Leebo from Lexington, KY
 

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum. Just saying hey. Unfortunately, I'm getting out of the turbo world on my miata (it has been GREAT FUN) and now going to a V8. I didn't even know this forum existed until now (actually... I don't know how I missed it). I was more heavily involved with turbo modifications up until about 2 years ago when I started a family. Since then, my miata has been trouble free until a few months back when the tranny failed for the 2nd time. I had been planning a V8 for a while and am now taking the plunge. In addition to selling off the turbo parts, I still hope to post here on occasion with a little contribution from working on miatas and turbo specific issues for the past 12 years or so.

Here's my ride:
http://topdownmx5.com/images/bodywork/IMG_0095a.JPG

Car looks good with that hood and bumper, very clean. What V8 swap kit do you plan to use?

Thanks.
Kit is from Monster Miata (small block Ford based).

Engine is:
302 stroked to 331
AFR 185 heads
Edelbrock Performer RPM Air-gap
Custom ground cam
T5Z tranny
3.27 Ford 7.5" IRS MN12 diff
670cfm Street Avenger Holley carb

Expecting around 325hp to the ground and an enjoyable sound from the hood and tailpipe. :) It's not as cheap as going with a larger turbo setup, but that's not what I'm after with this car now. The V8 bug bit me hard.

Leebo, are those the Racing Beat Type II nose and side skirts? Did you also install the Racing Beat back bumper? If so, could you please post pics of the back of your car?

What turbo did you have on? Did you already sell your turbo kit's parts?

BTW, really nice looking car and welcome. Keep us informed on your progress.

Rafa

Thanks for the compliment. Yes, RB type II nose and side skirts. Also the bumper and spoiler. Simpson Design hood. Here's a rear shot:
http://topdownmx5.com/images/bodywork/IMG_0087.JPG

The turbo was a sleeve bearing T28 w/ a 0.48 A/R compressor and 0.49 A/R turbine. This turbo was actually sourced directly from BEGI (long story), but was part of a FM3 kit. I haven't sold the kit yet, but am now parting it out instead of selling it as a complete kit. About half of it is said for and I'm hoping to let the rest of the community know of the other parts. Hopefully someone on this forum will be interested. It's been a great kit; I'm just going in another direction now.

good lookin!!! welcome....

what turbo stuff do you have left?

nice ride leebo :bigtu:

Thanks for the comment.

I have the entire kit, but all is spoken for except for:
-1.6L BEGI/FM log style manifold with port for external wastegate (such as a Tial 35mm/38mm)
-Downpipe to go with the manifold above
-T28 turbo itself; rebuilt at Limit Engineering less than 5k miles ago
-1.6L Mk II Link/FM ECU w/ MAP sensor, air temp sensor, knock sensor and serial adapter
-(4) 440 cc/min RC injectors
-BEGI heat shield

I think that's it. I have more details on my website but haven't priced the parts individually yet. I'll post something appropriate in the classifieds section soon.

buy another t28 for the other side of the v8 and you'll be allowed to stay :bigtu:

Thanks for that pic. BTW, your car looks awesome. I plan on buying that precise kit very soon. Is your T28 internally or externally gated? Shoot me a pm; I might be interested in it.

Please keep us abreast on your new project.

Best regards,

Rafa

would you sell the link?

and send me a pic of the oil gauge to whitt.nicholas@yahoo.com and il prob take it

Leebo, I'd also be interested in your heat shield.

Thanks,

Rafa

Great looking car. Best of luck on the V8 swap! After riding in my friends 450hp GTO i dont blame you.

I really like the body kit and how it turned out. The side fairings make jacking the car up a bit of a pain, and they take a bit of a beating, but look nice. I'm sure I scored a couple thousanths of a hp with those. :)

Will send PM. But to answer your question on the T28, it is for an external wastegate. It had an internal, but the actuator was removed and Corky Bell had the gate welded shut. Looking back, I should have just left the internal WG on for the ride as the down pipe has a threaded hole (currently just plugged) located right behind the gate that could have been used as a stop to pin the door shut for an external WG application. Because of the welding (even though it's a fairly small tack), I would be a little hesitant to try to un-weld it and put on an actuator. Probably better off w/ the external WG setup for this turbo.

FWIW, I have a T3 .60 with an external Tial 38mm wastegate installed in mine. If I were to buy yours I would also have to get a new manifold I'm interested in ;)

With regards to the heatshield; Chad (cjernigan, he is DA MAN!) told me it might not fit mine but I'm not looking for anything pretty, just useful to lower the temps in the engine bay around the turbo. If you have a pic of the heatshield I would appreciate you posting one.

About your Racing Beat kit; I wouldn't mind the pain when jacking it. :) and it must surely provide more than 2,000 ponies :giggle:

Thanks,

Rafa

Here is an older pic of my FM3 turbo system when first installed (the bypass valve and cross pipe were replaced with a BOV valve). This pic shows the heat shield and where it is mounted. It mounts on the head and hovers over the turbo. Honestly, my feeling is that it is mostly cosmetic and doesn't offer much benefit. I certainly don't see how it would shield the brake parts, and that's likely the most important thing needed to be shielded. That said, I never ran with a heat shield (except for this one for a very short period of time before installing a EGT sensor in the manifold), and didn't experience problems from the heat.

http://topdownmx5.com/fm31.jpg

A link to a pic of my shield for sale is also here: http://topdownmx5.com/images/ForSale/IMG_9236.JPG

Here's a video I shot from with the camera in the "mouth" of nose. Audio quality is a little rough not because of wind noise, but because it was overdriving my audio input to my camcorder. I used a remote barrel cam and a remote mic wrapped in foam and stuck under the dash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D4osCGQYIU

I can't get the embedded YouTube thing to work below, sorry. Click link above: