Scirocco Miata chassis swap

In reply to Addicted :

I'd consider one of those options if I could find them for sale in the US.  Especially the Berg cup flares without the front air dam.  By using them I could also easily move the front fender openings forward a little bit.

Can you point me to who is selling any of these?

In reply to NOHOME :

Here is a quick look at what the car would look like with the front wheel wells moved.

The second is with the fronts moved forward enough to match up the steering wheel positions. I think this makes it look like a BMW 318ti.

The third also moves the rear wheels forward to get the stock wheelbase.

Man, I need to get CAD again.

I would not move the wheels. I'd push the engine forward in the subframe instead. The Miata engine was used in other applications with a steel oil pan, that would make it easier to modify a pan to work.

chinman said:

In reply to NOHOME :

Here is a quick look at what the car would look like with the front wheel wells moved.

The second is with the fronts moved forward enough to match up the steering wheel positions. I think this makes it look like a BMW 318ti.

The third also moves the rear wheels forward to get the stock wheelbase.

Man, I need to get CAD again.

I actually think that the middle option looks an awful lot like a VW Corrado...which I guess isn't surprising.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I'm not planning on moving them. I would maybe move the front a little if I were putting large flare on.  One of the other guys doing a chassis swap notched the subframe and moved the motor and the rack forward.  I really don't want to throw off the weight balance nor do I want to induce a lot of bump steer by moving the rack.

Do you know if the handling / bump steer of the Miata benefits from moving the rack at all or is it in just the right place as they designed it?

I really like #2 with the wheel-wells moved forward.

It looks like you have room to play a bit. Compromise WILL be required but  lot you wont know till you get there.

So....

I would go ahead and gut the VW and figure out the best firewall/seating compromise.  Don't forget that getting the VW cowl down is going to be as important as getting the firewalls to agree in a fore-aft position.

Then look at where the Miata wheel front wheel tubs land and where the VW wheel opening lie in relation. You wont be committed to anything by that point, but conversations and decisions will be more empirically based. I believe you are going to be ok in the end.

Pete

The issue I see with option #2 is that you will run out of space for the radiator.

Came across this in a google image search just now. Was really hoping there'd be a little more progress :(

In reply to mannydantyla :

Turns out it is not as easy as you made it look!

Pete

chinman said:

In reply to NOHOME :

Here is a quick look at what the car would look like with the front wheel wells moved.

The second is with the fronts moved forward enough to match up the steering wheel positions. I think this makes it look like a BMW 318ti.

The third also moves the rear wheels forward to get the stock wheelbase.

Man, I need to get CAD again.

Fusion 360 is free to hobbyist and less than 100k a year commercial use. I know some small commercial shops that swear by it. 

"Turns out it is not as easy as you made it look!"

I moved from FL to GA and I had to scrap the Miata in the process.  I still have the Scirocco and it hasn't changed one bit.  I'm waiting to buy a house with a garage so I can start this up again.

Very cool and relevant to my interests. Following for when the build starts up again.

Keith Tanner said:

I love the Mk1 Scirocco. It's one of the best looking cars ever designed in my mind. This is great.

We had a 1979 Scirocco we bought used in 1990. Was a ton of fun, despite being a rust bucket, I remember bondoing the fender back together and repainting it as a cheap fun car, but enjoyed it for the few years we had it. Definitely a good looking car, light and fun to drive. I'll be watching this for sure!