wasn't as productive as I hoped, no engine work. I spent what time I had in the garage installing FM Frame Rails and the Roll bar I've had sitting around. I was hoping that reinforcing the chassis will make me hate this car less, which should hopefully motivate me to keep working on it. FM rails went in pretty easily, a nice product, I highly recommend them. Roll bar not so much, spent a lot of time effing with it. Finally got it "in" late last night, but haven't finished drilling, bolting, re-assembly etc.

OH WELL

I'm going to be working on head disassembly today, maybe a little polishing of the combustion chamber, if not for anything but a little extra knock protection.

I'll post some pictures sometime, I promise...

I'm always up to lend a hand. I also have a set of 6" burrs laying around now if you want to a little more than polish the chambers ;)

Okay, I think I owe some pictures, though I haven't been doing a good job of taking them.

Monday I was able to get the head mostly disassembled. I had a few valves that failed the poor mans leak test, and after taking the valves out I found a couple valve stem seals that definitely look suspect. Anyway on to the

Pictures:

Some are older, this is when I inspected the bearings.

The state of my garage, as of a few weeks ago...poor.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1388099426

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1388099426


The crankshaft journals looked fine, and my paint by numbers system is still in effect.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1388099426


And why I bought bearings

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1388099426

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1388099426


On to cylinder head disassembly, I numbered each valve individually, so I can keep all the valve cotters, retainers, etc. all together and put them back in the same spots. 1-8 are intake side, front to back. 9-16 are exhaust, also front to back.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1388099426



Now, for the leaky valve stem(s). One of the valves that failed the leak test I did showed some signs of the valve stem seal leaking quite badly. This is what I found:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1388099426

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1388099426


SO, now I guess I'm replacing valve stem seals. I've never done it before and I don't have the tools for it.

Anyone have remover and install tools you recommend? Something I can get on Amazon cheap?

Also, anyone have insights about installing new ones? Obviously, setting the height on them is critical, and I don't necessarily know the best way to do it / measure it.

One more question; as you can see the combustion chambers are quite dirty. I'd like to spend some time polishing the chambers and runners a bit but they are too caked with sh*t to work on. Degrease and scrub with a plastic brush? Anything else that works a charm?

I'm out of town for a while so no work on the head/engine for a bit.

The slope, it is slippery.



https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392393648

Attachment 239339


(Jeffbucc style hand polishing on the left, as received on the right)

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING
 

Long overdue update.

So...as you could probably guess from the previous post, I bought some supertech pistons. They are used and were on sale here. 83.5mm 8.6:1 compression. I got them for really pretty cheap. Too cheap to pass up.

Bumping to 83.5mm bore meant the block had to go to the machine shop, so I took the block and the head to a place in Delaware, OH. Block got overbore, final hone, and hot tanked. Head got a valve job, new valve stem seals installed, springs/valves/cotters assembled, and a slight deck job (18psi should be very happy). Grand total was less than $430.

Not counting the head work, which I would have paid to have done anyway, going to forged pistons cost me just over $400. That includes the pistons and the machining. I couldn't pass on that.

Just today I ordered a new OEM oil pump from Rosenthal. I had planned on running the old one, but at this point what's another $140?

OK, pictures.


The block, as received from the machine shop. Don't worry, it will get a fresh lick of paint. It's been too cold here in Ohio to paint anything yet.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844



Cylinders 3&4

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844


So I took a half day of vacation this morning to assemble the bottom end. Things didn't quite go as planned.

First step (after thorough cleaning) was to put assembly lube everywhere. Even places it's not needed like the back side of bearings. I have no idea what I'm doing...

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844


Next step was to plastigauge the main bearings with the new Clevite bearings. Naturally, I only measured the #1, 3, and 4 mains. 3/5ths... that's about what kind of build this is. A 3/5ths quality build.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844


It's kind of hard to see in the pictures, but the tiny green strips are the plastigauge before torquing the main caps down.


This is after torquing the caps down then pulling them off again.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844

The plastigauge kit I bought didn't have a great scale bar for the main bearing clearance. The Mazda spec is 0.0008-0.0014", but my gauge was 0.0010" - 0.0015" - BIGGER. So I couldn't get exact measurements but I could tell if it was less than 0.0015". The #1 main clearance was closer to 0.0010" as was the #4 main. The #3 main was closer to the 0.0015" scale, but slightly under it.

I thought it kind of weird that the #3 would be different from the other two, but I didn't do a great job laying down that specific plastigauge, you can see in the pics it's a little crooked.

Anyway, they were all less than 0.0015", so within the Mazda recommended range. So I said "eff it" and decided to install the crank for good.

Like dis:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844


As you can see, all of the bolts are numbered in the order they are supposed to be tightened, all of the main caps are numbered and installed in the correct direction. And I made sure to paint the bolt heads after torquing them so I wouldn't miss one.

But I forgot to install the oil squirters, as you can see if you look closely at the picture.

So I had to pull the crank out AGAIN to install those.

Whilst installing the #3 oil squirter I noticed something that looked like aluminum foil stuck to the side of the cylinder wall in cylinder #3. Sure enough it was a nice shaving of aluminum. After wondering wtf (where the eff) did that come from, I noticed the thrust bearing had been fubar'd by my incessant installing and removing of the crankshaft.

Like dis:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394246844


:vash:

for doing that

and :winner:

for not installing the oil squirters and finding it.


SO

new thrust bearings on order, new oil pump on order.

Until then I'm going to finish hand polishing the piston domes. Then I'm going to try to match all of the pistons, rods, rings, pins, etc. (the powercell as we call it) so that all four sets are as close in combined weight as possible. Based on the wide variance in piston weights, that might be quite difficult.

Oh and I'm hand polishing a valve cover, for no good reason.

Oh and I installed a new 949 driveshaft which got rid of the awful harmonic NVH issue...YAY!

Oh and I installed all new rotors and pads (NAPA rotors + Carbotech street pads).

Oh and I bought a bunch of 15x7 Volk TE37s. Because #futureracecar


Engine assembly will continue next week.


FINALLY, can someone spoon feed me ring gaps for 83.5mm supertech pistons with new rockauto 83.5mm rings?

PLZ?

:dealwithit::dealwithit::dealwithit:

Oh and one time, at band camp... - street moderate turbo/nitrous - top ring = .0055 x bore (3.287), bottom ring .0060 x bore

rockauto can't be that different from Supertech rings right? lol, use at own risk... best better buying ST rings

Brake job with my junior mechanic.

Posting from phone so only one pic at a time I guess...

Valve cover polishing...huge waste of time

15x7 wheels

If I ever build an STL miata I'll be needing these

And why I currently have no time to work on cars...bathroom remodel

I received the new thrust bearings and oil pump in the mail yesterday, so assembly of the motor is just waiting on me to make time for it. Naturally the weather has turned so now it's cold in the garage...

In the mean time I tried to pair up the pistons, rods, pins, ring packs and pin clips to get each cylinder as balanced as possible. I weighed everything on a calibrated laboratory scale and then matched up the various parts to try to get the same weights.

In my OEM world we call the piston, pin, rod, and rings the powercell. So I was trying to get equal powercell weights for each cylinder. Attached is the "worksheet" I made up as I went.

The lightest powercell came out to 949.69g, the heaviest was 950.08g. The other two were both 949.93g. The lightest will go on cylinder 1, the heaviest in cylinder 4. The others will go in 2 and 3. That way the "firing pairs" are extremely balanced.

That was my logic at least. The crankshaft is probably 5+ grams out if balance, but whatever. I had time over my lunch break to weigh the stuff so I figured I might as well try to "balance" everything.


Never mind, picture upload won't work from the phone right meow...

Wouldnt it make more sense to put the perfectly even ones on the outer ends and the two that are off in the middle? You'll get less vibrating moment that way

Let me know how many hours you put into that valve cover :p

holy crap did I hate polishing my valve cover, lol good luck with that

also love the wheels

Yes that probably makes more sense.

I figured having the heaviest in cyl 4 would be best for the cars polar inertia.... Ha!


And yes, the valve cover sanding/polishing isn't going as well as planned. Not really enjoying it. If I can get a really good polish on it I have some very nerdy plans for it.

Sometimes it is just worth the money having these sandblasted.

I started on my intake manifold and a couple hours in just said "fuck this" and called my powder coater.

Of course that was after hand grinding and painting 3/4 of my car...so I had hit "the wall" in regards to desire to sand paint etc etc.

Yea, unfortunately I DID sandblast it. But either the shot size was too big or the air pressure was too high or something.

All of the sanding I'm doing now is smoothing out the artifacts of the sand blasting...

Different castings on different valve covers are different quality.

I sand blasted 1 valve cover and it came out flawless looking.
Did the exact same with another, same year engine too, and there were all sorts of casting imperfections in it, so I "brushed" it. Its weird

After much ado, the aforementioned "Powercell Weight Calculation Sheet". You probably shouldn't try to follow the logic...


Attachment 239320




Also finally got around to installing the old wheels and new tires. Gen 1 15x8 6ULs w/ 225/45/15 BFG Rivals. Emilio thinks I'm a huge dbag and thinks I have it out for him on the internetz, but I was one of his first customers and have been supporting his business from the early days. Effing OG 6UL owner.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1394998537




ALSO, if you were ever wondering if an OEM hardtop will fit in the back of a 2005-2010 Honda Odyssey...it will.

Attachment 239321


Engine assembly should continue tomorrow morning, might take another morning off of work to get some alone time...

Rage posting from phone

RINGS DON'T FIT WORTH A SH"T!?!?!

Like 1.5mm ring gaps.

Me = cornfuzed

At least the new thrust bearings went in fine, and crank end play measured 0.018mm. Right in the center of the OEM spec.

GWAR

DUDEBRO i'm loving your build and all of the updates. Sorry I'm not help with the rings, but with the ST pistons I would go with ST rings. Tried and true with that setup.

Y U NO arp hardware?

Also, which ball hone is that and what grit did you get? Do you want to sell it (considering you outsourced your hone work), I need one for the stock bore size that is the right grit.

So apparently the 83.5 Supertech pistons I bought are actually 84mm. And the 0.020" overbore I got is actually 0.040"?

My machinist had the pistons when he did the bore job, so he correctly (afaik) bored the block to match the pistons. He just forgot to mention to me they were actually 84mm.

At least I think they are 84mm. I pulled out some calipers and measured the bores and the pistons and I sort of consistently got 83.8-83.9 mm readings.

Closer to 84 then 83.5 I guess...

SO, just ordered some 84mm Supertech rings (Part# GNH8400) from No Limit Motorsports on here, they were great. And the price was very fair, I'm sure well worth the little bit extra cost over the RockAuto stuff.

I hope I can return the other rings, otherwise I'll have bought three sets of rings for this dang build...hahahah....:cry:

Oh well, sometimes learning costs a little money.

Just read up on the proper piston to wall clearance for Supertechs...and for turbo track motors. Seems 0.003 - 0.004" is the recommendation. My machinist and I never discussed this so I have no idea what he set them at. Another thing I need to check now and hope (pray?) is OK. :cry::cry:

Lots of learning

I'll be at Road Atlanta racing this weekend, so engine build likely won't continue till Monday, maybe later. Dang it

:makeout:

See above post, that's exactly what I did, ordered some ST rings.

Had to draw the line somewhere...needed to stop the bleeding. Honestly, of all my years reading this forum I've never come across someone stretching the stock head bolts and/or lifting the head. Maybe I've never come across it because anyone building a motor and running >250whp always uses ARP head studs? :dunno:


Here is the exact one I bought,
$34 shipped if you have Amazon Prime.

I think I want to hold on to this one in case I ever need to "re-hone" a miata motor (which I think is likely).

As for the grit, I'm not really sure if 180 grit (the one I selected) is "the right grit" or not. 240 seemed like it would be too fine, and 120 seemed like it would be too aggressive. That logic was/is based on absolutely no experience or research...


I have more pictures to post but they are A)not very good and B) on my phone which I don't like posting from.

So I'll try to post more pics later for your "benefit"

Everything laid out yesterday morning...it wasn't to be

And yes my garage serves as a diaper storage facility...

Savington actually recommends running the Weisco rings over Supertech rings. He says he has noticed that they seem to be a bit better in some way, not sure how exactly. I know when I ordered my set of rings a few weeks ago it was about the same price as the Supertechs.

Hmmm....everywhere I looked the Wiseco rings were like 2x the cost of the ST rings.

Whatever, I bet the ST rings are better than the Rock Auto specials I was going to run.

quoted from 949's website

Thanks, I researched the wiseco rings.

I'm sure they are great and I don't doubt they are the best available.

How many people have engines with supertech pistons and supertech rings? I'm betting there are a handful on this site, and I've never heard of anyone having excessive oil consumption/blowby/etc.

Also, OEM ring tension was set based on OEM Mazda boring and honing capabilities of 199-whenever. Just because the OEM ring tension is 15 lbs doesn't really mean a whole lot when you have a completely different bore and hone finish.

Emilio (and Sav?) have found that the wiseco's work the best and I believe them because they have built lots of miata motors.

I chose the supertech rings because I'm cheap.

K? thx

I'm sure they will be fine. What did you do with the first set of rings you bought (OEM size) ?

Were they chrome ones?