Exocet Update 3: Ready for Body Removal
- Oct 29, 2023
- 6 min read
10/29/23 Teardown Update
October consisted of removing wiring harnesses, disconnecting and removing parts of the brake system, and disconnecting the fuel system.
Once freed from the engine, the entire main wiring harness was pulled through the firewall on the driver and passenger side. We labeled key engine connectors with numbers to keep them straight later on. The entire wiring harness was removed from the car and laid out on the floor for documentation before being wrapped up and stored.
The battery wiring harness runs from the trunk under the car, along the driveline, and into the engine bay between the transmission bell housing and firewall. This was left on the car since it is attached to the Power Plant Frame (PPF) that is attached to the powertrain which will be removed from the body.
We purchased a 30" length of 3/16" brake line and 10x1.0mm metric brake line connectors from an auto parts store to make plugs as we removed brake system components. After cutting an inch or so of brake line, we added a connector, gave one end a double flare (45 degrees), and double crimped the other end. These plugs would go into female connections on the master cylinder and soft lines as we removed the hard lines. To plug the hard lines, we used generic vacuum hose connection caps.
Removing the brake master cylinder and booster was fairly simple and didn't result in too much leaking fluid. We removed the clutch cylinder with hardline still attached (it only reached across the engine bay so it could be removed entirely). When removed, both the master cylinder and clutch master cylinder siphoned their fluid out into the drain pan we had stored them in. We removed the front brake hard lines entirely, they will be reused.
We removed the exhaust from the header back including a catalytic converter, the mid-pipe, and the axle back muffler. This provided access to the parking brake system and space to drain the gas tank.
The Miata gas tank has a drain plug on its lowest point in the driver wheel well area, we were able to drain about three gallons of gas into a five gallon bucket before transferring it to a gas can. Fuel lines were disconnected at the fuel filter and a small amount of gas was drained from the line. Finally the fuel hard lines were disconnected at the engine.
We cleaned up the engine bay by removing a lot of miscellaneous small things, the steering column was the most challenging piece we had removed so far. With the bolt passing through the U-joint female clamp removed, one person stood on a step stool for leverage while using a dead blow to hit a vice grip holding the column. A second person was underneath the car using a pry bar passing through the front wheel well to spread the U-joint clamp apart. Along with a lot of PB Blaster, this was enough to break free the 30 year old spline joint and slide the column out of the U-joint on the steering rack.
Finally, we laid on a mechanic's creeper under the car to remove the parking brake system. One person removed the cable from the handle and then the handle from the body on top of the car while the other removed the main cable from below. The main cable was separated from the two cables running to either wheel. Finally the brake calipers were disconnected from the cables and the cables removed.
The last item removed was the shift boot. Afterwards we spent time cleaning up hanging items, wrapping them up or pushing them out of the body's upward path it will take. We taped or zip tied things out of the way in preparation for separating the car body (tub) from the front and rear subframes which cradle the entire powertrain. Once the body is separated, because the PPF connected the front and rear subframes through the powertrain, the entire powertrain including subframes can roll around on the ground. This component is called the "Miata skateboard". The Exocet frame drops onto the skateboard.
Time Prepping Donor: 11.5 hours
Total Teardown Hours: 42 hours
Total Hours on Project: 53.5 hours
Exocet Build Journal:
10/3/2023 - Peter
- Disconnected wiring harness under instrument cluster, passenger side footwell
- Removed passenger side wiring harness
- Removed ECU from passenger compartment
- 2:30-3:30 - 1 Hour of Labor
10/4/2023 - Peter
- Removed fuse box bracket (passenger engine bay) and charcoal canister hoses
- Disconnected wiring harness at doors; removed grounds in passenger footwell
- Removed charcoal canister, disconnected wiring
- Noon-2:30 - 2.5 Hours of Labor
10/5/2023 - Peter
- Labeled engine wiring harness in preparation for disconnect
- Front of engine labels 1 through 6
- Rear of engine labels 7 through 11
- Unbolted solenoid brackets on passenger side engine bay
- Removed throttle and brake pedal assembly
- Removed bracket and relay from driver side A-pillar
- Pulled driver side engine bay wiring harness through firewall
- 12:30-3:30 - 3 Hours of Labor
10/7/2023 - Peter, Paul
- Removed wiring harness plugs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 from engine
- Removed ground labeled 6 from engine, attached to bracket
- Labeled EGR solenoid wires with 12, 13
- 12 is a longer cable; 13 is a short cable (terminates at tape wrap)
- Labeled charcoal canister solenoid wire 14 (10/4/23 date on wire)
- Removed wiring harness plugs 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 from engine
- Pulled passenger side engine bay wiring harness through firewall
- Removed main wiring harness from car entirely
- Wrapped up, taped up wiring harness for storage
- Removed clutch pedal
- Passed throttle cable, odometer cable through firewall
- 9:45-11:15AM - 1.5 Hours of Labor
10/12/2023 - Peter, Paul
- Removed brake booster vacuum hose running along firewall
- Removed lower heater core coolant feed hose
- Fabricated brake line plugs:
- Used 3/16" brake line and 10mm x 1.0 fittings
- Flared brake line after adding fitting, cut and crimped end
- Removed brake master cylinder and brake booster (together)
- Plugged hard line connecting points with brake plugs
- Covered fittings on hard lines with vacuum hose caps
- Capped and freed clutch soft line
- Removed clutch master cylinder w/ hard line still attached
- Removed bracket that intake rests on
- 5:40PM-7:30PM - 1.75 Hours of Labor
10/21/23 - Peter, Paul, Samuel
- Lifted car, removed wheels
- Fabricated brake plugs
- Pulled battery harness through floor of tub
- Removed fuel filter plastic cover
- Removed front brake hard lines from car
- Disconnected rear brake line from distributor block on subframe
- Removed mid-pipe & axle-back exhaust
- Drained gas tank through drain plug - about 3 gallons of gas
- Mopped floor around gas tank
- 11:45AM - 2:15PM - 2.75 Hours of Labor
10/22/23 - Peter, Paul
- 11AM Start
- Removed lower radiator hard hose
- Removed upper heater core feed hose
- Unbolted Power Steering Fluid Reservoir from body
- Removed lower radiator soft hose from engine
- Removed bracket holding battery wire harness to body (in engine bay)
- De-tensioned & removed accessory belt (Power Steering and A/C)
- Removed A/C compressor and hard lines
- Broke one bolt holding compressor to bracket
- 12:30PM - 1:30PM Break
- Removed steering column from steering rack and firewall
- Applied vice grips to column
- Used PB Blaster on spline connection at steering rack U-joint
- One person spread female spline clamp with pry bar
- One person hit vice grips with a dead blow
- Removed bearing from firewall
- Checked around engine with plum bob to ensure that all part clear body - OK!
- 1:45PM End - 1.75 Hours of Labor
10/24/23 - Peter, Paul
- Start 6PM
- Disconnected fuel line at fuel filter, drained line
- Disconnected fuel lines at engine
- Disconnected parking brake cable from handle, removed handle
- Disconnected caliper parking brake cables from main parking brake cable
- Removed main parking brake cable and return spring
- Removed left and right parking brake caliper cables
- End 7:45PM - 1.75 Hours of Labor
10/29/23 - Peter, Paul
- 10:45AM Start
- Removed shifter boot
- Unbolted gas tank filler neck from body
- Checked all subframe bolts, verified we have six point sockets and breaker clearance
- Struts: 12mm, one nut is 13mm
- Front Subframe: 19mm, 14mm
- Rear Subframe: 19mm, 17mm
- Zip tied battery wiring harness to PPF
- Zip tied transmission cable & clutch line to transmission housing
- Applied PB Blaster to all subframe fasteners
- Zip tied items out of the way in the engine bay
- End 12PM - 1.25 Hours of Labor
Comments