If its not fast its not fun

SCRacing LLC

Phase 6

Yes this is new for 2004 Werner power – actually Andrew came round

and helped out on some the final touches to the brakes – with the motor

out it was easy to work from the inside of the engine bay.

 

Final piece of action was to secure all the brake lines (the new stainless

steel braided ones) and torque up all the suspension components. The

plan was to put the wheels back on and drop the car so we could refit the

engine. Brake bleeding was helped by the use of a vacuum pump and

worked well (at least I thinks so as this was the first time I had ever bled

the brakes) But we did have to go round three times before we got any

sort of brake pedal

 

Quick review of the specs – which had changed for 2004 – suggested

we could use adjustable tie rods on the back as well as the front so the

original solid pieces were replaced with these really cool looking adjustables

from BSI racing

 

BSI – great team of Jeannine in the office and Stu in the shop. The motor looks

great – total rebuild from top to bottom with new crank, pistons rods etc. Fresh

coat of paint and we are ready to mate up to the rebuilt transmission and install.

Lots of preparation work to do however such as fit the new custom clutch set up

– lots lighter than stock and a more clamping force – should be good.

 

With everything torqued up to spec we started to mate the transmission to the

engine but noticed a small slit in the protective boot that covered the clutch

release fork – a problem that would set us back nearly a week while we ordered

a new one.

 

New one in place and some well positioned high temperature grease we mated

the two together – again torqued up the main bolts and were just about ready to

put the engine back in. With some final “dressing” of clutch slave cylinder,

starter motor etc it was ready.

 

The hoist and balancing bar we bought from Pep Boys worked great. My Dad worked the underside of the car while I maneuvered the hoist and engine from the top. First issue was to angle the transmission side down so we could clear the front sub-frame and then insert the drive shaft to mate up with the splined shaft on the transmission. As Dad likes a lot of grease on things he took on this task and with a little push from the front it seemed to go in pretty well.

 

Next task was to lower the front of the engine and ensure that the engine mounts were located correctly. One side went in easily – the other however was a pig – we had to take off the engine mount and push the engine over to the right and then re-fit the mount – it worked though and as you can see we are now back to Miata power. (Werner would run out of steam on steep inclines!)

 

Next steps will be to finish “dressing” the engine – still cant understand why they call it dressing.

 

Injectors are back from RCE where they have been cleaned , checked for pressure, balanced and new seals fitted, high flow air flow kit from Racing Beat and racing radiator all await fitting.

 

Fire suppression system – not something I really had though about but Dad insists that we need to do. Ordered from Pegasus Racing this one is a 5lb remote Halon type that has two nozzles. Guidance from Spec Miata chat rooms suggests we have one in front and behind the drivers seat. In the event of fire there is a big red lever to pull which sets off the system. Hope I don’t need it!