Also, I should add that I have a very detailed pinout for the ECU whereby I accounted for every single wiring change made, in plain English. It's in spreadsheet form and lists every step I took. May not seem like much, but it's helpful.
Hey guys,
I don't know if any of you remember this thread: http://www.dfwmiata.com/threads/2433...o-NA-nevermind but the bottom line is that I started a turbo project, thought about selling part way through, changed my mind and decided to finish the project, I bought thousands of dollars in additional parts, and now I have lost interest in the car and want to sell it. My reputation matters to me, so, per the usual, I offer full disclosure. I'm an open book.
Here's the Cliffs Notes version:
Phase 1 - I have owned the car since 2007 and it came with an old Flyin' Miata turbo kit and a Lin ECU, and I drove it like that for several years. The last owner put a fresh 1.6 in it long before I bought it, so it has 135k on the chassis and less than 100k.
Phase 2 - I then bought a new style Flyin' Miata turbo kit and a Megasquirt ECU, hooked it all up and called my tuner only to find that he doesn't tune Megasquirt. I bought a ton of new parts, thought about installing them for the longest time, then thought about selling the car (and made that old thread accordingly), and the parts just sat there on a shelf in my garage.
Phase 3 - I realized I'd hate myself if I never finished my project, so I bought many more parts (COP ignition, big fuel system, 949 Racing Wheels and Nitto NT01s, tons more) and installed everything. The car is now fully assembled but it is not yet fully tuned.
Phase 4 - I have gone back to school (on top of working full time and being married with a child) and I have, once again, run out of steam. I want to buy a Porsche and forget about modding cars for a while whether it makes me hate myself for not finishing the project or not.
Again, as the car sits, it is not fully tuned but all of the parts are installed.
Elaboration / Problems you need to know about
Over Christmas break, I worked on the car in every spare moment I had and I made a ton of progress. I took the car to get tuned by Tony Palo (read: arguably the most reputable tuner in the South) at T1, he set up all of the base maps for E85 and whatnot but he had to pull the plug on tuning since the car had four issues: it had a fuel leak on the new fuel rail, the TPS wasn't being read by the ECU, one of the cylinders wasn't getting spark, and there was a coolant leak. I took the car home and fixed the coolant leak (I had forgotten to tighten a hose clamp), I fixed the fuel leak (threaded insert needed an O-ring), and I have not addressed the other two issues but I know what the problem is. On the TPS, I did a variable TPS conversion (and I might add that my take on this popular conversion is pretty freaking awesome), only I forgot to swap the pin at the ECU harness. So that's a simple enough fix. The dead spark in one of the cylinders is going to be a bad crimp in the ignition harness. I installed a coil-on-plug setup that is wired into the factory wiring at the ignitor and, against my better judgment, I crimped it using the recommended connectors rather than the connectors I know work better. Again, another simple fix, if I only had time to do any of this.
The car has a salvaged title and is still registered in Florida. There are no complications with the title. It's in my name and I don't owe money on the car or any of that kind of thing. The title is salvaged because I got rearended and pushed into a pickup truck several years. The rear end damage was nominal, but the truck in front of me had a tow hook, so it got me right on the radiator support. Old car plus hood and bumper damage = total loss. I replaced the hood, bumper, and rear finish panel, and fabbed a new radiator support and it was good to go. It didn't affect the alignment or frame rails or anything like that. I've driven it for years since the accident. It's registered in Florida because turbo cars are more welcomed there, if you catch my meaning.
So to summarize, I put it all together, took it in for it's big bad E85 tune, there were four minor issues, and I resolved the two easy ones and haven't gotten around to the other two.
Awesome stuff you need to know about
The car comes with the following parts installed / stuff done:
- nearly new Flyin' Miata turbo kit featuring a GT3071r turbo (read: big turbo)
- nearly new FatCat Motorsports Custom Valved Bilstein coilovers (read: God's gift to Miata suspension enthusiasts)
- nearly new Racing Beat front sway bar
- nearly new 949 Racing End Links http://949racing.com/SuperMiata-miata-end-links.aspx
- Corner balanced and aligned per FatCat Motorsports recommendations
- Brand new AEM EMS standalone
- Brand new custom wired sensors, all wrapped in nice woven loom, heat shrunk, the works. The install on all sensors is top notch, if I can be so bold. Sensors include:
- 3 Bar Map Sensor
- Boost Solenoid (which is controlled by the ECU so you can boost by gear, etc.)
- Intake Air Temperature Sensor
- Trackspeed Engineering Coil-On-Plug Ignition http://trackspeedengineering.com/pro...products_id/28
- AEM ECU jumper harness where all wiring changes were made. The factory wiring harness to the ECU is untouched
- Wideband O2 sensor, wired in closed loop with the ECU (read: the ECU tune is dynamic rather than static and can pull timing as necessary)
- Brand new Injector Dynamics 1000cc Injectors / converted to sequential fuel injection with custom harness and corresponding changes at the ECU http://trackspeedengineering.com/pro...roducts_id/101
- Brand new Fuel Lab fuel pressure regulator http://trackspeedengineering.com/pro...roducts_id/115
- Brand new 949 Racing Big Fuel Line system http://949racing.com/hose-kit-m-tuned-fuel-rail.aspx
- Brand new dual feed fuel rail http://949racing.com/SuperMiata-dual...rail-1600.aspx
- Brand new In tank high volume fuel pump
- used 949 Racing 15x9 6UL wheels with Nitto NT01 tires, kind of like this: http://www.949racing.com/15x9/15x9_6UL_275_NB_8.jpg
- Brand new 949 Racing carbon fiber mirrors
- Powdercoated valve cover
- Powdercoated intake manifold
- Torsen diff
- Rollbar
- God only know how many hundreds of dollars in fittings and hoses and hardware
- Racing beat front bumper
- Brand new battery
- 1.8 Miata brakes, nearly new rotors and pads
- ACT clutch
In the above information, I tried to focus mostly on the new stuff that I installed. All of other parts mentioned in the old thread are still there (except, of course, for the parts that were replaced with newer/better parts, such as the wheels or the Megasquirt ECU, etc.). So there are MANY more parts than what's listed above (please see the old thread).
Stating the obvious
This car is not for everyone.
The car itself is in okay, verging on fairly decent, shape. The interior is pretty good. The exterior is all the same color (except the new rear finish panel and mirrors which are black on purpose), and, aside from two small holes in the fender where I had a fender-mounted mirror installed, the body is in pretty darn good shape. I painted it a few years ago and took out all of the noticeable dings and whatnot. However, I'm not a moron, so I understand that the car is something that will only be useful to a buyer who wants a car that they can spend a couple weekends on, get it tuned, and then blow the doors off of Corvettes, as opposed to someone who wants a clean, stock daily driver. With the old turbo setup, the car ran 13s and made 180 whp. The new setup will make an easy 250 whp. Throw in a built motor and you have literally everything else (fuel system, sensors, etc.) to make 400 whp.
I have simply run out of steam and I just want to buy a car that is fast from the factory. Any reasonable offer will be considered, but bear in mind that I don't need to sell the car either. If I can't get an offer that doesn't make me cringe, I'll just give it to my friend who would love to have a track car. I'd like to see it go to someone who will enjoy it.
Also, as I mentioned, my reputation is important to me. I understand the risk associated with buying modified cars, especially modified cars that aren't finished. But I own a home in the area and have worked at the same law firm for nearly seven years since I moved back to Texas. I'm not going anywhere, I'm easy to find, and I'll make myself available to help you understand how to get it up and running. You can't buy anything without incurring some degree of risk, but I'm confident that you'll feel comfortable dealing with me.
Please text me with questions or post in this thread. My name is Cory and I can be reached at: four07 - 2seven2 - 432one. I live in North Dallas.
Also, I should add that I have a very detailed pinout for the ECU whereby I accounted for every single wiring change made, in plain English. It's in spreadsheet form and lists every step I took. May not seem like much, but it's helpful.
I thought I had a buyer lined up, but it didn't go through. Thanks to everyone who has sent me texts and whatnot.
Ugh, I now need to sell this car to make my other deal happen. Accepting lowball offers.
Might want to post a starting price.
VW Bug in running shoes
M Porcupine sedan
M Porcupine coupe
Crusty old e46 beater
Battery Powered appliance car
If someone buys it today or tomorrow, I'll sell it for $3,900. If it doesn't sell, then I'm going to send it out, pay someone to finish what I don't have time to do myself, and then sell it running for substantially more.
Sent you a text LMK would like to look at it tonight.
1997 Miata - Weekend\Autox Car
1994 Mustang Cobra - Garage Shelf
2012 Mazda 3 - Daily
Lock it up, please.