Tag: miata

NA MX5 overhaul

Dan has already had his garage featured here, so it was only fitting that I follow up with what he actually puts in it. Enter the NA MX5, loved the world over and enjoying a second wind of popularity in the current millennium. Dan gives his turbo terror an appearance overhaul DIY style, and it’s great to see that garage being put to use with all the work being done in-house. It looks like some professional photos were being taken for a magazine feature at the time of the last update, so hopefully the thread get’s updated soon with the results of the shoot.

UPDATE: Photoshoot images have been added, check after the jump to view.

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MX520

Here’s a build thread I’ve been reading for quite a long time, and I’ve got a slight suspicion that a lot of you are going to enjoy it. It’s another build based on the “X-chassis underneath Y-body” formula, and this time the culprits are Mazda MX5 subframes/driveline/shock towers being attached to the body of a Datsun 520 pickup.

When it all comes together after a long and creative build process, Bob takes his DIY hybrid creation to the track and shows up some much more expensive machinery. Here’s a small snippet from one of his race outing results to give you an idea:

Position 3 – 1:08.886 – 1966 Datsun MX520
Position 4 – 1:10.366 – 2003 Corvette Z06

You can’t help but sit back and smile when that happens. Check after the jump to see how this track day sleeper was built…

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13B Turbo Rotor NA MX5/Miata

I found this build in a post on Racer86, so firstly thanks to Rob for putting it out there. I’ve seen pictures of this particular car before in full drift flight, it looks so cool slammed on Work Equip 03’s (one of my favourite wheels). It’s just one of the many MX5/Miata’s built on the west coast of America that are making these little car’s appealing to a whole new generation. They used to be synonymous with balance, poise & pure driving enjoyment (among other less-positive analogies). Nowadays, though, people are slamming/stretching/drifting them, earning a level of respect and lust from a new, younger crowd.

This particular build thread focuses on the engine & drivetrain swap, showing the ITB’d 1.8L 4cyl being thrown out in favour of a 13B Turbo rotary. Along with the engine, it also receives S5 RX7 transmission & diff amongst other upgrades.

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