The Mite
Part :57
Hood Prop Rod, Throttle Cable, etc..
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Yep, it runs! I loaded a base program into the Tec-2, put in 4 gallons of gas, started the fuel pump and checked for leaks while setting the fuel pressure, and then turned the key..and vroom! The long-dormant engine fired up! Great oil pressure, thank goodness, and a good water pump, too!. I managed to get many things correct for this to happen: Timing belt on correcly, cams and cam gears indexed correctly, trigger wheel on front pulley correclty, plug wires correct, water/coolant hoses correct and tight, no leaks in turbo oil system or turbo water system, etc... And, it's very quiet when Idling, but has a nice note when revved up. We'll hear what it souds like under a load while on the road. I need to get a new dipstick, as seen here the plastic stock Miata dipstick has broken. To the left is the throttle cable. |
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Here's the business end of the throttle cable. It is a Lokar cable that I found at a swap meet, with a braided steel sheath. It took a few modifications to work with the Mite, including the use of a bicycle brake cable as the throttle cable inside the sheath. The blow-off valve is the purlple thing in the left of the picture. It vents pressure from in front of the throttle body when the throttle is suddenly closed. This is a Greddy knock-off that has worked well on my friend's car and is not too loud. The fuel pressure regulator is the red thing at the top of the picture. It is boost-referenced, meaning that it supplies fuel to the injectors at 43 PSI above manifold pressure. If there's 7 pounds of boost, the injectors see 50 PSI in the rail. |
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I made a prop-rod for the bonnet. It still needs paint. A heim joint (rose joint) and a bit of steel rod did the trick. The turbo-to-intercooler plumbing can be seen here also. I got lucky with the piece of hose that I found, It fits perfectly |
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Here's the prop-rod holding the Bonnet open. |
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The throttle cable winding its way across the engine bay from the firewall to the throttlebody |
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And the Horn! This is one of those 'bad boy' horns and sounds like a big-rig truck! It should get the attention of that guy in the diesel who's merging into me when I'm driving around |
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One problem I've found is that the clutch master cylinder moves too much fluid for the Miata slave cylinder. When the pedal is fully depressed, the slave cylinder is over-extended and pushes the pressureplate too far. I'll need to adjust the acuating rod and probably put a pedal stop in the floorboard. The other option is to replace the master cylinder with a smaller bore. The wires are from the transmission: back up lights and neutral switch. Unused at this point. |
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The hood. |
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The first time the Mite's seen the driveway in a long time |
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Left to do: Cover for master cylinders, wiring of headlights and markers on bonnet, finish prop rod, remove extra wires from transmission, adjust clutch, clutch pedal stop, hook up PCV valve, fix leak between exhaust manifold and turbo, align front wheels, intake plumbing including air filter, touch-up paint scratches under hood, tune engine...etc.. |