Buy a bit that has a smaller shank.

 

No time for that... Had to order this online and I need this motor finished today lol

 

Yeah, don't grind the bit for a threaded hole. It will wobble, and it won't seal.

Take it to a machine shop if you've got one in the area. I have a number of bits turned down to 3/8" from my previous job in a shop.

If that doesn't work, the pan is thin enough to use a step drill to reach your desired size. Just be careful not to go too far.

 

Too late lol.... ground the bit and it didnt wobble too terribly. Got it tapped...

The drain looks angled down but its not.... Just the angle of the pic

 

Seal it up with some epoxy or Teflon and it will be fine. Looks like it came out good.

 

Who are we kidding, I'm sure it could dump all 4 qts on the ground and the engine would still throw a rod from the bandaids before it did any damage to the turbo.

 

Welp motor is bolted up... Tomorrow will be the day it cranks over lol.

Just need to finish connecting all the plugs, ground straps, vacuum lines, etc & top it off with fluids.














I need a few drinks when this is all said and done lol

 

Well that ended..... rather painlessly! He arrived at my work around 11am this morning, and I was almost finished buttoning everything up. Fired it up around 12, and surprisingly it started within 3 cranks!! Had a fuel leak so we shut it down, fixed the leak, and everything is good to go. I don't think I would do it all again if I could go back in time.... But at least I have the 6spd and lots of scrap metal to cash in this week. Glad it's all over with and I can get back to some normalcy!

 

Nice man. Did you tell him to fix his poz tuning?

Also, i lold irl at the "backyard turbo" sticker. Like that's a good thing ( in his case ), hahaha.

 

Haha yeah I pointed him in the direction of Megasquirt... Not sure if he will or not but I tried. And yeah the sticker fits, unfortunately lol

 

Ugh what a shame... One of the new owners of this car blew the motor that I swapped in. Damn shame too it WAS a perfectly good 99 motor with only 20k miles verified by paperwork that the kid had when I swapped it in. Makes me sad panda but when will these kids learn?!?!

 

What did he do? Unplug the wastegate or something?

 

No idea... The guy who is trying to get rid of it now bought it from a kid who bought it from the kid who owned it when I swapped the motor. I'm sure one of them hooked the wastegate back up (I left it disconnected when I swapped the motor and told the kid to leave it that way until it was tuned)

 

Little update on my "Free" 6 speed...

Finally got around to swapping it in yesterday and it feels great! Gears are smooth, not too 'notchy' and reverse is like butter. Guess I got lucky!

... Now I just want to get my hands on a miataroadster extended short shift kit lol

 

definitely same car , minus wheels and backyard turbo sticker. as far as the mazdaroadster short shift kit, im with ya. however ive been reading that the MS 6spd is one of the best , so maybe new bushings for me. still dont know, 300 bux for a shifter is um.... yea... ... besides i just found a leak in my turbo today not to happy about that. glad to hear the tranny is as good or better than you hoped.

 

Haha yeah $300 is a lot for just a shifter.... But at least it comes with the bushings for the internal rebuild, aand both runner boots. That justifys the cost a bit more. I will probably splurge on it eventually.... I love to waste money on things I don't really need lol

 

Nah man **** the shifter. any less and you'll be missing gears. If you want to shorten it cut the threads a bit or get a deep drilled shift ****.