Hey I am back, and I don’t think I ever had a build thread in here since the first time.


That said, I bought my car back, after seeing it sit for a few years in a field rotting away.


Here it is over decade ago

IMAG0191

new setup as of 2/24/11'


Here it is two years ago when I brought it home




and here we are today, hoping to mount the drivetrain this weekend. The engine has fresh seals, good compression and surprisingly healthy cylinders. The autotragic needed a complete overhaul, and I went along with it because that’s my schtick here. It’s got new upgraded friction disks and everything else. If it blows up, I’ll finally 5 speed swap it.







the plan is either go back to MSPNP or give arduino based a try. Also in search of a new hardtop, thinking about going carbon fiber this time on a lot of it.

 

forgot about this already, so far i've been using this build as a distraction from the bustle of life. Forgot how fun it is to work on a miata vs. the other shitboxes I own and modify.


Already have an issue, i rebuilt this 4N71B autotragic to handle a bit more power according to Level 10's specifications, and caused myself a pan leak because my dumbass used the gasket with the old steel pan and not sealant. So, now as it sits its excruciatingly slow weeping precious ATF all over my floor when i'm not looking.
My bushings are cooked, so that needs to be addressed. I will be printing my sway bar bushings out of solid TPU 98A as soon as I acquire MSM sway bars.

But, i have been slowly chipping away the stuff needed like:
-single piece hotside charge piping made, while keeping P/S and A/C
-dual row aluminum rad installed (yes, that's a universal fan spliced into a modified OEM fan shroud)
-$30 dollar downpipe made from pie cuts and scrap exhaust (im still a frugal mfer)
-rear bumper cut made, and now decided I will be adding aero this go around like rear diffuser, skirts and splitter. (might go fastback hardtop not sure yet.)
-replaced front wheel bearing hubs, brake rotors and pads
-replacing other rotted rubbers like fuel lines.






Still needing to get:

-wideband installed
-standalone ECU
-stop browsing forums, online shopping, instragram feeds, and finish the damn exhaust as I sit here.

 

Got around to finishing my exhaust, and decided this generation of the miata is going euro style with a center exit. I will never do this again, as measuring the symmetry was a big PITFA for me.


I am currently impatient with parts so I rummaged around in my old parts horde and actually found my entire early Y2Ks piggyback band-aid management (MSD boost timing controller)... and installed it. Until I can get an ECU, i'm just going to pretend its 2008 all over again!


Found my old Innovate Motorsports LC-1 wideband controller that I had in my supra, fixed that up and am currently installing it.
The wideband itself was removed due to moisture damage (My Mk3 Supra has louvers cut into the hood, one thing led to another after a rain storm...) and replaced with an MTX-L. In nostalgic frugal desperation, I dug it out and decided to fix the PCB. First by soaking it in 98% Isopropyl and scrubbing it with a tooth brush, I was able to free it of corrosion. Then, I heat gunned it to reflow the solder points, and resoldered new wires where they were shorted out. Thanks to old forums such as this one, I was able to find photos of the PCB some chad took, in hopes to get a USB port installed onto it (it never happened, but I am glad they took theirs apart).






After confirming it was working, I designed and 3D printed a new clamshell housing and sealed it up in good ol' zip ties and electrical tape.

Re-uploading the correct Innovate Motorsports LC-1 PCB photos for future generations:

, :

 

I decided to get a bit more grassroots hokey, I have plenty of OEM heatshields for the miata, and from past experience, these top mount ramhorn manifolds cause a ton of heat issues in the engine bay.
So, with safety squints and holding my breath, I took a cuttoff wheel to a heatshield, made some mounting brackets from pieces of unknown extruded aluminum I had lying around and made a new heatshield.

 

Hey dude, welcome back! I remember you and this car. Psyched to see what you do with it now that you have it back!

 

Thanks man! I am so close but now I'm being railed by electrical gremlins atm.


So update: got the wideband and boost gauges wired in, finished in the interior and decided to prime the engine for the first time to test oil pressure; I removed the EFI relay, turned the key to start and nothing!

Found out that the starter's internal parts were sourced from the bottom of the dead sea. Tore it apart to clean it up, and tested good as new.




Reinstalled, tried again and success, it cranked over strong and got decent oil pressure flowing. Cracked open a beer, opened the shop door and prepped for the first start, only to be highly disappointed. It turned over and over, not even a hint of firing. Had good fuel pressure, tested the CAS and it was fine, even the boost gauge was showing good cranking vacuum. Should have started with spark, but I finally checked that and there was nothing in all 4 wires. Checked voltages, wire condition, connectors, etc. and everything was fine. Started to smell fuel out of the exhaust and so I stopped cranking but at least I know the injectors are working. Removed the EFI relay again, and cranked the engine over with WOT to flush out the vapors. Checked the crankcase for fuel smell and nothing, so at least there wasnt much cylinder wash. Finally, I removed the coil packs and this is what I discovered:






Not just one side, but both are identically f*cked. So now I am in need of a new coil pack.

 

Dang, Pen is back?

Does this mean that need to blow the dust and cobwebs off the Miata?

 

Do it.


So, it's running, and thankfully it was just needing a coil pack.

(God damn I forgot how low these cars are)

However, my excitement derogated to dread after the first test drive... idiot me forgot to adjust the brake bands on the rebuilt autotragic transmission so now, about 40 bucks of fluid has to be drained to adjust the brake bands. Even with all the transmission slip, lack of shifting and gear hesitation; the engine is strong, has a decent power band even if it accidentally over boosted to 15psi when I wasn't even ready for it. (whoops)


(The step I forgot to do.)

I also rediscovered the reason I just upgraded my supra's wideband kit- not only did the controller short out, but it also has a bad bosch LSU 4.2 sensor, so that's going to need replacing.
So, now that it moves, I can be a bit more serious in replacing other things after fixing the transmission issue; such as wheels, roll bar, suspension, body correction, hardtop etc. etc.

 

UPDATE:

The bad news: Pen2_the_penguin is starting to think he doesn't know jack **** about automatics and is this ][ close to giving up and swapping in a 5 speed after 2 decades of being the turbocharged autotragic moron. Already readjusted the brake bands, and filled with new fluid. It's trying to shift but not well. Going to try and reset the TCM first before putting a 12 gauge slug into the torque converter.
Also, I am starting to think I forgot to replace the valve seals, or the restrictor in the turbo isn't restricting enough, just a light blue smokey cloud after a WOT hard rev in neutral.


Good news: The engine is really strong, and I think I build more torque this go around than I did before, only thing I did differently was port match everything for fun when it was all apart.

Side news: Miata might be too loud or I am getting too old.