jrmotorsports55

Been a while since I have done anything, as it has been cold, and I didn't feel like dealing with it. Got out in the garage on Thursday when it was 70, and ran the car for a while to get it up to temp. Got both the oil and water up to 220-230, and crawled under the car when I was done to make sure no leaks. No oil leaks, but did see a little coolant on the bellhousing. thinking it is heater core lines seeping a little when cold. Other than that, no issues. Went out yesterday and fabbed up 1/8 spacers for the k mem on top of the 1/4 " ones that are already in there. Should get me enough addl clearance to hood. Also scuffed the surface rust off the rotors as it has been sitting a while and had good buildup. Waiting to get poly exhaust mounts in the mail, and will then start working on exhaust clearance/banging. Hoping to start driving this thing pretty soon.

jrmotorsports55

Worked on the car a little the last few days. Clearanced the exhaust to the front k member where it was tight on the drivers side as well as the rear subframe brace, and added the poly hangers for the mufflers. Also added in an additional rubber exhaust mount to limit side to side motion, no more banging in the back. Next on the list is to get it on the hubstands and set final ride height, then align it.

jrmotorsports55

Quick update, ride height and alignment are now complete. Next on list is re-seal the power steering pump which has a small leak, and pull the upper intake to fix the small coolant leak which I think is coming from the intake manifold bolt or heater core line at the back of the drivers side of the engine.

jrmotorsports55

Update time. Pulled and re-sealed the PS pump last weekend. That is now off of the list. Pulled the intake, and I replaced one of the heater code lines which had a small nick, but I think the actual leak was related to cold temps and clamps not being tight enough. Ran it a few times to bleed the coolant out again, and have to top it off today after it sat and got nice and cold. I did notice a small coolant spot on the concrete under the back of the engine but it was drying up by the time I was turning car off, so I think it was residual from pulling the line that was puddled on the back of the engine and ran off when I started it. I rough installed the A/C lines as well to get things connected and figure out where the lines will need to be run. Still need to tighten things up/run vacuum, and fill the system. The minor intermittent oil smoke is still there, really thinking it is the valve stem seals, regretting not replacing them when I was building the engine. Live and learn. I'm going to leave that be for now, it can be a winter project, I just want to start driving this thing and see if there are any other bugs that appear. I also have hood vents to install when I get to it, and was thinking of doing some sort of oil pan shield, as it sits pretty low. May add an oil cooler as well. All little things that I will probably work on at later dates, as I really just want to start driving it. I opened the policy with Hagarty, so she now has the proper coverage for all of the time/money invested.

jrmotorsports55

Got her our yesterday for some run downs. First impressions, she is loud, crude, and fast! I may have to put actual mufflers on it as it is pretty loud, we'll see. Steering wheel is slightly off, so I have to make a minor alignment adjustment. The tranny whines a little when under load, when I rebuilt it I remember putting it a little on the tight side, thinking that will go away as it loosens up. The ride is a little rough with the VMAXX Extremes, but our roads suck around here, so that was expected as well. Was funny seeing the looks from people as I drove by. Back to the list of things to do.

Ford5.0

Would you mind sharing the particulars on your insurance policy? (coverage, cost ect.) Mine is currently on my regular auto policy with just liability coverage but I would like to change that.

jrmotorsports55

Hagarty, full coverage with guaranteed value of $15k and full control of parts and shop. No deductible at all, $377/yr. You must have a primary use car, this is for a second/collector car.

jrmotorsports55

Buddy of mine stopped by so we took her out for a little spin. Needless to say, he was VERY impressed about what this little car is capable of now. She definitely puts a smile on my face.

ToySnakePMC

Somebody owes us some current pics!!! Please 🙂 Glad all is well. Warning: the smiles will continue with all drives taken in the new toy.

jrmotorsports55

Yeah, it's an interesting car. Pics to come, still have a few things to finish.

2002LSCLE

Wow! Thanks for all of the posts, Jason. You have had more than your share of trials on this project. A study in persistence, for sure. I'm excited to see and hear it!

It's likely in a post somewhere but I didn't see it. I'm very interested in learning what you did for power steering, as it seems most folks try to retain the Miata pump. Did you do the same, or did you work with the Ford unit?

Cheers, and very happy driving. The weather is finally changing!!!
Bryan

jrmotorsports55

Thanks. Yes, it has been a long project, that is for sure.

Regarding the PS pump, I kept the stock Miata part and had Martin modify the ford bracket and pulleys accordingly. I believe he needs one of the stock Miata pulleys, and basically welds the portion that drives the PS pump to the Ford lower pulley.

jrmotorsports55

Had a nice warm day yesterday so I took her out for a longer drive on highway, then city roads, I wanted to see if I would have any overheating issues with traffic and such. So far, so good. Was nice to put the top down and cruise this car again after 4+ years. So far she has been solid, no leaks or issues. Next item to tackle is getting the A/C up and running.

jrmotorsports55

jrmotorsports55

jrmotorsports55

Added a few pics and a video my friend took of me backing the beast out.

MX-Brad

That sounds fantastic.

jrmotorsports55

Thanks, I appreciate it!

jrmotorsports55

Had the day off yesterday along with some good weather, so I took it out for roughly 30 mins of top down driving. Man, the looks this car gets are crazy. Good news is that there were no problems, temps stayed where they should, so pretty happy there. I plan on doing some more of these type of runs before I have full confidence in it, but so far, so good. One thing I noticed is that my speedo was roughly 5 MPH fast at 40 using the suggested 21T red gear. Used the gear calculator on LMR site with my gear/tire combo, and I need to try the 20T black gear. Hopefully that gets me more in line. I also stopped at the local store and picked up everything needed to get the A/C up and running. Need to go through wiring diagrams for the Mustang/Miata and figure out what I need to splice/connect to make this work.

jrmotorsports55

Put another 50 or so miles on her yesterday, first problem found. The outer drivers side CV boot is leaking grease on the big end and it is all over the inside of my rear wheel and suspension. Looked at the boot, appears it is just the clamp, no tears found. Looks like I have to get a better clamp and repack the grease, then should be good to go.

Gunpilot

Great job. Can’t wait to my first crank. What radiator did you use? That is my only missing piece right now. I have a set of the Ford Contour fans to use.

jrmotorsports55

I got the radiator and fans through Martin as I used his setup for the most part.

jrmotorsports55

So, replaced the speedo gear with a black 20T gear, hopefully that gets my readings in line. Got new clamps for the outer boots, and cleaned/replaced the clamps. Unfortunately, I found a small tear in the drivers side boot. I'm going to attempt to repair is, as I really don't want to have to pull/disassemble the axle to replace it. The leak that I had was between the boot and CV joint on the big end, there is only very small weeping when you push on the boot where the small tear is. We'll see how that goes. Also pulled off the Ford A/C compressor and cleaned it out with mineral spirits to get the old oil/gunk out, then filled it with ester oil and reinstalled it. Started tightening lines, and today plan on replacing/mounting the new drier, then I can throw a vacuum pump on it and see if it holds. We'll see.

jrmotorsports55

So, update in my adventures in air conditioning. Put the vacuum pump on it yesterday, and started the process of recharging. Lucky me, as I was charging it, my high pressure hose for my crappy, old gauge/manifold setup decided to blow and left a nice mess of neon yellow compressor oil mist over the entire engine bay. So, after a lengthy cleanup, I have to get a new manifold set before I can proceed with the air con.

Other issues of note, while it was running with the compressor engaged for a long period in my 80ish degree garage, the temp started creeping up. Temp gauge was reading roughly 230, and I had a little coolant loss from expansion tank. That being said, I had it filled to the low line when cold like you would for a Miata, but this new system has more capacity, so I am thinking that is something that I need to account for, and keep the level in that bottle a little lower than I have been.

This is the first time I have really had any overheating, and with the compressor running, the extra load definitely appears to make a difference. I am thinking I am going to have to shroud the radiator fans (based on the space I think I'll have to leave the one fan mounted as is to the core, but would have enough space to shroud the other fan off of the core). Also need to better seal the condenser to the radiator for A/C efficiency. All of the joys of building a custom car.

jrmotorsports55

Obtained some rolls of high density foam tape in various thicknesses and a sheet of aluminum. Time to pull the radiator and get to work sealing the condenser to radiator, and making a shroud for the fans.