WHY oh WHY do I want to do this?

And no I don't want anyone to talk me out of this. For some reason lately I've had this crazy urge to go do some rallyX and stage rally, but I don't want to do it in just any car. Nope for some reason I want to do it in a Miata. Yup a Miata, I figure raise it up to give it a few more inches of suspension travel, a cage, LSD, safety gear, and an intercom. And go for broke, I've taken a Miata on some really nasty dirt roads in the rain, and it was surprisingly easy to modulate going sideways and forward momentum, kinda like drifting without the corners. Am I crazy? Should I get my head checked? What do you guys think? I brainstormed this last weekend on a road trip with a friend, we're pretty convinced it can be done easy enough. Any one else thought about it or tried it?

DO IT!! It will be awesome!!

Why not, sounds like fun to me. We've talked about it before in my region. The big issue was the lack of suspension travel Fix that, and put on a factory hardtop, and it could be fun. Biggest problem I can see with it is you'd be running in M2 after playing with the suspension.

As long as you don't mind potentially being uncompetitive in your class, there should be no problem.

Last time I checked, only hardtop cars were allowed, thus no Miata.

A factory hard top with a cage for stage, and the factory top for rallyx that should be good enough.

It's been done a few times, but not many.

Rallycross is the easy one, and I know of a few Miatas that have competed.

Stage rally is more difficult. Convertibles - even with removable hardtops fixed in place - aren't allowed. I think both NASA and SCCA have made exceptions in the past for Miatas, and I know there have been stage rally Miatas in both Canada and Australia. Suspension is easy, pick up a set of AFCOs that were developed for the Targa Newfoundland

The problems are that you really don't have much room inside for things like route books and helmets, although it's possible. It's also apparently difficult to put the power down compared to some other cars although I don't have enough rally experience to confirm.

Thanks for the encouragement, how much extra travel do you think it would need Mav? I've never tried rally or rallyX, but I've driven dirt roads since getting my license, and I'm more than willing to slide around a corner, as long as I know the other side is clear. I got to looking at the AFCO's, those look like they could be the hot ticket, but cost as much as I wanted to spend on the car, at least during the experimentation stage of it.

From the little bit of research I've done, it seems they require steel or metal over the drivers compartment, so a factory hardtop won't work, what if I fabbed up a hard top similar to the old spitfire hardtops? It wouldn't be all that pretty but it would be steel and with a full cage going on underneath it, it wouldn't have to be all that thick/heavy.

oh and this isn't helping things any......

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/former-spec-miata-build-your-monster/17032/page1/

Fab a metal roof, fiberglass/lexan hatch kills two birds with one stone, metal roof, and a hatch for storage.

Hah! Now I want to test fit a spitfire hardtop on a Miata. Cant believe I havent done it yet.

Spinout007 wrote: oh and this isn't helping things any...... http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/former-spec-miata-build-your-monster/17032/page1/

Yeah, and I know where you can get a cheap shell to put all that goodness.

funny... and history is full of roadsters that were used in world rally. MGAs and Bs, Fiat Spiders.. Triumphs..

I support this. I think it would be a great rally car, with the balance and drivability.

MrJoshua wrote:

Spinout007 wrote: oh and this isn't helping things any...... http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/former-spec-miata-build-your-monster/17032/page1/

Yeah, and I know where you can get a cheap shell to put all that goodness.

2 challengers to build..2 challengers to build...nonononononono gotta wait till new years first, must wait. but I guess we need to talk about that shell

James Garner rallied an Olds 442;

you tube slide show

I think you could do a Miata

I had alot of time to think this over today, it really should be rather easy. (4 hours on a tractor, doing grading, and tree removal = too much time to think about cars) The trick would be to find the right starting point, rolling shell, or just a shell that needs subframes? Money wise what do miata subframes go for? Engine wise, start out with the miata 4cyl? or as someone mentioned I would be placed in a modified class anyway due to the added suspension travel, do I go with another engine? Chevy v6 with a 5 speed? carb'd so it's easy to wire up, or go whole hog with a LS swap, as the added suspension will likely give me more ground clearance as well. Keep the idea's coming guys.

I think I may have just worked out the metal roof and hatchback idea on my break at work, gotta get home and do some measuring, it involves taking the roof and hatch from a FC parts car I have at home, and narrowing it to fit over a miata. This is gonna be nuts.

Spinout007 wrote: ...This is gonna be ZOMG so mutha-effing awesome I might pee in my BVDs right here and now

There, you misspelled a few words at the end there. Jeez, spell check is free you kno

LOL...

It's bad, I'm seriously debating on delaying my challenge build, so I can concentrate on helping my wife with her build, and to free up the budget to play with this idea.

Spinout007 said: Chevy v6 with a 5 speed? carb'd so it's easy to wire up

It just so happens I know the location of that very car...

third photo down

nothing wrong with 60* V6's, they're just a bit misunderstood..... lol, yeah if you have the choice, go with a bigger one, if not, they're cheap, and they should make a light car like the miata fly. The one in my S-10 rev's quick enough, I would love to see what it would do in something lighter.