When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Weekend Update: Some forward progress and some unfinished business. All in all, not a bad afternoon! I had no issues taking tension off the main serpentine belt, sliding that belt off the crank pulley, and installing the new, short AC belt that rides behind the main belt. Here’s the part number.
Next item was to reinstall front tires and put the car back on the ground as my friend with the auto repair business (100 yds from where my car resides) wa willing to evacuate and charge the system for me this afternoon. But first, I had to clean the wheels prior to installation ‘cause clean is good!
Hooked the recovery machine up, and it easily pulled a deep vacuum and HELD the vacuum!! No leaks. That’s a big deal to me right now.
So, with some R134a metered in, it was the moment of truth! Fired up the 6.0, put the interior fan on high, and hit the AC button. ... ... And nothing happened. Odd. Time to investigate. Pulled open the beautiful water-tight fuse holder, and it was empty!! Foolish me never bothered to look inside. I swore it was to have a 30 amp fuse, oh well.
Fuse in, and the air conditioning system got busy in a hurry!! We ran it and adjusted the charge capacity. System blew cold, and the suction line was ice cold. We took the car out for a quick 2 miles around the country block, and the only issue I have is on my control side. Say it isn’t so, lol!!
Now I have to travel the next two weeks and cannot get back in the shop till mid October. So I have plenty of time to figure this out. I’m thinking I have a bad relay, but that’s just a guess. Who knows,?! Cover ‘em up and come back to fight another day.
Last edited by ToySnakePMC; 10-15-2020 at 09:56 PM.
No AC update. Just a few pics to drop in because folks like pics... And as a preface for things to come, I think this car will go up for sale this year if the economy and elections don’t derail what seems like good times in the collector and specialty car market.
This car will include 2 white hoods, 2 white rear finish panels (between the tail lights), 5 Enkei RPF1 15”x8” wheels, and a choice of the white hard top or my Phoenix Yellow hard top. (See page 1 of this build for pics of that top. It’s been stored in my shop for 7 or 8 years.
Air Conditioned success, I believe, was achieved this past weekend. During vacation last week, I collected my thoughts and stared at the Atlantic Ocean which was a nice and welcomed change from being on the cell phone and laptop the other 50 or so weeks a year.
Got home and commenced to do 2 things: Simplify my wiring even more and locate the proper normally-open, switched wire at the AC button! I assumed it was a blue wire based on 6+ years of memory when I did this a few weeks ago. That didn’t work so well. So, I dug into my ‘94 wiring schematics and confirmed that I needed to look for a red/green wire that should be at or near the dash switch. Opened my dash back up, and found the wire in the larger rectangular plug behind heater-AC controls. Snipped the wire, spliced in new 18 ga wire and ran it through the large RH wiring grommet to my relay. Problem 1 resolved. Problem 2 wasn’t a problem - just a decision to clean up my use of 2 relays for no justifiable reason. I can’t even now remember what website or hot rod build thread that used this. My friends agreed on this - and Vintage Air only shows 1 relay in their diagram. Removed 2nd relay and cleaned up the area properly.
Next step was to test system, and all went well. AC system holds pressure, and AC and Fan switch properly engage AC compressor clutch —- and Fan #2 !! Here’s AC temps at 72F ambient in the shop:
And here’s a revised AC wiring diagram that completely circumvents any engine ECM logic. This LS2 doesn’t show any strain with idling at 750 rpm and AC blowing wide open. I am hopeful that this is satisfactory for many cooling seasons ahead!
I should have noted that the AC dash switch goes to ground when pushed in. If a fan speed is not selected, then the AC switch does not “make” - even when engaged. Mazda engineers made this a nice and tidy little switch package! And FYI, wire colors shown represent actual wires on the Mazda, GM, and purchased Amazon watertight relay.
Here’s an excerpt from Vintage Air on the function of their trinary switch: Low pressure and high pressure compressor clutch cutoff functions PLUS electric fan engagement signal at 254 PSI. 30 PSI low pressure cutoff. 406 PSI high pressure cut off. Recommended for all electric fan installations.
Last edited by ToySnakePMC; 10-19-2020 at 09:19 PM.
Pulled this off on Sunday afternoon with a good friend of mine. I'm holding the camera and he's behind the wheel of my V8Miata for the first time. I think he had a blast and was able to easily connect the dots between his 2017 Mustang GT to his old FD RX7 from mid 90's. He said this car's handling reminded him of his RX7 back in the day... but with considerably more torque. I enjoyed riding in the passenger seat for about the first time since I put this car together. He was quite smooth with the clutch and throttle - color me impressed!
And - this is me behind the wheel. I think I want a GoPro camera as I was told they have a way to stabilize the video. Holding a camera in your outstretched hands while riding on a less-than-smooth country road doesn't make the best video. This is all new to me and fun.
I just saw a disturbing thread on another forum Pat...
LOL, not disturbing -- just a heads-up on that higher-traffic discussion forum that there's good things to come should someone want to purchase a turn-key V8Miata in the coming weeks. I'm excited about it, and hope to provide a good experience for those on BaT that want to bid on the car. (I purchased my latest toy there last June 2019 - and got lucky as my car was just as described by the seller, or even better actually.) I think BaT may be the right venue to take as I've been putting this plan together for the past 5 months or so.
The good news is that a friend of mine got to drive this car for the first time 3 weeks ago. He wanted to buy it, but decided a NC is more to his liking. So, he purchased a folding hardtop NC 2 days ago, and is planning to enlist me with a LS3 crate motor swap in 2021. That will be a blast - so I'll document here most likely when the fun begins.
Appreciate the kind words over there, Travis. You're a good fella ! Hope you and your growing family are staying safe.
LOL, not disturbing -- just a heads-up on that higher-traffic discussion forum that there's good things to come should someone want to purchase a turn-key V8Miata in the coming weeks. I'm excited about it, and hope to provide a good experience for those on BaT that want to bid on the car. (I purchased my latest toy there last June 2019 - and got lucky as my car was just as described by the seller, or even better actually.) I think BaT may be the right venue to take as I've been putting this plan together for the past 5 months or so.
The good news is that a friend of mine got to drive this car for the first time 3 weeks ago. He wanted to buy it, but decided a NC is more to his liking. So, he purchased a folding hardtop NC 2 days ago, and is planning to enlist me with a LS3 crate motor swap in 2021. That will be a blast - so I'll document here most likely when the fun begins.
Appreciate the kind words over there, Travis. You're a good fella ! Hope you and your growing family are staying safe.
All is well over here. We have bought some land to build our forever home on now and I have contemplated the same thing as you have here many many times recently, the sale of my car. I have another project on my lift, and the sale of my car would certainly help with our new home project but it hurts to think about getting rid of it. Looking forward to seeing the quality of an NC conversion you can create!
I'm going to post up your build thread on the facebook page to help drum up interest for you!
That’s mighty nice of you. Market seems kinda hot right now on BaT. I’m hoping that remains true after the election cycle winds down. Congrats on the land purchase and the upcoming TINY home with massive shop behind it. Your wife will certainly understand... lol.
After approximately five years of completion, I set out yesterday morning for a 20 mile drive to the nearest truck stop with a set of CAT Scales. No, not the sort of weigh-in I'd like to do with some corner scales to actually see what the weight distribution is, but this at least, gives me a sense of how much this fat pig weighs fully "dressed out". So, without further ado, this 1994 V8Miata with hard top, alum 6.0L, T56, cast-iron Ford 8.8 diff, air-conditioning, Hard Dog HT Rollbar, and a rather extensive helping of Dynamat heat & sound insulation weighs in at 2,584 lb. That's with a 1/2 tank of fuel. Deduct the 47 lb hardtop, and we are are at a svelte 2,537 lbs. That brings us to a horsepower-to-weight ratio of 6.34 lb per HP - (using the stock 400 number of the LS2). What's interesting to me is that when I did a quick interweb search of a current/ recent Porsche 991 Turbo S, it has 552 HP and weighs 3,572 lb. That comes up to a comparable, or slightly higher, 6.47 lb per HP. We're in good company here; however, I would not take the comparison any further than that - as the Turbo S probaby has large diameter ceramic rotors, can go 0-60 in 2.9 sec, and employs a computer-controlled 7-speed PDK transmission. The Miata is obviously more analog and less sophisticated in every direction - which is A-OK in my book.
Here's a few photos from last night as I get this car to the finish line in preparation for its next caretaker.
Thanks! Great car - had a lot of fun with it - probably more fun building it than anything else. Car went to its new home the other week and should be A OK. Currently cleaning up & detailing my hi-mileage ‘91 BRG with the cold Holiday weather happening outside... Happy New Year everyone. Patrick
I don't know when / if you'll be spending time on this forum again, but THANKS! I really appreciate both the beautiful car and the careful documentation. I'm building a Ford 5.0L in an NB, but I have still found a lot here to learn from. Thanks again!
I don't know when / if you'll be spending time on this forum again, but THANKS! I really appreciate both the beautiful car and the careful documentation. I'm building a Ford 5.0L in an NB, but I have still found a lot here to learn from. Thanks again!
Thanks for the note! I do visit from time to time as I had the best time ever building this car so I get sorta nostalgic for V8M’s !! In fact, I built a 2007 NC folding hardtop with LS3 495 during Covid with a good friend of mine. He drove my car once, and it was ON for him. I’ll add some pics here to sorta document that build as it truly looks OEM+ with the hood up.
10-04-2020, 09:30 PM
