Posted on

The disassembly begins….

After many months of collecting parts I believe I am finally in a position to start pulling the car apart in preparation for the engine swap.  For those who haven’t seen or heard- I will be removing the Miata Engine and replacing it with a 2.0 GM Ecotec engine (with Turbocharger and direct injection..)

 

Here is a short video on the overview : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IajZ-zl0AzY

 

I will admit- I had a large amount of anxiety (and still do..) about pulling apart a car that was driving and running quite well. Especially not knowing if this new engine would fit or how many modifications are needed.

Starting with the seats, then the transmission tunnel, Radiator, scuttle and some sheet metal I started to pull off the covers and find things to remove- There certainly is no shortage.

The radiator was long overdue for a flushing, the seats had crap under them from 2010 and the questions continue. I also made the decision to remove the installed Halon Fire system and replace it with a single hand held unit in future. There are a few pounds I feel we can save!

Looking at all the wiring and I certainly think there is a good 40 or 50lbs of wiring that will be coming out of the already trimmed down harness

Mitch from Swap Time recently did a video about the harness. It is set to arrive on Wednesday of this week. Following that I will probably try find an hour or 2 to pull the engine this weekend and see if the new one fits!

Here was a video of the harness he made- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jGzw7sIMFI

I suspect I will need to wire in headlights, tail lights and turn signals as well. The goal there is to keep them all as minimal as possible

Subscribe if you wish to follow along. The YouTube video channel as well as this webpage should both see a few updates in the coming weeks!

Posted on

Suspension pieces

One critical piece of the project is the suspension. Depending on how much you know on the subject it could either be overly simplistic or incredibly complex.

Factors like dynamic toe, camber,caster and anti squat are all geometry concerns. Additionally spring rates and dampening round out the subject.

Front lower control arm

Initially I had the shocks set to a radical angle of 45 degrees. That was great in terms of fitment but required crazy spring rates since only half of it would be effective. I later built new mounts that moved the top of the shock out by 6″ and reduced the angle to something in the 20 degree range.

Original inboard upper shock mounting location
Mock up of how the anti roll bar will fit
End result.

We placed the vehicle on a laser mounted alignment rack when finished. The dimensions were absolutely amazing. The variation and setback differences were less than a production car typically exhibits.  I couldn’t be happier with the suspension! It is absolutely fantastic with 300F and 450R springs

Posted on

Rear differential bushings

One of the Miata shortfalls is the differential bushings. They are pretty soft which can cause movement and ultimately cause case failure.

 

I bought a 3″ piece of Delrin and made a few sets. Worked like a charm on a small hf lathe.

They dampen some vibration but are pretty much all business!

I am very happy with how they came out!