v8miata

I dunno what the real reasoning is. The information I stated below was relayed to me directly by the builder. (specifically about the 93/94 crossover year) He is able to get them through the referee. So I don't know what the true story is, I have no reason to care at the moment. Maybe in 2 years when it is due for smog again if I have any troubles at that point.

jwog666

i doubt it, if they smogged it and passed it before, it will pass again and again.

v8miata

Howdy all again. I figured I would continue posting on this thread as the car is kind of a unique beastie.

Since the last post... the AC compressor failed. Replaced that, blew out all of the plumbing, new oil and refrigerant and all is well.

That puts me to the most recent gremlin.

After the car has been driven awhile... gas fume odor starts appearing. I replaced some aging hoses... but the fumes are coming from the two plastic caps on the top of the charcoal canister. This pointed me to the purge valve not working. I tested it 75 ohm resistance and it opens and closes when 12v is applied to the terminals.

There appears to be 12v coming from the wiring harness plug also, but when it is all put together the purge valve never opens and eventually pressure builds up and vents through the two plastic caps on the top of the charcoal canister.

I am not sure what to check and how to check that the proper signals and strength is coming through the wiring harness. Is there a relay between the purge valve and the ecu? or it is a direct signal from the ecu?

Much thanks!

TrimDrip

Mine goes through a qrt. every thousand too.

How much faster do you want the car to be?

v8miata

Isn't that the age old question? Right alongside, "You can be fast, cheap, reliable, pick two."

So my goals:

1) stay 50 state smog legal

2)http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/page.php?id=30083 the 7-9psi system. I am inquiring with the builder to see if they ever installed one... pretty sure I can fit without an intercooler.

3)lighten the car up to 2100 lbs. I think I am about 2300lbs... still need to weigh it.

Of course, once I reach that point, I will probably set new goals.

As far as the canister purge valve... I have plumbed some hoses coming from the vent ports at the top of the charcoal cannister to vent any execessive gas fumes to the outside of the engine compartment. That fixes the fire hazard while I figure out why the purge valve isn't working correctly. I don't want to drop $70 on a new one at the moment, so I might try to find one at the local junkyard to see if the purge valve is faulty even though it completely checks out as ok.

TrimDrip

I went with the 5-6lb kit a few years ago. The kit has about 35k miles on it now with no issues. It also is a 14lb kit now

v8miata

nice, were you happy with the results? Does the 302 hold up to boost in stock form? or do upgrades need to be done to the motor to make it live more than a couple of years?


Last, does the compressor stick up any higher than the rest of the motor? There are severe hood clearance limitations on this car.


The intake manifold is maybe 1cm from touching the inside of the hood.

movielover40

Congrat's on your build.

Must be a fun car to drive with that much horsepower in such a light car.

v8miata

It is! thanks! Although I did not build it. Now that I have seen a finished product I probably could get it done. Everything is easy once you see/have a template.


I am finding little things here and there I am not happy with that I will fix eventually. The ECU is under the floor mat / foot well of the passenger. A normal Miata has it located behind the passenger seat. Why they didn't wire in an extra 4 feet of wire to place it in its proper and safer location doesn't make sense to me.


But mostly small things like zip tying the wiring harness it better locations away from hot spots.

TrimDrip

Yeah I'm pretty happy. I'm gonna take it in to get numbers when it gets colder.

My bottom end is from a 2000 mountaineer. It has held up so far. It got rebuilt a week before I bought the supercharger. The top-end is studded afr 165s and 1.7 cobra rockers

The compressor replaces the alternator's spot. When I replace my distributor tomorrow, I will get a comparison measurement.

Mine is close too.