Engine Build & Track Blog

It runs!

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:35:11 -0400

I took 1/2 day off from work to get going on the car in the early afternoon. Thank god for Les - he had worked on it and finished off a few key things, including creating a mount for the breather tank, installing it, and finishing off the installation of the radiator & coolant lines.

Things were coming together so well that I called DentSport Garage just before closing and booked some dyno time for Wednesday. That gives me tonight and tomorrow night to finish up and be ready for the dyno. Thursday to fix all of the issues that come up on the dyno. Friday to get an exhaust made and installed and to get myself packed and ready for this weekend’s event, and very little time to sleep. It’s crunch time.

VIDEO: Fired on the first try!

Sunday Night Update

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:44:03 -0400

What a day!
Lots done, not many pictures.
Injector wiring & Install...check.
Airhorn & carbon fiber airbox backing plate install...check.
Coolant re-route install...check.
Valve cover & Toyota Coil On Plug install...check.
PCV & breather lines...check.

Installing the injectors correctly took forever. I lost a lot of time due to the injector retaining clips and not understanding how they actually install. I walked away from it many times and would come back after a while. Very, very frustrating. i finally figured it out, and at that point it seemed so simple. (Edit: I spoke to Gary at TWM about this on Monday, in his words, “yeah, you and about 4,000 other people. We should write some instructions one of these days”. Note: Install the clips onto the injector, then install the injector, then rotate the clip into the locking position.

Dealing with a headache all day and fighting off a cold certainly didn’t help at all either.

Still some finishing touches to do, including: Finalize radiator install and attach hoses, fill system, etc.
Make a custom mount for the breather tank
Pressurize and test fuel system
Cobble together an intake/filter system
START IT!

That should hopefully all get done tomorrow!

Saturday Night Progress Update...

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:18:47 -0400

Lots more got done today. Does not look like much, but as usual, it is the details that take all of the time. Gordon and Bill helped a bunch today, thankfully!

A lot of the things I’m doing are new to me, and custom in one way or another. There is no instruction manual to go by, and there is no set way that things should be laid out. When doing a project like this, I’ve learned that if decisions aren’t made, nothing gets done. Sometimes you have to stop trying to make every single detail perfect and just go with what works, and many times you end up with a better result for it. I had put a lot of thought and planning into the build before the parts were ready to install, so it was time for less thinking and more doing, and hoping that all went to plan.

PICTURES: Saturday Update, including fuel lines, oil cooler & lines, and throttle linkage.

Friday Night Progress Update...Engine is in!

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:36:17 -0400

A lot has happened today. The biggest is that Les dropped the engine into place today. A bunch of things have been roughed-out, and some actually installed. Many parts are just dropped in place for this pic, including the intake manifold, valve cover, and timing belt cover. None are actually installed...yet! This pic was taken just before going home late at night. With so much do during the weekend, I had to end Friday night on a high note!

In the interest of time, I’m skipping right to the pictures (with lots of comments in each).

PICTURES: First installed pictures.

Radiator & Coolant Re-Route

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:50:19 -0400

With the engine work complete and the engine bay tidied up, it is time to start work on the support systems (fuel delivery, air intake, ignition, cooling, etc.). First up is the cooling system.

I purchases an M-Tuned coolant re-route from Flyin’ Miata. The reroute will move the exit of the coolant from the front of the engine to the back. Since the coolant enters the engine block from the front, the re-route will allow for more even flow. I am changing a few things around on the kit.

First, the coolant re-route is designed to work with a stock radiator. The stock radiator inlet is on the passenger side of the car, and as such, the re-route is designed to have the coolant return line routed around the intake side of the engine. Since I’ll have the throttle bodies there and wanted to clean up the bay as much as possible, I’m customizing the re-route to work with my custom radiator, which has the coolant return port on the driver side of the car. That will keep all of the coolant lines on the driver/exhaust/”hot” side of the engine bay and away from the intake.

As it turns out, swapping the reroute around to work with my custom radiator wasn’t too difficult. Since I only have one week to get the engine installed, broken in, and tuned on the dyno before my next track event (and the last one of the season), this install will be good enough for now (ie: reliable), but will likely change during the off-season (via the use of more aluminum tubes and less rubber hose).

PICTURES: Coolant Re-Route with Custom Radiator Parts