Another new MECCS member

[rory_a]

I'd been looking for another project car for a while, since I got rid of all my VWs, and basically finished what I wanted to do to the STi until it becomes a dedicated track slut. Now that the STi is a dedicated daily driver and day-care commuter, I'm hesitant to even autocross it in fear of breaking something.

So, I searched Craigslist and whatnot trying to find something that peaked my interst - AE86s, 240SXs, other VWs, Porsches I couldn't afford, etc. I ended up picking up a Miata as I've had a hankering to mess one up for a while. It's pretty rough. But it was fairly cheap. It should end up being a cheap little car to thrash around and sell if a decent offer comes my way. So, I'll be swapping out the suspension, fitting wheels/tires, maybe doing some interior work, and throwing it around. First up, though, is maintenance.


Basic stats - '91 Miata, base 5-speed model manual windows but it does have AC and PS. Former owner was a smoker. It stinks. Need to vacuum it and steam clean, and not sure if that'll make a difference.
- 203k on chassis - but apparently the engine has 60k.
- 1.6L short nose.
- "The guy that had it before me had it all ready for racing with a bunch of bracing and stuff" - this equates to a set of sway bars.
- Some repaint, and honestly some of the worst work I've ever seen.
- Special Rear Window Package, pics below.
- Special Seating and Roll Protection Package, pic below.
- Special Suspension Package, pic below.
- Special Super Spark Package, pic below.


The day (night) I brought it home, in a heavy rain and wind storm, on shit tires (and honestly a ton of fun):



The STi is sleeping outside until I get the back window fixed


The next day, last Saturday, embarking on some maintenance: oil, tranny fluid, spark plugs (couldn't find a decent set of wires as Summit was off limits for fear of flooding. I took pics first:










Special Rear Window Package:






Special Seating and Roll Protection Package:




Special Suspension Package:

(Stock)


Illumina with lowering spring (I have the other three springs, brand new, but only the one shock):



Special Super Spark Package:





That's all for now. Parts on the way. Timing belt service, coolant flush, rear diff, etc. And I might address the Special Spark, Suspension, and Rear Window Packages.

[rory_a]

When I picked up the car it the left front fender had been repainted amount other pieces. It was nice and glossy and matched the rest of the car, but had some crazy runs:










I wet sanded that down. Got a little light at the front in the fender "flare" valley, but I'm not worried. The rest of the Lao is pretty beat, should blend right in. Will update with finished pics once I find my polishing gear. So much better having a rough, sanded fender than a glossy runny fender though.

[rory_a]

Got some parts in. Uncool stuff like a full timing belt kit with all timing cover gaskets and water pump, tstat, etc. When I pulled the plugs each plug hole was full of oil. Figuring I have a VC gasket leak, so hopefully that'll be cured.

Swapped the spark plug wires with a new set of NGK. Feels a little more peppy, nothing crazy though

FM VMaxx non-adjustable suspension came in as well, but the NB top hats were backordered. Still hoping to have them in by the weekend but that's not looking bright.


And, wheels came in. Gonna take some work to get them to fit, but shouldn't be a problem. I'd like to make the stock fender "flare" more pronounced when pull rather than reduce it. Just hoping hat works as planned.











Rota RKR in 15x8 +0 in Magnesium Black. Nice slight variation from basic matte black. I think they're perfect for a little ratty nostalgic flare.

[Bob Danger]

Love the wheels, let me know when you go to sell them.

[rory_a]

Lol will do. They're pretty heavy but I love the look of Watanabes and they look great on Miatas so I couldn't pass them up. I'll likely run them for a while, didn't find anything else I liked as far as styling goes. If I get serious (read: rich) I'll pick up a set of 6ULs in 15x9 or x10 for a track set, and keep these for the street. But I'm figuring as long as I have the more driver suspension, this will be a driver, on driver wheels/tires.


Speaking of selling, though, I'm contemplating selling the STi. Don't need the car payment, and out of garage space.

[sperry]

Wow, that paint is crazy bad! But at least the color matches. Mine's touched up with non-matching plain flat white over the factory paint.

Here's the list of everything I've had to do on my Miata since I got it (not including the mods, just maintenance stuff):

Timing belt
Water pump
Oil pump
Oil cooler
CAS o-ring
Valve cover seals
Rear diff seals
Main and cam seals
HLAs replaced
Lubricated window cranks
Clutch slave cylinder
Hawk HP+ brake pads
Motor Rebuild:
- planed the deck
- bored cylinders +0.50mm
- reground crank
- Manly forged H-beam rods
- new OEM pistons/rings
- blueprinted/balanced
- new dash gauge temp sensor
- new OEM head-gasket, etc.
- new OEM bearings
M-Tuned coolant re-route (that's sort of a mod)
Mazdaspeed competition motor mounts
New Exedy Light Flywheel & Stage 1 Clutch & Pressure Plate
Wheel bearings & extended lugs

Does your car have the HLA tick? Mine was really pretty bad. I guess it's actually more of an annoyance than a problem, but since Cory was pulling the top of the motor apart anyway to do seals and the buckets are like $7/ea I figured why not. After the first half of that list, I overheated the motor at RFR and killed a rod bearing and decided to rebuild the motor over picking up a used one. All that work ended up costing about what I paid for the car initially. But, man does that motor sing now... sure, it still makes no power, but the throttle response is amazing. Or that's just me coming from the turbo lag of a WRX after all those years.

Anyway, double check your motor mounts for sure... they shear in half pretty much once a year if you're racing. I signed up for the Mazda Motorsports Development program... you just submit 2 race results per season for the Miata (autocross counts!), and they give you tons of parts at near-cost. So I was able to get the heavy duty competition motor mounts for like half what they sell for in the wild. When Bob and I pulled the motor, we found the mounts literally torn in two... the only thing keeping my motor in the car was the gearbox and the motor mount cups. That alone might be the reason my motor seems so much peppier since the rebuild... it's just not slopping around under the hood.

Also, if you need to do the CAS o-ring... (I think the 1.6 and 1.8 use the same gasket)... I've got a handful of the good viton rings. I had to buy a minimum order and used 1 of the 5, so if you want one, LMK. They commonly cause leaks down the back of the head/motor.

[rory_a]

These will all be addressed with my timing belt swap (CAS o-rings are part of the kit I picked up from Flyin Miata, and picked up their tool kit for the install as well):

Timing belt
Water pump
CAS o-ring
Valve cover seals
Main and cam seals

Will also flush the coolant. Rear diff fluid swap is also in the works. Oil and trans oil both changed, plugs, wires. Not much leaking - though it looks like I might have a coolant leak (brownish lightweight fluid, no oil smell) so I'll check coolant lines.

Considering the coolant reroute and a few other bits, but only in due time. This winter might see some little projects like that. Main focus right now is getting a couple weeks of commuting to learn it before I have day care duties in January.

[MattR]

M(iata)ECCS sucks, M(ini)ECCS is where it's at, especially since our membership caps out at 1.

All this talk makes me think you guys should start a race team called "Box-of-hammers racing" .

You guys have taken cars in various states of disrepair and turned them into some pretty sweet track machines. I knew very little about Miata's, but have enjoyed reading all these threads and seeing all the potential....

[rory_a]

exclusivity != superiority


I'm just hoping I don't end up having to rotate my tires after ever solo event with the open diff. Already looking to swap to Torsen... So much for budget.

[rory_a]

Oh, tires were delivered as I was leaving for work - just need the NB shock mounts so I can get the suspension installed. Thing bounces like a caddy over low frequency, large freeway bumps/dips.

[Kevin M]

Originally Posted by rory_a

exclusivity != superiority


I'm just hoping I don't end up having to rotate my tires after ever solo event with the open diff. Already looking to swap to Torsen... So much for budget.

Don't worry about the diff. The anti-tire wear device mounts immediately above the accelerator pedal...

Besides, the Torsen just makes you smoke both rear wheels when you're too heavy with the throttle instead of one.

[rory_a]

You mean the 80-90 horses of fury?


I'm sure it won't be much of a problem with the new rubber, but the worn tires that are currently on it like to slip!

[rory_a]

Ran into a little setback during my timing belt swap...








No idea what I'll be able to do just yet.

[Dean]

Is that an actual gap on the left side of the key?

It almost looks like the key slot was ground wider/deeper and a longer key was welded in offset and ground to change timing by a degree or 3. Do some research. I bet that is a alleged performance mod or some such. Anything weird on the cams? Maybe to use non matched heads to the block?

[rory_a]

Nothing special as far as I can tell on the cams or head. My impression is this crank suffered from "short nose wobble" with a wallowed out key slot, and some shade tree did a DIY to fix it and get it back together in a hurry, on the cheap. That is indeed a gap on the left of the key about a mm or two wide. The crank/key failure is such a common thing with the 1.6 short nose I doubt this was done as an improvement.

Then again, anything is possible...

[rory_a]

* advancing the timing for a little bump in low end torque is a common mod, and I was planning to set it at 14* BTDC instead of the stock 10, but that's done by simply rotating the cam angle sensor, no need to heat cycle a notoriously weak crank.


Basically, currently trying to figure out a way to afford a 1.8 swap. This 1.6 is essentially trash - at least the crank is, and no sense spending the money to rebuild a 1.6 when a 1.8 can be had for about the same money.

[sperry]

I think you're right Rory. That looks like a home grown fix for a busted crank on the 1.6.

A machine shop might be able to fix it, but probably not with it on the car. So, you're either replacing the crank, or repairing the crank... either way, it's got to come out of the motor. Or you could just try to weld it up some more like the previous owner did and drive it like that until the crank pulley tears off, then fix whatever else breaks then.

[sperry]

FWIW, I'm running 16 deg BTDC timing on my Miata. At our altitude we can get away with a little extra timing over the 4 deg everyone else runs.

Then again, I did just have to rebuild my motor.

[rory_a]

I was contemplating finishing the timing belt job and driving it til it blew, but the though of taking out some of the peripherals, tranny, etc., has me thinking its best to cut my losses and call t a day.

So, on a hunt for 1.8 headers, peripherals, etc. My budget's all gone, though, so I'm basically screwed and will be waiting it out.

[rory_a]

Since I was planning to keep this updated in the form of a build thread, I picked up a 1.8 in San Jose just before Christmas. Will be working on prepping to pull out the 1.6 and cleaning up the 1.8 for install. The engine I bought had been installed in a 1.6 car, pulled for LS swap. So, I scored a 1.8 header mated to 1.6 down pipe so I can retain my O2 sensor wiring, and it came with an older Flyin Miata clutch and pressure plate setup as well as an older Flyin Miata two-core all aluminum radiator.

Scored some sore of aftermarket exhaust at Nevada Auto Wrecking. I'll try to install that in place of the current exhaust to see if it'll mate, or have it modified to mate by an exhaust shop once I have the 1.8 swap installed and driving as I don't have a tig setup. (if I did, I'd be pie-cutting the tip to make a turndown )


Also, installed the Flyin Miata V-Maxx non-adjustable coilovers. Debating flares. I'll eventually add some, just out of funds so it's not the best time...


Fronts on ( a bit too low currently):




As stated rears are a bit too high, but are at around a quarter inch above axle/perch contact:




Front sitting on tire, have some work to do:




Did some work on the left rear (all I had time and patience for), it was so cold that I had to heat to the point of bubbling paint to avoid cracking, and cooled so fast it still cracked and flaked. Guess I'll be doing a bit of touch up:




Rear needs to go down a bit, front needs to come up a hair. Haven't been able to find any reports on how much the V-Maxx settle, so I'm going to raise the front to match the rear and see where I'm at after a few hundred miles.




Will be doing enough fender work to move the car around, then onto the engine swap. The wheels look good enough I'm happy with having to pull the fenders this much. Planning to hammer and dolly in a bit of a flare. At one point on the future I will end up with some flares so not super concerned with perfect body work.

[sperry]

Rory, my wheels are 15x8+20 also... Why do you need so much more fender clearance that I do? I put just a slight roll on my fenders and I clear just fine. Are your tires just that much wider than my 205 starspecs? Or are you just that much lower?

[rory_a]

+0.

Also, I think an inch lower in the rear at this point.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by rory_a

+0.

Also, I think an inch lower in the rear at this point.

Oh, your earlier post said 15x8+20... +0 makes those pictures make more sense.

[rory_a]

My earlier post was wrong


Almost bought a set of flares today, and would have if they still had them

[rory_a]

This car, and image, deserves to be whored out. Basic inspiration behind the styling path I've taken with the Miata: