In 2001, I purchased a bone stock 1992 Sunburst Yellow Miata with low miles. Over the last 14 years and 100k miles, it has gone through several phases...
Stage 1, Stock:
Stage 2, The custom bug bites:
Stage 3, Time for power:
(If this pic looks familiar, it is because it was used in the Moss catalog for several years)
Stage 4, cutting down on bling:
Then it got bit by a snow storm:
Which facilitated the leap to stage 5:
This takes us more recent times. The supercharger was old and tired, and I was looking for a new project. All of the old supercharger related gear was pulled off, and the engine was put back to mostly stock. Once it was stock and had passed it's last emissions inspection it will ever need, I ordered the JV6 Miata swap package from Minitec that has been featured in a recent GRM. (More Info: http://superfastmiatas.com/JV6%20Miata%20Package.html)
While I waited for the kit, I picked up a pair of J32A2 engines, both with about 80k miles and both out of 2002 Acura TL Type S from the local junk yard.
The one on the right will be used in this swap... the other was sold to a friend.
In order to get the engine to fit, the intake manifold must be modified. Minitec has 2 different ways to achieve this:
Option A moves the throttle body to the side of the intake. This is their preferred method, as it allows power steering and EGR to be retained.
Option B is to flip the intake manifold and lower runners 180 degrees, and modify the throttle body mount to angle down to clear the hood.
I decided on option B, as I liked the look better and didn't mind loosing power steering and EGR.
I have removed my intake manifold and sent it off to minitec for modification. Knowing I would be loosing EGR (when you flip the manifold, the everything but the EGR port lines up perfectly), I went ahead and removed the EGR valve and got an EGR blockoff plate.
Once I get the manifold back, I will also have to address blocking off the EGR hole in the manifold, as it is now exposed.
I also have flipped the lower intake runners. In order to re-install the fuel rails, a new mounting hole needs to be drilled in each rail. Below you can see the old empty hole that doesn't line up, with the bolt next to it using the new hole I drilled.
While I had not planned on doing any performance upgrades to the engine initially, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick up these ported and polished runners I found online. They arrived today, so I will need to swap out the ones on there when I have a chance.
The actual swap kit arrived this evening. This is what is was delivered in:
I am not going to bother taking pictures of everything straight out of the box, as it all looks much like what can be seen in the pic on their website:
As I actually go to install parts, I will add pictures of them then. I am expecting this build to go pretty slow, but will try to update the thread each week. The next update will be around the removal of the old engine and subframe, planned for Sunday.
Cool stuff will be following along
Man, a set of headers and a newer intake manifold really wakes these engines up. Any plans?
In case you should need to replace, what are the flywheel, clutch and throwout bearing bits from? Is the kit provider the sole-source for these bits?
I'd love to see some pictures of the subframe itself, I know the quality was called into question at one point.
Regardless, I definitely want to follow this build.
beans wrote: Man, a set of headers and a newer intake manifold really wakes these engines up. Any plans?
The goal right now is to get it running stock, other than the PnP runners I picked up and deleting EGR, Air Assist, Power Steering, and the intake butterfly. Once it is running and the clutch has been broken in, I will be talking to a fabricator friend about custom headers and determining if the cat-back exhaust on the car is too restrictive. From there I will probably go with a larger TB, underdrive pulley, and AEM plug and play ECU. As for intake manifold, nothing off the shelf fits right now, bet there are a few people working on designing custom ones that will fit. I am sure I will look in to them once they are available. After that, who knows... Maybe I will pick up another engine and do a full build...Swap out the crank and rods with those from an Odyssey to stroke it to 3.5, pistons from and RL to increase compression, working the heads, cams, who knows. 
There is lots that can be done, but that is a few years down the road and I don't know what my appetite will be then.
NOHOME wrote: In case you should need to replace, what are the flywheel, clutch and throwout bearing bits from? Is the kit provider the sole-source for these bits?
All off the shelf parts, and Minitec will sell you a kit without them if you want (this lower level kit also excludes the header and starter which is a remand unit from a early 90s civic). The Flywheel, pressure plate, and bearings are from a B series Honda (when I searched the part number on the pressure plate, it came back as fitting 1990-2001 Acura Integra along with the Del Sol and a few years of Civic SI). The clutch disk is from a 1.8 Miata. The clutch and pressure plate provided are Made in Japan Exedy pieces. If you buy your own flywheel, you do need to get the ring flipped on it, but I believe Minitec already does that for you if you get the kit with the flywheel included (I sent them an email to confirm).
unevolved wrote: I'd love to see some pictures of the subframe itself, I know the quality was called into question at one point. Regardless, I definitely want to follow this build.
I will definitely get some pics of it as I get in to it.
Love the look of your "stage 5" build. Is that a widebody kit,or custom? If a kit, then whose?
lv2rev wrote: Love the look of your "stage 5" build. Is that a widebody kit,or custom? If a kit, then whose?
After the accident, I dropped the car off with a close friend who does body work, had AWR ship a widebody kit to him, and Racing Beat shipped him the front and rear bumper. We talked about general goals and tossed around ideas, but for the most part I let him get creative. There are a lot of small custom touches (a few that even hardcore Miata guys have a hard time spotting), but the major ones are the beltline delete, custom hood bulge, and custom trunk lip.
Titus wrote: Option B is to flip the intake manifold and lower runners 180 degrees, and modify the throttle body mount to angle down to clear the hood.
That's just screaming for a real cold air intake. You can probably use the same LS7 one we do on the V8 cars.
Keith Tanner wrote: That's just screaming for a real cold air intake. You can probably use the same LS7 one we do on the V8 cars.
There are a few other guys I know that are planning to do exactly that. I am not thrilled about hood pins, so I have not come around to the idea yet... but you never know, as I tend to change my mind a lot as I go.
this is cool
As far as forced induction, why not split and go around the hood latch?
Following
Titus wrote:Keith Tanner wrote: That's just screaming for a real cold air intake. You can probably use the same LS7 one we do on the V8 cars.There are a few other guys I know that are planning to do exactly that. I am not thrilled about hood pins, so I have not come around to the idea yet... but you never know, as I tend to change my mind a lot as I go.
Swap in E46 hood latches?
Interesting idea... I may look in to that at some point.
Could you keep a running tab on costs.
I am looking to do this at some point and would love to know how much kissing up to swmbo I will need to do before proposing this idea.
Titus wrote: The next update will be around the removal of the old engine and subframe, planned for Sunday. The goal right now is to get it running stock, other than the PnP runners I picked up and deleting EGR, Air Assist, Power Steering, and the intake butterfly.
Hope I'm posting this in time, didn't know about the 24hr initiation :/
Any chance you could weigh the car before pulling the 1.6, and then weigh it again once the kit & running stock J32 is in there?
In reply to Fr3AkAzOiD: What is this kissing up to swmbo you guys talk about? 
Kidding, but I would propose to her the replacement to a V6 Miata rejection would be a C5 Corvette.
Titus wrote:
Oh my...
I need a moment.
Fr3AkAzOiD wrote: Could you keep a running tab on costs. I am looking to do this at some point and would love to know how much kissing up to swmbo I will need to do before proposing this idea.
I have an excel spreadsheet where I have been noting every item purchased and the price I paid to actually get it to my house (including shipping). There is a lot on my list that is not totally necessary (things like new plugs, service manual, ported runners, blanking plates, etc). There are also some items that are not that well described, like when I needed placed an order with a honda dealer for bolts to hold the alternator and AC compressor and this funky rubber intake gasket, I just noted "Misc Bolts/ intake strip gasket- $35". Once it is running, I will post my list. For reference, I have spent $4730 so far, have forecasted another $1500 to get it on the road, I am sure I will spend another $200-300 on stuff I have not thought about yet, and I probably have 800 spent or in the forecast that was not a necessity.
jakeordie wrote: Hope I'm posting this in time, didn't know about the 24hr initiation :/ Any chance you could weigh the car before pulling the 1.6, and then weigh it again once the kit & running stock J32 is in there?
Sorry... can't do. I do have a cheap hoist scale that is far from accurate, but I plan on weighing both engine/subframe/flyweel/clutch/header setups, and adding workout weight to the Miata stuff to get it to equal out so I can now the exact difference in weights.
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