When the install was complete, we found a very loose, rattling ac fan. Doubtful that the single radiator fan would suffice, i was on the hunt for some replacements.

The mishimoto dual fan shroud assembly came today, and is in it's new home.



The intake parts came yesterday, so i made a short ram for it. Need to make a heat shield, and trim the upper hose so ease fitment.
Which brings me to the cooling system. There is a small leak under the intake, probably the Honda heater line. Furthermore, the heater hoses are pinched, and should be a molded type. I'll be spending this week working on a solution for that, before my vacation.

Here's a teaser of how she runs. It's a poor video, but you get the idea...https://youtu.be/GxySzdHVQ0g

 

Thanks David.

I just called for some sort of sleeping accommodations, nothing available. i'll try some of the alternative ones. AMP isn't going to happen though, no way i can make it track worthy and make the event.

Back to the car. Had some more teething issues yesterday, not sure if it's a Dan issue or something else. The car threw the belt on a test drive, once i stopped i found the lower two alternator bolts missing. I thought i had them tight, but it is completely possible that i missed it. The other option is the bolts walked out from vibration coupled with the angle from the shimmed upper bolt. i don't know.

I ordered one size smaller on the belt, and was able to get the 7 rib version.

So, if i am able to make MATG, this is what has to be done:

• Fix belt issue
• fix coolant leaks
• fix heater hoses
• modify exhaust to tuck it better
• Install new brakes
• alignment
• wire in cruise switch
• dyno tune (7/31)
• find a room or someone willing to split one

Plus, i'm gone for a week in between! Fun stuff. I do have a solid plan for most of this, i'll update as i go.

Dan

 

Attacking the coolant leaks, but didn't get much time on it. Here are some part #s for what i used:

Heater hoses: I bought three and a connector.
Dayco # 86115- 90* bend, 3/4 to 5/8.
Dayco # 80653- 5/8 straight heater hose coupler
Dayco # 80400- 5/8 90* bend
Dayco # 80401- 5/8 90* bend, with a longer leg

The top three parts adapt the larger honda heater pipe to the heater core, in an S shape (with some trimming)
The last hose went from the Kmiata coolant plate to the other side of the core, no modification necessary.

For the other hose leading from the tractuff adapter to the thermostat housing, i am installing a 3/4-5/8 straight barbed coupler in the line, and running a short 5/8 hose to the tractuff adapter. If that adapter had a 3/4 bung on it the stock honda hose would work just fine, but no amount of tightening will seal the larger hose to the smaller nipple.

Last leak i'm aware of. The heater hose nipple on the Kmiata adapter plate was leaking. I had put a bunch of teflon tape on it, and made sure it was tight enough, but that didn't work. This time we are trying a liquid teflon sealant. I bet Hondabond would work as well. Fingers crossed!

For the thrown belt, i will be trying a 5060420, which also crosses to a 6PK1065. I'll post the results. Can't find anything in a 7 rib design that has the desired length.

Dan

 

Oh, something i meant to ask earlier. After having the dash out and doing all this wiring, the fuel gauge is wonky. like seriously screwed up!

I filled the car up after the swap, gauge read Empty. put about 4 gallons into it, and now the needle reads full.

Over the course of putting 50 miles on it, the gauge was reading 1/8 tank. I went to fill it up again, thinking "is the lack of a tune THAT bad to my economy?"

she only took 2.5 gallons. You can watch the gauge go down as you drive. Does anyone have an idea on where to begin, or what to check? I pulled the cluster and checked resistance on the 3 inputs to that gauge, i was getting some strange readings (but i don't really know what i should be getting). There is an IGN source, Ground, and F (which i assume is the wire from the sender)

Thanks.
Dan

 

Worked out some more bugs on the car after vacation.
Here was my list from 6/27:

• Fix belt issue
• fix coolant leaks
• fix heater hoses
• modify exhaust to tuck it better
• Install new brakes
• alignment
• wire in cruise switch
• dyno tune (7/31)
• find a room or someone willing to split one

Everything is done except the tune, cruise, and brakes, of which parts should arrive by the weekend.

Belt:
In an earlier post, i mentioned getting a 7 rib belt in the proper size. That one didn't work out, so the belt I ended up using was a 5060420 with a single washer. Good tension, easy to install. I'll put some miles on it and see how it settles in.

Cooling system:
I had several small leaks, i'll try to document them all.

1. Kmiata water adapter- was leaking at the threads for the heater nipple. While it's possible to do this in the car, it's not ideal in the slightest. None of the teflon tape actually made it through to the adapter, despite how much was on the threads of the nipple. This time i went with liquid ptfe sealant, as mentioned before. So far so good!
2. Tractuff water bypass- same issue as above. same fix.
3. The 3/4 to 5/8 adapter leading to the tractuff bypass was really tough to fit. Now i'm thinking that the hose from the t-stat housing is actually 5/8, but was worn out. It was a very tight squeeze to get that hose on the 3/4 adapter. This is another item where it would be much easier if done before the intake went on, and before the cooling system was together completely. The next time i have the intake off, i'll have a new honda hose to install.
4. Heater hoses- fix as described above is good so far!

Exhaust modifications
Many of the clunks and rattles are gone after gaining exhaust clearance! We had to adjust the bends where the pipe goes around the differential, and rotate the midpipe to where it tucked inside the trans tunnel. I did have to trim the header flange where it meets the subframe, as others have mentioned. That part would have been much easier out of the car.

Cruise Switch
I am trying to make the NA switch work, but that switch is a momentary-on style, instead of a standard NB switch that holds it's position. I'm told that some people have made it work, but looking at the diagram I don't see how. Google-fu turned up nothing. Does anyone have any leads? I will probably just run a rocker switch in the meantime.

Alignment
Went smoothly until it was time to install the alignment locks. the tolerances on the subframe are just tight enough that i had to grind off the edges of the lock about 1/16" no big deal, but noteworthy.

Other issues
The alternator wasn't charging, and the battery was toast. I bought a reman TSX alternator from a local supplier. no more ebay garbage.

So we have a lot of progress! I think the only real big expenditure left is the tuning session.

Dan

 

Next bit of progress! It's been pretty slow going with some hurdles and family obligations.

Brakes
After a ton of research, I decided to go with the V8R 11.75" floating rotor kit up front, with TSE relocation brackets in the back with the 10.9" sport rotors. Tuning will be achieved with a wilwood prop valve. This seems to be the best compromise between performance and cost.

So, out with the old and crusty, in with the new hotness!

Fronts:






Quite a difference, that's for sure!
It's worth noting that the factory brake shields need to disappear. 3x12mm bolts, some tin snips, a hammer and chisel made short work of them.

Proportioning Valve
This one gave me a fit. It came with the standard wilwood fittings, which i knew wouldn't work with the miata lines. Taped to the package was the three fittings i'd need to adapt to the miata; a union for the front line and two adapters to go into the prop valve.

I installed the adapters on the workbench. Since they're tapered NPT thread, i installed them dry. After installing on the car, they would not stop leaking- and what's more they seemed to have seized in the valve.

I had to remove the valve from the car to check it out. I was able to remove them with the bench vise, and then check the threads. There was some aluminum caught in the threads of the adapters, but nothing that a dye couldn't solve. I chased and cleaned up the threads, and they seem ok. Went back with some teflon liquid sealant (rated for 10k psi, figured that would do). Installed back on the car, and it's holding pressure like a champ, no leaks. My best guess is that the threads in the valve are straight, and require sealant on the fittings to work. The wilwood fittings come with sealant pre-installed.

Rear brakes
On to the rears. I'm in the middle of this still, since the installation isn't as straight forward as you might think. First of all, the shields have to be addressed, like the front- but they do not bolt in place. It looks like they're pressed in between the hub and knuckle. Since i already aligned the car, i opted to massage the shields. i'll remove them the next time i need to pull bearings or something.
To make the TSE adapters fit, the shields need to be trimmed at about the 6:00 position.
For the rotor to fit, the shields need to be bent straight at the ends. That required cutting some slots to let it flex.

When mating the calipers to the TSE brackets, there was some casting on the caliper bracket that needed to be shaved to allow the caliper to bolt on. Nothing structural nor difficult, just not what i was planning for.

At that point i went to back out the piston to install the new pads. I found the adjuster and backed it out, seemed to work fine. When adjusting the brakes after, the adjuster seemed to do nothing. i could get about a turn and a half before it would just give a ton of resistance. None of the movements seem to effect the drag on the caliper either. I've never messed with this style of caliper before, is that normal?

Then the adjuster came out, and looked like this:


The guys at work say it should auto adjust, and that if i have slight dragging it'll be fine. In my head, i want to be able to turn the screw and feel a difference... i'll put it together and test it and see.

I'll get some pics of what i did tonight, i have to finish the left side and make the cuts anyway.

Dan

 

It doesn't auto adjust. You should be able to turn the adjuster to the point that you can't spin the rotor by hand. Unfortunately, that caliper is probably trash.

 

I hate those damn adjusters. I can't ever get the emergency brake to work right.

I'm using the same setup front and rear and like it a lot. Using Singular clamshells and ducts, too.

 

I definitely can not lock the rotor with the adjuster. it turns freely for about a turn and a half, then gets super tight. I find this odd considering the piston retracted without any issue though...I'll check the other side tonight.

I also ordered a pair of calipers just in case. Do you guys recommend any sort of maintenance or lubrication to the adjusting mechanism?

Did you find that your TSE adapters placed a bit of stress on the parking brake cable? i don't think it's actually binding, but it is definitely more of a stretch to get it on.

Dan

 

It's a stretch but not too bad.

 

Yeah, it's ugly. The 6:00 position is to clear the new position on the caliper. Can't believe i didn't snap a finished photo...

Interior:

Some minor changes inside. I finished adapting the NA cruise master switch. It's function is really just a 'cancel' switch with the way it's wired, but that's fine by me.


Also installed the radio and NB2 console:



That NB2 console is nice. What a great investment! I also attacked some interior rattles with some felt tape. The upper windshield plastic piece rattled pretty badly, should be much better now. I would have tested it, but the weather was pretty intense last night!

Engine Bay:
Last but not least, i put some real ground wires in place of the temporary test pieces.




I've put another hundred or so miles on it, even took it to a local Cars & Coffee where i was surprised how much attention it got! It's a good feeling to be parked near 6 digit supercars and have a significant amount of interest and engaging conversation.

Next Steps:
Found the Kmiata coolant adapter is leaking, and from researching these types of adapters on K engines it's pretty common. The fix is hondabond, as per usual in the Honda world :P
Also going to hunt down some exhaust rattles. I think i have one at the header/subframe, and another in the back at the muffler.

MATG is coming quickly! Hope to see some of you there.

Dan

 

Top tip on the dust shields: Just remove them entirely. Rears are a pretty easy job with a cold chisel, fronts unbolt.

 

I admit i didn't spend much time looking at the rears, they seemed pressed in or something. the fronts are gone completely. I'll remove the rears next time the wheels are off.

Dan

 

They're "captive" in that in order to remove them intact, you'd have to do a wheel bearing job. But with the right size cold chisel it's a 2 minute job per corner.

 

And they are actually splash guards to prevent hot rotors from warping when you drive through a puddle. All they do on a track car is prevent the rotors from cooling as well.

 

The progress from the last two weeks has been slow but significant. Made a lot of clearance for the exhaust and header, which cut down on a lot of NVH.

I also got the ECU mounted in it's final position. While some of you fab artists could make something beautiful and functional in 20 minutes, i was looking for something close to what i want that I would then modify to my needs. What i found was this:


An ECU cover for the passenger footwell of an EF Honda Civic. Now to see how much modification is needed...

After some test fitting, it seems that the modification needed is really, well, zero. The upper left hole of the plate fits in a stud under the dash, the rest i wrapped in felt tape to mitigate vibrations. I bolted and velcro'd the ECU to the plate, then attached it on the stud. The result is very solid and quiet. Best $20 I've spent on this project!



Stuffed the usb cable into the glove box and it's done.

Had the car on a lift to check things over for the trip. Here are a few under car shots.



Short work week ahead, then to the tuner Wednesday night, on to MATG the next day. Wow! Never thought i would make this event.

I realized that i haven't really discussed the positive aspects of the build. I tend to get wrapped up in the doing and details of the project

First of all, it's quick. Not uncontrollable, just really strong. One of the best features is interstate driving, if you want to pass, just squeeze the throttle! There's plenty of torque to go around.
Merging on the highway? Look ahead, pick your spot and go. No worries. I had a Cadillac try to deny my merge yesterday. Lol- NOPE! that's right. This isn't your hairdresser's Miata anymore.

See you all this week.
Dan

 

Good job getting it all sorted for the trip! look forward to seeing the car there!

 

Got buried, so i'll just ask rather than read.

What trans/diff combo is this thing?

2) Can i drive it?

 

Thanks! You guys provided a ton of motivation to make this happen. Can't wait to put some faces to names.

1- It's a 5 speed, with a 4.10 Torsen.
2- I'm happy to toss the keys for a couple of mild test drives. It will definitely lack the grip of your machine. Also will lack the noise. XD

 

I'm trying to find someone as stupid as me who did this swap with a 6spd/4.30 combo behind it. I've been in David's car on track, and it hauled the mail, but the gearing combo made it feel "lazy," and that's just not me, dawg.

But yes, mild. A leisurely jaunt halfway down US28 and back from the resort. I'm not into hooning other peoples' babies. It takes me a very long time to get comfy in/with a car, so i'm kindof a bitch when you put me in a new driver seat under the best of circumstances.