build diary

June 11, 2004:
It's alive!
Well, sort of. I powered up the engine computer last night and verified that the pressure sensor, temperature sensors and a few other bits are reading properly. So now I have a very expensive and cumbersome barometer and thermometer. I did have to do a little fine-tuning on grounds and I'm not 100% convinced the fuel pump is playing along correctly, but I'm making good progress. The potential to start the engine this weekend is good.
entry 362

June 13, 2004:
No pictures today, but I've been busy.
I retrieved the radiator from the welding shop and decided to modify it myself. That's almost done, and once a certain hose arrives on Tuesday I'll be able to hook it up. The CMC mounting bracket has been completely removed because it just wasn't suitable for this rad. The special hose? That's because I have 1.5" outlets on the rad and 1.25" outlets on the engine. NAPA makes a flexible hose with different sizes on each end and they're even affordable. It's going to make life easy. I've also mounted the seatbelts, using the Miata upper belt guide to fit the shoulder belts. It looks good and I'm happy with the outcome. Now I can fit the seats (temporarily) and determine the ideal placement of the gas pedal. I need the belts to do this because they pull me back into the seat and change the driving position somewhat.

I've also tried to start the engine. First, fill the fuel tank with a bit of fuel. No leaks in the system! I ran the pump for a while to pressurize the system, fitted plug wires and checked all the connections. Then hit the starter button. Lots of cranking, no fuel or spark. Nuts. Time for some quality time with the wiring diagrams. The cam angle sensor is reading, so that's not it.
entry 363

June 14, 2004:
I'm all giddy.
Must be the exhaust fumes but it could also be the flames coming out of the exhaust ports. Yes, the engine is running and it sounds fantastic. Once the last couple of major grounds were actually attached to something instead of just hanging around, the engine fired up. Much noise and excitement. Sorry Eric, no sound files yet! Bill Cardell had come by to help me debug the ECU as it was obvious that was why the car started but I found the loose grounds before we got too far. This gave us lots of time to just hang around instead. The ECU needs a lot of tuning and there's no cooling system hooked up as yet so I didn't run it very long.

On the subject of the cooling system, that's almost done. The radiator has been modified using JB Weld - it might not be as sexy as welding, but it's good for the application, looks like a weld when shot with some silver paint and didn't cost me $90! I'm just waiting for the final hoses and it's good to go. The scuttle has also been fitted with bolts and I'm starting to fit body panels. The seatbelts are in - I'm particularly proud of the shoulder mounting points - and the seats will be ready to install once the transmission cover shows up and I have a driveshaft. I suspect I'm going to have to make my own tranny cover.
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The modified radiator.
One blocked off outlet, one new outlet. It's still wet from getting flushed out. Note the ground-down corner on the radiator cap as well. I also had to shave off part of the bottom ridge to fit inside the nose cone perfectly.
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The bottom part of the original radiator bracket is all that remains.
The rubber bumper helps hold the rad in place nicely.
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The radiator inlet is on the opposite side from the Miata.
If you take a 1.6 thermostat "neck" and put the housing from a 1.8 on it, it turns the direction of the outlet 90 degrees. Perfect! It also gets rid of a fitting for a temperature sensor I no longer need. You can see the original in this picture.
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The lower radiator hose is pretty long, so I'm using this pipe from the Miata to join two sections.
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Harnesses are in!
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The attachment point for the shoulder harnesses.
This was taken from the Miata. It looks pretty good.
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This is a little disconcerting - my fuel cell is inflating from the heat!
I'm going to call Jaz about this - there's a pressure relief valve on the cap but it's not relieving a whole lot of pressure. I can just imagine what this will be like in the hot Colorado sun.
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Fitting the scuttle required a little trimming to the aluminum firewall.
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The scuttle temporarily bolted into place.

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The fibreglass scuttle fits the frame perfectly once it's been trimmed to fit around the steering column support.
Better than any of the aluminum has fit so far - good thing, as it's harder to tweak! All of the glass parts appear to have the same high level of fit.
entry 374

June 15, 2004:
I phoned Jaz about my inflating fuel tank.
Turns out the vented fuel cap isn't vented enough to actually prevent this from happening. I checked some photos of the CMC "Mitty" build and they put the fuel return line into one of the feeds on the sump, then just left the AN-6 fitting on top of the gas tank open with a small plastic cap. Hmm, not my preferred solution. After pricing out the cost of a metal check valve to use as a vent, I decided to check the Miata parts diagrams. Not only does the Miata fuel tank have a check valve, it's got a rollover valve to keep it from leaking if the car goes upside down! The parts will easily adapt to my fuel cell. It's a perfect solution.

I've also tried test-fitting some of the side body panels. I won't be putting them on the car until I'm pretty much done. I don't want to damage them! But boy, does the car ever look cool...
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The final lower coolant hoses.
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The solution to my inflating tank - a check valve and roll-over valve from the original Miata tank.
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Test fit of a side body panel.
The fit is perfect.
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The side panels wrap around the upper frame rail for a cleaner look.
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June 16, 2004:
It's like static electricity building up in the air.
I can feel the car becoming more "real" as parts come together for good. The most common comment from my visitors is "Wow, it looks like a real car now!". I keep test fitting body panels and I really want to put some on!

The vent has been installed on the fuel cell. I'm extremely happy with the results - it looks like it was meant to be there. My co-worker Brian and I made a backing plate then discovered that the thick plastic of the tank meant screws were the best attachement solution. That's what we're hoping anyhow. I'll find out today if the tank still grows in the heat. Brian's a good fabricator and we spent some time discussing how to mount the radiator and the electric fan. I think it's going to turn out well.

I rescued my half-finished driveshaft from the fabricator today. They were supposed to call me when the parts arrived so I could double-check my measurements. They didn't, so instead I checked to see if the half-completed driveshaft was going to fit. The answer is yes - but it's going to be pretty much impossible to install without pulling the diff. Again I think I'm a victim of using 1.8 parts in a kit designed around 1.6 ones - the longer diff with a larger flange is causing problems. We'll see when the final product is done today. Oh yes, my measurements were dead on.
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Drilling into the fuel cell to install a vent.
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The vent in place along with the check valve.
Bad picture, great looking installation.
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It's so cute! The partially-completed driveshaft.
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