othersalem

Hello everyone! Just starting my build with a perfectly good, heavily customized 1991.
Current specs:
1991 Miata MX5 - no idea of the mileage
70hp NOS wet kit
K&N filter with a home made intake
Some sort of generic see-through cat and a nice sounding exhaust
Ground effects and fender flares
No soft top - to make room for the NOS bottle and speakers
Custom paint
Suicide doors w/ door poppers on a key fob and hidden switch
Custom interior
18" rims and I can't remember the size tires

I bought it from a Floridian who did all of the body and fiberglass work as well as the paint job. I have since converted the A/C, tuned it up and finished out all of the electronics and interior trim pieces.

Basically it's a nice weather car that's fun to take to shows. Keeping the power steering is a non-issue (because it doesn't have it to begin with) but I'm planning on keeping the A/C working at least.

For the exhaust I would like to run side pipes through the ground effects.

I pulled the donor engine from a 1996 Explorer with 146k miles on it, and have basically the whole thing, minus the A/C compressor and power steering.

My plan for the engine is to keep it mostly stock. I'll have the crank balanced and the short block rebuilt by a local machine shop. I'm planning on keeping the GT40 heads and stock intake. I figure between that and a 100hp shot from the bottle, it will be fast enough.

I'll post some pics to my profile as soon as I'm able.
And here's a pic from my profile album.

エリオット

Well this is... unique.

tbone heller

They must not have prepped that car very well before painting to have the paint fall off in sheets like that.

othersalem

So I posted a long and rambling reply earlier but it didn't seem to take, so I will shorten this one.
I finally locked up the stock 1.6L and ordered Martin's kit. I hadn't done much to the car over the last four years but I have been building the engine. Here's the new parts list for the engine:
306 block with new stock replacement pistons and rods
e303 cam
AFR 185 heads with 1.67 Scorpion rocker arms
GT40 upper and lower intake from an Explorer with a 1" plenum spacer so everything would clear the taller valve covers

I will try to post some pictures of the engine this evening

othersalem

Mostly I have been pulling the rat's nests of wires from the car. I added door poppers, since it has shaved door handles and basically had no way to get back in the car with the roof on and windows up. I also added multicolored under car LEDs all the way around, swapped out the old double din touchscreen for a single din bluetooth Kenwood. And I added an extra fuse block a la Painless Performance (CirKit Boss Auxiliary Fuse Block/7 Circuits (3 Constant 12V - 4 Ignition 12V)Details | Painless Performance)
Additionally, I added the Moss Miata power window kit.
I am planning on wiring the door poppers, trunk release solenoid, fuel door solenoid, and LEDs into the always on CirKit block and the stereo, amplifiers, and windows into the ignition blocks.
I had some trouble with the wires for the door poppers cracking open over time and grounding out making a big mess of things (and the damn relays are bullet proof apparently), So I am using a slightly smaller gauge of wire, with better braiding this time around.

BGordon

Gotta say this is the first time I have ever seen a Miata with suicide doors.

othersalem

The suicide doors are both the high and low point of the car. They look great but are a pain to get opening and closing well.
This weekend I finished the driver's side door wiring at least. I have the new power window pieces installed (thanks to the Moss Miata kit), and I have a relay with a 12 gauge wire for the solenoid itself run to the circuit breaker and an always hot wire of the painless kit. I then have both the buttons going to ground to activate the relay. I also ran an extra wire off the ground side of the relay back out of the door to use as the door unlock feed from the alarm. And I put a diode on the relay to prevent the alarm (or anything else) from feeding back into the relay. The relay is mounted on the door and all the wiring is tucked in and pulled back with zip ties and run through wire loom from the door to the body.
Another trick with the suicide doors is that they open to a full 90 degrees, so all of the wiring going into the door needs to be able to fold up quite a bit more than stock.
I didn't start even start on the hubs this weekend as I want to get my compressor fixed first.
I will try and post pictures of the driver's side wiring tomorrow.

othersalem

And here are some more pictures of the new door wiring, the current state of the interior of the car and the new engine. The new Painless Performance fuse block is circled in yellow on the Cirkit picture. And you can see from the door pictures I still have quite a bit of wiring to do, but it is coming along.
And I have two subs and four "woofers", but only one of the "woofers" likes to help.

othersalem

Just a quick update here, talked to Martin yesterday and am getting new hubs for an extra $70 instead of sending mine out. This way I still have a rolling chassis.
I used a combination jack and plastic wedge to get the door lined up exactly where it needs to be and then bolted it together with red Loctite. That worked like a charm for the first three days but it sunk a bit now, I am going to order some Teflon wedges to put on the body as a shim / guide so the doors will close a bit easier. I would suggest just doing bolt on lambo doors over the suicide route for anyone planning such a thing.
Martin also said that my k-frame was almost done so I need to pull the old engine and really get prepping.

othersalem

So... based on some suggestion's comments on another thread I picked up a ported Victor Jr. EFI intake manifold with FPR, rails and injectors from the Corral. The seller promised to ship them by Friday. And I bet that means I will need an elbow as well. I have a throttle body from an Explorer and a Mustang and am going to use which ever one is bigger. I also have an MAF from a 1993 Cobra. I will probably get the elbow and run a pro stock hood scoop in the end.

In the meantime I ordered a pair of Autoloc door pulley kits and stock Miata interior door handles (I originally removed the passenger side door handle) and finished the driver's side door. I am still doing the wiring for the passenger side door.

I have also removed the exhaust manifold and intake manifold from the Miata engine to get it ready to pull - it was easier to remove the manifolds than to try to work around them to the engine mount bolts.

othersalem

And the engine and transmission are now out of the car, I put the steering wheel back on so I could roll it in and out of the garage.
I kind of like the rake on it without the extra weight in front.

gavinnz

Hiya, I have joined this forum just to ask for some more info and pictures on your suicide door conversion as I want to do the same thing to my 1990 MX5.
My MX5 fails to quality for this forum just by two cylinders! SO CLOSE! (Alfa Romeo 3.0 12V V6 in going to go in)
If you have more pictures of the details of the door mods I would love to see them!
Thanks
Gavin
New Zealand

othersalem

I would say don't do suicide doors. If you are worried about cost get a cheap set of lambo hinges instead. You will get twice the looks and save yourself a crap ton of misery. You have to slam them hard to close them, they don't stay open by themselves at any angle unless they are closing at the wrong moment and they are so heavy they sink when you open them. You will also loose the door switches.
I actually bought the car with the doors done and have seriously considered carving everything out and putting them back.

gavinnz

They just sound badly engineered (I can say that as you didn't do them! ) I do all my own work so cost is not an issue. I am sure I can get them right. My car body is already heavily modified, so my doors will be "half" doors with there bottom edge being the swage in the body.... no moving glass and no window motors, outside door handles etc so much lighter which will help. Fully open Speedster.

Still keen to see more pictures of what might be what NOT to do!!! lol
Gavin