I saw your email the other day, and i will get back once I have some real free time.. I have been busy working to get other customers products out the door before the holidays. I don't generally do custom work.

I was going to mention that he is capable of making you one, but might not have a good jig set-up, as Lars puts the turbo outlet near cylinder 2, rather than at the middle.

Manifolds built without proper jigs is what BEGI was famous for, as I understand it.

So summary of findings to date for the next guy searching:

eBay china-mani is a T3 EWG cast mani for $110 that looks to be a dead ripoff of the original FM/BEGi that I have.
Fab9Tuning is v-band based, won't work for an old stud-based T3.
FM no T3 based anything and no custom work.
Abe (ARTech) no longer makes manifolds, but does do DP's and exhausts.
MKTurbo doesn't do custom work and doesn't have a T3 EWG option.
BEGi got back to me and offered to do a custom job - weld a T3 flange onto the cast manifold they offer (unknown cost and lead time).
HellaFab can do anything basically but long lead (5-6 months).

'Band-aid" ebay version on order while I contemplate the HellaFab (essentially the only upgrade path for me if I keep the turbo and WG I have). Thanks all!
Wallyman

Don't BEGi. Please. It won't be right. See also: Their custom built anything ever.

I'd try the eBay because it looks like a perfect knockoff for fitment and it costs nearly nothing.

No shot on a second round weld repair?
what was the cleaning / preheat / filler metal used on the previous repair?

I'm not and I am. :)

For the record, I did at one point have a very good experience with Corky personally, but that was 10+ years ago when I needed some misc. crap to fix a damaged intercooler...

The blacksmith said they could try, but the issue isn't just the failed repair, there are other cracks radiating out from the WG port hole that you can't see real well. I mentioned that I could get (at the time I thought) a replacement for $400-450, and they said it's the better options because I would have all of that and perhaps more in the repair and the machining of the faces and not have any certainty of longevity.

Completely unknown, that repair is a minimum of 3 owners and 7 years ago.

Not replying, so probably sold...? Eitherway I'm going to try the $120 ebay special while I let the Hellfab beauty gnaw at my subconscious.

I though more people would realize this. That car was built when? Around 15 years ago?
Me thinks China realized FM lost the patent on their original manifold so it’s free to copy. Now to just wait another 15 and hope they make a trackspeed rip-off

Something I often wonder when faced with cheap ripoffs is how much effort it took to do it.. do they just get their hands on the old molds, or do they actually reverse engineer it? Because I wish they would ripoff enhanced/improved stuff instead of the antiquated 20 year old designs. :)

Seriously though, I am very curious how well the $110 unit looks and holds up.

I can say the eBay t2 cast holds up pretty well as a door stop for 3 years. My eBay t3 ended up on patsmx5 car.

I can tell you a couple things from the t3 cast, I've been using it for 2 years and 15k miles now.
The t3 model comes with an external gate block off plate (if your lucky, I didn't get one)
The t2 comes with a heat shield but not a waste gate port block off plate
You'll either need longer bolts or studs for the 4 outer-most holes, casting is thicker here
The turbo to manifold studs provided are far too short, you can use bolts, the begi ones, or the track speed Inconel kit
It flows OK, I was still able to hit 10 psi at 3k with the braineack t3, pat has had it up to, if not over 300 whp
I've also never seen one crack, it seem like a good fit for the OP

So, it arrived today... drilled for a GT2x turbo. WTF. Sent seller a note, we shall see how this goes.

did you buy the T3 auction or t25 auction? There are two types of this same manifold.

it's pointless asking Chinese sellers anything, you gotta know what you are buying.

I may not be the sharpest sandwich in the picnic basket, but I *can* read. :) I made sure to order the T3 flavor (or so it said):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-2005-M...72.m2749.l2649

The trouble is you can't know what you are buying if you can't trust those idiots listing it. So as a replacement I am looking at this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/272948847411

Which reads in part:

Includes 1 T3/T4 Turbo Manifold
Features:
3. Standard T3 (t3/t4, T04e) Turbo Flange Configuration Outlet (M10 studs).
4. Come with pre-weld 35 / 38 (mm) wastegate flange.

Seems pretty clear, but is it actually right? The last ad clearly said T3 too just like this one.... How does that saying go? Cheap, Fast, Good: pick two.... guess 'good' wasn't it last time. will my luck be any better on the second try? I initiated a return on the first mani, so that should go back easy enough having dealt with "not as listed" problems before. I just want to avoid buying and returning hunks of iron until I find an actual T3 setup.

So, I asked TacoTaco to confirm the dimensions on the flange to avoid having a second manifold I can't use... here's what I got back:

"The bolt pattern is 2 " x 2 1/8 , those are the measurements we got from the turbo."

That doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me, I can't for the life of me figure out what turbo could possibly bolt up to that. Even the photos of the manifold show a very distinctly NOT square pattern so I asked him to clarify (and provided the dimesnions of a T28 and a T3 for reference) which he ignored. I asked a third time and got the same 2x2.125 dimensions in response. Asked for a phone number to discuss it, got nothing. So pretty fuggin useless there. Assuming he is a moron who doesn't care about customer service or communicating, I sent the same exact question to 4 other sellers today, waiting to see if anyone replies with anything remotely resembling a useful reply.

Side note - when I picked up my DP from the blacksmith, the owner was there and asked me about the manifold.. I think if these for 4 ebay dudes are useless I am going to have him take a shot at repair. I spoke to one of the other guys there originally who didn't seem to convinced it was long term fixable, but the head honcho (whom I've dealt with directly before) thought it was doable.

I'm more amused that you actually tried, and expected to get something non-retarded, than his response.

the T3 verison and T25 verisons are obvious:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1453427783



both pictures from the ebay auctions are t25:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/lKwAA...ab/s-l1600.jpg

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MLAAA...8x/s-l1600.jpg

doesnt mean that's what they actually are.


gotta find the thread where someone drilled a t25 one of these out for t3.


ah here:

https://www.miataturbo.net/diy-turbo...estions-27799/

btw that first image is Shuiend's -- he may still have that manifold to sell you.

This guys looks awfully similar, let me know if I could assist further.