Here is your chance - V6 Miata

I love this car and it is for sale! Yet $14K is beyond what I can do. I do love the idea of a V6 Miata......Keith might have a different view

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/3067863377.html

Ugh, that's EXACTLY the motor swap I want to do in mine!

I don't really want a turbo 4 for a track car........and a V8 seems a bit insane.

That really is nice. Too costly though. For that price you could throw the entire FM catalog (except the V8 stuff) at a NA and end up with a lot more power and torque. It would lack the simple elegance of a V6 and be more fickle, but you'd have a monster.

That high of a price and they can't even paint the good to match? No thanks

bgkast wrote: That high of a price and they can't even paint the good to match? No thanks

I bet if you make an offer that says "Hey, i'll give you $xxx and you paint the hood to match," David would give you a reply and work with you. The hood doesn't match currently because it's a new replacement hood in place of the old ugly cowl hood it used to have to clear the ITBs that i currently have sitting in my dining room.

It's $14k obo.

I don't feel like getting in an argument about this car at the moment, but i will say that the price is not terrible, and i'll leave it at that.

Too much and too far away. Good.

kreb wrote: That really is nice. Too costly though. For that price you could throw the entire FM catalog (except the V8 stuff) at a NA and end up with a lot more power and torque. It would lack the simple elegance of a V6 and be more fickle, but you'd have a monster.

The owner has somewhat realized this, which is why this car has been retired from SSM duty and he's since built a turbo 4-banger Miata.

I think this is something they should have offered from the factory. My wife thinks the Miata is a little gutless, and that would cure that well enough that I'd be able to park one in our driveway.

Then again, so would a turbo kit on an NB.

Underhood pics freak me out...it's facing the wrong way!

Pretty much the same drivetrain I've got in my MX-3... sure wish I had some of the suspension goodies.

The factory did offer a turbo kit on the NB With a Little Enchilada, they'll make more power and torque than this car too. But they'll still be one of many.

The car presents well, and it's interesting from a technical standpoint. I do have to think that, for that much work, it's missing a couple of cylinders But to each their own.

Note that this car does run an aftermarket ECU, so you will be responsible for making that happy.

Any details on final weight and balance?

I don't think the price is too far out of line, honestly.

Here's a video of the car: http://youtu.be/toughTZ9PIw

I wonder if some Z in that engine bay would make people a little happier.

I believe he's been trying to sell it for a while now. It's a very neat car, but the price is high....the same money would buy (or build) a nice turbo 1.8 car with better numbers (maybe not quite the same throttle response), or you're knocking on the door of a carefully-budgeted LS1 swap.

Still and all, except for the CF hood and the color, that's about the best looking NA Miata I've seen. Flares and the RB nose do it right. I would drive the absolute bejesus out of that car.

Keith wrote: The factory did offer a turbo kit on the NB With a Little Enchilada, they'll make more power and torque than this car too. But they'll still be one of many. The car presents well, and it's interesting from a technical standpoint. I do have to think that, for that much work, it's missing a couple of cylinders But to each their own. Note that this car does run an aftermarket ECU, so you will be responsible for making that happy. Any details on final weight and balance? I don't think the price is too far out of line, honestly.

I'll ask him about weight.

FWIW, it would not be a hard task to get another 40whp out of this motor keeping it n/a. Big gains to be had with a set of KL31 cams, big gains to be had with a sheet metal intake.

Or if you really desire a hammer instead of a scalpel, you could turbo this or supercharge it for an easy WELL over 300whp.

I actually like the look of the black hood with that color. The odd thing to me is in the hood open pics the headlight covers match the body, but in the hood down pics they match the hood. Either they're really good chameleon paint or the pics were taken at different times. Which ones are current?

The price isn't bad if the swap is well done, which it looks to be. Swaps are more expensive than people think, especially reliable ones.

yeah, yeah, there's always more power somewhere. I'm thinking a simple cold air intake would go a long way towards making the dyno numbers and the real-world numbers a bit closer together. But anything else would take it out of the current 100% driveable state and turn it into a project car - so I think the seller is doing well not to mention that at all.

Keith wrote: yeah, yeah, there's always more power somewhere. I'm thinking a simple cold air intake would go a long way towards making the dyno numbers and the real-world numbers a bit closer together. But anything else would take it out of the current 100% driveable state and turn it into a project car - so I think the seller is doing well not to mention that at all.

True. KL31 cams would require a re-tune, and as i'm finding, getting an EMS tuned is pretty frustrating.

Keith wrote: yeah, yeah, there's always more power somewhere. I'm thinking a simple cold air intake would go a long way towards making the dyno numbers and the real-world numbers a bit closer together. But anything else would take it out of the current 100% driveable state and turn it into a project car - so I think the seller is doing well not to mention that at all.

Yeah, the air filter is sammiched between the hot radiator and the hotter exhaust.

Hmmm, not sure I'd change a thing....well, maybe the wheels. I actually like the black hood and headlight "doors" as it tells you, not too subtly, that what's under the hood isn't a stock Miata.

I would imagine there is at least 1 or 2 of these in the Mazda factory fleet, or have been at some time in the past, it's just too tempting a "what if". Price, and market overlap with the RX probably were big impediments to this combo ever being factory produced.

Wish I had $15K-$16K to spend on a car.

In reply to Sultan:

That car is all kinds of awesome and looks like it is finished to a high standard.

Original documentation on car: http://majica.net/JNR/major.htm

Seller's current build: http://www.destinationssm.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

There used to be a section on his site for the KLiata. I'll see if i can find it.

Back when there was a Miata mag being putting by some folks who did Subie Sport I visited their place. It was about a half a block from my office. I pointed them to this car and they did a story on it yet I have never seen the car in person...

Having driven a 3.0l V6 Miata, they are pretty nice. Turbos are totally awesome, but I really, really love a good V6 exhaust. Sounds wonderful.

And, no, the car does not exist anymore.

alfadriver wrote: Having driven a 3.0l V6 Miata, they are pretty nice. Turbos are totally awesome, but I really, really love a good V6 exhaust. Sounds wonderful. And, no, the car does not exist anymore.

What 3.0? Duratec? VQ?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

Keith wrote: yeah, yeah, there's always more power somewhere. I'm thinking a simple cold air intake would go a long way towards making the dyno numbers and the real-world numbers a bit closer together. But anything else would take it out of the current 100% driveable state and turn it into a project car - so I think the seller is doing well not to mention that at all.

True. KL31 cams would require a re-tune, and as i'm finding, getting an EMS tuned is pretty frustrating.

And its things like this that made me give up on the MX-6 and go back to SBC simplicity. I just wish the Spirit handled 1/50 of what my 6 did before I wiped the cam. :(