Just had to share a few pics after picking up my ceramic coated FM st/steel headers from Carolina Ceramic Coatings. This is a "titanium" exterior color - not that the color matters greatly since the Miata/ LS headers are fairly hard to see much further below the first bend as they exit the heads... But I'm mostly concerned about heat under the hood. This local outfit has a quick illustration page that shows how the ceramic coatings affect radiant heat at 1" above a hot exhaust pipe - pretty interesting quick read: Ceramic Heat Test, Carolina Ceramic Coating, Raleigh, NC

$200 seems very fair for the work performed to prep the headers and coat the inside and outside with 2 different materials.

Attachment 7629

The flanges added to the headers and the YEEEHA shift knob are not Flyin Miata items. :)

Attachment 7630

Where did you mount the charcoal cannister and how big is it? I had issues this weekend with heat and pressure in the tank... I thought the vent would only vent pressure when vacuum is applied (EVAP opens the check valve)? Or is it normally open to vapor release?

SB5700 - For whatever reason, I cannot link this page on the iPad, but search eBay for this: Land Rover Discovery 2003 2004 Charcoal Air Filter SAI PHB102320 w/Hose This is the same canister that I have purchased, but not installed as of yet. It's approx 5" tall and 4" diameter - kinda small. Mine did not come with the hose as shown. I'm not an authority on the Mazda tank venting system... I left what I think are check valve and roll-over protection valves on top of the tank and was just going to plumb this in to see what happens... Wish I could be of more help.

Brief update - only had a few hours this wknd to play... What a shame too, because this really is the fun part putting it slowly back together. Oh well, save some fun for later I guess.

I raised the Mazda back up on jackstands so I could install brake lines. Took my time to get them adjusted, moved around, and flush as possible along the firewall and down the RH rear corner of the engine compartment. At the same time, I went ahead and installed the master cylinder and the Wilwood proportioning valve.

Attachment 7626

Attachment 7627

But before heading home tonite, there was enough time to install new NGK plugs, Taylor 409 wires, and torque down the headers. Just need oil filter, serpentine belt, and re-plumb the oil pressure sensor & sending unit...

Attachment 7628

Time for belated update. And not that too terribly much has happened on the build lately - but every small step is hopefully in the right direction...

I secured the GM PCM and stand-alone fuse box on an aluminum sheet that's screwed into the false floor/ toe-board. I used some 1/2 phenolic spacers with rubber washers to give the PCM some breathing room while the fuse box is on a raised 1/8" alum plate (to compensate for the screw head underneath it). I'll fab up another false floor to keep little toes and big shoes off the electrical goods when I know it runs. Fuse Box may be slid up some more in the future if I can make room for it.

Attachment 7599

2" hole cut in firewall behind intake manifold towards the LH head and harness pulled through - after I drilled 6 small holes around the 2" hole for the Seals-It two-piece grommet. I then watched a YouTube video on how to pop in the 6 nutserts after I found a 15 yr-old complete kit in the shop that had never been opened! These are pretty neat - would have probably found more uses for it up to now had I known.

Attachment 7600

Good time yesterday when my Dad and I (HOPEFULLY) slid the 6.0L and the T56 into its resting place. We bolted the V8R subframe and transmission X member in quickly as all the holes lined up beautifully. Thanks V8R!!! After that, I gently tugged on the harness and hooked up most of the engine & tranny connectors and grounds with a few exceptions... I SHOULD have remembered to tell BP Automotive that I am using CTS-V accessories - not GTO. But, I was unaware that GM would use different connectors on similar V8 cars from the same year... No biggie - I'll get new pigtails and splice in the A/C comp and alternator.

Attachment 7601

Here's an example with the A/C...

Attachment 7602

By the way... I learned the hard way that the standard 2006 CTS-V accy belt is too long with the V8R P/S delete pulley. It should have been obvious to me that this smaller diameter pulley would require shorter belt. 2 min Google search found that others use a Gates 78" belt with great success. This one is about 82" long. No biggie - just swap it at O'Reiley's.

Attachment 7603

Clutch master cylinder installation today with no helpful hints from V8R or FM - at least my searches came up pretty sparse... Used Wilwood's advice and heated up the plastic reservoir before sliding it onto the alum body. I guess that expands the plastic and prevents you from cracking the thing if you tried to slide it into place cold. Anywho, I next dismantled the clip and plunger rod along with the 2 switches on the clutch assy. The small one was to de-activate the cruise control while the larger switch with bigger black & green wires is to interrupt the starting circuit. I'll save it just in case I should need it during or after the upcoming wiring diet... I put a small bolt in place of the small switch - should I need to adjust the limit of the clutch travel at full-release. Probably won't need it, but the small switch had the ability for such adjustment...

Attachment 7595

So, here's what you'll find out: the bore of the Wilwood master cylinder is slightly larger than the Mazda clutch master cylinder it replaces. This small adapter bracket has the correct hole size. Mark it and open it up with this dandy air-grinding tool.

Attachment 7596

Attachment 7597

All finished up with nylon lock nuts in lieu of the standard hex nuts they sent. There's no room for a lock washer and I don't want this thing coming loose. V8R stainless steel hose to the slave cylinder is perfect length and I've slid some DEI thermal heat sheathing over it for protection from the headers. Looks good up close! PS- That's the bleeder line curled up behind the bake booster - I've wrapped the end in blue tape only to prevent a poss scratch...

Attachment 7598

Toy,
I am really enjoying your build posts and pics. Although I don't plan on doing the build myself, I am learning a lot from your project. From the looks, I can only hope that when I am ready to buy that I can find something equal to your build..When you are finished, would like the opportunity to do a small road trip to look at the finished product.

If you didn't already, make sure that ARP crank bolt has plenty of red loctite on it!!!! Mine didn't, and it backed off. I couldn't figure out the cause until a friend reached down and spun the bolt by hand..... His did the same thing and it threw the crank pulley off his Firehawk at the 1/8th mile at around 120mph haha.

^^ that is something I wish I had known when I started. With the hard V8R motor mounts loctite is your best friend!

Still loving the build Pat and really appreciate you letting us tag along on your journey. Looking forward to the smokey burn out video!

X2. My accessory drive system is all new because of that squeak.

"Old Chuck: Toy,
I am really enjoying your build posts and pics. Although I don't plan on doing the build myself, I am learning a lot from your project. From the looks, I can only hope that when I am ready to buy that I can find something equal to your build..When you are finished, would like the opportunity to do a small road trip to look at the finished product."

Thanks Chuck for the kind words. I hope it all comes together like I'm hoping for - and you are welcome to check it out sometime. Keep us informed on your search and what you're looking for.

Jim & Mike - I did put some red locktite gel (p10) - just hope it was enough. Yikes! Jim, I'm glad you're staying in touch. You have been having a blast with yours it seems!

A Saturday evening update for the thread. Got to spend about 3.5 hrs in the shop this evening with a desire, believe it or not, to begin stripping apart the Mazda wiring harness. It's got to be relatively cleaned up with most of the tape and wrapping removed for easy wire identification and removal if needed.

First thing first -- install the shorter 78" serpentine belt for my configuration. Perfect fit. Gates part number in the photo:

Attachment 7590

Nothing too dramatic going on here right now... My yellow ID tags (tape & Sharpie pen) have held on well for the last 11 months since it was removed from the chassis. It's kinda funny to see how I labeled some big connectors as "A", "B", etc -but did not research the ones I didn't know and label according to their real function. Oh well, I now have the '94 wiring diagrams, so I hope that the small mysteries will be solved quickly now. Here's a shot of in-progress as I unwrapped the bunches of sticky electrical tape. I started at the front of the LH engine bay harness and followed it around to the opposite side.

Attachment 7591

I think unwrapping it helps take some of the scare out of the wiring. I will have to take some time to understand the relays, what under hood fuses I will want to keep, etc.

Attachment 7592

Finally, here's what the main harness was relieved from tonite - lots of electrical tape. I also have just about the whole air bag wiring pulled to one side - as I had removed as much of that system a few years ago when I swapped to the '90 dash and Momo Indy vintage steering wheel.

Attachment 7593

Hit the shop again today - got the first opportunity to study my 94 Mazda wiring diagrams and decide to begin plucking some wires out of here. My first target to go was the air bag system since it was disarmed a few yrs ago when I did the '90 dash swap and no air bags. The other wires that I got to tonite were all 1.8L related - such as mass airflow meter, cam position sensor, oxygen sensor, and various EGR connectors.

Attachment 7588

Just when forward progress was underway, it was time to push the car to the side of the shop and put the harness-in-progress under the nose of the MX5 to keep any stray feet from walking on those fragile connectors! Until next week...

Attachment 7589

Wiring always makes me nervous. Enjoying your posts. Kinda takes some of the scary out when I see your pics however, not sure I would attempt what you are doing but admire your tenacity.

The problem is guys take a big picture approach to this. If you were going to wire in, say, a new horn for some reason how would you approach it? You would look at the Mazda schematic to find power and the switch wire, then run a wire from under the dash out to the grill and maybe even go all out and put a relay in the circuit. Would running 2 or 3 wires for that horn scare you or cause to be nervous? Of course not. You would jump in and get it done in an hour with no fear at all of it not working.

There is no difference in doing that horn to what are doing now as long as you think small. Just take it one wire at a time from start to finish of the circuit. Be sure that wire is right then forget about it and move on to the next one. You go one circuit at a time one system at a time only focused on that one wire and not looking at the rest of the project. It is hard to take that narrow view but it really helps keep it manageable. If can do that you don't even see the next wire to do and before you know it you are out of wires to follow!

Just like the rest of the conversion this is really not rocket science and if you do make a mistake you will find it right away when you turn the key. Besides if I can do it ANYONE can! Enjoy!

Unless you are slightly color blind, like me. Then it's a different story. (the Navy labeled me "color deficient")

You are right that dosn't help for sure. About 1/3 the male population is color blind to some degree and the fire department found mine. Blue green and purple all look about the same to me but that is not really a big problem to wire the car. Worse is telling the difference between a black with blue stripe wire and a blue with black stripe on the tiny wires. That tripped me up more than once!

The schematic, ohm meter and very bright LED flash light are your best friends in this!

Just a couple of in-progress wiring diet photos today... These iPad pics are pretty poor, but I just wanted to report that I've made more progress today. It's slow going, but I confirmed my suspicion on M.net this week that the entire Mazda ECM would be discarded so I had more confidence removing items like the diagnostic link, cruise, fan wiring, etc.

Once I get the Mazda wiring diet completed and confirmed, I will write up a brief summary here so other LSx swap guys will have another small reference or source to look at in their searches.

Here's what I took out:

Attachment 7586

Here's what's currently left behind. What you don't see is that the Mazda wiring harness from the doors back is still intact in the car - I'm doing a little diet on the rear window defogger and power antenna wiring since none of that will ever return in the future to my MX5. This will all be re-wrapped AFTER the darn thing runs and starts...

Attachment 7587

I gotta say that I never thought I would enjoy this part of the build process as much as I am right now. If you've followed this thread, then you've heard me mention my apprehension here a time or two... But, it's been fun - yes fun - to study the 40+ pages of '94 Mazda wiring diagrams, match up the wire in question, and snip it out of existence if no longer needed. I'm NOT a wiring expert by any means, but it's not hard to take out the relays, plugs, and wiring that will have no use with the GM harness. There were just a few not-knowns or wiring circuits that I decided to keep for now, and they were either Mazda A/C related (high pressure switch wiring for instance) or something like Mazda oil pressure wiring. My gauges will be from Speedhut and grab their info from the '05 GTO PCM's can-bus data so I don't need any tach, speedo, coolant, etc wiring. I did tag and keep the fuel gauge wiring since it may be utilized - don't have the gauges here yet so not sure...

Getting started last weekend, I thought now was the right time to take apart the early dash, sand, prep, and paint the steel understructure as it left the factory 13 yrs ago in a bare state. Rust is everywhere...

Attachment 7574

Primer and whatever paint I had on the shelf - this time it was some semi-gloss black - and this puppy is clean and ready to come back home.

Attachment 7575

OK, back to the wiring diet... Dash harness has been severely wiped out. No Mazda cruise control, rear window defogger, 90% of the instrument panel wiring, buzzer $hit - all gone. Power mirrors and dash dimmer switch stayed however. Any cut wires (and many of these were T'eed together 12v or common grounds) were taped off and covered in heat shrink, but the harness will be left bare until after the LS2 fires up and everything is confirmed to be A-OK. Then, the harnesses get covered and put away properly. Tiny dash harness:

Attachment 7568

With the dash done - it was on to cleaning up the rest of the harness and Mazda fuse box. Non-critical stuff like headrest speaker wiring was pulled out, and important, useless stuff was also removed from places like the main fuse box. I traced out and cut out fuel injector fuse & relay, fan relay, and Air Bag relay wiring. In the fuse box, where wires were removed at the bottom - there is nothing above them. Lots of stuff are getting gone -- Hope this little Mazda still works like I want it to...

Attachment 7569

FYI, the orange wire shown here is the oil pressure wire that simply passes through the fuse box. Could've simply cut it, but it may prove helpful for this gauge or some other use in the future.

Attachment 7570

Harness is now, finally, a little thinner. Diet can be good and rewarding. I'll just tape it up enough and use some zip ties to keep it together for the early engine testing and initial start-up, and then wrap it when I'm satisfied everything is good.

Attachment 7571

So, here's what is pulled out after a full diet. It's amazing to me how many wires I don't need for my V8 project. All chassis wiring is still left in tact - so it will be a fully functional street car...

Attachment 7572

And here's a pic of the same pile from a different angle with the AirBag computer stuff also added to the mix. Pretty simple to do...

Attachment 7573

Quick tease of some Speedhut's can-bus compliant gauges for the Roadster. These will be installed in a 1/8" thick aluminum panel - that I can hopefully squeeze 5 guages into place - like the Mazda layout. I haven't measured anything as of yet, but these are 3-3/8" and 2-1/8" sizes - their smallest ones. When I wire 'em up, you'll see that they daisy-chain together with one wire feeding data to all the guages. Info comes from the GM data-link connector.

Illumination will be green, pointer will light up red - I've had plenty of other vehicles that have had red, orange, white, and blue factory gauge illumination - and I have always preferred green at night. With Speedhut, you pick out the font, the design of the scale or dashes, trim bezel, etc. I also made up my own V8R logo - something similar to what was used on the gauges in the black NC that V8Roadsters owns. (Saw it at an all FL Miata meet this past spring...)

Attachment 7555

Attachment 7556

Almost forgot to mention that the turn signals and high beam indicators will also be in the speedo - as you can already see in the above pic. Now, I also will not need to figure out how to run my mechanical speedo on the '94 - since it will also get that data from the PCM. My tire size and rear axle ratio should already have been added during the re-flash and tuning from BP Automotive this past summer. I understand that Diagnostic codes can be displayed in the digital odometer. All the gauges have the option for low and high level custom alarms with LED light. Should be fun and rather easy to set up when the time comes.

Small update here... I spent a little time putting in the front A arm bushings and getting somewhat organized for the upcoming front suspension installation. I thought about going ahead and getting it back on "all fours" before this Thanksgiving weekend. ...Then I realized that would make wiring up the underhood fuse box and starter that much more difficult - so this is all on the back burner until later.

Attachment 7551

One of the many areas where "mission creep" has shown up is in the suspension. Once I went with new A arms, everything else seemed to need updating as well. These are R- Package tie rods and new lower ball joints to go with all new Mazda eccentric bolts. Need to now order new front hubs, perhaps... 20 yr old car - 90+K miles, I guess new $50 hubs may be appropriate.

Attachment 7552

Then it was back on to the gauges for some "figuring". Decided that IF I bump all the gauge bezels together I can get all 6 Speedhut gauges together. I won't have any idiot lights to contend with so it would just be a bundle of gauges in the Miata dash.

Attachment 7553

Here's an upclose pic on what I'm thinking... I still haven't fully determined that this is doable, but I like it more and more when I stare at my orange poster board!!

Attachment 7554

This is sort of a crazy time in the build - with a To-Do List that includes twenty or so various tasks. I feel like I could pick 5 or 6 and it wouldn't matter which one got done first - so that's good, but a bit overwhelming to some degree.

So switching gears on you, I'm back under the hood and under the car today. I first dropped the radiator back in for the final time, I hope. I needed it in for the upcoming fan wiring, at least that was the plan. But plans change, so I worked on the Z06 intake while I was standing here. I'm pleased with the fan-to-pulley clearance as this LH side is the tightest...

Attachment 7541

Intake will work - but it will take some more modifying as noted by Flyin Miata. Problem is they just don't show some good pics of NA's and exactly where to cut, trim, and secure the intake. Oh well, trim a little here and there - and expect to come back and trim some more I guess.

Attachment 7542

I laid down some blue tape and marked off where the initial cut will be on the core support. After test fitting the set-up, the intake now lays down CLOSE to the top of the radiator and nestles the lower filter-end into my earlier fabbed up front bumper support. So far, so good! Final determination will be when the hood is test-fitted to see if it's low enough. Used a file to clean up the cut and some old light gray paint since it'll be hidden below and trimmed out with rubber edging.

Attachment 7543

On to the @ss end of the car and relocate the fuel filter/ regulator a few more inches away from the future exhaust. It's currently sitting in the stock Mazda location. This bracket will allow me to slide it right 3" and tilt it approx 60 degrees. Well, I wanted 60 degrees, but that made the fittings rub against the edge of the gas tank. And that wasn't going to sit well with me so I drilled a 5th hole and reduced the angle somewhat...

Attachment 7544

Here's the end result. I need all the angle/ tilt I could assist the straight AN connector on the FM fuel line make the 90 degree turn before it runs along the frame rail. Other good stuff in this busy pic: Insulated line at the top is the approx 8 gauge wire going to the starter. The hose to the right with the blue tape near it's current end is the gas tank vent line (that will get addressed later), the rubber horizontal line is the insulated parking brake cable. The small horizontal wire below that is the ground cable coming off the battery that used to terminate on the powerplant frame. Then, the bare rear brake line near the bottom....

Attachment 7545

Ground secured on parking brake cable's center bracket and cable headed towards the starter is secured to the top of the tranny tunnel.

Attachment 7546

Welcome to the cavern below my Mazda! Looks kinda tall from here...

Attachment 7547

While down below, I went ahead and secured the brake line with stainless hardware and some heat barrier wrap. Fuel line will get the same - just didn't get around to it this week...

Attachment 7548

Brake line rear of the tranny support has no wrap - but the desired 3" single merge of my exhaust pipes will be over on the LH side of the driveshaft and away from the brake and fuel lines...

Attachment 7549

Next week should be finishing up the wiring to the LS2 starter and alternator and tie in the T56 reverse switch while I'm camped out under the car for another day or so!

Poking along here... Work and other obligations have slowed the early December progress - but my slightly hazy crystal ball says that I will have more time around Christmas to pick up the pace... fingers crossed.

Today's lesson: Make sure you know the proper & simple method of installing a LSx oil pan gasket. I didn't a few months ago. With no oil added back to this take-out engine since the purchase, oil has somehow slipped out and left small spots where ever it was parked. Well, I had re-used the GTO gasket and not applied the 4 small dabs of RTV sealant where the block meets the ft & rr covers. No pics, but yesterday I wrestled the deep V8R pan and was able to get the old gasket out of there, CLEANED both surfaces, did the RTV thing, and slipped the new GM gasket in. She's torqued in and buttoned up; however, this took a few hours to re-do something that wasn't done right the first time. Dammmmn.

Now back to the regularly-scheduled build: Next, I temporarily installed the heater core so I could determine where and how much room I had between it and the firewall for GM and Mazda wiring. I also installed a new heater core - not taking chances with my '94 one failing after the dash is all back in... I don't like what I see with the Mazda heater piping coming through the firewall. It's in a tight spot and that thin (schedule 20?) copper piping looks like it would be in a severe bind with 3' of heater hose tugging on each outlet. I have a remedy for that - and will do a post on this after the wiring is further along.

LS2 needs a good ground. Bought a 4 gauge battery cable, found a good location on LH side of block and a nearby, unused bolt hole under the "frame". Cut it to fit, watched a YouTube on how to solder in a new end, cooked some 50-50 lead solder in the terminal and stabbed it with the new cable. That was fun! Wrapped the red cable with flexbraid and heat-shrink, and bolted it in after cleaning the ground connection down to bare metal.

Attachment 7536

Time to lay in the Mazda main harness. This seems like the logical next step. It's unwrapped for now and for a good reason: I need to make sure it all works now that 1/2 of the original bundle sits in a box 5 feet away from the car... I also will be wiring in the GM alternator and starter so it can all be wrapped up & secured together as one happy family of wires.

Attachment 7537

This gives you an interesting perspective on how the engine compartment is going to look... The headlamp assembly and coolant tank will go in here along with the Mazda fuse box and bracket - but not much else. Should be nice & tidy when done!

Attachment 7538

Did some add'l wiring yesterday - but most iPhone pics came out blurry. Have one photo of Mazda underhood fuse box dropped in. Fuse box and related wiring needed to go in now so I could run starter and alternator wiring. Had to extend the 8 gauge wiring to the alternator - and I'll soon share better pics of how I plan to run it around the radiator core support and up the LH compartment to the GM alternator. Starter wiring and T56 backup switch wiring were also connected up, wires wrapped with flexbraid and then added thermal heat barrier tape to starter wires that are fairly close to the headers. Stay tuned for more action this coming weekend :0

Attachment 7535

The plan this week of Christmas '13 is to complete the wiring - sometime before Christmas '14. I think I can do that. Since my main, unwrapped harness and fuse boxes were back in the car, I felt like it was a good time to go ahead and drop in the dash wiring - although preliminary at the moment - along with the steering column harness (turn signals, head lights, etc) and a new battery out back. I reunited the headlight assemblies with the Mazda and tested out as many functions as I could. All went well - flashers, headlight motors, horn, high and low beams, and even the heater fan worked on all speeds! I had put a small fire extinguisher next to the car in case something decided to go up in flames or smoke. Luckily, nothing dramatic occurred!

Attachment 7530

Determining wire routing is kinda fun. The unwrapped harness still has a lot of "memory" which helps with identifying where and how the harnesses correctly lay under the retracted headlights... For example.

Attachment 7531

Attachment 7532

Wiring up the PCM and tying in the stand-alone fuse box to the Mazda harness has been pretty straightforward. I was also able to located the original firewall insulation and put it back in, at least partially.

Attachment 7533

It's slowly coming together... After the final wiring gets in place - I can proceed with wrapping it up with the flex-braid. Tommorow's pics should give us more details on this :)

Attachment 7534

Awesome, awesome day today... I actually heard and saw my LS2 spin over with the twist of the key! More on that in a bit.

Had a full day in the shop with my Dad and excellent friend, Tad. Tad's experience with building his DOHC 4.6L FFR Cobra the past few years brought some good insight and knowledge for my wiring questions. And my Dad began tearing into old Ford flathead cars at the age of 13 or 14 in 1946 and his car intellect and diagnosis makes my problem-solving skills look like a 9 yr-old in comparison...! So, the dynamic duo were on the job today.

Wiring concern #1 of mine was deciding where and how to run the 8 gauge wire from the GM fuses/ relay box to the battery. I thought I had read somewhere before that someone had issues with connecting that wire to the post on the GM starter - had to do with voltage (or amperage?) drop to the GM PCM when the starter was engaged. So..., we decided to run this wire straight to the battery in the trunk. To facilitate today's desire to bump the starter (and confirm my engine would spin freely), we ran the wire temporarily. I will go back tomorrow and wrap & secure it properly.

At this point, the GM PCM & fusebox are wired into the Mazda! I still have the OBD port and 2 other wires in that small bundle to wire properly - but that will all be completed just before the dash, I guess, goes back in. Here's a look of the GM wiring before I wrap it up and secure it for good!! :) I've not routed the stuff, mind you, just connected it up to for the initial test.

Attachment 7522

Steering column was slid into place. I had a small dilemma that Tad saw an easy fix to much sooner than I did!! My DBW GTO pedal installation interfered with the RH column brace's bolt hole. A quick zip of the $9.98 HarborFreight cut-off tool fixed the problem and new bolt hole in the bracket was made about a 1/2 inch closer-in from the previous hole. All is good! Column secured at the firewall and ignition switch was plugged in.

Attachment 7523

But before you start an expensive, aluminum engine, it is often recommended that you fill it with proper lubrication fluid... That was done with approx 6.5 Qts of synthetic 10W-30 and the somewhat long oil filter (that hangs about an inch below the oil pan - should be okay - I don't plan to Off Road the car intentionally).

Attachment 7524

Next up, were the T56 and Ford Diff - they crave fluids too. I was not planning to "start" the engine - just bump the motor over and confirm no bad smells from burning wires and such... So, with no working clutch pedal, the tranny would "bump" too and need oil to slowly spin in. I put almost 4 full Qts of Mobil 1 synthetic ATF in the tranny and something a bit less than 2 Qts of Royal Purple and Ford Friction Modifier in the diff. The driveshaft was installed temporarily as well - so the tranny wouldn't leak out the back. I still need to order the four, correct Ford bolts for the pinion flange/ driveshaft connection.

Attachment 7525

With the powertrain full of various oils and wire connections confirmed, we connected the Miata battery -- no smoke. We then turned the key switch to ON -- no smoke & no weird noises - just a few clicks from around the LS2. We then plugged in the fuel pump, turned key back to ON -- no smoke & no noise from the fuel pump. I thought it would click on... We then turn the key briefly to START -- no smoke - just the GTO starter doing its job and the fuel pump make a noise or two. And just as quickly, it all went silent when the key was turned back to OFF...

So, it sorta works! No fuel in the tank as of yet and no completed heater core plumbing so no coolant either. But, I'm closer to the end this evening than I was this morning. :)

Tomorrow will complete the wiring, I think. I'll also complete this 100 AMP circuit breaker installation in the trunk - just forward of the battery. This is to protect the car and the PCM in case we should ever develop a dead short in that LONG 8 gauge wire running 2/3 the length of the car. (I'm surprised Mazda didn't have a fuse or something near the battery to protect the rest of the car in case anything ever shorted out the wire at the starter... Oh well.

Attachment 7526

Since, I'm using a more decent camera now and not my iPhone - here are 2 better resolution pics...

Attachment 7527

Attachment 7528

Boys & Girls -- I'm happy to report that this Sloooww Build is Speeding UP!

I've had the good fortune of being able to put in quite a few hours in the shop this holiday season. (I think my wife is tired of it not being done - for whatever reason - and wants me to finish this thing - so she's pretty happy I'm in the shop - I think - or maybe she just wants me out of the house during my time off from work!) Anyway, back to the build...

I'll go sorta quick here - as I want to update the thread but also get back to work on the car behind me.

Z06 intake on with new MAF plugged in. Did not drill the two holes to permanently mount the think because my eBay silicone hose connector is, in my opinion, about 1/2" - 3/4" too short. On FlyinMiata photos, I see that their mounting holes appear to be right in the middle of the fold/ deep crease of the core support. I cannot get there - perhaps need the factory Z06 connector with bellows that would stretch further...

Attachment 7513

Attachment 7514

For the previous engine "start & spin" to confirm my wiring, I had temporarily bolted in the driveshaft. This photo will show that regular 12mm hex head bolts won't fit properly on the 8.8 pinion flange. Went to the local Ford dealer and the parts guys gave me the correct 12 point, hardened bolts for free! I think they liked the idea of a big Ford rearend in the @ss of this little car. That's cool with me - I just had to promise to bring it by their place when completed.

Attachment 7515

Back to more wiring... Can now wrap up more of the harness since it all seems to be okay. I wrapped RH engine compartment with flexbraid and secured it to my liking. I have the new fan wiring in its own wrap for easy access if I need to make any changes in the future since I haven't had the opp to see them come on as of yet... Also, I got one piece of jewelry for the engine compartment - the Canton overflow tank! I won't have any plastic tanks near the engine - just aluminum for more uniform look.

Attachment 7516

While we're on the RH side of the motor, I'm very pleased on how my final wiring looks around the fuse box. It was a bundle of wires before I wrapped and secured everything. Clean & tidy now!

Attachment 7517

Perhaps a little overkill, but I want to fight the enemy - HEAT - as much as possible before this thing is on the road. The GTO starter is rather compact, but it's wrapped up with the header just inch(s) away on the front and bottom sides -- as opposed to the factory cast iron manifold that skirted above the starter when new. I've cut and wrapped the starter and its solenoid individually for a more secure fit and to prevent the wrap from coming in contact with the positive posts. The starter wiring, obviously, is wrapped in that same vicinity - along with the RF steel brake line that is just to the outside of the header.

Attachment 7508

A lot of more time was spent securing and wrapping the main harness inside the car before the dash, heater core, A/C evap, and fan motor go back in place. I'll update pics on that soon as well. Here's about all that you need - tool wise - to put this transformation back together. The blue tubing tool was going to be employed to try and bend the engine dipstick forward, but it won't accommodate the larger diameter - just small plumbing & brakelines will fit this $8 HFreight tool. I think there will be hood clearance issues if I don't - just wont know until the sheetmetal goes back on...

Attachment 7509

100 amp circuit breaker wired in the trunk for the GM fuse box/ PCM. Its 8 gauge wiring is secured & protected under the car from heat, vibration, and sharp edges!

Attachment 7510

More various projects: Ordered new Timken front hubs (might as well freshen EVERYTHING up, huh?) and re-installed my ARP extended lugs. Front suspension is quickly coming to the top of my to-do list.

Attachment 7511

Had some left-over heat insulation so I cleaned & painted the muffler shield with engine paint and wrapped the topside to better keep the trunk cool and eliminate possible heat shield rattles when the go peddle gets pushed down...

Attachment 7512

Next update should be more on front suspension, heater hose lines, and.... ENGINE START!!! This time with actual 93 octane fuel. :)

The attention to detail is over-the-top, UPS must have made daily deliveries!

Thanks. The wifey now only comments when the UPS truck drives down the street and DOESN'T stop... That's bad. :)

The final days of 2013 are counting down and about 16 hours of the 30th was spent in the shop - with a few, minimal distractions for work thrown in the mix as well... Anywho, here we go with the latest:

LH side of main harness in the dash area was wrapped and secured. I left a few pigtails somewhat loose and will wrap them later after I connect them to various dash harness plugs - don't want anything in a bind or on the wrong side of the steering column!

Attachment 7495

RH side shows a completed GM PCM and stand-alone fuse box wrapped and secured. BP Automotive in Kentucky did a nice job on the GTO harness... I'll have full access to this with a cover plate to keep high heels and sneakers out of this spot - it will also have to be strong enough to withstand folks pushing themselves into the seat when a sharp LH or RH curve approaches...

Attachment 7496

Tidying up the rear here with last pieces of Thermo Tec mat installed.

Attachment 7497

I always chuckle when I look at this spot under the car -- it's the Times Square of my car - the busiest intersection of wiring, plumbing, gas tank vent, etc!

Attachment 7498

Now for more glamour shots -- cleaned up and installed a manual rack that I've had in storage for about 12 years! Notice the extra clearance with the oil pan as it's more narrow in the middle than the power version.

Attachment 7499

Right Front suspension is installed. I can only imagine how bad my alignment will be the first few days with my initial settings... V-Maxx coilovers, new hubs, V8R A arms, and new lower ball joints along with R-Package tie rod ends complete the package.

Attachment 7500

LF version - but with installed caliper bracket!

Attachment 7501

Larger brake kit went on easily - as you would want or expect for a complete BBK from Good-Win Racing.

Attachment 7502

Caliper clearances are good. Starting to look like a go-kart! This thing will be able to roll around on its own 4 tires and wheels for the first time since Nov 2012.

Attachment 7503

Attachment 7504

Final plumbing has begun - and it's heater hose time... Starting with the heater core, I've decided to shorten the copper lines coming out of the interior heat exchanger so I can secure short 5/8" heater hose "nipples" with 5/8" barb 90 elbows immediately on the engine side of the firewall. This should allow for ease of installation or removal of 5/8" and 1/2" heater hoses to the LS2 waterpump.

The 5/8" OD copper pipes were a bit too large for the flaring tool - but I was shown the technique of using a hammer and beating the tool as you tighten the tool down! I LIKE how it squeezed down and then the flare (my home-made barb end) will slide into the 5/8" heater hose and be secured with pipe clamps. This will give me peace of mind as I do not want hot coolant dripping on my left foot!

Attachment 7493

Cleaned up the heater box - 20 years of dust does accumulate somewhere... I removed the old, dried-out weatherstripping and used this Lowe's $3 stuff! Awesome - and ready for installation today.

Attachment 7494

Keep you posted as 2013 winds down!

Great work Patrick! I really like the power and mpg everyone gets with a LS conversion, only thing I don't like is the busy cluttered look when the hood goes up. Looks like your car will be the exception. Looking forward to that first drive and the enthusiastic review.

Thanks - I appreciate the feedback - I love the wire tucks you see on some Miata's - I just couldn't go that far to hide wiring though.

I agree with you though - the GM coilpacks are not the prettiest thing I've ever seen under the hood either... And the darn heater hoses are going to wrap the motor up on 2 sides... Ughhhh. And then there's the A/C plumbing that will be done later in 2014 (I hope) and that, too, will add to the confusion. That is a lot of stuff!

Man where were you last spring when I needed that heater hose idea! That is a great one but I think if I were to do it again I'd move the holes up too. You can move them a good inch higher with no trouble and that would help a lot.

I really admire clean engine bays too and I think yours is going to look great. But you can rest well knowing I set the bench mark for the worst most cluttered engine bay on the planet and you can't possibly do worse!!!

Love love love this build thread!!!

I know, no wire tuck. But consider the note on the image below. You could go a couple different ways since the fender is off. The option I chose which is to route the headlight and fan wires behind the shock tower brace, or drill a hole behind the fuse block and route just outside the inner fender.

Regardless of the minor tuck decision, that's one nice build.

Well, it's been a few days since any updates and it's the 2nd day of the new year. To move forward with possibly running the engine for extended period of time, I wanted to get the heater core plumbed in. And in my opinion, I decided to proceed with installing the HVAC items on the firewall (behind dash).

First, you must install the carpet before the heater core - otherwise, you'll have to struggle to get it under the heater box and not have ripples and waves in it around the tranny tunnel... Been there - done that on another old Miata. For 20 yr-old carpet, it's looking good after a quick vacuum! I also trimmed the carpet for my GM electronics - although a bit too wide on the LH side - but that's okay. That will all be hidden behind a carpeted false floor/ access door in the near future.

Attachment 7482

Fan assembly went in first. I had to test fit it a few times and move some harnesses around for best clearance. A/C evap was next. Again, to better accommodate the LS2 wiring, I cut out a trough in the firewall blanket so the big bundle of wires were actually recessed about 2/3 of the way in. Nothing in a bind - all is good.

Attachment 7483

Attachment 7484

Back to the previously worked-on heater core/ box. After cutting & flaring the pipes, I added my 5/8" hose "nipples" to stub through the firewall...

Attachment 7485

Heater unit is back in place with plenty of clearances on the backside for Mazda and LS2 wiring.

Attachment 7486

Now, here's what I am aiming for - a way to make my 90 turn with the heater piping as close to the firewall and away from the engine - AND - do it without putting additional stresses on the thin Mazda copper pipes! I think I like it - a lot. This is actually a 3/4" PEX piping brass elbow. It has barb ends just long enough for my hose clamps to make good seals.

Attachment 7487

Now, to admit my most recent oversight.., the reason you see only one heater hose installed is that I was fully prepared to run a 5/8" hose off the large GM waterpump outlet and a 1/2" on the smaller outlet. Well guess what? The waterpump outlets ARE 5/8" & 3/4"! So much for my planning and ordering of fittings... Oh well, I will go in search of 3/4" heater hose & fittings to reduce it down to the 5/8" on the other Mazda heater outlet.

Attachment 7488

Great progress during the holidays PMC.

Consider the heatshrink Gates Power Clamps in the link below to really clean up the underhood area due to multiple heater hose connections/clamps. They work great and remove the bulky clutter of traditional hose clamps. I used them with my project to gain some needed space and couldn't be more satisfied. No leaks!

MossMotors.com - Restoration Parts And Accessories For British Cars

I think NAPA had them for a better price than Moss but you get the idea...

Thanks! Appreciate the help, too! Now that IS a great idea. How come I've never heard of these before? Thanks for the tip. Are you using them on all various sizes on the Cobra?

Looks great. One thing that you may want to do (that I wish I had done) is to add a hole through the firewall on both sides of the engine compartment just in case you ever decide to add something such as gauges. The holes could be plugged-off if not used. I am in the process of adding a mechanical oil pressure gauge, water temp. gauge, & a water/methanol kit. Trying to get the lines & wires fed through the firewall is a pain.

First full 2014 wknd behind us, and have some forward progress to report:

1. Got the heater hoses on completely. PEX plbg 1"x3/4" reducer barb coupling fits our 3/4" and 5/8" ID hoses and a short 3/4" molded hose with a 90 degree bend made my plumbing complete. Thank you Lowe's for the fitting!

Attachment 7459

Attachment 7460

2. Finished up some more interior wiring. Wrapped my separate dash harness and set it aside and just prior, I plugged it all together to confirm & test the wiring for the Speedhut gauages. To do so, I thought I'd test the fuel gauge and connect it to the Mazda yellow wire I had set aside. A few jumper wires with alligator clips and a twist of the key to the ON position confirmed everything there is A-OK !!

Attachment 7461

The camera flash bleaches out the gauge, but it looks good in person. The LED pointer was lit up. The gauge actually reads too high right now, but Speedhut gives you easy directions on setting the right electrical resistance for your fuel level sender...

Attachment 7462

While testing the wiring and lighting (for the gauge), my darn RH headlight motor went on the fritz as I stood nearby. Unbelievable... Checked wiring, the headlight motor was pretty hot to the touch, got the multimeter out and checked the resistance on both headlight motors. Had resistance b/tn 2 sets of wires on LH motor and NOTHING on the RH side. Think she's shorted out & fried... I'll be on the lookout for a used one to get me going again. Never had one of these quit on me before...

Attachment 7463

Then later, I tidied up the GM's OBD II wiring near the driver's LH foot rest. Installed more trim around carpet with a pair of old RatsBack Racing carbon fiber threashold plates and front kick panels.

Attachment 7464

Next up on the check list is brake and hydraulic fluid. My Dad and I handled the tasks rather easily and quicker than I anticipated. The brakes pumped up, small leak at rear axle hard line was tightened, air pocket on Wilwood calipers finally cleared and the job was wrapped up. Then, the T56 slave cylinder and Wilwood clutch master cylinder were bled beautifully and in record time!

Then.., the bad news appeared! Fluid on the floor under the bellhousing -- that means a wide-@ss open leak. :( So, guess what that means? Yup - the T56 has got to be dropped down so the problem can be confirmed. ...And I tried so hard to properly tighten the slave cylinder lines many months ago because of what I had read from others having leak issues! Damn. We'll put it on a lift next Saturday and drop the tranny from the bellhousing (hopefully) so the LS2 doesn't have to come out as well. Both master cylinders were full 20 min before this pic was snapped:

Attachment 7465

So, while were discussing "issues" --- here's what all I'm facing right now with some hopefully, final hurdles to jump over:

1. Leak with clutch slave cylinder.

2. Headlight motor - RIP.

3. The 2005 GTO drive-by-wire throttle pedal NOT talking to the Throttle Body. I've actually RAN the LS2 for about 5 minutes on a rough idle (not certain if I've shared that here on the forum before or not...) but the motor chokes off after 3 - 4 minutes. No need to run it anymore until the motor can get some fresh air up through the Z06 intake and run smoothly. Need to get the motor warm to properly top off the coolant, etc...

After all that gets resolved, then it's off to the muffler shop for exhaust and 02 bungs for the one pair of oxygen sensors. No cats on this car and no rear pair of 02 sensors either... We'll get there - just have a few setbacks to deal with.

But, I'm still very stoked with this Mazda so far!!!!

Attachment 7466

Somewhat slow wknd in the shop but can check off another task or two as complete.

Here's where I left off last week - and where I'm at with it:
1. Leak with clutch slave cylinder. Still leaks, I guess. Hope to get the Mazda on a lift next Saturday to pull the tranny as easily as possible...
2. Headlight motor - RIP. Used eBay replacement arrived for $23 + $6 shipping, cleaned up, installed, and works perfectly.
3. The 2005 GTO drive-by-wire throttle pedal NOT talking to the Throttle Body. Talked to my excellent out-of-state GM wiring guy. Hope to perform a few tests next Saturday to confirm the current failure - - wiring or bad pedal...

In addition to the headlight motor, I worked on my instrument panel. Have several pics to share in case anyone else wants to build their custom set-up.

First, I traced out the old instrument panel onto poster board so I could compare how much open gap I'd have with the test fitting the gauge hood.

Attachment 7447

Drew and cut up a 2nd sheet of paper to follow the contour of the gauge hood - combined the two and came up with this cardboard template.

Attachment 7448

Set my old orange layout drawing on the new template to place "gauges" exactly where I want them to be...

Attachment 7449

Here's what it would look like if your head happened to be on floor of the Mazda and was staring up at the dash...

Attachment 7450

Took my two-foot McMaster Carr 3/16" sheet of aluminum out for a little weight reduction and transferred all my info here with Sharpie and center-punch...

Attachment 7451

Drill press, hole saws, and the ever-fabulous HarborFreight $9.98 cutting tool were my best friends that day.

Attachment 7452

Attachment 7453

A quick test fit and after elongating a few screw holes with a round file, the gauge panel fit like a glove!

Attachment 7454

Then the sharp edges were removed with what must be a 60+ yr-old belt sander in the corner of the shop. It's ugly, but it worked. Once the corners were smooth and potential for slicing my arm off was gone, I did a test-fit with the gauges! They were TIGHT, but it went A-OK after I trimmed the "nubbies" off the threaded collars on the back of the gauges for clearance reasons. With the collars' new smaller diameters, they fit together like a glove.

Attachment 7455

A view from the front - aluminum "in the raw"

Attachment 7456

Gauges were pulled back out and a sheet of 3M Flat Black vinyl wrap was applied to make it more "OEM" or subtle looking. Then gauges were put back in -- just in time to for a quick photo next to the previous set of Mazda/ KGWorks/ and custom gauge faces I used to have the pleasure of looking at. (After 3 variations of gauge faces in this car over the last 8 yrs or so, I had JUST gotten the look and style I wanted... now they're going on the shelf!) I decided to go with SpeedHut's Freedom Can-Bus gauges to utilize the LS2's ability to provide speedo, tach, and all other gauges (except for Fuel level. Fuel level reads off the Mazda sending unit.)

Attachment 7457

And voila !! Gauges sitting in place. The wiring will be very simple - have turn signals, high beam, ground, key-ON power, fuel level, and SpeedHut's dimmer for the LED backlighting. Should go pretty quick when I'm ready to re-attach the dash wiring harness back to the dash support beam.

Attachment 7458

Are the turn signal indicators in the speedo?

Yes they are & the high beam indicator is sitting just below the "60".

The other LED lamps in the gauges are programmable HI or LOW level warnings for low fuel, low oil pressure, hi water temp, programmable shift lamps, etc. The speedo also has OBD II diagnostic codes that I could toggle through where the digital odometer is. I have some readin' up to do when this thing is up and running!

I have a small eBay amber LED indicator light in black housing ordered that will be the MIL - Malfunction Indicator Light for the GM PCM. I'm not sure where it will go as of yet - but don't think I'll put it with the gauges. I have a small, rectangular carbon fiber blank just below the radio that would work for the MIL...

No pop up light indicator, seat belt indicator, or other Mazda lamps are coming back either - just keeping it plain and simple, I hope!

Small update on Slooooowww build:

Remember my recent To-Do list? There's not much to report this week as my friend (who operates his own auto repair shop) could not locate his Weather-Pack de-pinning tool. Darn. Have to go another week or so to hopefully get DBW pedal working and then we can look into the slave cylinder issue...

1. Leak with clutch slave cylinder. Still leaks.

2. The 2005 GTO drive-by-wire throttle pedal NOT talking to the Throttle Body. Still not talking...

So, I worked on some loose ends instead.
1. Received my used Z06 rubber coupling between throttle body & air intake to replace my too-short eBay silicone coupling. Perfect fit! It gave me the adjustability and extra 1/2" length to drill holes in the appropriate place in the Mazda core support. Very happy with this one. Go OEM with this stuff, okay?

While searching for the above OEM coupling, I learned that my MAF needed a gasket. Decided to make my own out of a sheet of somewhat spongy cork gasket material. Should be OK.

http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_0680.jpg

2. Rolled rear fenders. Received my eBay $118 (incl frt) fender roller and used it in conjunction with my dad's Ace Hardware heat gun. ...I hope I did OK with rolling my first pair of fenders - I have nothing to compare it to. Are the lips supposed to be FLAT against the inside of the rear quarter panels? I don't know. But, my lips are rolled into an upside down "U" and sort of parallel with the 1/4 panel. Just hope that gives my 225 tires enough clearance - otherwise, I'll find out the hard way when the tires rub. And, actually, I tried to jack up one side of the rear suspension (with lower shock bolt removed!), and the jack would pick up the whole damn corner of the car off of the jack stands. So, I never could push the tire up into the fender. I think my V8R suspension is TIGHT!!!

Attachment 7439

Attachment 7440

3. Decided to install the updated and less-bulky dash wiring harness - because I had nothing else to do... The below 2 pics are just the remaining Mazda wiring...

Attachment 7441


Attachment 7442

This pic shows the LH driver's side after wiring in all the connections for the SpeedHut OBD II gauges. Had to hook up fuel sender wire and ground wire for same fuel gauge, + and - for dash lighting, + and - for needle pointers, & + and - for the gauges themselves. All the above come with small SpeedHut wiring harnesses so it was actually about 6 connections for everything! I also zip-tied in a small black box behind the dash and rheostat with knob for dimming these LED-lit gauges.

Attachment 7443

4. Next up is this false floor "to protect & to serve" the GM PCM and fuse box in passenger RH floorboard. I really feel that somewhere deep within me lurks a true-welder, an artisan, struggling to get out! :) So, I made a 8.5" x 13" rectangle with two angled, lower mounting tabs and trimmed it to fit the contour of the floor. These welds are extreme, and very amateurish, I know! But, I love any and every opp to get the MIG welder going. I wish I was better at it this art craft. One day...

Here's the backside for your viewing pleasure. This bottom will be bolted to the Mazda threaded studs that were used on '90-93 Miatas to protect their ECMs. The top will have a threaded bolt or something to tie to the forward-facing floorboard to keep this from touching the GM fuse box and PCM. The front-side will be probably be covered in Mazda carpet for OEM good looks!

Attachment 7444

Here's where it sits:

Attachment 7445

Here's what it protects:

Attachment 7446

So, that's it for right now. Once I get the LS2 throttle pedal working and the clutch operating, it will be a quick install of interior and front-end sheetmetal/ front bumper!!! I'm getting anxious to wrap this build up!

What ever you do, dont stop posting, I love this thread, dont let the lack of replies discourage you, this thread is a gold mine of very useful information. I dont even own a miata and its because of great builds like this that have me scouring the wanted ads for a car to buy and do my own. Thanks for everything

Wow. What a nice note you sent! I appreciate you posting up. I really get a kick out of sharing the details and the few roadblocks I've encountered along the way - it's therapeutic & it's giving me a pretty good summary to look back over...

And really, one of my goals from the beginning has been to share the little stuff (heater hose sizes, fuel filter/ regulator mounting, metal cutting, wire routing, etc) that I wasn't finding on other Miata LS swap sites.

Gold mine - LOL! My wife uses those same words about this build, but for different reasons! Now, go out and find your donor Miata to start your build or just swing through NC and take a ride in this one when it's done.

+1

i have different LS1 cars before but had different people helping me to do it at different stages

i m planning on doing this LS1 miata all by myself

this thread has been awesome
da moar picz da bettah !!!!

good luck on your DBW situation, i'll be using standard wire pedal

+1

i have different LS1 cars before but had different people helping me to do it at different stages

i m planning on doing this LS1 miata all by myself

this thread has been awesome
da moar picz da bettah !!!!

good luck on your DBW situation, i'll be using standard wire pedal[/QUOTE]

Thanks MSM, and best of luck on your Miata project! My DBW saga continues... All wiring is correct - just think my GTO pedal decided to die while in storage..? These '05 pedals apparently have a poor reputation so I have a replacement ordered. I hate to throw parts at the problem, but I don't have a GM diagnostics tool to problem solve with. But gut instinct after researching the deal says it's the pedal. Hope so.

Really hate posting up without having forward progress to report, but I'm about dead in my tracks as I try to sort out the lack of communication between my GTO pedal, PCM, and throttle body -- all off of the same car.

Earlier this week, we plugged in a new, correct-replacement pedal hoping that this was the culprit for no throttle body blade movement... Unfortunately, it did not make any difference. With the key ON, the throttle body should respond to the pedal - but that doesn't happen. My throttle body DOES do its initial start-up sequence when it sorta zero's out as soon as it powers up. So, I feel like the throttle body may be OK. But perhaps not... I have read that on the E40 PCM that I have, there can be an issue where the PCM goes bad and does not send enough voltage to the stepper motor in the throttle body to create movement.

Need to do more homework or wish for an experienced GM tech to fall from the sky with a backpack full of diagnostic tools! ...I'd pay his bus fare back to wherever he came from, I promise.