Z-Gad

Well Jeff, I am dropping compression slightly ... going from 8.5:1 down to 8:1. I figure any loss in compression can easily be made up with a little extra boost. I don't see why I will not be able to push a little over 20 psi on pump and 30+ psi on race fuel once the new motor is sorted out.

It is a Taiwan-EEZ Veilside copy. It came with the throttlebody and a modified 2JZ throttle cable. I bought it from someone who decided not to put it on their Supra due to fitment issues. The battery and fuse panel have to be relocated to use the manifold on the Supra... anyway, it actually appears to be pretty well designed with large internal velocity stacks. I will have to do a couple of mods to it like injector bosses for my 83 lb Bosch style injectors and a mounting bracket for the throttle cable, but all that is minor. The t/b angle points it directly at the intercooler outlet, so I could not have positioned it any better. I must say, I am surprised at how all of these aftermarket parts fit so easily in this engine bay... I have not had to "massage" any part of the engine bay thus far, except to enlarge the radiator support openings for the intercooler...

Since I am pulling the drivetrain anyway (due to a burnt up torque converter), I might as well install the built motor when I put it back together... My engine build is waiting only on my pistons to arrive. They should be here the beginning of next week. Everything else is already at the machine shop. The head is getting treated to 1mm oversize stainless Ferrea valves, Crower springs, HKS 272 cams and a big time port and polish. The bottom end is receiving a new crankshaft, Eagle rods and .020 oversized ROSS pistons. ARP mains and head studs are being used as well. Also, I thought I would do a little test fit of the new intake manifold with 100mm throttlebody, to make sure the monster fit in the engine bay, prior to pulling the drivetrain. Well, it clears everything perfectly. There are couple of new photos in my album..here a link to one of them http://album.hybridz.org/showphoto.php?photo=5579&size=big&cat=500&page=1

Haven't given up, just don't have any updates at his time...

Nope, torque converter is fried. I have not had the time to pull the drivetrain to ship the converter out. I hope to get to pulling it in a couple of weeks... Mike

I fully expect to trap 140+ in the 1/4, but to each their own...

That all depends on your rear end gearing. I am cruising at ~3200 rpm's at 65 mph. I run 3.36 gears.

Also, I am only using 3 pulleys (crankshaft, alternator and water pump). The alternator is moved to the driver's side and mounted to the former a/c compressor holes and a single small belt (I have the NAPA part # I am using if you are interested) connects the 3 pulleys.

The stock USDM rear sump pan fits the Z perfectly. Clearance is not an issue. the steering rod is SUPER close to the driver's side engine mount, but I had my engine mounted ~1/2 inch from the firewall and everything clears fine. I just had to remove the stock latch and use hood pins to hold the hood down (didn't bother me though). My engine was mounted using a cradle welded to the framerails and the stock Supra mounts work perfectly.

lookin great Gabe!!

Yep, the n/a motors are CHEAP!! You can run the stock longblock with a thicker head gasket to drop compression and still make 500+ rwhp. Installing the GTE rods and pistons in the n/a motor would be ideal. The oil squirters are not that important. In fact, some theories are that not having them will decrease windage and free up a litle more HP. On the other hand, squirting the oil up under the piston may help with cooling... the jury is still out on that one, except for the 1000RWHP guys.. they use the oil squirters... The heads are different between the GE and GTE, but there are now many more choices for manifolds for the GE head than there were, say, 5 years ago due to the popularity of the NA-T guys. Thus, the price for aftermarket items has come down as well. The n/a 5-speed ($500-$800) can handle 500 rwhp as well and is significantly less expensive than the Getrag 6-speed unit ($2500-$3000). I prefer a seperate standalone EMS, but the stock TT harness with an AEM or a piggy-back FMU will net good power as well. Anyway, you should do it!! The power potential is there and I atleast, have not even scratched the tip of the icebrerg, so to speak, on mine

Yep, I posted a few pictures of the project and a few timeslip progressions there as well. Mike

Glad to see you are back!! Don't worry, the Boyd's have a good home

Very clean Nice job

still waiting here as well... It looks like Ken will be the guinnea pig for the adaptor...

WOW, very cool!! Those are awesome #'s for n/a and 2950!!

...not to mention all the aftermarket race items for the Miata (suspension, brakes, etc) are less expensive (due to mass production) and more easily attainable.

Whichever block you choose, you should sonic test prior to doing the 3mm overbore to make sure the walls are thick enough to accept it. If you went 2mm overbore, sonic testing is probably not necessary...

Norm, sorry to hear about this... My wife is also an NP and concurs regarding the MRI... Our thought and prayers are with you, and let's hope that it is nothing serious...

Yep, should have stuck w/ an earlier N4_ block, but this was back in 2001 when I was building my first stroker. If I only knew then what I know now...

All were F54 blocks. When they are sonic tested, they measure the wall thickness at various levels the cylinder. They were able to "cheat" on the bore location slightly (offsetting the bore to avoid thinner points). I wish I had done the process on the first block that cracked. It would have saved me a ton of time and money...

You'll want to be careful with the 89mm bore as well. I had 3 blocks sonic tested prior to finding one that was marginal enough to accept that bore size when I built my turbo stroker. The first time a built a 3mm overbore motor, the #6 cylinder wall between the #5 and #6 cylinder cracked into the water passage. New blocks are NLA and the used motors often have had tap water (as opposed to distilled water) running through them which will corrode the water passages over time, making the cylinder walls (and all others) a little thinner. You may already know this, but since you said that you are on a budget, I figured you did not want to have to do the machine work twice.