Went to the Carlisle import/kit car show August 14 and 15.
On Friday, I spotted a green TR7 coupe on a trailer in the vendor spaces and got to talking with the seller, who has an auto museum in Philadelphia. As we talked about other cars, he mentioned he had a 3rd gen Miata without a motor but in otherwise good shape for $800. All of the ancillaries that were pulled with the motor were boxed up, etc.
I took his info, but was a bit skeptical. The pics seemed too good to be true - nearly perfect paint? on a car outside? Even the headlights weren't milky from sun. I explained that this would be a car for the wife and I'd have to talk with her.
After seeing the photos she was very interested and approved the buy. So we arranged inspection and likely pickup for 8/23....
So I pulled $800 out of the bank, loaded up the tow dolly, and headed out, prepared to walk away from the sale if things weren't at least close to as pictured. After all, it *is* an automatic... It looked like the interior was pretty well beat on - though I think it's actually an issue with some of the materials' reaction to certain hand lotions / etc. I saw that on the door pull for the Phoenix as well.
Greased the hubs on the tow dolly, checked tire pressures, grabbed straps & tire inflator and off we went.
When we arrived, the seller was there, with signed title & photocopies of owner's drivers license front & back for title processing. The car looked great!
Turns out the seller bought it in 2008, with 1000 miles on it. Then something happened in 2017. Possibly engine run with no oil? and the engine and transmission were pulled to repair / replace. For much of the past 3 years, it's been stored inside, and all of the removed boxed parts were kept inside.
In the *very* short term, I'm going to borrow the nose & driver's fender so I can drive the Phoenix while finishing those and painting them.
Also included - the auto transmission, stainless exhaust center section, powerplant brace, driveshaft (SO LIGHT!) frame braces, and lots of engine ancillaries, hoses, plastic, etc.
The wife wants creature comforts like AC. (AC hardware is with the car). She's never driven an automatic Miata, but enjoys driving the manuals. Still not 100% sure what "fun car" will mean for her: Beach trips? Drives with a girlfriend? both likely. Autocrossing or Challenge participation? Maaaaaybe. Fun with more Smiths at more motorsports events? I hope so.
Easy answer: find a wadded up NC1 manual with lots of body damage; transplant engine & transmission. Enjoy.
But I'm open to other answers:
Find a wadded up NC1 with FM supercharger setup? Prolly a pipe dream.
Send the shell out to FM or someone else and have a swap done? It's an option.
Get a 2.5 and mate it to the auto box?
Find 2.5 and manual conversion stuff?
Other powertrain options.....? (Here's where you all shine)
Really nice find Greg, amazing what you find that is not advertised! Here are my thoughts.
Easy and cheap - stock 2.0 and automatic
Easy but more complex - manual conversion and 2.0 (computer may be the biggist issue here)
Still easy but much more satisfiying - 2.5 and manual conversion (again, may have issues with the electronics)
Any other engine swap - not easy, not cheap
Answer probably depends upon budget and when you want it on the road. The first two options have you back on the road in a few weekends of work and for the cost of finding parts, a 2.0 and automatic are probably quick and easy to find since they are not in demand. Here is some good info to read on the auto to manual conversion process. https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=637138
2.5 plus whatever transmission your wife thinks would be best? It doesn't seem like you need this thing back together ASAP so why not spend a little time looking for deals on whatever makes her happiest? 2.5 + five speed manual sounds nice to me but do not pay any actual attention to that as I'm completely out of my depth here.
Ignoring costs and not doing a lot of research, a Honda K20 seems more appealing vs. an Ecotec. Seems more Miata-like vs. the sorta-truck-like Ecotec. But from what you've outlined, a stock 2.0 or a 2.5 Mazda/Ford seems like the easy button to get the car you want per shared requirements.
I already suggested over text, but I'll suggest here for everyone. 1UZFE. Keep it automatic and you can just find a cheap donor car LS400 or whatever. "Easy."
To do the 2.5 swap you'll still need to find a 2.0 because several parts are needed for transfer to the 2.5. It's still the best option, you'll have a near stock Miata with extra grunt. There really isn't any downside to it.
To do the 2.5 swap you'll still need to find a 2.0 because several parts are needed for transfer to the 2.5. It's still the best option, you'll have a near stock Miata with extra grunt. There really isn't any downside to it.
While other engine swaps sound more exciting, you are engineering all the rest of the pieces. The 2.5 keeps the steering, exhaust, cooling, transmission, drive shaft, etc.... so beyond the 2.5 and getting the oil pan, intake and a manual transmission and PTF from a 2.0, this is the easiest swap other than keeping it 2.0 and finding a wrecked 2.0 manual car for all the parts.
