Trav’s Race Build: from B6 to Big Bore BP-Z3

[StanTheMan]

wow those intake ports look very different.

[Scoota]

Why do you need a custom manifold?

Well.... Need and wants can be hard to distinguish at times.

I have the 4AGE Silvertop throttle bodies ready to go. I’ve ordered trumpets and filters to suit. I’m pretty committed already. The alternative is to fit a standard manifold, and that doesn’t hold much appeal at this point...

I want it to roar with ITB’s!!


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[Scoota]

Crimp testing has been successful! The jaws with the red dot seem to do the trick nicely.



These are the terminals that go into my factory ECU plug. The white one is a spare plug body (from Adaptronic), which I probably won’t use. Most of the pins stay where they are in the factory plugs. I need to pull a few out (which I have trickled successfully), and they will be replaced by new wires/terminals for things like my new fuel pressure sensor, oil pressure sensor, coolant pressure sensor, that sort of stuff.

More sad news though... My new valve springs aren’t in Oz either!!!!! They’ll arrive Monday, with a bit of luck. Therefore, the head assembly, delivery and fitment are delayed again. I may have the engine late next week. Fingers crossed!!

In some good news.... This little beauty is going to make me very happy...



Mounting things in the engine bay and cabin just got a lot easier!!!


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[KevGoat]

I think it was Lokiel who put me on to the rivnuts and I straight away bought a set off eBay and haven't looked back. So many uses!

Quote: "Well.... Need and wants can be hard to distinguish at times." ...

Yeah ... I've tried to explaining this to my wife on various occasions with very limited success in connection to certain "upgrades" I've made or wanted to make

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[Scoota]

Yeah KevGoat, wants and needs....

Yep, “RivNuts” or “NutSerts” are the shizzle, if you’re not afraid to drill holes willy-nilly. I’m going to love this tool so much.

I didn’t get much work done tonight, other than planning and checking my wiring diagrams, preparing for new cable runs and so on.



My pin-out study is pretty well resolved. I’m now just trying to capture the details of the various new connectors that will be installed. I want everything shown on my wiring diagram, down to the plug names and wire colours. I’ll be rooted when it comes to fault finding otherwise.

I made a list...



It’s going to get a lot longer before it gets any shorter.

My engine builder Ange Molinari, the man behind Molinari Race Engines, was very pleased with the perfect fitment of this Maruha (I think?) sump baffle.



The factory baffle fits over it....



I’m really enjoying working with Ange. We’re not there yet, but he’s been very helpful so far. I reckon he’s doing a great job. He’s got the runs on the board in terms of building big horsepower V8 drag motors, and he has answered all of my questions and put my concerns at ease along the way. In fact, in a few cases he’s given me the answers to the questions that I wasn’t even aware needed to be asked! Not his first rodeo, that’s for sure.

And speaking of the new engine, he sent me some photos tonight...

The bottom end is done, ready to receive the head!!


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[Scoota]

This needs no commentary...







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[Magpie]

With respect to your loom. Try and make the engine and body loom seperate, including seperate bulkhead plugs. For the body loom split it between front and back.

Nice to see the engine slowly going together. I need to put a sump baffle in mine, however to date no oil pressure issues over the past 5 years. How are you controlling oil pressure?

[Custardtart]

Hey, because you guys are all awesome, maybe you can help me find some new wheel nuts?

I have Konig Feather wheels on my car in 15 x 6.5”. They’re beautiful and I love them, but they are also a pain in the arse.


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Are you looking at wider wheels? I'd imagine you'd want 8" rims and 225 rubber with 200hp?

[Scoota]

For the body loom split it between front and back.

How are you controlling oil pressure?

Thanks Magpie. Yep, regarding the loom, I will be putting plugs in to maintain separation between the various sections, as per Mazda’s original layout. I’ve purchased an array of Deutsch connectors for the job. They’re pricey, but I suspect that future Trav will thank me for doing it right. The Deutcsh crimpers are $103, but I’ve decided to get them and do it properly.

About oil pressure... I have no active control of oil pressure. My builder has set the bearing clearances with a target oil pressure of 70 psi in mind, but I know almost nothing about his specifications. A Boundary “Stage 2” oil pump set at 70 psi has been installed. If we have trouble with oil pressure, I guess we can change the shims to obtain more or less oil pressure. I have a new 0-150psi oil pressure sensor that will feed to the ECU directly (from EFI Systems). Have I missed something here? What else could I be doing?


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[Scoota]

Are you looking at wider wheels? I'd imagine you'd want 8" rims and 225 rubber with 200hp?

No, not at the moment. New wheels are a long way towards the “wants” end of the spectrum. They would certainly make the car faster, so they’re a good suggestion from that perspective.

Going to 8” wheels is one of those mods that would make the car faster, but possibly less fun to drive. I’m not sure that’s really what I want. Adding more aero is in the same bag... Faster, but possibly less fun.

I like driving on the limit. Setting fast times is great, but I’m usually only out to beat my own PB anyway. If I keep moving the limit by making the car “faster”, I may take it out of “fun to drive” territory. To take this theory to the extreme, I could buy a WRX and take it racing. That would be HEAPS faster than my MX-5, but probably not as much fun, in my opinion.

I’ll stick with the current setup and just enjoy doing mad skids for a while.


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[Custardtart]

For fun, definitely stick with narrower tyres! Good for you

[Magpie]

What else could I be doing?

You could use a Peterson remote oil pressure controller. Shim the pump so it just pumps and then you can adjust it externally.

With respect to narrow tyres, I can apex T1 at SMSP at over 160kmh on 205/50/15....

[Scoota]

What else could I be doing?

You could use a Peterson remote oil pressure controller. Shim the pump so it just pumps and then you can adjust it externally.

With respect to narrow tyres, I can apex T1 at SMSP at over 160kmh on 205/50/15....

He he, nice!!! I can play that game....
I take turn 1 at Phillip Island flat, entering at about 190kph on 205/50R15’s!
No brake, no lift... FLAT!!!!!

Peterson controller, eh. I’ll check it out.


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[Scoota]

What else could I be doing?

You could use a Peterson remote oil pressure controller. Shim the pump so it just pumps and then you can adjust it externally.

With respect to narrow tyres, I can apex T1 at SMSP at over 160kmh on 205/50/15....

He he, nice!!! I can play that game....
I take turn 1 at Phillip Island flat, entering at about 190kph on 205/50R15’s!
No brake, no lift... FLAT!!!!!

Peterson controller, eh. I’ll check it out.


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[Scoota]

Hi Folks.

Life’s been pretty busy lately. Not all race car related, but I have kicked a few goals. Here’s an update...

I’ll start with a low-light. I still don’t have my engine. The bottom end is done, and the head is almost done. I would have had it on Saturday this weekend, potentially, but we missed it by that much today (holds fingers a bees whisker apart). The valve springs didn’t arrive in Melbourne until today (long story, very upsetting, to be told later). The valve clearances were measured up and shims were ordered nice and quickly, but were then given to a courier. Instead of arriving at Chris’ Porting Services (the head guy) this afternoon, they are now stuck with the courier until Monday. Bugger! So, I may have the engine by mid next week. Dyno day has been pushed back to 22 Nov. So little time!!!!!

The good news is that I now have three weeks off work, so I’m a full-time mechanic for the next three weeks.

The work on the wiring loom has been keeping me very busy. I’m staggered by how long it is taking. I’d like to say that most of the hard work is done, but it’s hard to be sure. Sorting out the grounding circuit really had me scratching my head yesterday and today, but I finally cracked it tonight. If you want a lesson on “ground hygiene”, check out the video by Adaptronic. Their instructions for the M1200 are quite specific about which components need to be grounded where. “Star point earthing” is the go. One earth to rule them all. Easier said than done, when Mazda connected the front loom to about six different places on the body. The ones that had me stumped were the tiny little side indicators. They connect to the body. About six hours of my life was wasted finding this quirk of the circuit. It’s sorted now, and I have a nicely arranged grounding harness for all of my engine management stuff, excluding sensors. They will all go to the sensor ground on the ECU, which is tomorrow’s mission. Mazda actually buffers this up on the NA6 and NA8, connecting the sensor earths to the main earth circuit. Bad form, Mazda.

So, regarding electric circuits, I’m hardly an expert, but I’ve learned a lot in the last couple of weeks.

Okay, on to some highlights...

Brakes!!!!



I’ve relocated the Wilwood bias adjuster to the right side, and fabricated new lines to make it all work. My Dad has a genuine 1970’s Repco brake flaring tool, so I can now do my own double-flared brake lines.



The trick with this job was to make “dummy” lines out of thin tie wire, then attempt the “Bundy Tube” lines. Here’s the tie wire version...



...and the end result. This took ages to perfect.



Both the front left brake line and the front-to-rear brake line had to be pulled out of the car to enable me to cut it, install a new fitting and flare it. Very time consuming. I’m very happy with the end result though. Hopefully I’ve created enough room for the ITB’s and filters.



The front calipers were already assembled, but not installed. The rear calipers were assembled with all new seals and o-rings and such, and then the whole lot went onto the car with the new HEL braided brake lines...

NA6 rear brakes (the “before” shot).


...and After!!


Here are the fronts, all shiny and new.


One job that I’ve been kind of avoiding is ordering hoses and fittings for everything. Vacuum hose for the ITB’s, oil/fuel/coolant pressure sensor hose, oil cooler hose, catch can hose, etc. Well, I spent almost a whole day on the computer writing a list of fittings and hoses for each run. What an effort!!! I’ve elected to use RaceWorks fittings, which kind of railroad you into “AN” style fittings. They’re alloy and pretty awesome, so I’ve gone for it. Bronze fittings would have cost less, but they look poxy and weigh a tonne! They all arrived today...



Lots of vendors send lollies with their car parts nowadays. And stickers.



I hope that these are going to be fun to work with. Alloy spanners were sourced from eBay, still in transit.

Some other exciting packages arrived today too...



Throttle linkage kit from SQ Engineering. There are many solutions that may have worked. I’ll give this a shot.







Oh yeah, this new Digital Dash looks amazing!!

I have some ITB news, but I will save it, because I’m knackered and heading for bed. Here’s a teaser...



Until next time!


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