She's here!

[channelmaniac]

Well,

The project is here! 1196 mile round trip from Lewisville to Jackson, TN, and back. Thanks to eBay, U-Haul (tow dolly!), and Lewisville Tire & Automotive (new radiator in the Jeep), we got the racer home.



It's now shoehorned in the garage... and I can't work on it yet - I have to pass my CCIE recertification test first.

The body looks good! I have a few dents to fix on the hood - everything else has been fixed from the hail damage. The frame rails under the back look straight and there doesn't seem to be any rust other than surface stuff where some body work was done.

The seller was great to work with, nice to meet, and he also has a few spare pieces he's going to ship to me (baffles from the valve cover and the HLAs from the old head.)

I'm stoked and have a lot of plans for it. In reading the Spec Miata requirements, it appears that I can do quite a few mods, but they are all canned - you have to use certain part numbers. There are other things that aren't spelled out real well and people talk about "built" engines on the board - I'll have to research that.

Now I get to pass the test first then start the tear down... I'll be selling quite a few pieces off of her to help pay for things like water pump, timing belt, pulleys, and more. Some of the items to sell include: seats, aftermarket radio, 4 speakers (Polk Audio - 2 in the doors, 2 in the deck), Autopower rollbar, and Millen Panasport rims)

Is there anyone on the board that has done a valve job on a Miata? The head was warped due to overheating. The car came with a replacement (used) head. One of the first things to do is to check & service the head and replace all the valve guides. Once that is done I get to reassemble the engine.

If anyone wants to learn more about Miata engines & valves then we'll do some Tech days at my place as I work on it.

If anyone has the experience with doing the valves, advice would be appreciated!

I'll be taking LOTS of pics and will be posting them on my cardomain site.

RJ

[Treibenschnell]

This site may be of some use to you.

[channelmaniac]

Yeah,

Except that it only says this:

Engine

The Spec Miata class shall strictly follow the SSCS except for modifications permitted by these rules. Unless specifically mentioned or approved in these rules, no additional modifications may be made.

So I'll have to dig deeper...

[altiain]

PM MadMerv - he ought to be able to tell you everything you want to know about building a Spec Miata.

From my understanding, Spec Miata motors are stock - no intenal mods are allowed. Heck, most typical external "bolt-on" mods aren't even allowed. What you're hearing about "built" motors are motors that are actually stock... they're just built to take advantage of all of the factory manufacturing tolerances in such a way that they tend to make more power than the average production engine.

BTW, you can download a free copy of the relevant SCCA Showroom Stock/Spec Miata GCR (General Competition Rules) right here.

[channelmaniac]

Thanks Iain!

I'll give MadMerv a shout.

RJ

[Titus]

Time for your first parts car!

[rx7gslse]

I'd also give you the suggestion of sending a PM to my friend Chris, aka Thorage327 on this forum..

He's not a guy who races the spec cars, but he does make a living out of building them for people.. Tell him I sent ya and I'm sure he'll be more than willing to lend you some info etc..

Eric

[Treibenschnell]

Time for your first parts car!

I'll throw in some change to purchase that beast!!

C'mon, let's start a collection!

[IPRESS]

The best thing to do when starting in SM is to not worry about the engine. Do the rest of the build as well as you can. Unless you are already accomplished in track driving, the motor is not a problem. A freshened head on an older bottom end is usually as strong as anything... unless you want to spend $4k - $5k on a pro built motor for that extra 5 - 6 HP. In the long run the cars setup will make you fast or slow. Building one is not that hard, but you do want a Pro built roll cage. Get in touch with Todd out at MSR, the best SM cage builder in the business (IMHO). I can tell you where to find most stuff you will need. There are good deals and then there are not so good deals. I have found both in building two SMs.

Mac

[channelmaniac]

Thanks guys!

I was thinking of this roll cage kit. It's a weld-in kind and not a bolt-in one. I have a friend that's a gunsmith & metalsmith that can help weld it in. What do you guys think of that kit? It seems that when you mention that kit, everyone thinks of the bolt-in one they sold in the past.

I'm not going to build a motor up for just 5 to 6 extra HP. I know I have a long way to go before I'd get ANY use out of that. The nut behind the wheel needs lots of work before that would ever happen.

3Bean, I'd love to get a parts car, but the big problem with that is that I have NO place to put the dang thing! I don't want my house to look like a typical East Texan's place with cars & appliances everywhere.

Hell, I'd pitch in some $$$ to get it - just to have the spare parts - but I'd be killed for bringing it home. The garage is full and I'm having to get rid of stuff just to make room for the Miata. (No Titus! I'm not selling my compressor )

RJ

[black roadster]

I was thinking of this roll cage kit. It's a weld-in kind and not a bolt-in one.

I think what most people are saying is don't get a kit but have a custom built rollcage built to your specs. Anyone I've known who built a SM has done that and been very pleased.

[Screamin'Screw]

There are really two classes of SM cars these days. The normal specs are putting out 103 - 105 at the rear wheels. The highly competitive specs are putting out 110 - 115 at the rear wheels.

The competitive cars are using non-compliant head modifications and botton end mods costing $3 - $5K to achieve their results. Until Spec starts pulling heads and disqualifying these cars, there will be two classes of racers.

The first few races of the season have been real eye openers for some of the racers.

[altiain]

I was thinking of this roll cage kit. It's a weld-in kind and not a bolt-in one.

I think what most people are saying is don't get a kit but have a custom built rollcage built to your specs. Anyone I've known who built a SM has done that and been very pleased.

Yep.

another thread[/url] altiain]
A Spec Miata, huh? Another word of advice - skip the autopower bolt in cage and go straight to a custom built cage with NASCAR bars. It may cost a bit more, but it will be built around you for your car with the highest possible level of safety, instead of just meeting the minimum requirements.

Building one is not that hard, but you do want a Pro built roll cage. Get in touch with Todd out at MSR, the best SM cage builder in the business (IMHO).

Mac

See a pattern yet?

It's your body. I've seen Autopower cages up close, and while they aren't horrible, they typically qualify as "the bare minimum". I like to buy as much safety as I can afford. Maybe you're different.

[altiain]

There are really two classes of SM cars these days. The normal specs are putting out 103 - 105 at the rear wheels. The highly competitive specs are putting out 110 - 115 at the rear wheels.

Hmm....

*Wonders what his atypical '99 would put out with the required restrictor*

[IPRESS]

I wish you had been at MSR a couple of years ago when Scott Means got upside down in Little Bend, (he got wheel to wheel with a SRX7) he got launched and landed on the roof. Todd's cage held up great and made all of us that have them feel awful good. DON'T CUT CORNERS ON SAFETY EQUIPMENT. Buy the best suit you can afford, best helmet, etc. We do this for fun. I have seen some SMs that didn't look too good after an incident that the driver was just fine.

Mac

[Treibenschnell]

Here's an Spec 1.6 Intake for cheap.

[carguychris]

The best thing to do when starting in SM is to not worry about the engine. Do the rest of the build as well as you can. Unless you are already accomplished in track driving, the motor is not a problem.

Howdy Channelmaniac! This is the guy you met at Town North Mazda the other day. :)

I basically concur with this opinion. Here's my thoughts on the engine.

Go to a junkyard or local "Used Japan Engine" place. Buy an engine with good compression and no major problems, but don't worry about getting one that's perfect. Don't pay more than $400- if you try to rebuild the one you've got, you'll pay more than this just for the headwork; I've spent more on a head with 3/4 as many valves. :o A used engine will be MUCH less work- just slap it into the engine compartment, put fresh fluids in it, and go racing.

Reason? At your experience level, the hotshoes in the class are inevitably going to eat your lunch, even if you've got a "built" motor. Concentrate on getting seat time at first; you can build the motor later. Plus, if you put a junkyard motor in the car, you'll have the current engine as a spare and you can rebuild it at your leisure rather than trying to rush through it just to get to the starting grid.

All IMHO of course. Good luck!

[channelmaniac]

Thanks Chris and welcome to the board!

Drop a post in the Introductions section

I was looking at doing this as a learning experience and I've never done valve guides before and will try doing this myself. I figure if I break it then I can get a cheap 1.6L JDM engine like you suggest

Raymond