MrMazda92's '92 GS - New daily

[MrMazda92]

Nope Dan, I have the plate. I'll be having a 36-1 Made though, unless I find more positive information about using a 6-1 trigger wheel.

I'll post more pictures soon... I'm picking up my SRD parts today, and will post those. I've finished sandblasting ALL of the items I was planning to, and will be dropping those off at the powdercoating place after I snap a few pictures for you guys.

[crazycanadian]

Nope Dan, I have the plate. I'll be having a 36-1 Made though, unless I find more positive information about using a 6-1 trigger wheel.

I'll post more pictures soon... I'm picking up my SRD parts today, and will post those. I've finished sandblasting ALL of the items I was planning to, and will be dropping those off at the powdercoating place after I snap a few pictures for you guys.

Nice Blake, keep us posted on the trigger wheel... I might regret selling my old UDP then..

[MrMazda92]

I will keep you all up to date, I promise! I'm still a little slow posting pictures of ALL of my progress, but this is a start for you all! Thank you crazycanadian!

Freshly PowderCoated SRD Crossmember and lower Tie-Bar:



Before and after shot of the sandblasting on the KL fuel rails:


The KL fuel rails and KLG4 ValveCovers will be coated as well, I'm thinking the same satin black with polished lettering on the front(left) ValveCover. The intake manifold, throttle body, and visible bolts will all be polished. I'm still trying to find a stainless "kit" of sorts for the visible bolts all around. It'll cost a little bit, but this is the one area I honestly want a little bit of bling.

I'll take go over show any day, but I want my go to show if you catch my meaning.

Popping the hood should pop your eyes out of your head, if I have my way.

[MrMazda92]

Blah!! It's been a stressful week.

Alright, so I'm getting frustrated with the car again. There is a slight misfire at idle, as well as a surging idle with a rhythmic pattern. It jumps from 700 to 1,700 or so, and about 3-4 seconds later drops down to 700 again, only to climb about 1 second later.
No loss of power anywhere in the RPM range, and my fuel economy is right where it should be.

On top of that, I ran completely out of gas last night after noticing 2 issues:
1) The last time I filled the tank I reset the trip meter, and drove 10-12 miles before noticing both the trip meter and the odometer were not clocking miles at all. Pushing the reset button again caused both to start turning as normal... This was the first time I've ever experienced this, and I log my mileage for fuel economy and monthly fuel cost analysis, so I would have noticed if it happened previously.

2) My gas light no longer comes on as of about 3 weeks ago, and it typically came on very early anyways(3.2 gallons, exactly 10 to fill when the light held steady, for all 3 years that I've owned it).

This, coupled with the leaking valvecover, oil-soaked alternator, squeaky hatch, and annoying "bouncing" in the front left strut assembly, are souring my mood quite a bit.

When I finally source the right KLG4 for my swap, I'll be prepared to take the car off the road for 2 weeks to fix everything that is currently an issue.

To-Do list during downtime:
Front Wheel Bearing x 2
Inner tie-rod end x 2
SRD Crossmember/Tie-Bar
KLG4 Prep:
- Gaskets from head gasket up
- Reseat oil-pan w/ gasket maker
- Timing kit
- Water Pump
- Clean stock Alternator
- Sexy PowderCoated ValveCovers/FuelRails
KLG4 Swap
Bolt Headers on loosely, test fit 2.5" pipe/take measurements
MegaSquirt:
- VAF Delete(Still waiting on IAT sensor)
- Coilpacks w/ 36-1 Crank Pulley for now
Intake:
- True cold-air
- Sealed and insulated against heat-soak
- Fed from left fog-light hole(MS)
- Sexy black silicone couplers will come later
Filled Motor Mounts
New Fuel Filter
New Plugs:
- Gapped
- Indexed using an "extra" set of heads
MSD 8.5mm Plug Wire Kit(V8) - Inspired by FowlJesse
New Belts
New Hoses
Coolant Flush:
- 60/40 mix Distilled Water and Anti-Freeze for cold months
Engine Oil:
- Fresh Mobil1 5w30 full synthetic
- NAPA Gold ZR1 Filter
Gear Oil:
- Redline MT90(IIRC)
- 75w90, non sulfur

That pretty much sums it up... I'll have to finish the exhaust later, as finding the "right" muffler and resonator for my application will break my already tight budget.

Still, It's nice to finally have this looming so close... I'm about $500 away from every bit of this happening, and I start my new job on the 26th. Estimated date for the actual swap will be New Years, a little later than I was hoping, but better late than never...

[Mooneggs]

Blah!! It's been a stressful week.

Alright, so I'm getting frustrated with the car again. There is a slight misfire at idle, as well as a surging idle with a rhythmic pattern. It jumps from 700 to 1,700 or so, and about 3-4 seconds later drops down to 700 again, only to climb about 1 second later.
No loss of power anywhere in the RPM range, and my fuel economy is right where it should be.

Welcome to colder weather. This happens every year around this time for my car. I use the rear defrost to regulate it.

[MrMazda92]

It never did this previously, that I can recall!
My rear defrost is a joke, I need to either get contact paint(name?) or just swap to a new hatch. My button doesn't light up either, blah.

I do want to gut an RS hatch and put a lexan window in it for track days, since it'll save a bit of weight back there, without the cost of CF or FG

Side note, my old car('01 Mercury Mountaineer) has the exact same issue with surging idle in cold weather, and the rear defrost idea works in that car as well.

[MrMazda92]

I'm attempting to sandblast the front KLG4 valvecover, with interesting results.

I can not get the sucker clean... There are little black spots all over the entire surface, and I'm unable to get any of them out. The inside cleaned up nicely, as did the channel for the gasket, and about 1/3 of the outer surface cleaned up quite well(including the raised lettering), but I am unable to get the rest to where I'm satisfied.

Will there be an issue with powdercoating it like that? I typically sandblast everything to a bright sheen, soak it in degreaser, and then send it off for powdercoating...

[fowljesse]

Casting voids.

[MrMazda92]

Basically small holes?

[fowljesse]

Yeah. It's common with this type of casting, especially our VCs, and IMs. You need to clean it off well, and sand. Sometimes, you'll need to fill them in with solder, or lead, or even epoxy. I think you could also bead blast them with larger beads.

[MrMazda92]

Well that sucks thoroughly... I have a set of PERFECT KL valvecovers, and then only one KLG4 front... Go figure the hardest to come by is the one that's messed up. -.-

Would the voids be covered decently by powdercoating? I'd rather not have dimples all over the surface after I pay for it to be coated, that would kind of ruin the point.

[MrMazda92]

I just removed about 2 POUNDS of dirt from my right front mudguard... Ridiculous!! I'm thinking about modifying the fenderwell cover so it will not accumulate there in future.

Despite the rain today, I took the time to clear my right front sunroof drain hose finally, I don't have to park on a slant anymore to keep water from pooling in that corner.

I also started removing the fenderwell covers, so I can access my front bumper for removal. I'll be removing it, test-fitting my MazdaSpeed bumper without the mesh for now, and opening up the area behind the left fog hole so I can start shaping my cold air intake. I'm trying to decide what exactly I want to use the right fog hole for... It'd be a shame to put the opening to waste, and I have absolutely no need for foglights. Oil cooler? I could modify my towhook to occupy that space, so I don't have to actually notch the MS bumper as I had originally planned, in order to accommodate the OEM towhook.

I would LOVE a carbon fiber or fiberglass hood, with a low profile scoop located 3" in front of the IM. I plan to open up the wiper cowling area a little to vent hot engine air out, and believe that would add a little to the effect. I just need to find the right scoop, that will be wide enough to actually function, without rising more than 1.25" above the hood itself. Top it off with Chalkboard paint on the hood, and flush locking pins to keep it track legal. Maybe someday...

[MrMazda92]

After I finally get my engine swap out of the way, I'd really like to pick up a cheap parts car, pull the suspension, sandblast/powdercoat everything, and swap it onto my '92 with poly bushings...

This is going to take a while to finish...

[fowljesse]

Yeah, the voids are easy to fill. In fact, when filled with the afore-mentioned, you would never know they were there, even just polished, with no paint.

[MrMazda92]

Alright, good stuff! Thank you.

When I find the right KLG4, I'll sandblast the VCs just in case... If they have no casting voids, I'll swap my "clean" ones on, and powdercoat the new ones.

Mini update:
Pulled my OEM bumper and support, as well as headlights.
I test fit the MS bumper, and fitment was nearly perfect. I'll get it just right before I bolt it on, don't worry.

I've cleaned the support well, and am sandblasting/repainting the metal brackets that attach the bumper. I already drilled out the holes for the license plate, and am working on modifying the bumper support to close the gap between hood and bumper. This'll be a bit of a pain in the a--, but I wouldn't bother putting it on if I was planning to half-a-- it.

It should be painted and installed this coming weekend, if all goes to plan!