Picked up my radiator, a customized Northern Radiator. Got my transmission reassembled today. Clutch installed on the engine. And welded the interior transmission tunnel braces in. Once i finished i realized i had put the braces on the wrong sides. No wonder they took so much adjusting. Now i have to figure out the clutch lines so i can put the transmission on the engine.

I got a bunch of stuff done over the holidays.
-seam sealer paint and insulation on the trans tunnel and engine bay
-seam sealer and insulation in the cabin
-routed a new the 2/0 battery cable (welder cable) through the cabin
-rechecked bolt torques on the engine
-final install of engine on subframe with engine mount heat shields
-started reinstalling brake lines
-started rethreading the wiring back into the engine bay
-sent off the ecu to be reprogrammed

It feels like i have turned a corner and started putting stuff back together.

I didnt have to clearance the right engine mount heat shield at all, just a little bit on the left.

I've managed to misplace my left front brake line. I may have to get one from the wreckers. Do they still let you wander around the wrecker's yards and pull off stuff in the States? They dont let you do it here. That means that the little things are unavailable.

Wheels and tires arrived. TR Motor sport c1 wheels and Toyo R1R proxies.
https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...1&d=1484697416
I cut two holes in the firewall for wiring. one at the top of the block for most of the engine wiring. One down by the starter, to thread the battery cables, crank sensor, o2 sensor wire through.
https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...1&d=1484697416

I installed the engine in it's forever home, then ran into a couple of problems.
https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...1&d=1484697416

- i wish i had made sure i had access to the shifter bolts while the engine was out. it was annoying to cut some holes after.
https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...1&d=1484697416
- I wish i installed the upper control arm on the subframe before it was installed. i am hoping i can persuade the bolt through the sway bar mount once i have the bushings.
https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...1&d=1484697549

Lookin good!!! I see where you got your username from now haha :)

As far as that upper control arm bolt goes, you can get it in no problem if you fish it in from the front of the car OVER your swaybar mount, aka through the chassis mounting bracket. Ive done it several times now lol. Youll have to put the washer on after it passes through the bracket but before it goes into the subframe.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2...pszfgfvl8f.png

heater core
 

I changed the heater hoses to the passenger side like Wallyman
except i dont have ac so i used the ac holes. i need a port for my water temp sensor and inserted it into the heater inlet.

I also installed and hooked up the steering and found a could of problems. first the steering rack mount on the left side interfered with the subframe. V8R advised me to adjust the rack. then the joint interfered with the subframe. waiting for advise on this one.

I'm very jealous of the exhausts made by others. I've spent about three week working on mine. So far i'm happy with the piece between the headers and transmission mount. i have cats and o2 bungs and flanges just before the transmission mount. After the transmission i have an H pipe and then resonators.

Nice progress, I'm at about the same place in my build. Finding all kinds of little hickups along the way.

Nice progress! I love that more people are routing the heater hoses over the the pass side. It make for a much much cleaner finished product! Having those two heater hoses run over top of the engine really bothers me for some reason haha.

I would not move the steering rack, its looks like you shouldnt have any issues just by taking a grinder and clearancing the aluminum housing of the steering rack. Id def give that a shot first.

Lemme see dat exhaust!!

What are people using as a lower rad hose?

Might depend on the rad you're using, the inlet/outlet diameter or where you're placing it, but I found some options that seem to work for me. Posted to my build thread:

https://www.v8miata.net/general-moto...d-thread-2961/

mine is on the lower right, 1.5". the swaybar is in the way.

btw i admire your exhaust chops.

I had a similar rack mount issue with the joint hitting the subframe when you turned the shaft. You may not need to move the rack mounting locations but if you can rotate the rack housing down a bit, you may find just enough clearance as I did. You could try a washer under one of the rack mounting bolts and test that out. Not sure how you'd make it more permanent w/out cutting or modding the rack mount.

i got the cai installed and the hood cut as per toysnakepmc instructions https://www.v8miata.net/general-moto...e10/#post18828

installed the aerocatch latches. the right side worked out perfectly and took about two minutes to adjust. The left was a pain, but is finally lined up.

I also installed maf in the intake i used m3x10 bolts. i noticed there is a hole in the side of the rubber accordian section. What goes in there?

How do you put the pictures inline?

Use the yellow "insert image" icon in the toolbar, paste in a valid image link (with file extension, such as .jpg) and that should work. Works for youtube videos as well.

If the site hosting your image doesn't allow embedding their images in other sites, that could be your problem. I've been using imgur.com for my pics, works great.

On a plane right now, but I cannot recall if I have a nipple with vacuum hose or not located there. Will check pics on laptop later tonite for you...

The hole holds the valve cover exhaust return line (EGR). Many of us use a catch can in series to keep oil and any thing else but the air fumes from re-entry back into the engine.

ok, so my tb has the pcv inlet and outlet.So, i just plug that.

I'm digging into the final wiring, and i am realizing the fuel pump is not as simple as i thought. It looks like i can just put 12v to the vio wire in the circuit opening relay and tie the lt grn to ground.

I'm also looking for pictures of what others did to mount the ecu in the passenger firewall.

Not sure if your car would be similar to mine (1999) but I just posted some wiring info that might be helpful. https://www.v8miata.net/general-moto...ge7/#post23046

i was just reading. Great posts and good references.

Spent the weekend wiring, wiring,wiring and chasing fuel leaks. I got enough wiring done to start the fuel pump, and bumped the engine. It's a good thing i like to feel my music, that fuel pump is loud.

First Start - Yaaaa hooo.
 

Started her up tonight. Primed the oil with a little device the machine shop lent me. It was a bit rough for the first couple of minutes, i think it was clearing the assembly lube. Idles perfectly, but doesnt go into closed loop or rev above 1400. it starts to pulse between 1500 and 1000. I think the maf is not working, the numbers never change. Nothing changes when i removed it or unplugged it. Probably my wiring. There's also an oil leak at the back top. probably the oil sensor isnt tight enough.

Pretty stoked. maybe on the road by the end of the month.

:thumbsup:

I put tires on the car tonight and lowered it to the ground for the first time since august. And i found out the stock front suspension doesn't hold it off the ground. The back seems fine. I also discovered i blocked the oil drain plug with the exhaust. I think i can get away with a shorter bolt, but it looks like i'll have to at least loosen the exhaust to drain the oil.

Does any one else have the 5pin blade style maf 15865791 can you tell me the pinout. i have found several options on the net, but nothing official looking.

finally got the v8r dsd coilovers. of course there were no instructions. i installed the fronts with 3.5in between the lock rings which gave me a ride height of 13.5in. i have about 2in of clearance under the exhaust. anyway i took it for a careful ride up and down the street. the tuner is coming by tomorrow to get it runnning properly. it's hunting at idle and wont rev over 1500

tuner came and the car's running now. if you have the blade style maf there are several pinouts available, it's pretty tough to determine which to use. i got the maf though a wrecker with a pigtail, thinking this would identify the correct pinout. i still had to swap the iat wires to get it working. my engine/ecu originally had an automatic. the 1500rpm limit was a torque limiting abuse mode when the ecu couldnt find the automatic.

so i've rolled the fenders and put the big shoes on. the car is highly addictive and extremely fun.

there are still a few minor things to fix.
-the o2 sensors arent working
-the exhaust is hanging too low and i have about 2 inches of clearance. no problem on the street, but it's going to be an issue getting into a gas station.