New project: 1996 Miata with Ford 5.0
 

Just wanted to introduce myself and my project. I have a 96 Miata that in it's current state is sporting a built 1.9 turbo engine. I have not been happy with the way the setup has run, and due to some financial changes, have decided to part out the drivetrain (currently in process). I have a 91 Mustang GT as well, and love the platform and aftermarket support, so I have decided that is the drivetrain to go in to the Miata (I already had a T5 tranny laying around, among many other parts). I found a used 5.0 out of a Lincoln Mark 8, and have also picked up a 7.5" 3.27 Tbird carrier, and a Trac Lok unit to put inside. This is going to be a long project, but I am really looking forward to it. The Shelby Cobra has always been my dream car, so I am excited to build a version of my own. Here are a few pics of the car as it sits and the engine that I picked up.

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Here is the new engine waiting for it's turn

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More to come.

Thanks,

Jason

Looks like a great start. Those Lincoln H.O. blocks are usually "YYY" castings which are slightly stronger than Mustang porn (XXX) blocks making that a great starting point for something more involved internally later on. The front accessories are the same as mustang stuff with the exception of the ac compressor (a bit shorter) and the alternator bracket. The alt bracket looks almost exactly like the mustang one but will end up locating the alternator just a half inch or so too high to work. Get a mustang one or dump the smog pump and buy an after market alternator bracket and adjuster (possobly cheaper than a used mustang bracket).

Good luck, let me know if you need a harness for it,
-Jason

Thanks, I appreciate it. It's going to be a while, as I have to remove and sell all the turbo parts in order to buy the install kit. I did order the manual so I will be well versed once the time comes.

Thanks,

Jason

You have the best license plate ever! I love it!

A lot of guys join you in the Cobra as a dream car club. For what it's worth our Miatas may not be as sexy but having A/C and a top is really nice and I have beat both the Cobras I have raced against. And the last one I beat was an ERA car with a Coyote crate engine in it.

I'm looking forward to your build and so glad you are doing a build thread!!

So, quick update on my build.

I have pulled the engine/tranny out of the Miata, and am in the process of disassembling them, and selling the parts to fund the V8 build. It will probably be a while before I actually start doing the conversion, as I have to get the funds together first.

I have ordered the manual from Martin, and been doing some research online. From what I have seen, I am definitely going to make some adjustments to the install from what the manual has. I am going to completely go through the wiring, and remove everything that is no longer needed, and base it more on how a mustang is wired (not as much splicing/patch work, one of the benefits to having a 5.0 mustang as well to look at). I am also debating on what I want to do for the engine install, as I would love to do a tubular subframe to get more room for the exhaust to come straight down and back versus snaking it. Still thinking about that one, as the kit is there, and is a proven way to go versus hand fabricating. Still weighing pros/cons.

I'm going to continue to build it on paper, so I can be as prepared as possible when the time comes to get going on this.

More to come.

Jason

Quick update:

Been talking with Martin, and am pretty close to ordering my kit. I have been stock piling parts for the swap. I have the 5.0 engine, 7.5 3.27 with track lock, t5 tranny that I'm going to put z gears in, explorer intake, 70mm tb and spacer, trick flow stg 2 cam, trick flow heads, motorsport valve covers, steel underdrive pulleys, short shifter, 3g alternator, wiring harnesses, ecu, and some other misc stuff.

Today I pulled the engine crossmember and cleaned it up. Still need to get the hubs out, then I can ship parts off to Martin. Here's a pic of where it stands right now:

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Thanks,

Jason

Great progress. You will be amazed at all the work you can do before you even get the kit.

This board is great for support.

Thanks, I know I have plenty to so with just cleaning up the engine bay/wiring. This is definitely a big/involved project.

Jason

Sounds like you got some good stuff going on. My only suggestion would be to ditch the underdrive pulleys. You are going to need all of the cooling help that that you can get.

Having a 5.0, I've never had any cooling issues with underdrives. I do plan on making some adjustments to the rad/fan mounting/operation

Thanks,

Jason

Good luck with that. Be sure to upgrade the alternator to keep up with the fans.

Yep, have a 3G setup going in. I may end up ditching the dual fan setup for a single fan that flows a ton. Waiting till I get the kit to see what I have to work with.

Jason

Could you elaborate on your plan here Jason?

Shrouding/ducting/different fan setup (big single)/etc. All in my head for now until I I have the actual parts to work with.

Jason

I think you are going to find many things work the same way in the Miata as they do in donor cars but in the case of cooling the experience you have with other cars doesn't mean squat. This is a much smaller engine bay that is full to overflowing and air flow in these cars is terrible.

I've done all the stuff you are talking about and it certainly helps, especially to recover from a high temp, but no question my money is on tbone being right on this. And not just because I can't think of a time he was ever wrong but because cooling problems with these cars is as common as speeding tickets and you need all the help you can get.

I get it, half the fun is figuring stuff out. Hood louvers are also on the list to help with engine heat.

Jason

The only heat issues I'm having is due to the intake/cone filter sitting on top of the headers causing me to lose some HP over optimal. Going to the track this weekend with estimated tempts in the 90's mid day. I would think FM has this stuff figured out since they are all track junkies. Though elevation and average tempts where they are is a bit different from TX. Curious why their solutions aren't mentioned much here?

LOL Gator that's because you have an epic $1000 radiator set and the entire exhaust system is thermo coated in your car. Even so if you run 3 autocross laps back to back on a hot day with nothing but a little idle time inbetween you'll push that temp gauge up too.

Guess I just figured FM was reselling something that could be had elsewhere for less. My exhaust isn't coated...yet.

Actually not they had a ton of cooling issues when they first got going and went there a truck load of R&D to develop their own radiator set up. It is really a very special unit and thus the cost. Check it out:
Flyin' Miata : Cooling tech

I've got about 300 into my cooling set up and even though the radiator is bigger than the one in the Camaro the engine came out if it's much more sensitive to heat issues. On a hot day at a slow track I can cook it if I'm not careful.

My bad you must have a stainless car. The Sanderson headers they used on the earlier cars were thermo coated with the pipes and cats too all the way back to the muffler.

Sorry to get off track here in your build thread Jason. Just don't sell your stock pulley till you have some miles on the build.

And they continue to improve the product. I have an older fan setup that used two different fans of the same size, but different motors/flows. Keith told me they now use two of the same higher flowing fans in case I do end up with temp issues on hot TX track days.

Sorry about any thread jacking, but figured related while talking cooling. :)

No problem guys.

Quick update rear end/axles/hubs/ppf are removed, and I have sent all of my parts to Martin for modifying.

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More to come.

Jason

Quick update. Finished disassembling the Miata engine for sale, so I got the 5.0 mounted to the stand for disassembly/cleanup/new parts.

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Also started getting parts from Martin.

Jason

Mighty fine looking pile of parts there Jason!

Yeah, garage is a mess right now between tearing parts out of the car for sale, gathering new parts for install, and now tearing parts of the donor engine that are being replaced with new goodies.

Jason

Update: rec'd box 1 and modified K member from Martin. Also have ordered and received energy suspension bushings for all control arms, and differential housing mounts. Got tranny rebuild kit, rear end install kit, and 2 new axles. Definitely coming together.

Jason

So, got some work done yesterday. Cleaned up and painted the K member (removed shipping stickers and repainted all the scratches). Decided to just pull the whole front suspension out as complete units on each side, as I have to swap in the new poly bushings, so I removed each side as a unit (upper and lower arms, spindles, and coilovers). Looks like a car blew up in my garage. Also started cutting in to the wiring harness, as I am removing all of the stock Miata engine wiring that is no longer needed.

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I love that Navy blue color of your car. Great build thread!

Lol, it's actually black, just the florescent light reflection. Planning on wrapping it with blue vinyl (like ford grabber blue).

Wow, good progress. I got Martins kit a couple months ago and just getting the old driveline out this week.
What did you paint the subframe with? I was going to POR15 mine, but it's not rusty so I figured I might just use good old Tremclad gloss.

Yeah, I was thinking of POR15 as well, but same thing, the car is rust free, and does not see bad weather, so I figured why bother. Honestly just used gloss black VHT roll bar/chassis paint.

Jason

Brad for what it's worth the best bang for the buck I have ever found in painting stuff like this is John Deere tractor paint. It's cheap, tuff as nails and comes in gloss, semi gloss and the flat on many a 55 Chevy known as blitz black. The rattle cans are OK if you don't want to clean a gun but with a $5 harbor freight trim gun, quart of paint ($11), 1/2 pint of hardener ($15) and dab of any enamel paint thinner will be enough paint to cover all your frame and suspension parts twice with a far better finish than any rattle can.

BTW I came to this conclusion after using VHT roll bar paint on my roll bar and found it not to be very durable.

Yeah, will probably cover it with rust oleum gloss black if the vht seems weak.

Jason

Quick update, ended up getting rustoleum professional gloss black for the k. Also burned the stock bushings out of the front suspension, as I am going with Energy Suspension Poly bushings at all 4 corners.

More to come.

I have used this cheap paint from Home Depot on a lot of stuff & had great results. I painted the entire undercarriage of Mr. Miyagi with it as well as the entire frame & flatbed on my F-450. Quick Color 10-oz. Gloss Black General Purpose Aerosol Paint-J2851812 at The Home Depot If you look at the manufacture's address on the can, it is the same as the address for Rustoleum. You can get almost 5 cans of this stuff for the price of one of the name brand paint.

Good to know.

Quick update, front suspension is back in with the energy suspension bushings installed. Also got box two from Martin, so I have everything except for the headers which are on order. Now I just need to find the time to work on it.

Jason

So, winter has hit, not feeling very motivated right now. Next on the list is hacking up the stock wiring harness and removing what is not needed, and integrating the Ford harness in to the car. May be a while before this is done. After this will be clearancing for the V8.

Slow and steady.

Jason

See this is one of the few benefits to living in snow country. We have a build season! http://i62.tinypic.com/2vc6xbq.jpg Not that I'm counting but it's 134 days till April...

LOL, yeah, spent 3 hours on it yesterday pulling unnecessary wiring out.

Jason

Quick update, finished pulling out the wiring that I don't need.

Today I removed the A/C to get it our of my way, removed the radiator brackets, and did the cutting and welding to remove the rounded gussets per the Monster Miata kit.

Coming along, slowly but surely.

Jason

Update: Cut out the gussets, evap mounts, water pipe mount, and hole for the wiring harness. Also clearance the trans tunnel/firewall. Threw on some black paint. Next will be installing the wiring and making necessary splices.

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More to come.

Jason

So other than me having no parts yet, we really are about at the same point! I just did more wiring today to finish it up as much as I could. When I put the engine in my plan is to plug the engine harness in and start it up!

Looking sweet!

Mike.

Unfortunately I still have to do a rebuild on the tranny (used one from my 91 mustang that I put a z spec in), and have all of the rear end work as well, as I am guessing you do as well since you don't have parts. I talked to Martin on Thursday, and he was shipping my headers, the last parts I am waiting on. I'm gonna do some custom fab work for the radiator/condenser/fan mount, as I want the fans to be pullers, and want to integrate a shroud. I did some extra relief work on the firewall, and I'm not running air pipes, so I can push the engine back a little more. Lots to think about.

Jason

Productive weekend. Got the mods done to my EFI wiring harness, and installed in engine bay. I got wiring harness clamps and used existing holes to mount to firewall. I still have to splice it in under the dash, that will be next weekend. Found one mistake I made when cutting out original engine wiring, I accidently cut wiper fluid pump lead out. Now I have to run a new wire. Could be worse. It's coming along, so that makes me happy. Also started reinstalling some engine bay parts and installed the radiator cage.

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Will you be keeping the Miata diagnostic port? I'm getting ready to start my wiring and wondered if it stays or goes....but without the factory computer I presume it's superfluous. Don't know for sure though.

^^ curious on that myself. Does the diagnostic port run directly to the OEM computer or does it have functions without it?

Diagnostic port won't be hooked to the ecu, ford efi harness has it's own diagnostic testing port.

Jason

l did the exact same thing! Went back to the pile of wires and reconnected it before final tape/covering. This "mistake" made me go through all of it again with the Miata wiring diagram to hopefully ensure I did not remove anything else that needed to stay. I think I'm OK.

I removed the diagnostic port wiring as based on the wiring diagram, it is basically loose wire ends that come from the Miata computer that have nothing on the other end to "diagnose" (no Miata computer). That was my assessment anyway.