Flyin' Miata : Projects: The Pi Car

November 3, 2009 - Say ewww!
This poor little guy had antifreeze that looked like a freshly poured Guinness Stout. So maybe the change over to an LS3 is just in time.
In case you're wondering, we call it the Pi Car because it has big pi symbols on the hood and doors, and the license plate is 3 14 PI. That's all we know!
entry 1

November 5, 2009 - It's an Uber!
Or was...
entry 2

November 5, 2009 - This one got away from me.
Took the morning off and came back to a gutted car.
entry 3

November 5, 2009 - Brandon acts as human ballast.
The car is rolling outside on dollies for a good steam cleaning.
entry 4

November 5, 2009 - Looks kind of sad and droopy.
Maybe it will find a happy new home in an FM Westfield.
entry 5

November 5, 2009 - The big pile.
This is NOT a weekend project.
entry 6

November 5, 2009 - Bad lighting.
Really bright and sunny out today, so not a great picture. Whitish spots below the brake booster are bare metal. Probably had some drips from bad seals on the brake reservoir dripping fluid on the paint. Fortunately we will be repainting after firewall mods with custom matched paint.
entry 7

December 16, 2009 - Onward & upward!
The cutting begins.
entry 8

December 16, 2009 - This is just plain cool, if not spooky.
Looks like Jon is summoning up the HP demons from hell.
entry 9

December 17, 2009 - The NA cars have a slightly lower transmission tunnel than the later cars, so we have to put a little bump in the top of it.
Not much, this is enough to do the job.
entry 10

December 17, 2009 - Jon's finished rearranging the sheetmetal, so he's just smoothing it out before paint.
Yes, this car will have a better paint job inside the transmission tunnel than it got at the factory!
entry 11

December 22, 2009 - The engine bay is primed and ready for painting.
You're not going to expect the color that's coming!
entry 12

December 22, 2009 - All the modifications to the transmission tunnel are done.
Jon's covered up the seams with seam sealer and it's ready to be painted.
entry 13

December 22, 2009 - On the 1990-97 cars, we need to move the radiator forward to provide a crucial extra inch of clearance for the big V8.
Jon's altering the mounts to allow this.
entry 14

January 4, 2010 - Here's a close-up of the modified brackets.
This covers both the radiator and the condenser.
entry 15

January 6, 2010 - The engine bay is painted.
The color is the one used on desert HMMWVs - not a typical Miata color! The rest of the car will be painted later after the conversion is done.
entry 16

January 6, 2010 - With the chassis finished, it's time to start unpacking drivetrain parts.
Everything is brand new and shiny, of course. It's so nice working with new parts.

Sorry, it's difficult to take a cool picture of a transmission.
entry 17

January 6, 2010 - We use this plastic LS engine for test-fitting.
It's a lot easier to move around than an engine that's all filled up with horsepower. We can bolt transmissions, intakes and accessories to it.
Here, we're about to do a final test fit in the body before we put the real think on the subframe.
entry 18

January 8, 2010 - The engine is in!
Okay, it's still on the engine stand and we just dropped the car over top. But it looks good. We're doing this so we can run the wiring before the engine install.
entry 19

January 8, 2010 - On the NA Miata, we need to cut a new hole for the GM wiring harness.
There's a big hole we can use on the NB. Inside the car, Jon has to extend the harness so the fusebox can go in the trunk.
entry 20

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