Summit Racing. They are cheap.

 

I do not. I borrowed a friends and he wasn't too pleased with it (don't know the brand). It really aggressive and it was easy take much to take too much off the rings. It was just a little hand crank model though.

 

I know own a ring file tool, so yay. Factory style rebuild '94 block/VVT head should be done Mon/Tues. Sorry, but it's just to get the car running for now.

I need to hit up Singular for their mounts, but this is what I came up with.


Home brew metal break.


Tablet is mounted though. Wasn't that hard. The hard part is getting the right USB hub and connectors.

Using this for audio connected to an amp. Then rewiring the speakers entirely.


The amp will be behind the pass seat. Can't fit it under the seat, or your butt hits the top of it. It's only 2in tall.


Here is the tiny spot I need to solder to. Outer ring is on side of contacts and the inner dot is the other. Plan to wire the Power and Volume button to a set of momentary buttons. Those are on order.


To get the tablet to "click" in I slotted the tabs just enough to slot the tablet, with back piece, into place. This lets you carry the Nexus and dash panel around as one piece.


There are little nubs molded into the dash side of things. File/sand/dremel them smooth and put dash back together. Then the tablet will fit just fine and the dash panel fits back where it should.





Winter fun.

 

That is mighty clever.

 

Aaaanndd the machinist didn't get all my parts in, so motor isn't done being machined. With the weather here all the shipping has been hairy anyway. UPS brought 2 packages last week on Wednesday, but failed to deliver the other. Said it was due to weather. All three were in the Nashville hub the night before, but only 2 were deliverable? Happened a couple times. Oh well.

Didn't get near done today what I wanted. I swear I black out in the garage, or there is a time vortex at the door I don't know existed. Spend a the afternoon in the garage and almost nothing gets done. Tore the doors apart and regreased all the window tracks. Was so hard before it was really stiff to roll the windows up. Sorry no pics, but who wants to see grainy cell pics in a dark door?

Instead you should REALLY pay attention to what Locktite you get out of the drawer. These look way to similar.



Didn't buy specifically cause I know I would grab the wrong one.

 

Most of the tablet install is done. The right angle cable I messed with broke, but the setup was working during tests and amp gain adjustments. Stupid tablet slipped of the console and torqued the wires.

Had to do a little dremel work to get the speakers to fit.



They fit other than the back piece cutting.


Amp wired and ready to go. I used the existing bolts that go to the back panel. Well, longer stainless ones and nylon spacers under carpet to the brace isn't flexed and sits proper. The amp bolts, not screws, to the Xbrace. I didn't want a loose missile in the car in case of rollover.



DAC mounted


The factory speaker wire is tiny and has about 0.3-0.4ohm just in the dash part. I was really worried about using the factory speaker wire and extending it to the amp. So apparently my NB is already wired for power stuff I never had. The power window wire goes from console to door and is much heavier gauge than the factory speaker wire. So no it is amp-power window wire-door-speaker. All soldered and sealed. Also used the +12v at the window switch to switch the amp on. All other wires are run under carpets and not under where feet go, but under seats and consoles.



On another note. While the hard top was off I stuck a broom stick on the roll bar and I don't clear it. The seat could only get lower bolted to the floor. I clear the stick no helmet, but with it on it contacts the top of it. I meet some track rules don't I have to clear it? Did I read wrong? Since this is a 99% street/autoX car I'd like to feel safe around idiots in trucks around here.






Also the seat belts don't retract well. I swapped to the rollbar ones that are meant for the retract to work, but even when the guides are out of the car they don't retract well. I think the springs may be dying. They retract to about where they'd be if they were wrapped around a sitting person and slow to a stop.

 

Try leaning your seat back more. The Chump car team I run with accommodates a lot of different heights by having a pivoting seat. The taller drivers are just leaned back into the car more.

 

Goo. I don't want to take the seat out. It's a pain. I'll try it later and see if the holes in the mounts will allow me to just drop the rear holes down. I'l like to slot the holes in the seat bracket later so I can just loosen the bolts and slide it forward in case she needs to drive it. We are about 1-2 click from each other F-R in every car we've shared.

Also I'm pretty sure this car will be plowed by a truck, catch fire, or get stolen once it's up and running. Nothing seems to go well. Local engine shop was given the wrong dia. pistons last week. I might be able to get it tomorrow. Then cross my fingers I can assemble it. I really need to get the motivation to learn MS software, or find someone here who can help out.

 

I haven't drove into the MS software yet. I have an AEM EMS. SBrian2 uses a Tec (though he talked about switching to a MS2). I will ask around to see if I can find someone who's had past experience with it that's local. I'm friends with one of the guys from DIYAutone if all else fails.

 

That works. Not afraid to try it out. It is a Reverent built. Can't get the bluetooth to work with the tablet. It technically paired, but ecu sends no data. Might need its sensor plugged in to do things. Mess with it later.

 

Engine is here. Finally. It is a '94-'97 block, with VVT head and VVT engine internals. Budget limited me to going to a stock build. I did have the internals balanced for funsies. However, I took them to the lab on campus to check the weights. 8gram variance on rods and 1.5gram on pistons. Machinist completely took responsibility, fixed the problem, an now knows his scale needs replaced. Actually quite nice to have a local guy how isn't a total tard. Oil pump is wrong though, they shipped him the wrong one, and I broke a piston ring on accident. Sooooo maybe by end of week I'll have a long block.

Progress finally.


It's nice to have a mock up engine. Getting wiring started and hopfully the harness cleans up well. Also need to figure out some sort of N/A intake that uses my turbo intake box in the corner. No real reason. Just because. Thinking about leaving the FM turbo heat shield there to protect that corner from header heat. . . and get it back to turbo motivation.
'

 

Has anyone ever heard of using valve lapping compound in the cam journals during assymbly? I just opened the bag with the head in it so that i could redo all the VVT seals and once I got the cam out it looks covered in black compound inside. The "grease" feels gritty like compound. Wife felt it and said the same thing. Haha. I found a Google search of using compound to lap the cams, but nothing about leaving the compound in the head and installing it.

 

Disregard last. Just getting paranoid I guess. It's moly grease. Going to wipe it out anyway and use the lube I'm using. Sucker for uniformity. If I can get my school load done maybe I can get more done this weekend.

 

Still waiting on a piston ring set. Second try for the right oil pump was a fail. Was shipped the wrong one twice. Guess I'm going for a boundary pump. I have a hard time buttoning up a motor with a good pump and crap rod. So Manley rods are looking good.

Car tablet stopped charging so working on that. Never rooted a tablet before, but cyanogenmod won't overwrite Lollipop so far the easy way. More stuff to learn I guess.

Wiring for the ecu is slow going, but getting done as I/dad have time. Burned several hours debating about using unused ecu pins to clean it up, using unused wires in the dash to do the same, and stout beer. Over thinking things is the biggist time killer at times.

 

My really cool idea of LED red halo swithches for the tablet to the cosole were bunk. Switch was rated for 36v, but the LED was only 1.8v. 6 weeks for shipping for what is not what was advertised. Now to find no halo ones cause having it and not using it will **** me off.

Engine builder in California has done nothing in the last year about my engine . Supposedly he is getting me a list of what he has and sending it all back to me. Fingers crossed. If so I won't have to buy another oil pump, and I'll have rods for this engine. I'll just do another one this winter for the other car.

The wife is trying to convince me the car is cursed and to get rid of it. Not that the money pit is killing me, but that she's convinced if it EVER runs it'll be the death of me. She keeps coming out in the garage point at the car and yelling "it's cursed, sell it, scrap it, don't care make it go away, and get another one for all I care. Just not THAT one anymore. Buy an FRS, another Miata, this ones going to never run or give you a stroke."

Starting to think she's right.

 

Well i got my stuff from D-bag mcGee in California. Only took the threat of small claims and a road trip to California. I have my parts back and my money. Plus the wife got to see Cali. I need to order rods because a billet pump and stock rods seems wrong. VVT internal piston .20 over in a '94 block and VVT head is the final build. Need to finish wiring and the obvious random nut and bolt that will need to be ordered.

Not sure if I can blast a shop in my thread, but anyone who wants to use a shop in Temecula CA just don't.

Hopefully I'll have this running before my 4 year anniversary and it rounds out to the thing being dead just as long. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm curious if anyone sees something wrong wife using quick realease stuff on seat hardware? Would like to be able to adjust the seat about 2 clicks worth of factory seat on the hard mount seat brackets. Might stud the seat, slot the brackets one hole to another and run these.



Would allow me to adjust the seat just a little. The wife and father sit about 2 clicks forward on the factory sliders. Both may drive the car for Auto-X. Looking for ways to slot the sparco brackets and use something like these.

 

Glad you got all your money and parts back. Let me know if you need some help getting everything back together. Plus I owe you beer for the SR20 manifold.

 

Don't forget stout for the Mani and Porter for the crank. I have made progress. Now with more pistons and Manley rods.




Manley faces forward, because real men dont look back at explosions.





So clean and fresh.





Relocating the air vent. Grew up as an offroader.





VVT rebuild time





This end done . . . i think.

 

So pissed right now. 3 tries and this still happens. Oil pan gasket is going to kill me.

 

Got work done today. Ran into a few issues. Been tons of doing one thing, finding the associated stuff, cleaning it, installing it, and standing and staring for what is next. 3.5 years and 2 different living quarters later I'm doing this. Nice thing is that as I get stuff together there is less to sort through. I lost the oil gally plugs to the head and stole them from another cyl head. Other than that it has all slowly come together. It'll still catch fire and burn to the ground as soon as it runs, but at least there is hope the cursed project will conclude.




No fits.





Oh wait they do. Also made a little plastic plug for where the waterneck use to be.