LankyKiwi's Rally-flavored SP20

20210718_100249.jpg

Wiring nightmares 2: Return of the Spaghetti Monster!

Installing an alarm is going well, learning some new yoga poses getting everything tidy up under the dash! As you can see all the wires are black, so it's slow and steady, double checking everything before cutting and soldering it in. Once the end is cut off there is no telling which wire is which :O
 
Alarm installed and working as intended, everything is hidden away so there's no visible siren or anything like.

Took the car for a good hoon over to Kawhia bay, a beautiful bit of road! Super flowy and smooth, third gear is just right! Also did the gravel road over to Raglan and back to Hamilton to loop it up nicely.

Let's see if this works;


20210724_122013.jpg


The fresh wash didn't last long!
20210730_145603.jpg


Figured out a few more improvements too;
- The pedal covers are very worn and slippery, might try the sandpaper trick for some more grip

- the dead pedal position feels a bit weird, thinking about adding a spacer to see how it works

- the power steering lines were rubbing against the strut tower, the little rubber mounts are too flexible. I've added in a top plate to help keep them in place while still allowing some flex

- I'm getting some oil seeping from under the filler cap, maybe my PCV valve/ catch can isn't set up properly? Hopefully some turbo car owners can pitch in?

Next up is a pick-a-part adventure for window winders and a boost/vacuum valve to try a boost limiting idea...
 
A few small projects lately,
Did some research and re-routed my catch can into the PCV system rather than the outlet, also angled the catch can and routed the hoses back and around to keep it relatively clean. Hopefully this will help prevent the oil seepage I've been seeing from the oil cap and gasket.

20210806_175547.jpg


Made up a new high stop light, I'd been using an off-the-shelf stop light and it worked, but didn't look great, so I got a strip of red 12V leds and made aluminium bracket to attach it to the tailgate. Nice and bright!
Might grab some Familia double lamp tail lights as well, thoughts?

20210815_143256.jpg


Aaand finally pulled the rear window motors out, I stuck a bolt through the mechanism to keep the glass up, it's reversible if I ever want to put the motors back in :D

20210815_150431.jpg


Next weekend should be a pick-a-part mission to get the front winders and mirrors!
 

Attachments

  • 20210815_134402.jpg
    20210815_134402.jpg
    90.9 KB · Views: 225
Good news! Lockdown restrictions have been lifted slightly. Still can't get to a pick a part yard unfortunately. Did take the car for a rip at the earliest opportunity though :D

Not so good news! The wideband sensor died again. Got another one on the way and going to tweak the tune as I think that's what killed it.
The bosch sensors have a reputation of not liking things too lean or too rich, and my tune is pretty rough in that area so hopefully a few adjustments will get it there. Got to book in a proper dyno session at some point too....
 
Fellas, I've done mucked up...

While waiting for the new wideband sensor I thought I'd tackle a persistent oil leak from behind the supercharger mount. Pulled the rad, the headers and the charger and I think I've found the source:
20210911_111736.jpg

Right below the threaded hole where the sealant is bulging appears to be the culprit. There's some RTV above it from a previous attempt to fix the leak.

So I thought Right, I'll split the sump and reseal the whole lot. That should fix the bugger!

Got the lower sump off and all the visible bolts off for the upper section. Spent a few hours trying to separate that before it dawned on me to check the workshop manual...

20210911_120258.jpg


Turns out there's some more bolts! And the only way to get to them is to drop the transmission! This half day job has suddenly turned in to an expensive few days at the least :(

My own stupid fault for not researching before diving in to this, there'll be a bit more work to do to get the upper sump off and hopefully, fingers crossed I haven't damaged it in my attempts to remove it. I'm going to inspect it thoroughly and lap both sides dead flat just in case

Ahhh well. I was looking for a project to get stuck in to!
 
Weve all been there - a quick project turns into a nightmare! You will have peace of mind knowing its flat and sealed up tight when youre done tho. There was a thread a while back where a guy had drilled 2 holes in the bell housing to access those 2 bolts but I cant seem to find it right now. Thats a possibility so you dont have to drop the tranny. And when youre done you can plug them with a rubber grommet or something of the sort
 
Thanks for the idea, once the trans is dropped and I've got the location I might do just that just in case

I'm glad that the car is waiting on a part from overseas in any case! International shipping is an absolute mare at the moment...
 
Lets get this job going!
Pulled the driveshafts and gearbox on Friday, made up a wood version of the Mazda SST to hang the engine from with 3 mounts missing!
20210917_165437.jpg


Here's one of the little buggers
20210917_164752.jpg


Got the alloy sump plate off and assessed the damage. Some gouging along the outer edges from me trying to split the sealant, but nothing on the inside edges or all the way through
20210917_173941.jpg


Gave both faces of this part a lap with some wet & dry sandpaper glued to an alloy extrusion and got it nice and flat. Some gouges are still there but there's no raised sections that could cause any issues.
20210919_120947.jpg


Got it all cleaned up and put back on with new RTV squishing out nicely :) Hopefully this fixes the issue! I put a bit of extra RTV where the block meets the oil pump and rear main seal housing, these areas weren't entirely flat so a little more sealant should hopefully fill in the gaps and stop any seepage

Now for the fun part, getting the gearbox back on! My trolley jack decided to retire and won't hold any sort of weight, so a scissor jack and some ratchet straps were employed.
20210919_142210.jpg


This suuuucccckked. If you have to do this, get someone to help or at least get a trolley jack that works :p

20210919_151826.jpg



All seated in and tightened down. Waiting to see if I can get a oil pickup gasket from the Mazda dealer before putting the lower sump back on. Still waiting on that O2 sensor as well...
 
Cool build, ballsy undertaking for sure. And nobody ever answered you I don’t think. Breathe is the song. Now for me bonus points, mate 🤓
 
Got the lower sump off and all the visible bolts off for the upper section. Spent a few hours trying to separate that before it dawned on me to check the workshop manual...

View attachment 302925

Turns out there's some more bolts! And the only way to get to them is to drop the transmission! This half day job has suddenly turned in to an expensive few days at the least :(

I missed your post.

What sleeprp5 said ^^^

I had to drill holes in my bell housing to gain access to the bolts.

I was getting ready to take a sledge hammer to it and just smash it off. Lol

31N007 told me what to do in my thread.

Post in thread 'PCB's Unbuild Thread' PCB's Unbuild Thread


My pictures are gone now but there's quite a bit of info.

(I don't know what happened? I don't remember getting an alert about your post? I am subscribed to your thread. )

EDIT:
I didn't get an alert for your last post either.
I hate technology. It pisses me off.
 
Last edited:
Cool build, ballsy undertaking for sure. And nobody ever answered you I don’t think. Breathe is the song. Now for me bonus points, mate 🤓
Thanks! And yep that's 1 of the 2 songs! (the other is Coheed and Cambria's The Willing Well II: From fear through the eyes of madness)

@pcb thanks for the info! Tossing up whether to add the holes or not, at least I know where they are and can drill holes in the future...Also, tech is great... When it works!

Mazda NZ has NO oil pick up gaskets in the country :(
 
Here's something pretty neat,


Tim is the guy that did my Cert, really awesome guy who knows his stuff backwards and inside out, the Honda getting a cage lives in the storage unit 2 doors down from mine and this was filmed within a week of my car being there as well, Small world!

Also, Tim has a proper nu zuland accent :)
 
- Oil pick up gasket sourced (MX5 versions are close enough) ✔️
- Shiny new trolley jack bought ✔️
- Oil pan back on and sealed✔️
- Gearbox and drivetrain reassembled✔️
- Wideband sensor re-ordered and installed ✔️
- P/S tensioner bolt stripped, snapped and fixed ✔️
- New slightly shorter belt installed for less slippage ✔️

Car is back together and running mint, have given it a few more autotune sessions to try and tidy up the tune, it's running a lot smoothly and not fluctuating widely on the wideband sensor.

I'm super glad to have the car back up and running, as much fun as wrenching is, driving it is much better!
 
Happy Holidays everyone!

Work is finished for the year, lockdown restrictions have been eased (for now lol) andsummer is here!
20211128_103014.jpg

The car has been running very well, no breakages or issues which is nice!

On a whim I corner weighed it at work with a nearly empty tank and got

Front right: 352 Kg
Front left: 371 Kg
Rear right: 226 Kg
Rear left: 236 kg
Total: 1185 kg

I also wrapped the centre console trim with some gunmetal grey vinyl and painted all the gauge rings to match, that'll tie them in with the main dash cluster nicely. Still want to get a matching set of AEM gauges one day
20211217_165349.jpg


Aaaaand I impulse-bought some 'aero' mirrors to see how they would look, these are meant for a S15 Silvia but they're nearly the right shape. I want to extend the leading edge and paint them satin black for a smoother look. That'll be this summers project!
20211222_181422.jpg
 
Gidday guys and girls!

Not much to report, the car has been running well and I've been exploring the hill roads around here this summer
FKuYjUNakAAWiav.jpg


No updates really, gearing up to either paint it or retrim the interior over winter so there might be some noteworthy progress soon!

It has started grinding on the starter, only intermittently but enough that it's worrying. I'm really hoping the flywheel hasn't lost a few teeth but if it has it'll be the perfect excuse to visit CR3 motorsports and get a Fidenza flywheel...
 
Last edited:
I need paint too but I can't justify it if it's just going to sit in the driveway and get sapped all over lol.
 
I need paint too but I can't justify it if it's just going to sit in the driveway and get sapped all over lol.
That's one of the reasons I'm not 100% on the paint! It's going to be used a lot and probably not cleaned very often :)
You guys down under are spoiled,.. lol.
It's very nice :) nearly no rust to deal with either! Although it's hitting mid 30 degrees with near100% humidity lately :(

Good news, the starting issue ended up being the starter, not the ring gear thankfully. I scored a new starter through work and stuck it in. Now the thing is giving me trouble with hot starts. Popping the circuit breaker and refusing to start, I think it's fouled plugs plus a higher current starter that are popping the breaker so it's now got a new set of plugs and we'll see what happens
 
Last edited:
Back