Miata rf dim3 driver#

My V8 swap fascination changed focus to a BMW E36 with LS1 power, and in 2002 that project began with the same block I had rounded up for the Miata.

I was 'SOL' and sold the Miata for a bit of a loss. This was a big one - it blew out skylights, ruined our gutters and roof, and utterly destroyed two of my cars. I started to accumulate LS1 bits, but the Miata (one of a half dozen cars I owned at the time) was parked outside and got hammered badly in a hail storm. We completed the move from Houston to Dallas and the plans for little Miata V8 project switched from Ford 302 to Chevy LS1 V8 power. And they were making more power, dollar for dollar/mod for mod, than anything else out there.Ĭomparison of Miata drivetrain next to LS1/T56 I was quick to get my hands on LS1 parts, weighing blocks (109 lbs) and heads (21 lbs) and learning quickly that these things are very light. Deep skirted all-aluminum blocks with 6-bolt mains, incredible cylinder heads, and lots of new technology - but the same narrow/compact architecture of a 'cam in block', pushrod V8. During that time I also owned and raced an LT1 V8 powered '94 Corvette and a supercharged LT1 '94 Trans Am, but I noticed quickly that the all-new 'gen III' small block Chevy LS1 engines were a cut above the 'gen II' LT1 motors.

Miata rf dim3 driver#

These can weigh 2550 lbs (without interior) to 3100 pounds (fully optioned)Īt the time I owned this '92 MX5 we were moving from Houston to Dallas, so the Miata V8 swap was mostly ignored, then became a seldom used daily driver for a couple of years. Note: To help me keep track of which forums this build thread is cross-posted, I have made this list.Ī couple of BMW E36 chassis with our LS1/T56 swap kit, shown above. That was right around the time when the LS1 engine was just being introduced into the new 1997 C5 Corvette and 1998 Camaro/Firebird. I bought it wrecked, repaired all the bodywork, and had it painted with the intention of building a 302 Ford V8 powered 'monster' Miata. Back in 1998 I purchased a 1992 'NA' 1st generation Miata. New Project Introduction : Many of you reading this already know about Vorshlag's history with installing American V8s into European sports coupes and roadsters, but that wasn't the first V8 swap that I contemplated.