Good result, glad that the "80/20" ducting worked out ok, and you saw out the day! Used to be that MXs were the ones lining up at the end of the day for the last few sessions, with lots of others parked/already gone home. These days I think that the MXs are pushing the engine/modz limits harder, and suffering accordingly.

High oil level is good for track, maybe 5-10mm above full. Flecks in oil not good, remember that the oil filter has a bypass, and flecks in that bypass oil are going to your bearings. Pretty sure the catchcan thread addresses that issue.

That amount of oil/stuff in your can is too much. Either the engine is on the way out, or your plumbing needs work - or both,

Glad you had fun, keep at it!!

If that scrubber is flaking off, do you really want that inside your engine?

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5f83689bb2.jpg

I call this one "Gold on gold on gold".

If its from the scrubber material in the catch can and isn't being returned back to the oil supply, it should be a non-issue. If its coming off scrubbers in the valve cover chambers, then it would be a concern.

Is that a dong mowed into the hill?

Yep, I missed the part where he said it was a scrubber in the catch can, thought it was in the valve cover (I know that was a popular discussion in the past).

Glad to see you made it back on track, Gordon!

A few shots of Gordon riding along in my flying jungle gym fighting the nausea of my crazy driving. At least I didn’t spin him this time!

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...168e6c155.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8b5e43e2a.jpeg

Gordon had the same "Hold onto the shoulder straps for dear life" look in my car as well :D There @gesso too! I miss Laguna Seca :cry:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...335e4ef4da.jpg

Yeah, the question of what to do with your arms as a passenger in an open car is a little odd.

We were supposed to have a miataturbo.net meetup at Sonoma!

--Ian

I'm blaming that miss on Covid lol. We should all talk about something next year though. Maybe it'll motivate me to get my car back together?

Thanks! Its a SUPER excessive amount of oil in the can and it'll be addressed for sure. I know there are a bunch of different strategies to address it, I'll be taking a look at them.

Thunderhill West is pretty short and has a pretty long sweeper for T2

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/c...pdated+map.jpg

I could smell hot/burning oil at the end of T2 and a bunch of other places on course, so it wouldn't shock me to find out its pushing some past the cover baffles. I'm just glad it didn't try to burn all that oil, that would have drown the cat for sure. Probably ruined the plugs as well. (I need to try to remember to check them...)

I spent about an hour on Sunday looking for my oil filter cutter (which I haven't seen in years) so I gave up and bought a new one. Knowing me I probably loaned it to someone and never got it back. New one should be here later this week. Not a tool you'll use often but definitely comes in handy. I also ordered a test kit from Blackstone Labs, let's see what fresh Rotella T6 15W-40 looks like after 1 track day in 100°F ambient looks like. The sampling procedure recommended by Blackstone recommends a drive for 20min, which should be more than enough to get some junk trapped in the filter, if there is junk to be seen.

Plus, I've never done a UOA before, I'm interested to see what they have to say.

Right, which is why it's not in my engine ;)

Or at least I hope its not. I haven't actually had the valve cover off this motor, I guess its possible someone else might had done something stupid. Jamming the valve cover full of pot scrubber always seemed suicidal to me so its not something I've ever perused. The little Moroso can definitely has something that looks like scrubber in it and I suspect (hope?) that's where its coming from. Filter vivisection and oil change should tell the tale.

Man, I look WAY off the line there :facepalm: Good pic though!

All its costs me is a valve cover gasket and some RTV to find out what the baffles look like under the cover, shouldn't be to much of a hassle. Cover is weeping anyway.

Knowing the staff at Thunderhill? Probably yes.

Thanks! Its fun to be back. I'm glad @afm and @gesso pushed me to do it, and it was good fun getting a ride with @Cxracer

It was good fun! Was my turn to spin spectacularly this time, and I may never get all the dirt out of the car :giggle:

IM SORRY I CAN'T HEAR YOU WHAT

Also, isn't that what you are supposed to do with your arms? Someone told me that once so I've tried to stick with it. If nothing else at least I'm consistent :laugh:
I also miss Laguna. I feel like we should all maybe try to get together and do a west coast track day at some point hummm....

Would it tho? 🤔🤔🤔

Now time for the age old debate: Do I buy tires now or wait until next year? Rivals, RS4 or VR1s? :D

@andym Can you weigh in on the tire question? Also 245s or 225s? Or even 205s?

I think you should just use whatever you have until they are worn. Then get new ones.

NO GEORGE, NO! Gordon has like 10-year-old tires that will literally never die at this point, don't tell him to use those :rofl:

Wait a fuckin minute....... he's still on those NT01? Jesus christ.

In that case, rs4 will last him the next decade and provide gud grip. Thats my vote.

I'll have you know I recently gave up my set of RS3 v1 :fawk: still have the NT-01s tho

My last 2 trackdays were on borrowed tires (VR1 & RS4) so its about time I ponied up and bought a set. Gotta spend money to spend money!

Is it just me or are RS4s the heaviest tires on the planet? I have a set of very hard, repeatedly frozen "205" Rivals on 15x8 Storms and they are featherweights compared to the 225 RS4s. Of course that may have something to do the Goldmember rims. I have sets of 15x8 and 15x9 rims (unless @gesso is using the 9s?) so 205 or 225 are both an option, I'm not super interested in going to a 245.

The 205 on 8 has always been my favorite on this car.

Yes, I missed that too! So you have scrubber in the can? That's not a bad idea, and for sure that won't contaminate the oil in the car unless it drains back into the engine (which some people do, but obviously you don't). If you have crankcase pressure from worn rings say, you will get high(er) velocity flow of gasses through the infamous tiny hole, and that can carry oil vapours as well as liquid oil into that chamber, hence the "tiny hole mod" to enlarge it and reduce the velocity and minimise the stuff carried by/with the vapour through to the can. That's also the reason for the scrubber in that chamber. And that's the reason why choice of scrubber material there is somewhat important.

It's certainly a reasonable thing to do. I don't actually have any idea what I do with my arms on the infrequent occasions I ride in someone else's car. :)

--Ian

FWIW I also hold the harnesses in exocets. In other cars I just keep them in my lap.

Usually, it's the only thing to hang on to, so probably the best thing to do with them. I think I normally just jam mine into my legs lol

As a driver I find it less distracting when the passenger isn't flailing wildly and screaming, though I'm pretty sure @Scaxx never hears the screams :giggle:

Gordon, What is currently on this car? (I’m too lazy to read through all 60
pages.

At one time it was EFR turbo and 400 / 275 FCM suspension.

Now it is N/A on what suspension?

DNM

I like my VR-1's a lot as a street tire. I just got them installed a few days ago and did some leisure driving to the keys. They grip better than my old rs4's. Dunno what to suggest to anyone else but I still plan next go around on my particular wheels on my particular car to go 245 width. It looks like my NA has the clearance for it.

Lol, I deserve that.

Probably "stock" BP4W
6 speed w/MR shifter
Mazdacomp Diff Mounts
Mazdacomp Motor Mount (single)
V8R Billet "Cadillac 62A" Motor Mount (single)
3.6 Torsen
Racing Beat NB1 header
RB Race Midpipe
RB Power Pulse Single
K&N Typhoon Intake
FM1 clutch
Custom lightened stock flywheel
DeatschWerks DW200 fuel pump
SuperMiata Coolant Reroute
Trackspeed Engineering Radiator
"Rallas Special" 11" Mini Cooper Rotor & Dynalite front brakes
Carbotech XP8 or XP10 all around (I don't remember, lol)
949Racing SuperMiata "Big Grip" kit

• 700/400 Eibach springs
• Billet / spherical bearing upper mounts
• Dual spring "helper" upgrade
• Torringtons
• RB #54103 1.125" OD .188 wall front bar
• MSM 14mm rear bar
• SuperMiata adjustable endlinks

If it's not listed above, it's stock.


Future changes for the car include:

• 4.3 or 4.1 Torsen
• BP6Z "Square top" intake manifold
• Junk2 throttle body
• Energy Suspension Poly Bushings
• SadFAB Poly Bronze Retrofit
• ES poly diff mounts
• Repaired V8R Motor Mounts (loooooool)
• NB1 MS3PNP Pro + tune
• Maybe a SuperMiata Sport clutch w/organic disc

I've still got all the fancy stuff like the forged BP with the 949/Keegan CNC head, the EFR 6258 and ARTech manifold set, the MSLabs MS3 Basic ECU, ID1000s, Fuelab fuel system bits, and all the other crazy in boxes in my garage taking up space. Someday I'll get around to selling it, I just reallllly don't want to deal with a bunch of FS thread nonsense.

IMO, mobbing that "curb" hard is the line if you're going fast enough, so maybe you're not too far off?

Also I have my 245 vr1's on your 9's on the exofish. I can get my own wheels if you're serious about getting tires. But you're also welcome to keep using those gold boat anchors and chunking RS4's for as long as you like (they were my parting gift from the diaspora of the green integra lucky dog team)

Also hands on harness seems good to me. I've had to tell people to not hold on to the side bars on the exofish. The side panels may look structurally sound, but that's a good way to end up with a fiberglass impregnated nub of an arm...

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a7393d31e7.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6754a179dc.jpg

​​​​Oil filter appears to be full of yellow metal. RIP BP4W.:sadwavey:

A successful trackday, all things considered.

Id rip it out and rebuild now before it becomes not salvageable.

Yep, that is an option.

I already paid for, pulled and bagged a sample for Blackstone before I cut the filter apart.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4ffbb0b035.jpg

Debating if I'm going to send it in or not.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e32cafc322.jpg

It might be worth finding out if the oil just completely shit the bed in the heat, oxidation and shearing are a thing. If the UOA says oil is torched then Rotella T6 is dead to me.

I guess the other potential possibly is that I somehow massively overfilled the engine oil and ended up with the crank slapping around in the oil, making a foamy horrible mess inside the block. Aerated oil doesn't support bearings so good. I'm not sure how that's possible as T6 comes in 1gallon jugs and the Miata takes 4 quarts with a new filter. It was a little overfilled but not critically so. Big sigh.

Is that how dark the oil looked after just the track day and a little mileage to and from the track?

I’ve never done the Blackstone oil test. What does it cost?

It does seem pretty dark, doesn't it? That's 6x 20min sessions and ~100mi. of street driving, to and from Thunderhill. It went in on Friday morning before Saturday trackday.

Blackstone is $30 for the basic gas motor UOA. For an extra $10 you can add a TBN check, which I understand will tell you how much of the additive package is still viable in the oil. This is mostly for people who are looking to stretch OCIs past manufacturers recommended interval with fancy modern synthetic oils. Not sure if it's worth doing TBN on my sample. More info here: Blackstone Labs Oil Analysis

I've been thinking about this a lot this afternoon. I'm not the kind of guy who puts old oil back in jugs so it shouldn't be used, unless some degenerate returned a full jug to the store and I lost won the lottery. I have no conscience memory of the seal, broken or otherwise so I can't say one way or the other. I didn't actually look to see if there was more than a gallon in the jug, but BP + filter is always 4q and Walmart T6 comes in 4g jugs so in it went. Checked the stick, which was slightly high, then sent it. I didn't supplement with anything, literally just the one jug.

Yellow metal in oil? Bearing material is usually described as white, I thought.

Pull the engine, pop the bearing caps, and see what the crank looks like. If it looks OK, I'd get it measured/examined by a shop, and if it checks out you are halfway to a built engine.

It's an ill wind that no good ...

I doubt the crank really frothed the oil up meaningfully. I've not been a fan of T6 in performance use for years, not sure if you saw in my build thread years ago but my BP motor would absolutely destroy it in less than 6 minutes of racing, like I mean, 20psi at hot idle when new to struggling to get 10.

Yarp, definitely has a yellow/gold tinge to it and I tend to agree, stock bearings are generally a white metal? Unsure if engine is stock inside or not, but I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Agreed, though first things that'll come out will be the cams. I kinda really need this head to survive so I'm hoping the cam journals aren't loaded up with fragments. Not that it isnt fixable, I just don't want to have to fix it. Either way, engine will be coming out, just unsure what I'm going to replace it with. Or when. It might be a while :sad2:

Big oof. Another built BP. Not exactly what I was looking to do right now :p
Truer words.

[/size]

Are you sure those aren't just bits of the scrubby sponges?

--Ian

I love that we're all still stuck on the scrubber material idea :giggle:

Rage cleaning will cause scrubber material issues

Yes, but my kitchen floor has never been more sparkly clean!

Timeline -

Friday: buy another HF engine stand, drain oil into clear container, pull cams & inspect journals

Saturday: go to wedding

Sunday: pull engine

Hopefully ambient temps and air quality cooperate.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0dee7f2f85.png
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...20e36c05c0.png

I don't want to shave off my glorious hobo beard so I can wear a respirator to do car work but I will if I have to.

404: Metal Not Found
 

Ok, so I learned some things today:

If you run a BP without valve cover baffles, it fills up the catch can with a quickness.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...333824762b.jpg

This fuckery goes back to when BEGI fucked me on the valve cover powder coating service they offered some years ago. I didn't trust them to actually clean the cover correctly so I pulled the baffles. They managed to fuck it all up and ended up sending me a replacement valve cover, and somehow this one without the baffles ended up on this motor. I'm sure I was drunk and not paying attention when it went back on. Live and learn.

Also, this engine has phenomenal compression

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...763c2c2944.jpg

That's cold and dry. Its so consistent I questioned it and ran it again, got the same results. They are all so close to 210 that I didn't even bother looking closer.

Also, the catch can works. For the potentially insane amount of oil this thing was huffing, the plugs look surprisingly good.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9ae0fee4ee.jpg

NGK BKR6EIX for anyone keeping score. I'll probably replace these bad boys "while I'm in there" as I have no idea as to their history or vintage.

Pulling the coil pack was also lolz

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ac1e082c7d.jpg

Paint shaker BP is paint shaker. Just a little fatigue failure. :giggle:

Lil bit of Japanese swaggu timing belt apparently, hah. I wonder if this is a legitimately stock timing belt? Maybe OE?

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...643096c5ec.jpg

This motor is also IMPOSSIBLY clean.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...33f8fb5bb3.jpg

Although the cam seals are leaking a bit, so they will need to be replaced.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...30e9290e0a.jpg

Pobodies Nerfect I guess! Though this hardware and timing cover are close

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...58c324b2b5.jpg

So the whole point of tearing this motor down this far was to try to figure out if the head was salvageable, and how bad the bearings might be. I've been edging for this all week, and even started putting together a list of part numbers and other things that would be required to do the job. Well, it turns out that was a wasted effort.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9770d2eff2.jpg

I can't find ANY metal in this motor ANYWHERE.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...50e4e814b5.jpg

Cam bearing surfaces look gr8 m8, I haven't even pulled the exhaust cam yet and I'm ready to give up.

I'm kinda fucking stupefied here. The metal flake I found in the catch can must have come from the catch can scrubber? The metal I found in the filter can I cut was just a couple strays in the bottom of the housing, I never actually found metal in the filter element itself. Its very possible that the metal I found in the oil catch pan after cutting open the filter can was already there from dumping out the catch can? Is it possible this thing is fine?

No, I'm not that lucky. Literally impossible.

I still need to drain the oil, which I'll do into a separate container. I've got the sample off to Blackstone so I'll be interested to see what they have to say about the metal content. I'll remain cautiously optimistic, but right now its 95° and smoky outside so I'm happy to give up for a while.

Still unsure what to think about all of this, not sure where to go from here. HAH

/* Drunk, fix later. */

Possible that the PCV is pulling enough of a vaccum in the crank case to suck the bits of the scrubby through the catch can hose?

As for where to go... I'd say back to Thunderhill!

--Ian

It's possible. @concealer404 had mentioned this previously as well. There, are you happy now bitch? :P

This isn't "pot scrubber" material
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9efc0d3884.jpg

This feels more like stainless mesh, like a screen door, or maybe a gauze? It's continuous strands and they aren't broken up.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...467137971b.jpg

It's not coming apart and it doesn't match what I found in the drain pan, or the bottom of the catch can.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...115fd24083.jpg

Blasted both sides with brake cleaner and nothing interesting came out. Checkmate, atheists!

Shitty chainmail, bro. Needs more mithril.

What is this, chainmail for ants?!

You guys and your foreign objects in your catch cans, I swear. Mine is just a simple vacuum trap.

Dirty foreigners you say? Yes, they very well could be at fault here 🤔 🤣

Exhaust cam will come out this weekend because it'll take 5 minutes at this point and there's no reason not to do it. I also still need to drain oil into a clean container and see what there is to see, I just ran out of time and air quality today.

Nah, the stuff I sold you went on the other car:party:

Nothing shitty under the exhaust cam or cam caps, however...

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...51adab67e5.jpg

This shits nearly impossible to photograph with the tools I have available, but there's definitely flakes of metal in this thing.

Engine isn't going to make it out this weekend, or probably next weekend either. I simply don't have time to get it done right now without frying like a strip of bacon on my driveway. I'll probably drop the front subframe and pull it out the bottom as that's what I did last time, but it's going to be a couple weeks of little to no progress.

That stuff must have come from a previous life of the engine, Good to see that the filter, and probably the strainer too, are doing their job keeping it out of the reticulated oil.

I'd have liked to have seen a bunch of this stuff in the filter element but fact of the matter is that wasn't the case. There were some flakes like the above in the bottom of the filter can, but no smoking gun.

I'd like to revise my bullshit - 8/8/21

Maybe I just got really lucky and caught this before it went completely to ratshit. Who knows at this point, I'll find out more when I dump the oil and drop out the engine and pop the mains & rods

So between the airborne cancer and the ridiculous heat I managed to make some progress.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...07b1dcff1e.jpg

Drained the cooling system and pulled the radiator to make room for activities.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ff42152892.jpg

Its amazing how so little antifreeze can make your coolant such a vibrant green.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...200a4405dc.jpg

I finally got around to draining the oil and its crazy dark what I'm pretty sure was 120min of track time and just 100mi of street driving. You'll also notice that I only got 3 quarts out of the motor. Which is... confusing. But then, I think I know where the other quart went...

There wasn't a pile of metal in the oil so I spent some time slowly pouring it across the bottom of my drain pan.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a325704b91.jpg

This was all well and good, but I'd initially forgotten I'd drained and cleaned the drain plugs for the transmission and differential into this same pan and knocked some metal off in the process. I did find a couple new little flakes of metal using this method, but not what I was expecting.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a2880a27ec.jpg

Just for fun, here's the guts of the stock sized WIX 51365 vs a Mobil 1 M1-110A filter, which is the Millenia filter (interchanges with a WIX 51356) that everyone uses as an "upgrade." There is a 20-30 minutes of run time on the M1 filter, whereas the 51365 was the one I was using for the trackday.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1456f43942.jpg

If I learned nothing else from these filters, its that I won't be buying any more stock Miata sized WIX 51365/M1-108 sized filters, and I'll be sticking to the WIX 51356/M1-110 sized filters from here on out.

I cut open that WIX 51365 after the track day and claimed that I didn't see any metal. I tossed the M1 on there and then ran it for 20min before pulling the Blackstone sample, then I drained the oil, cut open the M1, and here we are. After letting the WIX core sit around for a week and drip out, I realized I could see a lot more junk in the filter when it wasn't saturated with oil. So I wrapped an old terrycloth rag around the core and let the oil wick away for 48hrs.

And then...

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ec5ebac32b.jpg

The M1 filter is super clean, as one would expect for only 20 minutes of runtime. The WIX tho...

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...624afb461d.jpg

As soon as I started to unravel it, I started to find white metal.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...035b5b581b.jpg

Its not in every pleat, but its definitely there.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cd3aaa3cb8.jpg

I'm actually kinda impressed with the build quality of these filters, they are a real bastard to disassemble.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8287311318.jpg

As you can see its mostly small flakes, and they are very thin.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d286347b77.jpg

I've also figured out how to better use the camera on my phone :giggle:

Clearly, there is metal. No word from Blackstone yet, I'm hoping to hear back form them early this next week.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b6a44414cb.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...75a706f41c.jpg

Its been a nut buster of a weekend so far.

So as I alluded to in the previous post, the metal refinery is out. But what shall take its place?

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cd5fac6801.jpg

Mystery motor, of course! "Fresh" from our friends across the pond. I keep forgetting those cars literally rust out from over their drivetrains. Yikes. Essentially unknown mileage, compression and leak-down. Hopefully I do OK in this lottery and this turns out well, because its a huge amount of work to be doing outside in August.

First order of business was stripping down the 4W because I'm going to reuse all the ancillaries. I know they work so no point in adding additional variables. I didn't take a lot of pictures of this process because, well, its not that interesting. I did snag some highlights though.

Teardown has been entertaining. The block came with a power steering pump mount, which I was going to remove, but the steel spacer bushing was blocking the lower mount bolt. I guess someone else had the same idea and got in there before me with a hammer and mushroomed it the hell over.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...184cb90b67.jpg

Nothing I couldn't resolve with aggressive application of propane torch, Kroil and a hammer. I eventually got it free and discarded the bracket. Check out that radiator inlet, SO CRUSTY. I'll need to clean that before I get too far. The pink crap is leftovers from the odd antifreeze they use overseas. Hopefully that means minimal corrosion in the block.

I planned on moving the 949Racing Supermiata QUE-MAKS!reroute over to this engine (yes, I know the 6D has a different head gasket. Reroute will still be fine) so the front of the thermostat housing was popped off. That looks an awful lot like a stock gasket and a stock thermostat. I wonder if its ever been out? Seems relatively clean.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b975e088a6.jpg

Lol. Maybe not. Orange gak and more pink fuzzies. Nothing I can't remove with a carbide scraper and some time.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...eda84dc9dc.jpg

Moving back to the water pump inlet, I cleared all the corrosion off and found this. Well, methinks there may have been a leak here at one point. Clearly someone tried to do something with the cooling system at some point. This is a recipe for a leak so I'll swap it with the one off the other engine.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2992ef2bdd.jpg

Removing the inlet housing and I found this:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...63db38ff18.jpg

That is super soft rubbery silicone, it feels EXACTLY like the stuff you would use for your tub or grout. SHIT. This, my friends, is what our Commonwealth friends refer to as a "bodge." I really fucking hope this motor wasn't fighting cooling issues.

Anyway, QMAX was moved over and nothing else dire in the cooling system, other than a bunch of iron oxide from the block. Bolting spiffy anno'd orange parts to this undersea relic is quite the contrast.

I suspect this motor has never been run hard, at all, ever. Check out the carbon ring around the exhaust port:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3b55bce717.jpg

I squirted it with some Kroil and it just ... disappeared. haha! Absorbed into the blackness. Another shot of Kroil and a rag broke up most of it, carbide scraper did the rest. Nice fresh surface for fresh gasket.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6b19cd6bdb.jpg

Looking at the above image I suspect the cam seals are weeping. I have new OE cam seals, valve cover gasket, etc but I really don't feel like fighting it right now. If this motor turns out to be GRRRREAT! then I'll order parts to do a timing belt and water pump service, and knock this all out at the same time.

Another interesting find:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c5f1df4ddf.jpg

The winged DK shield logo is the Japanese Daikin corporation, founded in the 1950s they made clutches and other OE parts for decades, and then rebranded as Exedy in the mid 90s. Up until the mid to late 00's you could still find Daikin logos on OE parts from Mazda, Subaru, Honda, etc. When I say "OE" I mean "installed in Japan and shipped in the chassis" where the Exedy branding was used on replacement parts, such as you would buy from the dealer. I believe what I have here is an original clutch, and nobody has touched the bolts on this thing since it was torqued down in Hiroshima. Kinda cool actually.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9808561c49.jpg

Reused my ARP flywheel bolts, cleaned and torqued to spec. Turns out the Mazda SST 49 E011 1A0 is compatible with the QMAX. Who knew?! Those 949 guys think of everything!

I opted not to use the clutch that came with the donor engine and instead put the purple Protegé clutch (or whatever FM used that barely works with the Miata hydraulics) back in it. My clutch hydraulics are already bodged into adjustment to work with the thing and I'm trying not to cause myself more undue stress today. What I'd really liked to have done was put a Supermiata Sport Clutch with the organic disk in this time, but I didn't think to order it in time to get here this weekend, so the purple whatsit will have to do. I actually found my clutch alignment tool in my toolbox so I made good use of it, and thankfully the transmission dropped right on to the block. Installing the trans after dropping the front subframe is so much less awkward and trying to do it on your back under the car.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...67925c3a1a.jpg

Mazda sourced gaskets and hoses where applicable. Fuel rail, injectors, and intake manifold are all BP4W parts. You'll note the fresh WIX 51356 filter here. This motor isn't super clean inside. Not like, neglected dirty, but more like used dinosaur oil its whole life dirty. I plan on filling it with FLAPS 5w40 synthetic oil and running it for 50-100 miles and then doing an oil change. The oil that dribbled out of the pan and came out of the euro Bosch filter that was on the motor when I got it was very dark. I want to cut open this WIX and also the Bosch and see if there is anything to see.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d23ce92222.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3fae89edac.jpg

Almost ready to shove it back up in there and give it a twist.

This always seems like its going to be easy, but its a shocking amount of work once you include all the little bits and pieces that all need to fall into place. Especially in the heat. Thankfully, this is all OEM parts so it goes together like Mazda intended. I don't know if I'll have it running before the end of the weekend, but it'll be pretty damn close!

Lol, pics look like I'm using a filter. I assure you, that's my natural light right now. Oof.

Always appreciate reading your detailed posts, @EO2K

That looks like a VICS manifold - I would have expected an EUDM VVT engine to have a square top

EDIT: I now realize you must have re-used your BP4W intake

And sold the flatop to offset the cost of the motor?

Aww shucks, thanks!
I try to post details and minutia that I couldn't find when I was preparing for the project, or wish I knew before I started, or things I find funny. Also frustration. It's a good place to vent.
Good eye, it is a VICS manifold. I have a square top but I'm not using it. Well, not for now anyway.
:bigtu:

So bloody close.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...228d5cc39b.jpg


It took an excessive amount of time to get the subframe back into the car, mostly because I'm a moron and couldn't get the splines lined up in the steering shaft universal. If you use the engine hoist to try to lift the engine and subframe into place and the splines are off, it is possible to lift the entire front of the car with the entirety of its remaining weight with the steering universal. This weight plus 3 hours with a prybar, ratchet strap, dead blow hammer and kicking it will not help in this situation. As you can imagine, this buggers the splines fairly badly. Nothing that 30min with a set of jewelers files can't fix! I'll need to contact one of the Miata dismantlers and see if I can get a replacement, but for now its together, and I don't plan on taking it apart again for a while < queue foreboding music >

Here's a fun little find.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4043c4ef63.jpg

This poor rear oxygen sensor has seen some serious shit. Its been in and out of a half dozen exhausts probably 400 times since I bought the car. Here I've replaced the electrical tape for probably the 2nd or 3rd time, but this time I'm trying the fancy Tesa tape, and built it up a bit of a strain relief. The front sensor was replaced some years ago as part of some bullshit troubleshooting Kraftwerks made me do, but I've never changed the rear.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cf77c60484.jpg

That's literally an OE Denso Mazda BP4X sensor, haha!

Anyway...

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b560feb2cb.jpg

(ignore the ludicrous white o2 sensor extension, it only needs to be about 8" long but sometimes you run whut you brung)

Its been one HELL of a push to get to this point. Here's what's left:

• Torque lower shock bolts
• Add oil (FOUR GODDAMN QUARTS!!!)
• Add coolant
• Add transmission lube
• Install shifter
• Install center console
• Install midpipe
• Install sway bar

...I think that's it?

Ordered NGK 96457 / FR5BHX spark plugs (we Ruthenium naio, bitches!) and a pair of FEL-PRO 61593 pipe flange gaskets for the Racing Beat exhaust, but neither of those things are going to stop me at the moment. It turns out the NGK 6418 / BKR6EIX plugs I was running are actually 1 step cooler than what Mazda recommends. The 6 were probably fine for turbo stuff, but a 5 is more appropriate for NA. Maybe. I dunno, we'll see.

What IS stopping me right now is this:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...208b8058b0.jpg

I knew this bastard had gotten scorched on the EGR tube but I didn't realize it was cracked and leaking. so... kinda boned. This is of course the hose that goes between the reroute and the heater core. I'll probably just order a Gates or Continental from the FLAPS and chill out until it arrives.

Those mishi hoses are bigly trash anyways. OEM + sleeve is the way to go.

Meh. I suspect direct contact with an exhaust component would destroy any hose, OEM or otherwise.

Short section of sleeve would probably be a good idea regardless. I think I've got some scraps kicking around the garage somewhere. I wonder if anyone makes a cover small enough to fit the EGR tube itself? I believe the factory ones were sleeved, probably for this exact reason. I'll have to do some looking.

Edit: lol
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...199bc2aeb5.jpg
Genuine Mazda 1999-2000 Mazda Miata Egr Pipe BP8J-20-31X
https://www.prioritymazdaparts.com/o...pipe-bp8j2031x

Ordered, along with OE heater hose set and a couple gaskets. Let's see how well a new, unmolested one fits around the reroute. And how much I'll want to brain myself trying to install it now that the engine is back in the car. Lolol