looking great Aaron.

 

that build is looking awesome...i love how you documented everything so clearly.

 

*raises hand* question! you powdercoating your parts? and if so, u got all the gear for it? or u get someone to do it. and how do you afford all this? *cries as he looks into his own wallet*

 

Super Sick!!!

 

Great work, especially the welding of the manifold and ****. People cannot appreciate the bitch of a job it is figuring out the angles and curvatures involved in turbo placement.

I have a question for you, though.

Standing back and looking at it now after all is said and done, if I am correct (I have missed a few posts of yours about your buildup) the only parts of this engine (that matter) that are still NA are the rotors and irons, right? Granted some small stuff like the waterpump housing and such are also original, but that stuff doesnt really matter. Back to the point...what was the benefit in keeping the NA irons during this whole buildup? You have gone to immense trouble to build AROUND them, and every part is purpose built for power, except for that. I am curious to your line of thinking...or if the project just grew and grew away from your original plans for a mild setup, which happens often and easily.

 

Beautiful manifold and tube work all around. I've done a couple custom manifolds for various cars, and your's puts mine to shame. Excellent work!

 

Of all the "Here's my project" authors on this forum, I would say I enjoy yours the most Aaron... partly because of the detail you're willing to put into your post... partly because of the detail you put into your work.

Thank you.

 

Agreed! Awesome job.

 

I've been thinking of that. I'd like to create a shield that mounts to the manifold mounting studs (there's enough room for another nut) and extends over the turbo.

Also it would be nice to have a shield that clamps over the downpipe and protects the transmission a little more.

I tried to keep the number of els the same on each runner, and the equalize it out with spacers. As it turns out, both runners are almost exactly equal. Theory says that equal length runners of approximately 14-18" will yield best turbo response and power, but in practice this seems to be debated. In my experience, the single most deciding factor in turbo response is a divided vs. undivided hotside. Undivided sucks. Ball bearings don't seem to hurt either. My manifold has approximately 16" runners.

It's all paint. The red is MetalCast Red, while the black is most often VHT caliper enamel. I love MetalCast. Nearly everything I make uses it to some degree and people are always amazed that the effect came out of a $4.99 spray can. It's really easy stuff to work with as long as you prep the metal (shine it up! and keep it CLEAN!). Lays down easily and is very tolerant of thick coats. The VHT caliper enamel is a high-heat glossy black that's a bit expensive ($12 per can) but holds up really well. Primer is not necessary though the metal has to be clean and free of corrosion. After it gets baked in the oven, it's pretty chemical resistant and tough. The silver is just hardware store "aluminum" spray paint but holds up well unless you bang it with something. I'm a little disappointed at the quality of the engine bay finish. It seems that my primer and topcoat were not compatible. Rust Check primer is not that great compared to things like POR-15, and needs a LOT of coats to provide coverage.

As for money, it's not something I like to talk about. But I guess it's a valid point after all...I have a decent job, am single, have no debt from school (didn't attend university or college) and have a few side projects that I make money on like websites and such. Also when I was a kid I saved up more money then most people would believe as I had a weeknight and weekend job repairing small engines and cutting lawns (don't discount the money you can make when you have 30+ lawns to cut in a fortnight!). There' a lot of money into this car...probably more then I should have spent. But we only live once, right?

No ****. In some ways it must be nice to buy stuff off the shelf, but I can't imagine not having a choice on things like runner size, placement, etc. I'm seriously considering taking a college course in CAD as it would be very nice to sit in the park with my laptop and build a manifold, then work in the driveway with a grinder. Easier to make a mistake on the computer and fix it then having to re-cut pipe again and again.

I like questions.

Yes, the engine is a completely stock NA block (save for the porting, oil mods and Atkins apex seals). The same block that was installed in the car January of '86 in Hiroshima. The philosophy of the car has always been "turbo-NA" since I decided to go forced induction. Personally I'm of the opinion that if you are going to buy the turbo manifolds, ECU, et. al. then you might as well put in the block as well so save yourself the fabrication headaches. I chose to use as many NA parts as possible, as few TII parts as possible (there are no TII parts on my car at the moment), use aftermarket parts to replace stock systems and then fab when I wanted to/had to. All in all, there's little Mazda left in the engine bay. Not that I'm against Mazda, but an Aeromotive FPR is a lot easier to replace then a stocker in more ways then one, for example.

Certainly I could have used at least the irons from the S5 NA, but that would violate the original engine. And TII irons are a big no-no. Without a doubt, the project turned out a little more wild then I had originally attended because looking at my notes from 4 years ago, the plan was to just port the engine, use the Microtech, use some kind of T4 hybrid and still run the stock intake, front mounted TII intercooler, etc. Thinking back, really the only thing I would do differently would be to dowel the engine (a friend and I developed a "special" doweling method for his PP 12A that is cheap and easy) and of course go to a full bridge. Trying to "cheat" the bridgeport with things like an aux bridge aren't really ideal.

Thank you! The intake manifold was a real learning experience and I'm itching to create another knowing what I know now. The turbo manifold came out as I expected and I'm quite happy with it. Next time though I'll pay attention to things like turbo mounting studs.

Thank you for the compliments. With the writeups, I try to make things as descriptive as possible. Wost thing ever is to have a bunch of pictures with one line of text saying "This is a picture of my turbo".

 

hey man, props to you. i'll start mowing lawns today =]. great job btw. thx for the help XD. oh also... u mig welding all that stuff?

 

Amazing work. I don't care if it has been said before, just amazing workmanship.
Now you just need to redo the engine bay itself, ridding it of the scratches and flaking paint.

One thing I want to mention, even though your dedication to the N/A Turbo has stayed true, I cannot myself rationalize it. I tackle my projects with reliability, power, cost, and ingenuity. It would have been cheaper and easier to just take a S5 turbo motor and swap it in, then you would have stronger parts all around, tranny and rear diff included. Then agian this is what makes yours unique. I hope you lay down good power, but I do no forsee the drivetrain sustaining it.

 

all I can say is...i hope I can be like Aaron Cake one day

amazing car man

 

Cake, I have so much respect for someone who can do work like this at the own house. It takes a lot of motivation and sweat to do this. Awesome job.

 

and the moment of truth!!!
so how many sleepless nites did you have waiting for these days to come?? REALLY!?

LOL
great work!
always look forward for your updates!!

now id like to see the dyno numbers.

are you tuning this yourself???
i thought i read you were?

 

Wow, great work man! I absolutley LOVE that crimson color.

 

Thanks everyone for the continuing positive comments!

Actually, not that many. I'm a really good sleeper. But I must admit that I found it hard to get some rest Sunday night after my idiocy with the Microtech. Few glasses of wine helped...

Of course! I don't believe in "rent a tuner".

 

Can mods say ***-clown?

Props on the build! I'm so jealous!

 

Apparently.

 

awesome. what kind of horsepower are you going for? i really wanna see how many psi you can boost on that engine.

 

Damn nice work!

 

Very well documented, love the -4 AN vac lines going to the wastegate. When will it see the dyno?

 

Metalcast FTW! lol.

It kicks so much ***. Even the Spray tip is good.

Do you think that DEI turbo shield would fit a S5 hotside? or would it be too big?

 

i cant wait for the videos !!!!
i wanna hear how different the sound is with your amazing custom intake manifold !!!!!!!

btw , whats the name/code of the powder coating ??

 

holy **** dood! impressive!

wanna do mine next

 

Somewhere north of 500. The GT40R really comes alive at more then 17 PSI.

Within a month or so. For now I just want to drive it a few weeks. Of course, I'm going to get boost happy so...

That's some nice MetalCast work there. Yes, the spray tip is one of the best I've used on a rattle can. Why can't other manufacturers do the same thing? I'm sick of paying $25 for a can of some specialty paint only to find the same nozzle shipped with 99 cent hardware store paint.

It will fit nearly anything as there is a lot of material provided. You cut it and match it to your turbo. However I think mine might be failing already. The aluminum coating on the outer blanket seems to be flaking off. We'll see if it becomes a problem...

I'll try to get some videos this weekend.

The red is paint as previously mentioned. MetalCast red. Available at most auto parts stores.