MGA with Miata drivetrain swap project.

NMNA- don't know if it will stay below the Mendoza line, but it is for now.

http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1957-mga-2/

Why does the rear sit like that??

I would NOT want to work on an MGA with a miata motor stuffed in. Access is going to suck something fierce, I'd think.

And given that a decent B-series can make 116 hp anyway, I'm not really seeing much advantage.

I think Moss Motors advertises that their supercharger makes about as much power as a 1.6 Miata motor does.

Interesting project. I think Miata engines make a good match to LBCs.

I'd love to have it, but I also want nothing to do with it....

By the way, coming up very soon we have a Carl Heideman project series on engine swaps. Sure, you can fit the engine under the hood, but what about all of the other stuff like throttle linkage, motor mounts, parts access, etc.?

The example is a Miata-powered MGB, but really the lessons should help any swap.

Is it going to cover more modern things like EFI, drive-by-wire, ABS, AC, PS and gauge integration with CAN systems? Given that it's a 20-year-old engine in a 40-year-old car, possibly not. Drop me a line if you want a sidebar from a newer perspective.

If I were not neck-deep+ into a project, I would be all over this. The MGA is to my mind one of the best looking cars ever built. Better than the E-Type when it comes to elegant simplicity.

However, I am not naive enough to think this is a bargain at face value. There has been a lot of money spent on this thing. A lot of the chassis pictures show good work. However, it is being cut loose for a reason. I suspect that reason is because the owner learned a lot of things about why this is not such a good idea or has added up the sum of compromises and does not like the tally.

And yeah..WTF is up with the rear end?

The rear end is to roll the car around for now. It has a Miata IRS that goes with the car.

Cool. I'd love to have that project.

and I would LOVE to see 116 hp out of the b series that is open on my workbench right now.

I've always wanted to put a Miata drivetrain into a Lotus Elan. It seems like the perfect place for one. The problem is that I can never find an Elan to start with.