NA6CE 1992 Form vs Function Build and History

[— kung fu jesus —]

Well, shit just got real.

Started the car to head home from work, idle was crazy high. Figured the IAC was flaking out. Got about a 1/2 mile away and the car drops two cylinders, bucking, the AFR pegs pig rich. So, I pull into a parking lot and the car stalls.

I get towed home, look for obvious issues, broken wires, etc. I get it fired again and it is dumping fuel. Pull the plugs to let them dry, all are wet except #3. I call it a night.

In the morning, I give another once over, check the ECU, no corrosion or moisture. I fire it up, it runs right away and is starting to smooth out, then it gets up to temp...



Steam out the pipe, oil smoke under load. Head gasket appears to be toast.

Already assembled the ATL Miata super team. Engine build happens Friday. Putting a known, stock head on the rebuilt block, putting it in Saturday/Sunday with new clutch, fresher transmission. Gonna throw down on her til she runs good. I will tear down the current lump, including the built head and see what happened. Maybe I will part it out and get a bp4/5.

How many licks to get to the center of this tootsie pop? A little over 180k hard-driven, thrice force inducted, countless hours of track time, and 23 years.