Paul B's 90 NA "Build"

[Greasemonkey2000]

Not to rain on anyone's parade but for that price I would have gone CSF. They are a rising star and very good reputation.

Not say Mishimoto was a bad choice but I have read enough issues with some of their products(especially their fans) to make ME hesitate. My apologies if I I'm coming off as judgemental or miatachurbo-ish. Just my humble opinion.

[Paul B]

Not to rain on anyone's parade but for that price I would have gone CSF. They are a rising star and very good reputation.

Not say Mishimoto was a bad choice but I have read enough issues with some of their products(especially their fans) to make ME hesitate. My apologies if I I'm coming off as judgemental or miatachurbo-ish. Just my humble opinion.

Its all good. You're entitled to your opinion. Good thing it's my build haha only looking to please myself. (Pun intended)

I like the look of the Mishi better. CSF looked too blingy for my taste.

Plus I doubt Ill ever notice the difference performance-wise between brands I was considering (koyo,mishi,csf). My old ebay rad and fans on my last turbo car performed nicely so I imagine this name-brand will be even better.

Csf would have shipping on top of 257 rad price.


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[Paul B]

Today was a day of engine bay projects big and small.

Got the radiator installed. Had to trim the stock fan shrouds to clear the large front sway bar. The stock fans are temporary until I order the Mishimoto fans and shroud.

Other than the trimming of shroud the install went smoothly. It looks so good.











When I installed the Carbon Miata bumper duct I realized the stock horn was now visible from the front. And it was ugly. The radiator panel was off for radiator install and saw it was easy to get to that ugly horn. Off it came. It was replaced by an inexpensive Wolo horn I picked up at Advance Auto for $15. Hardly a difference in sound but it looks much better. Will do the job until I feel like tackling Hellas.







Then It was time to improve the valve cover. Those indented letters in the 1.6 vc needed some love. I chose a gloss blue Testors model paint and found a clever bottle device to allow the paint to be placed in the letters cleanly.






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[JamieH]

A syringe?

[Paul B]

A syringe?

Something similar. A little squeeze bottle with a tiny pointed tip.


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[Paul B]

A syringe?

Found this at hobby lobby. Worked well



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[Paul B]

Last weekend I attended a local car show put on by the MG car club. The MG guys have always been nice to us Miata guys. Crappy weather held people out but since only 2 other Miatas showed up I decided to park and enter for fun. Ended up getting 1st over two stock Miatas. One was a super clean '91 and the other a 25th anniversary edition.

The Miata class.


This happened mid-show.


Plaque.


After the show I started thinking. Ive contemplated removing my A/C for a while. It blows air just as warm as the fan. Here in western NY there are less than a handful of days that require A/C in a convertible. A/C needs to go.

The plans began for removing A/C. To get to the A/C pieces the power steering needs to be moved.

So I contemplated totally removing power steering for a while. Much research. Many youtubes. I decided on a properly de-powered rack. This week/weekend the power steering came out and power assist removed.

Plenty of miata forum posts helped. Flyin Miata directions helped. TheCarPassionChannel helped.

What about the A/C you say? I am meeting a local guy who will remove the freon from the car tomorrow to get that part going.

Rack removed.
IMG_7056.JPG
Steering pump removed.
IMG_7057.jpg
Pinion welded

MiataRoadster plugs for all the lines.


Alignment.


Then on the way home from alignment the car his the 100,000 miles milestone. Just getting started.


From the short drive home the steering really feels good. It is tough (as a car with no power steering would feel) at very slow speeds. Id say under 5mph its regrettable haha But once moving over 5mph it really is nice. Direct input. Takes a little effort but it feels great. I doubt Id ever do it again to a Miata but Im happy I did it.

Next will be the A/C.


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[Greasemonkey2000]

You probably need to decrease caster as that will help with the steering effort at low speeds, iirc, non power steering Miata's are supposed to have the caster at around 4.5 degrees while power steering Miata's are supposed to be at around 5.5 degrees.

Yup...more information here:
"Caster

More caster can help mid to low speed turn in, makes steering heavier, may increase wheelspin in very low speed turns with a Torsen or open type differential. Higher caster values will increase stering effort. Lower values reduce steering effort. If running power steering, go for caster settings above 3.5°. If running manual or depowered rack, lower caster can reduce steering effort. The Miata platform likes caster greater than 3.5°. Balance that against the steering effort you prefer. Running caster beloow about 2° can result in very vage steering with little or no self centering force."
http://949racing.com/miata-race-alignment-info.aspx

[Paul B]

You probably need to decrease caster as that will help with the steering effort at low speeds, iirc, non power steering Miata's are supposed to have the caster at around 4.5 degrees while power steering Miata's are supposed to be at around 5.5 degrees.

Yup...more information here:
"Caster

More caster can help mid to low speed turn in, makes steering heavier, may increase wheelspin in very low speed turns with a Torsen or open type differential. Higher caster values will increase stering effort. Lower values reduce steering effort. If running power steering, go for caster settings above 3.5°. If running manual or depowered rack, lower caster can reduce steering effort. The Miata platform likes caster greater than 3.5°. Balance that against the steering effort you prefer. Running caster beloow about 2° can result in very vage steering with little or no self centering force."
http://949racing.com/miata-race-alignment-info.aspx

Thank you for that info. Thats amazing. Wish I knew that going into the alignment today so I could have given them more specifics.

Today's alignment was just a quick "save me" bandaid alignment to fix the toe-in/out issues after disconnecting tie rod ends and losing my reference points.

Today made the car driveable for the next month or so until it goes into storage/winter tear down mode. On the list of items for the winter are new coil overs and R package tie rod ends. Then new alignment in April. And I will bring all the specifics.


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[Paul B]

So its been over a month since I had an update. Far too long.

This update comes after having some cooling issues with the Miata.

I noticed walking to my car one day after work that there was fluid on the ground near my right front tire. I immediately assumed it was coolant and a quick sniff and taste confirmed it. Popped the hood and the overflow tank was empty and radiator was down a bit. Temps on the way to work seemed normal so I figured Id drive it home.

Got a few miles and temps seemed good. It was a cool night and I realized there was steam coming from under the hood. A lot of steam. And the smell of coolant. Not good. Pulled into a gas station and popped the hood. The coolant hose near the steering shaft had a hole in it and was spewing coolant onto the header, steering shaft and the left side of the engine bay. Like, pissing coolant. NOT good.

broken hose.jpg

broken hose2.jpg

I had plans to replace all coolant hoses after I did the radiator but this sped up the process. Actually the radiator was the first part of a complete coolant system overhaul to include 949 reroute, Mishimoto fans, parallel fan wiring, hoses, temp sensor, temp gauge. Funds are tight at the moment due to new house purchase so I ended up ordering a replacement lower radiator hose from FlyinMiata and a thermostat with gasket.

The FM hose came with some awesome clamps.

FM kit.jpg

The FM hose replaced a temporary hose I threw on to get the car moving and also replaced the lower hose.

Temp hose:
temp replacement hose.jpg


The FM hose has much better routing and less failure point. It was a simple task to install given my power steering pump was out of the way. Would have been even easier if there was no AC but it snaked nicely under the AC stuff. Had to do some trimming at both ends just to get it to fit perfect and avoid rubbing on anything. A small piece of old hose was sliced and attached with zip tie to help protect the hose.

hose comparo.jpg
hose route.jpg
hose protector.jpg

So no more coolant issues. The 949 reroute is on my wish list. Just moved into a new house so Miata has a new garage to get used to.

[Paul B]

Worked on the car the other night. Used the new garage for the first time. It is so great to have a nice, clean garage with a solid concrete floor that isn't wet or damp. Plenty of lighting and plenty of room.

This particular night had me removing the AC components and installing the ac delete kit I picked up from 5XRacing.

A couple months back I had a local HVAC guy discharge the very small amount of fluid still in the ac system. Power steering pump and lines were already gone.

I started by removing all the lines from the compressor and the lines going into the firewall. Removed the compressor and the cooling unit under the dash.

cross tube and all lines.jpg

Then I installed the fire wall plugs and the plug inside the glove box area.

firewall plugs.jpgglove box plug.jpg

Next put in the accordion crossover tube.

crossover tube.jpg

I could have worked harder than I wanted to and got the AC condenser and evaporator out but I plan on doing that on a day where I can drain the coolant and remove the radiator (ie: coolant reroute).

It felt amazing working on the car to make it more simple. Especially in a nice garage. Still need to remove the bracket once I get a new shorter bolt.

Had to take a pic when I was done.

celebratory pic.jpg

Next up on the list:

Flyin Miata VMaxx coilovers & FM shock tower brace.

[—tsingson—]

I would never be able to survive down here without A/C. But I am also a big guy so that adds to it also.

[Paul B]

I would never be able to survive down here without A/C. But I am also a big guy so that adds to it also.

Yea any place down south, AC would be necessary. up here in Buffalo, there's only about 2 weeks that AC is needed. Of those 2 weeks, the Miata only gets driven a couple days, IF that. So AC goes bye-bye.

[Paul B]

Its almost snow time here in Buffalo NY. Perfect time to install suspension as the car gets parked for winter.

The order kinda, sorta happened by accident. FM's site allows you, if approved, to use Affirm for loans on your purchase. Im not proud to do this but my credit has been slowly rising from the dead. My attempts over a year ago to use Affirm have been denied. My credit has been improving steadily recently so for shits and giggles I tried to check out what was in my dream sheet shopping cart and within seconds it was approved. With an easily affordable loan payment that I can pay off pretty quickly. (And then buy more parts).



I ended up ordering what has been on my wish list for years. Flyin Miata pieces I have wanted on my previous Miata and current Miata but never managed to buy.

VMaxx classic coilovers
FM shock tower brace
FM frame rails
FM butterfly brace

UPS got everything delivered and I got to wrenching fully aware I may not get to drive it at all due to Buffalo weather.





Front suspension and shock tower brace went on first.

I probably should have went with the xtreme or track set of Vmaxxs but the car will see road driving most days and auto-x here and there. Didnt need $1000+ suspension...yet.

People debate over STBs. My previous Miata had a shitty $50 ebay brace and I could feel the difference it made. IMO, they make the front end feel much more solid. So I bought what I felt is the best one on the market.



Didnt take photos of the rear install.

Frame rails were next. Didnt take too long. Would have been much easier with a helper. Butterfly brace will go on in spring time when I get an extra set of hands. Im a one man crew working on the car in the afternoons on my days off while my son goes to daycare and wife is out of town.




It is ironic drilling holes in a car. Especially when I told myself and my wife that I wouldn't "ruin" this car. I thought Id never drill holes in it or cut it up. Well the roll bar went in and the door bars went in. Whats another 24 holes? No big deal. Racecar stuff.

I was able to drive the car for about an hour on slower backroads today while exploring my new neighborhood. Wasnt able to push it to really see what it could due because of low temps and wet/rainy conditions with a lot of leaves. The exact same conditions that caused me to spin and crash my last Miata. The drive was basically a feeler run to see what needs to be adjusted, tightened, listen for noises etc.

From what I could gather the suspension felt great. Much much better than the shitty 7 year old racelands. The car deserves this suspension. Its not the best ride (i can only imagine how amazing xidas or similar would feel) but it does handle very well. Car is composed and doesnt feel like its going to explode over the smallest bump. Should be a good time at autocross next season.

Im certain the frame rails make a difference but it is hard to tell. I think the door bars made the biggest impact. Frame rails just seem necessary on these cars, especially for the butterfly brace.

Now to retorque everything and give the car its final bath before it gets covered and stored away.

And one snap of the interior before some big changes happen this winter.




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[Roadster7]

Oh damn I didn't realize you were on Racelands this whole time. Very nice upgrades.