lol I'm just trying to get you to stop being gay and use them. I don't need them. I want you to need them. stop being gay. build the engine. go for glory

 

I haven't ruled out glory. But I'm in school for the next few years and not exactly rolling in money. I don't want to get stuck in the never ending build thread cycle. But who knows. I'm still in the gathering information part so besides selling stuff I KNOW I won't need, I'm holding on to what I have.

 

I mean you have a well running car now. So drive it and enjoy it. But start building the 1.8 now.

That's what I'm doing

 

FUR SHUR!!! im with 18 here.... your 1.6 is running really well, aside from the couple small problems youve had... and im sure will run for YEARS and YEARS as is... so, for the next couple of years, when you have the extra time and money, you could pick up a HF engine stand for like $60 or so with a coupon, and start building that shiz. then, as a graduation gift to yourself, slap the BUILT 1.8 in there, and enjoy ultimate Spartan Glory!!!

 

got my brand new HF stand for $45

 

WHA?!?!? O.o

thats awesome... i used a coupon and it was still $60. lol that was 3 years ago though. lol

i kinda wanna see if they still have them for $45, and grab another one on my way home. because i NOW have a low mileage 1.6 AND a 1.8. lol the rods are now going in the 1.8 though. the 1.6 is getting cleaned, put back together, and sold. lol

 

Already have an engine stand. How heavy is a 1.8 long block? I would love to build it up in my office but getting it down the stairs might be a problem lol

 

its light enough for a MAN to carry for a short distance
I've done it

 

Meh I'll just start the build once it cools off in August. The garage should be comfy then.

 

I started work on some door cards. What a pain. I'll be happy when it's done. The old ones definitely needed some replacing.

 

I wouldn't attempt to carry my long block any distance. I'm not saying it's not doable but f that noise.

Just take the head off since you're building it anyway. I'd carry the head and block up and down stairs separately.

 

I still have to actually get everything machined and cleaned up so it should be cool enough to build it in the garage by then.

 

Got most of the door cards finished up. Overall I'm happy with it. The bolts that can be seen would have looked better if they were spaced out evenly, but I drilled the holes where they were best mounting the board. I'm not really too concernicus about it, but my fake OCD does kick a bit when I see it.

I may even them out at some point.

The top bolts, when the shoulder pad thing is mounted, can't be seen. Although you can see them, but only because the pad isn't mounted.

The last thing to do is some sort of strap to allow for easy door closing. I'd like to to be subtle as my end goal is a minimalist interior.

 

Yeah, the interior was a bit embarrassing. But the new door skins look great! I don't think the uneven bolts are too big a concern. You could use black ones if it really bothers you I guess.

 

Good idea, I'll probably do that.

I have to figure out something with the dash next. I dig the cover, but that long piece that goes across the dash needs to have something done to it.

Also I'm going to move the gauges to somewhere. I'm not sure. I hate A-pillar mounts so I'm going to try and avoid that. But I want them visible, and not in the way. And stock-ish looking.

I foresee the entire interior coming out soon, and I'll probably clean up everything and familiarize myself with the wiring and setup. Probably lay some sound deadening down before putting it all back together.

Overall it's pretty manageable. I want it stock looking, but bare bones. I'd like to add some sort of blue tooth speakers hidden away somewhere at some point too.

I think I'll end up replacing the gauge faces too. It's a biiit too much for me. I really like the look, but I don't think it will fit my end goal.

 

While you have the interior out, you might want to tidy up the wiring under the center console. Getting crowded under there with the WI wiring, PW wiring, etc.

I thought it was pretty ironic that the gauge faces say "drive topless forever" but the hardtop is bolted on.

 

Yea I'll def tidy it up. I lol'd at the drive topless forever when I saw it.

 

Picked up a used gauge cluster in mint condition. So that will go in eventually.

I'm still throwing around ideas for the build. But I'm back to thinking I'll go the built 1.8 route. I"m so indecisive. I really want to do this right the first time. It won't even cost much more to just go the built route. I think I found a good local shop to prep the engine. I'll probably go in and assess the place this week.

A/C I think will be making a comeback. I want to be able to do long drives in the car with moderate comfort. I'm not building a track car so I'm not too worried about saving every ounce of weight. The only reason I didn't want it was for simplicity.

 

If you do AC and want to keep your MSPNP, you'll want to do my code hack for idle-up. It works really, really well. Did a thread on it not too long ago.

 

I'll definitely check it out. I'll have a IAC with th 1.8 TB. I need to figure out what I need to do for the 99' alternator too.

I really want to assemble the engine myself to save like $1000. I've assembled plenty of engines but this would be my first miata engine oddly enough. Blah.


EDIT: Didn't feel like a new post, will when I'm done.. Started the interior removal, found quite a few things I'll need to replace or redo, no problem I expected such. Pictures will tell the story once they are uploaded.