Christian's build in MA; US Exocet #148

[einy]

After all that PB Blasting, I'd be inclined to plan a rear wheel bearing replacement just in case you flushed any grease out / dirt in during that process. Bearing / snap ring / seal are all available for very reasonable prices from Rock Auto, etc. Also, if you're planning on ever running fenders, go ahead and drill the rear fender stay mount holes in the (unused from your photo above) ABS sensor boss. MUCH easier with the rear knuckles off the car vs. on the car. (While you're at it, either mill or file the inside surface of that boss flat to give the fender stay a better pad to mount to.)

[buildercg]

I was already planning a 4-wheel bearing replacement. I do need to pickup the seals and snap rings, as well as two more new wheel hub nuts since my car uses crush nuts front and rear.

Thanks for the tips on drilling the fender holes now and the filing. I do plan to run fenders. I don't have my fenders yet as my chassis hasn't been built (soon!), is there a diagram available to show the location of the holes for a '92? I don't want to drill them in the wrong position.

[boileralum]

Check the valve cover and the cam seals on the back of the motor, as well as the rear main seal - one or more of those are the likely cause for the oil. The bearing is the throwout bearing - you should get a new one with your new clutch kit (one of those no brainer, swap it now while it is the easiest to do, things).

[einy]

Oil also likely from hardened o-ring around cam angle sensor. While you have the engine out, I'd go ahead and replace the rubber seal on the back side of the engine and the larger one near the oil filter. Look at the parts diagram ... you'll see them.

[buildercg]

Thanks guys. I've been on the fence about performing an engine rebuild as there's plenty of evidence of oil leaking from the head, front of the crankshaft, and valve cover but the oil loss I experienced while driving the donor was minor (never needed topping off after ~2,500 miles). It'll certainly be easier to fix the leaks now with the engine already out so I'll go ahead and replace all the gaskets. 

I've read that the oil pan doesn't come off the Miata block easily. Is this true? Should I leave it alone?

This'll be the first time I rebuild an engine by myself so it'll be an interesting sub-project.

[einy]

No real reason to pull the pan that I saw, but then again I did not rebuild my engine. I replaced the rear main seal when the trans was off without pulling the pan. Also, while I had ready access, I replaced the timing belt, water pump, cam seals, CAS o-ring, the aforementioned coolant (oil?) rubber plugs, and the individual coolant lines to the idle air control valve/throttle body/etc. Bearings on the stock alternator were 'wobbly', so I swapped that one for a rebuilt while I was at it. Basically, PM stuff on a 1991 vintage car. Having a factory shop manual plus using Miata.net as resources were hugely helpful! On Miata.net, there is likely a pictorial process for every maintenance item you'd want to do.

U joints ... not that's a whole other story! PM me if you need to replace those. It's a treat.

[gwnwar]

if it is not leaking leave it be.. It is glued together not a gasket and can be a PIA to get apart..There is a pry place at rear sides of block each side for large screwdriver.. There is also baffle plate between pan and block..

[buildercg]

Been away for a while helping family through a tough time but I'll be getting back into the car later this week and it isn't too soon as I received this message from Keith @ FM today:

"Your Exocet is done and ready to ship."

[buildercg]

It's been a while since I updated as I had little progress in the last month but after a long wait my Exocet arrived at my house yesterday. With the winter temperatures here, I probably will have very little progress in the next few months.

[buildercg]

Well the winter seems to be over and it's warm enough that I can work in the garage again.

I've had all of the rollerskate parts out for sandblasting and powdercoating. I pick them up on Monday and drop off the control arms at a local shop on Tuesday to have the bushing and new upper ball joints pressed in. Re-assembly of the rollerskate will start after that.

In the meantime I'm working to fabricate headlight mounts (my first time welding) and investing a rivnut tool for mounting all of the sheet metal and various brackets.

[buildercg]

Teaching myself how to weld for this project. I'm making headlight mounts. I was practicing for the first time today and I think I did okay. Tomorrow I put these pieces together.



They're about 5 inches long and will have the headlight mounted on the top with turn signals on the ends.


The powdercoating shop does welding. I'll probably have them attach them to the frame so I don't screw up the tubes at all.

[buildercg]

Spent about 6 hours working on the car today.

Got the differential cleaned up and spray can painted. There's 270k miles of rust and grime on the thing so it's not terribly pretty, but it's better than it was before.


Finished manufacturing my headlight mounts. I'm happy with them. My welds aren't perfect but they're very strong. I'll have the pro's attach them when the frame goes for powder in a couple weeks.


Got the wiring tray cut in. I'm disappointed in the tray and the cover. Both are a little more than an inch smaller than the opening in the frame that it's intended to be mounted in. Without bending the tray, the pre-drilled holes overlapping the ends of the square bars on both sides making it impossible to rivet correctly on one side or the other. Also, the pre-drilled holes for the cover don't come close to matching even without bending. I had to bend both sides to get enough metal to make it realistically installable. I'm going to have to make my own cover as the one that came is now more than an inch too narrow. Exomotive could have done better on these two pieces.

I also got most of the rivet holes cut for the front and rear foot well panels. The passenger panel needed just a little trimming with the angle grinder. The driver side panel is about 3/4" too wide, and the predrilled holes don't cover metal. I'll trim the piece and make my own. The rear panels were a breeze. As others have mentioned, some of the holes are impossible to drill straight without a 90 degree attachment, which I need to pick up.

I'll be using rivnuts to attach the tunnel and to attach the cover for the wiring tray. I can already tell it's going to need some finess to fit.

[buildercg]

Parts came back from the powdercoater today. I'm very happy with the finish. Everything that I've inspected so far looks really good. I'm keeping the larger pieces wrapped up until I'm ready to install them to prevent the eventual scratches.

I'm sending out the control arms and rear knuckles tomorrow morning to get the bushings installed. Hopefully that will be done by Friday and I can start putting things back together this weekend. I have to replace the brakes on my boring CR-V so I'm not sure how much time I'll get to work on the Exocet.

[buildercg]

I got all my bushings and the new upper ball joints installed this week and got the parts back today. Unfortunately, I don't think the weather is going to cooperate this weekend so I don't figure I'll be able to start assembly as the forecast is for 30 degrees both days.

I also figured out my seating. I went with Corbeau FX1 Pro seats. They should arrive in 8-10 days. Much better to buy from 3rd party (free shipping) vs. direct from Corbeau (shipping quote was > $450). I also went with their 3" 5-point harnesses for both seats and 2" sliders for some adjustability.

[buildercg]

I started trying to install the rear bearings last night. I don't have a press and quickly found out that a 70 degree temperature difference wasn't enough to allow the bearing to just fall in place. I first tried using a large clamp to apply pressure and slowly screw it down but this didn't work. Using a piece of hardwood as a buffer and a dead blow hammer I was able to slowly get one mostly seated, but I have no way to get it all the way in. I was careful to keep it straight while doing this as well as making sure the back of the bearing didn't come out. I also tried installing the new differential bushings, but again no luck. I'll be sending these all out to the shop along with the new front hubs. My local guy has been good but my labor charges are adding up a little.

I have been plugging away at drilling holes for the fender mounts. Fortunately, I have a table top drill press and this has made it fairly easy to drill the holes. I need to invest in a better set of bits but this work will be done by tomorrow. I'm going to adopt golden86 method to allow installation and removal of the front fender mount and I'm looking to replicate jgilbert's method to attach the fenders.