I think it's just very needy.

I'll be having the Miata engine taken out and inspected next week as well.

Ya I agree. The car was just abused before I got her.




How bad do you think the miata's gonna be?

Best case just bearings, but probably gonna need to turn the crank, hopefully it didn't thrash pistons or valves, but we just won't know until the engine is basically apart. Another couple G gone poof! I'll be seeling it when I get it back in good running order and cleaned up a little bit. Will be sad to see it go, but we were forced to get a new car when I had a few go down at the same time and I can't really justify having too much around that isn't being used. I'd probably even sell the Vette if the right offer hit my desk out of nowhere, though that is astronomically unlikely given how cheap quite nice used cars are now.

So got the oil pan dropped on my NB miata and pistons out. Cylinder #3, crankshaft journal bearing is toast and warped. Crankshaft will need a little loving too. No other damage besides that, whew.

First pull on the Corvette was 521 RWHP and 488 Ft lbf. The guys are top flight are confident that they will crest the 600 rwhp mark. Should be done tomorrow. Depending on what the final bill will be I may be dropping the pro charger off this weekend to get powder coated black.

Hey guys. Well Ive had my 89 260E for just over a week now and its running WAAAY better then when I first got it. After some fuel cleaner, fresh fuel, a tune up, some tuning and a new fuel pressure regulator, it purrs like a kitten at idle and drives smooth on the hwy. Just waiting on a fuel accumulator to solve my hard hot start issue and hopefully Ill be done for a while, if i pass smog.

Today though I tackled a mechanically simple repair that is a big PITA. I replaced the leaking engine oil galley plug (threaded freeze plug for block heater). the car sat for 5yrs and who knows how old the coolant was so it ate a small hole in the plug. Seems that this happens to quite a few m103's. The car was leaking about a gallon of coolant a week. Of course, the hex part of the plug rounded off so we had to "chisel" it off with a big screwdriver. Wasnt too hard to do but I did remove the rear exhaust manifold for better access to the plug. Thank goodness its a CA car and all the nuts and bolts came off without a fight. Installed new $7 plug, used a high quality flange sealant on the threads, filled the coolant system and was good to go. I did though, find plenty of junk in the block behind the plug so i stuck a hose in the block and flushed it all out till the water came out clear. Filled with Dex-Cool, 70%dex 30% water for now. Not a job I want to do again.

Heres some pics.

After plug removal. This plug is threaded for the installation of a block heater. Thank goodness. Lol




New plug with flange sealant. Same sealant used on Porsche blocks. Better then the wimpy oem o-ring.

I like how this thing drives. Doesnt use any oil and doesnt smoke at all. Seems the head was rebuilt when they did the head gasket plus the oil pressure is great hot or cold. Hopefully it lasts a nice little while.

Is that NA still? What are the engine specs for this build?

True story, seen several C5's that I almost pulled the trigger on for 5k

The vette is NA and that is the initial tune. It's a 416ci stroker with ported LS3 heads from West coast machine, a fast 102R, and a custom ground cam from Howard's cam. The build is loosely narrated on the top flight corvette Facebook page. It's basically the same motor as before expect with upgraded valve train components.