Andrew's '93 NA6 - KL V6 swap

Beelzeboss · Postby **Beelzeboss** » Thu May 03, 2012 8:58 pm

Thanks everyone, it's a great feeling to be this close to being able to drive the car.

That Nopro bottle link is great Bizi, I'll have to look into getting one of those.

Well I fixed the massive air leak it had (the silicone couplers on the manifold weren't sealing properly, I replaced them with rubber ones which do) and it now idles at a steady 700rpm, all with no tuning whatsoever! I'm confident there are no more leaks as I had to unscrew the throttle bypass quite a way to get it to idle.

You can tell it's not tuned at all when I (try to) give it a few revs, lol. I also didn't have any clamps on the intake manifold :oops:

Jace · Postby **Jace** » Thu May 03, 2012 9:06 pm

Beelzeboss wrote:Lol, no skids until I make a dry sump setup I'm not sure I want to take it to the track.

qué?

skids ≠ track

Beelzeboss · Postby **Beelzeboss** » Tue May 08, 2012 5:41 pm

Progress has been a bit slow but I managed to pretty much finish the exhaust. I had to split the front section of the exhaust into two because it was impossible to install. There also wasn't room to put another V-band in so I made a band clamp which I think will seal OK with some high temp sealant. This joint will only be undone if I have to remove the front section of the exhaust (very rarely) so I'm not too worried about it being a bit difficult to install. The V-band will be just before the cat.

So that's just about the whole exhaust done, just 1 more pipe to make which joins the stainless part to the steel part.

Beelzeboss · Postby **Beelzeboss** » Thu May 10, 2012 8:42 pm

More boring little stuff which has to be done to finish the car, this time it's the cooling system.

The original heater pipe went between the cylinder banks from the front of the engine to the rear. This wasn't going to work for the MX-5 so I blocked off the original hole and made a new one at the front of the engine. I also extended the radiator pipe. I'll post a pic of it on the car tomorrow.

Next semester I'm going to do a 12 month night course at TAFE on aluminium TIG welding, hopefully I'll be able to start making things for people when I've had some lessons.

plohl · Postby **plohl** » Thu May 10, 2012 10:34 pm

Well done man! you must be well stocked!

Beelzeboss · Postby **Beelzeboss** » Fri May 11, 2012 5:34 pm

Thanks Plohl, so glad that it actually started first go. That NEVER happens!

The joys of converting a FWD engine to a RWD layout, today I made the heater hard lines. I decided to do them in aluminium to practice TIG, save weight and because they look better than steel

I'm not sure whether to paint, polish or leave them as is.
I still have to make a couple of clamps to hold them which will bolt to either the chassis or the valve cover.

All that's left to do in the cooling system is to block off a couple of unnecessary lines.

Jace · Postby **Jace** » Fri May 11, 2012 6:38 pm

can alu. tubing not be bent or something?

Beelzeboss · Postby **Beelzeboss** » Fri May 11, 2012 6:41 pm

I tried to bend it using sand and heat but it broke before it got to 45 degrees

It's only 1.6mm wall, maybe thicker tubing would be better for bending.

mitch_f1 · Postby **mitch_f1** » Fri May 11, 2012 6:49 pm

It may have been covered before, but what are you doing in terms of a front swaybar? Also, what other chassis mods are you doing to handle the increased power?

Beelzeboss · Postby **Beelzeboss** » Fri May 11, 2012 6:56 pm

I've got an adjustable signature swaybar from that Mania group buy a while back, no other chassis mods planned. The V6 engine is actually lighter than the B6 with A/C and power steering (the front suspension sits about 5mm higher than before) and it's located further back than the B6 so extra weight isn't a problem.

What do you normally need do to the chassis for ~100rwkw?

mitch_f1 · Postby **mitch_f1** » Fri May 11, 2012 7:32 pm

Oh, here I was thinking it was heavier and with more than 100kW

Does the front swaybar have enough room at the front there; it looks a bit right from the pics?

Beelzeboss · Postby **Beelzeboss** » Fri May 11, 2012 7:41 pm

mitch_f1 wrote:Oh, here I was thinking it was heavier and with more than 100kW

Does the front swaybar have enough room at the front there; it looks a bit right from the pics?

It does seem like a lot of work for not much gain but it's going to be unique and (I hope) one of the best sounding MX-5 around. If I'm disappointed by the power I am going to put the MP90 supercharger on it for sure. I'm already keeping an eye out for a junked engine for making a mock up of a new manifold and pulleys for it, as well as the dry sump setup.

The swaybar is pretty close but there is room. From memory I think there's about 25-30mm between the front pulley and the swaybar.

rxmx · Postby **rxmx** » Fri May 11, 2012 8:22 pm

Well done love all the diy'ness in your build. The water neck that you welded on, do you have a bead roller of some sort or was the pipe already like that?

Beelzeboss · Postby **Beelzeboss** » Fri May 11, 2012 8:32 pm

Thanks rxmx, I don't have a bead roller but I made a simple tool which puts the bead on the end of the tube, I'll take some pics of it tomorrow. It's very easy to make and produces an average bead on the end of the pipe. It was made from scrap with a hacksaw and the welder, it's very simple.