Guidance before I start ordering parts
 

I've been lurking long enough, and it's time I picked a direction.

I need to decide what route I'm going to take to get my car boosted. I have a six phase plan (will post Excel sheet later) that basically starts with management, then works through drivetrain, plumbing, and finally attaching the snail at the end. The added bonus of the planning is that my car should never be down more than a weekend if I do everything in the right order.

My problem is deciding how serious to go, and whether or not this should be dictated by what is available for sale. Should I just be hard headed and pick my dream set up and head off in that direction? I worry that I'll find myself near the finish line lacking some part that I can only find for $500.



GOALS: Start off with wastegate boost and turn it up as the car and myself get adjusted. I don't see myself getting much over 220hp.

CAR: 1992 with 100K mile replacement 1.6L. Good compression, all the valves looked great, runs strong. Stock exhaust is crap, everything else solid. Mods are in sig line, but include beefing up cooling system and a 6 puck to prepare for more power. I have a MS (Braineack build) and LC-1 on the way. 460cc injectors soon to follow.

PREFERENCES: I'm going the total sleeper route. Recirc BOV, big but quiet exhaust.

ABILITY: I don't mind routing intercooler piping, some wiring, or swapping bolt ons. Honestly the three parts that worry me the most are the manifold, downpipe, and the elbow into the intake. Basically anything that almost has to be custom, and welded. I'm not much of a welder, but can practice in the mean time at work. Also any welding I do will be on company time.



I'm almost convinced I need to build my own manifold...almost. I'm still looking for proven combos, but all are either too expensive, or the used setup isn't confidence inspiring (really, who can't go out to the garage and take decent pics of the setup).

Right now I'm considering doing exactly what I didn't want to do: Just order the turbo and build around it. I think the used stock MSM turbo at Begi may just fit my needs.


What thinketh ye?


EDIT: The part ya'll hate to hear...

BUDGET: I have about $1500 left, and still need everything, hotside and coldside, connected to the turbo. Manifold to exhaust tip, compressor to intake.

Differential?

oh yeah, that too. Should have just waited until I can get home and attach the big friggin list.

Meh, IMO the diff can wait. I've put about 10k boosted miles on mine with no problems. Im at 12psi now. It can last a long time if you drive it right. That said, when I do find a good deal on a 7" diff I will jump on it.
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Yeah, Action Auto has cornered the market for Miata jy parts here in Houston, but their prices are pretty fair. If I interpreted the accent right I can get a 7" close to home for $475. It is probably the last piece of the puzzle though.


As far as turbo packages go, I am considering that 14yr old IHI kit on the BEGi site. I almost feel better about it than ca18det(I mean brian@anythingmazda)'s $1600 Greddy set-up. Brian's does include exhaust and a bigger IC though.

I'm not too worried about exhaust after the downpipe as I have the car registered in a non-smog county (read cat cover over straight pipe mod) and there is a great cheap exhaust shop right around the corner.

Do you have a house? Motivated to learn? Want to learn? Can you weld at all? ~ how many hours of welding you got under your belt? What kind of welding?

You can do a complete DIY turbo setup if you wanted too. Get a used stick welder or MIG/flux core and there you go. For like 300-400 bucks you could build the manifold/downpipe/exhaust and IC pipes.

Upgrade the brakes before you kill yourself along with half the stray animals, squirrels, and deer in Texas.

I killed 2 of them within 4 years at stock 1.6 power at 5000ft elevation. It needs to be done, especially with a 6 puck.

Oh yeah fuck a 6 puck, get a real clutch. FM has one for 400 that looks badass. Level 2 clutch.

Yeah, I read some of your posts after ordering this POS.

I was rushed as the stock one is slipping under stock power. I didn't want to throw too much money at it during the motor swap. Now I regret it as the motor runs great (I mean great) and I could have easily had at the water pump, timing belt, and clutch.

My stock differential lasted 4 years at up to 10 psi and gave me plenty of warning that it was on it's last leg. I had a Torsen set-up waiting to drop right in. It's a crap shoot though, like in Ben's case.

I've considered carrying around an extra 6in to just swap roadside if I ever blow it. Cheap solution, but a lot of dead weight.

As far as turbos go I would like to see quick spool and stronger midrange. I'm thinking the GT2554 is for me, but can't afford a new one. Finding a good used turbo is almost like trying to figure out which girl at the party will lay you but is clean.

I'm not opposed to rebuilding, but am unsure where the line is on shaft play that means a rebuild alone won't fix it.

Sell the puck crap and get a real one. I would. The price difference will be less than a transmission. :)

You've got a point.

Since I bought the thing I've now added a six speed to my list. I'm sure if I get a real disc from ACT both the tranny and my left leg would appreciate it.

It was the cheapest thing that would do the job though.

a friend blew up a trans...again last night. He has an organic disc, lol.

If you put a stock disk with that PP, it will be like stock. Puck clutches have a pussy-light PP and a sticky disk so it looks good on paper. I've got the ACT extreme and it's badass. Pedal is kinda heavy, but so what? Couple weeks after I installed it and now I don't notice. It's exactly like a GT mustang if you've ever drove one. Heavy, but it feels good and engages well.

Stage 1
 

In the spreadsheets RED is pending, ORANGE is ordered, YELLOW is in hand, and GREEN is installed. So GREEN=SEX.

I'm including prices for posterity. That way newbs that actually search can get an idea. Left column is low seen in shopping, middle is high, far right is what I went (or plan on going) with.


Attachment 208933


This is the first part of turbo prep, which should be completed in the next few weeks. I had put on the radiator and aluminum top panel previously as the car had always had overheating problems, which probably contributed to my lil' bro blowing the motor.

I imagine the head gasket went, and all the oil went through the combustion chambers until it just locked. I am wondering if I can rebuild that head, though surely it will need new cams and HLAs.

I will probably way to do COPs until I get into higher boost, and don't want to play with too many variables at the same time when installing MS.

Stage 2
 

Attachment 208932


This part is pretty simple. The stock clutch was slipping as-is, and even if it had been in good shape, I hope to see over 200ft-lb, so needed a clutch with more bite, and will need a stouter rear end.

The rear end may wait until higher boost, more money, or failure. The clutch may be on ebay soon if I can swing for a real one from ACT. This was simply the cheapest thing that will handle the power, and I don't see my SO spending too much time in the passenger seat.

EDIT: I'm not sure what's going on with the sizing of the pics, just hang with me here.

Attachment 208931


This is the part that worries me the most.

And it can get expensive really fast. I actually haven't updated all these prices since looking at all the nice BEGi stuff. Putting good numbers here may make the call between ordering bolt-on parts and fabbing my own.

Let's just say I bought welding gloves today.

Attachment 208930


To me this will be the most fun part. Ran mills and swing lathes long enough to not worry about tapping the pan. I'm hoping to do a headlight mod to make hotside plumbing easier. To me this is where things really start shaping up. Maybe I've read too much SCC.