Does anyone know if there is a solid axle out there close in width to the miata? I'm thinking a three link to a solid axle. Samurai axle perhaps?
I'm going to have a stripped miata body shell with smashed windshield frame and its begging to be a lemons car.
????
erm, why? A smashed windshield frame fortunately doesn't affect the rear suspension, which, being a miata, is a pretty good design.
I did a google, apparently there is at least one guy that has an NA with a narrowed 7.5 Ford and a 4 link setup.
Runs 10s, apparently.
I didn't see that one in my search. Doesn't look like it would be that hard to do. I'm trying to find something close in length so I don't have to shorten it, hopefully with disks.
That sort of thing is much better suited to drag racing than to road racing.
It seems like it would be cheaper, easier and all-around better to just put a Miata rear diff axles and suspension under the back end.
The deal with the V8 and rear suspension is the axles. It does get spendy by the time you get all the bits to handle a V8 that wants to put a lot of power to the rear.
This might help. List of rear end widths. Miata track is 56 as a starting point.
http://www.carnut.com/specs/rear.html
Whats the width wheel mounting face to wheel mounting face? Do you want to keep 4X100? This is a question more relevant to those of us with little british cars. MGBs and TR8s are among the cars that often get rear end swaps because the stock rear ends can't handle big V8 power. My rear end of choice is the 8.8 for my TR8s but I did a Dana 44 out of Postal Jeep into a Hillman Husky. Those little buggers are narrow. If your only running a 4 cylinder, then there are many more choices. Seems like a lot of fabrication to take a step backwards. One of the main reasons Miatas handle so well is the rear end.
Anything I've been able to find suggests a Miata rear is around 59 inches ,face to face, not as narrow as one might assume. That's an easy width to find in a junkyard. The track width will need to be controlled with the proper offset on the wheels. Fox body rears are about 57", S10 Chevies are 54" and up, depending on which truck you yank them from.Watch for the offset of the drive shaft on some axles. You'll want a centered one for a Miata .
8.8 out of an Explorer is 58.5", IIRC.
Thanks for the feedback, again the reasoning is for lemons racing.
Miata in lemons with stock drive train is boring and penalty lap inducing.
Miata in lemons with a buick 3.8, T10 4 speed and solid axle well... thats lemons racing.
I got a free complete super clean body from a guy doing an exocet. I bought a rolled miata that runs and drives but the windshield frame was destroyed. I'm pulling all the parts, cleaning and rebuilding and putting a spec miata together.
So I'll have an empty body tub soon, I started thinking about cutting it up or saving parts for spec miata repairs or some kind of lemons build.
I would want to do some kind of solid axle 3 link with a weird engine trans combo otherwise I would just go buy a pos miata and be done.
I have a NA I drive everyday
I have a NA I'm building into a spec miata
I have a NA thats a roller, no engine and trans but almost everything else.
So for me no need to try and save this one or make it stock.... just thinking out loud.
Exploder axles are almost 3" longer on one side compared to the other. Its common to narrow the longer side to match the shorter side and use 2 of the shorter axles. I have a couple of them done that way under my TR8s. They are not lightweight. You end up with 5X4.5 wheel bolt pattern.
Why not just put a wider axle and make huge flares?
FB RX7?????
DeadSkunk wrote: Anything I've been able to find suggests a Miata rear is around 59 inches ,face to face, not as narrow as one might assume. That's an easy width to find in a junkyard. The track width will need to be controlled with the proper offset on the wheels. Fox body rears are about 57", S10 Chevies are 54" and up, depending on which truck you yank them from.Watch for the offset of the drive shaft on some axles. You'll want a centered one for a Miata .
My 1" wider-than-stock 9" is (will be) 59" face to face. GSL-SE are 58" and 12A RX-7 are narrower, IIRC about 56.5-57".
I have a hard time believing the Miata is that wide, since the FC rack is significantly wider than the Miata and the FC track width is similar to 1st-gen. I'm not the guy holding the tape measure, though.
RX-7 are not centered pinion, the pinion is slighly over to the right. And for any shenanigans where you need more strength, the RX-7 bits will be insufficient. Miata rears seem to last under high power by dint of being unable to actually put the power down. Once you put a solid axle under it, you will have all kinds of grip and you'll break more things.
Be really odd- find a POS Alfa spider- one that is very rusted.
Take powertrain out and put in Miata. The live axle in the spider is pretty narrow- so it should fit.
That would be very interesting.
What engine are you planning?
Edit- a quick search finds the axle is ~50" in an Alfa. And it has LSD.
EvanB wrote: Why not just put a wider axle and make huge flares?
Why can I +1 this only once? That is the most leMons worthy idea I have ever heard.
alfadriver wrote: Be really odd- find a POS Alfa spider- one that is very rusted. Take powertrain out and put in Miata. The live axle in the spider is pretty narrow- so it should fit. That would be very interesting. What engine are you planning? Edit- a quick search finds the axle is ~50" in an Alfa. And it has LSD.
I haven't decided on a engine, something simple maybe with a carb, since I'm taking all of the wiring out for the other car. Thinking buick 3.8 or chevy 4.3 with distributor and quadrapuke but I'm open to anything.
Brian wrote:EvanB wrote: Why not just put a wider axle and make huge flares?Why can I +1 this only once? That is the most leMons worthy idea I have ever heard.
Great idea but I would like to run the same offset wheels all they way around hopefully with the same lug pattern. The front would probably just use a stock miata sub frame, steering suspension. Are there hub options to switch to different lug pattern? Something off different cars?
In reply to obrut:
Wouldn't the same bolt pattern define the axle from an RX7 as the choice?
In reply to obrut:
It does complement a John Deere tractor engine if that's what you're asking.
alfadriver wrote: In reply to obrut: Wouldn't the same bolt pattern define the axle from an RX7 as the choice?
No, because the bolt pattern on an RX7 is different.
An Opel axle would have the same bolt pattern but wouldn't hold up to power over stock Miata levels.
I think you should find an old Econoline and have live axles at BOTH ends of the Miata. Then stuff in a V8 of any kind.
What's the stock face to face width?
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