1992 Miata, LS1, then LS3 swapped

[mazpower]

The rear end is done!

Front diff mount bracket






Adapter piece to go from 3 bolt flange to 4 bolt


New beefy driveshaft, good for 500 hp




New axles...thicker and heavier than stock. Good for 400 hp


Gotta do something with that fuel line...its not touching the driveshaft but its too close.




I drove the car last night for the first time since November. I'll get video later!

[HickamHatch]

Which haltech model are you running? I have platinum sport 2000 from
Old build and was hoping to use it on my ls1 but i see that the it only goes to 6 cyl direct fire. Please let me know how you set up your haltech and which model. Thanks!

[just startn]

Deff needs 2 turbos.

[Force13b]

Originally Posted by just startn

Deff needs 2 turbos.

i'm not sure where they would fit.

[djmtsu]

Originally Posted by Force13b

i'm not sure where they would fit.

Rear mount. Plenty of room where the muffler sits

[mazpower]

Originally Posted by HickamHatch

Which haltech model are you running? I have platinum sport 2000 from
Old build and was hoping to use it on my ls1 but i see that the it only goes to 6 cyl direct fire. Please let me know how you set up your haltech and which model. Thanks!

I'm running a E11v2. You can run a LS1 no problem with a P2000S. You'll have to set it up to run sequential injection and waste spark ignition. Just pair the cylinders for waste spark (one on compression, other on exhaust stroke) and use the 4 ignition outputs. Make sure to use the earlier 24 tooth wheel, not the newer 50-something tooth wheel on your crank.

Originally Posted by Force13b

i'm not sure where they would fit.

Yeah that would be interesting.

[mazpower]

Well I finally got the car on the road! Had the exhaust finished Saturday, drove it home in the afternoon and started tuning the Haltech. I drove it to the street legal drags at Fontana yesterday, just to watch, and on the way home disaster struck. The engine developed a rod knock but made it home without throwing a rod. I discovered quickly that there were some slight engine issues, like a bit of blue smoke on acceleration that was worse when the engine wasn't all the way up to operating temps. So I figured I was gonna have to build the engine sooner than later...but not this quick.

So the engine comes back out this Friday and I'm tearing it down Saturday. Then its off to the machine shop Monday. If the crank is good, I'm going with Eagle H-beam rods, Mahle pistons, LS6 heads and a LS6 cam. If the crank is shot then I'm going the 383 stroker route with an Eagle crank and rods and Mahle pistons and the LS6 bits.

And holy shit was the car fast even with this junk engine... :shock:

[mazpower]

The teardown.









Damaged journals on 5 & 6.




Shot of 1 & 2. 1 was the worst, all the crank's journals were fucked. Definately gonna need a new crank. Stroker? :shock:






At this point its looking like the culprit was the ARP rod bolts I installed as a precautionary measure when I had the oil pan off, before the engine went in the car. I was told by my machinist that because of the LS1's cracked cap design, changing the bolts would be fine...others on LS1Tech have done the same thing with no issues. Looks like my luck just ran out there. Oh well, live and learn. The new setup will be nice.

[mazpower]

Started the engine build last weekend!

Ended up going with a 402 stroker kit with the LS1 block. That's 6.6 liters. Went with a Scat 4.000" crankshaft, Scat I-beam rods and Mahle forged pistons. The cam is a Texas Speed and Performance 228R, also have Comp Cams valve springs and moly pushrods. Heads are the stock LS1s ported out, freshened up with a valve job and brand new exhaust valves. Milled .040" off each head to bring the compression ratio to 11:1. Picked up a roller timing set and TSP ported LS6 oil pump.

On to the pictures!

Nice shiny bores!


Mic'ing the Scat 4.000" crankshaft...rod journals came out as 2.100", mains were 3.559". I ran the dial bore gauge on the rod & main bearings and everything was well within spec.


ARP main studs installed...


Pistons in!

[mazpower]

I think this whole build is cursed.

Ever since my machinist decided to go with the 402 instead of the 383 - and bored my stock block to 4" - I've been worried cause the general wisdom is a LS1 can't be bored to a size larger than 3.908". My machinist is a good dude and knows what he's doing but he hasn't done a lot of LSx engines. So we both start investigating. He says Scat told him that you can go to 4" on the LS1 and that's why he went with the 402 kit. Then he calls them back and they say "oh we meant with a LS2". So my machinist is getting me another LS1 block and I'm going with the 383. He's taking care of everything, the only penalty to me is time. I took him the short block last week and I should have the "new" short block back in a couple weeks. Maybe then I can finally get this build over with.

[mazpower]

Got the shortblock back from my machinist Saturday afternoon. By 4 am this morning, I'm an hour and a half away from starting her up. Only got about 3 hours of sleep before going to work this morning but it was all worth it.

All that's left is to hook up the PCV hoses, add coolant and oil, verify oil in the pushrods during cranking and starting her up. Just hoping that oil pressure is good...I got a gauge this time.

On to the pictures!

Saturday's progress.


Sunday, heads are on!


Greddy oil pressure sending unit - gonna make sure pressure is good this time


Coolant temp sending unit


Starting to look like an engine!


Haven't I been down this road before? After a long long day we're almost there!

[mazpower]

Update!

Drove the Miata up to Nipomo yesterday to get some more miles on the engine. It was about 600 miles round-trip.

I really need wider tires and LSD. Managed to get wheelspin in 4th earlier today, right before my friend took video...



This car is a hoot...

[mazpower]

Got protection for my head and a new tire. All set for a track day this Saturday.

[mazpower]

The Miata survived the track day! The engine ran awesome, the chassis still needs some work though. Here's some video if anyone wants to see.

In-car, with me driving...


Me filming while my friend tries to destroy my tires.

[mazpower]

300 lb-ft of torque at 2400 rpms is nice. 350+ lb-ft of torque from 2800 to 6000 is even nicer.



Definately not bad, but could be much better. I'll probably throw in a slightly larger cam when I put the ported 243s on there, see where that gets me.

I picked up 35 lb-ft of torque and 20ish hp by bringing up the timing to 26 at WOT, with the AFRs as close to a steady 12.7 as I could get it. There was a rich spot from 6k to 6500 that I couldn't clean up, I ran out of time. I'll fix that later with a street run. 3rd and 4th are even more of a blur now.