So for the last 11 months or so I've been collecting parts to build my project Miata, and I'm taking a few days off of work next week to officially start working on it. I don't expect to get through it all in just four days but I do hope to put a hefty dent in the list.

On the agenda for my 94 M:
-Replace seals in donor manual transmission
-Timing belt and water pump replacement
-Automatic to Manual transmission conversion
-Torsen install
-Energy Suspension master bushing kit install
-Shock and spring install
-NB shock mount setup
-Godspeed radiator and ebay fan install
-Coolant reroute
-Tap the oil pan for the eventual turbo kit
-R package front and rear lip install
-Boss Frog roll bar install

This winter I'll paint the car british racing green... I'm currently torn between painting the bay while the engine is out and just planning on pulling it again once the car is stuck in the garage for the winter.

So, knowing what I'm about to embark on... Anyone have any suggestions, tips, or hustler-esque rants for me?

 

Take your time, try not to rush anything, and re-look over what you've done a couple times....just to make sure everything is right.

If I had it to do over again, I would 100% paint the engine bay with the engine out. Whenever you can do it, do it when the engines out.

There are things you can do now with whatever free time you have to make the 4 days work more to your benefit. Pull whatever you are going to replace (if you already haven't) before hand, this way those 4 days are strictly install days. Start pulling the interior apart for the rollbar install, remove the auto tranny, things like that.

Goodluck man! Don't forget, take your time and have fun with it. That's why we car guys do this in the first place.....for fun.

Vash-

 

get good friends. be very coy and make them do most of the work, pretend you are really doing your fair share.

 

Brain has it packed down to the tee.

Pull motor and tranny first, then paint the bay, then instal all your manual tranny stuff, then pull front subframe and do your bushings and front shocks and reinstall as one unit.
Then drop motor and tranny back in after you replace WP TB and all your seals.
Def. paint it all now with motor out.
The more stuff you do with motor out the better off you are. Good time to do the rear main seal.
Do the coolant re-route with motor out. Radiator and fans last on list, wait till motor is back in.

I would pull the subframes out and do all the bushings in one run and then put the subframes back in with altered assembled shocks attached already.

Leave roll bar last as you can always do that in several hours if you don't get to it, so just leave the interior alone until you are done with motor swap and suspension stuff.

You can probably assembly your shocks/springs/top mounts before hand and then swap in as one unit when you do the bushings.3


Oh yeah, and have fun!!!

 

Just as a suggestion.... if you are going to go with BRG.... do the 01 SE colour. The 91, and 94-97 (CDN) BRGs are all base only paint. No clear coat. The 01's had a base clear combo. I find that without the religious application of wax, the paint oxidizes quite easily.... It's still a factory colour and the 01 paint is really close to the M1 BRGs.....

Dave,

 

Make sure said friends are not newbs. If they are, expect to spend 2x the time- doing the work and explaining every action.

 

**** that, friends talk and slow you down, not to mention get in the way. If you want it done right, do it yourself. You never know what buckwheat is ******* up while your busy trying to do the TB install.

I work much better alone with my ipod on. If I have people around I tend to BS and get sidetracked. Plus whenever I have someone "try" to help me, they usually do something wrong and I end up being a dick.

If your looking to have a play date with miata friends, invite some people. If your seriously looking to get some **** done, do it yourself.

Vash-

 

If I end up going with a real paint job for the body, I'll definitely consider the 01 SE color. I may end up doing a $50 paint job, though, with boat paint from Top Secret Coatings.

I've already got the TSC boat paint but I'm probably going to pull a vash and paint the engine bay flat black just so that I don't have to commit to the $50 paint job just yet.


I do all my car work solo as well. People distract me, and I'm very particular about how things are done. No one will be more careful with my car than I will be myself, and if something has to get messed up I prefer to only have myself to blame.

 

Moss coolant spacer and new oem clutch hard line were waiting for me when I got home this morning.

This afternoon UPS delivered my shocks and FedEx dropped off the new clutch and flywheel.

This evening I'll finish disassembling the parts car and then get the work area and my tools organized. Tomorrow the real fun begins. :-D

 

All that sounds good. But I am way to unorganized. I tackle one thing at a time. I just don't have the shop space to keep it all organized. Something will get lost that way. Or you might forget what goes where and waste alot of time.

I would go ahead and start pulling the motor out. Then "TAPE UP WIRING" in the engine bay and paint it. I wouldn't do the torsen or roll bar till last. That way you know you will be able to drive it. I would get the motor, tranny and engine bay done first. The rest isn't as time consuming in case a problem occurs.

Just my 2 cents.

I think you can accomplish all that in 4 days easy. That is if your pulling long hours and not running to the parts store or junk yard every ten mins. That will suck a day up.

In 2 days: 1st day me and my brother spent looking for fenders, rearend, bumper cover, and hood. 2nd day we replaced the hood, bumper, fender, shocks, brakes and rear end in his camero. Then we droped it off at paint. We didn't play. But we finished the car before Christmas for my little brother.

 

With the parts car gone I've got plenty of space to get organized and get to work on the project car.


Boss frog dual hoop, godspeed rad, 12" ebay fans


Horn button, 'engine start' button, timing belt/water pump kit, fumoto valve, RX-8 420's, painting/cleaning supplies, mazda comp motor mounts, metalcat, R package lip.


Braided clutch and brake lines, master bushing kit, bag of zerk fittings, new illuminas, ground control bumpstops, NB top hats, LE tie rod ends, new battery.


COP parts, LC1, XTSS clutch, Prolite flywheel, FM springs, Hella horns, redline tranny and diff fluid, new master cyl, shifter boots, Mazda 6 shift ****, slave cyl rebuild kit, R package rear skirt.


Misc hoses/gaskets/seals, roll bar padding; roll bar, skirt, and lip installation hardware.

First up is the engine maintenance, suspension build, diff install, and auto->manual swap.
LC1 and injectors will go in with a Megasquirt once the above is all settled.
Metalcat will go in when I turbocharge this bitch (which will be after I've got the hang of tuning the squirt on a non-FI motor)

Like to think I've learned a lot here in the last several months. Super excited about actually putting together all this **** I've been collecting.