PhoCup's 408 Exo Build

[colin]

I like that exhaust solution! Right now mine's hitting the edge of the frame, but I haven't wanted to get a custom one done since I plan on adding a turbo at one point. How much is that costing you?

[phocup]

Colin, I'm going 1.8 turbo as well. That's one reason you see the ghetto hack join to the stock header / downpipe instead of something more expensive.   I mainly wanted to fit the original ( semi modified ) exhaust that was on my donor. That 'pipe' you see pointed out the back is simply my muffler sans tip. For everything, it cost me $140 labor and material ( new 2.25" all the way through ).  If I wanted flanges, it would be an extra $40 / pair.  I chose to skip this cost since its a temporary solution until the 1.8 is in and I have nice 1.8 headers.

I'm planning to come back next week to have him weld in some resonator though, so soften up the sound a bit.

The only real complaint I have is that he doesn't do mandrel bends.  

[phocup]

My first real car from 15 years ago!   Somewhere under there is a set of almost new TD04H-15G that I'll soon pilfer for this build.   Just confirmed that today.

On a side note, after building the Exo, that engine bay doesn't look TOOOO intimidating anymore.  I'll get her running one day.

And .. just realized after much searching that this turbo is what came stock in the Greddy kit .. which didn't get much love.  

[phocup]

Fabbed up a little something to hold my gauges .. its not perfect but its okay for now. Thinking WT / WP / OT / FP for now just to make sure everything is okay.


Boost / AFR can go closer to steering wheel later. Also will put the emergency blinker on that panel and maybe some USB chargers.




Oh yeah .. and the new muffler(s) came. Best part is it comes with some silencer for Laguna days. Still waiting on the y-pipe
though.

[phocup]

Trying to chase down a strange issue with my brake light. Not the indicator in the dash, but the actual lights in the rear.

I currently have integrated trailer lights installed and wired in via trailer relay.

When the key is in the second position ( electrical on ), everything works as normal. Left / right signal. Hazard. Brake. Ect.

When I turn the car on however, the brake lights comes on and stay on. On cold start, it takes maybe 5-10s for this to happen. On warm start, its almost immediate. Even with both tail light staying on, when I try to signal, it works and flashes the correct side as expected. When I stop signaling, the light goes back to solid on.

I have checked the brake reservoir float, its not stuck.
I have checked the brake reservoir sensor is plugged in.
I have tested the parking brake. On / off, it doesn't seem to affect this issue.

Because everything works as expected with the engine off but electrical on, I think the wiring is correct. Kinda stuck at this point. Will play more with it later but figure I'll post up in case anyone know what the issue is.

[snowbird1]

Without seeing the wiring diagram it's difficult to diagnose but it seems to be related to system voltage - key on, engine off voltage is about 12V, engine running voltage goes up to 14V.

[phocup]

That very well might be the issue since my car also 'hyperblink' with engine on as well as off. I was going to add some resistors like these ( www.amazon.com/4Pcs-Aaron-6ohm-Load-Resistors/dp/B00L4V9ECY/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1486491953&sr=8-19 ) in front of my LED but wanted to sort out this issue first before 'complicating the circuit'.

Actually just looked up the exact lights I have on Amazon and they say 12V ( www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0172YGAVE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1  ).  Would these ( or another resistor ) bring the voltage down to 12 ?

[phocup]

Keep it simple stupid. In this case I'm the stupid one. Spent the morning chasing voltag and wirign when the issue was the mechanical brake pedal adjustment. Not sure exactly what happened though. Perhaps I was right at the edge of the light getting triggered and engine vibration was enough to push me over. Issue is fixed now though.

[phocup]

Its been a bit since I last updated this thread, but I finally am through the SB100 process and am fully street legal so I wanted to document that bit here:

Dec 21 - First DMV visit

Went to DMV with all my paperwork ( MSO, donor's title, receipts, pics of me building the car, application for title, statement of construction ).
A separate folder with all receipts, and an itemized tally on a separate sheet on top helped keep things straight and made the process go much faster. Paid my taxes here, and got a 3 month operating permit.

One thing I noticed was that on my paperwork, it didn't specifically ask for a brake and light inspection. Looking online, I saw some others who was lucky enough to go through SB100 without needing B&L as well.

Jan 1 - First time driving my car on the street!

Jan 31 - First CHP visit.

I went here expecting to get a regular VIN number assigned and a VIN tag added on to my chassis. Nope. The officer used the Exomotive chassis # as my VIN. I didn't like this and was told to come back with another form, the application for VIN ( REG 124 ). I was told I should have gotten this at my first DMV visit.

Feb 1 - Second DMV visit. Got my REG124

Feb X - Second CHP visit.

Basically was told I wasted my time and didn't need REG124 unless DMV had and issue with them using my chassis number as my VIN number.

After this CHP visit I didn't make my BAR apt right away since Sean's experience made me want to fab up a glass windshield as well as fender mounts before my first visit so hopefully they let me slide on the wipers.

May 22 - First BAR visit

Picked the Evergreen BAR station as most others have done. Came 5 min early and brought in my stack of paperwork.

My ref made a copy of everything, took some pictures

A few notes:

1. No smog check done. Ref says its only required for gray market cars brought in from another country ( R32 skyline for example ).

2. Some small things have to be fixed for sure. I used red silicone hoses vs the correct crank case hoses so that will need to be swapped out.

3. No mention of wipers required yet. He barely even looked at my windshield. Fingers crossed.

4. Brake and light MIGHT be required even without DMV explicitly requiring it. Waiting for the decision from the powers that be at Mt Sacramento and its a 2-4 week wait right now to hear back.

5. He wants CARB # for my AEM cone air intake although the car will be exempt. That part didn't make sense to me but he say I might have to put the stock airbox back on. Again waiting on Mt Sacramento.

6. DMV told me that after my attempt at the BAR, I can bring back a pass / fail paper and they will issue me another 30 days driving permit. That didn't happen. There's no pass / fail paper. So its time to go begging again to DMV.

7. He asked me for title of car ( not of donor ) and insisted I needed them. That set me off in a slight panic. Then after some researching / shuffling around, figured out that there's none since its a new construction car. Just FYI in case others get that question.

Here's How my car looked at the first BAR visit:

June 5 - first call back from BAR

Was told that the higher up in Sacramento wanted more receipts of wheels / tires / major parts. Submitted that.

Jun 20 - second call back from BAR

Was told My paperwork is not in order. Apparently someone noticed that my Certificate of Sequence paper with my SB100 # on it has my name 'wrong'.

Though the name is technically correct, the format should be "Last, First, Middle". The paperwork has it as "First, Middle, Last".  Unacceptable.

June 21 - third DMV visit

DMV manager say she has no way to fix the name on my paperwork. She called Sacramento and they said they can't fix it or issue a new one. Even if they issued a new one, it would have the same name format on it. Its wrong but BAR has been accepting that for years. I confirmed that with other builders by checking their name on their paperwork. The Sacramento lady was correct.

Now Sacramento is calling the BAR association go see why they are giving me a hard time. At this point I went home stressing about how I might have a expensive track only toy.

June 16 - third call back from BAR

Just got a call at 7AM from the BAR ref. Apparently one of his manager was 'confused' and its been sorted out. Supposedly just take care of the crank hose and bring it back with the hood and I'll get my BAR certificate. Seems like Sacramento lady yelled at someone to push my paperwork through.

July 10 - second BAR visit

Easy peasy visit. Trailered the car here and didn't even have to take it off the trailer. It was literally a 2 minute visual inspection and I got my exempt sticker.

July 10 - fourth DMV visit

Went straight to the DMV after BAR and waited 2 hrs with no appointment. They took a while to look through my paperwork, the entire time I'm praying they don't come back asking me for B&L. They didn't. Got my plate and was street legal the same day.

TLDR version:

It took 7 months, 4 DMV visits, 2 CHP visits, 2 BAR visits, and a bunch of stress to get my car legal. The process is simple and straight forward, except for the game of Calvinball at the BAR. YMMV definitely.

[phocup]

After getting my plate, the first thing I wanted to get done was my new exhaust which has been sitting around for months. In hindsight, maybe I didn't need to wait but I was already stressed going through the process and didn't want to give anyone more reason to look at my car closer.

Here's the new exhaust. 3" pipe from OEM header back to twin 2.25 outlet exits muffled by dual Yoshimura Hayabusa cans.



Sound clip:

[phocup]

Yesterday pulled my 1.6 and sold it same day for $200. Not bad considering I got my donor car for $400.



Good time to clean up some wiring and mount points. Hoping to get the 1.8 / torsen install done this week.

[calibuild]

Congratulations! The 'registration' process is certainly full of variation, but that's great you made it through. Awesome to be street legal.

That exhaust looks aggressive!

[phocup]

Finished my 99 swap today and went for a test drive ..

She sure looks good .. but runs and sounds like sh*t. Actually couldn't even make it around my block.

Video 1 ..


#1. Squeeaaaaaally motor even with the accessory belt off. My guess is maybe timing belt needs adjustment ?

#2. Some demonstration of the hesitation / idle drop issue with me playing with the throttle cable. My guess is leak in the intake air tract. We'll have to play with that a bit.

#3. The worse problem of all. The slightest touch of the clutch creates a continuous knocking sound that gets worse and worse as I press the clutch down more. Car does get into gears fine. Shifts feels fine. Everything I'm researching says throw out bearing, which is brand new Timken NTN bearing. I made sure it was sliding smooth pre install and in the correct orientation. Not sure what could have gone wrong here if the throw out bearing is indeed the issue.

Video 2 ..


Really highlight the idle drop issue #2. Main problem seems to be with quick throttle input.


#4. Tranny seems to be spraying out tiny amounts of oil. Not a huge issue right now, but perhaps need a new transmission soon especially if pulling trans for issue #3.

lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yEFErwo6nPs/WXpCdDXVwdI/AAAAAAAC3F8/1SVEEhH0sjg6RnEj1wMvsnvvor_qEgYNwCL0BGAYYCw/h2220/7053849509700928775%253Faccount_id%253D1

[gwnwar]

Sounds like TB is to tight.. Was there extra pressure pushed in tensioner before tightening it in place.
Did you check bearings in idler and tension pulleys.
What fuel system are you using 1 or 2 hose.
What engine management system.
Got fluid in trans..
TO bearing not on fork right popped off on install..
Disc in right..
What did you do to engine before install..
Check crank end play.. '99 engines known for clearance problems. see.. www.miata.net/garage/tsb/sb00-01-014r-808r2.pdf

Also this.. these are old links and engine numbers that are bad are out side of ones listed in both.
www.miata.net/solo/99miatathrustbearingfailure.html

[phocup]

Hey Gwnwar,

I'm thinking TB is too tight as well. Its the original belt on a junk yard engine that I didn't replace because I thought it looked like it was in good condition.  I just loosened the tension pulley, spun it a few times, and tightened her back up.  Because its late at night and the car is quite loud, I have to wait until tomorrow to start her up and test.  
Perhaps idler / tension pulley bearing might be bad as well.  Regardless, I just ordered a new set of belt / pulley / pump / seals and will be replacing all next week.

I'm using a 2 hose fuel system ( 93 donor ) and a 99 engine. Re-used the 93 FPR on the 99 rail.

Trans full of fresh Ford MTL oil ( which I'll try to save to reuse when I pull the tranny ).

I didn't know about the crank end play issue. If I'm reading your link correctly, the only remedy if the play > .3mm s a new motor ? Ouch!