Things to do when the engine is out?
 

Hey guys, just looking out there to see what are some good things/mods to do before I put the motor back in the car. In my miata I did things like bash back the firewall to install the engine easier and notch the frame to fit the turbo easier. Car is going to be the next racecar since I crashed my miata, curious to see if there are any things that I would do now to help me out later and maybe save me some time and headache. Thanks dudes.

Put a V8 back in.

Rebuild it

Ugh, it had some Chevy V8 in it before I had it, they cut the damn transmission mount points off the tunnel........

Learn the Lambada..live La Vida Loca..
Take up abstract painting while on a 3 day LSD bender.
Find out why everyone is hooked on Phonics..
Expose the Kardashians as Multiple Stacked midgets being held up by bamboo support structures covered by sculpted plastic and silicone...
Ask Trump what number his L'Oreal hair color is..
Make a "beer table Hat" for Hillary's head so Bill can finally get some..and not spill his Budweiser..

The quicker you get the engine back in the less of the above listed you do not have to do!...lol!..or worry about!!!

The Lambada? That's the forbidden dance!

I'd make sure all the engine grounds are solid (on drivers strut tower, under the trailing coil....) as they're hard to get at when it's all back together. Also, if you're planning to do things like oil lines, oil cooler, etc.

I kinda like the way this thread is headed lolol!!

Thanks for the tip!

I'm glad you have a sense of Humor and approve!...my brain hurts from that post..lol!

I took the time to go crazy and paint the engine bay,removing the parts bolted down,cleaning,sanding,repainting those parts and putting them back on.
Cleaned up the wiring harness,re-taped,re-hung the harness and made it look like 1000 times better than the 20 year old Scuzzz storm that was there.
Even IF you do not do a "anal retentive" job on the engine bay,ANY cleaning as far as I am concerned is a vast improvement over the way that it existed before.
People often over look the aesthetics of the engine bay because it is hidden under the hood.Out of sight,out of mind..

An empty bay is a blank canvas, there are dozens/hundreds of things you could do but then you said "racecar" and that changes everything.
Now, all those possible mods must be filtered through the rulebook for the class you'll enter, your creativity bouncing up against what's allowed.

So, what kind of racecar is this to be?

Paint the engine bay so it looks new.

That is a sign :)

Car will eventually be ran in NASA, class not 100% determined yet.
They aren't too restrictive on all the small fiddly things, they're more concerned with weight, power, aero, etc. So I am able to mess with things quite a bit.

Bay has been stitch welded and all painted so far.

And noooooo! No vhate!!

You have yet to say exactly what series/model car you have but in any case, one mod I'd recommend to anyone is upgrading to a Subaru 1 1/16" master/booster brake system.
With the exception of a bit of brake line tweaking (you can retain the Mazda proportioning valve), it's a bolt in job and results in much nicer pedal feel.

Oh! My apologies, it's a 1989 GTU.

I just upgraded to the TurboII booster and master and redid both hard-lines to the front calipers, I got two sets of TurboII calipers(front & back). Unfortunately I was not aware of that Subaru upgrade, I will keep that on the list of things to look out for the next time I dive to the junkyard. Thanks!!

Edit: What years & models can I find that booster/master combo on?

Paint the engine bay

Mid 90's Legacies for sure, probably others.
The master cylinder size is conveniently cast on the part though, so it's easy to see if you've got the right one.
Many Honda and Nissan 1" cylinder/booster combos are also suitable and very similar to the Subie upgrade "feel".

Since you have a S5 and plan on racing, I'd also look into modifying the fuel wiring to eliminate the stock fuel pump voltage regulator thingie behind the passenger headlight.
I can see the point on a street car (and haven't any complaints about it's reliability) but it would be a useless failure point on a competition car.

This would be an even more straightforward mod if you combined it with a battery relocate. Putting the battery in the passenger side bin will not only be beneficial from a weight distribution standpoint but would allow the new fuel pump wiring to be a few YARDS shorter than stock.

Cool cool! I will definitely add that to the "To-Do" list

Thanks for the heads up on that one, it'll help eliminate one more thing from the engine bay!

Change out anything that looks crusty/old/suspect