Shawn1989

This, my friends, is my build thread. Hope you enjoy.

A little introductory of myself.
My name is Shawn Prince. I am 25 years old. I am residing in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Many of you know me for lighting myself on fire on Youtube when i first tried to start my v8 powered Miata; However, that did not stop me from building my dream. I finished the NA miata. I drove it for a bit then blew it up at the track. I spun a rod bearing, but again, that did not stop me. My buddy and i rebuilt it stronger to make it last a little while longer. The engine is a crate engine; H.O Chevy 350/330hp. The fire from the video is the whole reason why i said peace out to the carb and snagged a fuel injection setup. The setup is not the best, but it does it's job and it's tunable with datalogging.
Anyways, with the rebuilt engine, the car ran solid at the track [mechanically sound], but i was having fuel issues. The car has the oem 1.8L 4.10 differential so the gearing on it sucks. It can spin 225's through 4th gear. This is something that i need to change pretty soon. I plan to get a thunderbird 8.8 with a 2.8 ratio during this build.
I am not the richest man nor the greatest fabricator. I am sitting on $12/hour while paying for a house, gf, cat, dog and everything that comes with it using a $100 flux-core welder. One of these days i will catch a break, but until then, i will make due with what i got. The welder is not "shitty" or "bad", it's just messy and requires some clean-up.

With that being said, let's begin!
It was DEFINATELY a budget build.

Shell - $150
Subframes and control arms - $300 for front and rear
Used SBC engine - FREE - traded a built 1.6 shortblock for it.
Junkyard GM 94 camaro wct5 trans from v6 - $150 -(Can also use Ford t5 with different trans mount)(GM has 16* rotation on their t5 vs Fords straight 0*)

New 153t Camaro flywheel
New 10.5" Camaro clutch
Jeep cj5? Or cj7 bellhousing with clutch fork and throwout bearing [can also bolt onto Mustang t5]
^^^ This combo was about $600 pieced all together by yours truly.

Stock miata hydraulics
Custom driveshaft from Drivetrain Services - $400
Camaro tpi fuel pump modified to miatas housing - $80
94 TBIi from GMC Sierra - $75
Deleted useless stuff from pcm such as auto trans and a/c
Wired myself
Stock miata 1.8 diff welded
Modified my subframe to cradle the v8
Cut trans tunnel for bellhousing to clear
Added a bracket to my rear diff so i dont have to run a ppf and also have a driveline hydraulic brake attatched to it
Stubby starter for clearance - $30
3/8 fuel line - $25
eBay radiator - $200
Race buckets - FREE - from older beat up nb
Misc stuff such as brakes, clutch hydraulics, sheet metal, steel tubing, wiring etc $300

not bad for a little under $2500 besides cosmetics :]

I did 100% of the work by myself. This was the very first car that i have built.










so with this being said, it's time to start building a different car, one with a roll cage and better fabrication done to it BECAUSE the other one was not cutting it. i am absolutely disgusted that i did this. [see pic below]


I picked up a caged mazdaspeed miata shell from alex at 2nd Chance Roadster. SUPERB work. The smile that this thing put on my face. Now i can finally drift competitively with other people. The goal with this car is to try to keep it as much intact as i can so it has a little bit of weight for some grip and hopefully with it being "close" to stock, i'll be able to sell it later on down the road so it will be a win/win situation.





I immediately started chopping the necessary things so i can transfer my whole power-train over. Got it good enough, then began fabricating up a new transmission tunnel. 1st time was a learning experience, 2nd time will be perfection; but yet i still have this flux-core welder. owell, i learned to work with it and now it isn't half bad...... i invested in some decent wire and it made a huge difference.

Shawn1989

I still have ALOT more grinding and welding to do on the trans tunnel, but it came out 100 times better than version 1.
It's amazing how much you can learn after doing something 1 time.

i am also converting to a v-belt & serpentine belt setup [from older chevy's] to be able to run the blowers.





I welded the whole underside so there will be no penetration issues with this welder and I started laying some body filler so it looks good and will hopefully be able to sell the car later on. Still tons of bodywork to go though.







I also tac welded plates in the driver compartment on the firewall to patch the wholes that I won't be using.

Shawn1989

I decided to spray some primer to see where the filler is off........ not too shabby for the first time around.



It came out far from perfect, but far from bad too. I think im done with the underside now. I know there's imperfections but its good enough, i can always give it some love later on.



Now it's time to start on the inside and get to working on the engine.

Even though i am not religious and don't really believe in god, he sure did bless me with a junkyard find; and i thank him for it.







I'm going to run twin Eaton m90's from a Ford Thunderbird Supercoupe. Together, they SHOULD put out around 18psi and put the miata around 450whp.
It's going to be ran on e85 with water/meth injection. It's going to be intercooled too; not by the Supercoupes intercooler, but by an aftermarket unit with 2 inlets 1 outlet.

Definately a junkyard budget build, but what can I say? I wanna go fast

Here is the setup that got me interested


I have the "idea" all drawn out

There will be a single 3 inch charge pipe from the intercooler to the throttle body that will go where the green arrow goes.
The blue is the upper radiator hose
[yes there are right next to each other, BUT not touching. maybe 1/2 inch on each side]
The gray belt is the v-belt
The white belt is the serpentine belt - im not 100% sure the serpentine belt setup will work, but you never know until you try.
The tensioner clears the charge pipe unsprung and fully sprung.

Shawn1989

Grabbed the handy dandy angle grinder and cut some square tubing to make a tensioner bracket; then drilled some holes for the tensioner to fit.
Came out pretty good.

Going to weld a nut on the backside to hold it all together.

As for mounting it, I'm going to weld it to the sbc adjustable alternator bracket. Shouldn't be an issue because the audi alternator I'm using is fixed; so that bracket is just there for support of the alternator and idler.









Ran to Home Depot to grab a piece of stock so I can start making mounts for the chargers.
Hooked it up in the vice and began bending..... The result:




I still need to drill holes where it sits on the exhaust manifold.

Shawn1989

Then I grabbed 1/4 steel and began chopping what the Chargers will actually sit on.


I got one side pretty much done and I started on the other side.





The charger is just sitting on spacers to give the bottom some clearance.
Bolts will be fed from the bottom welded to the underside of the plate to secure it in place.

I also am going to make a plate that will mount to 2 bolts on each of the Chargers snouts to hold them together.


And that is how i spent the last 2 weeks and exactly where the progress stands tonight. I will update every chance that i get whether you like it or hate it because it is frankensteined together. Like i said, i am working with what i got.

Enjoy.

--Shawn.

SATURN5

It looks like you are attempting to run a single belt. That's a lot of stress on a single 6 rib belt. Back when I built the Malibu, I ran a twin belt setup and it still would shred a belt after two runs at the strip or about a week street. The twin idea is cool, but I would seriously reccommend selling both M90's and find a M112 or M122 to build from.

The Malibu has been gone for over 10 years. Since then I've built and have one of the few running "Folvos", on my 84 SVO with full 03 Cobra suspension swap, from steering, brakes to the IRS. My current project is a 68 F100, 32V B head with a M122. I'm currently working on the betl setup. I'm not running the AC, so I am using a Cobra alternator in place of the compressor, and swapping for a full 8 rib belt setup. Sorry to throw a wrench in your idea, but seriously consider going with a single supercharger, even a single M90 on the 350 would be pretty potent in a Miata. Look up AlexLTD on the Corral. He runs a single on a 302. He originally used a M90, now IIRC a M112.



Good luck!

RamIt

Nice!
I have one of those roach rockets to get my thrills out at Sonoma Raceway.
I was considering on doing a l33 swap but found it was incredibly fun without the power.

I have a limited slip 8.8 thunderbird rear if you haven't found one yet.

Shawn1989

It's a 5-rib :[ even worse. lol. The miata gets up and goes naturally aspirated, just want something cool

I'll think about what you said; however, how much boost did you get out of the malibu and what were the power numbers?
no need to sell the m90, i can always put it on the daily miata for a little more getup haha

That thing is so rad! Is the a build thread on it?

Shawn1989

^^^ Sweet!
Yes, they are AWESOME without power. Stupid with power lol.

Haven't bothered looking, BUT when the time comes, i'll definitely be in contact. What's the ratio on it?

RamIt

I am pretty sure it's 2.7 something.

Shawn1989

fantastic!

The car NEEDs a low ratio. Sucks having to start in routine traffic in 2nd gear and launch from 3rd while racing. lol. All it does is spin the tires, i want some sort of control.

How long do you think you'll have it laying around so i know my deadline.

RamIt

It's been parked in my garage for over 5 years. It was going to be part of the v8 swap that never materialized.
The tag says L73 which I ASSume means 2.73

Shawn1989

think its a 3.73

L73
L/S 8.8"
3200
3.73

SATURN5

If it's a stock Pumpkin from a Tbird SC, it's a trac lok with 2.73 gears.

I got around 14lbs of boost, controlled by a 7749 and modified $58 code from a Sunbird. I never dyno'd the Malibu, I ran a well worn 305 (like 0 PSI oil at idle hot) and I ran low 14's in the two passses I made in it.

I don't have a dedicated build thread on the F100 or SVO, but I have lots of pics if there's something you'd like to see.

The little boy just turned 18 this week....



The SVO.



Bare F100 chassis. 04 Crown Vic IFS, 93 Tbird SC IRS tho I'm considering cutting it out and putting in a 04 Cobra IRS I have.

Shawn1989

*Mind Blown* lol
ok ill be in contact with him about it if i can't run into one out here when i get ready to swap it in.

I just rebuild mine with tolerable clearances and i sit at 2-3 hot idle and 0 after a run at the track :/
Scares me sometimes. I am running synthetic 5w-30; think im going to switch to 15-40. I have the melling HV-55 in it.

14PSI? That's it? :[ i was hoping to get 18ish after i port them :[ What a fail. lol. I want to get at least 450 wheel...... looks like it might not be possible. Owell, i'll build it, run it on the dyno, then sell it and try to buy an LS1 :]

Sheesh, reminds me of my dad's supercoupe. He had it when i was 5-6 years old, now im 25...... sheesh, time flies.
Once you go fast, you never look back :]
Last looks like an oversized gokart slap some seats on it and drive it down the street like that haha
I remember looking through your photobucket trying to find pics of the malibu awhile back before i finally got in contact with you.

Shawn1989

Going a different route on the belt setup.
I will be running 3 belts instead of 2; I need to pick up another tensioner.


Bondo, seam sealer, and paint for the next week.

Shawn1989

hey bob, i have a 16196395 pcm. Can this computer recognize boost?

SATURN5

Not on stock code. That said, you need to talk to Rbob on the Prom board. It's been years since I messed with GM stuff, and never used a TBI ECM. There maybe a modified code that will allow boost. But, thinking about it, a TBI may not be able to deliver the fuel needed...

Shawn1989

Ok cool.

I don't think fuel is an issue. I bypassed the regulator, im running a boost reference 2:1 aeromtive regulator instead and i'm swapping over to a 454 throttle body with the 454 injectors so fueling shouldn't be an issue.

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

Neat build thread and wow, you got Saturn5 to chime in! Hows it going man!

Anyhow, you realllllly need to beef up your bracketry. I built a twin M90 setup on a L98 as well and it had a heck of a time keeping belts on. M90 on a 5.3 LSx chewed the quickly too. Stepped up to a M122 on a 6.0 LSx and it finally made decent power at 12psi. All setups had bracket flex issues even being 1/4" plate steel mounted directly to the cyl head(s)

Shawn1989

I think the only reason why he chimed in is because i had been searching for him for awhile and i asked him for help in a PM :]

really?
it's 1/2 steel bolted to intake, side of heads, front of heads, then i will have a big 1/4 rectangular steel plate that will bolt onto each of the superchargers snouts.

im redoing the belts.
belt 1: v-belt: crank, waterpump, power steering
belt 2: 5-rib: crank, tensioner, supercharger, alternator, idler
belt 3: 5-rib: waterpump, supercharger, tensioner

hopefully this will fix the belt issues

Shawn1989

Progress.



I began painting the inside, but then the wires wanted to put up a fight going where they needed to go. So i ran the wires and now i'll go back in, sand down, tape, and spray around them to clean it all up



Running engine stuff through the trans tunnel rather than the firewall. It should help clean it up a little bit.


Painted the bay, came out good for being the good 'ol Rustoleum rattlecan.


Ran the fuel, brake, and clutch lines today since it was all dried up.



I should be able to get the inside of the tub completely redone tomorrow. I'll post pics; then it will be time to work on the engine again.

Shawn1989

Well i didn't get to the inside of the car, instead i worked on the blowers a little bit.

I fabricated up a mount for the tensioner. I got rid of the sway bar due to it being spring steel and you can't weld it [I wasn't aware of this; so thank you to someone who pointed it out] and i replaced it with steel stock. I took the tensioner apart, drilled a hole in the housing to reclock the spring for the area of tension i will need. I also filed down the "stop" a little further back so it has more room to retract and keep tension on the belt rather than maxing out and letting the belt get sloppy. I put it back together and these are the results:





I was also looking to see if the blowers mount is flexing and it is. I am not sure if its flexing just because it's only tac welded together, but either way, I'm going to add a few couple of supports on each side just to be safe.

That's it for now, I'll start working on the passenger blower tomorrow. I need to get another tensioner from the junkyard and another belt from autozone.

Shawn1989

drum roll please!



few adjustments are needed, BUT there she is!
gotta take back apart to fully weld, add bracing, and paint, but overall i am satisfied.