Retrospective LS1 Automatic w/315's on back
06-10-2015, 10:04 AM
#101
Jim Stainer
Of course you should post it! That's how you have guys jump in with suggestions and how you show what works and what doesn't to the next guy. That's what we are all about here guys kicking around ideas to make great cars.
To me it doesn't matter if you put it in your build thread or start a new one there are pros and cons to both ways. I just want to see how you do yours!
To me it doesn't matter if you put it in your build thread or start a new one there are pros and cons to both ways. I just want to see how you do yours!
06-10-2015, 09:45 PM
#102
V8 Miata Follower
Thread Starter
Well maybe I am missing something here. I posted how I built my oversized fenders in posts 45 thru 57 on this build thread. The car is currentyl at the FORD dealership awaiting my friend that paints for them to put a beautiful coat of black paint on it. Once it is done...I will post pics of it on this build thread and I will also post a pic of it on the "external modifications" section of this site and refer them to this build thread for more info because I have other things to do with my time besides re-posting the same info all over again. Everybody Happy????
06-11-2015, 08:14 AM
#103
Jim Stainer
LOL you know this is the first day with my new brain right? I have post 45 book marked for crying out loud! And post 77 too now that I look at it. I really need to clean up that book mark bar... There is just so much goodness in this thread I can't keep track of it all!
I do apologize for a complete and total brain fart...
I do apologize for a complete and total brain fart...
06-11-2015, 08:27 PM
#104
V8 Miata Follower
Thread Starter
LOL you know this is the first day with my new brain right? I have post 45 book marked for crying out loud! And post 77 too now that I look at it. I really need to clean up that book mark bar... There is just so much goodness in this thread I can't keep track of it all!
I do apologize for a complete and total brain fart...
I do apologize for a complete and total brain fart...
Last edited by jackie; 10-31-2015 at 11:28 AM.
06-14-2015, 01:59 PM
#105
V8 Miata Follower
Thread Starter
It's Painted....
I got my car back from the painter. I thought we were gonna be done but he informed me that I had to sand out the little pieces of trash with 1500 grit and then he will buff it out. The rear fenders have a few imperfections that are showing thru the paint. He says we shoud have left it out in the sun for a week or so to let the bondo and other body fillers cure out before we painted it. We may have to repaint the rear quarter panels in the future but I am going to take a breather for now. Here's a video of the walkaround....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9UkiVxTrrU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9UkiVxTrrU
06-14-2015, 02:45 PM
#107
V8 Miata Follower
Thread Starter
The metal glaze gets hard very quick. You can sand that stuff within about 10 mins of application. My fenders were composed of fiberglass, bondo glass, metal glaze and panel bond all coated with a two part primer. There are also metal rivets holding it to the body. My painter says it would have been better if we would have let the car sit out in the hot sun for a week or so before he painted it. I don't know much about painting so I trust he knows what he is talking about. I will probably fix it this fall or winter once the outside temperature is a bit cooler. I'm tired of messing with it for now and need a break.
06-27-2015, 01:12 PM
#108
V8 Miata Follower
Thread Starter
Test and tune night at Texas Motorplex
I went to the Texas Motorplex in Ennis Texas last night on a "Fast Friday Night". Here's what I learned...
1. Gator Bait with a 450 plus hp ls3 goes thru the quarter mile faster than my 306hp Ls1 even though I have wider tires. I had him beat off the line but he passed me like I was standing still just past the 60 ft point. I bet he has the video posted already. I would if I ran the 12.0
2. My concerns about passing "tech" were for nothing. They looked at the card that proved I paid my fee, walked around the car, put a number on my windshield and that was it!
3. I saw camaros having to put their T-tops on in order to run so I doubt they would let one of our cars run with the top down. As a matter of fact they made Gator Bait roll his windows up.
4. There are some really fast Hondas out there. I mean scary fast. (10 sec quarter mile) Slicks on front and skinnies on the back.
5. You should get there when they open because the wait to run then is about 5 mins vs 45 mins a couple of hours into it.
6. Get in the left line. They let dragsters and badass cars with slicks cut in the right line and it takes about 25% longer to get to run.
7. Go around the water if you don't have slicks.
8. It's probably best to kill engine and open hood when you are in the 45 min line. I think the heat soak of the engine slowed down later times even though the air temperature was significantly cooler. My best time was my first run when it was 94 degrees outside and the car went straight form the trailer to the strip.
9. I had a helmet in the car but nobody ever told me to put it on. It was worn 3 out of 4 times. I saw a bunch of folks not wearing them. The only reason I didn't wear it on one run was because I'm old and forgot to put it on.
My best run was 13.1 @107mph
Next steps...
Rear mount turbo
tune
either traction control or slicks (leaning toward traction control)
1. Gator Bait with a 450 plus hp ls3 goes thru the quarter mile faster than my 306hp Ls1 even though I have wider tires. I had him beat off the line but he passed me like I was standing still just past the 60 ft point. I bet he has the video posted already. I would if I ran the 12.0
2. My concerns about passing "tech" were for nothing. They looked at the card that proved I paid my fee, walked around the car, put a number on my windshield and that was it!
3. I saw camaros having to put their T-tops on in order to run so I doubt they would let one of our cars run with the top down. As a matter of fact they made Gator Bait roll his windows up.
4. There are some really fast Hondas out there. I mean scary fast. (10 sec quarter mile) Slicks on front and skinnies on the back.
5. You should get there when they open because the wait to run then is about 5 mins vs 45 mins a couple of hours into it.
6. Get in the left line. They let dragsters and badass cars with slicks cut in the right line and it takes about 25% longer to get to run.
7. Go around the water if you don't have slicks.
8. It's probably best to kill engine and open hood when you are in the 45 min line. I think the heat soak of the engine slowed down later times even though the air temperature was significantly cooler. My best time was my first run when it was 94 degrees outside and the car went straight form the trailer to the strip.
9. I had a helmet in the car but nobody ever told me to put it on. It was worn 3 out of 4 times. I saw a bunch of folks not wearing them. The only reason I didn't wear it on one run was because I'm old and forgot to put it on.
My best run was 13.1 @107mph
Next steps...
Rear mount turbo
tune
either traction control or slicks (leaning toward traction control)
Last edited by jackie; 06-28-2015 at 11:20 AM.
06-27-2015, 02:22 PM
#109
V8 Miata Fanatic
https://www.v8miata.net/performance-...420/#post15860
My best time was the last one against you. Part of that was me learning, but I also think killing the motor instead of idling helped too. It was getting pretty toasty under the hood. My next mod is hood vents and oem belly pan to start working on smoothing the underbelly some.
It was great time!
My best time was the last one against you. Part of that was me learning, but I also think killing the motor instead of idling helped too. It was getting pretty toasty under the hood. My next mod is hood vents and oem belly pan to start working on smoothing the underbelly some.
It was great time!
06-28-2015, 11:21 AM
#110
V8 Miata Follower
Thread Starter
https://www.v8miata.net/performance-...420/#post15860
My best time was the last one against you. Part of that was me learning, but I also think killing the motor instead of idling helped too. It was getting pretty toasty under the hood. My next mod is hood vents and oem belly pan to start working on smoothing the underbelly some.
It was great time!
My best time was the last one against you. Part of that was me learning, but I also think killing the motor instead of idling helped too. It was getting pretty toasty under the hood. My next mod is hood vents and oem belly pan to start working on smoothing the underbelly some.
It was great time!
10-31-2015, 11:33 AM
#111
V8 Miata Follower
Thread Starter
This car will forever be a "work in progress". I think I just like messing with it.
I had a guy considering a build ask me if I would do anything different. I wrote him a long email and thought it should be posted for others to see. A lot of it has already been posted in the thread but here was my response as of 10/31/15....
I used all of the Fbody accessories as well as the Fbody oil pan.
I don't know if a different set of headers would have fit or not because I didn't try a different set.
What would I do different?
1. I would probably try to use the fbody exhaust manifolds because I am eventually going with a rear mount turbo and I don't believe the shorty headers give much advantage vs the shorty headers. I don't think the cast iron manifolds have an advantage vs the headers in that application....just wasted money if that is the end game.
2. I would not have gone with an automatic. I am scared to be in the throttle too much thru a curve for fear that it will change gears and end up spinning out.
A manual transmission would allow total control of when the gears change as well as how hard the shift is. Dont get me wrong...it handles great thru curves and I have never spun out and as a straight line drag strip car...it's great.
3. I would not have left the rivets in the rear fenders. They show thru the paint and I am eventually going to take them out.
4. I also would not have taken out those two pieces of the frame near the back of the engine....or at least I would have checked for fit to determine if removal was necessary. There is a lot of room back there now and I don't think removal was necessary.
5. I would not have gone with a 5.7 LS1. I would have used a 5.3 iron block. Those engines do weight about 150 pounds more however the stock bottom end can be pushed to 700 rear wheel horsepower whereas the LS1 is only safe to around 500. I ended up with $2300 in the motor and tranny and the other route would have been cheaper.
6. I would not have spent 800 bucks on a LG motorsports cam....It sounds great but it does not Idle as well and some vacuum is now missing for the brakes. Plus...the stock cam works just as well as the upgraded cam for turbo applications. I didn't know anything about turbos or even dream of having one when I built the car. I just wanted a badass car that turns heads and that's what I ended up with. The stock Ls 5.3 with a turbo would Idle better, have better brakes and leave mine in the dust in a race.
7. There are a lot of tricks I learned making the rear fenders so I could do that in about half the time. If you decide to go that route, send me another email and I will walk you thru what I learned. I love the big fenders and tires and would do that again for sure.....just quicker and better.
8. I replaced the stock brakes when I built the car...waste of money since I ended up going with the V8 roadster big brakes. I honestly can't say they stop noticeably better than the stock brakes but in an autocross situation it would probably be better.
9. When building the front subframe....I would mark what metal needs removal, take subframe out of car and remove those pieces then put subframe back in car and tack weld all of the pieces I needed to keep in place with a bunch of 1/4 inch welds. Do as much welding as I could with the subframe in the car... then take it out of the car and continue with small welds until it is solid (alternating left then right, front then back etc.
When the welds cool, they shrink and cause distortion. If you do all of the work with it out of the car, the bolt holes won't line up and you will have to grind a few of the welds loose, get a winch on it and pull it back to the right shape for it to fit...then re-weld the ones you just ground off.
10. I would't even mess with the rear subframe until the engine is in the car. Once the engine is in the car, you can measure the angle of the tailshaft. That will tell you what angle your differential needs to be for it to be perfect. You don't want to mess with the differential until you have the half shafts either. The pinion shaft actually sits about 3/4 to 1 inch closer to the passenger side. If you center it, your half shafts will have to be custom made because they will be different lengths. Get your half shafts, put the differentail on the rear subframe with it out of the car....get equal play on each side and then you know where the differential goes (left vs right). The angle you measured on the tailshaft will tell you how much to tilt the differential. It can be off a few degrees like mine with no problems but each degree off is a degree away from perfect alignment and puts some stress on the drivetrain. Watch this link and you will understand what I'm talking about...
Building this car was a learning process and I could do it again in half the time with a faster car that cost less. Was it worth it...heck yes and I will probably sell this one and build another one in the future.
I had a guy considering a build ask me if I would do anything different. I wrote him a long email and thought it should be posted for others to see. A lot of it has already been posted in the thread but here was my response as of 10/31/15....
I used all of the Fbody accessories as well as the Fbody oil pan.
I don't know if a different set of headers would have fit or not because I didn't try a different set.
What would I do different?
1. I would probably try to use the fbody exhaust manifolds because I am eventually going with a rear mount turbo and I don't believe the shorty headers give much advantage vs the shorty headers. I don't think the cast iron manifolds have an advantage vs the headers in that application....just wasted money if that is the end game.
2. I would not have gone with an automatic. I am scared to be in the throttle too much thru a curve for fear that it will change gears and end up spinning out.
A manual transmission would allow total control of when the gears change as well as how hard the shift is. Dont get me wrong...it handles great thru curves and I have never spun out and as a straight line drag strip car...it's great.
3. I would not have left the rivets in the rear fenders. They show thru the paint and I am eventually going to take them out.
4. I also would not have taken out those two pieces of the frame near the back of the engine....or at least I would have checked for fit to determine if removal was necessary. There is a lot of room back there now and I don't think removal was necessary.
5. I would not have gone with a 5.7 LS1. I would have used a 5.3 iron block. Those engines do weight about 150 pounds more however the stock bottom end can be pushed to 700 rear wheel horsepower whereas the LS1 is only safe to around 500. I ended up with $2300 in the motor and tranny and the other route would have been cheaper.
6. I would not have spent 800 bucks on a LG motorsports cam....It sounds great but it does not Idle as well and some vacuum is now missing for the brakes. Plus...the stock cam works just as well as the upgraded cam for turbo applications. I didn't know anything about turbos or even dream of having one when I built the car. I just wanted a badass car that turns heads and that's what I ended up with. The stock Ls 5.3 with a turbo would Idle better, have better brakes and leave mine in the dust in a race.
7. There are a lot of tricks I learned making the rear fenders so I could do that in about half the time. If you decide to go that route, send me another email and I will walk you thru what I learned. I love the big fenders and tires and would do that again for sure.....just quicker and better.
8. I replaced the stock brakes when I built the car...waste of money since I ended up going with the V8 roadster big brakes. I honestly can't say they stop noticeably better than the stock brakes but in an autocross situation it would probably be better.
9. When building the front subframe....I would mark what metal needs removal, take subframe out of car and remove those pieces then put subframe back in car and tack weld all of the pieces I needed to keep in place with a bunch of 1/4 inch welds. Do as much welding as I could with the subframe in the car... then take it out of the car and continue with small welds until it is solid (alternating left then right, front then back etc.
When the welds cool, they shrink and cause distortion. If you do all of the work with it out of the car, the bolt holes won't line up and you will have to grind a few of the welds loose, get a winch on it and pull it back to the right shape for it to fit...then re-weld the ones you just ground off.
10. I would't even mess with the rear subframe until the engine is in the car. Once the engine is in the car, you can measure the angle of the tailshaft. That will tell you what angle your differential needs to be for it to be perfect. You don't want to mess with the differential until you have the half shafts either. The pinion shaft actually sits about 3/4 to 1 inch closer to the passenger side. If you center it, your half shafts will have to be custom made because they will be different lengths. Get your half shafts, put the differentail on the rear subframe with it out of the car....get equal play on each side and then you know where the differential goes (left vs right). The angle you measured on the tailshaft will tell you how much to tilt the differential. It can be off a few degrees like mine with no problems but each degree off is a degree away from perfect alignment and puts some stress on the drivetrain. Watch this link and you will understand what I'm talking about...
Building this car was a learning process and I could do it again in half the time with a faster car that cost less. Was it worth it...heck yes and I will probably sell this one and build another one in the future.
The following 2 users liked this post by jackie:
charchri4 (10-31-2015),
Gator Bait (10-31-2015)
01-21-2017, 09:27 AM
#113
V8 Miata Follower
Thread Starter
Car has new owner
Update....the car was sold today to a very nice gentleman from Illinois.
I will continue to be happy to answer any questions you have regarding the car but my memory will fade as the months go by.
The new owner says he will keep me posted of any improvements he makes on the car.
I will see if he wants to begin a thread on the car and post updates. If so, I will post the name of his thread.
On to the next project.......
I will continue to be happy to answer any questions you have regarding the car but my memory will fade as the months go by.
The new owner says he will keep me posted of any improvements he makes on the car.
I will see if he wants to begin a thread on the car and post updates. If so, I will post the name of his thread.
On to the next project.......
Last edited by jackie; 07-04-2017 at 08:09 AM. Reason: showing new project
01-24-2017, 03:48 PM
#114
V8 Miata Enthusiast
Thanks for the posts about your project.
I have not read thru all of the 113 posts but so far I have gotten some great tidbits.
Removing the dash to cut up the body is my absolute worst fear about doing an LS swap on by Miata. You said you did not have to remove the dash and that gives me a huge confidence boost that I can follow your example when doing mine.
You also did an automatic transmission install and I have not found any other detailed information on doing an LS with automatic install so thank you for that as well. I have a knee that is giving me problem and I simply do not think I can continue shifting a manual long term. On top of that, I am looking for a wrecked but usable 2000 to 2002 Z28 or TransAm and most that come up have the automatic transmission. Easier to source as well as being less expensive.
I have not read thru all of the 113 posts but so far I have gotten some great tidbits.
Removing the dash to cut up the body is my absolute worst fear about doing an LS swap on by Miata. You said you did not have to remove the dash and that gives me a huge confidence boost that I can follow your example when doing mine.
You also did an automatic transmission install and I have not found any other detailed information on doing an LS with automatic install so thank you for that as well. I have a knee that is giving me problem and I simply do not think I can continue shifting a manual long term. On top of that, I am looking for a wrecked but usable 2000 to 2002 Z28 or TransAm and most that come up have the automatic transmission. Easier to source as well as being less expensive.
01-25-2017, 09:32 PM
#115
V8 Miata Fanatic
BGordon -- Please don't sweat a Miata dash removal. It's pretty darn easy as you methodically start with the console, tombstone (hvac, radio surround), steering wheel, steering wheel column trim, gauge surround, gauge cluster, A pillar trim, and then the dash itself is 9 bolts! And unplug some harnesses (that cannot get crossed up - each one is unique), undo 3 clips on the hvac cable controls, and disconnect the radio. If you take your time and bag & tag hardware, these cars really do come apart and go back together very easily. Dash removal and reinstallation can be done in an hour after you've done one...
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