How's it going ladies and gents of Turbomiata? My name is Ryan and I am a rather new owner of a 1994 Miata that I picked up a few months ago. I had decided that I wanted a Miata but wasn't expecting to pick one up any time soon but I came across one on CL for $1000.00 which in the end I got him down to $800.00. It's a Red 1994 Convertible, 5 Speed with a 1.8L engine with 181,000 miles on it, new Black convertible soft top and a set of Megan Coilovers with about 2000 miles on them. The reason I got it so cheap was mommy and daddy wanted it out of this kid's driveway and it had a bad sounding head, bad slave cylinder, a few exhaust leaks, most of the clearcoat is gone and has some rocker rust. I bought it without question because to me all that was fixable with the knowledge I have, the people I know, and my connections.

I am currently working on a functional OEM "rebuild" with a 1999 Head swap. After I get her down and on the road, she'll get set up with new wheels, seat and cage and after that it's time to start collecting parts for Turboing my 1.8. I owned a 240sx before which I parted together a kit for my 2.4L Ka, and I plan to do the same with my Miata. I'd like to do a T28 build, but before I lock that in, I will do a little more research on here.

Here are some pics:

Car:


Initial Cleaning:


Disgusting Neglected Engine Bay:


Strip/Clean/Delete progress for engine pull:


Engine Out/Bay Cleaned:



1999 Longblock w/ Head Overhaul, ARP Head Studs, Fidanza Lightweight Flywheel, Exedy OEM Clutch, Nology Hot Wires, Lightweight Crank & Water pump pulleys, OEM Pumps, Starter, Injectors, etc. $300!:


Rebuild Parts:


(Felpro Head Gasket Set, Rear Main Seal, Oil Pan Gasket, Gates Timing Kit & Belts, New Water Pump and Slave Cylinder, National Crank Seal, NGK Spark Plugs, 180* Thermostat, Bosch 02 Sensor, and PCV Valve, all for under $300 New)

Some more Shiny stuff:


I also received my 949 Extended Stainless Clutch Line today, and my I.L. Competition Motor Mounts will be delivered tomorrow. I have about $1300.00 left in equipment in mind to conclude stage one of my build, half of that is the exhaust system, little bit for engine build, and rest additional toys.

 

Get a proper crankpully

 

Props to that.

 

Welcome to the forums Ryan. Great job cleaning that engine bay.
As Oscar said, replace that crank pulley with an original one that has a vibration damper. Oil pump gears are known to fail with those aluminum pulleys.

 

You should thank the guy who put on that crank pulley - it's probably the reason you got a '99 long block for less than I paid for a '99 head...

 

Well as I had said at the top I am only swapping the head, I am not using the crank pulley and am probably not going to even sell it because I wouldn't like the idea of someone decreasing the life of their Miata 1000% as fast. Only pulley I would use if I were to swap out my stock one would be an ATI Damper, but that costs almost as much as my car did... Yes I have an idea of what I am talkin' about, I am not new to this.

99mx5, thanks for the props on the engine clean and fooger, I bought the long block from a personal friend that sold his Miata months before, and I thank him quite a bit. Work on the engine was done by him and another personal friend. As I mentioned in the first post, I purchased it knowing the resources I had.

 

Thanks for joining, Miahtahere!

 

I'm blown away to see a relatively clean (and rust-free-ish) steering rack on a Chicago 180k mile car.

Nice buy.

 

Welcome aboard. Thats a nice start to a great car. Any pics of the old 240 lump?

 

My pleasure, I have been lurking for a little bit, but I have updated the plan for the Miata, so makes sense to start researching now.

Thanks! Car was originally from Ohio at one point in time and I think that there was a good chance that it sat there prior to the previous owner, to me, have purchased it not realising what he was getting himself into. The frame is not perfect unfortunately but I can't expect perfect around these parts. I have an accord so it won't be daily'ed during the winter.

Thanks for the words, old hump can be found here. Car was originally from Florida and was purchased with a rust free chasis. I kinda over paid but was a great car for over 4 years. I had everything for a nice turbo build but had to scrap it because I lost my job. Made a huge profit off parts though.:






Off the top of my head: 15x7 +0 Enkie 92 Meshies, KSport Coilovers, Sway Bars, NISMO Power Brace, SPL V2 Tension Rods, Greddy Front (not in pic) & Cusco Rear Strut Bars, Megan Racing C-Pillar Bar, Welded rear Differential, Custom rear seat delete panel, S14 Kouki seats, Koyo Radiator w/ Dual Slim FAL Fans controlled by a Greddy Multiswitcher, Enjuku Racing Cooling Panel, Polyurethane Motor Mounts, BuddyClub Spec II Exhaust, etc. etc.

 

Nice project

 

Thanks Nolan.

I actually just picked up a Flyin' Miata Dual Exit Exhaust System with Magnaflow resonator over the weekend for $200.00. It just adds another aspect to a quality budget build. I went from expecting to spend just under $600 for a quality headerback exhaust setup to now spending about $250. I decided just to gut my stock Cat for now instead of buying a test pipe seeing when I go turbo I will be making a custom one piece downpipe and the exhaust i bought already has a 02 Bung installed in it so I can run my wideband off of that.

Question about that. Is there a distance that is either too close or too far from the turbo to have the wideband run from to ensure proper readings? When I was researching for the 240 I want to say I read no closer then 1', no furthur then 2'? Correct me if I am wrong.

 

The proper O2 distance can vary between sensor to sensor, and you should check your sensor's documentation. However, the common number I hear regularly is 18" to 24".

 

Thanks blaen, atleast I was in the right ballpark. I am probably going to be going with an AEM UEGO Wideband, i've always been fond of them and my friends have run them successfully.