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Quick update, been driving the car and since doing the shrink wrap fix, no leaks. Seems that the speedo cable leak issue has been resolved. Thinking of pulling out the Ford EFI stuff this winter and going with sniper setup. Still runs pretty rich, and not sure if I want to throw more money at trying to get 80s technology tuned or just go with the simpler modern EFI. I'm sure I could sell all of the Ford stuff and it would pay for a good chunk of the swap parts. We'll see.
Quick update, still driving it, once up to temp, drives pretty good, but still rich at idle (MAF ECU does not like the Stage 2 cam). I've noticed a slight coolant leak when cold under the intake manifold, looks to be the throttle body lines that I spliced together. The thing does not like to run good when cold, REALLY rich. Also, can't really use 5th gear at cruising speed (40), starts bucking. Ordered new 5th gear set from a V6 5 speed that will bump me to .73 from .68, should help with that as in 4th it drones a ton at 40 and drives me nuts.
Still trying to decide what to do with the EFI, Leaning towards pulling out the 80s Ford stuff and going with a Sniper setup (better support than FiTech, and finding pretty good prices on OEM refurb units with warranties), but that is a lot of re-working. I like the idea of self tuning, and ease of use, with modern tech. Lots of research to do first.
So, I ended up finding a local guy that is a well known chip tuner for the old EEC-IV set ups, and gave him my car yesterday to see what he could do. Unfortunately it was cold and raining all day (not the best weather for R1R tires, the thing tried to kill me multiple times on the way home), so he could not do any WOT tuning, but I can say that from what I could tell on the 30 min drive home, the drivability is WAYYYYY better. The 40 MPH 5th gear lugging is completely gone, the hesitation is gone, so much smoother. Very happy with the work so far. It's supposed to be dry today, so I'll try to get it out some more today just to see how it feels, and I'm going to take it back to him in the spring once it warms back up for some WOT tuning/adjustments since the weather screwed things up yesterday.
The coolest part is that this guy is well known in the Mustang/Fox Body community, and is a 9 sec class racer/winner, and had nothing but good things to say about the build. He really liked the car after driving it around for 5 hours tuning it, even in the crappy weather. Just a testament to how cool/fun these cars are.
Anyone looking for a chip tuner and willing to drive to Northern OH for the tune, let me know and I can pass along his info.
Ugh, been a while since it got cold here early and I parked the car in late October. Well pulled it out to wash it as it got warm here last week, and noticed some coolant under the car. This thing is a pain in my butt. It was bone dry all summer, no leaks, now that is it cold out, starting to seep again. Just ordered a rad cap adapter for my motive pump, and plan on pulling the upper intake and pressurizing the cooling system to see if I can find where it is seeping when it is cold out. Always something.
On another note, adding to my stable. I have a 93 MR2 with a Gen 3 JDM Turbo engine swap on the way to my house from the other side of the country. Looking forward to playing with that one as well.
So, pulled the upper intake and pressurized the system. Pretty good amount of coolant coming from the bellhousing area. I felt around and don't think it is the intake manifold, and since there are no freeze plugs on the back, I am leaning towards lower head bolts since they go in to the water jackets. Had a similar issue on the pass side and resealing the lower bolts fixed it. I figure it's the lowest cost place to start, just pull the bolts and reseal them and then try again. Fingers crossed!
Pulled the 5 lower head boots one by one and cleaned/resealed/torqued them to spec. 3 of 5 felt a little loose, and while they all had sealer, it may not have been enough. After running a die down each bolt to clean the threads, I applied a liberal amount of sealer and am hoping this fixes the problem. Going to replace the valve cover gaskets with rubber ones as the cork one that are installed are seeping a little oil at the bolt holes. We’ll see if I get these little issues under control.
VC gaskets replaced and heat cycled the car a few times over the last week. Found some coolant under it yesterday and started a post in the engine section. Thinking it is still bolt related, and may try to pull them and re-seal them with a different sealer. If that does not fix it, then it has to be the head gaskets as my pass side is leaking again, and on both sides, the leaks are the opposite corners of the block where the coolant passages in to the head are. The reason I am still leaning towards the bolts is that after resealing them, it was dry for the first few heat cycles/days, and would think that if it was the gasket, it would have kept leaking consistently. While under there, I also noticed the speedo cable adapter is leaking slightly on the other end (where it screws on to the Mazda cable) at the flange that clamps on the cable. Guess I need to add some of that heat shrink tubing on that end as well as the end that I repaired last year still looks good.
Never ends with this car. I bought another project car (MR2 listed in sig), and if this Miata does not stop pissing me off, it's gonna get the boot.
Well, after some time observing, I am going to try to put in K Seal cooling system sealer as I think it is just some minor seepage the corners of the heads where the coolant passages are when it is really cold out and the metals shrink. Hoping that will shore up the gaskets. I really regret not spraying the head gaskets with sealing spray before installing them. Lesson learned. Also going to fix the speedo cable adapter today to seal the other end where the flange is leaking transmission oil. Then the Miata is heading out of the garage for a while as I need to bring in the MR2 to get some work done on it.
I also am in the process of recovering the Miata seats with new leather covers. Passenger seat is disassembled, just need to remove/install the new leather.
Update time.. So, the car has been parked outside and it has gotten pretty cold, and I have run it to heat cycle it multiple times, and so far, no leaks since using the K Seal and running it a few times. Fingers crossed this did the trick. I plan on flushing the system in the spring to get the remaining sealer out and get it back to just coolant/water mix even though the bottle says you can leave it in with no problems.
No signs of leaking from the speedo cable either, although I have not really driven it, but hopefully the repair holds up.
I have the pass seat recovered and it turned out pretty good. Currently working on the drivers seat. It's going to be cold this weekend, so I hope to knock it out between today and tomorrow. I used budget eBay leather covers and the fit is not perfect, but I did not expect it to be.
So, update on the leak, been driving it around here and there, and have noticed coolant on the ground under the car again. Not much, and only really seems to show up after it sits a few days. Guess I'll be pulling the heads next winter to replace the head gaskets with the ones that have the rubber around the coolant ports. Live and learn, at least it is driveable at this time and I can enjoy it this summer. Big thing is getting through this outbreak, and hopefully still get the follow up tuning done later this year.
I love the looks and comments I get every time I take this car out, always gets attention. Can't get enough of "that's the best sounding Miata I have ever heard."
I do small engine repair as a sideline. I've had a lot of customers ask me questions about mine when they see it in my shop. They usually want to hear it run and I always oblige.
Quick update as it has been a while. Still waiting to get my final tune done, my tuner is backed up with all of the delays from Covid and some other stuff he has going on. Been driving the car quite a bit, it gathers so much attention. I have people pull up next to me all of the time asking what's under the hood.
Finishing up some work on my MR2, and when that is done, the Miata is going in to the garage and I'm pulling the trans back out as is it still whining and I think I need to replace the input shaft bearing. Hoping that will resolve the the problem as right now it sounds like it has a supercharger until you push in the clutch.
Well, I wanted to post one final update on the car. I pulled the tranny out and replaced the input bearing, noise is fixed. It was still a little on the loose side, .005. Set it at .000. That being said, a friend of mine was in the market for a new toy, and one thing lead to another, and this car is now his. It has been a blast, and I am really going to miss it, but I still find myself wanting a Cobra, as that is my dream car, so it's time to start working towards that.
Jason - Good luck working towards your dream. A Cobra has always been my dream car as well but since doing my Miata, my dream has slightly changed to having both (I'm very envious of Tbone). Thanks for doing a thread on your build. I followed it from the beginning and it helped me a lot with the successful completion of my project.
Thanks, I appreciate it! I will really miss this car, but I've known the new owner for a long time, so I'm sure he'll keep me updated on it. He's having a blast with it and says he have never smiled or laughed so much driving any car. I'm glad it is in a great home, he and his sons will have a great time with it. I told him about this site, so hopefully he will become a member. For now, it's time to concentrate on my GT500 and MR2 projects, I was getting to the point of being spread too thin and not getting to enjoy anything (I also sold my Mini Cooper which was a modded daily driver after I bought my new Gladiator).
Heard from my friend that bought the car off of me that he just told it to someone in Texas. So, if you just bought a 5.0 powered 96 Miata from OH, it's likely this car. Enjoy!
08-31-2019, 08:20 AM
