Starting my build from an SN95.
 

Hey guys, I guess I still need to introduce myself. Ive been into cars since I was a little kid. When I graduated hugh school I got a '94 Mustang GT. I had it for about 6 years, and I changed almost every single part on that thing. Once I rebuild the bottom end of the engine, I am pretty sure Ill have touched pretty much every component on an SN95. Its actually reall cool having a car almost exactly like my old one, except its a convertible and an auto (I wont be using this tranny). Color is the same, and it even has the same style wheels. Mine were a little nicer though. And the back ones were 17x10.5in wheels with some 315s on them (Think I can fit those on a Miata? :yippee:).

Anyway, I picked up the car a few weeks ago for $550. The front passenger side was wrecked but it started right up and I drove it on and off of the trailer. Still runs strong and only has 116K on it. I do plan on rebuilding it though.

I work nights, so I usually work on it at night when Im off. Went from 6PM till 4AM last night and got a lot of the major components out. Im taking my time and labeling everything I take off that I think I may end up using, even the bolts. It takes a little longer, and I know I probably wont use everything, but I feel it will make re-assembly a breeze.

I currently in the process of pulling the computer and the wiring harness. Ive got everything unplugged and just need to get under the dash and put the wires into the engine bay and remove the computer.

After that I need to get under it and get any wires that are on the bottom of the engine, the trans mount, shifter, and driveshaft. After that it should be ready to come out.

As far as the car its going into, I don't have it yet. Never owned a Miata, but drive one for a little while before, and wanted one. I remember seeing Monster Miata online years ago and thought how cool it would be to have a V8 Miata, and here we are.

I plan on doing the build as funds allow, so it wont be the quickest build. But once I have everything I need, I tend to put in a ton of work. As long as Ive got beer Ill do 20 hours of work if Im off for two days in a row and don't have any plans.

I bought a few tools I new Id need for the swap. An engine hoist was one. I don't know how I went this only without one. Never needed to pull and engine, but theyre super useful for all kinds of lifting.

Ill post up some pics later tonight when Im done. Gonna go back to it and pull the passenger seat so I can fit up under the dash and get the harness and computer out.

Good luck with the project. I am in the home stretch with mine after 2 years, can't wait to have this on the road in the spring.

On the way home with the Mustang.

https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...ine=1483044944


Before I started pulling parts.

https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...ine=1483044944

I was looking around and found a BBK fuel pressure regulator.

https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...ine=1483044944
I also noticed the throttle body was a 65mm BBK as well. Didn't get a pic though. Isn't 65MM stock on these Mustangs? I could swear that's what my other one had.

Im being very careful about where I put everything. Usually if Im just doing one accessory or something I just throw all the bolts in a magnetic tray. So Im trying to keep everything as organized as possible. I picked up a few of these boxes from Harbor Freight for $5.

https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...ine=1483044944

Anyone know what the black plug in the middle and the black and red one in the bottom left are? I need to label them but didnt know what to put, so I just put their location.

https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...ine=1483044944

I knew this was gonna be a mess as soon as I opened the radiator cap.

https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...ine=1483044944

This is how it sits right now, except I pulled all the wires out of the passenger side. I just need to get the plugs from inside through the tiny hole in the firewall. Might have to get my buddy to help with that. It was wrecked on the passenger side and it looks like it MAY have closed the firewall hole up just a tiny bit, so I may end up cutting it if I cant squeeze it through.

Attachment 8619

Got the engine and transmission out. Now I'm working on rebuilding and cleaning up the engine, and getting rid of the car and the AODE tranny.

Gonna bring the heads to a machine shop to be checked, then I'm gonna slap it all together with new gaskets and seals all around. Also have a new high flow oil pump to put in.

Ditch the high flow oil pump unless you have a huge oil pan to supply it. You will suck the stock pan dry. Just my:sign0134:

Ill have to look into that. I hadn't even considered it. Anyone else have any input on that?

Anyway, the engine is almost ready to go back together. Got it all cleaned up today. Just waiting on my headbolts.


Pistons were pretty dirty. They cleaned up nice though.

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Attachment 8618

If there was that much crap on the top of the pistons, I would wonder what the build up in the ring grooves looked like. ALSO, I have seen many of these engines, mine included, that had EVERY ring groove lined up on EVERY piston from the factory causing oil consumption and build up on top of the pistons.

By the looks of the coolant, I would dig into this engine a lot further.

What did you used to clean the piston heads?

Yea Iv been thinking that I may change the rings, bearings, and put some ARP bolts in. Ive never gone this far into an engine before, but i know I can get it done. It seems easy enough. Just need to figure out what size rings to get.


A flathead screwdriver and the little green 3M wheel on top of the rag in the last pic.

So I put the car on craigslist a few days ago. Had a guy message me about the rear end. Turns out he has a T5 from an SN95, but swapped to a fox input shaft, the SN95 bell hosing, the SN95 input shaft, and an older fox T5 that he's gonna throw in for any parts I need. All that and he comes and takes the junk Mustang out of my back yard. Winner.

The guy with the transmission fell through. Oh well.

I did pick up this today though.

Attachment 8616

I think I may have sold the Mustang parts car. So Ill be getting that out of the way soon, which will be nice. It'll free up a little more funds too.

Ive been just driving the Miata lately, learning the car. These things really are a blast to drive.

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I may have a lead on a few different T5s, so I'm going to look into that this week.

Making good progress. Now to collect more parts.

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Update for you guys. I'm still working on collecting parts. In the meantime, Ive been driving around with the 1.8L. I'm also working on getting the car fixed up for everyday driving. New soft top and brakes coming in a week or so. Then I need to get some new tires. I will definitely get a Hard dog roll bar, just gotta decide if I wanna get it before or after I start the swap. Probably just get it before so ill have it done.

Ive got a guy that will trade the AODE I pulled from the Mustang for a T5 from an '89 Fox body. So Ill have the shorter bellhousing for better clearance on the firewall. And Ive also got a lead on a k-member that has already been modified. If I can get my hands on both of those things, then It may be time to park the Miata and start pulling the engine.

Ive got the engine and wiring harness so far. So if I add the transmission and k-member to that, Ive got enough to start the process, and I can sell the stock Miata stuff to fund more of the V8 stuff. Its coming together quicker than I expected.

Just thinking about having a V8 in this thing gives me a huge grin. I cant wait until I get the rest of the parts.

Got some more parts. Someone told me that the cheap block hugger headers on eBay and Amazon will fit pretty well. So I got these for $114. They look like they'll fit. And for the price, they look pretty nice too.

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The weather should be cooling down soon here. So once that happens, I'm going to start pulling the 1.8L. I may have the drivetrain sold already too. A guy that comes into my bar has a few Miatas, and he wants to put the drivetrain from my '99 in his '92. He also works at a machine shop, so I'm going to see if we can factor in some stuff like the trans crossmember and other stuff I need made up into the trade.

Slowly but surely, I'm getting there.

Got my buddy to modify my oil pan and make the engine mount plates for me. Painted everything up and I’m going to start by making sure everything fits. Also got rid of the high flow oil pump in favor of a standard volume one. Need to check the oil pickup and make sure it fits. I wont really be able to test everything until I get a new steering rack, or I take the car apart and pull the one on it.

I also need to go pickup an oil pan gasket. I’m thinking the rubber Fel-Pro with a steel core. Anyone reccomend anything else?

Also, in this pic, if you look at the rubber motor mounts, there’s a metal wing on it. Should I put that facing in or out? Does it even matter?

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If I had a choice on the oil pan gasket, I would use a Ford factory gasket (that I would get for free). If that was not available, I would use this one from Rock Auto: More Information for MAHLE ORIGINAL/VICTOR REINZ OS32491. It looks identical to the Ford gasket, & they probably produce the gasket for Ford.

And it is half the price of the FelPro. 1988 FORD MUSTANG 5.0L 302cid V8 Oil Pan Gasket | RockAuto

Thanks, Ill check out those gaskets.

So I’m finally to the point where I get to start test fitting stuff. Today I tackled the oil pan, pump, pickup, and checked the clearance with the k-member.

I got rid of the high flow oil pump in favor of a standard volume one at the advice of this forum. The oil pan would fit on, but wouldnt move far enough forward to get the bolts in straight. It was just a hair off. So I had to grind a little nub off of the oil pump. After that the oil pan fit great. I didnt have to modify the pickup at all.

You can see the spot I ground flat on the top, under the 4 bolts[img]https://i.imgur.com/a8EsKLB.jpg[[/img]

Once I got the pan on, I went to put the bolts in. 4-5 of them on one side aren’t lining up right. I think the heat from welding it may have sucked the sides in a little maybe? I’m going to just use one of my wood clamps and put it backwards and use it as a spreader. It doesnt have far to go. Or should I enlarge the holes?[img]

https://i.imgur.com/YNtw9Hn.jpg[/img]

After that I put the k-member on the engine. Keep in mind the engine is upside down in the pics.

The passenger side clears fine.[img]

https://i.imgur.com/zobGMep.jpg[/img]

The drivers side is another story. I’m going to have to notch the k-member a bit to get the headers to clear. One of my motor mounts is off a bit too. I’m either going to cut the mount off and move it, or make a new plate for the mount with the hole over a little bit.

The header:[img]
https://i.imgur.com/9G14dH4.jpg[/img]

The mount. The other side went right in.[img]
https://i.imgur.com/V25ctNB.jpg[/img]

I also started wrapping the headers in heat wrap, and man, I’m going to have to try this a few times. Its a lot more difficult than I thought.

Even though some of the stuff didnt fit right, its still very encouraging to see everything coming together like that. Still got a lot of parts to get, and a lot of work to do, but I’m slowly making progress.

Not sure what’s up with the pics not coming up automatically. the site seems to be automatically turning them to hyperlinks as soon as I paste them.

Pics not working etc
 

Anonymous D,
Took me a bit to get the pics to work with the new HTML editor,as to posting hosted pics, may need to ask a Mod, I had to LOL, as the new interface insists on uploading pic to its own server and well I host my own pics on my own webserver. Hope this helps some??!

I would also agree with tossing the high volume oil pump, Gained a car length in the 1/8th mile once I switched back to stock and oil temps also decreased at the end of the track. 10 years later and still happy with standard oil pump. I did port / flow and polish the stock pump as well as hand lap the gearotors to minimum clearance. I would pull pistons, hone and re-ring if in budget, ( In Spec), along with a new set of crank / rod bearings. Would give you a chance to plasti-gauge and check condition of the rotating assembly. Well worth it, nothing worse then a rod knock after that first cruise, learned the hard way.

Tbone heller has some wise suggestions

After a bit in this build the least number a times the motor / tranny has to come out the better, especially after paint.

Looking good

Dean0

Id love to rebuild the bottom end, but thats not really in budget right now. The route I’m on now, I should be able to do the swap for under $8K total. Including the car. I paid $550 for the donor car, then sold the roller for $200. And Ive still got the AODE from it to sell. If I can get money for that I may have ended up getting the engine for free. Haha.

The img tag still works, at least it does for me. You will have to click source to see how I do it and insert your own hyperlink.

http://www3.telus.net/mediasorce/90M...ta%20(358).jpg
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PS- I have a set of standard rod/crank shells I would happily send a fellow enthusiast, pretty sure I have a set of OEM rings for a 89 GT I would toss in as well. Even cover the shipping and I can mark as used / open box. Just extras from my drag racing days that are kicking around.