Gollum

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.

Ok, quick background. Member here Drummingpariah recently moved back to the east coast. He was kind enough to let me help him dispose of some of the things he didn't want to both with trying to ship back east. Among the items is a sheet of carbon fiber roughly 6' by 6'. There's also some resin, which I think is epoxy (I'd have to look, which I'm not doing this late at night). I've been really torn over what to do with it. Nothing will happen immediately as I'm getting married this summer, so my hands are full enough right now. But I want to have plans for it. So obviously it can't be anything too big. A hood would only end up being a single layer, which would only work if I built a serious frame for it out of aluminum or something. Doable, but kinda pointless, especially considering what some people on here (ahem, johnc) can get you a CF or fiberglass hood for. The thing that's been swimming around my head is an intake. I don't want to deal with the flange or injector mounts though, so I'd probably be cutting up an OEM manifold, and I just so happen to have a turbo manifold lying around. I could easily cut the intake part at the injector mounting, add some runnings and a plenum and voila. Obviously it's not "simple" but the thing that worries me the most is that being my first try composite lay-up. Actually that really scares me. I have some bigger and better plans for body panels, so what functional parts can I make? Please don't say flares. Someone help me get my creative juices flowing. Seat bucket? Battery tray? There's gotta be some neat things I could easily put togethe r. If I can't find anything interesting to try my hand at composite layup, then I think I might just make a speaker cabinet out of it. I'm kind of a guitar nut for those that don't know. I dabble with tube amp repair/mods and I've built a few speaker cabs with success. Drummingpariah also gave me some plexigass panels and I'd love to try to make a 2 speaker semi-open back cabinet that's a plexi core with a carbon fiber shell.

Ahem, you've never been to Vallejo. Not all, not even most, but a chunk of the issues with traffic in CA has to do with our roads. On ramps in many cities are less than a 1/4 mile, which with a civic means you're going LESS than 55mph if you MASH the throttle, which nobody will do (in the wide population). You never know if the left lane is merging with the right, or the right with the left. There's at least 5 spots within 10 miles of the Oakland/Bay Bridge maze that has left lanes merging! Grrr There's also a lovely spot on Tennessee street in vallejo that goes from two lanes, to one, to two, to one, and back to two. One time it goes to one the right lane merges left, the next one the left merges to the right!@!#$! And our roads are constantly under construction, and it's a very competitive market, meaning that all the smaller jobs are done by joe blow that has no clue how to properly setup construction signs. I can't count the number of times I've seen completely WRONG warning signs saying that X lane close, or stop ahead, etc and it was completely false. All that being said... We have some BAD drivers. We also have some of the rudest drives too I think. I can't count the amount of times I've had to slam on my brakes because some lady on a cell phone decided she wants MY lane in traffic, even though I'm crawling at 5 mph less than 3 feet from the car in front of me. People don't use their turn signals around here because that almost guarantees that the person in the next lane will speed up and leave you no room. Oh, and it's not truly an exciting day until you can't count the people on one hand that have flown across 4 lanes in less than 1/8 of a mile to get off the freeway. The best is when you're in the right hand blind spot of a semi and a car comes blazing across so fast you can't even catch the make/model. I can go on, but why? I somewhat agree with drummingpariah, our drivers suck. I've seen some pretty bad ones in other states too though.

It's sad that irony like this gets lots on so many people... You got at least me laughing though John. As tough as the reality is to swallow, it's worth it in the long run. My first Z (ZX actually) wreaked itself into a tree (not joking, hence the mod's title for me). I paid way too much money for that car, and it deeply saddened me. But, I found a 90% usable car on craigslist and had it running in 2 weeks and drove it for over a year. It was actually one of the most hassle free years of car driving I've had. So sometimes good things can come from the bad events of our lives. The hard part is just moving on. And John is right. Logically, financially, effort-wise, it's toast. Either have it cut up right for it's sell-able parts, or sell it to a Z-nut that will do right with it.

Yea, but I'm betting it's a '80 It's DEFINITELY a 79-81', at least if theirs are comparable to the USDM timeline. It has the earlier B pillar cover, and earlier bumpers. It's also a slicktop, which was less and less common as the years passed. The reason I say 80 is simply that most of the Gold with the brown side stripe seem to be 79's and 80's, and the 80 has a 3.9 diff versus the 3.7 of the 79, and that car seemed to be spinning those tires quite willingly. It could be some monster L series, but for some reason I doubt it. Car looked like it had stock suspension, so for some reason I doubt a ton of money was put into the engine.

Where'd you go Mike? I need to know you've made some progress. I need some motivation!