Category: MX5

Ticked a few more little things off the list. First up was wrapping the dump pipe:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/30/20191030042221-642ede9c-xl.jpg[/img]

Should keep the heat down a little bit. Some is better than nothing anyway.

Then made up my MSD ignition leads, and mounted the coil packs:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/30/20191030041452-9a1bad63-xl.jpg[/img]

Got some Norma Cobra clamps for the oil and water drains:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/30/20191030041710-3bcc204a-xl.jpg[/img]

Will be able to slip heat sleeve over them later when im sure its not leaking.

Speaking of leaks though, i found a pinhole in the aluminium coolant hard line, that just refused to seal up. So i rebuilt it in stainless.

Built a little testing rig:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/30/20191030044756-cb53c0f5-xl.jpg[/img]

Just used some 32mm OD (25mm ID i think) PVC plumbing pipe and end caps, with a threaded wheel valve in one end.

Found a couple of pinholes:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/30/20191030044808-06fa8756-xl.jpg[/img]

Welded them up and it holds 60psi, or 4 bar.
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/30/20191030044819-75083d0c-xl.jpg[/img]

Given its only a 16psi cap I think it will do just fine.

And test fitted:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/30/20191030041850-744558ad-xl.jpg[/img]

Waiting on some 32mm P clips to be able to build the mounting brackets for it, and then it should be good to go.

Once i can get it mounted up Ill be able to run the wiring harness and finish off some fiddly bits ahead of first start.

Had a chance today to bench test the wiring loom and make sure it should all work properly. Snapped a few pretty pics when i did that too:
[IMG]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/20/20191020211030-3063cac6-xl.jpg[/IMG]

Biggest pain was the LS2 coil plugs:
[IMG]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/20/20191020211037-9f6117e7-xl.jpg[/IMG]

Just less flexible wire, and having to overlap the heatshrink made for a bit of a tight fit. But worked fine.

Made up a bracket for the ECU and wideband:
[IMG]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/20/20191020211044-496e0a7d-xl.jpg[/IMG]

Some people have asked me what sort of connectors I have used. Well, some are factory for ease of swapping parts over:
[IMG]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/20/20191020211024-22d04e77-xl.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/20/20191020211017-1fdc22d1-xl.jpg[/IMG]

While some are DTM or DT for various items. All the body connections (all 8 wires worth) are Deutsch DT, and the IAT and Coolant temp are DTM.
Plenty of room on the Cas and Cnk sensor wires to be able to shorten and swap to potted DTM/DT connectors if the need arises.

Injector of course are standard Bosch:
[IMG]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/20/20191020211011-95c60559-xl.jpg[/IMG]

All up its not as nice as some i have seen and worked with, and its certainly not motorsport/milspec quality. But its functional and will work well enough.

Definitively in the 20% of stuff that takes 80% of the time, and no one wants to see more photos of boring wiring and neatening things up.
Managed to get the fuel filter in though, with a fairly simple alloy mount:

[IMG]https://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/10/02/20191002210005-e1d00c27-xl.jpg[/IMG]

Plumbing it in up there is a sweet pain though.
Sorted out my coolant and oil drains:

[img]https://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/10/02/20191002210028-19bc22e9-xl.jpg[/img]

Then sorted out the oil catch can:

[img]https://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/10/02/20191002184716-99d5d561-xl.jpg[/img]

Need to run a few more wires, and finish of some various bits and then its pull down and reassemble for real time.

Another weekend of little bits and pieces, and not much time to work on the car. Got the welder out again and baked the cast pipe to get the contaminants out. Welded up ok after that:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042930-c8cfb1b6-xl.jpg[/img]

Then sorted out the new battery mounting in the boot. Thanks to kabab at Automotive Superstore for the Fullriver:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042907-a11acffc-xl.jpg[/img]

The bracket is from Techno Toy Tuning in the US, brought it back last year with all the other bits.

Started sorting out hot side piping, and finalised the clocking of the turbo.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042818-d117a31d-xl.jpg[/img]

Oil drain needs new bolts, as the socket heads I have interfere. But will all work well.

Then painted and inked the cam cover:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042722-0ecbd203-xl.jpg[/img]

Seems to be a massive oil spot that I cant get out on the intake side 🙁

Inking was done with some left over Tamiya enamel paint and a 12ga blunt needle:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042538-b03b9398-xl.jpg[/img]

Essentially just dribble the ink in, and voila. Done.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042644-3c9c1dec-xl.jpg[/img]

Need to get the fuel filter in, and then I can start on final assembly. Perhaps even this week!

Very much in the 80% phase of the 80:20 proportion currently. Lots of niggling little things taking up large amounts of time.

First up was changing out the fuel pump. The car had a bit of a hesitation at high RPM and I think I now know why. The in tank fuel filter was basically folded over ontop of itself, blocking flow. 
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192843-eee9bfc4-xl.jpg[/img]
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192730-19affaa1-xl.jpg[/img]

Replaced that with a DW200 pump, which drops in nicely.
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192816-7c1d6ca6-xl.jpg[/img]

After this I started swapping out the fuel lines for ethanol compatible ones, these two in above the tank were an absolute pain. No direct way to get to them, and not much room while leaning over the car.
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192431-4f29e764-xl.jpg[/img]

Still need to add a new fuel pump relay to take the load off the circuit opening relay in the engine bay, that often pops, and so the fuel pump is directly controlled by the Haltech.

I then mostly sorted out the fuel lines in the engine bay, using PTFE lined 200 series hose and 6AN hose ends; and mounted the regulator to the brake stopper:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192616-89f64ee7-xl.jpg[/img]

Made a bracket for the flex fuel sensor, and mounted it up too:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192707-d631b676-xl.jpg[/img]

Finally i sorted out the coolant reroute pipe and mounting points to the chassis:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192501-66f49993-xl.jpg[/img]
Still need to pressure test it, but it should work rather well.

Almost getting to the point of being able to assemble everything properly, but for now im just getting everything in place and then going to do a full assembly run at the end so I can be sure that everything is done correctly at one time.

All but finished the wiring loom tonight. Just waiting on a couple of extra connectors where I had ordered the wrong ones, and to finalise placement of the fuel pressure reg.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/09/11/20190911050827-6279d364-xx.jpg[/img]

This is what Mazda should have done originally, like Toyota, a nice separate engine harness that just links into the body loom in key places. Not the silly integrated harness that ties back to the body in five different places.

Now that it is done I can move to the battery setup, and put in the new fuel pump/filter as the fittings arrived today.

Got a few more things ticked off the list, or should i say TIGd off the list. First up was getting the IC piping welded up, which wasn’t too bad except for two spots which seemed to have a ton of contamination that kept screwing up the weld.

Its all in there now though, and the 2″ BOV fits fairly well even with the coolant hard pipe:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907032955-532eb94e-xl.jpg[/img]

Next up wast starting to work on the coolant hardline, which is a bit finicky with where it runs. But with a bit of massaging of brake lines it ends up looking like this:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907032749-c10b58a2-xl.jpg[/img]

Welded in a pie cut elbow to redirect it 90deg at the firewall and its close to a straight pipe to the back of the head.

Towards the end of that the welding was starting to get a bit weird, and then I found this:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907032741-6242d0e5-xl.jpg[/img]

Nasty crack in the torch, which isnt doing any favours. Time for a new torch, and this one was annoyingly not very old.

Without being able to weld stuff I went on to start on the turbo oil line and pressure/temp sender. Did some head scratching and came up with this for mounting the AN4 oil filter:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907032415-f2d98cd2-xl.jpg[/img]

Its part of a bicycle seat clamp for a 31.8mm seat tube, fits the 32mm filter perfectly.

Added the Bosch sensor and lines and it sits like this:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907032408-a3e4b288-xl.jpg[/img]

Will have to pop that clip out and put a P-clip in for the feed line.

Also have been working sporadically on the ECU wiring, which—because of Mazda’s infinite wisdom—is a complete replacement for the stock harness. Cue one tray full of Deutsch connectors, a brand new loom, and some braided sleeving:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907033650-d4528328-xl.jpg[/img]

Picked up a Dymo to do heatshrink labels with too, which makes things much nicer:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907033636-26efb5af-xl.jpg[/img]

Bit stuck on that stuff for now though, will need a new TIG torch to finish off the welding, and it turns out I ordered LS1 coil plugs not LS2 coil plugs. So more waiting for post.

Until then I’ll get started on the fuel pump and wiring harness there, plus new battery and tie down.

The silicone bends arrived this morning too, first up a simple 2″>2.5″ 90 off the turbo to the IC piping. Simple:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/09/01/20190901175953-88dce3f3-xl.jpg[/img]

The intake is a bit more squeezy, with the coolant reroute taking up room, but the 2.75″>2.5″ 90 works relatively well with a little trim:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/01/20190901180049-95f6fad1-xl.jpg[/img]

Inspired by this fitment, i quickly sectioned up a 45° bend with the pipe cutter. This tool is amazing for doing stuff like this, and also scribing cut lines in steel:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/01/20190901192834-ae80da85-xl.jpg[/img]

Squeezed it in place. Not much room on this side.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/01/20190901192441-ff2d59f8-xl.jpg[/img]

But fits well from the other side:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/01/20190901192747-7f47e7b0-xl.jpg[/img]

And thinking about running this overkill of a BOV:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/01/20190901192523-2b2159d0-xl.jpg[/img]

All of which fits rather nicely. Just need to go and get some more Argon from Bunnings and I can set about welding up the IC piping.

Not much actual work happening on the car currently, but some more bits arrived.

First was overnight parts from Bulgaria:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/26/20190826004527-8b5a3dbc-xl.jpg[/img]

Picked up a Kraken manifold and dump elbow cheap, so i jumped at it. Realistically its only a minor upgrade over the eBay unit that i already had, but it was cheap enough to justify.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/26/20190826004335-b91920ef-xl.jpg[/img]

Second was this Radium fuel pulse damper, which was honestly just bought for the bling:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/26/20190826004310-eb4bae55-xl.jpg[/img]

Some vague reports of a FPD being useful on the BP with big injectors, but I mainly got it as another guy had bought it thinking it was a fuel pressure regulator, and couldn’t figure out why it had only one inlet. 😆

Now that I’m back from work trips, I need to get a move on with the wiring.

Weekend passed, not much happened. Have been waiting on a few super minor parts such as new studs etc for the exhaust and turbo. I did get a chance to build a new sump baffle though.

Quite a few people report low oil pressure under brakes in these, and a guy over in Perth (madjak) designed a basic sump baffle for it, and chucked the template online. You can see how much bigger it is than the stock baffle:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/08/11/20190811044139-6da7eba4-xl.jpg[/img]

Traced onto a sheet of 2mm aluminium and got busy with the bandsaw:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/08/11/20190811044209-e3f6b6e6-xl.jpg[/img]

Voila, one sump baffle.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/08/11/20190811044328-c3da1fec-xl.jpg[/img]

That was the last thing to be done before i can get the sump bolted onto the engine and then its just tidying up some stuff before the engine goes back in.