A Racing Dog

Here’s a couple of interesting, to me anyway, mods the previous owners did to improve the air intake side.

Yes, those are holes drilled in the stock air box with most of the bottom cut away and the intake pipe hacked.

This next one, When I was cleaning the intake pipe I noticed what looked to be a cut mounting point. I didn’t remember cutting anything like that off. In fact, except for an errant sub frame stud (rehab to be documented later) everything was unbolted, or at least the bolts cut off and mounting points left in tact. A look at Mazdaspeed and it appears they removed the resonator box. Show up with that and Dewhurst is likely to deficate masonry material. Even though the box is a noise reduction device. I’m impressed they found a plastic cap that expoxied right to the resonator inlet. Looks like another $170 at Mazdaspeed (when they turn my account back one, didn’t get race results for last season) or see what Blake has. I didi notice that in my buying sprees I didn’t get a proper intake. I’ll pick up an SPX-1 from Wheeler after I get the other corners on the car, closer to being able to start it. I’ve got a lot of shit to do. And now I’m having fun.

With Honey back in Cali helping her Aunt (we’re moving her to Vegas to be closer to us) I’ll be able to pull some late nighters. Did one last night for the steering rack refurb and install. I just need to watch the noise. The compressor and chop saws are a bit loud, the wire wheel not so much. It’s mostly wrenching on the overnight shift. By overnight I mean about midnight when I get home from the gig until 3 am or so.

From the weekend, ready for the thrash. I need a service cart to make things a it easier. I’d like something like an older Matco MSC12, Mac or Snap On cart but no funds for such luxuries. At the Indycar races I’ve always liked how the crews had KRA style roadboxes on small rolling stands. I’ve got plenty of material, so I’ll build my own. For the folks that want to build cages, building various shop and trailer equipment is good practice. I’ve got an older KRA 59J which is basically a KRA62C with a bit different drawer config. The box is a tank.

This is want it looks like now. Until I get a handle on what sizes I need I bring most everything out I think I might. The box is too heavy to move around without a cart and walking back and forth gets old.

From the end of last night, or early this morning. Front corners all buttoned up. I don’t see how these guys get 180 ft/lbs on the spindle nuts. I stopped at 170, just over the upper spec from the FSM. And chipped a Craftsman punch staking the nuts. I’ve been looking for an excuse to get a PPC715BK, see them on eBay all the time.

Shout outs, going to start posting suppliers when I remember. Rotors and calipers from NAPA/Cheyenne. Studs, lugs, lines, adjustable links, rack plugs from Advanced Autosports, hardware, lower ball joints from Mazdaspeed and pads from Safe Racer. Standard hardware is 8.8 Grattan brand from McFadden Dale locally. Front upper A arm passenger side from Blake at BTDT Racing/ISellMiataParts.com The component refurb is documented on the blog, A arms here, hubs here, sub frames here. Hard to believe it’s been 11 months. Too fuckin’ long if you ask me. Oh well, it’s been a wild year, that’s for sure.

I’ve got the clutch master, clutch slave and hardlines in the engine compartment installed. As many SM builds do, I replaced the stock rubber hose and “curley Q” line at the slave with a braided flex line. Easy stuff. The hardline I’m just knocking the grunge off with some Scotch Brite maroon then chasing the threads to make share they are OK and making sure the flares on the tubing are still in pretty good shape.

I used a brand new clutch master cylinder from Advanced Autosports, my favorite SM store. The brake booster is mock fitted while I clean and service a fairly new brake master cylinder and test the brake proportioning valve. All easy stuff, just bolts right in.

Here’s the top view with another view of the water temp sensor fitting from Advanced Autosports. I’m not quite pleased with the routing of the cooling hose and may use formed 90* ELs to make it a cleaner fit. Notice no clamps yet, also a mock but I’m not digging the look and more importantly, the bend radius. Nope, I’m not hooking up the defroster as default though I’ll fab some hose fittings for those few times out here where we need to use the defroster. Or use soap or Rain-Ex.

I did a quick refurb of the hardline clip that normally attaches the stock rubber hose to the engine compartment hardline. The flex line is the only line now running to the clutch slave. I got the clutch line while checking out 5X Racing. I was going to buy some Team Dynamics wheels as they have a good price but as with all new vendors I use, I try a smaller purchase to see how it goes. They were great, would certainly use them again but things took a turn for the worse with health and finances so I’ve held off on the wheels and tires for now. Since, I’ve changed my mind and will go with D-Force SM wheels.

The clutch slave was replaced as well. I also got the clutch slave at Advanced Autosports. When I got the flex line I was going to use kits from NAPA on the master cylinders but they were so rusted it wasn’t worth refurbing. It was a couple months after I got the line and since AA had announced they were stocking Daiken masters and slaves. Easy call. And the price was just a shade more than the NAPA rebuild kits (and my cores were trash) and less full parts than either NAPA or Autozone, my two local providers. And no core charge. The NAPA in town is actually a commercial franchise, Cheyenne Auto Parts, a well stocked parts house with surly old parts guys that know their shit. Looking through some of the Internet feedback not everyone appreciates the gruff but lovable nature of some of the guys. I love ‘em. They hook me up every time.

That’s the clutch system, sans pedal which is in the next round of media blasting sometime soon. Got a fair amount of bits to blast this time around. Then the bleed which I’ll save for last with brakes and other fluids. I’m also taking the time to show some love to the rest of the hardline assembly. Remember kids, tub up. That’s how I rolled on this one. Or how it rolled on me, don’t know yet.

The buy of the week has to be a nearly new Snap On TDM-117A metric tap and die. With an 1/8″ BSP tap and die no less. Nearly new and crazy cheap on eBay. I’d been using the low end HF sets, metric and SAE and when it comes time I need to upgrade the SAE, I’ll look to eBay once more for the SAE version of the same set. For 10 bucks I managed to get a 9/16″ 1/2″ drive 8 point, or “double square” as it’s called for the trans fill plug.

All in all, a good week in and under the chick car. My weekend starts in a couple of hours and hope to have most of what I have for the engine compartment at least mocked and detailed and some if not all the front suspension hung.

Engine and trans are comfortably resting in the car, engine mounts torqued to spec, trans supported with a ratchet strap through the shift hole until I get the rear clip prepped, painted and the sub frame repaired. I had to cut a stud off the rear sub frame and while the assemble is square, I’ll need to replace that stud. For the engine and trans install I mostly followed the Veloce Publishing/Grainger and Shoemark book for the 1.6 NA as it’s much more detailed than the FSM and offers tips and guidence. The 1.6 NA book went out of print last year but another printing is due in May. I paid 39 bucks or so last year at Amazon, new, and when I went to get a link for someone else it was out of print with new issues going for over a hundred bucks. It’s a great addition to have to the FSM. Thanks to the gang at specmiata.com/mazdaacers.com for the heads up.

I did manage to fix one of the toasted bolts, the other is the bolt used on the bottom of the exhaust bracket and I’m hopeful Mc Fadden Dale will have one. No Miatas at the local salvage yards which is par for the course. Frustrated with my weak set of HF tap and dies, I bought an almost new a Snap On TDM117A as there are going to be more threading jobs on this build and I got a great price. Once I joined the engine and trans I used drift pin punches to line them up. We’ll be seeing more use of these in the suspension hang. Very handy tool.

Once I got it lined up and flush, I was able to get the two upper and two lower bolts tight enough to hold it together. The rest of the hardware, including the exhaust mounting bracket and hardware for the downpipe was rusty and oily. I had cleaned the first four bolts with WD40 but put the rest in a dip of Berryman Chem Dip. It’s great stuff, right up there with Seafoam (even though Seafoam is an engine treatment and not a cleaner, works great as a cleaner particularly on hard carbon buildup). I tried to use as much new hardware as I could but some of it I started to recycle due to budget reasons. Here is the whole assembly bolted and floating.

I couldn’t remember if I took both the cam angle sensor off and the coil pack or just the coil pack. I screwed the pooch and didn’t put the CAS on as I thought I could do it in frame. Damn it, Janet. Since it’s just the engine and trans, I’ll leave the engine mounts on the sub frame and float the block from the mounts far enough to get the CAS back on. NFG mistake but fairly easily fixed at this point.

The bitch about the 1 ton engine hoist from HF is the reach. And that Shitty orange. For the last few seasons I’ve been threatening to paint all my HF orange shop gear blue to match the shop. Yeah, right… On the stock cars we could remove the entire from cross section at the front clip. No such luck on the chick car but I can strip enough to make it pretty painless, even for one guy. The whole thing when in like butter following the tips in the Grainger book. Leave the driver side mount off the block but finger tight to the sub frame. Fully assemble the passenger side mount, the one that uses a slot in the sub frame and land the block as close as you can to the slot. Then I used a big ass pry bar to move it the 1/4″ or so to the whole. Finger tight on the connecting bolt on that one. Back the drivers side, we slack the hoist a bit and use a floor jack under the oil pan to position the block to the mount. The only real bitch is the rear most bolt, easy to get snugged with a 3/8″ stubby flex head, universal and short extension. Torquing it with the 1/2″ requires either a wobble head extension or a universal joint and long extension. The rest are a piece of cake and the passenger side you do prior to installation.

With the exception of the CAS not getting installed, here’s what it looks like….

This next one is me realizing that I can’t get the CAS in. Shit. I’ll put all the accessories back on, populate the engine bay, hang the front suspension them wrap the whole thing in shrink plastic while I start on the rear. Remember, it’s a complete tub up build. There are still hard lines and wiring harnesses in addition to every thing else. It will keep me busy, that’s for sure.