C_heath

Thats right, it was free. So my wife's aunt bought this 1997 1.8 PT white 5 speed brand new in 1997 and drove it 196,000 miles. Last year, it started showing its age and making some sounds and she parked it. Since I am their insurance agent, she called to remove the insurance. Several leaks, a dead battery and a noisy pilot bearing made them make the decision to get rid of it. She asked me if there was a place they could donate it and I was like yes, you can donate it TO ME lol. So they did. Ive had it now for a year and probably have not put 300 miles on it ( because of the noisy bearing) but it has a new top and really dont need much. Its actually in the shop today getting a new exedy clutch for the pilot bearing noise. The factory clutch was still good but I went ahead and replaced it all. OK SO, Ive made some tenative plans and yes, I have been reading countless build threads on here for a year and I feel like I am a bit more knowledgeable than I was. This miata is my 6th car so It wont be a daily driver but keep in mind that I am 46 and the wife and I plan to drive it to the mountains and the beach 4 hours away from time to time so I need a reliable package. So far, I have put a new battery in, fixed the leaky valve cover gasket and CAS oring and already have both cam seals and crank seal along with a new gates water pump and timing belt for when it gets back from getting the clutch. I can install all of those pretty easy. My mechanic skills are slightly above average. I can do brake shoes and oil changes pretty easy.




I want to turbo this car and I want to do it myself. After a year of reading I have realized that 300hp is probably not possible on this car on stock internals and having the reliability that I need for a beach drive. Please look at my build sheet and let me know what you think. I would love to have at least a reliable 250hp. Keep in mind that I do not want to take this car off the road for a lengthy amount of time. I would like to purchase a used 1.8 and do all of the work at home and install the motor when its done. I can get a used 1.8 complete ready to crank around here for $450-600




Flow:

Megasquirt and 550cc injectors (ev14 etc or equivalent)
Learn the art of tuning while those 2 items are in the stock car




Purchase used 1.8

Disassemble, Toss all the accessories

Send block and head to local machine shop for hot tank and hone and head inspection, use standard bore and stroke if possible




Internals:

Forged Rods

Forged 9:1 pistons

ARP everything

OEM head gasket

All New Bearings

Boundary oil pump
ATI Damper




Turbo: FM full setup to run 12-15 psi




Trans: Full 6MT 6 speed swap

Clutch FM stage 1 with 10lb flywheel




Stock Valves and springs????? i dunno here*******

also coils? stock?

FM stage 1 Koni yellow shocks with FM springs. Im old, no coilovers lol




Mishimoto Radiator and OEM fans or an equivalent radiator

Now, I do know how much all the above will cost. and yes, its a $1500 car but, you only live once and I have the means to do it over time. I just want someone else to lay some eyes on my tentative process. About keeping the stock internals. Personally, I think thats a terrible idea after spending that much on a turbo kit. Or else I would try it.

Thanks guys!

tomrev

Looks like a fun plan, but I would go with the 640 injectors from Flowforce. Nigel is a member, and vender here, you will want the headroom over the 550's for the power level you are planning.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Koni yellows for the Miata are some of the worst shocks available. They chose terrible damping curves and will make your teeth chatter.

All Miatas have coilovers from the factory.

Look into the Bilstein offerings for good damping rates for the platform.

Stock springs are designed to allow the car to contact the bump stops as soon as you begin cornering. This gives them a very rough ride when they get older because the car sags and you contact the bump stops often. It is desirable to increase the spring rates and shorten the bump stops to allow car to stay out of contact with them during normal spirited driving.

borka

iTrader: (1)

Why are you wasting money on a clutch that you have to throw away as soon as you install boost?

SirSkripto

He can run that clutch if he runs 8 pounds of boost. I'm not entirely sure if the clutch can handle more than that. I also have a stage 1 in my boosted miata and it's fine, but I only run 8 pounds of boost too so....I don't know. I'm a noob.

C_heath

ok, Ill step up to the next level. Thx

DNMakinson

iTrader: (3)

Where are you located?

C_heath

NC