Post ZZB Diaries CWP Gen1

The head is in my possession and it looks great. Today's the big assembly day of the block at least and then we'll see how long it takes to get the motor back into the car and running again. Here's two quick pics I took at SP63

 

Spend Friday wrenching with no beer whatsoever, that's how you know it's all probably done right. I'm just missing my keyed crank timing chain gear and then the motor can be timed and finished up. I was lucky my buddy also had the day off to help me assemble. Nothing is terribly difficult, you just have to dot your i's and cross your t's. granted, it isn't running yet but I am hopeful. When assembling we made sure to clean our hands often and lay everything out on a brand new towel before insertion
It took about 5-6hrs to get to this point:

And here are some progress pictures:


And here is my sexy sexy manifold teaser pic:
Once my gear comes in, hopefully latest Monday, I'll get some help from Will Dawson aka @Captain KR and we'll get this wrapped up.

 

You gonna get a good aftermarket PCV plate? Now's the easy time to do so, and helping with all that extra blowby is nice

 

Whatchu talkin bout blowby lol

 

Lots of built motors have a good deal more blowby due to the looser clearances you have to run with forged internals. You know this, mayne!

 

Please tell us u atleast have a vta occ lol

 

A Gen 2 VC and a VTA oil filler cap could help too.

 

Yes to Gen2 VC with vented oil cap and breather vta'd as well. I'm rocking a standard catch can for now which should be enough.

 

I can't time the motor yet so I've been slowly bolting things on. Thankfully my oil drain was straight forward since I had a 30R before this build. I find myself touching myself when this picture comes up.

 

Awesome built thread! Can't wait to see this thing in action. I was wondering the same thing that @Redline mentioned about an aftermarket PCV plate. They aren't super expensive (compared to what you spent on the motor) and with the motor being out and all, I'd say it would be worth it so you don't have the headache later on.

 

Honestly I'm going off of the advice local friends who are built have given me. One Killah Built and one Freek Built, both are running a stock PCV. I'll definitely do some more research and see if it's a worthwhile upgrade to toss into the pot before motor install.

 

I hear ya. My modding philosophy (and just a general life philosophy) is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; that's where I'm coming from.

 

This thread is so fun to read. More than 1/2 of it is somewhat foreign to me being so new to cars, but it is really interesting to read and pick up the little I can. Keep up the great updates!

 

You win this round @Redline I can't argue with that logic.

You'll get there, it took me a long time and many different set-ups before this point. Also, I had months of research and ordering parts before I turned the first wrench. I'm not sure how long you've been in the MazdaSpeed community but it's definitely a family.

 

LOL

 

Small update but a big one should be coming soon because I got my keyed crank sprocket in the mail today which was the final piece to this puzzle. I bolted on my JM Fab last night and fixed the routing of my new fuel feed line. Typing this now I guess it would've been appropriate to take photos of my new fuel pump and the routing of the new fuel line but oh well. Also, I installed and tightened down my oil feed/return, put on my wastegate, and probably tossed a couple other things on the motor that I am forgetting.


I also have my interior pretty much set with the gauges as before and now my sexy new @Maisonvi shifter extender. The quality on that extender is really awesome, and it really is a quality piece. (note the motor peeking in from the background!)


Friday night I'll be timing the motor after work and RTV sealing it all up. Then Saturday I can get everything back into the engine bay, fluids filled, and start my break in miles.

I plan on a relatively harsh break in after talking to a few fellow built motor people on Facebook. It'll still be 50 miles with a break in additive but I'll likely be hitting a decent amount of boost early on with LOTS of high vacuum braking as is normal for break in. They say to break the car in as you plan to drive it and since I'm planning for >30psi, have somewhat widely gapped rings, and built the motor for power - we're going to push her.

Also, Friday I'll try and take lots of photos while timing the keyed motor. @Captain KR is helping and keeps telling me timing a fully keyed motor is totally different than one with friction washers so hopefully I can make a helpful write-up for future big power chasers.

 

Hey man, glad you like the extender! Build is looking awesome

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

Great update @alexwlwsn I was just wondering whether you had gotten in your keyed crank gear or not. Hopefully your install goes smoother than the one we are working in my garage. Engine went in just fine then we ran into a bunch of garbage (stripped axle, wrong intake/battery combo, etc.) only to finally crank it and find out the battery is completely dead.

 

FINALLY got it after calling the shop half a dozen times and making sure I got a tracking number. SP63 does great work IMO but be prepared to wait. Thankfully I have a new set of axles, a battery charger, and a ton of other crap that might be needed like 10' of every available boost line from ATP with T's and fittings, bunches of coolant lines and adapters, and more. Every time I think there's something that could come in handy I pick it up. If anyone local to me needs to do a build they should be good off my spare parts bin now haha

 

I failed at taking pictures this weekend but it was a busy one so I honestly forgot. I wanted to time the motor Friday night but I could not find my new timing chain anywhere at all, so that got postponed until I could get to a Mazda dealership to pick up another new one. Then Friday night lucky me got a flat tire in my Miata so I was stuck Saturday morning trying to get new tires. Turns out 195/50r15 tires are few and far between.

Anyway, Saturday eventually went well, ended up getting the motor timed, and all accessories put on just up until getting the trans on. I decided with my buddy it would be best to wait until the AM to get the transmission on since that would be a wrestle. Saturday night:


Once Steve and I got the transmission on, it really wasn't that difficult dropping the motor into the car. Sunday was basically just us two plugging in things and redneck rigging my coolant hard line to fit around my 35R. This photo was taken around 2pm on Sunday and afterwards, I didn't really take any pictures unfortunately.


I'd say we're at about 95% completion now. Still have to fill fluids and whatnot but all the heavy lifting should mostly be done. My dump tube comes mighty close to my alternator wires so I'm going to have to heat wrap that tonight. We should be good to go for start up #1 tonight, latest tomorrow and then the break-in begins!
[doublepost=1473697674][/doublepost]Oh and my downpipe is about 1" away from meeting with my catback correctly so until I can have my buddy extend that, open downpipe it is! Yay me!
/sarcasm
Hopefully my neighbors don't hate me too much...