For SB5700 and ToySnakePMC, here are some pics I took of the gusset mods. The only "mistake" I made was to be over zealous on widening the driver side, but I caught it before welding when I dry fit the pedals. I had to pound it back an inch for proper pedal clearance (remembering the carpet thickness too). I also had to trim the frame reinforcements to fit snugly as my frame rails were not square with the firewall (in a rotational sense - they were tilted in toward the engine bay. The dimensions for the tunnel opening are in the FM instructions, btw.

I did have to trim and twist the gussets to maintain the original angle instead of being twisted upward like a gusset smiley! That was an interesting experience.

I don't know if these images will appear inline or as attachments ... still learning. I have more pics if you want/need. If they don't show up at all, let me know and I can send them to you.

Alvin

Thanks PT for posting the pics and your notes. Your outcome on the interior gussets looks great. At first, I was somewhat surprised in how you cut them off. But after seeing them welded back in place, it looks so sanitary. And, you had left yourself a thicker surface to weld to with flange parts of the gussetts left intact. Cool. Why don't you swing by NC and wrap mine up!? :)

If i didnt live several hours away I would love to help you get this thing together.... but when you are close to your first start I would imagine a few of us would love to stop by. My wife has been begging for an out of state (florida) vacation and havent convinced myself to go somewhere for no reason. I would love to stop by when you are ready...

I'd love to take credit for that, but that would be a lie! I followed the FM instructions and that was the way they did it. I notice now that they drill out the spot welds and take the whole thing off, but having that extra metal does have the added benefit of a good welding base. If you just slap them back on, they are tilted up because of the widened tunnel and that just didn't look good. Incidentally, mine is an NB. I think your tunnel is a little different.

Hmm ... NC ... how long can you wait? :-) My wife was born in Greenville SC, but no family there anymore. My daughter worked at the BMW plant for a while (Spartanberg), but has moved on as well.

When I was doing this it was a great learning experience. Btw, I did most of the cutting (everywhere) with a Dremel tool. I, too, would have liked to have a plasma cutter, but alas the money was not there. Some of the cutting was with a craftsman handyman multitool (in the corners mostly). That broke - the Dremel kept on going. Lots of little cutting disks consumed!

Brandog & PT.., you'd be welcome to visit anytime! The wiring is going to be a pain, but I'll look at some options here soon so I can decide what path to take.

Had just a few hours this week to spend in the shop so I cleaned and detailed the rear diff. Wire wheel'd, wire brushed, chiseled some rust spots (was this thing from northern MI?? - no offense, just not used to seeing rust!), and primed and painted a hi-temp silver. Left the rear cover in its raw aluminum...

Attachment 7781

One friend commented that the diff looks like it came out of a rock crawler! It is huge & can't wait to get it tucked under the MX5...

Attachment 7782

Put one of my duplicate FM catalogs to use and help mask off the rear cover:

Attachment 7783

Done! I think the silver paint gives it at least a 10# weight reduction...

Attachment 7784

In other big news to me... I received some long-awaited FedEx boxes from V8Roadsters. What is supposed to be the newly-updated alum oil pan arrived in all its glory and splendor. It is expensive - no doubt - but it is such a work of art. The milled flange looks beefy and should be a perfect fit. Also received the V8R power steering delete pulley bracket and their A/C block for hose installation on the CTS-V compressor. (Didn't take pics but can if so desired...)

A few pan pics!!

Attachment 7778

Attachment 7779

Attachment 7780

Well, this is the final main piece to my puzzle that I've been missing for months. Next steps will include installing pan with its new pick-up tube, and dropping the LS2 on the tubular K member with bellhousing temp bolted on. I can then test fit the firewall/ tranny clearances. Then temporarily bolt on front accy's and front sway bar to mark how far the radiator and a/c condenser needs to be slid forward. Let the build-up begin! Well, whenever I get the next free day to play, that is.

Looks great! You are so close you can taste it!

Past Sunday afternoon yielded a few hours of shop duty, thankfully..! Plan was to pull GTO cast alum pan and install V8R pan so the tubular V8R K member can be fitted to the engine. ...All baby steps to get this powerplant in for its first test-fit in the chassis...

Pulled pan, windage tray, and GTO pickup tube.

Attachment 7767

Cut up windage tray by following FM's instructions and what I saw on GoKart's build thread on m.net.

Attachment 7768

Cleaned up windage tray and V8R pick up tube are installed. Special attn was paid on removing the clear tape that was covering the intake screen!

Attachment 7769

Pan is on with standard GM oil pan gasket - what a nice gasket - really like how GM does this! Prior to this, I quadrupple checked clearance b/tn pan and pick up tube to better protect the investment. I used a dab of white lithium grease inside pan - about 3/8" tall to see if the pick up tube interfered Did a test fit, adjusted, and am happy with approx 1/2" clearance from bottom of pan.

Attachment 7770

Beauty shot!!

Attachment 7771

Looks like enough time left over to install new GM CTS-V harmonic balancer and ARP bolt. I used an eBay $12 tool that was all-thread rod with nuts and washers to better prevent stripping a few threads inside the crank! Impact gun didn't slow us down either as we torqued the bolt in place...

Attachment 7772

Still on a roll this past Sunday afternoon so I decided to temporarily install front engine accy's while the LS2 sat on the ground close to the project car. Need the engine dressed up so proper radiator clearance can be soon determined.

Attachment 7773

The CTS-V accessories do make this a pretty compact build...

Attachment 7774

Picked up the P/S delete pulley bracket from V8Roadsters. I like this -- clean but effective! The pulley bracket requires a GM style pulley too.

Attachment 7775

Attachment 7776

She's about ready for "take off"!!! More work to follow this coming wknd.

Attachment 7777

What can you say about this build other than it is over the top. So well designed. The oil pan is great and looks like it was well worth the delay. Cannot wait until this beast fires up. I don't think you could have assembled all these parts in your wildest dreams. Everything is top notch. I can remember back in 1990 talking to you about Miatas and how it was a perfect car, maybe a little down on HP but that was not what the car was about. HA HA looking back. I guess you are fixing that design flaw x's 3!!!!

I admire your earlier optimism!! But, I will say that this past wknd was the first time that I didn't feel like I was "tearing the car apart" but actually making a small step forward.

HFC3... - Nothing like having "big brother's support. ;) Thanks! I hope it will someday keep the back roads hot between Raleigh & Richmond!

Looking good! Put those motor mount heat shields on before you go much further. Its nearly impossible to get the passenger one on after its in the car.

I did not have these with my supplies, ordered them (backordered) and have since installed the engine in the car. I had to "manipulate" the passenger side one to get it in.

Thanks SB for checking in. I'll now make sure to put those heat shields back on before the motor's final return under the hood.

Today was sort of a big milestone for a V8 Miata buid, I would think. Today was the first time the mighty LSx was dropped in for it's first brief visit in the new home. Without headers, steering components, wiring, and plumbing anywhere near the engine compartment, It looked like I had room for a 454 Big Block!!

Today was all about rolling the LS2 and bellhousing under the car and looking for clearance issues - front and rear - starting with the firewall and then going to the front looking for the same with the radiator and fans.

Open Up... WIDER!

Attachment 7761

Rolling the motor around on what must be a 90 yr-old antique furniture dolly, It was so easy to position it under the car suspended by the chain hoist from its re-attached baby teeth tow hooks.

Attachment 7762

V8Roadsters' tubular K member was easy to align as the Miata was lowered down. V8R pleasantly surprised me on the 100% hole alignment for the factory 8 bolts - no prying or, even worse, having to elongate any holes for this critical component to be attached to the car.

Attachment 7763

Checking completely around the rear of the motor and bellhousing, I only have one interference with the firewall and that is on the RH side at the bellhousing. It's just barely touching the corner of my widened tunnel - maybe a 1/4" size spot. I marked it with Sharpie and will proceed to knock and tap that corner up and in. The LH side is fine and i have 1/2", maybe, of space between firewall and the very close RH head.

Attachment 7764

Next step was to do a quick assembly on the FM radiator, and Stage 2 fan kit so it can be dropped in and eyeballed. Remember my praises for the V8R parts? ...Well, I'm not feeling it with my radiator and fan kit. While the parts are mostly self-explanitory, I can really use some instructions/advice on utilizing the hardware kit. I stumbled through it, but I have welded, uneven, alum bolt bosses on the radiator that, IMHO, makes the shroud sit uneven, I don't have enough small bolts to secure the fans - looks like 6 in lieu of 8, and the wiring instructions, I assume, is in the FM V8 installation guide. And, the supplied radiator hoses appear useless when it comes to the radiator outlets and my waterpump outlets. Oh well, I will give FM a call to help me sort through this.

Radiator in for test fit. It's up too high (about 3/4" or so) and does lean back on the bottom towards the engine pullies. My dad saw the easy remedy first -- we'll modify the Mazda rad brackets and lower pins for the J hook to fix the above. That will prevent hacking on the core support and brackets on the A/C condenser. I have to get the radiator down to fit under the Z06/ LS7 intake - so in the near future, there will be some cutting and hacking to do! Who am I kidding..?

Attachment 7765

Attachment 7766

All in all, a good Saturday. :)

Quick update on radiator: FM has emailed me the missing instructions that 'splains how their full radiator and fan shroud kit goes together. (Thanks Brandon!) In the meantime, I was able to make adjustments to the Mazda rad brackets and now have it lowered about 7/8" and have the bottom kicked out towards the front of the car. This will give me better clearances with engine pulleys..., but not out of harm's way with the FM V8 sway bar. That's okay, as I will have to fabricate and lower the sway bar mounting locations down about 1". Again, this is a result from making room on the top of the radiator for the Z06 intake.

Attachment 7759

Attachment 7760

Final (is it ever final?) up-fit to the cooling package was done last weekend. Using the FM instructions, I got the fans and shroud set properly but will save any wire splicing and such when we get to that point in the build...

Attachment 7746

Then it was on to the A/C condenser coil. With the FM radiator lowered and pulled forward at the bottom, the condenser wanted to touch at the bottom. My goal here is to see if I can get these heat transfer units installed, clear the CTS-V pulleys, accommodate the FM sway bar, AND not cut up the core support and mounting points for the two. So, I used my hi-speed H.Freight cut-off wheel and sliced off Mazda's 3 welded nuts and 1 welded stud from the back of the condenser tabs. I then welded 4 nuts on the front of the tabs. This 3/8" difference is all that I needed - along with a small spacer of about the same length on the 2 bottom studs to get this coil more upright as well.

Attachment 7747

Attachment 7748

We're there. I think all that will have to be done at the front of the engine is weld in 1" lower plates and fabricate some stiffeners for front sway to clear the fans ( because rad was lowered to accept the Z06 intake...), and trim for said intake later in the build.

Attachment 7749

Remove trial-fit motor:

Attachment 7750

Test fit the FM stainless steel headers, well, at least 1 side just to add some eye-candy to the shop's atmosphere for a while...

Attachment 7751

Rolled the MX5 over to the side of shop so it can be raised up for removing the rear sub-frame, diff and suspension, and so all the mods can be welded up in one convenient location.

Here's a lesson that I want to share with you. If you're like me and not accustomed to throwing a stripped-down Miata shell up on 4 jackstands and you do it like you always have... Well, the law of physics take over real quick -- After setting the final pair of stands behind the front doors, I let the jack down and the car tilted over -- but not too quickly! The @ss end was too heavy, obviously with no motor or front suspension on the car. i jacked the rear diff back up real quick and chained the front tow hook to a 1" thick steel-plate dolly with other pieces of steel, GTO headers, and a used truck battery! It is now steady, thank goodness. I picked up one scratch on bottom of rear bumper cover when it fell down on the jack handle... Moving on...

Attachment 7752

Rear end and suspension is out. And fuel tank is disconnected all the way around and dropped down as well. It seems the only things left in this shell are a Hard Dog, two door assemblies, soft top and rear trim!

Attachment 7753

Attachment 7754

Yesterday and today brought on a desire to focus on the underbody of the Miata. This southern, rust-free tub just needed a wash with soap and water to get the road grime out from under her and a little Purple de-greaser to get some some old grease slung around by a leaky LH CV joint from a few years ago.

I cleaned the rear wheel wells, below the hole for the fuel tank, and everything pretty much rear of the doors. Then I went to work with a 2" brush and a a quart of Tractor Supply's best gloss black paint! I think it is turning out just like I wanted it to. I originally wasn't sure if this paint would cover 20 yr-old random, Mazda undercoating and such, but it did great. Took the better part of 2 afternoons to get the back half done.

Attachment 7743

Attachment 7744

Attachment 7745

Next on the list will be to hook up with a local welder who comes highly recommended by several folk. I look forward to bringing in an expert to make this chapter in the build come to a close of sorts. I wish I had the skill, but I don't. And, I do not want to compromise the integrity of the build - had I decided to stitch up the firewall and weld in the 8.8 diff/ pinion bracket from V8R...

Doing it like a real pro; you're going to have a real nice ride!

Thanks for the heads up Pat! I wondered about that as I could pick the front of mine up with one hand and very little effort. One more thing FM needs to put in the manual to put a just in case jack stand under the back bumper... GREAT BUILD!!!

Thanks Jim and MGB-V8 ! This has been a LOT of fun to work on and think through... I want it to be as clean and straight-forward as possible since I plan to hold on and enjoy it for years to come - Lord willing!

I agree about a proper build guide. I would think that V8Roadsters would benefit from even more sales by authoring a complete, on-line instruction manual. I know there are a variety of LSx configs and subsequent PCM's, etc that one cannot address the many variations, but if they offered a build guide with FULL instructions (the FM doesn't...), then I think more people sitting on the fence would be convinced to proceed with such a conversion using their products... I've yet to find a build thread or on-line article that shows me what I want to see on ridding the Mazda wiring harnesses of now unneeded wires...

Small job summary: Had some time and wanted to go ahead and set up the DBW throttle pedal that came with my '05 GTO take-out engine.

Here's the pedal and half of the GM bracket. I cut it off of the brake pedal assy as I prepared to mostly follow GoKart's steps on his build thread.

Attachment 7738

Remove Miata pedal assy and cut down these ears to get it all the raised edges flush. The edges stand about 1/4" tall.

Attachment 7739

I spaced the bracket to where the pedal will be somewhat closer to the brake pedal for better heel & toe (and to allow for my widened tunnel...). This is not award-winning welding here, but I do have good penetration on most of it & the welds will be facing the firewall. :)

Attachment 7740

Now, I had to trim the bottom LH corner of GM pedal assy with my Dremel so there's access to this bolt and the Mazda spacer/ column gasket that will reside behind it.

Attachment 7741

Finished. The GM pedal has a pivot point the centers up with the center of my brake pedal so it should be easy to move from pedal to pedal. I liked how it's laid out during the test fits. Since this photo, I've prepped, primed and painted the assembly silver.

Attachment 7742

As I prepare (or will it be wait?) to meet up with the recommended professional for eventually weld up the plasma body cuts and my rear diff bracket, I realized I had better mock up the rear assembly so he can quickly confirm the pinion angle and burn that bracket in place...

Using my nifty new Summit racing digital caliper (when in S. ATL, you must drop by the Summit store - stumbled upon this place on Thursday. That was fun!) to confirm my suspicions... The V8R bracket is smaller than the width of the rear diff cover.

Attachment 7729

Attachment 7730

As you can see in above pic, I used two long carraige bolts with nuts and flat washers inside the flange to speard it apart and try to avoid from ruining the powdercoat finish on the outside. It took persuasion, but not too difficult.

Next, I was able to get the bottom hole lined up for the most part only to learn that my Dremel and air-powered cutting wheel would have to trim up the rear diff cover. I could have skipped the Dremel because there was quite a bit of work to perform here... I cut a considerable amount of material out of the upper angle flanges, but by no means, did I destroy the integrity of this rear cover. It's thick!

Attachment 7731

Attachment 7732

It's on, and I'm using some cheap 7/16" bolts for test fit - but will locate a pair of Grade 8's for final installation.

Attachment 7733

But here's a problem, perhaps?? I know that the pinion bracket will help point the diff in the correct direction, but right now, the bracket and diff touch ever so slightly against one of the rear cover's allen head screws. I'll keep an eye on this today as I mock up the rear subframe/ pinion bracket layout.

Attachment 7734

Attachment 7735

Here's how she sits now:

Attachment 7736

Attachment 7737

A well observed meticulous execution; IMHO, there's not such thing as over thinking in modifications. I can't wait to see it run.

Thanks Jacko - I appreciate the comments. Stay tuned until she's back together. I find this build to be great weekend therapy after a full week of work - even if it's just for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon... Plus, I get to spend the week nights searching on-line for ideas and inspiration. (Do love me some LS1tech.com for their conversions and hybrids. Where else will you find LSx powered 5 series wagons, Chevy Luv's, and 240Z's??)

Some Z06/ LS7 air intake modifications...
As I patiently await the pro welder's appointment to get my firewall and rear diff work done, I thought now was a good time for me to leave behind some more of my signature noob welding marks on the chassis.

First off, study on-line interweb photos of other NA's that have received this cold air intake and decide where to cut this horizontal support panel, mark it, and use the ab-fabulous Harbor Freight tool to zip through this thing.

Attachment 7713

Obligatory pic of cut metal:

Attachment 7714

The shop I'm playing in has quite a bit of stock metal, bar, tube, etc to pick from. I used some 1/4"x2-1/2" and cut me two 4" long pieces. Then measured twice and cut me one 3/4" square tubing about 17" long (or whatever the exact # was... can't remember now.) I trimmed the end pieces with a portable band saw to somewhat mimic the cuts on the Miata. And welded it into one surprisingly straight piece!

Attachment 7715

Had to fit this. Here, you can see inside if you'd like...

Attachment 7716

With the 4" long end pieces, I felt like I was able to position my 3/4" sq tubing somewhat lower to allow for the air filter assembly plenty of room. Only when I do the final assembly with bumper cover and bumper support will I know for sure how she fits together.

Attachment 7717

Loose - test fit. The upper core support will need trimming along the front side so this filter will snug up a little closer towards the radiator. I KNOW hood clearances will be important to watch out for... whenever that day comes!

Attachment 7718

All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with my welding efforts - this time. I actually took my time and tried not to rush it when I pulled the trigger. ...Makes a big difference for me!

Met with the welder this weekend, and I'm very pleased with our initial meeting. He likes getting involved in unique projects & problem solving... Well, he will get plenty of both with this job. He can either fake sincerity really well or genuinely liked the project car -- so, I think he's going to treat this as if it was his own car. I like that.

One of the things I did to prepare for this meeting was to mock up a few minimum front suspension components so he could visualize the sway bar concern. This is the FM V8 sway bar. It's beefy and needs to bolt up about 1" lower than the factory bar - for clearing the bottom side of the elec fans. Here's about where the brackets need to be.

Attachment 7710

The existing brackets seem a bit flimsy. I know that auto-x folks can damage these brackets with the stress and loads they sometimes put on their sway bars.

Attachment 7711

So, what the plan is for now. Mr. Welder took measurements and one of my fine thread bolts home with him. He will use some 1" thick stock and cut out solid bracket spacers for me. they will have female threads cut into them and will be welded into position on the existing brackets. As you can see, the new supports will need to be set forward so holes can align properly. (I thought FM created this FM bar so '94 - '97's wouldn't have to make modificaitons to accomodate this bar. There's no way this bar would bolt up easily even if I hadn't lowered the radiator for accommodating the vette air cleaner...

The cool thing is that he will use flat bar stock and reinforce the open space of the brackets = tying them back into the above frame rails. Part of the reason why we're doing this is so I will still have full access to sliding the upper A arm bolts forward for future shock removal/ replacement. This should be pretty bad @ss when it comes together!

Attachment 7712

Up next, I THINK, will be fuel pump installation and plumbing up the back half of the chassis.

It is going to such an over the top miata when it is completed! Plain white Miata with 405hp.

Fuel injected, Chevy powered LS motors Miata have a clear advantage over the Ford EFI engine as far as an induction practical design goes. You can built the LS Chevy's air intake going center, to the right, or to the left; it has lots of options. The Ford EFI powered Miatas have some features that the Chevys don't have but not in this area. It really looks cool to see a centered air induction duct work.

It's always a pleasure to see how someone can worked out some of these problems while keeping in mind the visual presentation aspect of hot rodding...... It's really shaping up; keep up the good work!

Cheers,

Jacko

Only small steps taken the last two weeks on this build journey with work and family obligations - but that's okay - I'm taking this build at whatever pace I can. Some weeks will see more accomplishments than others, which leads me to this weak post! :)

Received a box from McMaster Carr with the final, needed stainless steel socket screws and a 1/16"x12"x24" sheet of aluminum during the week so I could at least make my bellhousing dust shield. I first took an expensive, flat piece of cardboard from some previous shipment and made my template. Template was traced out on the aluminum and then put my seldom-used Blk & Decker jigsaw to work! Note to any of you doing the same: if your jigsaw has a variable speed -- crank it up to max. Damn thing will slice through some metal then... All rough edges were sanded down and two holes were drilled out. She's good to go!

Attachment 7704

Also, I had previously sanded the bad original paint on the LS2/GTO starter and painted it with high temp dark bronze paint I had lying around. Got her bolted back in for the first time. Also, threw the header back on to see how they're going to get along & they fit just fine. That starter will need to be wrapped in a blanket to prevent the dreaded heat soak I hear about too often on these V8Miata swaps.

Attachment 7705

Attachment 7706

Replaced various GM bolts on the front drive accessories, brackets, coil brackets, etc with stainless steel socket screws to tidy up the engine. I'm thinking it adds about 0.36 HP overall... Well, maybe not - but I do like the look. I got addicted to this idea after I ordered my first small kit for the intake bolts and it sorta went from there...

Attachment 7707

Here, you get a good look at the V8Roadsters power steering delete bracket for better chance of retaining the factory LS belt routing. Many others have done without the bracket and invented a way to keep their serpentine belt properly wrapped, but I sorta dig how this one looks!

Attachment 7708

So that's where I'm at. The next big task will be the welding up of the floor/ firewall. My welder SHOULD call me soon, right?? Hello? Is this thing on??

When I got home from the shop yesterday evening, I couldn't pull into our short driveway... My wife was sweeping and cleaning up the garage -- God, I love that woman!! She had the other two Mazdas rolled out of the way. the white '06 MX5 just joined the family last month. If you haven't driven an NC Miata, you should. The chassis is so much tighter than the NA's that I love so much. I hope more LS swap MX5's start happening - that would be the ultimate...

Attachment 7709

With about 8 months into this build, this weekend was a turning point. The welder came by Friday AM and finished about 6 hours later. I feel like now it's a down hill grade as the MX5 will begin to come together piece-by-piece. Not that it's gonna happen overnight, but at least it won't be deconstruction as much as it will be build, install, wire, plumb, etc...

Action shot of this awesome welder and new friend - KC. Sweet work, very talented, cell phones don't do it justice.

Attachment 7696

Here's a close up of sorts on LH side of firewall with the installation of the FM frame reinforcements. This is before he welded up the tranny tunnel down below.

Attachment 7697

The RH side pic shows how KC welded up the corner and the MANY tunnel slices that were previously cut so the metal could be folded over like fingers. He welded so much on the tunnel that she's gotta be a lot more stiff than when new.

Attachment 7698

Reinforcements were put back in on the backside of the firewall. These things had to be manipulated, cut, bent, and beat on severely to fit snug & properly. This 20 yr-old tub is going to be stout and ready for 6.0L of fuel-injected torque...

Attachment 7699

Next, KC tackled the rear 8.8 diff front support. He and I weren't certain what V8R had in mind when they had these items laser-cut made since one rear tab doesn't quite reach the subframe and the lower lip (when upside down like in my pics) doesn't reach the spot-welded flange of the subframe. So KC welded in some bar stock to give this ft piece some substantial support.

Attachment 7700

Attachment 7701

She's fully welded in now. The rear subframe will now need to be cleaned, primed, and painted so the rear diff, axles and suspension can all go back together one day...

Attachment 7702

End of the day called for me to clean up the engine bay and interior with some Purple stuff and paper towels. I'm actually typing with no fingerprints as they got removed this afternoon with that intense cleaner -- but my firewall and engine compartment look good and will soon receive seam sealer, primer, and Mazda white paint for better appearance.

Attachment 7703

Looking really good Patrick. That is an exciting point to be at. Time to start putting her back together.

Thanks WGT!! I agree - it's time to build this Frankenstein! And like the monster, it needs a brain - I need to get a WORD back from my wiring harness and PCM mad scientist -- I hope he'll finish the GTO wiring diet and PCM re-flash sooner than later - dang it...

This was a GREAT weekend! Started with the welder on Friday and ended today with most of the engine bay primed, seam-sealed, and painted. :) However, my one 12 oz spray can from Paintscratch.com of 94 Mazda PT white ran out before I was finished. I've ordered another can and will finish up with white and clearcoat next week. On to the PHOTOS!!!

I used a flexible sanding block, wire wheel, 200 grit on the somewhat rusty welds from 4 months ago, and went over the entire engine bay. Then cleaned with mineral spirits and compressed air before masking off the top of the firewall and the radiator core support.

Attachment 7686

I used a self-etching primer on the bare metal and some regular sandable primer for the engine bay and inside around the tranny tunnel.

Attachment 7687

So, before I employed the 3M seam sealer (one tube - $31 bucks, damn), I happened to read the directions and it stated -"do not use directly on self-etching primer", so I found some CAT yellow primer to go over where the seam sealer is needed.

Attachment 7688

Attachment 7689

I let this other primer dry and then put on this beige seam sealer. You talk about sticky! This stuff is 10x worse than household caulk. Sticky stuff, no doubt... Here you can see the 1" solid block swaybar mounts that KC, the welder, fabbed up and installed.

Attachment 7690

Seam sealer dried and then used some Duplicolor Nissan white on the inside and along the lower frame rails in the engine compartment.

Attachment 7691

This is the paint that I used for the engine compartment's finish coat. I got the idea from GoKart and his NB - LS2 build... All 3 cans came in one kit. Unfortunately, one can didn't cover what I thought it would. Oh well...

Attachment 7692

Did all I could do when the paint ran out... The white paint on the front end's horizontal bar was the icebox white, Nissan paint - that bar will be hidden behind the bumper.

Attachment 7693

Last Frankenstein photo for the day is the white firewall that will need its clearcoat next week after I get another can to finish the wheelwells, etc.
It's looking pretty good - the seam sealer helps hide the funky stitch welding around the shock towers...

Attachment 7694

So, I'm ready to go home tonite, and the BRG has a flat left-rear tire. I rolled the car back & forth, but could NOT find the nail. So, I yanked the 4 wheels off and slapped on the Advan repo's that used to ride under the white MX5. All is good - I can go home now...

Attachment 7695

In honor of the title of my build thread, I had some slow, but forward progress this wknd. I can go several directions right now as I wait for the harness and PCM to show up (should be in this week per Bill !!) and the Mazda white paint to finish up the engine compartment, but I decided to start building the rear suspension and final drive.

The subframe was cleaned, primed, and painted a bronze engine paint color - just to set it apart from the gloss black chassis it will eventually marry up to. Then the first thing to go in was the rear diff and V8R 8.8 diff bracket along with the new bushings from V8 Roadsters.

Attachment 7681

Next up was unpacking the tubular, rear A arms, again from V8Roadsters. This was the last chance for such a group shot... The slow and dirty work was greasing up the bushings and pressing in the inner sleeves. Did all 8 of the inner bushings so the rear subframe could begin to come together.

Attachment 7682

Didn't get a pic today of all 4 A arms installed, but just imagine both sides done!
Here's LH driver side done, and of course, the whole thing is upside down on my old kitchen island cart. Never had a good use for that thing until this weekend.

Attachment 7683

Another photo. These things are just works of art - I just hope that I've got the bushings set up properly since they're so stiff. To me, the bushings are mostly thicker (think wider) than the OEM bushings... May need to contact V8R for insight.

Attachment 7684

Should be clean and finished by next weekend. I've cleaned and painted the rear uprights so it'll all be detailed and tidy one day!

Attachment 7685

Hitting the road this week for work, but Labor Day wknd should be fruitful and will hopefully have the MX5 rear wheels back on the ground so we can sneak up under the chain hoist and prepare for the engine to drop in after wiring harness and brake lines are finished (next on the list). Thanks for dropping by. I'm amazed at how many looks there's been at the thread so far. That's pretty cool.

A little final paint work tonite... Used up that 2nd can of white and then later went over it with a clear lacquer. A little too white, but it will do.

Attachment 7679

Attachment 7680

The fun today was focusing on the rear end to get this sub-assembly back together and eventually up under the car. Of course, the fuel tank plumbing is what I need to be working on - maybe later this wknd I'll tackle it.

I started with burning out the original rear hub/ upright bushings with big @ss acetylene torch. That took about 2 minutes total to heat up the iron, punch out a flaming goo of rubber, and repeat. Sad thing is that I'd just painted these uprights last week... Oh well, I didn't know the V8R's require larger eccentric bolt in lieu of the smaller, non-adjustable one in Mazda's upper A arm. Wire brushed the goo off, new bushings in - followed by fresh paint.

Attachment 7675

Assembled the goodies, slid in the V8R axles first in the diff with a nice "click" and then into the Mazda hubs.

Attachment 7676

Attachment 7677

Full screen shot of current condition! She's nasty - and needs chaining up to hold her back..! Well, actually - I'm getting worried that my kitchen cart will either flip over or cave in under the weight!

Attachment 7678

Gotta like forward progress! Had a hall pass from the wife to spend most of Labor Day wknd in the shop.. Woo hoo! And got a few tasks done - including changing her MX5 oil for my first time, and had to google m.net to find the filter hidden behind the steel access plate secured with 5 screws. You'd think the '06 MX5 is built to withstand IED's or something...

OK, on with the build. 1st thing is to plumb the fuel tank. Installed the 300 liter /hr pump from FM. That was easy - as it's a direct fit and even has good Miata-specific directions in the box... I also wiped out the surprisingly tiny bit of tank sediment from past 19 yrs before buttoning it back up.

Attachment 7666

OK... Not 100% certain that I've given myself enough room to plumb in the filter/ regulator below, but I've used every little inch of tubing that FM supplied me. I wish they didn't play it so close, but it's all on at the top. Decided to label the tank ports with supply & return while it was out - ya never know when that would come in handy I guess... Venting the tank is another strategy that I felt like I'm on my own to a large degree - I THINK the 2 valves in this fancy, shmancy tank vent piping are 1. Roll-over protection valve, and 2. One-way check valve. I'm not sure, so I'm going to use the 23.8879" length of 1/4" FM hose to tie into my just-ordered Land Rover charcoal canister from eBay. No purge valve - just a darn vent that, I guess, goes to the atmosphere any and all times of the day. My bud, Big T, (Tad), said he kept his simple on his FFR Cobra with its tiny 4.6L Cobra power plant...

Attachment 7667

Tank popped into place and then mounted & plumbed in the Vette regulator/ filter. I first cut off the cheesy bracket it came with while saving the ground strap (wonder why it has that? Fear of Static electricity?). Then used the much nicer Mazda bracket and utilized just the RH bolt to slide the thing more to the right for better clearances with the driveshaft that will one day come here to live. Outlet line will be plumbed in after V8R frame rail brackets go in.

Attachment 7668

Time for rear end to re-join the family! Let her down to the floor & slowly flipped it over for its 25' journey via 2 floor jacks.

Attachment 7669

This procedure went well thanks to my Dad showing up. I needed another set of hands since the assembly was precariously balanced on short 2x6's on the separate jacks, and I didn't want it to face plant 2' off the ground - right on the pinion!! He jacked it right into place while I secured the 4 nuts and 2 bolts. That would have taken me an hour or more on my own - we had it done in 6 minutes at the most.

Attachment 7670

Time for rear shocks! Assembled the V-Maxx non-adjustables per Flyin Miata's instructions using all new NB shock tops and hardware. Most time consuming was using the supplied wrenches to run the collars up with... Slow going, but I didn't want to scratch them up the first time I touch them. I like how they look - don't know much about setting them up, however, as these are my first true, coilovers that I've ever owned.

Attachment 7671

Threw 'em on - but first, raised the collars some more to clear the big @ss, outer CV boots. Looking spiffy, I think!! Oh yeah, big concern this week was whether the shock bodies would be rubbing the axle boots, and I'm happy to report that they're about 8mm apart. Doesn't sound like much, but may be significant enough to alleviate concerns and/ or drastic fixes that others have faced. Maybe the V8R lower a arms push the shock further away from the CV boots - Dont know for sure.

Attachment 7672

Beauty shot while its still clean!!

Attachment 7673

Looking more and more complete to me - but I know there's plent of work left to do... It's been fun, nonetheless!

Attachment 7674

...Hmmm. Looks like the delivery guy stopped by while I was away, and he dropped off BP Automotive's stand-alone harness (re-worked from my GTO take-out powertrain) and the re-flashed PCM that's absent from the pics. It appears that Bill did a nice job setting this harness up with 2 fan relays, A/C relay, starter relay, various fuses, firewall grommet, etc.. with connectors and other wires all clearly labeled.

Attachment 7664

Attachment 7665

Glad to have this here and available when I'm ready - which will be sooner than later. My plans now are the following: paint bottom of floorplan and front fender wells, trim & install gold heat barrier in tranny tunnel, run brake lines, install V8R frame rail stiffeners, figure out what will remain of Mazda wiring, install LS2 wiring harness, PCM, and relays, and finally pop in engine and T56!!!!
Then front suspension, radiator, and get ready for test fire #1.

It's looking really good. Can't wait to see it done.

Thanks WGT. You and me both. You'll probably get finished with your project before I do. ;)

Had an afternoon this wknd to get the tub ready for the frame rails and the eventual fuel line, brake lines, and wiring. It took longer than expected just to clean and scrape either Mazda factory undercoating or some dealer-installed stuff. I really think it was factory since it was applied pretty sparingly and not just everywhere... I scraped, scrubbed with mineral spirits on a rag to cut thru the asphalt stuff, and then washed with purple stuff, soap and water. Got it fairly clean then used up my one qt of Tractor Supply black enamel to cover the underside of the floor and front wheelwells.

Attachment 7660

Attachment 7661

Got the shop cleaned up and the paint off my hands, legs, and arms - but felt like I needed to do something mechanical before leaving for the week. So, I installed the 1994 Miata oil sending unit on the LS2. First, remove the GM unit and give to friend for his eventual use, then thread in the Autometer 2268 adapter M16 x 1/8 npt female.

Attachment 7662

Tightened her up and used a 1/8" street 45 elbow to sorta offset the large Mazda unit up and close beside the intake with a small amount of pipe dope. i think it will be out of the way here but not too conspicuous.

Attachment 7663

Pat do you have any photos from the top looking down on that pressure sensor? From the look of this shot I think it is going to be smashed into your firewall. And you probably will never see it if it does. The engine harness has to run through there and it is a bit of a challenge to squeeze that vacuum line out for the brakes too.

This is the same area in mine.

Isn't there another port somewhere to pick up oil pressure? Down near the filter?

Mike

I did have such a pic, but it got deleted earlier. I'll take one when I get back from vacation, but more importantly, I will keep an eye out for how she fits when the motor/ trans is put in from below...

I'm not sure who's conversion had this same oil pressure config in the recent past, but I got the idea probably off of m.net I think.

CVX20, yes you can tap the fitting above the oil filter, but I'm not certain if there's room for the Miata sending unit down there.

It will be interesting to see how this all comes together in that one spot. The LS2/GTO harness exits the motor in that area as well. Hopefully, I can situate the wiring more towards the center of the intake as it exits thru the firewall and stay clear of the oil sending unit. We'll all see how this plays out together!

That's where I have mine...

Fuel Filter
 

Also - on the fuel filter, I built an extension bracket to move the fuel filter outboard about 2-inches. Just a 1x1/8 bar about 4-inches long with 2-holes in it for the locations in the miata and others for the filter bracket. This makes it further from the exhaust - where I also added a heat shield on the inboard side of the filter area, effectively lightly enclosing the filter with the plastic guard and the heat shield mated together.

I like your ideas & could (will!) make the mods in the near future. Thx!

Back from vacation - and got about 2 hours in the shop this evening. Hey.., ya gotta celebrate the little victories!

Installed clutch assy tonite. Started with new pilot bearing with lightly sanding any surface rust in the back of the crank and having to cut a small, approx 1"x1"x4" wood "dowel" to hold between the bearing and the 2.5# hammer. It lasted until the final 1/4" of travel - so used another hammer (more so, the length of its wood handle) and got her flush. Then next, cleaned up the Monster 18# steel flywheel and the Stage 1 clutch & pressure plate for installation with new GM bolts and Red Loctite gel. She went in nice & easy and was torqued down in the identical GM and Monster torque sequences.

Attachment 7655

Attachment 7656

Attachment 7657

Let's pick up where we left off - the tranny. Today was fairly straight-forward with a one-man show of putting together the slave cyl and assemblying the big GM powerplant with it's best friend, the Tremec.

Using the V8R clutch master cylinder kit and a new, '02 F-body slave cylinder from Monster, I carefully knocked out the small rolled pin so the V8R braided hose can go in its place and also, removed the bleeder and threaded in the new remote bleeder hose. Some folks have legitimate concerns about the hose/ adapter not fitting well. Mine seems to fit very securely - but I did knock it firmly into its place TIGHTLY with a 13mm socket before whacking the rolled pin back home. Otherwise, that pin will want to fight you - don't let it fight you, okay?

Attachment 7651

Next up was slapping in the bellhousing and my dust shield on the forward side. Then, I improvised a way to marry the two big items together with my newest best friends, the 2 chain hoists. These were a huge help as I could adjust the angles of both the LS2 and the T56 as I wrestled the tranny and bolted her in place.

Attachment 7652

Got the two together and torqued as required.

Attachment 7653

And finally, - while I thought about it - I replaced the back up switch with the Ford 90 degree version (part # near the front of this build thread) - used a tad of pipe dope to keep moisture out and eventual tranny fluid in.

Attachment 7654

Overdue on what's become a weekly update here lately... This was a somewhat productive wknd with slow and steady progress. I'll just throw out my updates as they happened over the past week.

First up is the Flyin Miata exhaust bracket that bolts in the rear tranny x-member. For the nominal $2x.xx cost, it's pretty awesome. I felt like I needed to go ahead and get this so whoever fabs up my exhaust will have a convenient way to secure the pipes about 2' back of where the headers will terminate.

Attachment 7641

Used my roll of Thermo Tec gold, reflective heat protection stuff in 24" widths just inside of the LH and RH frame rails to combat future exhaust and tranny heat. I could have used about 1 or 2 more sq ft just under the pass seat, but I can add that later if needed.

Attachment 7642

Next up was the interior floor and transmission tunnel with these 12"x24" sheets from JEG's. This is fun stuff to work with as it easily sticks and conforms to the contours of the Mazda sheetmetal. Unfortunately the 10 sheets wasn't enough so I ordered more to finish up the pass side, more of the firewall and use whatever is left behind the seats.

Attachment 7643

Attachment 7644

Did something sorta mechanical - less artistic :) and threaded the Autometer adapter 12M x 1/8 NPT and the Mazda coolant sensor from the back of my 1.8 motor.

Attachment 7645

Got an anniversary card from the much better half of my marriage... Actually, she also gave me a sweet and sentimental card. Good woman!

Attachment 7646

Thought long and hard about this... and decided to re-insert the engine and T56 for final test fit. The reason being is that I had only stuck in the LS2 and the bellhousing for checking clearances - I had never installed the T56 for obtaining tranny x-member measurements and thus, where to drill for the frame rail reinforcements. I had initially tried to just take measurements of everything as it sat outside the car and base my installation on those numbers... GLAD I DID NOT DO THAT. The extra work of an hour or two was well worth it. My V8R frame rails would have been OFF, and I would have been upset having to redrill 22 holes.

A friend, Jonathan, came by and helped out so we could install the powerplant and then get accurate measurements and placement of the rails. First, the RH rail went in, drilled holes, and bolted it in with the grade 8 hardware.

Attachment 7647

Discovered that the rear bolt in the Pro5.0 shifter was easily pushing up into the Mazda sheetmetal... That upset me a bit - so my $9 cutoff tool came out and opened the hole up to allow the T56 to get properly in place.

Attachment 7648

This is that FM exhaust bracket. Two U-shaped clamps hold those 2.5" diameter pipes. The two bolts will secure the V8R crossmember to the above Energy Suspension poly mount.

Attachment 7649

The Mazda wants to be left alone after an eventful Sunday afternoon...

Attachment 7650

Back at it tonite and installed the LH rail. These V8R rails are pretty stout and will tighten this ol' tub up big time!!!

Attachment 7636

Beauty shot!!! Well, if I had a great camera and actually knew how to properly master the art of photography.:eek5:

Attachment 7637

Rails are in - the underside of the Mazda is looking more finished. I can now, at some point, run fuel lines, brake lines, and figure out what wiring will come from the battery and where to best secure them all...

Attachment 7638

Will keep the drivetrain in for another week or so. The plan is to lay out the LS2 stand-alone harness and see where I want to drill a TWO INCH hole into the firewall. Yikes! I'm not looking forward to that. I've ordered more interior silver/ heat stuff and a split 2" grommet with 1" hole so I pull the harness into it's eventual home. It will be a tight fit regardless on where I put this stuff!!

Attachment 7639

She needs completing. I think things are moving along fairly well. I packed up the FM headers and the V-band clamps I got from Summit so I can take them to an exhaust shop to have them welded on now versus when the headers will be in the car. Now is the time to get this stuff done. I'll also see about having them coated to help keep heat out of the engine compartment.

Attachment 7640

Another sloooww build day today... I spent hours - somehow - just looking at, studying, and confirming the placement of the PCM and stand-alone fuse box provided by BP Automotive. This GTO LS2 harness is designed to exit the back of the LH head while all the LS builds that I've studied on line have their harnesses enter the firewall closer to the RH head. I THINK I have it now figured out - and this is critical since I have to cut my firewall hole very soon, & I've tried to confirm that the harness will reach all the sensors, injectors, etc - with a hole just to the left of the heater connections (more or less centered behind the intake) and still reach the PCM and fuse box placement in the passenger footwell.

Here's the general desired location for the "stuff." I don't want the PCM, nor the fuses/ relays, under the hood, so I think I'll have to sacrifice passenger legroom - which won't affect the Mrs as she's about 5'2ish" and can't touch the far end of the footwell anyway...

Attachment 7632

Since this is where the early 1.6L cars had their ecm's, I think it will work out fairly well here. I also double checked the DBW throttle pedal to make certain that the harness reaches the connector - and it did with relative ease. All this is just a mock up with the heater core, fan assy, A/C evap, and the throttle - brake pedal assy. I'll pull that stuff back out for the upcoming Mazda harness diet that I'm dreading so intensely...

I THINK I will turn the fuse box 90 degrees and, thus, get it further up on the slanted floor boards. All of this is going to be secured to a flat 1/16" alum panel with a "false floor" - kick board - in front of it - ala' 1.6L Miata... Just ignore the stand-in hand model... I will try not to let that happen again...

Attachment 7633

And lastly, an overall pic of the interior in its current state with completed heat & sound deadening stuff.

Attachment 7634

Had some time today to pull the engine/tranny now that I have my ideas on the wiring and previously measured & drilled holes in the T56 x-member/ brace. Since I finished the interior yesterday with the last bit of work installing the Cool-It mat, I decided to use the remaining stuff to complete the bottom side of the transmission tunnel.

I wasn't certain this stuff would be suitable under the car, but I checked out Thermo-Tec's website and found this: "The Suppressor is ideal when both sound and radiant heat control is needed. In addition to the polyethylene film, the foil surface provides direct protection from radiant heat up to 2000 Deg F and direct temperatures up to 300 Deg F." I think I'm OK since this mat is only in the top section of the tunnel - not up close to the mythical exhaust system that will one day find a home here...

Attachment 7631

A few other things done today: dropped off flash-drive at Staples to print some 11x17" 1994 Miata wiring diagrams that I picked off the interweb, did final install on the LS2's water-pump, thermostat, and front drive accy's as they all needed to be torqued down with the previously, missing gaskets. Installed new NGK sparkplugs, Taylor wires, and some trick insulated, blue spark plug boot covers.

Wiring, plumbing for fuel lines and brake lines are the next 3 priorities. Hope some form of forward momentum sticks with me until this project gets wrapped up.