1990 MX5 Street/Track/Camper Hauler

Hello..I have owned a 1996 B.R.G MX5 (picture Below) since new..It currently has 200,000 Miles on the car so it's getting tired..Its totally stock except for the Mini Lite wheels and tires.. This has been a Incredible car..It has pulled the Trillium Camper from Ontario Canada to Cape Breton, Daytona and the Florida Keys for many years..

My thought was rebuild the B.R.G until I found a 1990 MX5 with only 50,000 miles and in perfect condition..My plan for this 1990 is to build a car that will take me on a round trip from Ontario Canada, down to the Florida Keys, across 10 to the West Coast of California, up through the Big Sur into British Coloumbia and back down to Ontario..Along the way, visit several C.A.S.C and S.C.C.A events.

This is what has been done so far..

Hard Dog Roll bar, Tokico adjustable suspension, Racing Beat front bar, brace and end links, 1996 Limited Slip Diff, MiniLight 15x8 Wheels with Toyo 888..Mishimoto Rad, chin spoiler..Future add-ons..Flying Miata lower Rail braces with butterfly and inner fender braces..A low 7 psi turbo for around 160 hp..a full urethane bushing upgrade.

In reply to Trackit:

I found another Great use for The Hard-Dog Roll Bar..It can carry my Frenzy Kayak

Great story and plans.

Welcome to GRM! Be sure to log your trips on the "Adentures" forum.

In reply to Scooter: Thank you Scooter

Moar pictures please! Miata(s) and camper.

BTW, so far this thread is awesome!

I'm not one of those people who believes you must have a 6000 pound diesel truck to tow, but a 1600cc Miata? How did that work out? Does the Trillium have brakes? I don't need a lot of power to pull, but I do enjoy drama free braking when I tow.

In Reply to Doc Brown...Thank you..I Will post more pics of the MX5 mods and the Camper over the next few days

In reply to DeadSkunk:.The camper has no brakes, The MX5 pulls the camper with ease..The rig weighs 960 lbs and it's going on more of a diet..Trying to shed another 200 lbs off of the camper

New Mishimoto Rad and Hoses Installed

Deleted the Power Steering...This time I just looped the hoses..Took both Miata's for a drive to see the difference between taking the rack apart for a proper manual rack versus just removing the pump hardware and looping the hoses..The looped system is just a tad more resistance and a whole lot easier..

Tokico Adjustable with G.C springs and Stainless exhaust

I think I have decided to change the direction on the Turbo 1.6 and go with the K24 swap..Even for the future of the car...K24s are Honda's small block Chevy so there are thousands available..They make good power,have a Hugh tuning market for a fairly cheap 250 hp..and it will lower the weight a additional 80 lbs or so..

..I spent some time in a base N.D today and I have to be honest..Its nice But..the door has high sills so resting your arm over the door is awkward while driving..Here in Canada you are at 40,000 grand out the door for a G.X with no limited slip..I spoke to Keith about a v8 conversion..Expensive but cheap for what the car will be..A 525 hp MX5 N.D will give a A 300,000 dollar GT3 a good run for its money..Its not out of the question for me but I think a K24 lightweight NA may make me happy..The N.D felt a lot like my old S2000 without the V-tech and the redline..Anyway..I sent David a email at K Miata ..it looks to be about 6,000 dollars all said and done for about 250 normally aspirated reliable hp..

Awesome project.

Financially, how does a K swap compare with a power adder? It sounds appealing to me for the future of my NB, but I couldn't find good info on how to execute the swap and how much needs changed.

In reply to Cooper_Tired:..Sorry for the late reply..was on vacation for a few days..I agree very little information actually out there..David is very good at answering questions and getting back to you..

So far the complete kit is 4,000 dollars with a K motor at about 1,000..Now my questions are about the stock ecu and which one we are using..the Miata or the Honda or a stand alone..I will get back to you with David's answer..so the kit is 4,000, the motor 1,000, a new clutch assembly..500 and misc 500 so we are sitting at about 6,000 thousand for a solid 200 plus Hp that you can track all day long..I was thinking Turbo and Greg Peters has proven you can get 250 plus Hp all day long, track days etc .for about 3,500 dollars plus clutch etc...BUT..you have that constant worry, INT Hoses, oil feed lines, lots of finicky crap to fool with on a constant basis..With a few reliable mods to the K motor you can have 250 non finicky track all day HP..

And Iwill add, I have had my BRG Miata for 20 years already, bought new in 1996..still love this car..I have owned a 2000 Boxster S and a last year in Canada, 2009 Honda S 2000....I sold those but kept the Mazda.. The virgin 1990 base Miata is so much better than even the BRG with its light weight and non power steering..200 lbs makes a big difference..I was lucky to find a 1990 with only 50,000 miles..

Spoke to David Calzada from K.Miata..I would hold off to October, he is about to offer a low cost complete K swap kit for the Miata..Details will be announced soon..I am really looking forward to a K Powered Lightweight Miata..

No Doubt the 525 N.D Miata is going to be a gargantuan Porcshe, Corvette, Ferrari Killer..I think I will be happy with a 250 HP 2000 lb 1990 Miata..I know I am crazy..but I am 49 soon to be 50..I love Weber carbs, the look, the sound and for me..easy to tune as I grew up with Triple Weber carbs on my vintage Porsche..I may ditch the electronics and go Weber carbs

Didn't someone here have that Honda K-swap done on a Miata a while back? My google-foo is failing.

wlkelley it's a 6 cylinder swap by someone, the magazine even did an article on it.
The miata is yellow too.

Looking forward to Winter build time.

The new Roadster pulling the Beach Shack while the 90 build continues..This pic was just a week ago on Daytona Beach..Awesome surfing because of the storm surge last week..