Gollum

Well, I'll chime in. I say go for it! My only advice to offer right now is to take it slow and do it to the best of your abilities. Sounds like you have a sound theory/plan on how to tackle this though. Good luck!

irregardlessly for sure. So Tony, how's those muffler bearings doing? In all fairness the reason we all call them "lifters" is because of the nomenclature in the pushrod V8 world, where this is the common name for hydraulic part that allows for compensation for valve lifter/rocker wear, thus reducing how often you need to check valve clearances. It's like if you were calling your 16" rim a 16" wagon wheel. Sure, it's absurd. But ignorance allows the term to be abused. Maybe from now on I'll call them "hydraulic adjusters" just for you Tony.

And to think I have a '83 P90A sitting in my garage, on a shelf, with solid lifters. Nice find though jacob. Mind me asking how much you paid? Head, or whole engine?

Wow, have I really not posted in this thread? Thought I had. I'm kinda glad I haven't though, as opinions tend to change. Good thing they're opinions, and not reality! As much as I hate to admit it, I think the most logical all around swap for just about anyone, is a LSx swap. Affordable, good starting hp, lots of potential, decent on gas for the hp, tunable, low weight, compact, etc, etc, etc, etc. Those that really know me know how much it almost hurts to say that. But it's the truth. As LSx prices drop and drop every year it gets hard and harder to imagine putting a SBC or SBF into a Z, unless you really want that retro factor. That being said, one of the cars I admire the most on here is ZR8ED. I love the VG. Makes plenty of power. Sits way far back. Very light. Very small for a OHC engine. Overall it's a very neat engine that's too often overlooked. I guess I just don't have the stones to actually do it. And here I am driving a L28ET... There's something wrong in this world.

Woops, repost. Didn't realize it went through. Net timed out. Mods, please delete if possible.

You guys crack me up. Thinking about this all though makes me wonder what 1fastz would have made on an aggressive NA build.

Best thread I've read in a while. Awesome guys. (on all aspects/points) I really couldn't possibly care any less about NASCAR than I currently do. The thing that bothers me is how much attention nascar gets, and get it's impossible to find any decent WRC coverage on TV. I'd watch any airing of the 24 hours of lemons if it was showed on any channel. Hell, just a 1 hour recap of the highlights would be great. I guess what I really want is a "grassroots racing TV" channel.

Especially with the visual trends now days. I DO enjoy the Clarkson quote, but here's my .02 Making a race car that you drive on the street, and call a street car is like deep frying a Twinkie and calling it a corn dog. Sure it's good, but it's not really fair to call it a cord dog. Call it what it is. You CAN make a fast car that you can bring to a race track and have lots of fun with. You can even be competitive against people that put a similar commitment to making a compromising car like you have. You will most like NOT be making a car that rides as nice as a stock civic over pot holes that also happens to be able to win a national SCCA title against dedicated race cars that get towed to the track because they're utterly illegal for street use. Do I think you can get the "race car" enjoyment from a car you daily drive? Sure. I don't see why not. That's like saying you can have porn star sex with your wife. It's not impossible, it's even somewhat hoped for by all. Just don't say you sleep with a porn star.

When's the finale? I'd be interested in seeing some snippets. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised. I figured that a good video camera would always beat out a DSLR. Even the Mark II is significantly cheaper than any video camera (digital or not) than anything they're using for national broadcast TV. But it's a neat idea, and it's fun to see that someone is brave enough to think differently.

I made my block off plates out of my scrap hood I had lying around. If you want to see REALLY clean intakes, there are much better examples around. If you want it to look really nice you need to grind off all that you're not using, and weld it in, then sand it to a mirror finish. Mine's just empty.

So... went to the junkyard and got a temp sensor, and the sway bar bushings (to get me by, hey they gave them to me for free). No TPS plug though. Poor selection of cars. Lots of 90's stuff, but seems like the older gems are thinning out. I know there's some up at another yard nearby. I'll check them out soon. I get home, install the new temp sensor, and get the sway bar back in place. It started, and ran a bit better than before... but still not right. Unplugging my temp sensor brought the idle way up (at any temp) and neither connected or disconnected will the car hold an RPM. It'll rev nicely with strong throttle input, but it won't take small throttle inputs. Messing with the AFM open to see if I was dealing with it being rich or lean, I found that with the temp plug on, it was running WAY lean. Like it went from a 500rpm idle to 1,500rpm leaning it out. With the plug disconnected it's mildly lean. Richening the mixture takes it from a 1,100 rpm idle up to 1,500. Tomorrow I'm going to take the temp sensor out of the ZX, which runs fine, and see if that makes a difference. If not then I've got a problem elsewhere.

Stock manifold... My edited Turbo manifold... Basically disconnect everything and make block off plates/bolts for all but Brake booster vacuum Boost/Vacuum Gauge Fuel Pressure Regulator Ground wires That's all you really need. My car in the coldest of mornings needs a little motivation from the right foot to idle above 1000rpm for the first 60 seconds or so because I have no fast idle control..... oh no. But I don't have to worry about diagnosing all those little gremlins that come back to haunt you constantly. Just remember, this would never pass a smog inspection.

Who said I wasn't just going to a junkyard for ALL of these parts I'm kinda not thrilled with the idea of using used bushings, but I just need something to get me by for a little while.

ZR8ED - I mostly agree. He has some good lines in there, just didn't quite finish it right My issues is that it's way to busy. Way too many details trying to grab your attention. I think if he'd done it a little smoother/sleeker this could have been a car to win car shows. I can definitely appreciate how low get got the hood line though. Cudo's there. The shape from above is nice too, but again, it gets lots in all that's going on. Regards to HP, as spark said, 350 crank hp IS completely doable. I wouldn't be surprised if he had more like 325 and just figures it's calls it 350 though.

It definitely looks Primadonna Z inspired. At least he has tires under there that almost fill the wheel well. Makes me wonder if there's any decent suspension work done. But come'on guys, it's not THAT much worse than stock....

I've done a few intake pulls on turbo vehicles that had that damned heat shield on. It's a real pita. It's darn near impossible to get the heat shield off with the intake on the engine (though I've done it, not worth it). But to keep from ruining a new gasket (old ones will just tear anyways usually) then you need to loosen 6 bolts on the exhaust manifold that are shared between the intake an exhaust. The best way I've found to get to them is using a swivel joint for your ratchet, and have a wide variety of extensions available. It also helps to have two swivel joints if you can. One on the socket end, another on the wrench end. If you have the stock bolts then using a short/non-deep socket helps getting around under there. If you have studs on there instead, then you might need to use a deep socket, which might require putting the socket on first, then getting your swivel into place. Hope that helps. ...now, the reason I found this thread... Anyone have any suggestions on what to use as a simple filter breather for the PVC plug on the block? My block has been actually MISSING the pipe insert thing for the last who knows how long. I'm temped to just get some copper pipe and put some slits in it, hammer it in, then attach a small filter to the end of the pipe. Sound good?

Ok, the update. I started her up today, with the radiator off this time (didn't think about that last time until I was done for the day). Jacked the car up a bit so I could make sure to get all the air out, and to get under there to check out the leak I had. ...Let it run for 5 min... No leak... ...Rev'ed it from 3-5k for a solid minute.. No leak... ...Let it sit for another 10 minutes (at which point it was already to full temp)... No leak. Although I did noticed a VERY slow leak from the backside of the crankshaft pully. It was very minimal. From how dirty the front of the engine was before I started working on it this winter I'm betting it was already like that. Probably needs a new front seal. Things I'm going to get tomarrow: 1. New Head Temp Sensor 2. Front sway bar bushings 3. TPS Wiring Connector Once those are on, she's good to drive. Just need to watch my water levels, and keep a close eye on my oil to make sure I've got no external or internal water leaks, nor any oil leaks.

It's my summer daily driver, and that pic isn't entirely truthful. It was taken in the midsts of fixing wiring problems while removing all of the OEM wiring I didn't want to keep. It's a little cleaner now, but still the same dash plate. I do want to eventually make a dash, but it'll still be a very minimal dash. Just enough metal to keep my gauges and switches put, and within reach. The biggest problem with the current plate is that it"s a little far away. I'm currently leaning more and more the direction of using it to add a layer to a speaker cabinet. Should be able to double layer the baffle to add a little rigidity, and a single layer to the outer walls for looks.

I don't think it's a turbo. Most L series with a turbo have a much deeper exhaust note because the turbo cuts out a lot of the roughness of the exhaust. It's probably just a mildy worked NA. He NEEDS high gears to spin those tires like he did I bet.

When was the last time you guys saw my dash?!?!

Really? Really? He can't afford a trip to a junkyard for seatbelts and a rear view mirror? $40 tops. Screw windshield wipers. That's what rain-x is for. Screw the passenger mirror too. The engineers had it right!

Plus not to mention quicker turbo spool. And once you're shooting for those ultra high HP numbers, every ounce of displacement you can get without risking the block is worth it. The only main reason I can think to go with the 2.0 liter is that it might be a little cheaper, and the "cool" factor of a stock 9k redline. Oh, awesome project by the way. Keep us updated please! Question real quick though. All that work converting the front end to tube chassis and you stuck with the stock suspension design? Kinda weird is all. I understand calculating good suspension geometry is NO easy task, but even getting into a close ballpark by using adjustable components for a miata might be well worth the effort.

Those stock oil pressure gauges are much like gauging the levels of "turned on" a woman is. -Usually if you turn your engine on, you get at least some response. Even if it's just a minimal shrug. -If you idle too low, the gauge might read hazardously low, or might turn off all together -If you happen to be lucky enough to be in a ZX, then when it gets low lights start turning red! Warning will robinson, danger! -Sometimes you might rev your engine up as hard as you can, with absolutely NO response in pressure... -That damn gauge will keep you looking for problems that... shhh.... don't exist -The best is when you're just driving along minding your own freakin' business and it just drops to nothing My overall theory on those things is that they're just attention hogs. They just want to be looked at constantly.

Lol. Speaking of ZC, the other day I was looking up info on the Head Temp Sensor versus the Coolant Temp Sensor and happened upon a thread over there (I know, google actually searches their site too!!). There was one singularly wonderful post that was very informative. Upon further inspection it turns out to be none other than the one and only, wiki D. You're awesomely informative no matter where you go. My hat is off.

Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there for one second. As well covered, pre 76' doesn't mean smog exempt, just biannual testing exempt. That means your swap, if you haven't had it signed off by a ref who added a swap bar plate, is illegal. In order to make it legal you'd need to convert it back to 100% stock ECU control, including timing system. You'll also have to have 100% functional smog equipment. Consider yourself fortunate you got an office to sign off on it. Do your best to avoid being sent to a referee. He'll know it's a swap in a heartbeat. If it comes to that, then I'd recommend having a spare motor to throw in for testing purposes. Oh, and if your T4 doesn't look stock you can bet good money the ref won't pass that for a swap legalization. You need 100% stock air and fuel control. That means larger injectors aren't passable. Modified throttle bodies aren't passable. Even a modified downpipe can be considered non-passable. If the engine never had an intercooler, then adding one can cause you to not be passed. It needs to be as stock as possible to make the ref happy.