Ron's V8 Mazdaspeed Miata

This is a special, bespoke car.

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 18:07:38 -0400

One of the last things we do is install a brass plate with the customer's name.

Taking a look around the car, you can see a lot of little touches that Kyle put into it.

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 18:04:49 -0400

For example, these three relays behind the headlight needed to be relocated. It turns out that the bracket that holds the wiring for the rear O2 sensor on a 1996 Miata is the perfect part. It almost looks factory.

The car is done.

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:20:34 -0400

We've put several hundred miles on it to make sure everything's properly broken in. We found a few small things and sorted them out, and now it's all ready to go. Ron and his wife Martha are flying in tomorrow morning to pick up the car and drive it home. We hear Ron's a bit excited. Can't understand why.
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With all the mechanical work complete, it's road test time.

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:26:28 -0400

The new engine is happy as we break it in and the car's working well. We'll continue to put some miles on the car to make sure nothing pops up, but it's pretty close to delivery time.

The component swap is almost finished.

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:28:50 -0400

The old engine (upright in the background) looks new on the outside, but there's more metal in the oil than we like to see.

The problem engine is out.

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:42:50 -0400

Kyle is currently stripping the accessories, headers and other parts off it and prepping the replacement. It's a fairly pleasant job doing this on a brand new engine, even if it is unfortunate that we have to do it. We're quite happy with how GM has handled the problem.

We have bad news and good news.

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:11:45 -0400

The bad news? The engine has a noise we don't like - a whir. It's deep inside.
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First drive!

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 17:40:38 -0400

Not a big smoky burnout festival as some might believe, the first drive was spent seating rings and driving in figure eights in the parking lot. That's part of the break-in process for the rear diff.
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Lots of detail work on the car.

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:13:05 -0400

With the intake in place, Kyle and Eric are working together on installing the hood - the Aerocatch hood pins and dual hood lifts are going in place. We're getting close to the first drive!

The slave cylinder for the T56 transmission is inside the bellhousing.

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 18:02:14 -0400

In factory installations, there's a bleed screw that's accessible through the side of the bellhousing, but that's not possible in our little cars. So we install a braided steel line to the slave cylinder and run it back to the master cylinder. You can see it here with the red cap on it. Voila, easy bleeding!
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You don't add this much power to a car without thinking about grip.

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:47:39 -0400

For a good sticky street setup at a great price, we're installing a set of TR Motorsport C3M 15x9 wheels wrapped in 225/45-15 Hankook RS3 tires.

Here's a view of the intake from squirrel level.

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:46:38 -0400

When the nose is on, you'll only be able to see the blue filter if you're lying on the ground. But it'll get lots of cold air.

The cold air intake is in place.

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 17:34:54 -0400

Straight out of a Z06 Corvette but boasting the filter from a 640 hp supercharged Corvette ZR1, it provides copious amounts of air for the hungry engine. They also look great.

We don't really need the fuel rail covers on the car yet, but we want to make sure everything fits properly.

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 16:58:28 -0400

Kyle's running the AC lines and wants to make sure they won't interfere. A bit of trimming of the covers is going to be needed, but nothing major.

With great torque comes great twisting action.

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:51:04 -0400

So we've installed a set of Frog Arms under the front fenders to keep the rampaging V8 from reshaping the front of the car. The steel frame rail reinforcements and transmission crossmember will help out as well.

The suspension is installed.

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:20:06 -0400

FM V-Maxx XXtreme Track Pack. You can also see the ARP studs on the upgraded rear hubs.

With the first drive looming, we needed an interior.

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:13:37 -0400

Voila, Kyle has made one appear. Note the position of the shift lever, completely stock.

In order to install the cold air intake, we need to do a bit of surgery to the front body structure.

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:13:02 -0400

We have a weld-in replacement for the bumper support, which is in place here. You can also see the nice one-piece upper radiator hose.

It's alive!

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 14:59:39 -0400

It doesn't look any different, but this is a running engine. We didn't fire it up for long, of course, as there are no coolant lines attached. But we can report no leaks, happy oil pressure and the big rumble we love.

Underneath the V8 beast.

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 19:09:25 -0400

The full exhaust system is in place. See the first bulges? Those are catalytic converters.