Well, this is my brother's car.
i'm helping him build it.
He bought this miata for 750$ with a blown motor...the piston shattered and luckily did not scratch the cylinder wall...yep..cylinder #4..probably cooling issue.
we removed the engine and took it to get machined, hopefully getting it back in two days.
this si the car when we got it


when removing engine:


over the weekend, we got a little carried away on the "removing stuff we don't need" and ended up completely rmeoving:
dash board, carpet, a/c, heater core, and pretty much everything byt the wiring.
my brother getting ---- about cleaning...


end result as it sits on my driveway right now:


the brother helping disassemble the engine:
note*this is his first time ever playing with an engine...it bit him back and he bled ....bad!

we then proceeded to power wash away 15 years of dust and other disgusting matter form the engine bay and inside the car.

we are having fun and have big plans for the car.
we are on a budget but also want to do things right.
the plan is to go boost...no idea how yet, but we'll figure it out.
engine wise we are probably going with either weiseco or supertech pistons @ 9.5~:1CR, Eagle Rods, DIYPNP for management, rmeoving EVERYTHING that is not necessary to drive the car including a radio!, ARP headstuds, skunk2 throttle body(gotta convince him of this).
the car already has a good stage2 clutch by ACT, transmission is sound.

we have a lot to learn and believe me, we've been reading non-stop.
i know these types of forums and won't be asking stupid questions wihtout searching extensively before.
hope to get a lot of help from you guys!

by the way, the car is a '96 STO Miata on Montego Blue (faded color though)
i believe it has what appears as stock rims...they are getting changed.

i'll let my brother update you more on the looks of the car since i am not really interested in that

he currently drives a mlightly modded MS3 '12, i drive a completely stock MS3 '10 and i also own a heavily modded mazda protege MP3 '01 @ 14PSI with mods too long to list...

Update: 3/8/2013
Total money invested: 350$
Machine Shop did the following:
cut the head slightly..didn't have to cut too much becasue head wasn't warped or anything
seated the valves, overall cleaning...thing is beautiful
cleaned the block, .20 over bore and honing
cleaned the crank, .10 rod bearing, .10 crank bearings, polished.
this is AWESOMENESS
nothing else done to the block.
was advised not to replace the coolant seals...



project keeps moving foeward.

Update: 3-13-2013
interior starting to take shape. changed the carpet for a NB's black carpet.
it seems like convertible top won't drop it..minor modifications might have to be done


Update 3-16-2013
carpet in, seats in, painted metal pieces on top of the gas tank, they were all rust-free but wanted to future proof.
install convertible top.
[IMG][/IMG]

 

My shopping Cart:
list of things to buy, bought and wish list

cgC4569-040 Cometic 94-97 Mazda Miata 1.8L 85mm MLS .040in Headgasket
arp218-4701 ARP Mazda Miata Head Stud Kit -4
arp218-5401 ARP Mazda Miata Main Stud Kit -5
Supertech Pistons @ .20 over
Manly Rods
Clevite77 rod bearings


wish list:
Energy Suspension 90-97 Mazda Miata Red Hyper-Flex Master Bushing Set
Mishimoto 90-97 Mazda Miata Manual Aluminum Radiator

 

future2

 

future 3

 

future4

 

Nice man, i really like that car. Glad to hear you guys are going to build it up right, are you going to be building the motor yourselves?

 

9.5 compression on a turbo build?

 

Noteworthy: The STO is an uncommon Miata, and those stock wheels were available ONLY on the STO. A grand total of 1,500 STOs, (and thus, 6,000 STO wheels) were ever produced. Given that there have been something on the order of 1,000,000 Miatas produced (and nearly half of those miatas are NA miatas), it would be worth keeping those wheels or finding a buyer looking specifically for stock STO wheels. This might be especially lucrative if you find someone who bought a used STO as a collectors item and is now looking to put OEM wheels back on it.

Just a thought...

 

Thnks
We are keeping the wheels.

As for the CR, we haven't decided yet but it may very well,be 8.5:1

I was told,these motors don't have as much torque as the fsde and going lower comp will further reduce the low end.
We want this car for auto-x, so low end torque is needed.

 

Why do you need low-end torque for autocrossing? You going to be running in the 1-2k rpm much?

At 8.5:1 compression, I find that there is, 75% of the time, an overabundance of torque available if I am to simply press the gas pedal a little bit harder than neccessary - the other 25% of the time, I'm between 4,000 and 7,000 RPM in second gear going in a straight line.

 

This. Why sacrifice on-boost power for off-boost power? If you want more power, just get in boost.

 

My shopping Cart:
list of things to buy, bought and wish list

cgC4569-040 Cometic 94-97 Mazda Miata 1.8L 85mm MLS .040in Headgasket
arp218-4701 ARP Mazda Miata Head Stud Kit -4
arp218-5401 ARP Mazda Miata Main Stud Kit -5
Supertech Pistons @ .20 over
Manly Rods
Clevite77 rod bearings


wish list:
Energy Suspension 90-97 Mazda Miata Red Hyper-Flex Master Bushing Set
Mishimoto 90-97 Mazda Miata Manual Aluminum Radiator

 

Why in the world would you pay the $$$ for an OEM Mazda oil pump, and not get a BE pump?

 

because i don't know any better?
lol

what's a BE oil pump...never mind,, i'll google

 

Boundary Engineering oil pump.

 

62 degrees...

Hmm, I can't think of any temperature standard for which you would use a 62 degree thermostat.

62 degrees kelvin....Oh hell no
62 degrees farenheit....Might as well gut your current thermostat and come back to the site in a month trying to figure out why your engine doesn't warm up, or come back in a year wondering why your engine lubrication system allowed your bearings to fail
62 degrees celcius... while 62 degrees celcius is finally within view of a faint glimmer of the realm of rationality from where it sits, your engine oil is still going to be far below its optimal operating temperature nearly all of the time; From a cold start in the summer, by the time your thermostat opens forcing the engine to cool, your oil is still trying to cross the 100*f mark - and you're telling it "whoa boy, keep that oil nice and frosty as long as possible" - in the winter when your thermostat first opens, your oil is still barely less viscous than the solid white grease last night that you scraped out of the frying pan you used to make bacon for breakfast yesterday morning.

Eventually - if you're cruising in the summer - your water temps are going to exceed standard thermostat opening temperatures anyways - since your car, by the natural laws of physics, will not efficiently cool itself until the difference in ambient temperature and coolant temperature increases to a point where your radiator sheds as much heat as the engine can put into it, which is most likely above standard thermostat opening temperature anyways - and in the winter, it will always be too cold - never quite allowing your engine oil to heat up to a temperature where it can perform its job well.

Manufacturers designed thermostats to do two things:
1 - get the engine up to optimum operating temperature as quickly as possible. This supports engine oil heating up more quickly as a side effect, which allows the oil to more quickly support proper lubrication, thus reducing wear-damage to spinny parts which increases engine life.
2 - once the engine is up to temperature, keep it there.

Finally: if your car is going to overheat with a 185*f thermostat, it is also going to overheat with a 62*c/141*f thermostat...every time.

So: Kelvin? Farenheit? Celcius? what am I missing? Does your 62* thermostat mean you have some sort of extra-super-secret-squirrel 62* ANGLE built into it?

 

 

Update: 3/8/2013
Total money invested: 350$
Machine Shop did the following:
cut the head slightly..didn't have to cut too much becasue head wasn't warped or anything
seated the valves, overall cleaning...thing is beautiful
cleaned the block, .20 over bore and honing
cleaned the crank, .10 rod bearing, .10 crank bearings, polished.
this is AWESOMENESS
nothing else done to the block.
was advised not to replace the coolant seals...



project keeps moving foeward.

 

Update: 3-13-2013
interior starting to take shape. changed the carpet for a NB's black carpet.
it seems like convertible top won't drop it..minor modifications might have to be done

 

wanting to go a different route with the build...
heard from multiple sources that the weiseco are not so good on these motors so i changed the set up a bit

My shopping Cart:
list of things to buy, bought and wish list

cgC4569-040 Cometic 94-97 Mazda Miata 1.8L 85mm MLS .040in Headgasket
arp218-4701 ARP Mazda Miata Head Stud Kit -4
arp218-5401 ARP Mazda Miata Main Stud Kit -5
Supertech Pistons @ .20 over
Manly Rods
Clevite77 rod bearings