Fantasy Builds

mangosmoothie

mangosmoothie

Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
Well, as most of you know I sold my Speed3 and have moved on. I'm getting the itch for a real project car, but would like to save a bit more money first. The C5 I'm just going to keep at my parents and I'll probably just give it to them. It literally will not clear the speed bumps out here, it should be garaged due to the notorious weather stripping, and it's not exactly jack stand friendly to work on beyond basic maintenance.

So this tread is a project brain storm and I invite everyone else to participate your fantasy builds. You can do it however you want but I'd like to see some specifics. Not just oh, LS3 Grandsport with a procherger and 900 hp. Get a little more in-depth. What procharger and what kit? What fueling upgrades would it take? What drivetrain supporting mods? Etc.

I'm going to lay down some project ideas starting with the car, what I'd do, and how I'd tune it. My criteria are front engine, rwd, convential transmission (not a transaxle set up), 10 lb/whp without (hopefully) requiring an immediate engine rebuild, and plug and play standalone offerings (or ability to flash the stock ecu easily).

I want to explore some options, total costs, and research a bit about each potential project before just diving in.

So to kick this off, the first thing that comes to mind is a 1.8 Miata. They're cheap to buy, 1000's of people have boosted them to well beyond 250 whp, and there are a plethora of options. I can tow it with my taco no issue.

The car would be based solely on what I can find for a good deal. NA or NB, don't care. Bodywork not important. Rust not an issue out here. Any 1.8 should be able to make ~250 whp on the stock drivetrain sans clutch. I've seen running rust free NB's here for as little as $3k. So I'd budget up to $6k for the car.

I'd probably do a Haltech 1000 pnp. It's a bit more than a MS3 Pro. But comes with built in hoolingan functions like antilag, rolling antilag, and the haltech support is second to none. - $1600

Then start with the CX intercooler and piping kit - $500

Kraken cast mani + EFR 3" dp - $570

T25 EFR 6258 0.64 AR - $1800ish

ACT Stage 2 clutch and flywheel - $800

Wally 255 pump - $100 with install kit

700cc injectors - $350 for Deatschwerks

Turbo can get oil from a T off the oil pressure sender or sandwich plate on the filter.

So all in all, about $10k to get this rolling. That's the major buy in.

Step 1 would be buy car, and tidy up any loose ends. Do the clutch/flywheel/rear main. That right there is half the cost and would keep me occupied for a while.

Step 2 would be get it running on the standalone, no boost. Then get it running with bigger injectors, still no boost. Then add the fuel pump. Get some shakedown miles on it to ensure everything is good.

Step 3 would be add boost and enjoy

Step 4 would be to source a long block and build it, as well as have a 6 speed trans ready for when the stocker grenades.
 
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I have a Miata with a MS3PNP, it has all those features such as anti lag, 2 step etc.

If you want to boost it you'll want to find either a an early 1.8 as they have the oil feed hole already in the block for a turbo then run a 99 head or just get a 99-00 block.

Mine is a 90 RHD, did a rods only 1.6 build and it was ok but it lacked torque which is why I am going 1.8 now. Some of the parts can change over such as my Boundary Engineering oil pump and Eagle Rods. That will save me cash in the long term.

If you get an NA chassis you'll want to consider getting an NB front and rear suspension. They have a 5mm wider track width all around and it bolts right in.

As for brakes I'm running Wilwood front and rear calipers with the rear cable parking brake option. The park brake isn't the strongest out there but I'm sure I could adjust it more. Either way if you go that route make sure to always leave it in gear.

I have been very happy with the MS ecu. Very easy to use and set up. I ran a Haltecu Sprint 500 before that but it was basic and lacked a bunch of features. There is more Megasquirt support for the Miata than Haltech.

Before even adding a turbo, build the suspension with good parts, get a good differential. If you're planning to go 6 speed find yourself a 3.6 rear end as a 4.3 or 4.1 is going to be rather short gearing.
 
a non vvt 1.8 NB would be ideal. Is having stock feed location really a big deal? What's wrong the oil pressure T or filter sammich?
 
I found a cheap 6 wagon
Was hoping to make a speed6 wagon

I’ve seen them talk about the speed3 being awd is virtually impossible ?
 
lasangelos said:
I found a cheap 6 wagon
Was hoping to make a speed6 wagon

I’ve seen them talk about the speed3 being awd is virtually impossible ?
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Oh the speeds been converted to AWD and rwd, atleast a 10k price tag on the AWD conversion, rumored to be a kit coming no idea on price that's just a speculative number I've heard.

But other than a ms3 RWD conversion none of that fits mangos criteria for car and even that probably blows his budget lol
 
Ton of miatas for sale down here on marketplace
1 out of 25 people have one lol
Range from $800-$4,500

I’ve been thinking about scooping one up just to slide sometime

Whoa are all the 6 wagons awd ?
This one already is..

Now I’m even more tempted ..
 
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Stock oil feed location isnt a big deal but it makes things easier. The 99 heads flow more than the VVT head so it is a little better for boost

No matter what you have to do a coolant reroute to the engine. The way Mazda designed the engine is for FWD and in a FWD chassis the water outlet is on the rear of the head allowing coolant to come up at cylinder one and pass to the rear. On Miatas they relocated the outlet to the front so cylinder 4 doesn't get the same coolant flow to it. On a turbo setup this can lead to head gasket failure. The reroute kits consists of an adapter to move the thermostat and an extended radiator hose that wraps behind the intake back to the front of the car.
 
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L337TurboZ said:
Stock oil feed location isnt a big deal but it makes things easier. The 99 heads flow more than the VVT head so it is a little better for boost

No matter what you have to do a coolant reroute to the engine. The way Mazda designed the engine is for FWD and in a FWD chassis the water outlet is on the rear of the head allowing coolant to come up at cylinder one and pass to the rear. On Miatas they relocated the outlet to the front so cylinder 4 doesn't get the same coolant flow to it. On a turbo setup this can lead to head gasket failure. The reroute kits consists of an adapter to move the thermostat and an extended radiator hose that wraps behind the intake back to the front of the car.
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This is some 10/10 info. Glad you chimed in. I'm probably going to follow through with this. Glad you're on my team.

Any advice on a 6258 vs 6768 and ar choice? Not sure if a 6258 will do much past my goal at 5000 feet. Trackspeed quotes the 6758 as having more headroom but idk which are he is referencing
 
I cant say for sure between those turbos. The guy who makes the MKTurbo kit and runs the Miata Turbo forum is named Lars. Cool guy that lives about 5 minutes from me. He does good work and has a solid reputation in the Miata community. His turbo kits are decently priced too. Check out Mkturbo.com and the miataturbo.net as you'll probably find those answers there. Lars can make a kit for whatever turbo you want to run
 
I did not read good things at all about his kits on reddit. Welds looked like shit, pipes didn't fit, exhaust hangers were off place. The intercooler looks like a joke. It doesn't come with injectors or a fuel pump. And that no name turbo probably isn't doing 250 whp at 5k DA. He ghosted the guy having problems. Couple others chimed in too. So I'm hesitant to go that route. Granted that was 2 years ago so maybe the kit has improved?
 
mangosmoothie said:
I did not read good things at all about his kits on reddit. Welds looked like shit, pipes didn't fit, exhaust hangers were off place. The intercooler looks like a joke. It doesn't come with injectors or a fuel pump. And that no name turbo probably isn't doing 250 whp at 5k DA. He ghosted the guy having problems. Couple others chimed in too. So I'm hesitant to go that route. Granted that was 2 years ago so maybe the kit has improved?
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I dont have one of his kits. I had bought two Miatas for parts and both had turbo kits so I used those instead of buying new. He welded a bung onto my FMIC pipe off the turbo for my Speed 3. The welds werent bad . The intercooler he uses is small but he has a couple cars he uses for mock up purposes, all the stuff should fit. Lots of people will give bad reviews before giving good ones. I dont plan on purchasing a kit from him but others I know have and hadnt had issues. There are plenty of people selling stuff for Miatas. I have purchased lots of stuff from Flyin Miata and I am using their coilovers now. They have been decent with communication and stocking of parts. In fact their braided clutch line they sell for LHD cars worked perfectly for my RHD. It went right into the clutch master and right down to the slave cylinder with plenty of room. It allowed me to remove the long clutch pipe at the firewall.
 
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