Flyin' Miata : Projects: The rocket ship

December 15, 2009 - Meet our newest patient.
This 1993 LE has been to FM before. It left with a stroker motor and an FM II, a Link ECU, Aquamist water injection, GURU differential, twincooler, FM big brakes, FM Stage 2.5 suspension with Ground Controls, a Hard Dog rollbar, SSR wheels and a number of other toys. It was also the very first car to be fitted with our frame rails. It's a fast car, and a gorgeous one.
But it belongs to a rocket scientist. A real one. So after enjoying the car for several years, it's back here so we can turn the dial up to 11.

It'll be leaving with a Quaife transmission, coolant reroute, a complete brand new FM II with a Hydra, GT3071 turbo, 3" exhaust, Snow water injection and a few other tweaks. Want to watch over our shoulders?
entry 1

December 15, 2009 - Jason's already torn into the engine bay.
The old turbo and manifold are out. We'll do a bit of cleanup, then the new parts start going in.
entry 2

December 15, 2009 - The new turbo and manifold, ready to install.
The manifold, turbine housing and turbine outlet have all been ceramic coated. The old GT2560 was extremely responsive on the big stroker motor, but this will unlock the real potential of the engine.
entry 3

December 15, 2009 - Meanwhile, Jon is busy assembling the transmission.
The Quaife internals are much beefier than the stock parts, so the gearbox will be able to hold up to the new power level.
entry 4

December 17, 2009 - Jason is trying to wear the LE like a hat.
Well, he says he's working on the coolant reroute, but we know better.

Tech tip from Jason: it's a lot easier to install the coolant reroute with the transmission removed.
entry 5

December 18, 2009 - Big turbo action!
The 3071 is nestled in place in the engine bay. You can also see the block-off plate for the coolant reroute. That's the easy way to close off the front exit, and it includes ports for both the factory fan thermosensor (no longer used on this car) and a coolant temperature gauge. Another option would be to pull the thermostat neck and install a freeze plug, but then we'd have to rework the turbo water lines.
entry 6

December 22, 2009 - We'll be the first to admit that our older purple flywheels are not a great visual match to our new purple pressure plates.
Luckily, our new flywheels are black, and only the gnomes that live in the transmission get to see this color combination once it's installed anyhow.
That's the input shaft from a stock transmission being used as a clutch alignment tool.
entry 7

December 22, 2009 - The Quaife gearbox is assembled and ready to go in.
It doesn't look like much on the outside, we'll admit.
entry 8

December 23, 2009 - The big 3071 turbo needs a bit of extra room to clear the side of the engine bay.
There. That'll do it.
entry 9

January 11, 2010 - After a bit of a break over the holidays, work continues.
The intake manifold is off as we wait for a couple of fuel parts to arrive but everything on the hot side of the engine is complete.
entry 10

January 11, 2010 - For a bit of added stealth, the intercooler has been painted black.
entry 11

January 11, 2010 - Speaking of the intercooler, we've tapped the end tank to install water injection.
This should give maximum cooling of the intake charge.
entry 12

January 12, 2010 - The intercooler is in.
And invisible! Yes, the nose needs a bit of touching up, this car gets run hard.
entry 13

January 12, 2010 - The Snow water injection gauge and the boost gauge are being installed in a new A-pillar.
This will give a nice seamless look to the interior - it's an option for our turbo kits.
entry 14

January 12, 2010 - We did have one problem with the gauges.
Our new boost gauges only go to 20 psi, and the plan is for this car to reach beyond that. So we supplied one of our older style with a 30 psi peak. Hopefully that will do the job...
entry 15

January 14, 2010 - Space is tight in this car.
The pressure gauge on the fuel pressure regulator, mounted to the ABS unit, had to be canted over so it could be seen. The solenoid for the VICS system had to move around the corner. The whole car is like this, it's very densely packed with components.
entry 16

January 20, 2010 - Jason's removing the seats to give him better access to the fuel pump.
The car's also getting a butterfly brace upgrade, so the carpet needs to be pulled back. There's a lot of wiring hiding in that passenger's footwell too.
entry 17

January 25, 2010 - The water injection tank and pump are installed in the trunk.
Sorry about the bad picture - the tank is at the rear of the trunk, and the pump is mounted on the side of the trunk.
entry 18

January 25, 2010 - The water gets pumped from the trunk through one of the tunnels around the fuel tank.
On the front of the fuel tank is the Snow safety box, which monitors water flow. If it goes out of range, the Hydra gets informed and will take action by dropping back to the non-water fuel and timing maps.
entry 19

January 25, 2010 - Lots of electronics in that footwell!
The black box is the Snow controller, and of course there's the Hydra. You can also see the stock ABS controller.
entry 20

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