Project Miata: How it started vs how it’s going

Posted by MuskyBitch@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 49 comments

Picked this rough ‘92 Miata up for the wife back in 2019. Flaking rattle can paint job, shot top, missing carpet, neglected engine bay. But it ran well and was mostly rust free (hard to find around here)

Tore it apart within the same month, making it undriveable, and it sat for a couple years due to COVID, going back to school, job change, garage refurb, etc.

Was planning on a quick paint job to look halfway decent, but things escalated and snowballed a bit.

After 6 years of neglect and tear down, parts are finally being installed instead of removed.

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MisterFixit_69@reddit

Omg this is the dream

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rustwater3@reddit

I love a clean bottomside

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ShiggitySwiggity@reddit

I mean... Who doesn't?

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ninguem1122@reddit

What is the plan?

Stock with visual mods , maybe lightly tuned for sunday drives?

Good job and keep going!

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MuskyBitch@reddit (OP)

Short term: refreshing the suspension, obviously paint, throw the 1.6 back in so the wife can get comfortable driving a manual.

Long term: developing my own kit to swap in a J35.

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False-Cheek2683@reddit

Hey so I have a J32 in a Miata from Minitec. You can also get the OZ kit. No point reinventing that wheel with at least 2 options out there. Unless of course you’re a masochist, which based on your photos, may very well be the case. Good luck!

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MuskyBitch@reddit (OP)

Not a fan of the Minitec setup for various reasons. The OZ kit looked promising, but the owner passed and is no longer available.

Besides, this swap idea is half the reason I bought and refurbed an old CNC mill a few years ago.

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BadLuckTiger@reddit

can you please post more about cnc refurbishing or just show us your cnc!

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False-Cheek2683@reddit

Masochism confirmed. Love it.

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ninguem1122@reddit

Just a question, why the J35?

I see a bunch of people putting big engines in Miata and I understand that the car is underpowered but that must throw the weight distribution off and that is a big plus of these cars.

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KrispyRice9@reddit

Well, it makes my 4500 pound Odyssey fun to drive. In this scenario, the Miata gets an 80-pounds-heavier engine, but the engine gets a 2200-pounds-lighter car.

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the_rogue_panda@reddit

My understanding is the J series engines are within 10 pounds of the stock Miata engine. So not much to be worried about when it comes to balance.

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Defiant_Shallot2671@reddit

My favorite so far is the klze miata. Perfect combo in my opinion.

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Knife-Fumbler@reddit

What's the reason for the complete stripping?

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MuskyBitch@reddit (OP)

Just your average scope-creep and “while I’m in here” adding up.

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Syscrush@reddit

Hmmm... Think of how good this could turn out if I went and got myself a rotisserie!

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Knife-Fumbler@reddit

Got it. Sometimes people's projects make me feel like I'm not doing enough, but considering how rust-prone these cars are I believe what you are doing will be worthwhile.

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the_great_awoo@reddit

Funsies, probably

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who_even_cares35@reddit

First time I've seen a full restoration on a Miata and I guess it's probably not going to be the last

Fantastic work!

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ShiggitySwiggity@reddit

It definitely isn't - think of every full restoration you've seen, and realize that the original Miata is now 36 years old. There's going to be more and more of these. If Mazda ever stops making them, there's going to be a lot more of these.

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who_even_cares35@reddit

I've got an 87 Mrk 3 Supra in my yard. Waiting to get restored after 77 280Z is done. It just seem wild the maita is basically the same age as my supra. They just never aged in my mind.

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ShiggitySwiggity@reddit

Right? I had to look up when the first Miatas came out. In my head, it was simultaneously "well they've always been here" and "didn't they just come out a few years ago?" But it's almost 40 years.

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SamuelL421@reddit

Really impressive setup, I dream of having the time (and funds) to do this properly with one of my current projects.

OP - What paint booth/tent did you go with there? What model of rack/rotisserie is the chassis mounted on in your pics?

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MuskyBitch@reddit (OP)

Collecting tools and parts over the last 6 years definitely eases the costs a bit.

Tent is a cheap $90 10’x20’ event tent from Menards with a roll of plastic used for walls. Still wouldn’t recommend blasting inside the garage like I did.

Rotisserie is originally from Jegs, it gets the job done. Found it on FB marketplace.

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SamuelL421@reddit

Nice, appreciate the info - I’ll probably be rigging something similar when the time comes… probably inside the garage too unfortunately.

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Squidking1000@reddit

You did a rotisserie restoration on a miata? Not my circus but good for you!

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felixlamb@reddit

What under seal have you used? It looks good.

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MuskyBitch@reddit (OP)

After SPI epoxy primer, Raptor Liner was sprayed on. I’ll probably add some rubberized coating to the wheel wells to cut down on road debris noise.

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Reasonable_Carry9191@reddit

gif

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MuskyBitch@reddit (OP)

This may have been said a few times, haha.

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grantn2000@reddit

Impressive, how long did it take to remove the factory underseal?

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MuskyBitch@reddit (OP)

Honestly couldn’t say, over half was done while on jack stands before I had the rotisserie, which was miserable. I’d do a little bit then it would sit for a few months. Went a lot quicker once it was on the rotisserie that’s for sure.

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series-hybrid@reddit

Are there any blower kits for the stock engine?

Have you researched if an LS V8 will fit, and if yes, is it very difficult (as far as swaps go)?

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CrispyMelons@reddit

There are a few blower kits available. They range from ~$3000-$7000

LS swaps are definitely possible, theres a couple companies that makes parts for the swap. They look moderately difficult but definitely doable if you know your way around a welder. You need a custom subframe, custom weld in trans mount or diy, cut out some parts of the engine bay, modify rear subframe for an 8.8, custom driveshafts, and probably a few more things im forgetting.

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series-hybrid@reddit

Thank you, I believe that answered my question. MGB's are getting harder to find with no rust, and there seems to be a lot of Miata's around.

As far as MGB's, its easy to find pics on the web of someone who put a big block V8 into one. The car then has trouble stopping, and the cornering is horrible, plus the swap is expensive and very time-consuming.

That being said, the Chevy pushrod V6, the Ford 302 and the Rover 4.0L V8 are all well-known swaps and fairly straight forward, with no hood bump needed to cover it.

In a car as light as a Miata, I would think an LS V8 would be overkill, and it might not be worth the trouble or expense, even with the aluminum block. However, if it was a very easy swap, then...having "too much" horsepower wouldn't be a problem.

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ShiggitySwiggity@reddit

There are tons of swapped Miatas.

LS swaps
J32 swaps
K swaps
2JZ swaps
Ford 5.0 swaps
Ford 351 Cleveland swaps
CBR1000 swaps
12A/13B swaps
2.3 Ecoboost swaps
SR20DET swaps

There are even swapped 1GZFE (toyota 12 cyl), Cummins diesel, hellcat 6.2... Basically, if it loosely fits the term "engine", some asshole somewhere has tried stuffing one into a Miata with varying degrees of success.

Difficulty varies depending on exactly how large and how ridiculous you wanna go.

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bossDocHolliday@reddit

Whats a couple "might as wells" been friends anyhow

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HaBlaKes@reddit

Fantastic, I also restore cars and wish I had a welder, a rotisserie, a garage, etc.

Super awesome work!

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MuskyBitch@reddit (OP)

Miata AND a happy wife 👍

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