1.8 VVT cheap DIY engine "refresh"
 

Got an 01 I am building into an HPDE car. Eventual plan is to K swap it, but the time line of parts availability and when I will have the cash together to order 8k in parts might knock me out for the 2023 track season.

So im looking at doing a refresh of the BP thats in the car and running that for a year while I get all the k-swap stuff together.

Car has 200k+ miles on it. Wasnt driven for 4 years. Ive never heard this motor run. It needs some seals as there is lots of evidence of oil leaks. If I am going to pull it to reseal it I might as well slap bearings and rings in it.

Looking at buying the following from rockauto all in standard size.
Rod bearings: MAHLE / CLEVITECB1453H
main bearings: MAHLE / CLEVITEMS1802A
thrust washer: MAHLE / CLEVITETW472S
rings: MAHLE / CLEVITE41608

For the bearings there is also a set that say they have .001 extra oil clearance and are considered a "high performance" option... rod bearings there isnt much cost difference, but to do those in the mains is like 3x the cost... any reason to do these over the others?

Also will be doing timing belt, water pump, etc... Should I look at doing an oil pump? Boundary? ATI balancer? Again trying to go cheap and get a season out of it, but also hoping to be able to sell a "refreshed motor" when I do the k-swap vs. a motor I dont know shit about.

Looking at a full Fel-Pro gasket set. Ive had good luck with them in the past. Probably will run a 99-00 head gasket and do the SuperMiata coolant relocation kit at the same time. Probably will throw a clutch at it while its out as I am swapping to a 6spd. I believe the clutch will work with the k-swap so im not out anything there.

Anything else I should look at doing to the bottom end?

What about the head? Again dont want to get crazy.

Rods. If you want to sell the engine, as "refreshed", it makes sense to me to be able to sell a 300 WHP engine rather than a 230 +/- WHP engine.

DNM

Doing something very similar. Any progress on the build?

I havent moved forward because I dont have a space to work on this car in the garage yet.

I'm still torn on what to do because I want to k-swap the car, but I also dont want to miss out on a whole season of tracking, which the timeline of the k-swap kit showing up could cause that.

I was also lambasted on the facebook group for asking this same question LOL...

Lots of keyboard jockies out there. But do what you want! If you really will K-swap ($12k total in today’s market) then just find a used motor to throw in over a weekend and track. But there is nothing wrong with a NA BP motor in a Miata for fun factor.

I already have a k-swap car. This motor is going in a Miata that will probably take my wife through competition school and hopefully beyond.