Sprocket's Competition

[j2k4]

Man.

I don't even have to think about flipping back to the beginning of this thread to appreciate the utter transformation.

Does Sigfrid ever check this thread out?

On another note, I might have to buy another one of these 3S vehicles.

I want a black one, too; a '96-or-7 VR4.

[clocker]

In the past two days I've seen three 3000GTs, very weird.
I much prefer their body styling to be honest.
Is that what you're talking about?

[clocker]

Worked on her again this morning.
After following a troubleshooting tree it finally became apparent that the car wouldn't start because of a faulty Optispark distributor.

This is a pain for two reasons:
-The Optispark costs $350. Ours is an "upgraded" Accel replacement, purchased over a year ago but with under 500 miles of actual use.
Summit Racing only has a 90 day warranty on it, so we're going to eat the replacement cost.

-The Optispark sits behind the waterpump (which straddles it), so the entire cooling system must be drained and the pump removed just to R&R the distributor.
(This is why even GM recommends replacing the Optispark if the waterpump leaks...an expensive proposition).

Anyway, I pulled the pump and distributor.
The high-tension half of the distributor was completely melted together, the rotor was in pieces. Six of the eight spark plug terminals were covered in plastic goo.
How this thing ran at all is a mystery but there's no question it's the root of our recent troubles.

New part on order...will install next weekend.

The shit just never ends.

[HeavyMetalParkingLot]

You should use a little of that money and get that yard worked on. That grass is an embarrassment.

On topic: she's purdy

[j2k4]

In the past two days I've seen three 3000GTs, very weird.
I much prefer their body styling to be honest.
Is that what you're talking about?

I've put my finger on the styling difference that makes the VR4 more attractive - it's that, on the Stealth, the faux brake-scoop's bottom line is curved, whereas on the VR4, it's curved on the top line, allowing the bottom line to parallel the rocker and further the illusion that the VR4 is lower and sleeker.

I think the problem can be mitigated on the Stealth by adding a bit of rake when adding the lowering springs.

My opinion, anyway.

Worked on her again this morning.
After following a troubleshooting tree it finally became apparent that the car wouldn't start because of a faulty Optispark distributor.

This is a pain for two reasons:
-The Optispark costs $350. Ours is an "upgraded" Accel replacement, purchased over a year ago but with under 500 miles of actual use.
Summit Racing only has a 90 day warranty on it, so we're going to eat the replacement cost.

-The Optispark sits behind the waterpump (which straddles it), so the entire cooling system must be drained and the pump removed just to R&R the distributor.
(This is why even GM recommends replacing the Optispark if the waterpump leaks...an expensive proposition).

Anyway, I pulled the pump and distributor.
The high-tension half of the distributor was completely melted together, the rotor was in pieces. Six of the eight spark plug terminals were covered in plastic goo.
How this thing ran at all is a mystery but there's no question it's the root of our recent troubles.

New part on order...will install next weekend.

The shit just never ends.

Sometimes aftermarket shit is, well, shit.

You should use a little of that money and get that yard worked on. That grass is an embarrassment.

On topic: she's purdy

Are you referring to my car at all.

Please refer any complaints about the grass to my wife's dog.

Btw-

The grass in the foreground belongs to my absentee neighbor, who rents to a person whose standards are not high.

My lot is only fifty feet wide, you see.

As to the car, it is, as Clocker can attest, what we call a twenty-footer, meaning one must be closer than that to see all the flaws.

Nonetheless, thank you for the compliment.

[clocker]

Sometimes aftermarket shit is, well, shit.

Indeed.

There are two sad parts to this story...
The Accel part replaced a perfectly good functional GM Optispark...kind of a "preventive measure" as it were.
Then, Sigfrid threw out the GM part.

When he purchased the aftermarket part we discussed alternatives because the distributor is far and away the weakest part of the LT series package.
It's possible- albeit expensive- to do away with the Optispark and convert to the more reliable (and more tuneable) LS style ignition.
This was rejected on cost but we've now spent more on maintaining the original ignition (we've also replaced the ignition control module and the coil) than the conversion would have cost.

Hindsight, 20/20, etc.

[j2k4]

Well, just advise him properly and hope for the best.

[clocker]

OK, we now have a new distributor to install on Saturday.
It's a reman unit with a MSD cap & rotor.
We'll see how that goes...

In other news, Sigfrid found a complete rear suspension from a 2000 RZ (Japanese model) and that's on the way as well.
Several months ago we rebushed the entire suspension but did not replace the pillowballs (three on either side).
This was primarily a money issue, the pillowballs are not available from the aftermarket and cost $60 apiece from Mazda.

When we recently dropped the fuel tank, we discovered that the driver side hub had significant freeplay in all directions because of sloppy pillowballs and realized that the situation needed immediate attention.
I thought we were just going to bite the bullet and order the parts from Mazda...Sigfrid had other ideas and this is what he decided on.
I'm not sure how this approach will play out and until the parts show up (next week sometime) it'll remain a mystery.

My concern is the bushings, I don't think we can remove the new Delrin parts from the old suspension and install them on the RZ pieces, so we just have to hope the RZ bushes are in good shape.
Time will tell.
Naturally, installing the new suspension will necessitate yet another alignment but that's probably a good thing- after I swapped out the shocks/springs we should have gotten realigned anyway.

Assuming the new OptiSpark gets her running again, I'm going to lobby for bringing her back to my place and redoing the intake.
I have the parts/materials to fab it up and would like to give it a try.
It's a somewhat experimental idea which I think will work fine but no way to tell without actually making it.
Visually, it'd be stunning and for that reason alone I think it's worth trying.
Again, we'll see.

[j2k4]

Ah - 'bated breath.













Again...

Ah - 'bated breath, yet again.









No, wait - that's panting.

[clocker]

Up and running again.
From this...


To this...


In about an hour and a half.
We also installed the Digital Dakota tach signal conditioner (we're sending an 8 cylinder signal to the Miata 4 cylinder tach), so now all the gauges are functional and calibrated.
This is our Japanese market late model Miata gauge cluster installed...


The only glitch left to decipher with the gauges is to figure out why it zeroes out the digital tripmeters every time she's shut off. Total mileage is retained but the resettable function doesn't work properly. We'll figure it out eventually.

Next up is the all new rear subframe install, probably weekend after next.