Miata Cam swap... freakin' ignition timing!

[SuperK]

I did the cam swap... erm, the ignition timing, though, has to apparently also be 180 degrees. Which means, I pretty much have to flip the distributor... but I loose the brackets and mounting points.

Anyone done the swap? Can you help me time the ignition?

[Josh]

you cant flip your dist. look at the end of it real close, it is only supposed to fit in the cam one way. you have to flip the cams 180deg out from where the stock cams align.

[Inodoro Pereyra]

You don't need to flip the disty. Just invert the wires (1 with 4, and 2 with 3).

[SuperK]

are... you saying that the lobes on cyl 1 are supposed to be pointing in like:


-o><o-

whereas stock are like:

<o--o>



Well, I installed them EXACTLY like stock... like this <o--o>

And I ended up modifying the bracket on the distributor so I can simply rotate the distributor itself, and I did.

It's bolted by the back bracket... well, it's the front bracket on the back, but either way, it's timed, it's running GREAT, too.

I'm curious as to how you installed the cams. I am thinking... well, they're like stock so I mean, there's no harm in the way they are now, they're timed amazingly...


Does anyone want me to do a miata cam writeup?

[MapaX5]

i would appreciate that! as i have both, a miata (with an extra engine sitting at home that i'm building for turbo) and a pussy-2 mx-3. (it's a 92, but my friend calls it a pussy-2 for how slow it is compared to jr).
i have like 3 heads laying around too. so a write-up would be very helpful.
i thought about just getting a head off a capri and that way i still have the disty/cams/outlets in the right places instead of having to deal with moving stuff around. any thoughts?

[SuperK]

You have the SOHC. You're going to have to change out a lot to turn it into a DOHC. ECU, wiring harness prolly, and I'm not sure whether the DOHC even bolts up to the block correctly. You'd have to check the oil passages, etc. to be certain.