2001 JV6 Miata

[AhmadHasib]

Recently made a 18 hour road trip to Arkansas and back home to pick up this Miata with a JV6 swap. Motor isout of a 3.2 Acura CL. I've always loved the idea implanting a motor into a car that came from a different manufacturer. Just seemed cool. Found this and decided to pull the trigger. 

Has a few loose ends I need to tie to have it track ready. Recently found the owner of my old Miata and convinced him to trade the Ultrashield seats for the factory ones in my new Miata.

Hope to see you guys out at MSR Houston soon. 

[Hollywood]

[__clu]

Nicely done! Word of caution, oil pans on those kits are known to be pulled off quite easily

[AhmadHasib]

47 minutes ago, __clu said:

Nicely done! Word of caution, oil pans on those kits are known to be pulled off quite easily

I've heard! They just came out with a Gen 3 oil pan which sits above the frame rails. Need to call them.and ask if it's compatible with a Gen 1 transmission adaptor. 

[V6Donut]

very cool! V6 swaps for the win!!!! 

[Shuka]

Did they fix the starter placement? I thought it hung super low and was prone to getting ripped off as well.

[AhmadHasib]

8 minutes ago, Shuka said:

Did they fix the starter placement? I thought it hung super low and was prone to getting ripped off as well.

Gen 1 starter sits at the very bottom (which is what this car has). Gen 2 clocked it to the side for more ground clearance. Tony has the exact setup on his swap, Gen1 adaptor and Gen 2 pan, and said its been doing him well so far. Will probably look into a Gen 2 adaptor and Gen 3 pan (pan sits above frame rails) down the road for piece of mind.

[__clu]

Dry sump and send it!

[AhmadHasib]

On 9/18/2019 at 9:47 AM, __clu said:

Nicely done! Word of caution, oil pans on those kits are known to be pulled off quite easily

Talking about that. Sent the Miata over to MSR Houston so Jim and his team can give it their blessings and deem it safe for track use. Had a few things to button up as well. After throwing it on the lift, we noticed the subframe wasn't square and the steering rack sat lower on the passenger side than the driver's side. Might explain the darty feeling I was experiencing. 

Went home and started doing some research on whether this is normal or not. Came across an old post on the JV6 Miata Facebook group from one of the previous owners. They had gone over a bridge and ripped the oil pan off along with the bottom of the block. Eventually swapped the motor and got a new Gen 2 oil pan, and then was sold to me. 

I called BJ at Minitec. He confirmed that the steering rack should be sitting straight. That impact bent the subframe out of shape and damaged the steering rack with it. With this being the weaker Gen 1 subframe that's known to crack in it's week points with heavy track use, I ended up ordering a new Gen 2 subframe that had additional bracing. And again, down the rabbit hole I go. 

Along with that, ordered a new depowered rack, and drive shaft. Hoping the drive shaft will sort out the vibrations above 60mph. We'll find out after the new subframe goes in. Also got another Sparco R323 since it was the same wheel in my first Miata. Trying to use the exact same setup, even old seats, so everything can feel the same. Less of a learning curve. 

Steering wheel, seat, and harness is in. Rear seat mounting point bumps removed for additional headroom clearance. Next in line is the subframe swap and steering rack, and it should be good to go. 

When it's ready, plan is to toss it around on the track to see how this Flat Out Suspension coilovers do. Of they're trash, will look into some Xida Gen 2s if I can find a used set. Let me know if any pop up 👀

[Arro]

hmmm, would make me wonder what else wasn't disclosed about the car....

Glad you're getting it sorted out and upgraded along the way, should be a little rocketship.

[__clu]

Glad they picked up on that. Some people are trying to alleviate this by going dry sump but that might be overkill for you. Hope the steering gets sorted out.

[AhmadHasib]

2 hours ago, Arro said:

hmmm, would make me wonder what else wasn't disclosed about the car....

Glad you're getting it sorted out and upgraded along the way, should be a little rocketship.

With the guys at MSR Houston throwing their eyes on it, I'm sure they'll find anything else that might be of concern. Though I'm pretty confident this should be it.