Very nice! Good looking cocktail too.

Good news everyone! I found the missing parts of my bearings!
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d60c2b9cb9.jpg
for the uninitiated, that's an ecotec VVT actuator.

I'm tearing down the old motor to scavange the good bits, and then we should be back to our regularly scheduled programming shortly.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b25bb70974.jpg

Well there's your problem! Looking forward to more updates!

Looking forward to seeing your results Nigel. Is that a ZZP short block and did you happen to go with the cam's they offer or back to stock?

Yep, the 500whp ZZP short block. I'm just kind of over junk yard engines at this point.
It seems that head work of any kind isn't really necessary until over 500whp, so I'm keeping stock cams and stock valves. Also, there seems to be a derth of verified gains from the ZZP cams, so it seems a silly thing to throw $700 at. The only thing I'm adding to the head is heavier valve springs and new valve seals. My goal is a reliable 350whp on E85 with torque for days.

People say head work isn't critical for the power levels I'm going for, but I'm doing everything else so I figured "why not". Upgraded springs were a necessity, so while it was going to be apart anyway, I went with a stage 3 port, and 0.5 overside Inconel intake and exhaust valves. Should be pretty sweet.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f8a99ec773.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b348b87a5c.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b96024b7c6.jpg

Work in progress.

I'm in the home stretch now. Head is torqued down and I'm working on the reassembly. This thing should be a beast.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2fd100d235.jpg

:likecat:

Quick question I am in the middle of doing my AR-5 Ecotec swap in my NA, What did you do about the shifter. With the Ecotec Miata mounts, the angle of the transmission puts the shifter up against the side of hole where the shifter goes seeming the ecotec with the AR-5 was not sitting straight up in the Solstices. I can barely see it in one of the pictures, it doesnt appear to be as far over as mine. How did you go about modding it?

​​​​​​I did a couple things. First, I trimmed the area around the center console boot thing to make space, mostly in the 2nd gear location where it's tightest. Second, I used a short shifter from DDM. It's not cheap but is well made and has a great feel. Lastly, I tossed the short shift lever in a vice and gave it a few good whacks to give it a 10 degree angle or so. In the end it puts it in a decent location and angle. I think you could accomplish everything with the stock shift lever.

Driveshaft
 

Hey Nigel who made your driveshaft? I see you used the drift motion adapter. Did they make a shaft for you too?

​​​​​​​He said a local shop made it for him, but I had driftmotion make it for me, i think it was like 600 total for the driveshaft they made me and the adapter, They sell it as a kit you just tell them what you need.

Thanks for the info Johnston!

Yep, I have a local shop do it. It seems like a surprisingly easy part to make for a shop that does them. I just brought in the Miata driveshaft (to match the diff end), the driftmotion adapter, to match the trans end, and a measurement for the total length.

Using this thread as a form of carbon dating, I can see it's been nearly 6 months since I had my car running. Well, today I'm a bit closer to being back on the road. I got my new 500whp-capable engine in the car. I'm not sure what the next couple of weeks will look like at work, but it shouldn't be long before it's fired back up. :skid:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7e935e247a.jpg

:likecat:

You can tell by the dust on the windshield how long it's been sitting

All of my cars look like that :cry:

I think tomorrow is the day. I've got everything back together and turned it over for a minute or so to build oil pressure. I just have to calibrate the O2 sensor and fire it up! :naughty:

It runs!
I installed​ a new O2 sensor in for good measure, and am working on bleeding the coolant system. The Miata rad sits below the head, so it doesn't work very well until properly bled. I actually thought the water pump wasn't working at first it's so bad.