Dieselmiata's teardown/rebuild of a 92
 

I just got my 92 up on jackstands and began tearing it down. This will be my project for the winter, so I figure I will share my work here.

This is the engine before I did any real work to it.
https://www.miataforumz.com/attachme...ine=1320800788
Looks like the cam seals were leaking pretty bad. There is more oil under the car than in it.
https://www.miataforumz.com/attachme...ine=1320800788
The wires were dryrotted and cracking so I tore the old stuff off and retaped them. I also powdercoated the brackets in an attempt to "hide" them and make the engine bay look a little less cluttered. The pictures don't reflect how well it blends in. I'm pretty happy with it so far.
https://www.miataforumz.com/attachme...ine=1320800788
https://www.miataforumz.com/attachme...ine=1320800788

Looks pretty good! I wish my engine bay were that clean tbh...

Yea, really clean bay. I wish any of my vehicles were that clean. LOL
What are the plans over the winter for it?

The plan is to strip it down pretty far, clean, paint, powdercoat, and polish everything possible. I want this one to look like it just rolled off the showroom floor by the summer. I just got done polishing the throttle body and dashpot. Dremels are awesome.
https://www.miataforumz.com/attachme...ine=1321998137

I took the valve cover off for the first time. Pretty varnishy (if that's a word) inside. I'm sure I can fix that though.
https://www.miataforumz.com/attachme...ine=1321998137

More to follow...

Before:
https://www.miataforumz.com/attachme...ine=1321998700

After:
https://www.miataforumz.com/attachme...ine=1321998700


I'm going to need a bigger oven.:bang:

How??
 

How did you polish that throttle body?? I see something about Dremmel... I would love to polish up some of my engine like that. Thanks...and really nice work. Keep the updates coming.:smilie_daumenpos:

I started with a nylon flapper wheel to get the rough casting out, and smooth out the surface. Then you use those little cloth drums on a dremel and some polishing compound. It's really easy to do, but very time consuming. I spent about 4 hours on the throttle body alone.

Looks good dude keep at it

yea, i like it. you might motivate me to do mine. im also debating on polishing the cam covers. 10 hours or so of work minimum.

You can save time by using the large buffing wheels on a bench grinder. The cam cover actually is one of the easier pieces to do, as it has a large service area and not as many small nooks and crannies as other pieces.