I had actually planned on going this year but sadly lack of funds made it impossible, next year for sure though! And the lack of a current job (or at least one other than the family business) allows me to put in 10-12 hour work days on the car which is the main reason I think I can get it done haha, we shall see though. There's still a lot of work to do after the engine gets back in, I still need to roll/pull the front fenders as well which will take some time as well.

 

Alright, engine is in, pedals are all in, most of the wiring is in. Built a block off plate for the intake where the maf or whatever used to go, too tired to remember exactly what it was. Also need to make two more grounds for random wires. Steering column is in. When I wake up I need to go get a lower radiator hose from napa, really hope they can get one in tomorrow. Also need to go all around the car torquing everything in sight. Other than that it's a couple other small things and body panels. It's 4:30 so I'm going the **** to bed.

 

I think you lost that bet......

First start up video will be up as soon as my buddy sends it to me. Went to bed at 4:30 this morning. Woke up at 9am and started working on it again. Two of my buddies, one was the one who sent me down this path (the blonde one in the video) came over at 5:30 to help me bleed/torque things while I finished assembling the wiring dash.

First impression is holy ****. Throughout the night I was pretty calm, not really anxious since I've assembled the car so many times it wasn't really anything new. But ****, as soon as that starter turned the engine over, you could just feel the power. When it actually fired, it was absolutely amazing. We had the exhaust off (which I'm sure the neighbors loved) and obviously it was loud as **** but I never thought I would hear that sound come out of a little miata.

 

Here we go. I hope this embeds right Edit: Nope lol

Well at least here's a link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btPrAkc0XjI&feature=youtu.be

 

POTATO AWESOME!!!!!

 

AWESOME. Props given. Not driving yet though :P

When can I see this thing?

 

True haha, and after I pull the trans lol

Brakes are all bled and I basically just have to put the seats, bumper, fenders, and steering column in as well as fill the diff/trans with fluid. All the wiring is buttoned up and ready to go. However, while I was bleeding the clutch I noticed that it wasn't bleeding well so I closed the speed bleeder and tried out the pedal, it had a sinking pedal which means I had a leak somewhere. Sure enough, when I looked under the car there was fluid leaking out of the bellhousing so it looks like I get to pull that before the car gets on the road. Had a moment of loss of motivation since pulling the trans with the long tubes on is a real ******* bitch but I think I'll pull the trans off the bellhousing instead of the whole assembly. May have to go get a trans jack from harbor freight but I think I can still get the car rolling by tomorrow, it's gonna be harder because of this hiccup but I'm determined. I also have to work on the lemon cage tonight so it looks like I've got another long night ahead of me. Good thing we buy red bull by the case at Costco and I got some decent sleep last night. Hearing the car start last night was extremely motivating, I can't wait to pull this thing out of the driveway for the first time in over a year.

 

the setback sucks but keep on trucking man. I can only imagine how motivating that would have been. About gave me chills watching it. siiiiick.

 

You can do it for cheap! I spent like $70 on lodging total last year. Then its just gas down and back.

 

 

I guess I was mostly looking at the track day (which is sold out by now) but I know my girlfriend was talking about going on a trip to california after I graduate next year and go to all the big tracks down there. Also thanks for embedding the video, I has the dumbs

Aaaaaand, that look when you find your problem while looking through your clutch materials box at 2 in the morning

 

You know what the ******* definition of irony is? When you install a speed bleeder to make the bleeding process easier and a lot quicker, but then you forget the copper washer on the speed bleeder so it takes you about 5 hours to bleed the clutch, realized you fucked up somewhere, pull the trans, put it all back together, and then bleed the clutch. Well now that that's done (I believe) it's time to move on to putting the other seat and doors on

 

Made the maiden voyage although it could have gone a little better, the afr's were reading stupid high so something's up with that, like 35:1 high, which is like not any gas and I highly doubt the engine would run. I'm guessing the ecu tried to compensate and dumped fuel in cause the plugs were fouled to **** within a block and some idling. More stuff to look into in the next week! Car is wicked fast at 50% throttle and sounds mean as ****. Even though it didn't make it very far (down the block lol) it was bad *** and I'm really not that disappointed. I've definitely got some work to do, but it's getting there! Off to bed now

 

FWIW there is no way the car could run above like 20:1. So bad sensor or something.

 

For sure, 35:1 is like one drop of gas for all 8 cylinders haha

 

**** me I just figured out what it was. I was sure that I had a bosch sensor, looks like I might've had an ntk. That would explain the wonky afrs, also sucks cause that means I just fucked the sensor cause I had it entered into the ecu wrong. Such is life, I guess, time to get a new sensor and try again. Ugh that was a stupid move, should have checked my logbooks of what I've bought.

 

Why would that ruin a sensor?

 

Not really sure actually, I just know in multiple places holley says to confirm whether it was a bosch or a ntk because you need to specify it in the ecu and if you choose the wrong one it'll damage it. Just looked at how much they are, ******* 250 to replace the god damn thing. ****. As if I wasn't pissed off enough at myself.

Edit : my buddy has a brand new wideband guage/sensor so we're gonna see how accurate my current one is while the other one is coming in the mail. Kinda pissed holley charges 250 for an o2 though.

 

Hmmmmmm. Is the Bosch just a regular LSU 4.9 (or whatever)?? I want to say it is, and if so, replacement sensors are 40-50 a pop from Advanced Auto or any auto parts stores (most cars with later OB2 and wideband sensors used the Bosch sensor).

Good work on this!

 

Congrats on first run.. sounds awesome!