Hi All! I just bought my first Miata, a red '92. It's stock, in great shape, and I over-paid by about $1,000 to help out a friend with money problems, so it's loaded with good Karma!
It's a blast to drive, but for the last five years my daily driver has been a '93 Civic hatch with a built B18C5 which puts out ~200hp, so the 1.6L Miata seems a bit, ummm, sluggish?
Naturally my first though was "bigger engine" and was pretty much blown away to find out a V8 was not only possible but also reasonably affordable.
I'm just at the information gathering stage right now, and this looks like a great place to see how it's done!

Cheers,

jexter

 

Welcome in!

If you are happy with the deal and so is your friend, then you paid the right amount. Being stock and in great shape will make the swap far nicer then starting with the ratted out trap you got for pennies

 

The deal was the kind of thing that you don't hesitate doing even if it sets you back a little, because your friend has done the same for you in the past and will in the future. I'm almost sorry I mentioned it, because I don't want to sound like I'm keeping score. It's just that the car makes me feel good, helping a friend makes me feel good, and luckily the money just isn't that big a deal right now. (Knock on wood!)

The other cool thing? My wife found out our friend was selling the car and encouraged me to buy it! I told her it might not be as fun as the civic, and she said "well, you can make it faster, right?"

True love.

 

Are you thinking Ford, GM or something even more exotic?

-Jason

 

I'm still learning the pluses and minuses of both. I don't have a bias for either the Ford or the LSx; more important to me is the ease of build and what kind of support is available from kit suppliers (I think that probably rules out anything exotic!) I like the way FlyinMiata has their configurator which makes it easy to play with the numbers, and the idea of getting all the parts from one supplier would hopefully avoid fitment problems.

That said, there are a lot of Ford options that look pretty good. I haven't decided on a budget yet, but luckily there are plenty of excellent build posts around which are starting to give me a ballpark idea of what it will cost.

I know you have a slight Ford bias; is that because of the cost vs. the LS, more build options, power, etc.?

-jexter

 

Oh, and it's also important to me to stay as close to the original weight distribution as possible.

 

I bought the miata for the sole purpose of stuffing an ls based engine into it. The 5.0 has more following, is supposed to be easier, and if your happy with 250rwhp and lots of torque on demand, the 5.0 is hands down the better swap. If your looking for 400+ rwhp, the ls based engines can become a real contender.

 

The Ford kit has been around for over 19 years, almost as long as the Miata itself, so the support and available info from the past is pretty plentiful. Until about 3 years ago it was pretty much the only way to go unless you wanted to try to fit a Rover V8 in the car. The LSx based kits came out a few years ago and are now a pretty viable option.

I still believe the Ford conversion to be a more cost effective and easy to build option although I would not be against building an LSx based car on my own at some point. Power wise it's fairly easy to get a Ford based motor up to base LSx levels so I really don't see that as a big negative to the Ford side. My current 331 Ford is making 280 to the rear wheels with a VERY bad tune.

Here's how I see it:

Ford Conversion:
Positives:
-Cheaper core components
-More info available on line
-Higher resale value if you need to get out of it
-Unlimited bolt-on performance parts for Mustangs, cheap replacement parts
-Thunderbird diff adds weight balance to the rear and makes exhaust routing easier in the back
-Kit requires no welding and no removal of the interior of the car.
-Much easier to wire

Negatives:
-"old" technology. ECU developed in mid 1980's
-The established "pretzel” exhaust routing does not leave a lot of ground clearance
-Requires a bit of knowledge and research to get power out of it

---------

LSx Conversions:

Positives:
-Drivetrain slightly lighter
-Exhaust can be routed high allowing the car to be lowered
-Newer technology
-Everything needed can be purchased new from GM with a warrantee
-can be made to attain some pretty awesome mpg's

Negatives:
-Requires removal of the interior of the car (dash, carpet) as well as cutting and welding of the firewall in structurally significant places
-For some unknown reason finished products do not have the resale value of Ford conversions
-OBDII ECU systems are a bit more complicated than the early '90's Ford stuff

All in all, the price difference between the two has been closing as more and more F-bodies end up in the yards. I still think the Ford kit is easier to build and can be done without knowing how to weld, which is a big bonus for some. The weight difference between the two is negligible, most converted cars end up hitting around 2700 pounds when done regardless of engine choice. The LSx has more power out of the box, but the Ford can be built to make almost the same.

I would look to see where your skills are and where you want to invest your time. If you want to invest it more in engine building and tuning to "get" the power level you're looking for go with the Ford. If you feel that welding is not an issue for you or something you'd like to learn then maybe the LSx is for you.

If you go with a Ford I can help you with a harness as well as some other stuff:
www.mcccullyracingmotors.com

Good luck with ether choice and welcome,
-Jason