On a whim I became a Miata Guy. Bought this the day after V-Day '09 and got to drive it on weekends for a whopping 9 months before I decided to do a ground up restoration. Rockin' on Day 1 with 17s


Got a steal from a guy who just bought a M3 and didn't want it anymore. Came with a T-25 turbo, MOMO seat and steering wheel, roll bar, and little else including HVAC. Oh, and a permenant oil changing system from all the leaks but I didn't care. At first.



Come to find out, the manifold had a small warp and after sucking two gaskets, I decided to address the issues and rid our garage of the rotating cardboard pieces used to absorb the dripping oil. Having owned several English cars and a 510 with side draft carbs, I decided to pay a little homage to the English cars of yore and restore the whole damn car and go with IRTBs. Out with the old...



...and in with the new.



About 90% of the electrical clips broke during disassembly and the engiine bay was a really sweet two-tone red from a previous master cylinder leak and "touch up". I ended up getting a whole new wiring harness and painted the bay Rust-Oleum speckle grey to help cover the sins.
Some of the rebuilt motor/transmission includes:
-Capri VC powder coated and pinstripped with oil catch can bungs welded in.
-Joy Fast VC dress up bolts from Rev9
-TODA Racing adjustable cam gears
-Gates Racing timing belt
-Integral cams... Stage 3 intake and stage 2 exhaust
-All new valves, springs, guides via 949Racing
-Cometic head gasket
-Racing Beat exhaust header
-79mm pistons 10.6:1 pistons and rods via 949Racing
-New bearings, polished crank, and a bunch of labour at Miller's Automotive.
-ARP main bolts and head bolts
-OEM oil pump, water pump, gaskets, thermostat, all new plumbing, and a laundry list of other small things from the dealership.
-Bosch alternator
-Rebuilt transmission and SPECS stage 2 clutch and flywheel.
-New baffle, pick-up tube, dipstick, dipstick tube - all OEM
-ISC Racing oil pan powder coated to match VC.

Here is a more recent shot of the engine bay after installing the Mishimoto radiator and fans as well as the Jenvey IRTBs.






Being an almost two year restoration and not really just a quick rebuild, I took my time and saved up for a variety of parts and pieces. Some will certainly be flame worthy, I'm sure, and some will be MT Approved like this and was one of the main reasons I joined MT.net



I'll post up the parts and pieces shortly.

TL;DR - Car is currently at TDR in Dallas getting the last few things wrapped up i.e. fuel pump/filter, some plumbing, suspension tuning, engine tuning. Hoping to have it back mid-November and then onto body and paint. As I last saw the car.

 

Very cool, but I would build a plenum and put the turbo back on

Have you dyno'ed it yet?

 

Very clean engine and engine bay. That is an attractive motor.

 

Exterior parts and pieces for the body shop include Barchetta front bumper, TRAP 120mm lip, MOSS lo-pro lights, and GV extractor hood.









Project-G side skirts.



Project-G bikini top.



GV Tails and Simpson shorty bumper.



YSCC trunk.

 

Welcome, Stoly!

 

Love this build. When it's done right, all motor is sexy time. Can't wait to see this thing in real life! Definitely a retro-ish look going, which again, when done correct looks oh so nice.

 

Proud Supporter!!

Motor looks fresh. I r jelly.

I think that combo of exterior parts is going to look mean as **** once its buttoned up and painted.

 

Wheels, tires, brakes, suspension, and bracing parts and pieces in random order as I go through my Flickr pages...

BBK.



Carbing STB.



XIDA-S 700/400 w/ helper spring option.



RB front sway bar (rear OEM sway bar delete).



6ULs 15X9 w/ R-S3s 225/45/15



Boss Frog arms.



949Racing rear brace.

 

Normally I could care less about side skirts, but I approve !! Im looking them up now

 

Thanks guys! Some miscellaneous stuff...

St. May exhaust.






ZOOM center console & revlimiter window switch.



Corbeau A4 seats & harnesses.



Self-Flaming Moment! Wanted a more comfortable seat and whilst they fit, they are too tall with the Corbeau slider brackets. Looking at getting some custom brackets made so I can use them. If not, I'll sell and start over. My goal is to be able to take the car on longer trips ergo the desire for a recling/lumbar seat.

MOMO wheel and hub.



ZOOM mirrors w/ long arm option. Carbon fibre sections will be painted to match the body and stickers will be removed.






Custom revlimiter gauge faces.

 

Progress looks ******* and looks like the work/attention to detail is top notch. Pretty damn nice build for sure,


except,


Is "pay homage to...." really the only reason you want from f/i to n/a? With your skills you could have a monstrous turbo setup, just wondering why you chose n/a.
I'm not hating because you pulled it off quite well, just wondering.

 

Thanks, and no. Well yeah, kinda. Two years ago I was naive and bought into the IRTBs-add-tons-of-power hype. They were one of the first things I actually bought once I decided to restore the car. So, at the time, it seemed like the best of both worlds. Fast forward to now and though I've learned a lot of hard lessons I have no regrets. It'll look and sound great and already reminds me of my old bug-eye Sprite. Future power mods? Perhaps. 'IRTB and turbo' rolls off the tongue quite nicely. In the interim, I can't wait to actually have a driveable car.

P/S - Full Tilt Boogie - Not running yet but will post up dyno's once it finally does.

 

I asked him the same thing the first time I met him.

 

Phenomenal build quality you have going, nice work!

Sam
Renown Performance

 

c c c **** that is a nice build.

 

Gorgeous engine, always loved the cleanliness. Why oh why haven't you done a reroute though? If anything just for more cleanliness.

 

I'm loving every bit of this car! Not gonna lie, I'm really jealous of your valve cover. I dunno what it is about them, plus I can never seem to find them. Where did you manage to find it??

 

Wow! Very nice! A lot of this reminds me of what I intend to do soon. Is that Jenvey ITB's I see? I didn't see anywhere what kind they were. Look forward to seeing dyno numbers, curious to see what it makes. Mine will be very similar except 1.8 instead of the little guy.

 

Sweet work!