qurtrn10

Hi all,
I bought a '93 5.0 LX vert in '99 as my graduation present to myself. When I moved about two years ago I had no room for it so we put it in storage in my family's garage in Tennessee. I've wanted to revive it, but instead of a repaint and bodywork I'm going the Monster Miata route. I've always loved the idea, and finally decided to move towards it.
A few weeks ago I bought a 2000 base Miata with 25,000 miles. I know the engine is coming out anyway, but it was worth paying a little more for a car in great shape with a good usable engine that I can drive with for now until I am ready to begin disassembly. I'm also hoping the engine in great shape will be able to be sold easily.
I probably won't begin the swap until spring of next year, but in the meantime I am focused on fixing any imperfections on the Miata and getting the Mustang engine running again. I'm going to have the Mustang brought down from TN near the end of October, and I know it will take some work to get it fired up after sitting for so long.
I know I will have many questions in addition to the dozen or so I have now, but I'm going to take some time searching and reading the boards first. If there's anyone in the Jacksonville area, I'd love to take a look at some of these in person.
William
The Miata:




The Mustang:
(circa '99)

(after a few tweaks)

A long way from stock

If I don't (or can't) keep A/C with the swap, this pretty yellow bottle will make its home under the dash...

One of the few complications I will have is what to do about the tranny. I already have a beefed up C4 trans with Edge converter, hardened shafts, and anti ballooning plate for the nitrous. Not sure how much work it would take to keep the C4 since the Miata is a stick.

rick

Hey qurtrn10, welcome to v8miata.net

Make sure to check out v8ms' picture gallery here
CLICK TO CHECK IT OUT - RATE PICTURES

Hope to see you around!

jrmotorsports55

Pretty cool. I had thought about tearing the drivetrain out of my 5.0, but just bought the parts used, as I love my stang as well. Welcome to the forum.

Jason

Sunshine Guy

William, there have been several conversions done with Ford automatic transmissions. The ones I can recall have the AOD, but I don't believe the C4 is any larger. It should be easier to convert a manual Miata to automatic than vice versa.

I am in Jacksonville, but also just in the beginning stages of a Ford conversion.

charchri4

OK I had to laugh at the title thinking if you breed a Mustang with a Miata do you get a Mazda 2 or a Fiesta out of the deal? Maybe a Fi2esta...

I had an 85 Mustang convert like that back in the day. Well stock but still one of the best converts I have ever owned.

I think there is a number of cars with in 150 miles or so of you. I don't know how far tbone is from you but doesn't matter it would be worth the trip. There is a guy in fleming island that goes by Steveamnmn on the wrong forum. Also cvx_20 is down your way and I'm sure quite a few others.

Having sunshine guy in the neighborhood will be really fun. There was a couple guys doing builds here at the same time I did and one of them I talked to on the phone every week and got to know quite well. It is really helpful to have someone to bounce ideas and challenges off of that way.

Anyway welcome to the forum I'm so glad you joined us and am looking forward to your build. Oh and having owned both sure the Mustang was fun but the Miata is out of the park better!

cvx_20

Welcome from sunny Sarasota.

Jack Dahlmann, FUN02SE on this board, put a 306 5 speed into his 2002SE, you might look at some of his pics. He got to the point of final wiring, had a back problem and the project is stalled at that point. His build may be of interest to you in that he used some headers from Ford Racing that had 1 5/8" tubes. Most Fords use 1 1/2" headers.

I installed a 4R70W into my '91, the clearance issues are primarily in the routing of the exhaust next to the pan, the tunnel itself is fairly roomy.

Again, welcome to the forum.

Mike

qurtrn10

Thanks for all the replies. I will be out of town for a few weeks, but when I get back, it would be great to meet up with fellow V8 Miata owners (or soon to be at least).

brendabrown

Welcome to Jacksonville with another Ford V8 Miata.

https://www.v8miata.net/members/bren...a-001-552t.jpg

Sunshine Guy

In the spirit of full disclosure, Steveamnmn is me. That moniker referred to my previous residence up in Jim's neck of the woods (Minnesota). Served 10 years there before being paroled from the frozen tundra

Sunshine Guy seemed an appropriate expression of celebratory delight. I've been in Florida for nine years and just got fully warmed up last week...