Ygen

Ahh, I see. I like the idea of that wire tuck!

You must be a fast typer or have a lot of time on your hands at the end of the day to post so often But in the end it's worth it! You're learning while helping others at the same time.
I'm DaleMiata on miata.net if you ever want to check mine out.

Keep up the good work and the enthusiasm lol!

Wallyman

iTrader: (1)

My buddy Al has a 70 Cutlass, THAT is a tucked engine bay factory.. hardly any wires! I like that look so much better than the rats-nest mess that modern FI cars are. But, with some work, you can tuck damn near all of it. The FC LT1 was fully tucked (engine) and I loved it. Was a full weekend of work but in the end you didn't see barely a wire. Sexy.

I do type fast (note typos on occasion that I miss, heh) but I usually work on the car till 9-9:30, then come in the house, upload photos and type up the update while watching some TV (Stargate Atlantis as of late). That's exactly the idea, it helps me to feel like I did something useful too, marks progress nicely.

I'll definitely check it out, thanks! And work will continue unexpectedly.. was supposed to fly out of state this AM for work for 3 days, flight got cancelled due to weather so I get to celebrate my birthday tonight in the garage, with my car.. love it! Turning 38 and don't feel a day over 20.

I must say, putting the driveline in was HUGE morale bost for me.. I was getting a bit tired and that helped a lot to see a big step achieved.

Current Progress: 372 tasks, 186 started (50.00%), 157 done (42.20%).

Still lots to do... next big milestone will be wiring, but that's a ways off.

Ygen

Ah, yes.
Well hey hope you have a happy birthday!
Not a bad deal, get to work on your own stuff instead of go out of state for work huh lol.

Wallyman

iTrader: (1)

Thanks! I don't mind the travel, pays for the car.

Speed Freek

iTrader: (2)

Happy Birthday Wally. I got about 6 months on ya, lol.

And your swap is pretty awesome, been checking in from time to time, I just got my swap ready to fire besides flashing the ECU to remove some stuff so the VATS wont interfere with EVERYTHING, lol.

I am just doing an LS1/T56 swap into a 98 Toyota Tacoma, not nearly as cool as yours but still should make people go "WTF was that!?"

Dr Poofist

iTrader: (1)

Wally, just had to register to thank you for this thread. I'm doing this swap in the spring/summer and the amount of assistance you've provided to a stranger like myself is incredible.

Thanks man.

Wallyman

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, man!

I can appreciate that.. sounds fun!

Hopefully it saves you some learning curve pains. I do hope it helps you (and others).. it is a constant learning process, even with all the already available information out there. Always something new to figure out.

Build Update:

Radiator - Worked on the radiator and AC condensor mounting. Got the old mounts trimmed off and cut back:



Worked out placement for the bottom mounts and whatnot as well:




Then got sidetracked when some Miata buddies stopped over. Oh well, that's all good too.

Strut Tower Brace - After they left, put the old FM strut tower brace on the car just to see if it would fit and I am happy to report it fits fine!



Super Secret Thinga-ma-bob - Can't tell ya. I need a DGN or DFX file of the cylinder head plate area, specifically the bolt holes to aid in this endeavour. Any help appreciated!

RedVertTA

iTrader: (9)

You sir are very lucky, you have about a hair of clearance with that strut bar.

Wallyman

iTrader: (1)

There is really more than it looks, about 1/2" I think.

Wallyman

iTrader: (1)

Build Update:

Parts Arrival -Professional Products bare LS2 fuel rail kit came in, as did a couple of the strip LED's I bought.



Sway Bar Mounts - I gots me a problem.

I am at the point of installing the sway and rad mounts, and trying to figure out how this all fits.. cuz it ain't fitting. (started a thread on it: http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?p=5020123)

I am missing something. I moved the FM heavy duty mounts forward 1.25" in order to clear the CTS accessory pulleys and leave just enough space to slip the belt on.




I also swapped the mounts left-right to create more clearance for the lower rad mounts (reverses the mount ears to the back on the inside of the rails). The end links are about 2" from the outer hole.. see photo:



Oh, and I can't get the upper control arm bolt in, it gets hung up inside the sway mount (as shown - meaning I would have to drop the entire subframe if I ever needed to replace the upper ball joint??)

How can FM be reusing the stock mount positions (pre-V8 bar offering)?

FM's Build Diary, "Dan's 97":



Looks like they moved it maybe 3/8" (based off the end of it aligning with the under-hole on the rail). They say they moved it forward, but this shot sure looks like they are using the stock hole under the rad mount:



The front bar I have is 9 3/8" from back of bar to end of arms. I dug around in my parts bin and found what I think is a stock bar, measures a touch over 9 3/4" end of arm to back of bar (and with the bar being smaller that difference is actually slightly more).

So, what am I missing? I am almost 2" off on my end links, no way I can get them to reach with the current parts I have.

My questions:
1 - I moved the mounts forward 1.25" to clear the pulley, is that correct?
2 - Is my bar abnormally short in the arm (no manhood jokes!)?
3 - Are the end links part of the problem too?

It seems apparent I have to change bars, this front one is too short in the arms to be useable... or do I have something else jacked up??? Was hoping to get the rad mounts in this week but this is screwing that all up.. grrrrr....

Fuel Rail - I mocked up (lamely, I know) the fuel rail, just trying to get an idea of how it is going to look.



My 90* fittings at the back won't work, will have to go to 45's. Also, may have to abandon the no-front-crossover idea, depending on how things fit. Regardless, I think the black hoses with the red rails will look good.

Keith Tanner

iTrader: (1)

The difference is that your car is a 1990-93 chassis. On the early cars, the stock sway bar mounts are further back, so they need to be moved further in order to clear the V8. Bars for the 1.6 cars are also designed with shorter arms. That's why our 1.6 bars are a smaller diameter than the 1.8 ones, because the shorter arms means less leverage on the bar.

Wallyman

iTrader: (1)

Was hoping you would chime in.. thank you!!

So basically, I need to convert over to a 1.8 bar setup.. mount moves forward, bar is longer. Hmmm... never knew the 1.8 bar was different in that way. Makes sense, I suppose.

I'm also looking at the BMW E36 bar as a possible option, might fit the bill as well ('Another sway bar option for V8 conversions') and yield me more clearance in front of the alternator for my air intake I want to put it in front of driver's wheel (similar to Nathan's intake @ Swaptastic)

Do you happen to have the arm lengths of a stock 1.6 and 1.8 bar, end of arm to back of bar? Just curious what the difference actually is.

Know I know the "why", just need to decide on a "how" to fix. Thanks for the info!!

Keith Tanner

iTrader: (1)

I don't have the arm lengths for stock, but our aftermarket ones have arms that are approximately 1" longer.

Y2KFirehawk

iTrader: (12)

Tuning in for this awesome build. And yes, I did read through all 17 pages to be "caught up"! Great work!

Wallyman

iTrader: (1)

And now that you are caught up..

Build Update:

Parts Arrived - Finally got the stainless fuel rail covers, and a bit ashamed at the price I paid and the length I waited for them and what they finally came in as.. they may not go on the car and might make my own. They are shorter than I hoped (front to back), and stupid simple. I just need to find someone with a metal brake to bend tham and I'll get something made up.

LEDs all arrived from Hong Kong, one bad but still usable. Should work very nicely for the intended locations, I think.

Parts Ordered - Ordered a couple more fittings for the fuel system, going to have to change the plan based ont he lack of room available. Not sure the final config yet, but will likely be a single feed at the rear and have a crossover in the front (which I was hoping to avoid for visual reasons).

Parts Designed - Been working in CAD on a new head plate to allow for custom mounting of... (TBA - hehe) and to replace the factory lift hook lost when the power steering res. mount was removed. Have some drymounted foam core to play with and verify shape and size this weekend. Think I have the mounting holes all laid out for both front and back of the heads.

Bandwidth Issue - Got a note from the buddy that is currently hosting all my images, these threads are hitting the bandwidth a bit heavy so I may need to change to some other image hosting, Picasa is the likely solution. May have to resize all current images to compress more sicne I don't know how I could repath them all at this point.. we shall see.

Front Sway - Got my hands on an aftermarket 1.8 unit and it still leaves me 1-1.5" short on the arms. Going to buy a BMW E36 unit and see how that works out. Waiting on a reply from a guy that is supposed to have some E36 sways for sale, but nothing yet.

Radiator Mounts - Changed plans after seeing a better option (and embarassed I didn't think of it). So, reworking those with...

New Tool - a brand new welder! Will take some getting used to, but I figure with all the welding I want to do it was time to upgrade to a big boy welder. Picked up a brand new Lincoln 180C (rebate right now on them), 100 spoolgun (on order), 125cf Argon/CO2, 60cf Argon, and a cart. Will be able to do aluminum, stainless, and a much better job on steel. Started modifying the cart when I got it to hold a pair of tanks (instead of the one it is designed for), but ran out of stock so will finish that tomorrow night. So far, loving it. Gas MIG beats flux core like Mike Tyson could beat a 4th grader... it's amazing the difference.

Wallyman

iTrader: (1)

Build Update:

Front Sway - Bought a couple of stock BMW E36 front bars off eBay: 24mm and 25.5mm. We'll see how they work out.

Irish350

iTrader: (14)

at first the bmw parts ability to work is kind of odd, bmw->miata.. but then if you step back and look at what they are (and how they handle) it made me go

more info on the welder setup? cost? how do you procure the gas? (id imagine getting everything from a welder supply vs getting it online) Im about to take this plunge, and im usually kind of impulsive, but that sounds like the type of setup id like (ability to do alum/stainless but still able to do simple steel work, 'entry level', etc)

Wallyman

iTrader: (1)

The bar is just a matter of measurements, so if it fits the space and has the appropriate force, it should be fine.

$1550 @ Airgas (local welding gas store). Refills at their place which is where my oxy/acet torch set gets filled already. Alum is apparently difficult to learn but I've been waiting to upgrade for 2 years and finally feel like I have a project that warranted it.

Irish350

iTrader: (14)

thats for the whole kit n kabootle? not bad

gofastwclass

iTrader: (2)

Welcome to the modern world! I'm a Miller guy myself but Lincoln makes some nice gear. You will love the MIG for steel - especially coming from the flux core world. I was never able to do anything with one so I skipped that step and went to MIG years ago. If you do a lot of fabrication like me you may want to add a plasma cutter to your next holiday tool shopping spree. You'll need an air compressor if you don't have one.