Hey fellow protege drivers. I'm new to this forum, this is my first post. I have a 94 protege with the sohc motor. I got a spare motor (also sohc, unfortunately) from a parts car I had. I'm planning on rebuilding the motor this winter, and I'm looking for suggestions. I don't really have the money to turbo it, although i'd love to. As you can see from my signature, i've done some interior stuff, just to make it a little nicer. The car's in good shape overall, and i'll be keeping it for a while. Anyway, back to the motor. I don't have the money to do anything wild, but i'm looking for a little more power. I have an intake, but that's about it for mods so far. Should I go with a cam regrind? Or switch to a dohc head? Maybe headers and exhaust? I've heard the gude racing package is no good. Or should I just rebuild it stock and use the money for other mods? I can't decide! Any suggestions would be great. So many options, so little money...haha.

 

TopLine motorsports makes a motor upgrade kit for our SOHC engine. IT comes with upgraded pistons, rings, oil pump, etc for a decent price. Check them out at this distributor: Import Performance Parts

 

Are you referring to the Major Engine Kit by topline? I will probably be getting that either way, seeing as it is a rebuild kit. I was looking for a way to make a little more power without spending a fortune. Thank you for your suggestion!

 

Well, looking at the huge number of replies, i guess no one has any ideas...so, i'll ask a more specific question. I was wondering about pistons. I've read rumors that miata pistons are higher compression and will work in my BP block. Is this true? Will they work with my connecting rods? Anyone done this before???

There's gotta be some way to get power out of this engine!!

 

Yes, the miata pistons are a direct drop.

If you want more power you need to look into cams and headers on top of intake/exhaust system mods.

 

So i'm rebuilding this engine for my protege, and i have a question for anyone who's built an engine before. How do I know which piston/connecting rod corresponds to which cylinder? Supposedly there's a number on the connecting rod somewhere to identify it, but i don't see anything.
However, i will be putting new pistons, rings, and rod bearings in, so does it still matter which connecting rod goes with which cylinder? Thanks in advance.