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Enjoy your posts and updates. Very sorry to hear about the loss as well. Wrenching on your V8M will give you a healthy distraction from time to time. Best of luck.
First of all, condolences and prayers on the loss of your Dad. Many years ago (36 to be exact) when my dad passed, an old family friend told me that time helps with the sorrow and that I would remember the good times shared with Dad. He was right on both counts.
I'm not a fan of the encapsulation approach to leak repair, that said the only thing I'd add to your plan is do the very best job possible cleaning the area you hope to seal. Antifreeze leaves a sorta oily residue that would certainly mess with anything sealing. After cleaning with your cleaner of choice I'd use some 200 grit sand paper on the subject area to help with the mechanical bond.
There's a lot to be said for just enjoying what ya got with the current engine setup.
Thanks for all the kind thoughts and good wishes.
My father was an 80 year old man who lived an interesting life right to the end, which is more than can be said for many people.
On the car, I have figured out that cold weather takes the fun right out of working on it.
Even when I warm up the garage the various metal tools and pieces are still cold.
Since I have a couple of months I will be picky about actually working on the various projects but should have no problem getting the assembly back into the chassis and road worthy.
The higher cost items (AC, roll bar, tires, brakes) can be added easily down the road so the focus will be on little things.
The car is up and running much nicer than before.
As everything went back together I cleaned up a bunch of things to make the engine bay cosmetically prettier.
Did some touch up with body color paint and painted a bunch of the small engine bay bolting and clips in satin black so it would just fade into the background rather than standing out as clashing with the wiring and painted items.
I really need to take the car to the car wash and do a good cleaning on the engine bay because the dust has settled over everything.
The windshield washer bottle got painted black with just a stripe unpainted on the back side to allow visual fill level.
Also found a much nicer power brake booster hose that has nice protective mesh over it and bought black hose clamps to make it look nice and clean. Cosmetically much better than the scabbed together parts I originally installed and in my opinion worth $30.
On the left side I did a similar thing by painting the coolant overflow tank black and cleaning up the wiring.
Only wiring still not completed is associated with the air conditioning, which will be my next project.
I did add a vent plug to the upper heater hose but it is hidden behind the shock tower brace in the picture.
The first time round the car managed to vent the air on it's own, presumably because the car sat for so long as it was going together but this time round I could not get the air out of the system so backed up and added a vent tee and made a nice mess on the floor of my garage in the process.
Not sure it visually looks as "factory" as I had hoped for but it is all clean and organized.
One thing I worried over was buying salvage engine and transmission and differential.
So far the salvage parts are not working out as well as I had hoped.
The engine itself is great and does not seem to have any issues.
The transmission lost the 4th gear syncro about a month after getting the car running so as part of the Winter tear down I had the transmission rebuilt and upgraded.
The guy who did the work did an outstanding job and I would highly recommend him if you are needing your T56 rebuilt or upgraded. https://texasdrivetrainperformance.com/
The basic rebuild is $800 but I also had the entire transmission upgraded for a total cost of $1500.
The input shaft was upgraded, all the bearings were replaced, and he did a whole list of other upgrades to make the transmission suitable for at least 700 HP so that I will never have to worry over it again since I am only putting out just over 300HP at the wheels.
He spent 6 hours on the whole process and I got to watch and ask questions as he was replacing and upgrading the unit.
Very detail oriented and looked over each piece with a magnifying glass.
Felt like I got my money's worth and then some.
On top of that I replaced the shifter with the 5.0 unit so now the transmission is working flawlessly.
Originally the used $250 differential works well but it has what I consider to be excessive rotational slop and one of the seals has started leaking.
At the moment I am debating on either buying a brand new unit or having this unit rebuilt.
The car drives just fine but the leaking fluid falls on the exhaust and makes a burning fluid stink.
One of the brand new serpentine idler wheels was making a squeak as the car was running so I spent $90 to replace a brand new item but at least it did make the annoying noise go away. Just goes to show that just because you buy brand new doesn't necessarily mean that it will work correctly.
To this point I have not addressed upgrading the handling or brakes or tires as I want to get everything else lined out first.
Those will probably happen over the Summer to give me some weekend projects to tackle.
No worries.
I left the short 7/16" hose coming from the engine and the 7/16" to 3/8" hose barb and 3/8" check valve in place.
Simply replaced the crappy 3/8" brass 90 degree elbow and hoses on either side with a nice looking molded curved piece.
this is a great build thread. Well done. I thoroughly enjoyed the read. I noticed that your car is very similar in build philosophy and looks to mine, we even share the wooden rimmed steering wheel and tan beige interior
Looks great...and don't be too tempted to change that cam in a hurry for more power. A smooth running engine is always a pleasure to drive...having more power in exchange for average manners and poor fuel economy is not always a good trade for a daily driver. Been burnt before...I upgraded a cam once to get more power (which I did) but the driving the car for long periods was then a tiresome event instead of a pleasure.
Well done, its a great looking car and your build approach is spot on. !!
I changed out the differential for a brand new unit.
Ends up leaving me with a nice new unit in the car and a used unit in need of seals and shims.
Something that surprises me is how much easier and faster it is to switch out parts the second time round.
Something else I did was to participate in the local Autocross event here in Tulsa.
Learned a bunch about how the car handles and brakes.
It was my first time in 20 years so I begged one of the more seasoned drivers to ride with me and give some feedback and tips.
It was a PAX event so all together I got to do 8 passes.
The first was 56.8 with the good news being that I did not actually leave course.
Got a bit lost part way thru the course but figured it out without taking a penalty or DNF.
By the end my final run was a 50.5
Not my class but there were several Miata's in STR and they were doing laps in the low 46's and high 45's for comparison.
My biggest issue by far was the Continental street tires on the car.
One guy made the comment that my Miata had the most engine but the least tire at the event.
Compared to the grip of the performance street tires the Miata I rode in my car felt like it had half the grip.
Other than that the car performed flawlessly.
Did have a great time and will definitely be doing it again.
Yesterday evening I took the Miata to a local Tuesday evening cruise night in Tulsa and actually hung around the car for a couple of hours to talk with interested people looking at the conversion.
Reactions were across the board.
Some people knew exactly what it was and seemed to have a better handle than me on the conversion.
Others were sort of "What the heck is THAT motor doing that that little bitty car?" with the front heavy tire smoker no handling vibe.
A couple of older guys did the "That is not a hot rod. What are you even doing here with the hood raised?"
One guy asked "Why did you do that ricer car instead of doing an AC Cobra kit car?" in a negative sort of tone.
Bottom line seemed to be that the traditional older guy hot rodders did not see it in a very positive light because it isn't a real American performance car but most people appeared to have a more generous view.
Guys in their teens and 20's were outright enthusiastic while looking at it and asking questions.
Three 70+ aged Corvette owners were real intrigued and talked to me for a good 30 minutes on what it takes to make the Miata into what one called a Mini-Vette.
I got there early enough to park at the more active end of the parking lot but nobody parked next to me in any direction as the evening progressed.
Made my poor car feel like it had some sort of disease and all the other cars were not wanting to get too close.
All in all it was a mixed bag but I did talk to a bunch of nice people.
Haven't decided if I will do it again.
The reception at the autocross is much more positive.
When I used to take my Miata or Cobra to shows, I would get there early and "abandon" my car. I would later return and ask questions to the bystanders about my own car. Talk about some fun times! I was amazed about others knowledge of MY cars. LMAO!!
Some of those comments are unfortunate, but don't really surprise me. Many have not driven, or might even think of being seen in a Miata, and have really no concept of the driving experience in general. Nothing wrong with the "cruising scene" but that's not really what these cars are about.
My town's annual car show is in a few weeks and I'd always thought about entering the Miata, but we'll see if my schedule works out. Just checked their web page and I see a Miata with Ford V8 swap! Hmmm. Ambler Auto Show Awards
I'd also do something like Tom's Turbo Garage with his LS3 Miata:
Bottom line seemed to be that the traditional older guy hot rodders did not see it in a very positive light because it isn't a real American performance car but most people appeared to have a more generous view.
Guys in their teens and 20's were outright enthusiastic while looking at it and asking questions.
.
Yeah, I prefer taking mine to events with younger people. The guys my age or older don't seem to appreciate it. People in their 20's and 30's love it. I feel like the old guy there, but they don't seem to care.
Condolences on your loss.
Nice car.
I’ve had a few similar experiences. The guys who build their own cars vs buying a completed project seem to appreciate my car more. Either way, negative comments don’t faze me one bit.
One issue that needed addressed on the car is that it runs a bit hot as the air temperature gets to 100 deg. F.
Not too terrible but it creeps up to the 220-230 deg. F. range in stop and go traffic as well as steady highway driving.
It seems to be a normal problem with the Miata even with 4 cylinder engines and is a result of insufficient under hood air ventilation.
The problem is so common that you would have thought Mazda would have addressed it at some time.
When I looked into hood vents most of the solutions look too aftermarket for my taste.
My vision for my Miata is to have a car that shows as few external clues as possible that the car is anything besides stock.
To that end I searched forums and build threads and pictures on the internet as well as vendor vents.
No luck finding something that might appear factory to the uneducated masses until I looked at a thread over on the Miata Turbo forum in a thread discussing hood vents to take care of the high engine temperatures.
Finally found vents that have a factory look and feel and will install properly into a Miata hood for a factory appearance. Bumper Vents for the 2011-2014 WRX
Price is good to at about $70 for both delivered to my door.
We have not had a true 100 degree F day since the installation but the car did get some road time with the temperature in the 90's and the water temperature gauge has not climbed over 200 degrees F., which is about where both fans are set to run.
All that information to explain the pictures.
Bumper Vents for the 2011-2014 WRX as purchased.
As you can see the vents come with inserts to keep debris from freely flowing thru but I did not utilize them in order to gain as much flow as is practical.
Each opening is about 1" tall x 4" wide.
If I had left the mesh in place my guess is it would have restricted the flow by about 25%.
Miata hood layout for cuts.
They are located far enough apart to clear the Corvette cold air intake.
Trial fitting of the vents.
Any water that does go thru the vents into the engine compartment will simply fall in the open area between the front accessory drive and the radiator fan.
Vents installed in the hood
Here is a picture of the underside of the hood while test fitting the vent.
It still needs some cleaning up and paint but shows the fitment from the underside of the hood with the hood stiffeners.
Also notice that there is no need to trim as much of the stiffener as I did.
There is a red rag in the vent itself to make it easier to contrast the vent opening from the rest of the vent.
The look of the vents closely matches the hood latches and the curvature fits the Miata hood very well.
Not too large so they fit the small stature of the car really well.
The openings are correctly placed per the Flyin Miata hood flow measurements in a location to aid pulling air flow from the engine compartment.
Originally the intention was to paint the plastic to match the hood but after looking at the installed vents I made an executive decision to leave them as black plastic for the time being.
If I decide they don't look proper later on it will be simple to put some paint on them.
I made a PDF drawing of the shape and a cutout line that worked for me.
If anybody is interested I can e-mail it to them, just send me a PM.
Hopefully the problem is solved and they look like a quality addition to the V8 swap.
My yellow Mustang that is shown in the very first picture of this thread got traded in over the weekend on a pickup.
It has been something I have been contemplating for some time.
It just makes no sense for me to have two performance rides, particularly when I very much prefer the Miata over the Mustang.
Honestly the Miata ruined me towards the Mustang.
Before buying the Miata I was happy with the Mustang and even considered installing a supercharger rather than building the Miata.
Once I bought the Miata the Mustang simply could not compare for the fun factor.
Just an example of how little things in life can sometimes surprise and change your mind.
One issue that needed addressed on the car is that it runs a bit hot as the air temperature gets to 100 deg. F.
Not too terrible but it creeps up to the 220-230 deg. F. range in stop and go traffic as well as steady highway driving.
It seems to be a normal problem with the Miata even with 4 cylinder engines and is a result of insufficient under hood air ventilation.
The problem is so common that you would have thought Mazda would have addressed it at some time.
When I looked into hood vents most of the solutions look too aftermarket for my taste.
My vision for my Miata is to have a car that shows as few external clues as possible that the car is anything besides stock.
To that end I searched forums and build threads and pictures on the internet as well as vendor vents.
No luck finding something that might appear factory to the uneducated masses until I looked at a thread over on the Miata Turbo forum in a thread discussing hood vents to take care of the high engine temperatures.
Finally found vents that have a factory look and feel and will install properly into a Miata hood for a factory appearance...
Hopefully the problem is solved and they look like a quality addition to the V8 swap.
They look very nice.
Are they only held on with double-sided tape?
How far below the hood do they extend into the engine bay?
Sorry but I did not take a picture from the under side.
The vents taper from about 1" deep at the front to nothing at the back.
On the front they wedge in place against the hood opening.
On the sides they have wedges than allow the vent to snap into place presuming you cut the correct size opening in the hood.
On the rear at the moment there is double sided tape but am not happy with the finished piece as it leaves the plastic sitting slightly above the hood rather than sitting down tightly.
Still considering how to address that but am leaning towards putting a bead of silicon sealer across the back and then putting the vent in place with a small amount of weight to hold it down while the silicon dries.
Another possibility is that I might put two screws on the rear face down thru the hood just to make sure everything sits nice and flush.
That decision will tie in to the decision to paint or leave it black.
For the time being they are in place with tape to test the usefulness and let me look and decide on a permanent attachment.
Sorry but I did not take a picture from the under side.
The vents taper from about 1" deep at the front to nothing at the back.
On the front they wedge in place against the hood opening.
On the sides they have wedges than allow the vent to snap into place presuming you cut the correct size opening in the hood.
On the rear at the moment there is double sided tape but am not happy with the finished piece as it leaves the plastic sitting slightly above the hood rather than sitting down tightly.
Still considering how to address that but am leaning towards putting a bead of silicon sealer across the back and then putting the vent in place with a small amount of weight to hold it down while the silicon dries.
Another possibility is that I might put two screws on the rear face down thru the hood just to make sure everything sits nice and flush.
That decision will tie in to the decision to paint or leave it black.
For the time being they are in place with tape to test the usefulness and let me look and decide on a permanent attachment.
Yeah, I'd probably go with an adhesive of some sort for the rear edge. Otherwise, the fitment sounds great.
Where did you buy them?
I can't find the measurements of the inside area, the part that goes down into the hood. Would you mind measuring one of yours?
The shape is irregular.
Presumably you are asking about the actual cutout shape.
If so, you can see from my tape layout it is about 1/2" inside the outside cover shape.
There is also some cutting required to the hood braces but only a portion of the bracing so plenty is still in place.
The best way to address it for cutting would probably be to make a paper template from the inside shape of the vent and transfer that to the hood to get a good clean layout.
I did not do that so my cutout is not as clean as it could have been.
Will try to get some more detailed pictures this evening.
The shape is irregular.
Presumably you are asking about the actual cutout shape.
If so, you can see from my tape layout it is about 1/2" inside the outside cover shape.
There is also some cutting required to the hood braces but only a portion of the bracing so plenty is still in place.
The best way to address it for cutting would probably be to make a paper template from the inside shape of the vent and transfer that to the hood to get a good clean layout.
I did not do that so my cutout is not as clean as it could have been.
Will try to get some more detailed pictures this evening.
Yeah, I assume they are some sort of trapezoid. My situation is a little different than yours. I don't have a center CAI, mine is the typical pipe that runs to one side between the radiator and front of the engine, right where these vents might dump rainwater. Its clearance to the hood is minimal, so I need to see where this vent would fit in relation to it and any cross members in that area. Therefore I need to know how far the part intrudes into the engine bay. You mentioned that it's about 1" deep and tapers back to flush. So I just need to know how wide (deep end) and long the inside measurements are to determine where in the bay they might fit based on the CAI tube and cross members.
Yeah, I would create a template based on the inside shape and cut from it.
Love seeing another creative solution to Miata hood venting! That’s clean looking and reasonably priced to boot.
Let us know how your temps are affected.
and the more pics, the better.
02-06-2018, 11:23 PM
